Mark Cuban to Leave 'Shark Tank,' Eyes Sale of Majority Stake in Mavs
Something is up in Dallas. Mark Cuban‘s tenure on Shark Tank is coming to an end. During a recent appearance on the All the Smoke podcast, the Dallas Mavericks owner confirmed he will depart the show after the 16th season, which is one year from now. “It’s time,” said the 65-year-old about his reason for leaving. Cuban first appeared as a guest in Season 2 of the show and joined full-time for the third season. In the same conversation, Cuban reflected on the show’s impact, saying: “I love it because it sends the message the American dream is alive and well.” However, Cuban really raised eyebrows late Tuesday as reports emerged that he is eyeing a sale of his majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks. Reportedly, Cuban is in talks with the Adelson family, who recently sold $2 billion in stock of the Las Vegas Sands. Marc Stein reports that Cuban will stay on as the franchise’s governor and remain in charge of basketball operations.
Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, The Weeknd Headline 2023 Spotify Wrapped
Spotify dropped its heavily anticipated Wrapped report on Wednesday, and unsurprisingly, 2023 belonged to Taylor Swift. The pop icon tops the list as the most-streamed artist worldwide, with more than 26.1 billion global streams since Jan. 1, followed by Bad Bunny (No. 2), The Weeknd (No. 3), Drake (No. 4), and Peso Pluma (No. 5). As for the most-streamed album worldwide, that title belongs to Bad Bunny for the second year in a row, as Un Verano Sin Ti recorded more than 4.5 billion global streams since Jan. 1, followed by Swift‘s Midnights at No. 2. SZA‘s SOS album takes the third spot, while Starboy by The Weeknd and MAÑANA SERÁ BONITO by Karol G round out the top five. Spotify notes that over 574 million users listened to music, podcasts, audiobooks, and more on its platform this year.
André 3000 Makes Billboard Hot 100 History
André 3000‘s debut solo album, New Blue Sun, opened at No. 34 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, while its opening song, “I Swear, I Really Wanted to Make a ‘Rap’ Album but This Is Literally the Way the Wind Blew Me This Time,” claimed the 90th spot on the Billboard Hot 100. With a runtime of 12 minutes and 20 seconds, Billboard notes that the instrumental tune is officially the longest-running song to enter the top 100. Before that, it was Tool’s 2019 single “Fear Inoculum,” which clocks in at 10:21 in length. As one-half of rap duo OutKast, André 3000 charted 19 Hot 100 hits between 1994 and 2007, including three No. 1 songs.
Kendall Jenner Graces Forbes Cover for ‘30 Under 30’ List
Kendall Jenner has become the third member of the Kardashian/Jenner family to grace the Forbes cover, following sisters Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner, who made it onto the Forbes cover in 2016 and 2018, respectively. The outlet recently dropped its annual 30 Under 30 2024 North America list, and outside of being a supermodel and reality TV star, the 28-year-old is also the founder of 818 Tequila. Named after her hometown’s area code, 818 is projected to sell 160,000 cases this year, with a profit estimation of around $25 million for 2022. Other notable faces to make this year’s list are tennis star Jessica Pegula, Minnesota Timberwolves player Anthony Edwards, and USWNT forward Sophia Smith.
Led by Cowboys-Commanders, NFL Sets New Thanksgiving Day Viewership Record
The NFL set a Thanksgiving Day average viewership record of 34.1 million across all three games last Thursday, the league said in a release. The Dallas Cowboys‘ 45-10 thumping of the Washington Commanders averaged 41.8 million viewers across television and digital, making it the second-most watched Thanksgiving Day game in league history. The Cowboys‘ 28-20 win over the New York Giants last season still ranks as No. 1. The total unduplicated audience across all three games finished at 133 million, making it the second-highest Thanksgiving Day total audience on record behind 2022’s numbers, per the NFL.
Bob Iger Addresses Disney Challenges at Annual Town Hall
The Walt Disney Company held its annual town hall on Tuesday, and while there were no significant new updates, CEO Bob Iger downplayed potential asset sales, which has been a key talking point concerning the company’s future. Instead, the exec noted that Disney is “trying to migrate these businesses onto the new business model.” Iger acknowledged that the company faced its fair share of challenges, also admitting that there were many more of them than he expected. In addition to Iger, Disney employees also heard from his division chiefs: Alan Bergman and Dana Walden (entertainment, including TV, film, and streaming), Jimmy Pitaro (ESPN), and Josh D’Amaro (parks).