- In today’s CEO Daily: Diane Brady tackles the Paramount-Skydance merger–and how it marks a new age in the politics of pop culture.
- The big story: Zelenskyy travels to DC.
- The markets: Mixed sentiment as investors wait for a deal.
- Plus: All the news and watercooler chat from Fortune.
Good morning. My first job in the U.S. included covering Martha Stewart and World Wrestling Entertainment during the dot-com boom. Stewart was a multimedia influencer and doyenne of domesticity; Vince and Linda McMahon had transformed wrestling from a traveling circus of showmen and athletes into a superstar-studded global entertainment phenomenon. Today’s “trad wife” phenomenon or “manosphere” populated by the likes of Joe Rogan are not without precedent. Pop culture always reflects and responds to trends in the political sphere, and vice versa.
What’s unusual, perhaps, is the degree to which the two worlds have become intertwined. It helps that Trump comes from that world, having spent several years in reality TV and most of his adult life as a media celebrity. Along with installing himself as chairman of the Kennedy Center, President Trump personally picked this year’s list of honorees, which includes Kiss and Sylvester Stallone, and will host what he promises to be an ‘anti-woke’ ceremony.
Few CEOs are more attuned to the political winds in Hollywood right now than David Ellison, the new CEO of Paramount following Skydance Media’s merger with Paramount Global earlier this month. To get the deal done, Skydance agreed to “address bias and restore fact-based reporting,” according to FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, and appoint an ombudsman to address any concerns about bias. Paramount had also reached a $16 million settlement with Trump over a “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris prior to the deal getting done.
In one of his first moves as head of the combined Paramount, Ellison last week announced a $7.7 billion agreement to air Ultimate Fighting Championship events over the next seven years. That’s no doubt a smart business decision and certainly not lost on Ellison that UFC is a Trump-friendly form of entertainment, as well as a “global sports powerhouse.” UFC CEO Dana White said Ellison negotiated an “all-or-nothing” deal. White is close to Trump, who recently said he’d love to stage a UFC match on the White House lawn. (White also recently joined Meta’s board, too.)
Ellison, meanwhile, also struck a multi-year partnership with Taylor Sheridan, the creative mind behind “Yellowstone” and various spinoffs that are popular with conservative audiences.
To grow beyond the $30+ billion it made last year, Paramount will need to appeal to a wide and varied demographic. While its cancellation of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” sparked accusations of pro-Trump bias, Paramount’s recent $1.5 billion streaming deal with “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone suggests that Ellison understands the power of polarizing entertainment on both sides of the house.
More news below.
Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady at diane.brady@fortune.com
Top news
Zelenskyy goes to DC…
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in Washington DC today, joined by European leaders including European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen. The meeting follows an inconclusive meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. On social media, Trump ruled out Ukraine joining NATO, or getting back Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.
…and China's top diplomat goes to Delhi
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is in India for a trip aimed at repairing a relationship that’s been cool since deadly border clashes in 2020. The dispute has hurt trade and investment between the two Asian economic powers. Both countries also face steep U.S. tariffs: Trump’s decision to slap 50% tariffs on India now threatens a broader strategy to make the South Asian country an alternative to China.
IgniteTech’s AI-induced layoffs
Software developer IgniteTech laid off nearly 80% of its employees within a year to make way for generative AI. CEO Eric Vaughan tells Fortune that he’d do it again: “It was extremely difficult … But changing minds was harder than adding skills.”
Powell to speak on Friday
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will give an indication of whether rate cuts will resume next month in a speech on Friday. Some analysts think Powell will keep his cards close to his chest—and may not cut rates in September at all, despite Wall Street hopes of easing.
Can OpenAI stay in front?
OpenAI’s industry-leading position could be vulnerable, thanks to an underwhelming release of GPT-5 and new open-source challengers like China’s DeepSeek. Fortune’s Geoff Colvin investigates how strong the company’s competitive “moat” really is.
The markets
S&P 500 futures are down by 0.1% before market open, following a 0.3% drop by the index on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 is up 0.8%, briefly hitting a record high. The Shanghai Composite rose 0.9%, briefly surpassing a 10-year high. Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 0.4%. The South Korea KOSPI is down 1.5%. The STOXX Europe 600 is down 0.1% in early trading, Bitcoin is down 2.5% to fall below $116,000.
Around the watercooler
Trump says tariffs are going to be enough to pay down national debt. It likely won’t even touch the sides by Eleanor Pringle
A millennial couple grew their side hustle into a business bringing in $4.5 million a year—here’s how the cofounder would start it again, with nothing by Jessica Coacci
Nvidia and AMD’s ‘special treatment’ from Trump is shaking up an already tangled global chip supply chain by Nicholas Gordon
Meta spends more guarding Mark Zuckerberg than Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet do for their own CEOs—combined by Dave Smith
This edition of CEO Daily was compiled and edited by Joey Abrams and Nicholas Gordon.
