Category: Entertainment News Feed

 

NEW YORK (AP) — Before he was a star on TV, Al Roker was a huge fan of watching it, especially animated shows.

“I spent a lot of Saturday mornings in front of the TV,” he says. “I was one of those kids who waited with bated breath because going back to school in the fall meant that the fall preview edition of the TV Guide was coming out that had all the listings of all the new cartoons.”

This fall, everyone’s favorite weatherman is getting a kick out of launching his own educational cartoon TV show — “Weather Hunters,” which premieres Monday on PBS Kids.

“This project really is like — not to use a negative term — but almost like a perfect storm, a nexus of everything I love: My family, weather and animation,” Roker says.

What’s the show about?

Roker voices a younger version of himself named Al Hunter, a TV meteorologist who has plenty of dad jokes and wears violet-framed glasses. He’s teamed up with his producer wife, Dot, and their three inquisitive kids.

The first episode is all about wind — what weather vanes do, how an anemometer measures wind speed and how it makes kites, flags and paper airplanes fly. “What exactly is wind, anyway?” asks the middle child. “Well, air is all around us, right?” dad responds. “So when air moves, it becomes wind.”

In the second episode, the family uncovers a solar energy powered van created by Grandpa Wallace that’s a mobile weather station. To make it work, they first need to solve where various puzzle pieces go.

“What’s important is we give kids the tools to investigate and to explore what’s happening in the world around them when it comes to weather,” says Roker. “We’re not telling kids what to believe. We’re telling them what to look for and then come to your conclusions.”

The show comes at a time when The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is trying to shore up the National Weather Service after deep job cuts, and it arrives just as there are new terms to describe weather phenomenon, like bomb cyclone, atmospheric river and polar vortex.

‘Connect with your senses’

Executive producer and showrunner Dete Meserve says the show encourages children to use their senses and science to better understand their world, like knowing that lower temperatures and higher humidity might mean a storm is coming.

“That ability to sort of connect with your senses helps you connect to weather. And then you realize, ‘Hey, it’s something I can do, I’m not dependent on other people to make these observations for me,’” she says. “And that’s, I think, the beginning of any kid being scientifically thinking.”

The series will launch with interactive games on the free PBS Kids Games app, including one in which viewers can become a weather reporter, create an avatar and choose the right outfit for delivering the news outdoors.

In addition to Roker, the voice talent for the series includes Sheryl Lee Ralph, LeVar Burton, and more. Yvette Nicole Brown performs the main title song — which has a nod to Roker’s Senegal roots — and Holly Robinson Peete plays Hunter’s wife.

Roker jokes that he asked his real-life wife, Deborah Roberts, if she wanted to voice his cartoon wife and she politely declined. “She said, ‘It’s OK. I have enough dealing with you in real life. I don’t need to deal with you as a cartoon.’”

A relatable show

Sara DeWitt, senior vice president and general manager for PBS Kids, says the channel is excited to be able to show children something that’s so relatable. After all, who doesn’t interact with weather?

“For young kids, one of the very first conversations you have is, ‘What’s the weather today? Are you going to be able to go outside at recess? Is your soccer game still going to happen? Do you need to wear a coat today?’” she says.

Upcoming episodes will investigate rainbows — how do they form and are the colors always in the same order? — and the phenomenon of pink snow. It will look at how nature can be beautiful, like dew forming on a spider’s web or fog, using 2D and 3D computer art.

“I really wanted to bring to kids the awe — both awe and the awww — of weather, of the things that go on around us, and to be able to use their imagination, use their deductive reasoning, use their curiosity,” says Roker.

While the series targets children aged 5 to 8, Roker hopes older siblings or caregivers can also watch and learn things they didn’t know. “I’m proud of much of what I’ve done in my career, but I could not be prouder of this show.”

He and his team have finished 40 episodes, but Roker still gets a kick out of seeing his likeness on screen. “Al Roker is 71 years old, but Al Hunter will be perpetually in his 40s and that’s the beauty of an animated cartoon. I am forever young as this character.”

 

MILAN (AP) — Giorgio Armani, the iconic Italian designer who turned the concept of understated elegance into a multibillion-dollar fashion empire, died Thursday, his fashion house confirmed. He was 91.

Armani died at home, “peacefully, surrounded by his loved ones,” the fashion house said. “Indefatigable to the end, he worked until his final days, dedicating himself to the company, the collections and the many ongoing and future projects,” the fashion house said in a statement.

Armani, one of the most recognizable names and faces in the global fashion industry, missed Milan Fashion Week in June 2025 for the first time during the previews of Spring-Summer 2026 menswear to recover from an undisclosed condition.

He was planning a major event to celebrate 50 years of his signature Giorgio Armani fashion house during Milan Fashion Week this month.

A public viewing will be held in the Armani Theater where he unveiled his ready-to-wear collections on Saturday and Sunday. The funeral will be held privately, and no details were released.

Condolences and remembrances poured in from political leaders and other Milan fashion designers.

“The world lost a giant today. He made history and will be remembered forever,” said Donatella Versace, whose late brother Gianni Versace was a stylistic rival of Armani in the 1990s.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, who often dressed in Armani’s business attire, remembered the designer for his ”elegance, sobriety and creativity,” and said he was “a symbol of the best Italy.”

Starting with an unlined jacket, a simple pair of pants and an urban palette, Armani put Italian ready-to-wear style on the international fashion map in the late 1970s, creating an instantly recognizable relaxed silhouette that has propelled the fashion house for half a century.

From the executive office to the Hollywood screen, Armani dressed the rich and famous in classic tailored styles, fashioned in super-soft fabrics and muted tones. His handsome black tie outfits and glittering evening gowns often stole the show on award season red carpets.

At the time of his death, Armani had put together an empire worth over $10 billion, which along with clothing included accessories, home furnishings, perfumes, cosmetics, books, flowers and even chocolates, ranking him in the world’s top 200 billionaires, according to Forbes.

The designer also owned several bars, clubs, restaurants and his own basketball team, EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, better known as Olympia Milano. Armani opened more than than 20 restaurants from Milan to Tokyo since 1998, and two hotels, one in Dubai in 2009 and another in Milan, in 2010.

Armani himself was the foundation of his style

Armani style began with Giorgio Armani himself, from the penetrating blue eyes framed in a permanent tan and early-age shock of silver hair, to the trademark dark trousers and T-shirt work clothes and the minimalist decoration of his private homes.

Armani’s fashion vision was that of easygoing elegance where attention to detail made the difference.

“I design for real people. There is no virtue whatsoever in creating clothes and accessories that are not practical,” he liked to say when asked to identify his clientele.

In conversation, the designer’s disarming smile and exquisitely mild manners belied the tough businessman underneath, who was able to turn creative talent into a fashion empire worth over $10 billion. Never a merger nor a sale, Re Giorgio (King George) as the Italians call him, was always his own boss.

Born July 11, 1934, in Piacenza, a small town south of Milan, Armani dreamed of becoming a doctor before a part-time job as a window decorator in a Milan department store opened his eyes to the world of fashion.

In 1975, Armani and his partner Sergio Galeotti sold their Volkswagen for $10,000 to start up their own menswear ready-to-wear label. Womenswear followed a year later.

The symbol of his new style was the liningless sports jacket, which was launched in the late 1970s and became an instant success from Hollywood to Wall Street. The designer paired the jacket with a simple t-shirt, an item of clothing he termed “the alpha and omega of the fashion alphabet.”

The Armani suit soon became a must in the closet of the well-heeled man. And for women, the introduction of the pantsuit in the executive workroom was all but revolutionary. Dubbed the “power suit” with its shoulder-padded jacket and man-tailored trousers, it became the trademark of the rising class of businesswomen in the 1980s.

Over the years Armani would soften the look with delicate detailing, luxurious fabrics and brighter shades for his basic beige and gray palette. His insistence on pants and jackets led some critics to label his fashion “androgynous.”

Armani hits Hollywood

The 1980 film classic “American Gigolo” launched both Armani and actor Richard Gere on their Hollywood careers. Dressed in Armani, Gere became America’s new favorite heartthrob, and “Geeorgeeo” as they called him, the glam set’s most popular designer.

The Hollywood connection earned him wardrobe film credits in over 200 films, and in 2003 a place on Rodeo Drive’s “Walk of Style.”

Oscar night always sparkled, with smart suiting for the men and glittering gowns for the ladies. The 2009 best actor winner Sean Penn picked up his statue in a black-on-black Armani outfit, while best actress nominee Anne Hathaway walked the red carpet in a shimmering white strapless evening gown from Armani’s latest Prive couture collection.

Other longtime devotees included Jodie Foster, George Clooney, Sophia Loren and Brad Pitt. David and Victoria Beckham were the “face” of his 2009 underwear ad campaign.

So significant was the impact of Armani style, not only on how people dressed but how they approached fashion, that in 2000 New York’s Guggenheim museum presented a retrospective of Armani’s first 25 years in fashion.

“I love things that age well, things that don’t date and become living examples of the absolute best,” Armani said of his efforts.

Armani has gone well beyond fashion

Armani, who maintained a firm grip on his empire and collections until the end, had been reluctant to discuss succession, but had announced a foundation as a succession tool to avoid his businesses being split up. A rarity in the Italian fashion world, he never sold even a part of his company to an outsider.

He also indicated the creative succession would go to long-time collaborator Leo Dell’Orco and his niece Silvana Armani, who have headed the menswear and womenswear collections, respectively, for all Armani collections: Giorgio Armani, Emporio Armani and Armani Exchange.

Today, the Armani empire has an army of more than 9,000 employees, who considered themselves part of a family, with women comprising half of the executive suite, along with seven industrial hubs and over 600 stores worldwide, according to figures released in 2023. Along with clothes and accessories, the company produces perfumes, cosmetics and home furnishings, as well as selling its own candy, flowers and even books. The designer opened his fifth multi-brand store on New York’s fashionable Fifth Avenue in February 2009.

In the realm of fashion hobbies, Armani owned several bars, restaurants and clubs, as well as the basketball team. Recreation time was spent in getaways in Broni in the countryside near Milan, the isle of Pantelleria off Sicily and St. Tropez on the French Riviera. Each home bore the trademark of Armani design: bare walls, important pieces, few knickknacks.

Like many of his colleagues, Armani tried to give back some of the fame and fortune he amassed during the heyday of the “moda Milanese” which put Italian ready-to-wear at the center of the world’s fashion map at the turn of the millennium. Personally involved in several charity organizations devoted to children and a staunch supporter of the battle against AIDS, in 2002 Armani was named a U.N. goodwill ambassador for refugees.

Galeotti died in 1985. Armani had no children but was very close to his niece Roberta. She abandoned a budding film career to become his director of public relations, and often represented her uncle, who wasn’t much of a partygoer, at social events. More recently, she has been was a key go-between with the celebrity world as head of VIP relations.

In 2006, she orchestrated the top-billed wedding of actors Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes in a medieval castle outside Rome, while Uncle Giorgio designed the attire for both bride and groom.

Armani is survived by his sister Rosanna and her son Andrea Camerana; and nieces Silvana and Roberta, the daughters of his late brother Sergio.

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Daniela Petroff, who covered Milan fashion for the Associated Press for more than three decades, retired in 2017.

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s engagement following a two-year romance was swiftly praised by stars from the entertainment and sports worlds, British royalty and even the U.S. president.

“Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married,” the couple announced in an Instagram post Tuesday.

The couple took the spotlight after Kelce, a star tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs and Super Bowl champion, made a public appeal on his podcast, New Heights, two years ago, expressing a desire to meet the superstar singer. Their whirlwind romance soon began, with the pair regularly photographed at football games and Swift’s recent Eras tour.

The engagement post has amassed over 14 million likes in just a couple hours, liked by scores of public figures, including the Prince and Princess of Wales, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, “Glee” star Lea Michele, and actors Nikki Glaser and Molly Shannon. Jenny Han, the author behind “The Summer I turned Pretty,” which notably relies on Swift’s music throughout the Amazon Prime show, also liked the post.

Other celebrities, like Sabrina Carpenter, Cara Delevingne and Swift’s longtime friend Abigail Anderson, have reposted the announcement on their Instagram stories.

Here are some celebrity reactions to the couple’s engagement.

Brittany Mahomes

“Two of the most genuine people meet & fall in love. Just so happy for these two.” — on Instagram. Her husband, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, reposted Kelce and Swift’s announcement.

Donald Trump

“I wish them a lot of luck. I think he’s a great player, and he’s a great guy, and I think she’s a terrific person,” Trump said when informed of the engagement during a multi-hour cabinet meeting. The president has at times been critical of Swift.

Iga Swiatek

“Obviously she had a lot of boyfriends, so we know all about that. So hopefully this one will, you know, stick forever. Travis seems like a great guy. She seems super happy, so I’m happy for her,” said Swiatek, a Swift fan, who commented right after winning her match Tuesday at the U.S Open.

New Heights podcast

“NEW NEWS!!!!! Congrats to @tkelce and @taylorswift13” — on X.

Michael Danna

“Great for them. You know, that’s a blessing, I mean, anytime you find that type of joy, happiness and love, I think that’s a beautiful thing…I’m so happy for them, Trav, Taylor. That’s a wonderful time in life, wonderful part of their joint journey,” Chiefs defensive end Michael Danna said during a talk with reporters.

He added that he’ll “think of a good little engagement gift. Maybe some Poptarts back to her. It won’t be homemade.”

National Football League

“Congratulations to Travis and Taylor” — on X.

Florida Panthers

“looks like we’re not the only ones getting a ring this year” — on X.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — It’s a love story and, baby, she said yes: Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are engaged, they announced Tuesday.

In a five-photo joint post on Instagram, the superstar singer and football player revealed their engagement, the fairytale culmination of a courtship that for two years has thrilled and fascinated millions around the world, but especially Swifties, the pop star’s enormous and ardent fan base.

“Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married,” the caption read, accompanied by an emoji of a dynamite stick.

Kelce was a famous football player when they met — a star tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs and a Super Bowl champion — but Swift’s unique level of fame catapulted him into a different orbit entirely. Their relationship was documented in countless shots of Swift celebrating at Chiefs games and fan videos of Kelce dancing along at Swift’s Eras concert tour as it traveled the globe.

There were those who speculated, with no evidence, that the relationship was not genuine but a cynical ploy for more fame, while some even theorized it was a plot to influence the U.S. elections. In the end, those voices were quieted by a happy couple who simply looked in love — now with an engagement ring rivaling the size of Kelce’s three Super Bowl rings.

It’s unclear when and where the two, both 35, got engaged. Representatives for Swift and Kelce did not immediately respond to The Associated Press’ request for comment on that detail, though Swift publicist Tree Paine confirmed the engagement ring was an old mine brilliant-cut diamond from Kindred Lubeck. Scarcely over an hour later, Kelce was stretching for practice in Kansas City, Missouri.

The Chiefs do not anticipate making Kelce available until next week in Brazil, where they open the season against the Chargers in Sao Paulo.

Throwing fans into frenzies since 2023

It’s been just two weeks since Swift — and Kelce — last ignited a media frenzy, with the announcement of her new album, “The Life of a Showgirl.” (It comes out Oct. 3.) Kelce and his brother, former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce, assisted Swift with the rollout, hosting her on their typically football-oriented podcast, “New Heights.” During the episode, she likened her career to her now-fiance’s, saying their jobs were “to entertain people for three hours in NFL stadiums.”

When Jason Kelce asked his brother and Swift, sitting side-by-side, how they handled the discourse around their relationship, Swift said they just didn’t.

“We don’t, really. I don’t see a lot of things,” she said. “My name can be in the actual headline, and it’s none of my business.”

The pair started dating during Swift’s landmark Eras tour — though Kelce was thwarted in his first attempt to meet Swift at her concert at Arrowhead Stadium. But by September, Swift was back at the Kansas City stadium, cheering on Kelce next to his mother. Less than two months later, she was changing lyrics onstage: “Karma is the guy on the Chiefs, coming straight home to me,” she sang in Argentina as Kelce beamed from the audience.

It’s the first engagement for both Kelce — who once had his own reality dating show, “Catching Kelce” — and Swift, whose past relationships with high-profile celebrities including Joe Alwyn, Jake Gyllenhaal and Harry Styles, have been inspiration for her music.

Congratulations pour in

The news broke in the middle of the Kansas City Chiefs’ media availability, though after head coach Andy Reid had departed. That left Chiefs defensive end Mike Danna to field questions about his teammate’s engagement.

“Man, it’s incredible. I was caught off guard but you know, great for them,” Danna said, a few minutes after the news raced across social media. “That’s a blessing. Any time you find that type of joy, blessing, love — that’s a beautiful thing.”

Like many of the Chiefs, Danna has spent time with Swift and Kelce at a New Year’s party and after most of their home games.

“I’ll think of a good little engagement gift,” Danna said. “Maybe some Pop-Tarts back to her. It won’t be homemade.”

The NFL, which has gained untold numbers of fans since the relationship became public, posted the news on X with their congratulations — then quickly deleted it and reposted it when they realized they tagged the wrong Swift account.

“Two of the most genuine people meet & fall in love. Just so happy for these two,” Brittany Mahomes, the wife of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, said on Instagram. Brittany Mahomes and Swift have frequently shared a suite for games at Arrowhead Stadium. Meanwhile the Cleveland Guardians, the baseball team Kelce grew up rooting for, joked online: “Thanks a lot, Taylor Swift. Now no one cares that next year’s schedule is out.”

Kelce and Swift’s relationship featured prominently in the just-released six-part ESPN documentary “The Kingdom,” which chronicles the franchise’s ultimately foiled pursuit of an unprecedented third consecutive Super Bowl title last season. Kelce was joined by his parents, Donna and Ed Kelce, on the red carpet last Sunday for the premiere at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City.

“She’s very good for him. I don’t hesitate in saying that,” Ed Kelce said of his future daughter-in-law. “They are two people that truly deserve each other.”

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Noveck reported from New York. AP Music Writer Maria Sherman and journalist Mallika Sen contributed reporting from New York.

NEW YORK (AP) — Look what you made her do — Taylor Swift has announced her 12th studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl.”

It will arrive October 3, she revealed Wednesday. Swift, Max Martin and Shellback are the credited producers, which includes a notable absence of her longtime collaborator Jack Antonoff. The final track, “The Life of a Showgirl,” will feature Sabrina Carpenter. A full tracklist is below.

Swift announced the album on her website shortly after a countdown timer expired at 12:12 a.m. Tuesday. No release date was announced, but her site said vinyl editions of the album would ship before Oct. 13.

Fans have long theorized that Swift’s 12th album would soon arrive. On Monday, Taylor Nation — an official branch of the pop superstar’s marketing team — posted a TikTok slideshow of 12 images with the caption “Thinking about when she said ‘See you next era…’” Swift is seen wearing orange in every image.

She also revealed the album artwork, which features the singer submerged in water and continues her color scheme of orange and mint green.

A special limited vinyl edition of the album will be released in “Portofino orange glitter,” according to a preorder page on her site. A special cassette edition is also available for preorder.

Sensing a pattern, eagle-eyed fans noticed that 12 minutes before Monday’s Taylor Nation post, the popular “New Heights” podcast posted a tease for Wednesday. The show, hosted by Swift’s boyfriend and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce alongside his brother, former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce, posted an orange image on social media with a mysterious silhouette that many believed to be Swift.

The podcast later announced that Swift would indeed appear on “New Heights” and a teaser video posted about her appearance showed her pulling the album from a briefcase.

Here’s the full tracklist:

“The Life of a Showgirl”

1. The Fate of Ophelia

2. Elizabeth Taylor

3. Opalite

4. Father Figure

5. Eldest Daughter

6. Ruin the Friendship

7. Actually Romantic

8. Wi$h Li$t

9. Wood

10. Cancelled!

11. Honey

12. The Life of a Showgirl (featuring Sabrina Carpenter)

How to watch Taylor Swift on the ‘New Heights’ podcast

Swift’s episode of the “New Heights” podcast premiered at 7 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday. It is available to stream in full on YouTube. Fans who’d prefer to listen to the show, instead, can do so via most podcast streaming platforms: Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Audible, Spotify and Wondery.

The road to ‘The Life of a Showgirl’

“The Life of a Showgirl” follows last year’s “The Tortured Poets Department,” announced during the 2024 Grammys and released during her record-breaking tour, which raked in over $2.2 billion across two years and five continents, making it the highest-grossing tour of all time.

The album is also Swift’s first release since she regained control over her entire body of work. In May, the pop star said she purchased her catalog of recordings — originally released through Big Machine Records — from their most recent owner, the private equity firm Shamrock Capital. She did not disclose the amount paid.

In recent years, Swift had been re-recording and releasing her first six albums in an attempt to regain control of her music. The project was instigated by music executive Scooter Braun’s purchase and sale of her early catalog. Previous “Taylor’s Version” releases have been more than conventional re-recordings, arriving with new “from the vault” music, Easter eggs and visuals that deepen understanding of her work.

So far, there have been four re-recorded albums, beginning with “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” and “Red (Taylor’s Version)” in 2021. All four have been massive commercial and cultural successes, each debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

Swift’s last re-recording, “1989 (Taylor’s Version),” arrived in October 2023, just four months after the release of “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version).” That was the same year Swift claimed the record for the woman with the most No. 1 albums in history.

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The story has been updated to correct that Scooter Braun is no longer CEO of Hybe America, He serves on its board of directors and as a senior adviser.

ESPN’s much-discussed streaming service finally has its launch date.

The network announced Wednesday that its direct-to-consumer service and enhanced app will debut Aug. 21. The announcement coincided with Disney’s quarterly earning report.

This week’s expanded deals with the NFL and a new partnership with WWE provides ESPN with more inventory and offerings, which it hopes will bolster the company in a landscape that is divided among cable, satellite and streaming.

Will the ESPN service result in more subscribers?

According to Nielsen, streaming usage surpassed broadcast and cable combined in U.S. television usage for the first time. Streaming was at 44.8% compared to linear’s 44.2%. When Nielsen started keeping track in May 2021 linear was at 64% compared to streaming’s 26%.

The ESPN DTC will start out with around 25 million subscribers as those currently getting ESPN+ will migrate to the new platform. Many of those though are cable and satellite subscribers who get the service through deals with their provider. ESPN is hoping that more cord cutters will pay up to $29.95 per month since it will offer all the ESPN networks — ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SECN, ACCN, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes, ESPN on ABC, ESPN+, ESPN3, SECN+ and ACCNX — as well as being able to bundle NFL Network and NFL RedZone through a deal with NFL+ Premium.

Trying to determine how many of the DTC service subscribers are cord cutters will be more difficult though. Disney announced during its earnings call Wednesday that it will stop releasing ESPN streaming subscriber metrics beginning next quarter.

ESPN was in nearly 100 million households in 2013. Over the past 12 years due to cord cutting and streaming, that number has dropped to 60 million. Over the next two years, that is expected to decrease to fewer than 50 million.

What do the NFL and WWE deals mean for ESPN’s market footprint?

Live sports remains valuable property, but the NFL is the beachfront house.

For taking over NFL Network, which had also been steadily losing subscribers, ESPN gets three additional NFL games along with another outlet to air Monday night games when there are more than one, as well as the ability for its app users to get specialty highlights of their favorite players or teams. There will also be ways to access stats, betting and fantasy sports info on the app while watching games.

The WWE premium live events (they’re no longer called pay-per-views) also makes sense when ESPN takes over from Peacock next year. After all, the E in ESPN stands for entertainment. As Netflix chief content officer Bela Bajaria pointed out when it started carrying “Monday Night Raw” earlier this year, the WWE has a multigenerational and loyal fan base that will flock to whoever carries the events.

The WWE deal applies only to the U.S. though. Netflix has the rights for overseas.

Can all of this turn around ESPN’s financial outlook?

It does carry some risks. ESPN had $4.3 billion in revenue last quarter, an increase of 1% from last year, but the operating profit decreased 7% to $1 billion due to increased rights fees.

It is paying the NFL an average of $2.7 billion per year while the NBA 11-year deal that begins this upcoming season averages $2.6 billion per year. The five-year WWE deal will average $325 million per year.

This also comes at a time when the network opted out of its $550 million contract with Major League Baseball beginning next year and appears to be out of the running for Formula One rights. ESPN pays $75 million to $90 million per year under its three-year deal, but Liberty Media, which owns F1, is seeking at least $120 million for the next contract, which begins in 2026.

ESPN needs more than cable and satellite subscriber affiliate fees, which is also why it is launching a DTC product to gain more revenue. The past two years, it was been involved in prolonged negotiations with DirecTV and Spectrum before reaching deals.

How can viewers get the ESPN streaming service?

If cable and satellite subscribers already get ESPN+, they will automatically migrate to the new service. For cord cutters, there is an offer where they can get the ESPN unlimited plan with Disney+ and Hulu for $29.99/month for the first 12 months.

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

NEW YORK (AP) — Hank Hill is back and he’s the same ol’ Hank Hill, but a lot of things around him have changed.

The lovable animated hero of “King of the Hill” has returned from a 15-year lull and he isn’t sure what boba tea is, how ridesharing works and is confused by all-gender bathrooms. “What kind of food is poke?” he asks his wife, Peggy.

Hank and Peggy have returned to their hometown of Arlen, Texas — and our TV sets — but a lot has happened over the years and they’re stepping into a world they don’t always recognize.

“Hank, have things changed here more than we thought?” Peggy asks, worried, in the first new episode. “Did we make a mistake coming back?”

Hulu is definitely hoping not, reuniting many of the same writers and voice cast who turned the propane-loving, beer-sipping Hill into one of TV’s few blue-collar icons. The first 10 episodes hit Hulu on Monday.

A new ‘King of the Hill’ leader

Saladin K. Patterson, the executive producer and showrunner for the new season 14, hopes the original fans will return to see how Hill copes in the modern day.

“That’s always key because you want that core fan base to validate what you’ve done because they’re like the gatekeepers in a way,” he says. “So when they sign off and say, ‘OK, they didn’t mess it up, it’s still the same special show,’ I think other people who may be unfamiliar with it, or even on the fence, feel like, ‘OK, well, now we want to like it.’”

Viewers will learn that Hank and Peggy have been in Saudi Arabia all this time, where he served as “assistant manager in charge of Arabian propane and Arabian propane accessories.” Their son Bobby, now 21, is the chef of a “down home, German-Asian fusion” restaurant. (Sample dish: Grilled mackerel with a side of mustard pretzel.)

Hank and Peggy have retired and he happily rejoins his line of friends drinking cans of beer in an alley. Boomhauer gives him a hug and Dale has grown even more paranoid, becoming “an election-denier-denier.”

Bill has let himself go, staying indoors and living off Amazon deliveries. “I finished Netflix, Hank. Did you know that when you get to the end of Netflix, you get something called ‘a wellness check?’” Viewers in the second episode hear Tom Petty’s “Runnin’ Down a Dream,” a nice nod to the late rocker’s embrace of the show when it first appeared.

“The writers have found that balance between the vintage ‘King of the Hill’ that we adore and the new — and letting them coexist,” says Pamela Adlon, who voices Bobby.

Same gentle tone

Creators Mike Judge, the mastermind behind “Beavis and Butt-Head,” and Greg Daniels, who would go on to co-create “The Office,” helped Patterson navigate this world, which they sheparded during its first 13 seasons, airing from 1997 to 2009.

The show’s tone maintains its gentle mocking of modern life, from hipsters and their craft ales to bike lanes. Hill at one point shakes his head over modern outdoor grills having sensors and app connections: “I shouldn’t have to call technical support to make a burger.”

Patterson says the humor is grounded in real life. “I do have a barbecue grill that is Wi-Fi- and Bluetooth-enabled. I have three devices to run it, but I’m calling tech support because I have guests coming over and the meat needs to be done,” he says. “And I do think over the pandemic, my wife finished Netflix.”

While there are changes, some things are immutable. “Hank’s still going to drink beer. Dale’s still going to be a conspiracy theorist. Bill’s still going to be a lovable sad sack,” says Patterson. “Those core character things had to be the same. I had a pastor who told me one time, ‘Grown folks don’t change.’”

Viewers will see in upcoming episodes if Hank — a happy propane seller and garage tinkerer — can really ever retire and watch as Hank’s friends navigate new chapters. They’ll also explore the relationship between an adult Bobby and his parents.

“He’s of age now and it’s really kind of cool because you see the similarities and all the attributes that he took from his parents that he wasn’t even aware of when he was a boy — or didn’t want to have anything to do with — and now he’s using them to keep his business going and move himself forward,” says Adlon.

A politics-free zone

While debates have raged over where Hank Hill sits on the political spectrum, his creators argue he represents a sensible, common-sense middle. He follows the rules and does the best he can without hurting anyone.

“It’s so not a Republican or a Democratic show or an independent show. It’s all of that,” says Adlon. “There’s space in the world for everybody. It’s hard for us all to find a safe space in a common area anymore and that’s what this show really is.”

And even though the new “King of the Hill” episodes arrive during President Donald Trump’s second term, don’t expect any politics from Hank Hill.

“We want to tell relatable stories where people can see themselves in our characters or their family members in our characters,” says Patterson.

“There are enough cultural things and relationship things that have shifted to where he can comment on that without us wading into tariffs and immigration policy and stuff like that.”

LONDON (AP) — British writer Allan Ahlberg, author of more than 150 children’s books including classics like “Each Peach Pear Plum” and “The Jolly Postman,” has died, his publisher said Friday. He was 87.

Penguin Random House said Ahlberg died on Tuesday. It did not give a cause of death.

Ahlberg’s books introduced generations of young children to reading through simple rhymes, sharp observation and gentle humor. Many were co-created with his illustrator wife Janet Ahlberg, who died in 1994.

“Peepo!” (1981) gave a baby’s-eye-view of the world and was interactive in a delightfully analogue way, with peep-holes in the pages to spy the next scenes.

“The Jolly Postman” (1986) was even more inventive, incorporating postcards and letters in envelopes for children to engage with while they followed a letter-carrier delivering mail to fairy tale characters. Penguin Random House said it “pushed at the boundaries of what it is possible for a book to be.”

Ahlberg also wrote books of jokes, including “The Ha Ha Bonk Book,” and poetry for primary school-age children, including “Please Mrs. Butler” and “Heard it in the Playground.”

Born in 1938 and raised by adoptive parents in a working-class home in OIdbury, central England, Ahlberg worked as a “postman, plumber’s mate and grave digger,” according to his publisher, before becoming a teacher. He met Janet at teacher training college and the couple’s first book, “Here are the Brick Street Boys,” was published in 1975.

Then came ”’Burglar Bill” in 1977, about a burglar who steals a baby, and “Each Peach Pear Plum” in 1978, with its pages of intricately drawn nursery-rhyme characters. It won Janet the Kate Greenaway Medal for illustration, one of the most prestigious awards in children’s publishing. “The Jolly Christmas Postman” won the same prize in 1991.

“Just because a book is tiny and its readers are little doesn’t mean it can’t be perfect,” Ahlberg told The Guardian in 2006. “On its own scale, it can be as good as Tolstoy or Jane Austen.”

The couple’s work brought huge commercial success. “The Jolly Postman” has sold more than 6 million copies. The “Funnybones” series about a playful skeleton household was adapted for television.

After Janet died of cancer aged just 50, Ahlberg worked with illustrators including Raymond Briggs and his daughter, Jessica Ahlberg.

For adults, he wrote a tribute to his wife, “Janet’s Last Book,” and autobiographical volumes “The Boyhood of Burglar Bill” and “The Bucket.”

In 2014, he turned down a lifetime achievement award from the BookTrust charity because it was sponsored by Amazon, which was facing criticism over its tax arrangements.

Francesca Dow, head of children’s literature at Penguin Random House, said Ahlberg’s books have been described as “mini masterpieces.”

“He knew that making it perfect for children matters, and above all that the very best stories for children last forever,” Dow said. “Allan’s are some of the very best – true classics, which will be loved by children and families for years to come.”

Ahlberg is survived by his second wife, Vanessa Clarke, his daughter and two stepdaughters.

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An earlier version of this story gave an incorrect title for “Each Peach Pear Plum”

BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — The “home of metal” is honoring one of its most cherished sons.

Thousands of Black Sabbath fans were paying their respects Wednesday to frontman Ozzy Osbourne as his hearse made its way through the streets of Birmingham, the English city where he grew up and where the band was formed in 1968.

The hearse carrying Osbourne, who died last Tuesday at the age of 76, was making its way down Broad Street, the city’s major thoroughfare, to the Black Sabbath bench, which was unveiled on the Broad Street canal bridge in 2019.

“Ozzy, Ozzy, Ozzy, oi, oi, oi,” fans screamed as the hearse arrived.

Six vehicles carrying the Osbourne family, who paid for the procession, followed. The family emerged briefly, with his wife of 43 years Sharon visibly moved.

Long-time fan Antony Hunt said it has been an “emotional” day and that he wanted to be in the city to pay his respects.

“What’s amazing is there’s so many, such a wide variety of age groups, from little, little children, teenagers to people in their 60s, 70s, so it’s great to see that,” he said.

Since Osbourne’s death was announced, fans have made pilgrimages to sites around Birmingham, which has embraced its reputation as the birthplace of heavy metal. Among his peers, the singer was metal’s godfather.

“Ozzy was more than a music legend — he was a son of Birmingham,” said city official Zafar Iqbal. “We know how much this moment will mean to his fans.”

Osbourne and his Black Sabbath bandmates, Terence Butler, Tony Iommi and Bill Ward, were recently awarded the Freedom of the City in recognition of their services to Birmingham.

Black Sabbath’s story began in Birmingham in 1968 when the four original members were looking to escape a life of factory work. Without doubt, the sound and fury of heavy metal had its roots in the city’s manufacturing heritage. Osbourne never forgot his working-class roots, and his Brummie accent remained.

Black Sabbath has been widely credited with defining and popularizing the sound of heavy metal — aggressive, but full of melodies.

Osbourne was the band’s frontman during its peak period in the 1970s.

His antics, on and off stage, were legendary, and often fueled by drink and drugs. He was widely known as the “Prince of Darkness.”

The band’s eponymous debut album in 1970 made the U.K. top 10 and paved the way for a string of hit albums, including 1971’s “Master of Reality” and “Vol. 4” a year later. It went on to become one of the most influential and successful metal bands of all time, selling more than 75 million albums worldwide.

At the final show on July 5, 42,000 fans watched the band perform for the first time in 20 years at Villa Park, home of the city’s biggest soccer club, Aston Villa, with Osbourne seated on a black throne. Osbourne had been in poor health in recent years, especially after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2019.

Osbourne, who also had a successful solo career, found a new legion of fans in the early 2000s reality show “The Osbournes” in which he starred alongside Sharon and two youngest children, Kelly and Jack.

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Pylas contributed from London.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Fans of the Grateful Dead are pouring into San Francisco for three days of concerts and festivities marking the 60th anniversary of the scruffy jam band that came to embody a city where people wore flowers in their hair and made love, not war.

Dead & Company, featuring original Grateful Dead members Bob Weir and Mickey Hart, will play Golden Gate Park’s Polo Field starting Friday with an estimated 60,000 attendees each day. The last time the band played that part of the park was in 1991 — a free show following the death of concert promoter and longtime Deadhead Bill Graham.

Certainly, times have changed.

A general admissions ticket for all three days is $635 — a shock for many longtime fans who remember when a joint cost more than a Dead concert ticket.

But Deadhead David Aberdeen is thrilled anyway.

“This is the spiritual home of the Grateful Dead,” said Aberdeen, who works at Amoeba Music in the bohemian, flower-powered Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. “It seems very right to me that they celebrate it in this way.”

Formed in 1965, the Grateful Dead is synonymous with San Francisco and its counterculture. Members lived in a dirt-cheap Victorian in the Haight and later became a significant part of 1967’s Summer of Love.

That summer eventually soured into bad acid trips and police raids, and prompted the band’s move to Marin County on the other end of the Golden Gate Bridge. But new Deadheads kept cropping up — even after iconic guitarist and singer Jerry Garcia ’s 1995 death — aided by cover bands and offshoots like Dead & Company.

“There are 18-year-olds who were obviously not even a twinkle in somebody’s eyes when Jerry died, and these 18-year-olds get the values of Deadheads,” said former Grateful Dead publicist and author Dennis McNally.

Fitting in, feeling at home

Deadheads can reel off why and how, and the moment they fell in love with the music. Fans love that no two shows are the same; the band plays different songs each time. They also embrace the community that comes with a Dead show.

Sunshine Powers didn’t have friends until age 13, when she stepped off a city bus and into the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood.

“I, all of a sudden, felt like I fit in. Or like I didn’t have to fit in,” says Powers, now 45 and the owner of tie-dye emporium Love on Haight. “I don’t know which one it was, but I know it was like, OK.”

Similarly, her friend Taylor Swope, 47, survived a tough freshman year at a new school with the help of a Grateful Dead mixtape. The owner of the Little Hippie gift shop is driving from Brooklyn, New York, to sell merchandise, reconnect with friends and see the shows.

“The sense of, ‘I found my people, I didn’t fit in anywhere else and then I found this, and I felt at home.’ So that’s a big part of it,” she said of the allure.

Magical live shows

Sometimes, becoming a Deadhead is a process.

Thor Cromer, 60, had attended several Dead shows, but was ambivalent about the hippies. That changed on March 15, 1990, in Landover, Maryland.

“That show, whatever it was, whatever magic hit,” he said, “it was injected right into my brain.”

Cromer, who worked for the U.S. Senate then, eventually took time off to follow the band on tour and saw an estimated 400 shows from spring 1990 until Garcia’s death.

Cromer now works in technology and is flying in from Boston to join scores of fellow “rail riders” who dance in the rows closest to the stage.

Aberdeen, 62, saw his first Dead show in 1984. As the only person in his college group with a driver’s license, he was tapped to drive a crowded VW Bug from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, to Syracuse, New York.

“I thought it was pretty weird,” he said. “But I liked it.”

He fell in love the following summer, when the Dead played a venue near his college.

Aberdeen remembers rain pouring down in the middle of the show and a giant rainbow appearing over the band when they returned for their second act. They played “Comes a Time,” a rarely played Garcia ballad.

“There is a lot of excitement, and there will be a lot of people here,” Aberdeen said. “Who knows when we’ll have an opportunity to get together like this again?”

Fans were able to see Dead & Company in Las Vegas earlier this year, but no new dates have been announced. Guitarist Bob Weir is 77, and drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann are 81 and 79, respectively. Besides Garcia, founding members Ron “Pigpen” McKernan on keyboards died in 1973 and bassist Phil Lesh died last year at age 84.

Multiple events planned for Dead’s 60th

Mayor Daniel Lurie, who is not a Deadhead but counts “Sugar Magnolia” as his favorite Dead song, is overjoyed at the economic boost as San Francisco recovers from pandemic-related hits to its tech and tourism sectors.

“They are the reason why so many people know and love San Francisco,” he said.

The weekend features parties, shows and celebrations throughout the city. Grahame Lesh & Friends will perform three nights starting Thursday. Lesh is the son of Phil Lesh.

On Friday, which would have been Garcia’s 83rd birthday, officials will rename a street after the San Francisco native. On Saturday, visitors can celebrate the city’s annual Jerry Day at the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater located in a park near Garcia’s childhood home.