Sora Is Dead: What Does That Mean for Disney? Plus, ‘The Bachelorette’ Scandal.

The Town with Matthew Belloni

The Ringer

Society & Culture

4.3 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 25 March 2026

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Matt is joined by Alex Heath from the Sources newsletter and Access podcast to discuss the end of Disney’s deal with OpenAI after they announced the shutdown of video app Sora. They get into why OpenAI is changing course, AI companies' relationship with Hollywood, and what this means for Disney. They also discuss the massive layoffs at Epic Games and how this move affects Disney's future as a major investor in the video game company (00:00). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about the future of the 'Bachelor' franchise after the Taylor Frankie Paul scandal (22:49). Host: Matt Belloni Guest: Alex Heath Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jon Jones Theme Song: Devon Renaldo The Clyburn family searches for connection in Montana's Madison Valley. The Madison, New Series now streaming - only on Paramount+ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode of The Town is brought to you by The Madison, the new original series on Paramount Plus.
0:10.2	Its Academy Award nominee Taylor Sheridan's most intimate story yet, a New York City family is uprooted to Montana after an unexpected tragedy.
0:18.6	In the quiet majesty of the Madison Valley,
0:22.3	they confront love and loss,
0:25.7	discovering resilience and the transformative power of family,
0:27.3	and the land that grounds them.
0:29.2	Led by a powerhouse cast,
0:31.2	Academy Award nominee Michelle Pfeiffer and Golden Globe nominee Kurt Russell.
0:33.5	Don't miss the Madison,
0:34.9	the highly anticipated new series streaming now,
0:38.7	only on Paramount Plus.
0:42.0	It is Wednesday, March 25th.
0:45.9	Not a great first week for new Disney CEO, Josh Tomorrow.
0:50.0	I'm not just talking about the whole Bachelorette scandal, although we'll get to that in the call sheet.
1:02.2	If you were listening to The Town last fall, you heard me unloading on SORA, the video app from OpenAI, that was pitched as a huge breakthrough in generative AI, but was basically a gigantic copyright infringement machine.
1:09.1	Open AI quickly backtracked and disabled the use of copyrighted characters and likenesses of actors who didn't give permission.
1:14.9	And then in December, Disney announced a broad partnership with Open AI in which 200 characters like Yoda and Homer Simpson would be made available to SORA for use and videos.
1:20.1	Some are controversial that deal, and Disney also agreed to invest a billion dollars in Open
1:24.7	AI.
1:25.6	Cut to yesterday, and Open AI announced it's shutting down store entirely,
1:30.7	prioritizing other more business-focused uses for its AI technology.
1:35.6	Funny videos, even funny videos with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, not as big of a priority now.
	...

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