A.O.C. Uprising, Hegseth TV Happy Hour, The Varsity Live!

Welcome back to The Daily Courant, your afternoon assortment of Puck’s best new reporting.

First up today, Marion Maneker elegantly distills the most pressing market trends and collector insights emanating from Art Basel Miami. Alas, while there was a noticeable improvement in the quality of artwork, there is still a confounding lack of urgency from buyers. Marion digs into how dealers, consignors, and galleries can generate FOMO to bring them off the sidelines.

Plus, below the fold: Abby Livingston chronicles the Democratic leadership battle that has become Capitol Hill’s most engrossing drama. In a special live recording of The Varsity, John Ourand sits down with former CBS Sports president Sean McManus to discuss whether networks can thrive without the NFL and his personal crusade to see the sport return to CBS. On The Town, Matt Belloni reunites with Rich Greenfield to dissect how WBD, Paramount, and Disney are responding to the Comcast SpinCo news. And on yet another rollicking Media Monday edition of The Powers That Be, Jon Kelly and Peter Hamby chew over how the media is processing the Pete Hegseth confirmation tour, Condé Nast’s recent layoffs, and Rashida Jones’s impending MSNBC exit.

MARION MANEKER

There isn’t one definitive Art Basel Miami Beach experience. Everybody rushes around chasing their own bliss. And while the parties and brand activations might have been toned down—sorry, no Rihanna this year—many attendees said the quality of the artwork on offer was better and the prices were more realistic.

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ABBY LIVINGSTON

The House Agriculture Committee, along with Judiciary and Natural Resources, has become the epicenter of a generational revolution within the Democratic caucus as rising stars like Angie Craig and A.O.C. come after their party elders.

JOHN OURAND

In a special live recording of The Varsity at the University of Massachusetts, former CBS Sports chairman and president Sean McManus sits down with John for a candid conversation about the ins and outs of sports media and his decades-long run as a media exec. The duo dive into how Sean got introduced to the biz, his crusade to bring the NFL back to CBS, why networks without the NFL can’t thrive, the ascension of women’s sports, and much, much more.

MATTHEW BELLONI

Matt is joined by LightShed Media analyst Rich Greenfield to talk about SpinCo, Comcast’s new spinoff company of cable and digital networks, and look at potential ramifications. They also discuss the implications this has for other media companies like Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount, and Disney, then get into the coming game of musical chairs in the TV network business.