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Imagine Moves First-Look Deal From Apple to Amazon
Amazon Studios has struck a first-look deal with Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment. The multiyear pact will give the streamer a look at narrative features and documentaries that Imagine intends to produce after earlier projects they collaborated on, including Lucy and Desi, Thirteen Lives and Judy Blume Forever, which Prime Video will release on […]
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Guest Column: Is Trump’s Trial Too Hot for TV?
It was the Shot Heard ‘Round the World 3.0, only blocks from the original Polo Grounds where the New York Giants won the 1951 National League pennant with a walk-off home run (and 215 miles from the 1775 Battle of Lexington and Concord). Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg indicted Donald Trump for colluding with Russia shaking down Ukraine attempting […]
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How Networks and Streamers Are Prepping for a Potential Writers Strike
As the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers continue negotiating over a new contract, the prospect of a labor strike — the first for writers in 15 years — looms large. The guild has a wide-ranging set of priorities for the negotiations, ranging from higher minimum pay and expanded […]
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Vince McMahon’s Unusual New WWE Contract Gives Him the Right to Adapt His Own Story for Film
WWE executive chairman Vince McMahon is in line for a multimillion-dollar payout on top of his $2.6 billion stake — and the rights to his life story — in the event that his company gets sold. McMahon signed a new employment agreement with the company this week, retroactive to when he returned earlier this year, […]
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Chicken Soup for the Soul Sees Return of Theatrical Titles But Sells Stock Amid Tough Environment
After acquiring Redbox in August, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment says it is finally poised to see a bigger return on its investment. “The return of theatrical titles is firmly underway. This return, however, began in earnest, months later than we had anticipated when we acquired Redbox. When looking at 2022 there was only […]
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E3 Canceled for 2023
The second effort to return the Electronic Entertainment Expo to an in-person event has come up short. ReedPop’s annual trade event for the video game industry has canceled its 2023 iteration, which was set to take place at the Los Angeles Convention Center from June 13 to 16. This year’s event would have marked the first […]
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Hollywood to End COVID-19 Safety Agreement That Enabled Pandemic-Era Return to Work
The COVID-19 guidelines that for the past three years kept casts and crews safe during production amid the pandemic will expire May 12. The current iteration of the pact, negotiated by industry unions and top studios and streaming companies represented by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), will remain in place through […]
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BAFTA Games Awards: ‘God of War Ragnarok’ Wins Six Honors, But ‘Vampire Survivors’ Named Best Game
God of War Ragnorok made good on its record-breaking haul of BAFTA Games Awards nominations by emerging with the largest number of gongs from the 2023 ceremony. Held on Thursday night in London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall on the Southbank (and livestreamed on Twitch), the event — hosted by Julia Hardy and Inel Tomlinson — saw Sony’s bloody […]
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Audiochuck Taps Imperative Entertainment’s Jason Hoch to Launch Podcast Network
Audiochuck, the media company behind Ashley Flowers’ hit podcast Crime Junkie, has brought on Jason Hoch to lead a newly formed podcast network focused on premium audio programming across multiple genres. Hoch was most recently the president of podcasts for Imperative Entertainment (Triangle of Sadness, Killers of the Flower Moon), where he launched 23 original […]
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Universal Music Group Extends CEO Lucian Grainge’s Contract Through 2028
Universal Music Group has extended the contract of its CEO and Chairman Sir Lucian Grainge until May 1, 2028. As part of the extended agreement, Grainge will move from an all-cash compensation package to a combination of equity and cash, with the majority paid in UMG equity and UMG performance-based stock options. His annual salary […]
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Tastemade Strikes Multiyear Content Deal With Constellation Brands’ Wine and Spirits Portfolio
Tastemade has struck a multiyear deal with Constellation Brands — the wine and spirits company behind Robert Mondavi Winery, Lingua Franca, The Prisoner Wine Company and High West Whiskey, among others — to create a slate of original programming. The multimillion-dollar deal will include the creation and sale of original series to outside streamers, as […]
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Hollywood’s COVID-19 Safety Protocols Agreement May Be on Its Way Out
When Hollywood’s return-to-work agreement expires on April 1, will this be the end of COVID-19 guidelines that have been in place for the past three years? Sources in the industry believe so and have speculated for weeks that, at the very least, major changes might be coming next month, when the current version of the […]
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Tonya Mosley’s ‘Truth Be Told’ Podcast Joins APM Studios
Tonya Mosley’s Truth Be Told podcast, which explores Black liberation through multiple lenses, has struck a deal with APM Studios that will include the production of a new limited series with Mosley debuting in 2024. The podcast was originally produced and distributed by KQED before Mosley, an Emmy-winning broadcast journalist and regular interviewer on NPR’s […]
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Paramount Global Hit With Credit Rating Downgrade Over Streaming Costs
Paramount Global has been hit with a credit rating downgrade from S&P Global Ratings over mounting content and platform investment costs to generate gains in a competitive streaming space. The research firm reduced the Hollywood studio’s rating to BBB-, from BBB, on concerns over its debt load, with a stable outlook. The increased credit risk […]
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Disney Layoffs Hit ABC News, Kim Godwin Reorganizes Leadership Team
The Disney layoffs have hit ABC News. The broadcast news division is laying off 50 people as part of the company’s planned cuts, with ABC News president Kim Godwin reorganizing her senior leadership team. Godwin announced the changes in a note to staff Thursday morning. “Throughout the company, teams are being impacted by the downsizing […]
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Bloomberg Goes Hollywood, With Plans to Mine News IP for TV and Film
On Wednesday night, entertainment heavyweights like Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, Spotify exec Bill Simmons, and comedians and actors Tiffany Haddish and Travon Free gathered at République Los Angeles for dinner with Bloomberg Media CEO M. Scott Havens. The dinner was a celebration of sorts for Bloomberg, which is forging a larger presence on the West […]
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