‘Angry Birds’ Maker Rovio’s Sale Talks With Israel’s Playtika End, Strategic Review Continues
Takeover talks between Rovio Entertainment, the Finland-based video games company behind Angry Birds, and suitor Playtika, the Israeli group behind casino-style online games and shooting simulator 1V1.LOL, have ended without a deal. “Preliminary discussions between Rovio and Playtika have now ended,” Playtika said on Tuesday without providing further details. Rovio made a similar statement. “The board of directors of Rovio continues […]
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Greek Streamer Antenna Plus Eyes New Markets With Investment From Canada’s Fairfax Financial (Exclusive)
Greek media giant Antenna Group has agreed to an investment from Canada’s Fairfax Financial Holdings that will give the latter a 15 percent stake in its streaming service Antenna Plus, which is eyeing an expansion in Central and Eastern Europe. A figure for the size of the capital injection was not disclosed on Tuesday. Launched […]
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Korean Sci-fi Drama Series ‘Yonder’ Coming to Paramount+ in April
South Korean sci-fi drama series Yonder, the first local production under Paramount Global’s strategic partnership with Korean entertainment powerhouse CJ ENM, will launch globally on Paramount+, including in the U.S., on April 11. The show will premiere exclusively on the streamer in the U.S. and, as previously unveiled, its international markets of Canada, the U.K., Australia, Latin America, Brazil, […]
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Warner Bros. Discovery Wins Over Two More Wall Street Analysts for Upgrades
Add Wells Fargo and Wolfe Research analysts to the growing list of Wall Street experts who have turned bullish on Warner Bros. Discovery. Last April saw the creation of the merged Warner Bros. Discovery followed by various cost-cutting challenges for the management team led by CEO David Zaslav, causing a sharp drop in the stock. […]
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‘Survivor’ Producer Banijay Grows 2022 Revenue to $3.4B, Eyes Further “Consolidation Opportunities”
European TV production giant Banijay (Peaky Blinders, Black Mirror, MasterChef, Survivor) posted higher 2022 revenue and earnings helped by acquisitions and new hit shows, Amsterdam stock exchange-listed parent company FL Entertainment Group reported. Banijay’s full-year revenue hit 3.20 billion euro ($3.4 billion), up 17 percent from 2.75 billion euro in 2021. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and […]
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Studio Unit Profit Report: Paramount Jets Ahead In Year-to-Year Gains
Hollywood studios tried to put COVID-19 in the rear-view mirror in 2022, but cinemas in China were shut for part of the year, there were periods with little new product for screens, the global box office rose 28.4 percent to $25.7 billion (below pre-pandemic levels), and ramped up spending on productions and marketing of expanded […]
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Will Comcast Sell Off Parts of Sky?
Brian Roberts, chairman and CEO of U.S. media giant Comcast, is traditionally a buyer and a builder, not a pump-and-dumper. Over the years, he has grown Comcast through bold M&A moves, snatching up NBCUniversal in 2011, DreamWorks Animation in 2016, and, in the company’s most recent mega-buy, paying around $39 billion for European pay-TV giant […]
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Behind Paramount’s Ecommerce Push: A Chat With Consumer Products Chief Pam Kaufman
Paramount Global is betting on a new e-commerce platform, ParamountShop, to be a unified direct-to-consumer shop for fans of its content brands across its film and TV operations. Creating one shopping window for products representing more than 125 content brands is designed to move the consumer products business to the next level by offering people […]
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Paramount+ to Launch First Mobile-Only Plans in Brazil and Mexico
Paramount Global’s streaming service Paramount+ will launch the “Basic Plan,” its first mobile-only plan, in Brazil and Mexico on April 18 as it looks to broaden its potential consumer reach with a lower-priced offering in markets with high smartphone usage. “This new offering is part of our broader strategy to scale Paramount+,” Marco Nobili, executive […]
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IMES, “Fort Knox” For Media Archives, Opens Paris Facility
Media preservation and archive company Iron Mountain Entertainment Services (IMES) has opened a new facility in a suburb of Paris on Thursday as it continues its global expansion. IMES’ mission has been described as serving as a Fort Knox to safeguard and preserve companies’ digital and physical archival assets. Its clients include studios, networks, media companies, […]
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APX Forms Joint Venture With Doc Producer Spring Films
APX Group, a New York-, Los Angeles- and London-based film, media and entertainment fund owned by a group of private financiers from the U.S., Italy, Spain and the U.K., has struck a joint venture agreement with London documentary producer Spring Films (Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Act of Killing, Andre Singer‘s Night Will Fall, Fireball: Visitors from […]
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Paramount Bets on Unified Ecommerce Site for ‘Star Trek,’ ‘Yellowstone’ and More Merch (Exclusive)
Paramount Global is rolling out a mountain of merchandise with the launch of a new unified e-commerce store for its portfolio of brands and franchises. From Paramount Pictures, CBS, MTV, BET and Comedy Central to Nickelodeon and Showtime, from Top Gun, Transformers, The Godfather, Yellowstone, Star Trek, The Daily Show and Survivor to SpongeBob SquarePants, […]
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