Cost cutting companies

Banijay and North Road Entertainment are keen on to Love Island producer ITV Studios, according to Reuters. The report suggests private equity-backed studio firms have also looked at the production and sales arm of ITV, which could fetch as much as £3BN ($3.7BN). Reuters cites sources who claim UK network ITV is willing to selling a portion of ITV Studios but is keen to keep control of the business, which has production assets in the UK, Europe, U.S. and Australasia and owns shows such as Love Island , I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! and Life of Duty . Rumors ITV was open to some sort of sale first emerged in the FT in October last year, though sources within ITV have consistently played down the idea and it has at times appeared off the market. The news comes just a day after The North Road Company , which former Fox chief Peter Chernin launched last year, landed $150M from the Qatar Investment Authority “to support ongoing expansion. The … [Read more...] about Banijay and Peter Chernin’s North Road Eye ‘Love Island’ Maker ITV Studios – Report

Apple and Major League Soccer lit up their Season Pass streaming service today, bringing exclusive coverage of games and related programming to more than 100 countries in a groundbreaking venture. The service costs $14.99 a month (or $99 for the full season) for those who do not subscribe to Apple TV+. For Apple TV+ subscribers, the cost is $12.99 a month ($79 for the season). While the pricing is toward the higher end of the general market spectrum, in the burgeoning area of sports streaming , it is below what many regional sports networks and others charge. Viewership, technology and strategy in the sports media business are all moving incrementally toward digital platforms, with Amazon and Google both joining Apple in making big bets on sports content recently. Disney’s ESPN+, NBCUniversal’s Peacock, Paramount+ and HBO Max have also made investments in sports. Despite the larger shifts in the landscape, and the precedent set by Season Pass in terms of the extent … [Read more...] about Apple And Major League Soccer Throw The Switch On Season Pass Streaming Venture

President Joe Biden wants limits placed on concert ticket fees and TV and internet providers’ early termination charges, as the White House seizes on the practices as a sign of lack of competition in various business sectors. Biden will announce the proposals at a meeting of the President’s Competition Council on Wednesday. Also being highlighted is a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule to curb excessive credit card late fees, and a Department of Transportation rule to require airlines and booking sites to show the full price of an airline ticket upfront. Additional proposals would be part of a Junk Fee Prevention Act, legislation that targets an array of fees placed on consumers. The White House’s focus on concert ticket prices follows a Senate hearing last week that focused on that issue and competition in the ticketing industry, as lawmakers grilled Live Nation President Joe Berchtold about subsidiary Ticketmaster . The company reportedly is under … [Read more...] about Joe Biden To Call For Congress To Place Limits On Concert Ticket Fees, TV And Internet Providers’ Early Termination Charges

EXCLUSIVE : Brillstein Entertainment Partners is exploring a sale of its venerable management/production company. Several are circling, but sources said Casey Wasserman has emerged as a front-runner to bring BEP into the fold alongside his formidable sports and music divisions. Like every possible deal, this one could fall apart and BEP principals could decide to stay independent. It would be the latest move in management after 3Arts made a deal with Lionsgate , and Anonymous Content, with investment from Laurene Powell Jobs, recently linked with Automatik . If this did happen, it would invoke the legacy and memory of some storied Hollywood figures. Start with Wasserman, the grandson of the legendary Lew Wasserman. He always has resisted the urge to get into mainstream Hollywood, and instead built a formidable management business specializing in sports and music, the latter most recently including the acquisition of Paradigm’s lucrative music touring businesses . His … [Read more...] about Brillstein Entertainment Partners Explores Sale; Casey Wasserman In Pole Position: The Dish

EXCLUSIVE: Nacelle , the studio behind Down to Earth with Zac Efron and Grant, Kevin Hart’s Guide to Black History , has struck a deal to distribute a feature-length doc filmed during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine . The company has taken worldwide rights to Comedy of War: Laughter in Ukraine . The doc comes from filmmakers Christopher Walters and Krista Liney, who runs producer Maiden, and shows the brutal reality of the conflict through the lens of stand-up comedians touring in war-torn Ukraine. Nacelle plans to take the doc to film festivals before launching worldwide sales. The documentary follows four rising stars of Ukrainian stand-up comedy, each with a unique perspective on the war currently being waged in their homeland. Performing in converted bomb shelters, they laugh in spite of the war, not at it. The Russian invasion of Ukraine began almost a year ago and has left tens of thousands dead and millions displaced. Comedy of War ’s filmmakers say that, … [Read more...] about Nacelle Boards Maiden’s Feature Doc ‘Comedy Of War: Laughter In Ukraine’

As most of this year’s Oscars displayed, there are few things that Hollywood loves more than a big show. Now Disney , Fox, NBCUniversal and Warner Bros . are officially on board with what could be one of the biggest spectacles of the next decade: the 2024 Olympics in Los Angeles. With Disney boss Bob lger having joined the board as Vice-Chair of the Casey Wasserman-led effort for the City of Angels’ third Olympic Games back in June, the presence of the House of Mouse is no surprise. However, it was revealed today that LA 2024’s board now will include WB chief Kevin Tsujihara, NBCUniversal Film head honcho Jeff Shell and Fox princeling James Murdoch. Along with serving as consultants to the city’s bid process and engaging in undefined creative “partnerships,” all three studios also are putting their money were their execs are. Disney, Fox, NBCU and WB have come on as significant donors to attempt to bring the summer games to L.A. seven years from now. “We … [Read more...] about Disney, Fox, NBCUniversal & Warner Bros. Formally On L.A. Olympics Bandwagon

At the same time it is courting subscribers with its cheapest plan yet, the $7-a-month Basic with Ads, Netflix is adding upgrades to its top-end Premium tier. The streaming giant has incorporated spatial audio on Premium and also expanded the number of devices on which subscribers can download programming, from four to six. Concurrent streaming is still limited to four devices. The price of Premium is slated to remain at $19.99 a month even after the enhancements. Rishu Arora, Director of Product Management, announced the changes in a blog post. Spatial Audio, which is increasingly found on platforms like Apple Music, is now available on 700 titles, Aora wrote, including Stranger Things , The Watcher , Wednesday , and Knives Out: Glass Onion . While the company doesn’t break out subscriber numbers by tier, its Standard tier (a notch below Premium, at $15.49) is the most popular in the U.S. and Canada. Netflix regained momentum in its most recent quarter, … [Read more...] about Netflix $20-A-Month Premium Plan Adds Spatial Audio, Expands Number Of Devices For Downloading From 4 To 6

EXCLUSIVE : Paris-based mk2 films has boarded international sales on Tina Satter ’s debut feature Reality about real-life U.S. whistleblower Reality Winner ahead of its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival later this month. Euphoria and White Lotus star Sydney Sweeney plays Winner. The former intelligence officer was given the longest prison sentence ever for the unauthorized release of classified material to the media in 2018 (five years and three months) after she leaked a report about Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections. Opening with the Saturday afternoon in June 2017 when 25-year-old Winner was confronted at her Georgia home by the FBI, the film follows the cryptic conversation that took place as the young woman’s life begins to unravel. Satter’s dialogue, taken directly from the FBI’s transcript of the interrogation, alternates between nail-biting and banal, darkly funny and surreal. The film tracks one woman’s experience of … [Read more...] about Sydney Sweeney Whistleblower Drama ‘Reality’ Secures Int’l Sales Deal With MK2 Ahead Of Berlin Premiere

With the International Olympic Committee due to convene in Lausanne, Switzerland tomorrow to discuss the location of the 2024 and 2028 Summer Games, it increasingly looks as though Paris will be the host city seven years from now. Today, executives from Discovery Communications and Eurosport , which have all TV and multi-platform rights in Europe for the winter and summer games from 2018–2024, met with members of the Paris 2024 Olympic Bid Committee in a show of support for an Olympic Games to be held in Europe in 2024. Los Angeles has also been vying to host the 2024 games, but on Wednesday LA 2024 Chairman Casey Wasserman appeared to say that the city would be open to waiting until 2028. In a statement, he said, “To be blunt, LA 2024 has never been only about LA or 2024. Even when the issue of a dual award for the 2024 and 2028 Games was initially raised, we didn’t say it’s ‘LA first’ or it’s ‘now or never’ for LA: that sounds like an ultimatum.” Per Reuters, … [Read more...] about Discovery, Eurosport Throw Weight Behind Paris’ 2024 Summer Olympics Bid

Gawker is suspending operations, again. Bustle Digital Group on Wednesday announced that it was shutting down the revived media brand, about 18 months after reviving the title. In an email to staffers, CEO Bryan Goldberg also wrote that they would be eliminating about 8% of positions at the company. “Gawker published a lot of brilliant pieces in these nearly two years. But in this new reality, we have to prioritize our better monetized sites. It’s a business decision, and one that, reluctantly, must be made.” The editor in chief of Gawker, Leah Finnegan, wrote, “Well, after an incredible 1.5 years, BDG has decided it is done with Gawker 2.0. Can’t say enough about how proud I am of the site and all the brilliant people who worked to create it, and what a staggering shame this is. I had an absolute blast, and I love you.” The original Gawker was an early digital media success, with its snarky voice and irreverent approach to celebrity and other boldfaced names. But it … [Read more...] about Gawker Suspends Operations Amid Bustle Digital Group Layoffs