Live Nation has settled with the Department of Justice to end federal antitrust claims — but the company is still under the microscope of public court proceedings.

This scrutiny was on full display after a trove of embarrassing Slack messages was unsealed on the court docket on Thursday (March 11). These internal messages were sent in 2022 between Ben Baker and Jeff Weinhold, who at the time were both regional ticketing directors at Live Nation, responsible for the MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre and Jiffy Lube Live amphitheater, respectively.

In the messages, the men boasted about charging high parking fees. At one point, Baker sent a screenshot showing that Live Nation had grossed more than $666,000 on premier parking in 2021 and then wrote, “Robbing them blind baby. That’s how we do.” Weinhold replied, “lol.”

At another point, Baker wrote, “these people are so stupid,” and Weinhold replied, “I have VIP parking up to $250 lol.” Baker then said, “I almost feel bad taking advantage of them. BAHAHAHAHA.”

In a statement shared with Billboard on Wednesday (March 12), Live Nation said, “The Slack exchange from one junior staffer to a friend absolutely doesn’t reflect our values or how we operate.”

“Because this was a private Slack message, leadership learned of this when the public did, and will be looking into the matter promptly,” the statement continued. “Our business only works when fans have great experiences, which is why we’ve capped amphitheater venue fees at 15% and have invested $1 billion in the last 18 months into U.S. venues and fan amenities.”

Baker is currently head of ticketing for Live Nation’s amphitheaters, and Weinhold is senior director of ticketing for Live Nation’s D.C. region. Baker was on the witness list for Live Nation’s antitrust trial, in which the DOJ and dozens of states alleged the company exercised monopoly power in the live music industry by controlling Ticketmaster in addition to venues and promotion services.

Live Nation announced a settlement with the DOJ on Monday (March 9), just as the second week of trial was beginning. The deal would require Live Nation to cap ticketing fees, open Ticketmaster’s back-end technology to rival ticketers, restrict how it leverages exclusive deals with venues and allow rival promoters to book its amphitheaters. Crucially, though, it does not require Live Nation to divest Ticketmaster — the DOJ’s original goal in filing the case two years ago.

Despite the deal, the court fight remains live because many of the state attorneys general who sued alongside the federal government have not signed on to the settlements. These states have brought on pro-antitrust lawyer Jeffrey Kessler and are in active settlement negotiations with Live Nation. If they can’t agree to a resolution, the trial could resume as soon as next week.

Beabadoobee has teamed up with The Marías for the dramatic new song “All I Did Was Dream of You.”

It’s the first piece of original music from the British musician since January 2025. Bea released her last studio LP, the Rick Rubin-produced This is How Tomorrow Moves, in 2024.

The new song features guest vocals from María Zardoya, lead singer of Grammy-nominated group The Marías. The L.A.-based indie group were nominated for best new artist at the 2026 Grammy Awards, but ultimately lost the trophy to Olivia Dean.

Speaking to Dazed, Beabadoobee – real name Bea Kristi – said that Zardoya “sang beautifully” on the track and was “so encouraging.”

She also discussed the theme for the dramatic music video: “I recently watched [Emma Stone-starring 2025 film] Bugonia by Yorgos Lanthimos – my boyfriend and I are f—ing obsessed with Yorgos – and that last scene inspired the video,” she said.

She added, “I made [the video] with my boyfriend and one of his good friends, Lucas, who is from Lithuania. It was −17℃ there – I could have died! I was singing on this frozen lake; it was f—ing crazy but it looks so beautiful. It’s a nice bridge to the next thing I want to release.”

The song is the first release of a new phase in Bea’s career, having signed a new global partnership with longtime label partner Dirty Hit and Interscope. “I literally can’t wait to release something, honestly – I’m f—ing dying,” she told Dazed. 

“Since stepping back from everything, living in real life and seeing friends, I look at my music with way more integrity. Like, if I don’t think a song is perfect, I’m not going to put it out. And I know the discourse: what if a song you don’t like is someone’s favourite, but it needs to matter to me. I need to stop caring about what other people think. I’ve spent my whole life doing that.”

This is How Tomorrow Goes landed Bea a career-high at No. 34 on the Billboard 200. She recently featured on the Help(2) compilation alongside Arctic Monkeys, Olivia Rodrigo, Damon Albarn and more, contributing a cover of Elliott Smith’s “Say Yes.”

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The 2026 Players Championship tees of this week. The top golfers on the PGA tour, including past champions like Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Adam Scott and Si Woo Kim have made their way Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida for the 52nd golfing event. Broadcasting on ESPN+, Golf Channel and NBC throughout the weekend, there’s plenty of ways for golf fans to stream all the action happening at the iconic TPC Sawgrass golf course.

How to Watch 2026 Players Championship, At a Glance:

Mcllroy enters then event as the reigning champion, but with Scheffler, who’s won back-to-back championships in 2023-24, he’ll have some stiff competition. These two are also playing for history. If either win, they will join icon Jack Nicklaus as the only three-time winners at The Players.

Here’s everything you need to know about streaming the 2026 Players Championship live online for free, as well as the complete golf tournament schedule, streaming info, and Rounds 1 and 2 tee times below.

Where to Watch the 2026 Players Championship Online

If you don’t have cable, there are still plenty of ways to watch ESPN, NBC, and the Golf Channel and the 2026 Players Championship online. Fans can take advantage of multiple streaming services that offer free trials, so you can watch all the PGA action this weekend without paying a dime. Signing up to streamers like DirecTV, Peacock, Hulu + Live TV and ESPN Unlimited you can get right into the football action.

DirecTV is offering a five-day free trial, which will let you watch ESPN and more for free. The Entertainment and Sports Programming Network is included in all of the streaming packages. In addition to unlimited DVR storage, you’ll get access to local channels and the ability to stream on as many devices as you want.

Want to watch NBC? The simplest way to get instant access to NBCUniversal networks is through the channel’s official streaming platform, Peacock. While there is no free trial for new users, the platform offers cheap plans starting at just $10.99 per month, or you can get an annual plan for $109.99 per year (which gets you 12 months of streaming for the price of 10).

You can look forward to streaming live sporting events, such as the 2026 Players Championship, NBA on NBC, Premiere League, MLB on NBC, and the upcoming 2026 World Cup. There’s also many hit shows and movies on-demand, including Poker Face, The Traitors, Couple to Throuple, The Best Man: The Final Chapters, Love Island, Yellowstone, Suits, The Office, Modern Family and Parks & Recreation. The streaming service is also the home to exclusive music programming, such as Girl You Know It’s True, Toby Keith: American Icon, When Metal Ruled the World, America’s Got Talent and others.

For the most content options, Hulu + Live TV gives you access to the Golf Channel, NBC and the entire Hulu library in addition to more than 95 live TV channels — including ESPN for just $82.99 per month.

And, unlike the rest of the options, you can also expand your content library by bundling Hulu + Live TV with Disney+ and ESPN Unlimited. You’ll not only have all of the Hulu library to watch, but also exclusive and original programming available exclusively on ESPN Unlimited.

ESPN Unlimited is the official streaming platform for ESPN and ESPN+, and a subscription includes instant access to games and more exclusive content for $29.99 per month. You can save almost 17% off by purchasing an annual subscription for $299.99 per year. There is no free ESPN Unlimited trial, but it does include exclusive on-demand videos and access to content from what was formerly known as ESPN Insider.

In addition to live sports, ESPN Unlimited has original shows to stream on-demand, plus game recaps and analysis, a shorter version of NFL Primetime and full replays of historic NFL matchups.

To expand your savings and content offerings, currently, you can bundle ESPN Unlimited with Hulu and Disney+ for a single monthly price of just $29.99 per month for all three services for 12 months of streaming.

2026 Players Championship broadcast schedule:

All times Eastern.

Thursday, March 12

1-7 p.m. (Golf Channel), 7:30 a.m.-7 p.m. (ESPN+)

Friday, March 13

1-7 p.m. (Golf Channel), 7:30 a.m.-7 p.m. (ESPN+)

Saturday, March 14

2-7 p.m. (NBC, Peacock), 8 a.m.-7 p.m. (ESPN+)

Sunday, March 15

1-6 p.m. (NBC/Peacock), 7:30 a.m. – 6 p.m. (ESPN+)

2026 Players Championship Rounds 1 & 2 Tee Times:

All times Eastern.

Round One – 1st Tee

7:40 a.m.: Mark Hubbard, Thorbjørn Olesen, Mac Meissner

7:52 a.m.: Bud Cauley, Vince Whaley, Chandler Phillips

8:04 a.m.: Emiliano Grillo, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Max Greyserman

8:16 a.m.: Kevin Yu, Cam Davis, Gary Woodland

8:28 a.m.: Ricky Castillo, Ryan Gerard, Patrick Cantlay

8:40 a.m.: Adam Schenk, Garrick Higgo, Matt McCarty

8:52 a.m.: Brian Harman, Maverick McNealy, Davis Riley

9:04 a.m.: Sami Valimaki, Lucas Glover, Matt Fitzpatrick

9:16 a.m.: Michael Brennan, Harris English, J.T. Poston

9:28 a.m.: Haotong Li, Zecheng Dou, Jordan Smith

12:30 p.m.: Lee Hodges, Andrew Putnam, Sam Stevens

12:42 p.m.: Erik van Rooyen, Keith Mitchell, Michael Kim

12:54 p.m.: Taylor Moore, Joel Dahmen, Ryo Hisatsune

1:06 p.m.: Jacob Bridgeman, Ben Griffin, Adam Scott

1:18 p.m.: J.J. Spaun, Sepp Straka, Shane Lowry

1:30 p.m.: Sahith Theegala, Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth

1:42 p.m.: Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama

1:54 p.m.: Chris Gotterup, Justin Rose, Min Woo Lee

2:06 p.m.: Brian Campbell, Karl Vilips, Aaron Rai

2:18 p.m.: Matti Schmid, Max McGreevy, Takumi Kanaya

2:30 p.m.: Zach Bauchou, Sudarshan Yellamara, AJ Ewart

Round One – 10th Tee

7:40 a.m.: Mackenzie Hughes, Eric Cole, Rico Hoey

7:52 a.m.: Max Homa, Daniel Berger, Michael Thorbjornsen

8:04 a.m.: Rasmus Højgaard, Danny Walker, Kristoffer Reitan

8:16 a.m.: Jhonattan Vegas, Taylor Pendrith, Alex Noren

8:28 a.m.: Akshay Bhatia, Brooks Koepka, Tony Finau

8:40 a.m.: Collin Morikawa, Ludvig Åberg, Si Woo Kim

8:52 a.m.: Scottie Scheffler, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Thomas

9:04 a.m.: Viktor Hovland, Russell Henley, Robert MacIntyre

9:16 a.m.: Aldrich Potgieter, Jake Knapp, Sungjae Im

9:28 a.m.: Patton Kizzire, Seamus Power, Johnny Keefer

12:30 p.m.: Tom Hoge, Denny McCarthy, Nicolai Højgaard

12:42 p.m.: Patrick Rodgers, Kevin Roy, Marco Penge

12:54 p.m.: Chad Ramey, Alex Smalley, Pierceson Coody

1:06 p.m.: Kurt Kitayama, Harry Hall, Stephan Jaeger

1:18 p.m.: Keegan Bradley, Ryan Fox, Chris Kirk

1:30 p.m.: Andrew Novak, Nick Taylor, Wyndham Clark

1:42 p.m.: Steven Fisk, William Mouw, Joe Highsmith

1:54 p.m.: Cameron Young, Davis Thompson, Sam Burns

2:06 p.m.: Nico Echavarria, Jason Day, Corey Conners

2:18 p.m.: Matthieu Pavon, S.H. Kim, Austin Smotherman

Round Two – 1st Tee

7:40 a.m.: Tom Hoge, Denny McCarthy, Nicolai Højgaard

7:52 a.m.: Patrick Rodgers, Kevin Roy, Marco Penge

8:04 a.m.: Chad Ramey, Alex Smalley, Pierceson Coody

8:16 a.m.: Kurt Kitayama, Harry Hall, Stephan Jaeger

8:28 a.m.: Keegan Bradley, Ryan Fox, Chris Kirk

8:40 a.m.: Andrew Novak, Nick Taylor, Wyndham Clark

8:52 a.m.: Steven Fisk, William Mouw, Joe Highsmith

9:04 a.m.: Cameron Young, Davis Thompson, Sam Burns

9:16 a.m.: Nico Echavarria, Jason Day, Corey Conners

9:28 a.m.: Matthieu Pavon, S.H. Kim, Austin Smotherman

12:30 p.m.: Mackenzie Hughes, Eric Cole, Rico Hoey

12:42 p.m.: Max Homa, Daniel Berger, Michael Thorbjornsen

12:54 p.m.: Rasmus Højgaard, Danny Walker, Kristoffer Reitan

1:06 p.m.: Jhonattan Vegas, Taylor Pendrith, Alex Noren

1:18 p.m.: Akshay Bhatia, Brooks Koepka, Tony Finau

1:30 p.m.: Collin Morikawa, Ludvig Åberg, Si Woo Kim

1:42 p.m.: Scottie Scheffler, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Thomas

1:54 p.m.: Viktor Hovland, Russell Henley, Robert MacIntyre

2:06 p.m.: Aldrich Potgieter, Jake Knapp, Sungjae Im

2:18 p.m.: Patton Kizzire, Seamus Power, Johnny Keefer

Round Two – 10th Tee

7:40 a.m.: Lee Hodges, Andrew Putnam, Sam Stevens

7:52 a.m.: Erik van Rooyen, Keith Mitchell, Michael Kim

8:04 a.m.: Taylor Moore, Joel Dahmen, Ryo Hisatsune

8:16 a.m.: Jacob Bridgeman, Ben Griffin, Adam Scott

8:28 a.m.: J.J. Spaun, Sepp Straka, Shane Lowry

8:40 a.m.: Sahith Theegala, Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth

8:52 a.m.: Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama

9:04 a.m.: Chris Gotterup, Justin Rose, Min Woo Lee

9:16 a.m.: Brian Campbell, Karl Vilips, Aaron Rai

9:28 a.m.: Matti Schmid, Max McGreevy, Takumi Kanaya

9:40 a.m.: Zach Bauchou, Sudarshan Yellamaraju, A.J. Ewart

12:30 p.m.: Mark Hubbard, Thorbjørn Olesen, Mac Meissner

12:42 p.m.: Bud Cauley, Vince Whaley, Chandler Phillips

12:54 p.m.: Emiliano Grillo, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Max Greyserman

1:06 p.m.: Kevin Yu, Cam Davis, Gary Woodland

1:18 p.m.: Ricky Castillo, Ryan Gerard, Patrick Cantlay

1:30 p.m.: Adam Schenk, Garrick Higgo, Matt McCarty

1:42 p.m.: Brian Harman, Maverick McNealy, Davis Riley

1:54 p.m.: Sami Valimaki, Lucas Glover, Matt Fitzpatrick

2:06 p.m.: Michael Brennan, Harris English, J.T. Poston

2:18 p.m.: Haotong Li, Zecheng Dou, Jordan Smith

Live entertainment company Venu Holding Corporation (VENU) raised $86.25 million from institutional investors through an oversubscribed stock offering this week, the company announced on Thursday (March 12).

Colorado-based VENU, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange, said on Tuesday (March 10) it had completed an underwritten public offering for 18.75 million shares sold for $4 each. Executives said the stock offering beat the $75 million in gross proceeds they initially expected, despite widespread market volatility sparked by the conflict in Iran.

“The market is hungry, and this raise proves it,” J.W. Roth, VENU’s founder, chairman and CEO, said in a statement. “We’ve created a model to scale premium entertainment destinations across the country, and investors are recognizing the opportunity.”

Founded in 2017, VENU owns, operates and is developing live music venues in cities like Oklahoma City and Tulsa in Oklahoma, and El Paso and Dallas-Fort Worth in Texas. VENU says its luxury music venues put a family and group-friendly spin on typical VIP offerings with fire pit suites, which individuals can buy shares in.

The company, which boasts shareholders including Niall Horan and Dierks Bentley, said the capital raised through this week’s offering will go toward accelerating development of projects currently underway in Colorado, Texas and Oklahoma.

VENU’s flagship facility, the Ford Ampitheater in Colorado Springs, Colorado, was named the Top West Coast Amphitheater on Billboard‘s Top Venues of 2026. The 8,000-seat, open-air venue, which opened in August 2024, has held concerts by Cage the Elephant, OneRepublic, Miranda Lambert, Dwight Yoakam, The Black Keys and Godsmack, in partnership with promoter AEG Presents.

The company said it expects to open three more amphitheaters in 2026 and aims to operate 25 amphitheaters and 15 indoor entertainment complexes by 2030.

“We might be $4 or $5 today, but we’re going to $50. This capital is what accelerates us to get there,” Roth said in a video posted to YouTube.

VENU’s stock was trading at $3.56 around 11:30 a.m. ET on Thursday, near its 52-week low of $3.49. The S&P 500 index was down 1.26% on Thursday.