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Bob Iger’s Austerity Era Begins at Disney
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TV
Mark Burnett’s Disruptive Reign at MGM Ends
While the writing had been on the wall since the ecommerce giant's $8.5 billion buy, the prolific producer’s exit comes amid major reshuffling of the company's executive deck.
By Kim Masters -
Business
Fear for Your Megamergers: The Justice Dept. Is (Finally) Taking Action
Paramount’s blocked sale of Simon & Schuster marks an early win for an emboldened DOJ’s antitrust enforcement while a reported renewed look at Live Nation could be a worrying sign for media chiefs playing a scale game.
By Winston Cho -
Business
No Longer Flush With Cash, TV News Enters Belt-Tightening Era
As CNN, ABC News and others grapple with an advertising downturn and lower linear viewership, the new mandate is to trim costs and find savings however they can while staffers weather the storm.
By Alex Weprin
Latest Business
Nickelodeon Studios Production Workers Go Public With Wage Concerns During Union Drive
Nickelodeon Studios animation production workers are going public about their wage concerns as they seek voluntary recognition from management to join The Animation Guild. TAG, an IATSE Local, said Monday that it is attempting to unionize 177 production managers, production coordinators, post production assistants, art production coordinators and asset coordinators, among others, at the studio. […]
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‘Crime Junkie’ Is Apple Podcast’s Most Popular Show of the Year
Crime Junkie, the true-crime podcast led by THR Next Gen 2022 honoree Ashley Flowers, was the most popular show on Apple Podcasts this year, the tech giant said on Monday. To populate the lists, Apple looked at user listenership and engagement between November 1, 2021, through Oct. 31, 2022. Crime Junkie, the flagship show of […]
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Fox Network Entertainment Now a “Small and Reducing” Part of Portfolio, CFO Says
Fox Corp. CFO Steve Tomsic said that the company isn’t feeling the same pain in its advertising business that many of its competitors are seeing. Speaking at the UBS Global TMT Conference in New York, Tomsic said that while Fox, led by CEO Lachlan Murdoch, isn’t immune from the advertising pressures facing the rest of […]
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Hulu’s Likely Outcome Is Disney Writing Comcast a “Big Check,” NBCUniversal CEO Says
Despite earlier comments that Comcast may be interested in retaining full control of Hulu, NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell said he believes the company will sell its stake to Disney. Comcast has a 33 percent stake in the streaming service, while Disney owns the rest and has the option to buy out Comcast starting in January […]
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NBCUniversal CEO Says Peacock Hit 18M Subscribers
NBC Universal CEO Jeff Shell says Peacock has hit 18 million subscribers. “That’s real subscribers, paying us real American dollars,” he told the UBS TMT Conference during a session that was webcast on Monday. A bullish Shell also pointed to Netflix and other rival streaming platforms getting into the advertising business as validation that NBCU […]
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Comcast Stock Gets Upgrade Even Though Analyst Is “Bearish on NBCU”
Comcast has earned an upgrade from Wells Fargo analyst Steven Cahall, who raised his stock rating from “underweight” to “equal weight” Monday despite a bearish outlook on the cable, media and tech giant’s entertainment unit NBCUniversal. He also raised his stock price target on the company, led by chairman and CEO Brian Roberts, by $8 […]
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YouTube Streamy Awards: MrBeast Takes Top Creator; Full List of Winners
MrBeast received top creator honors for the third year in a row at the 2022 YouTube Streamy Awards. The evening was hosted by YouTube creator Eric Decker, best known as Airrack, and featured a performance from the rapper Yung Gravy. Heading into the awards ceremony, which took place Dec. 4, Jimmy Donaldson — the massively […]
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Fox and DirecTV Reach Carriage Renewal, Avoiding Blackout
Fox Corp. and DirecTV have come to terms on a new agreement and averted a potential blackout of a number of networks. With the previous deal set to expire Friday at midnight, the two companies announced a multi-year carriage renewal in a joint press release Saturday. The deal covers FS1, FS1, Big Ten Network, Fox […]
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Can Pluto TV’s Expansion Be Powered by Library Content Alone? A Chat With International Chief Olivier Jollet
Paramount’s free, ad-supported service Pluto TV has landed in Canada with its biggest content offering ever at launch outside of the U.S. market. But Olivier Jollet, executive vp and international general manager for Pluto TV, tells The Hollywood Reporter the latest local market launch for the FAST channel is part of an ambitious global rollout. […]
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TikTok’s “Pasta Queen” Nadia Caterina Munno Signs With CAA
TikTok creator and Italian-born cook Nadia Caterina Munno, known affectionally to her fans as “The Pasta Queen,” has signed with CAA. Munno got her start on TikTok in the midst of the pandemic, where she endeared herself to viewers with lively cooking videos focused on Italian cuisine and, more specifically, pasta. The creator and chef […]
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Second Group of Activision Blizzard Workers Votes to Unionize in NLRB Election
The second worker group within video game holding company Activision Blizzard to mount a public unionization campaign has voted to join the Communications Workers of America in a National Labor Relations Board ballot count. Fourteen quality assurance testers at Blizzard Albany voted to join the union in a count on Friday, while no workers voted […]
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Elon Musk Confirms Kanye West’s Twitter Account Suspended After Posting Swastika
Kanye “Ye” West has been suspended from Twitter after he tweeted a now-deleted post featuring a swastika Thursday evening. After a chaotic day that saw the rapper appear on Alex Jones’ Infowars show and repeatedly say he liked Adolf Hitler, Ye posted a series of controversial tweets, including supposed text messages between himself and Twitter […]
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Warner Bros. Discovery Promotes David Decker to Oversee Content Sales
Warner Bros. Discovery has promoted David Decker to oversee content sales as the role’s existing executive, Jim Wuthrich, is set to step down at the end of the year, the company said on Thursday. Decker will be responsible for the North American licensing and distribution of all WBD-produced film, TV and digital content to third-party […]
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Film Academy Foundation Union Voluntarily Recognized
A union of workers at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ nonprofit Academy Foundation, which is dedicated to preserving film history, has been voluntarily recognized by management. A card check on Thursday found that 76 percent of workers eligible for the group supported unionization with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal […]
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YouTube Is Dreaming of a Green Christmas With Live-Stream Shopping Bet
It’s holiday season at YouTube, and inside one of the many sound stages at the video platform’s Los Angeles campus in Playa Vista, three creators have come together to promote beauty products on a set reminiscent of a cozy cabin in the woods. But unlike these YouTubers’ typical fare of edited beauty tutorials and lifestyle […]
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Kanye West Will No Longer Buy Social Media App Parler
Kanye “Ye” West is no longer buying conservative media platform Parler, the company said Thursday. “In response to numerous media inquiries, Parlement Technologies would like to confirm that the company has mutually agreed with Ye to terminate the intent of sale of Parler. This decision was made in the interest of both parties in mid-November,” the […]
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