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.
Whatever fate befalls Paramount Global after the smoke clears, one of the Hollywood Trivial Pursuit questions someday will be which heavy hitters have issued statements of support for Skydance’s proposed acquisition of Paramount’s holding company, National Amusements Inc. — and which didn’t. Even as the Paramount special committee passed on the offer from David Ellison’s company May 4, sources say the Skydance-RedBird alliance has not given up. The premise, a source tells THR, is that the rival Apollo/Sony Pictures offer now up for Paramount’s consideration will fail for multiple reasons, with Skydance still waiting in the wings. So despite much Wall Street skepticism over a proposed deal that favors controlling shareholder Shari Redstone over other investors, “Skydance has been on an extremely aggressive PR campaign in the last month to…
Anna Wintour Condé Nast’s chief content officer benefits from a lastminute deal struck with a workers union to avert an employee-led strike at the star-studded Met Gala. Kim Godwin Following a rocky three-year tenure, the ABC News chief is ousted only months after inking a contract extension and getting a new boss, Debra OConnell. Lucian Grainge The Universal Music Group CEO finds “common ground” with TikTok to end a licensing deal impasse that returns the label’s top stars to the massive social media app. David Leitch We’ll see what kind of legs The Fall Guy has. But with a $130 million budget, Universal was hoping for more from the director and Ryan Gosling than a $28.5 million bow. Showbiz Stocks $181.71 (+4.9%) APPLE (AAPL) The tech giant smashed earnings expectations,…
Source: Company filings; *Disney’s fiscal year ends in the fall. Iger’s previous pay is for the fiscal year that ended in fall 2019, the most recent previous full fiscal year when he served as CEO. Emanuel’s 2022 pay is compensation by Endeavor before the creation of TKO. His 2023 pay includes $64.9M in compensation from TKO, plus $19M from Endeavor. Endeavor’s stock rose 4 percent in 2023; TKO shares fell 20 percent but only began trading Sept. 12, 2023.…
If the 2023 upfronts were about disruption, the 2024 upfronts are about Disruption with a capital “D.” Last year’s events were quite literally disrupted, with striking WGA writers on picket lines outside the New York City venues and the annual presentations to advertisers blunted by a noted lack of star power, as actors proved unwilling to cross those picket lines. While companies like Disney and NBCUniversal tried to make up for it by leaning on their news and sports talent, it was nonetheless a muted week. This year, the disruption is more figurative, but in many ways much worse: Linear TV, the linchpin of the ad business for Hollywood, is rapidly eroding. At the same time, this is the year that the streaming behemoths have decided to go for the…
Fox Corp. May 13, Manhattan Center KEY IP The NFL, MLB, Fox News, Tubi, Gordon Ramsay WHAT TO EXPECT Touting of Tom Brady, who is set to join the Fox NFL booth; the growth of Tubi; more unscripted and scripted fare. NBCUniversal May 13, Radio City Music Hall KEY IP Paris Olympics, the NFL, The Tonight Show, Dick Wolf WHAT TO EXPECT Plenty of sports, touting the NBCU News Group, and some Peacock promotion. Telemundo May 13, The Shed KEY IP Soccer, NFL, its slate of telenovelas WHAT TO EXPECT A party with performances by SNL’s Marcello Hernández and music star Manuel Turizo. Amazon/Prime Video May 14, Pier 36 KEY IP The NFL, Fallout, Reacher WHAT TO EXPECT Boasting about Prime Video’s advertising scale and reach, live sports rights, and…
Peak TV may be over, but even in a time of industrywide contraction, another era is forging ahead unabated: Welcome to Peak Franchise TV. Spinoffs of successful series are almost as old as network TV itself — the first ones premiered in the late 1950s. The current state of the business, however, with its nearly boundless viewing options for both old and new programming, is uniquely set up to reward investment in building franchises. On the broadcast networks alone, the 2023-24 season will feature 21 scripted series that are part of a franchise, defined as a show that has spun off another series set in the same world or is itself a spinoff. They range from Law & Order: SVU — the longest-running primetime drama in U.S. TV history —…
