personality

Anjali Sud, most recently the chief executive officer of the ad-supported streaming service Tubi, is taking the top job at the subscription audio entertainment company SiriusXM.

SiriusXM announced Monday that Sud will succeed current chief executive Jennifer Witz, who is stepping down Dec. 31 and will remain in an advisory role through next year.

Sud, 43, has been an independent director of SiriusXM since 2025. In a statement, the company cited her extensive experience in digital media and streaming businesses. She has led Tubi since 2023. The platform has grown to 110 million monthly users and is now a profit center for Fox Corp., which acquired the company in 2020.

Tubi was recently absorbed into Fox Digital Platforms, a new unit created following Fox Corp.‘s $22 billion acquisition of the streaming platform Roku. The deal was closed on Friday.

Sud previously served as chief executive of the video platform Vimeo.

“I am honored to lead SiriusXM in its next chapter,” said Sud. “Premium audio experiences will be more important than ever to the future of entertainment, and I believe SiriusXM can evolve to lead that future.”

Witz, 57, has been with SiriusXM for 25 years, including nearly six years as chief executive.

SiriusXM offers live and on-demand programming across music, talk, news, sports, and podcasts, and the company reaches around 255 million monthly listeners across its platforms.

Best known as the satellite radio platform for morning personality Howard Stern, SiriusXM has moved aggressively into podcasting and specialty channels built around personalities with passionate followings including Conan O’Brien’s “Team Coco,” and Alex Cooper’s “Call Her Daddy.” The service also offers shows or channels from such personalities as Trevor Noah, Kevin Hart, Stephen A. Smith, and former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly. Last month, SiriusXM reported having 33 million total subscribers.

In the third quarter of 2026, the company reported revenue of $1.6 billion for its flagship SiriusXM segment, flat with its year-ago performance. Gross profit increased slightly to $963 million.

The 2026 BBC Sports Personality of the Year show will be held on Sunday, 13 December – with five winners decided by public votes.

Clare Balding, Gabby Logan and Alex Scott will again host the programme, which will be hosted in Salford and broadcast live on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app from 17:45 GMT.

Five of the nine awards to be presented on the night will be decided by public vote.

The show will celebrate another great year of sport, including Team GB’s most successful Winter Olympics, England’s best finish at a men’s Fifa World Cup since 1966, and record-breaking displays at the European Athletics Championships.

There will be two new award categories at the ceremony this year – Men’s Footballer of the Year and BBC World Service Women’s Footballer of the Year.

The latter has been a BBC World Service award since 2015 but will now be presented as part of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards for the first time. Voting – for global audiences – opens on Tuesday, 10 November.

In addition to crowning the winners of both football awards, fans will also select the winners of the World Sport Star of the Year, Team of the Year and Sports Personality of the Year award itself.

An independent panel made up of industry experts, sports broadcasters, sports journalists and former sportspeople will determine the shortlists for the Sports Personality of the Year, Team of the Year and World Sports Star awards, with the winners chosen by public votes. The independent panel will also determine the winners of Young Sports Personality of the Year and Coach of the Year.

Separate panels of football experts will provide the shortlist of contenders for Men’s Footballer of the Year and Women’s Footballer of the Year.

Alex Kay-Jelski – director of BBC Sport – said: “What I love about BBC Sports Personality of the Year is that it brings together all those moments that stopped us in our tracks. The goals, the medals, the upsets, the records, the stories that had us talking at work, in the pub and around the dinner table.

“And what a year we’ve had. This year’s shortlists will be packed with athletes and teams who have achieved extraordinary things, but what’s especially exciting is that audiences will have a bigger say than ever before in who takes home the trophies.”

The nine award categories are:

Full voting details, dates and T&Cs will be announced in due course.

Ben Simmons’ comeback attempt with the Sacramento Kings generated more than one blip on the basketball radar during the preseason before it came to an abrupt end Sunday when he suffered a torn Achilles tendon during practice.

Injuries had restricted the former No. 1 overall draft pick to appearing in only 107 games the last five seasons, but his return on a one-year $3.5 million, non-guaranteed contract had gone well enough that he was set to start in the regular-season opener Wednesday against the Clippers.

Simmons, considered the greatest player to come out of Australia, made news in August by taking part in the national team’s player-driven minicamp in Melbourne, a precursor to the 2027 FIBA World Cup and 2028 Olympics. Simmons, 30, has never played in a major tournament for his home country.

He also became an unwitting part of an embarrassing episode three weeks ago at Kings media day when open microphones captured an off-air conversation between female reporters discussing the physical appearance and personalities of Simmons and teammates.

A woman’s voice said, “That’s what comes with being Ben Simmons. He is cringe, cringe,” and another woman added that he is “lucky he’s so fine.” The first media member agrees, saying, “He’s a good-looking dude. His skin is, like, so smooth, I was like, damn, no tattoos?” The media members have yet to be identified.

He refrained from commenting on the exchange except to back teammate Zach LaVine, whose personality also was criticized by the reporters. But Simmons will be in street clothes from now on. The Kings said he will undergo surgery to repair the tear, which normally requires a recovery period of six to 12 months.

“I’ve faced challenges before that tested me mentally, physically, and emotionally, and I’ve found a way through every single one of them,” Simmons said in a statement posted to his Instagram Stories.

Being sidelined is nothing new for Simmons. He missed his entire first NBA season with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2016-2017 with a foot injury, missed the entire 2021-2022 season with a back injury and the entire 2025-2026 season to focus on his physical recovery from back and leg issues as well as his mental well-being. He last played for the Clippers in the spring of 2025, averaging 16.4 minutes and 2.9 points over 18 games.

That production was a far cry from the promise he displayed coming out of LSU, where in his one season was a consensus All-American after averaging 19.2 points, 11.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists a game. A 6-foot-10 point guard, Simmons was NBA Rookie of the Year in 2017-2018, joining Hall of Famers Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson as the only rookies to reach 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists. And Simmons was an All-Star the next three seasons before injuries began mounting.

His return this preseason was intentionally low key, sliding onto the roster of the lowly Kings (22-60 last season) without much fanfare. Simmons was quietly repairing a reputation marred by his succession of injuries and the performance anxiety and emotional burnout he has openly discussed.

He also seemed keen on representing Australia for the first time. Simmons was forced to miss the 2024 Paris Olympics with a back injury after passing on the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2021 Games even when relatively healthy. Now any sort of return is again in jeopardy.