Erik Feig is launching an indie production banner, Arena SNK Studios, to expand the Hollywood producers reach in movies, TV, gaming and live events. Feigs company says it has secured around $1 billion in financing backing for the new venture, which is led by backers in Saudi Arabia. Thats part of a step investment deal with a major tranche received...

SAG-AFTRA has become the latest Hollywood union to acknowledge the rise of verticals. The performers union stated on Monday that a contract specifically tailored to the booming microdrama format would be forthcoming by the end of the month. This Verticals Agreement will cover projects that have budgets of under $300,000, in keeping with the typically small budgets and tight turnarounds...

CNN is planting its own flag in the ever-growing creators economy. The networks international division revealed a new initiative on Thursday to create a unit, titled CNN Creators, based out of its newly launched Middle East hub in Media City Qatar, Doha as well as a 30-minute weekly show bowing on Oct. 23 with that same branding. CNN international exec...

As if teaching your dad the difference between Apple TV and Apple TV+ was not difficult enough before On Monday, Apple quietly rebranded its SVOD (subscription video on demand) service Apple TV+ as just Apple TV. The intention is to provide the streamer a vibrant new identity, Apple said, but as anyone with a second grade education knows, minus-ing a...

Anyone looking for growth in the entertainment business outside of the world of film and TV has had their eyes on two key areas: The creator economy, and experiential entertainment. So it makes sense that one of the most powerful behind-the-scenes companies in the creator ecosystem wants to push into the experiential space. Night, the agency that represents creators and...

Apple is rebranding its Apple TV+ streaming service, giving the platform a vibrant new identity as, simply, Apple TV. The company buried the news in its announcement Monday morning about the premiere date for the film F1, which will debut on the platform Dec. 12. When Apple launched Apple TV+, the name Apple TV had already been taken by its...

Broadway musicians have voted to authorize a strike amid negotiations with the Broadway League over a new contract. Ninety-eight percent of union members voted to authorize a strike, according to results tallied Sunday. Holding a strike authorization vote does not necessarily mean a strike would be called, and it is a show of strength amid contract discussions, but it also...

Ever since the media mogul John Malone helped persuade David Zaslav to leave NBC and become the CEO of Discovery Communications, the executive has defined his leadership by dealmaking. He acquired Scripps Networks to try and build a reality-driven entertainment giant, and forged the deal for WarnerMedia over golf emojis with ATT CEO John Stankey. But the next few months...

A union representing CBS News broadcast and digital staffers has cautioned its members against responding to a memo requesting company feedback and workload details from new editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. On Friday representatives of the Writers Guild of America East suggested their members refrain from replying until they get more information about the message. Many of...

AMC Networks has inked a contract extension with CEO Kristin Dolan, keeping the executive at the helm of the media company through 2028. Dolan was named CEO of AMC Networks in February 2023, assuming leadership of the company that is controlled by her husband James Dolans family. Dolan has repositioned the company around its niche streaming offerings, and pursued a...

If there was any doubt about the active role that Bari Weiss would play as the newly-minted editor-in-chief of CBS News, her first week at the news division put it to rest. The day after Paramount announced its deal to acquire The Free Press, Weiss, squeezed next to CBS News president Tom Cibrowski at the head of the table for...

For years, the narrative has been that movies, in contrast to TV series, were in decline casualties of a once-in-a-century pandemic that shuttered theaters and a double blow from prolonged industry strikes. But theres new data that paints a different picture. Streaming services are, in fact, relying more than ever on films to keep their growth engines humming. In the...

Alexander Bafer is best known as the founder and former CEO of FuboTV, the U.S.-based video streaming service offering a premium, over-the-top bundle of sports TV channels. Then in April 2020, after the COVID 19 crisis left TV viewers hunkered down in their homes, Bafer completed the merger of FuboTV with Facebank Group, a developer of technology IP he co-founded...