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.
Julia Roberts & George Clooney The duo’s star wattage powers Ticket to Paradise to global grosses of $120 million since Oct. 21, marking a needed win for older-skewing rom-coms. Bob Bakish The Paramount CEO’s plan to slim down assets to scale up streaming hits a snag as a judge blocks a $2.2 billion deal to sell Simon & Schuster to Penguin Random House. Mike White The White Lotus creator bows season two to 1.5 million viewers, solid by non-Game of Thrones standards at HBO and up 63 percent from season one. Jennifer Witz The SiriusXM CEO grows the satellite radio giant’s core product to 32.2 million subscribers, but its Pandora service slips by 52,000 to just 6.29 million subscribers. Showbiz Stocks $28.61 (+1.4%) FOX CORP. (FOX) A record-shattering political ad…
I Phone users: Have you purchased an audiobook on Spotify’s iOS app? If you’ve used the app recently, the answer is likely no, but not due to lack of effort on Spotify’s part. The audio giant admits to painstakingly developing workarounds for its fledgling audiobook business, led by Nir Zicherman, to circumvent Apple’s in-app purchasing system, which requires developers to give Apple a 30 percent cut of purchases of digital goods made within an iOS app. The solution, which was initially approved by Apple, sent users an email to direct them toward an external link to purchase the book. Though inelegant, the workaround was, well, working when Spotify launched audiobooks in September — until Apple reversed course and proceeded to reject three versions of Spotify’s app updates, sending Spotify developers…
In September, Paramount’s Pluto TV became the first free, ad-supported platform to crack the Nielsen Gauge, the ratings provider’s monthly, all-platform snapshot of TV use. The platform reached 1 percent of all TV viewership in the U.S. for the month, coming in just below HBO Max and ranking among other paid streaming services. The milestone was a coup for Pluto TV but not entirely surprising, says Tom Ryan, head of streaming at Paramount, given the platform’s longevity and content offerings. “I do think that this is the beginning of Pluto being broken out as one of the top players in engagement for U.S. connected TV,” Ryan tells THR. Pluto TV was founded in 2013, several years before competitors including The Roku Channel and Amazon’s Freevee. After Pluto TV was acquired…
Consolidation” was the buzzword at MIPCOM, the international TV market that wrapped Oct. 20 in Cannes, with news of buyouts, both real and imagined, that could shape the future of the global production business. On the eve of the event, global production and sales juggernaut Banijay, producer of Big Brother, Peaky Blinders and Temptation Island, signed a deal to acquire Australian nonscripted giant Beyond International, makers of MythBusters and Highway Thru Hell. And the two halves of Rupert Murdoch’s media business — News Corp and Fox Corp. — disclosed that they are considering reuniting nearly a decade after splitting. Once MIPCOM kicked off, rumors that British producer-distributor ITV Studios (Love Island, Night on Earth) was up for sale dominated cocktail conversations. Reported suitors Banijay and fellow Euro giant Fremantle (makers…
As Paramount gears up for the December launch of Babylon, its big-budget prestige swing, the studio has to contest with headlines about its leading man, Brad Pitt. Instead of chatter about the star’s first awards hopeful since he won an Oscar for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, the actor is facing accusations about a 2016 altercation on an airplane involving then-wife Angelina Jolie that have come to light amid a legal dispute over the French winery Château Miraval, which they had owned together. A countersuit filed Oct. 4 by Jolie detailed the incident on a private plane during which Jolie says Pitt abused her and some of their children. The FBI launched an investigation over the incident in 2016 but declined to press charges, while a rep for Pitt…
Spotify again finds success with narrative fiction. Case 63 (an English adaptation of Caso 63), with Julianne Moore and Oscar Isaac, rose to the top of the platform’s U.S. and U.K. charts after its Oct. 25 premiere. Amazon has fired 150 staffers from its John Ciancuttiled live audio app, Amp. The cuts represent about half of the division’s staff as Amazon seeks to reduce head-count costs. Starting Nov. 1, Prime members will get a sweetened deal for podcasts on Amazon Music as Wondery podcasts and shows from such publishers as NPR, CNN, The New York Times, Slate and Barstool Sports will be offered ad-free to members.…
