L.A. Reid bolts ‘X Factor,’ Discovery strikes big deals.

After the coffee. Before roaming around New York for the day.

The Skinny: We’re coming to you this morning from New York, where it’s sunny but cold. The Fix needed a change of a scenery for a few days, so if you see someone walking down the street screaming, “I’m blogging here,” that’s just me. Friday’s headlines include a preview of the weekend box office, a big deal from Discovery Communications and L.A. Reid quitting “The X Factor.”

Daily Dose: In a recent interview at the Montclair Film Festival in New Jersey, “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart said that when he first took over the show in 1999, he almost quit because he thought the staff members were jerks. Actually, Stewart used a harsher word that we can’t use. Well, some of those staffers have taken to Facebook to rebut Stewart. Former correspondent Brian Unger posted, “Gosh, I wonder if he’s talking about me and the dozens of other staffers who built that show?” Jim Earl, a former writer on the show also griped that the liberal Stewart is an “Anti-union malignant narcissist.” Guess there won’t be any reunion parties anytime soon.

Hobbit time: “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” is expected to take in between $120 million and $140 million at the box office this weekend. The question will be how viewers will react to the 48 frames per second the movie was shot in versus the usual 24 frames per second. Some critics have said the 48-frame approach makes “The Hobbit” look cheesy. No other big movies dared to open against “The Hobbit.” Box-office previews from the Los Angeles Times and Variety.

Hope they like Honey Boo Boo in Norway. Cable programming giant Discovery Communications had a busy Friday morning, announcing the acquisition of broadcaster SBS Nordic and an alliance with French media giant TF1. Overall, Discovery is spending $2 billion for its new toys. Details from the Los Angeles Times and Reuters.

X’d out. Epic Records Chairman L.A. Reid is leaving as a judge on Simon Cowell’s musical talent show “The X Factor,” which wraps up its second season this month. Reid’s departure is the latest blow for the show, which has never lived up to the high expectations Fox had for it when it premiered last season. More on Reid’s exit from USA Today, while Billboard looks at why he is walking.

Aereo bets on Bloomberg. Aereo, the start-up distribution service backed by media mogul Barry Diller, has struck a deal to carry Bloomberg TV. Currently, Aereo carries broadcast stations owned by the major networks; however, it is being sued by those networks for copyright infringement. The issue is that Aereo isn’t willing to pay for content from CBS, NBC and other broadcasters. It is paying for Bloomberg and has said it wants to add more cable channels. That may prove difficult because many of the big cable channels are owned by the same companies that own the broadcasters. More on the Bloomberg pact from the Wall Street Journal.

Inside the Los Angeles Times: Betsy Sharkey on the Golden Globe nominations.

Follow me on Twitter while I eat pizza and burgers all day. @JBFlint.