trump vs. times : as the fallout from donald trump<u+2019>s lewd 2005 video continues, several new accusations against the gop presidential candidate could add to the damage. the new york times reported wednesday on two women, jessica leeds and rachel crooks, who say that mr. trump touched them inappropriately . mr. trump denied the claims and told the times he would sue the paper if it reported them, according to the story. a lawyer representing mr. trump later wrote an open letter to the times demanding a retraction and apology, calling the article <u+201c>reckless<u+201d> and <u+201c>defamatory,<u+201d> cnn reports. suing could open up mr. trump to a messy discovery process, however. meanwhile, people carried a first-person account from writer natasha stoynoff alleging that mr. trump forcibly kissed her when she was at mar-a-lago to interview the businessman in 2005. and the palm beach post reported on a separate 2003 incident . the trump campaign has denied all the allegations , the washington post reports. hit finder : josh sapan, the ceo of amc networks, arrived for the latest wsj media mix podcast taping with four scripts in his bag. that<u+2019>s because the tv executive, like his competitors, is always on the hunt for the next big hit . mr. sapan<u+2019>s flagship channel amc has made its mark through such programming, from <u+201c>the walking dead<u+201d> to <u+201c>breaking bad.<u+201d> but with a proliferation of original programming and new competitors like netflix tossing out big sums for content, is it getting harder to gain traction with a new show? mr. sapan says it isn<u+2019>t all about the money you<u+2019>re willing to spend. <u+201c>it<u+2019>s probably a greater challenge to identify the right thing and get the right thing, and money doesn<u+2019>t always help,<u+201d> he said. mr. sapan also raised some doubts about industry fears over <u+201c>skinny<u+201d> bundles that offer fewer channels for a cheaper price. only sony and dish have national products in the market (and amc has a deal with both). <u+201c>everyone thinks there<u+2019>s a million skinny bundles that are eroding the world. there are not. they are actually largely complementing it,<u+201d> mr. sapan said. for more, check out the episode and subscribe to the wsj media mix podcast on itunes , google play music , spotify or stitcher. sports play : you might not have heard of oneup sports, but the digital video firm, which has raised $25 million in funding and has 80 employees, wants to become the next big brand for young, rabid sports fans. as cmo today reports, oneup produces video content focusing on local teams in conjunction with beat reporters in those markets and distributes it across a network of more than 2,000 sites like philly.com and boston.com. but the company wants to be more than just a business-to-business sports clip distributor, and has recently launched a consumer-facing website and facebook live series. it also acquired web publisher insider sports for an undisclosed sum. according to oneup chief executive daren trousdell, the company wants to set up <u+201c>the hyperlocal digital sports network and do it in every major market.<u+201d> the sports field is one of the most crowded areas in media. just ask digital sports startup 120 sports, which counts major leagues as backers but has struggled up against behemoths like espn. game on : the online video world has been wondering for some time whether warner bros. would go ahead and acquire machinima, the video network specializing in gaming content in which it has been a major investor. now the information reports that the two are in advanced talks for a deal that would value machinima at under $100 million . that sounds like a nice round number, but it<u+2019>s less attractive when you consider that warner bros. and other potential suitors passed on acquiring the company for $150 million earlier this year, the information noted. warner bros. in june created a new unit to house its digital holdings , like korean soap opera streaming service dramafever, which it acquired earlier this year. the group also managed the machinima holding, and presumably the entire company would fit into that unit should the deal happen. if it does, it would mark the end of a relatively rocky chapter for machinima, which like many youtube networks has struggled as of late . president obama guest edited the latest issue of wired, focusing on new <u+201c>frontiers<u+201d> like artificial intelligence, advanced medicine and sending americans to mars. [ wired ] some analysts had feared brexit<u+2019>s effect on the u.k. advertising market. but a new report from ihs markit revised its forecast to 1.9% advertising growth for 2016, compared to a previous estimate of a 0.2% decline. [ evening standard ] meanwhile, ipg-owned magna global expects 2016 to have the largest increase in u.s. ad spending in six years. the firm updated its ad revenue forecast to $179 billion for 2016, a 6.3% increase. [ ad age ] bleacher report will air three high school football broadcasts on facebook live. the company will have a crew of 20 to 25 people involved in the productions. [ digiday ] bloomberg has a deep dive into how wikileaks has become an unlikely ally to donald trump, as the 10 year-old organization has shaken up the election through the release of hacked emails. [ bloomberg ] the new york times has a handy guide for which streaming services and devices are best for cord-cutters that favor particular types of content, from sports to movies to kids<u+2019> programming. [ nyt ] writers<u+2019> rooms are standard in tv, but now more movie studios are turning to writers<u+2019> rooms to generate new ideas within <u+201c>cinematic universes<u+201d> that have become a staple in hollywood. [ wsj ] abercrombie & fitch is launching a new marketing campaign to convince young shoppers that it is more <u+201c>positive and inclusive<u+201d> than they might have remembered it from high school. [ wsj ] bob dylan has won the nobel prize in literature. [ wsj ] follow us on twitter: @wsjcmo , @digitalshields , @vranicawsj , @jackmarshall , @perlberg , @alexbruell , @srabil , @asharma subscribe to our morning newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox, at http://on.wsj.com/cmotodaysignup . write to steven perlberg at steven.perlberg@wsj.com
cmo today: trump fights media over new groping allegations - wsj
steven perlberg