Hollywood news banter

Matt Belloni, editorial director of the Hollywood Reporter, joins Kim Masters to discuss top entertainment news stories of the week.

• Nick Cannon says he's stepping down as host of NBC's America's Got Talent. Cannon recently had a Showtime stand-up special where he used some language that's not exactly family friendly, including joking about what else the letters “NBC” could possibly stand for. In a Facebook post, he says he heard NBC thinks he was in breach of contract. But did Cannon actually defame the network by using a different persona for his comedy act than he does as host of the talent show?

• The big broadcast networks have ordered substantially fewer pilots this year than in years past. In the age of Peak TV, this may be a step in the right direction, since of all the pilots produced, very few will ever actually see the light of day.

• New allegations emerge in the Fox News sexual harassment scandal. A lawyer in New York says he was contacted by federal prosecutors who are looking into whether Fox News broke SEC laws in not reporting payouts made related to the scandal. There are also claims that Roger Ailes monitored former Fox host Andrea Tantaros via electronic surveillance.