If you’re frustrated that you couldn’t watch Duke football upset Clemson this weekend, just imagine how Daniil Medvedev feels: The US Open participant can’t watch any of the US Open.

Following a contract disagreement between Charter Communications and Disney, all Disney-owned TV channels went dark on Charter’s Spectrum cable service just before Labor Day weekend, resulting in a tennis-less and football-less long weekend for Charter’s 15 million cable subscribers. That includes Medvedev, who complained he hasn’t been able to scope out rivals in his New York hotel room.

Now, two of the biggest forces behind America’s binge-watching addiction are at an impasse over how streaming and TV can coexist.

• Charter wants to include Disney’s streaming services (Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu) for free in its cable packages. Disney refused.
• Disney asked for higher licensing fees, but Charter won’t agree to that unless it gets concessions, like an option to remove sports channels from more packages.

The future of TV hangs in the balance

While channel blackouts have happened in the past, this dispute isn’t a matter of calling up Chris Voss. On a call with investors, Charter CEO Christopher Winfrey said, “We’re on the edge of a precipice. We’re either moving forward with a new collaborative video model, or we’re moving on.” As the US’ second-largest cable company, Charter’s threat to abandon the traditional linear TV model is far from empty.

• One analyst commented that “the media and distribution landscape has been building up to this moment for many years.”
• Disney has been preparing for this, too. Disney CEO Bob Iger has spoken publicly about potentially selling its cable assets (ABC, FX) and taking ESPN direct-to-consumer. It also used the channel blackout as an opportunity to push Hulu+ Live TV.

What happens next? This can really only go one of two ways: Either Charter and Disney come to an agreement, which will force other streaming companies to link up with cable providers, or Charter exits the industry, likely spelling the end of linear TV, according to The Hollywood Reporter. While Spectrum users were fuming about missing the return of college football this weekend, Iger and Winfrey were reportedly in contact and attempting to reach a deal.

Jets fans will hope they shake hands before Aaron Rodgers makes his team debut on Monday night.—CC

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The FTC readies its Amazon lawsuit. Regulators are aiming to sue Amazon over antitrust violations later this month, per the WSJ, which would mark the culmination of a yearslong investigation into the corporate giant. The FTC is expected to go after several of Amazon’s business units for illegally stifling competition and ultimately require the company to break itself up. The lawsuit will represent a make-or-break moment for FTC Chair Lina Khan, who rose to prominence by attacking Amazon’s market power but has suffered a string of antitrust case defeats lately.

Ex-Proud Boys leader gets longest Jan. 6 sentence yet. Enrique Tarrio, the former national chairman of the far-right Proud Boys group, was sentenced to 22 years in prison for his role in orchestrating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. It’s the longest sentence handed down yet in the government’s sprawling probe into the effort to stop the certification of the 2020 presidential election results. Unlike other extremist groups, the Proud Boys have remained intact following the Jan. 6 attack, and have focused their efforts on opposing issues like LGBTQ rights and Covid restrictions.

Two PA school districts close as search for murderer drags on. Kids in two school districts near Philadelphia stayed home from school yesterday while authorities continued their search for a convicted murderer who escaped from prison on Aug. 31. The man, Brazilian national Danelo Cavalcante, was recorded by surveillance cameras twice on Monday night at Longwood Gardens in Chester County, but police have yet to find him after a six-day search. Using cars and helicopters, they’ve been broadcasting a message in Portuguese from his mother urging him to surrender.

We are about to witness a renaissance of Midtown hotel bars. A new law in New York City went into effect yesterday that could erase thousands of the ~38,500 Airbnb listings in the metropolis and possibly offer a blueprint for other cities aiming to limit properties covered in TJ Maxx decor.

The new law, which Airbnb has called a “de facto ban” but failed to stop in court, puts enforcement muscle behind an existing rule that only allows home rentals of fewer than 30 days if the host is also on the premises. The new measure requires hosts to register with the city and threatens platforms like Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com with fines of up to $1,500 per transaction if the listing isn’t registered. Hosts risk up to $5,000 in fines.

• The Office of Special Enforcement in NYC said 3,250 hosts have submitted applications to register with the city as of August 28, but only 257 have been approved so far.

The debate: Critics of the law argue that the city is in the hotel industry’s pocket and it will hurt homeowners trying to make extra cash. But supporters say short-term rentals clogged up limited housing and contributed to record-high rents.

Looking ahead…sure, only 1% of Airbnb’s 2022 revenue came from Big Apple rentals, but the company is concerned other cities could piggyback on NYC’s intense crackdown. San Francisco, Berlin, and other major destinations have already passed softer restrictions.—MM

Starfield, the long-awaited action role-playing game, is launching on Xbox, Windows, and Steam today. Produced by the iconic Elder Scrolls and Fallout creator Bethesda Game Studios, it’s billed as a buffet of cosmic experiences.

• Starfield lets players explore over 1,000 real and fictional planets in what NPR calls “one of the biggest stories ever told.”
• They can complete quests, build outposts, or simply frolic around the universe fighting or hobnobbing with extraterrestrials using 3 million dialogue words.

The gaming industry is eagerly awaiting the reception of Bethesda’s first original release in 25 years. Starfield has such blockbuster potential that Microsoft bought Bethesda for $7.5 billion two years ago to ensure the celestial cacophony was available on its Xbox consoles.

It’s a test flight for Bethesda and Microsoft. With Starfield, Bethesda aims to nail the technical challenge of designing an expansive virtual world that’s realistic, engaging, and not glitchy. Microsoft, meanwhile, is banking on it becoming a megahit to justify its strategy of hoovering up game studios to compete with console rivals Sony and Nintendo. The tech giant is currently convincing regulators to greenlight its $69 billion bid to buy Activision Blizzard.—SK

Stat: Seeing houses wrecked by floods or gutted by wildfires has a major impact on homebuyer psychology. A new survey by Zillow found that 83% of US prospective homebuyers consider climate risks—like flooding, wildfires, extreme temperatures, and hurricanes—when choosing a new home. Gen Z and millennial shoppers are most concerned about climate risks, and they now account for the majority of homebuyers in the US.

Quote: “This is a biohazard issue.”

The pilot of a Delta flight traveling from Atlanta to Barcelona had to turn around the Airbus A350 two hours into the flight because—hope you’ve digested your breakfast already—a passenger “had diarrhea all the way through the plane.” After transferring to another plane in Atlanta, the travelers arrived in Barcelona eight hours behind schedule, while the original plane was wiped down (front to back, obviously) and returned to use.

Read: Listening to Taylor Swift in prison. (The New Yorker)

Listen: How to break out of a rut.

Look: A 3D reconstruction of Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec empire.

Learn: How to manage Productivity Guilt.

Watch: Why Big Candy is buying up all the vet clinics.

Take notes: Don’t miss our free one-hour Excel master class with Miss Excel next week. Register today.

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Word Search: Cady Heron, Ned Shneebly, and Max Fischer star in today’s school movie-themed Word Search. Play it here.

Main Character trivia

To celebrate National Read a Book Day, today’s trivia will test your knowledge of famous characters in literature.

We’ll give you a character, and you have to name the book they’re found in.

1. Lisbeth Salander
2. Arthur Dent
3. Josephine “Jo” March
4. Wife of Bath
5. Offred
6. Long John Silver

1. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
2. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
3. Little Women
4. The Canterbury Tales
5. The Handmaid’s Tale
6. Treasure Island

Oregon football answer

Oregon scored 81 points on Saturday, resulting in the Duck doing 546 pushups. There may be another solution, but we haven’t figured it out yet.

Word of the Day

Today’s Word of the Day is: “diarrhea,” because it’s finally time you learned how to spell it. (Literally no one asked for this.) Submit another Word of the Day here.