The all-new Hollywood Reporter offers unprecedented access to the people, studios, networks and agencies that create the magic in Hollywood. Published weekly, the oversized format includes exceptional photography and rich features.
When Silver Lake Partners paid $200 million in 2012 for 31 percent of what was then known as William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, it created a domino effect that may yet ripple through the entire media ecosystem. The investment gave the talent agency and co-founder Ari Emanuel access to valuable intel about the world’s economies garnered via the private equity behemoth’s $43 billion stakes in companies, and the infusion armed it with enough cash to take advantage. In the seven years since, the company now known as Endeavor has made dozens of acquisitions, including rival IMG in 2014, the Miss America Pageant the following year and the $4 billion pickup of Ultimate Fighting Championship in 2016. This transaction led to two deals with ESPN for about $450 million a year through…
Bong Joon Ho The director becomes the first Korean to win Cannes’ Palme d’Or as the social satire Parasite is positioned for an Oscar run. Chris Linn The truTV chief exits amid a new round of layoffs and creative questions at the WarnerMedia network. Karey Burke ABC’s entertainment president doubles a usual Wednesday with the network’s live 90-minute All in the Family and Jeffersons re-enactment, which averages 10.36 million viewers May 22. Keya Morgan Stan Lee’s former business manager, the subject of a THR investigation in April 2018, is arrested in Arizona on suspicion of elder abuse, among other charges. Showbiz Stocks $95.78 (+21%) ROKU (ROKU) Shares of the streaming-TV firm reach historic levels after its active user accounts surged 40 percent in the first quarter while streaming hours soared…
When word leaked May 17 that CBS may have offered Lionsgate $5 billion for Starz, shares of the latter leaped 15 percent as Wall Street recognized how a sale would benefit the company run by CEO Jon Feltheimer. Less obvious is what CBS might get out of it, as Starz appears duplicative of CBS’ Showtime. And CBS shares fell after the reported bid for Starz. In large measure, such an acquisition would be about battling AT&T’s HBO, which has 140 million worldwide subscribers, 8 million by way of streamer HBO Now. “If antitrust regulators agree to allow the reduction of the core U.S. pay TV premium marketplace from three to two, the Showtime-Starz combination would provide significant new competition to HBO, for sure,” says Jimmy Schaeffler of The Carmel Group.…
After his breakout performance as Eazy-E in Straight Outta Compton and his role as a World War II veteran in the critically acclaimed Mudbound, Jason Mitchell’s career was flourishing. Lena Waithe, describing Mitchell as the “black Tom Hanks,” cast the 32-year-old rising star in her Showtime series The Chi as Brandon, an aspiring chef who resists being drawn into violence. Then, in late April, Mitchell was fired from the upcoming Netflix movie Desperados just before shooting began. In rapid succession, he was terminated by his agent, his manager and his lawyer, and he was dropped from The Chi. While Mitchell’s termination from Desperados was the impetus for all that followed, sources claim his conduct had been a problem for at least two actresses on The Chi. More than one person…
Box office source: Comscore; estimates in $ millions; () Weekends in release; *Territories. Broadcast source: Nielsen, live-plus-3, week of May 13. Cable TV source: Nielsen, live-plus-3 scripted series. BILLBOARD HOT 100: The week’s most popular current songs, across all genres, ranked by audience impressions, sales data and streaming activity by online music sources tracked by Nielsen Music. BILLBOARD 200: The week’s most popular albums across all genres, as compiled by Nielsen Music, based on multi-metric consumption (blending traditional album sales, track equivalent albums, and streaming equivalent albums).…
ESPN, Disney’s $10 billion sports media empire, has always had cozy relationships with the stars it covers. ESPN Books has published tomes penned by athletes, like John Amaechi’s Man in the Middle. Myriad others have appeared on the network’s SportsCenter commercials. In 2006, ESPN even took an ownership interest in the Arena Football League that included airing its games. Around the same time, unscripted shows featuring Barry Bonds and Bobby Knight caused hand-wringing. The network’s ombudsman, George Solomon, wrote then that the partnerships are “dismaying” and “[boggle] the mind.” It has only accelerated its partnerships with stars. ESPN+ — the direct-to-consumer service launched in 2018 — has more than 2 million subscribers, in large part because of exclusive live rights to UFC and Top Rank boxing matches. And a key…
