| What's Next: Les Moonves will speak tomorrow on CBS's quarterly earnings call and is prepared to address questions regarding the recent allegations of sexual misconduct, as well as the ongoing legal battle with Shari Redstone over the future of the company, a source with knowledge of the matter says. The call is at 1:30 p.m. PT and will be webcast. | | CBS-Viacom
Moonves vs. Redstone
While the CBS board conducts its investigation, some attention has returned to the legal battle between Les Moonves and Shari Redstone.
The CBS chief has filed a lawsuit to dilute Redstone's voting shares and stop her from uniting the two companies. The leak of court filings on Tuesday suggests both sides are once again focused on this legal struggle:
• Redstone's lawyers claim Moonves and other CBS executives used a self-erasing messaging app called Tiger Text, which they say amounts to a "systematic deletion" of internal communications and documents relevant to the legal fight. CBS says the app was used for "cybersecurity reasons."
• Moonves' lawyers claim Redstone tried to remove a board member earlier this year after he recorded a meeting with Shari's father Sumner Redstone, the 95-year-old CBS chairman emeritus who was at the center of a separate legal battle over his mental capacity.
The Big Picture: Both Moonves and Redstone are trying to convince the court that the other side is not acting in the interest of shareholders. They are also trying to own the media narrative as they await a decision on Moonves' future.
Meanwhile ... the Los Angeles County district attorney announced Tuesday that it has declined to file sexual assault charges against Moonves stemming from an alleged incident in 1986 because the timing of the allegations exceeds the statute of limitations. Ronan Farrow, the author of The New Yorker report on Moonves' accusers, says the charges "appear to stem from allegations not included in our story, from a different, additional woman." Moonves has not commented. | | Board Games
Shari's letter
New reporting from THR's Kim Masters reveals that Shari Redstone tried to launch an investigation into allegations against Moonves and other CBS executives several weeks before Ronan Farrow's story appeared in The New Yorker:
• "In June, [Redstone] and Robert Klieger, one of her allies on the CBS board, sent a letter to CBS requesting the appointment of outside counsel to look into alleged harassment, bullying and favoritism involving CBS upper management."
• "The letter, which THR has reviewed, said Redstone had previously discussed certain allegations — unspecified but some specifically involving Moonves — with a number of board members, but no action had been taken."
• "Redstone and Klieger helpfully said they were prepared to connect an outside investigator to sources who seemed to have corroborating information. Now, thanks to Farrow, Redstone is getting the investigation she had been seeking, and some analysts are asking why CBS didn't look into this earlier."
The Big Picture: For Camp Moonves, this is evidence that Redstone is trying to sabotage Moonves. ... For Camp Redstone, it's evidence that the Moonves-friendly board is failing to act in the interest of shareholders. | | Gone Hollywood
Tim Cook talks cord cutting
Apple CEO Tim Cook said Tuesday that cord cutting is accelerating "at a much faster rate than widely thought" -- one of the key reasons Apple is pursuing a new subscription offering in Apple TV.
As we reported in June, Apple is planning to bundle its original TV and film programming, Apple Music, and Apple News (including Texture) into a variety of subscription plans as it seeks to compete with Netflix, Amazon, etc. in Hollywood.
More Cook quotes from the earnings call:
• Apple TV saw "very, very strong double digit" growth in the third quarter.
• "All the things, all the forcing functions here from the outside, all point to dramatic changes speeding up in the content industry."
• "We're really happy to be working on something, but just not ready to talk about it in depth today."
The Numbers: Apple beat expectations on earnings per share, revenue and iPhone sales, bringing it closer to a $1 trillion valuation. | | The Stream
Saying 'No' to Netflix
When you ask Hollywood studios how they intend to compete with Netflix's deep pockets, the answer usually has something to do with prestige. Netflix is the Walmart of content, the thinking goes. Some creators still prefer prestige brands that produce fewer products and take greater care to market each one.
The creators behind "Crazy Rich Asians" -- Kevin Kwan, the author of the breakout 2013 novel, and director Jon M. Chu -- tell THR why they went with Warner Bros., even though Netflix would have paid them more:
• "Kwan and Chu had already tried to rationalize the cash grab: 'Maybe we donate a percentage of our extra income to great causes,' Chu recalls the two having discussed the night before. 'But where does that money go? Right back to trying to get to this position of getting us [Asians] on the big screen.'"
• Kwan:"We needed this to be an old-fashioned cinematic experience, not for fans to sit in front of a TV and just press a button."
• Chu: "We were gifted this position to make a decision no one else can make, which is turning down the big payday for rolling the dice [on the box office] -- but being invited to the big party, which is people paying money to go see us." | | Big on Both Coasts
"Nicole Kidman is in talks to play former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson in 'Fair and Balanced,' Annapurna's upcoming movie about disgraced Fox News Chief Roger Ailes," Variety reports. "Kidman will join Charlize Theron, who will portray former Fox News host Megyn Kelly." | | | Talk of Tinseltown
Television's 100 best
The Ringer has produced the most debate-inducing list of our time: "The 100 Best TV Episodes of the Century."
The Thesis:
• "TV has changed a great deal since 2000. The expansion of cable networks led to an increase in experimentation, quality, and quantity that has since been eclipsed by the advent of streaming ...."
• "With the understanding that television is going through yet another revolution, and that the boundaries and definitions of the medium could change yet again, it feels like the right time to look back at the past 18 years and determine the 100 best episodes of TV since 2000—the ones that stunned and entertained more than any others, and in turn made television what it is today."
The List. | | What Next: The Ringer's Kate Knibbs reflects on Tom Cruise's 2005 Oprah appearance, and calls it a turning point for how we discuss and understand celebrities.
See you tomorrow. | | | | | |
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