Too Much TV: Is The Entertainment Industry Ready For A Global Recession?

Here’s everything you need to know about the world of television for Monday, March 9th, 2026:

IS IMPENDING DOOM A GOOD BASIS FOR A BUSINESS MODEL?
As I write this, this Dow Jones average is down nearly 700 points and it continues to drop. Crude oil prices rose nearly 20% over the weekend and that comes on top of the news last week that the U.S. lost around 92,000 jobs in January. Gas prices are rising rapidly across the globe and the world's economies are already showing signs of stress. So what happens to the entertainment industry if the war with Iran continues and oil prices continue to spike?

This is not a question where anyone can provide a definitive answer, because the correct answer depends on knowing definitively what the world's economy will look like six or twelve months in the future. But if you assume a future that isn't a worse case scenario but also isn't especially positive, it's possible to make some educated guesses:

* Streaming Ad Markets
A slower global economy means a more difficult advertising environment. If past recessions are any indication, while the bigger consumer companies might be more strategic with their advertising budgets, smaller firms are more likely to cut back substantially, especially if they depend on discretionary consumer spending. Those also are the companies who advertise heavily through the programmatic ad markets that FAST channels and smaller ad-supported streamers rely on for a healthy slice of their ad revenue. 

So a recession is likely hit the bottom line of those streamers pretty hard and it will only get worse the longer the economic uncertainty continues.

* SVOD Subscriber Numbers
In a number of more mature streaming markets, subscriber growth has already slowed substantially and customer acquisition costs have increased. Any economic turmoil only makes that problem even more challenging. Typically, when SVOD subscribers are forced to start cutting back, one thing they do is reduce the number of streaming subscriptions they pay for each month. That's not great news for any service that isn't Netflix, because multiple customer surveys have shown that if forced to cut back, consumers will drop just about any other streamer before they will cut Netflix.

In theory, this move away from paid video services in a recession should be good for FAST platforms such as Pluto TV and Tubi. The challenge for them is whether the increase in usage can offset the recession-impacted ad market.

* The Paramount Skydance Takeover Of Warner Bros. Discovery
The financing of the Paramount Skydance (PSKY) acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery continues to be a lot more vague than it should be. The $111 billion dollar bid includes $24 billion from sovereign wealth funds in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi. And if recent news reports are accurate, it will now also include several hundred million dollars from Tecent Holdings, which is a massive Chinese multinational technology and entertainment conglomerate.

Now PSKY executives stress that funding does not include any governance rights in the new company. In other words, they would be silent partners. At least in theory. But aside from whether or not it's a good idea to have more than 25% of a major American media company owned by foreign investors, a recession has the distinct possibility of threatening the merger's completion. 

The sovereign funds of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Abu Dhabi are already beginning to withdraw from some of their financing deals, as the attacks by Iranians against their countries and the world's oil supply threatens the health of those funds.

It's not clear what would happen if one or more of those countries withdrew from the deal or sought to cash out immediately after the deal closed. PSKY needs those funds to make the deal happen and they would have to be replaced somehow. The fact the deal's success hinges on foreign investment is a pretty clear indication the alternative funding options were limited.

One interesting side note is that the merger deal agreed to by both Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery includes what is referred to as an "Epstein Clause." Simply put, the funding for the deal is guaranteed by The Larry Ellison Revocable Trust. So it will be interesting to see if faced with guaranteeing $24 billion worth of merger funding with the trust, whether Ellison will be tempted just to pay the penalty and walk away from the deal.

It's also not clear just how healthy the trust is right now. The trust holds a sizeable share of Larry Ellison's wealth, which was estimated to be around $250 billion at its highwater mark. But Ellison's company Oracle has seen its stock prime slump substantially in recent months. And given the trust is funded in large part by shares of Oracle and that the trust tends to finance its deal (like this merger) by borrowing against the value of the shares, it's not clear if this deal's financing is as "guaranteed" as the Ellison family has claimed. Especially in the midst of a recession.

* Disney's Experiences Business
Disney's Experiences division (parks, cruise ships, hotels, and products) is a major revenue driver for the Walt Disney Company. In fiscal year 2025, this division contributed about 46% of total revenue for Disney. It achieved a record $10 billion in revenue in the fiscal first quarter of 2026 and the company has been forecasting high-single-digit growth in operating income for this segment for fiscal 2026.

But much of that growth has been driven by increasing prices and so far - despite some grumbling from fans - park attendance and cruise ship bookings haven't suffered substantially. The question is whether even the most hard-core Disney fan will be willing to drop up to $10,000 on a vacation in the midst of a recession. In the past, a bad economy has had a substantial short-term impact on both industries. But there's no way to know if that might happen over the next couple of years. 

I do know that Disney executives always worry about their most-prized customers getting out of the habit of returning each year to one of the DIsney resorts or cruises. Losing a trip for one or two years can have a serious long-term effect, and the company is then forced to spend more money to lure back those prized return customers.

These are a just a few of the things to consider as we move closer to a global recession. It is not going to be pretty, no matter what part of the industry you work in right now.

SCOTT MACFARLANE IS LEAVING CBS NEWS
Veteran CBS News reporter Scott MacFarlane announced Monday morning that he is leaving CBS News, effective immediately. Here is the message he sent to his CBS colleagues this morning:

"To my incredible colleagues at CBS: I want to personally let you know that my work will soon no longer appear on CBS News. This is my decision, and I appreciate the bosses at CBS for understanding it. I will always value the opportunity I had to work alongside the talented and committed professionals here. I'm proud to have had the words 'CBS correspondent' next to my name - always will be. For the next phase of my career, I look forward to some independence and finding new spaces to share my work in line with my personal goals. I thank you all. The work will not stop, and I'll always be a call away."

I suspect there is an interesting backstory connected with this decision.

ODDS AND SODS
* AMC Networks has ordered a second season of Jonathan Glatzer's upcoming Silicon Valley drama The Audacity over a month before its series premiere.

* ESPN announced Monday it has hired six sports reporters - Kent Babb, Kareem Copeland, Chuck Culpepper, Robert Klemko, Tom Schad and Ben Strauss - who were recently let go by The Washington Post during its massive round of layoffs.

* Most Valuable Promotions (MVP), the boxing promotion business founded by Nakisa Bidarian and Jake Paul, has launched a new global platform for women’s boxing (MVPW) and signed a broadcast deal with ESPN, which will be the home of MVPW events under a multi-year agreement through 2028.

* David Cross’s new comedy special, The End Of The Beginning Of The End, will premiere Tuesday, April 7th on YouTube.

* TelevisaUnivision has agreed a partnership with tech giant Apple to provide Spanish-language coverage of motor racing’s elite Formula 1 (F1) series in the US.

IF THE FOOD NETWORK WOULD ONLY LISTEN TO ME
I've written a great deal about my unhappiness with the Food Network's obsession on creating endless competition shows, all of which feel familiar and end up including the same small stable of Food Network personalities.

Apparently the Food Network has opted to continue torturing me, given that they have yet another Bobby Flay competitive series on the way. The yet-to-be-announced series has Bobby Flay heading up a team of three other chefs, who compete as a kitchen line against four experienced line cooks from a restaurant. Both teams have to function as a kitchen line and cook a number of dishes to order, much in the same way they would in a real restaurant kitchen. Except in this "restaurant," the diners have an app where they can rate the originality, seasoning and overall taste of the dishes. And the results are shown as a running total on a scoreboard behind each team.

The network is testing the pilot now, and seems to be leaning towards calling it either The Line or Kitchen Combat. By the way, in the pilot that I saw, Bobby Flay's team includes Antonia Lafaso, who seems to be on every Food Network show in some capacity.

WHAT'S COMING TONIGHT AND THIS WEEKEND

MONDAY, MARCH 9TH:
* Top Chef Season Twenty-Three Premiere (Bravo)
* The Ultimate Baking Championship Series Premiere (Food)

TUESDAY, MARCH 10TH:
* Customer Wars Season Premiere (A&E)
* Derrick Stroup: Nostalgic (Netflix)
* Fukushima: A Nuclear Nightmare (HBO)
* One Piece Season Two Premiere (Netflix)
* Road Wars Season Premiere (A&E)

SEE YOU TUESDAY!