Latest Business News
‘Castlevania’ Studio Animation Workers Ratify First Union Contract
Animation workers at Texas’ Powerhouse Animation Studios have overwhelmingly voted to ratify their first union contract. Ninety-six percent of voting members at the Austin-based Castlevania producer supported the pact in a vote, the Animation Guild announced on Tuesday. The Hollywood Reporter has previously reported that the bargaining unit of more than 100 members includes both […]
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Writers Guild East Elects New Head of Broadcast and Re-Elects Online Media Leader to Governing Body
Writers Guild of America East members have re-elected Sara David as vice president of their online media division and appointed Beth Godvik as the new vice president of broadcast, cable and streaming news in their first council election since the union’s 2023 strike concluded. Godvik is taking over on the council for Kathy McGee, who […]
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FCC Chair Rejects Call to Revoke Disney’s ABC Licenses Over Trump-Harris Debate
The Federal Communications Commission will not be revoking ABC’s broadcast licenses over this month’s debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. Despite many conservatives (including Trump) calling for the agency to revoke Disney’s broadcast licenses for ABC after the debate, the FCC’s chair Jessica Rosenworcel wrote in a letter that, as […]
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Issa Rae Says Hollywood Is Waiting on the Election Amid Challenging Film and TV Landscape
Issa Rae says she’s continuing to work on building her own studio or a method of controlling distribution for her shows amid a lack of work in Hollywood and difficulty getting the green light for her projects.. Speaking at the Fast Company Innovation Festival in Manhattan Thursday, the Insecure star and creator noted that despite […]
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Paramount Streaming, Showtime Comms Head Erin Calhoun Exiting
Paramount Streaming and Showtime head of communications Erin Calhoun is leaving the company after seven years. Calhoun will depart at the end of September, she wrote in a memo to staff on Thursday (read it below, along with a note from Paramount Streaming president and CEO Tom Ryan). “What truly has made this journey remarkable […]
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Sony Launches Kids’ Content Hub on YouTube (Exclusive)
Sony Pictures Television is looking for its next generation of viewers. The studio’s kids division has launched a YouTube hub called Kidzuko targeted at children ages 3-8 that will offer them (and their parents) free access to some of Sony’s kids content. The channel, which went live Thursday morning, features episodes of Sony-produced series Octonauts, […]
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Judge Dismisses Sex Trafficking Lawsuit Against James Dolan
A lawsuit against James Dolan from his former massage therapist, who advanced sex trafficking claims and accused him of orchestrating an encounter with Harvey Weinstein that led to a sexual assault, has been dismissed. In the complaint filed in January in California federal court, Kellye Croft said she met Dolan in 2013 as an employee […]
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Lance Frank Named Head of Communications for CBS News, Stations & Media Ventures
CBS is promoting Lance Frank to lead all communications for CBS News, Stations & Media Ventures. Frank, a 13-year CBS News veteran, will oversee all internal and external communications for CBS News, CBS Stations, syndication, talent, programming, first-run syndication and division strategy, reporting to Wendy McMahon, president and CEO of CBS News and Stations and […]
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Lionel Messi to Launch His Own Production Company
One of the world’s most recognizable sports stars is joining the fray to launch his own production company. Lionel Messi, the footballer who jumped to the MLS Beckham-style in a late-career move to play for Inter Miami, has set up a film and TV banner titled 525 Rosario, a reference to his hometown address in […]
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Movie Theater Chains Put $2.2B Bet on Box Office Rebound With New Upgrades
North American movie exhibitors are set to invest $2.2 billion in new theater upgrades to take advantage of Hollywood’s overall box office rebound this year. On Thursday, the National Association of Theatre Owners said its members were plowing fresh money into the theatrical experience over the next three years to continue drawing cinema-goers out of […]
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Amazon Prime Video and MGM Studios Join Motion Picture Association
The Motion Picture Association, the Hollywood trade group that represents film and TV studios, is adding a high-profile new member. Amazon is joining the MPA, via its Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios subsidiaries. Amazon, the producer of films like Saltburn and TV series like Fallout, joins Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, Universal Studios, The Walt […]
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Who’s Really Going to Run Paramount?
The deal that is expected to install Skydance chief David Ellison as chairman, CEO and hopefully savior of Paramount Global is a labyrinth of entities, trusts and transactions. Also potentially complicated, assuming the deal closes sometime next year, is the question of control. Skydance sources say 41-year-old David will select the board and run things […]
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TelevisaUnivision CEO Wade Davis Exits Role, Daniel Alegre Named New CEO
TelevisaUnivision is getting a new CEO. The Spanish-language media giant says that Wade Davis is stepping aside as chief executive of the company, shifting to a new role as vice chairman of the board. Daniel Alegre, the former president and COO of Activision Blizzard and CEO of Yuga Labs, will become CEO effective Thursday Sept. […]
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Warner Bros. Discovery Adds John Malone’s Nephew Daniel Sanchez to Board of Directors
Warner Bros. Discovery is expanding its board of directors. The entertainment company says that Daniel Sanchez will join its board beginning Oct. 1. Sanchez is no stranger to Discovery shareholders, as he previously served on the Discovery board before the 2022 WarnerMedia merger that created the current company. He is also the nephew of fellow […]
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Teamsters Decline to Endorse Any Presidential Candidate for First Time In Decades
For the first time since 1996, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters is declining to make a U.S. presidential candidate endorsement. The 1.3 million-strong union announced the long-awaited decision from its general executive board on Wednesday. Alleging that both Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris had failed to make “serious commitments to our […]
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Bell Media Sells Minority Stake in Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment for More Than $3B
Canadian phone giant BCE Inc. has inked a deal with rival telecom and cable TV giant Rogers Communications to sell its 37.5 percent stake in Maple Leafs Sports Entertainment for CAN$4.7 billion (US$3.46 billion). The deal takes Rogers’s majority stake in MLSE, which includes the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors pro sport teams, to […]
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