The media buying giant WPP Media (recently rebranded from GroupM) is downgrading its projected ad revenue forecast for 2025. After initially forecasting 7.7 percent growth in December, the firm is now projecting only 6 percent growth for the year, thanks largely to an uncertain economy and limited visibility for global trade. At the same time, it is noting that 2025...

Areas in and around downtown Los Angeles could be temporarily off-limits to filmmakers as protests over recent immigration raids continue to unfold, a local film office advised creatives on Monday. While the permitting authority for the city of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Police Department, is tackling projects on a case-by-base basis, film permits may be denied for areas around...

Paramount Global CFO Naveen Chopra is exiting the company to pursue other opportunities. Andrew Warren, currently a strategic advisor to Paramounts three-headed Office of the CEO and a former CFO at Discovery Communications, will step in on an interim basis. Warren will be executive vice president and interim chief financial officer. Hes been around to advise George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy...

The history of Warner Bros. is a history of mergers and sales, dating back to a sneaky transaction Jack Warner pulled off in the 1950s to become the studios largest shareholder. Following that, there was the brief Warner Bros.-Seven Arts era in the 1960s, the studios subsequent acquisition by Kinney National Services which brought long-time CEO Steve Ross into the...

Bing Chen, executive chairman and CEO of Gold House, issued a dire warning on Monday about artificial intelligence: the emerging digital technology stands to eliminate entry-level entertainment industry jobs. The notion of replacing entry-level jobs for our children, we have yet to have a solution. Because this is no longer about upscaling. This is about full replacement of you when...

Sony Pictures Television chairman Keith Le Goy sees a worrying trend in Hollywood, which in recent years has looked to remakes and reboots for comfort in turbulent times. I think sometimes weve gotten a little too risk-averse in this business. Were a little fear-based, and sometimes you need to run towards something which is a little bit scary, Le Goy...

David Zaslav, movie mogul at last. Zaslavs vision board, which includes him sitting behind Jack Warners old desk and living in Robert Evans former home, is complete. On Monday, we finally got the news we were waiting for: Warner Bros. Discovery, formed just three years earlier via the merger of Zaslavs Discovery, Inc. and ATTs WarnerMedia, is being split back...

Fifth Season-backed Blink49 Studios has received a strategic investment from Bell Media, the Canadian media giant. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the aim is bolstering Blink49s scripted and unscripted content slate. The investment deal is set to close in fall 2025. John Morayniss, Patrice Theroux, Jeff Lynas and Nelson Kuo-Lee all veteran executives from Entertainment One launchedBlink49...

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav told Wall Street analysts Monday that the bold choice to effectively unbundle the company he helped forge three years ago reflects our belief that each company will go further and faster apart than they can together. We are in the midst of this generational disruption, and things are changing, theyve changed significantly in the...

Its safe to assume that the majority of Warner Bros. Discoverys roughly $37 billion in debt load will exist with the spun off Global Networks, the new companys new CEO Gunnar Wiedenfels said on Monday. A not-insignificant portion will remain with Streaming Studios, Wiedenfels said, which will remain under the eye of current WBD president and CEO David Zaslav. Its...

Hollywood conglomerate Warner Bros. Discovery on Monday announced plans to separate the company, in a tax-free transaction, into two publicly traded companies, enabling each to maximize its potential. TheStreaming Studioscompany will consist of Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, DC Studios, HBO, and HBO Max, as well as their legendary film and television libraries.Global Networkswill include premier entertainment,...

A new report published on Monday by the British Film Institute (BFI) sets out nine recommendations for the U.K. screen sector to ensure that artificial intelligence will be a boon rather than bane for film and TV. AI in the Screen Sector: Perspectives and Paths Forward analyzes current usage and experimentation with rapidly evolving generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, the...

Netflix has entered into a new creative partnership with Ekta Kapoors Balaji Telefilms in India, further enhancing its content offering in the worlds most populous country. The collaboration, unveiled Saturday in Mumbai, will focus on producing a range of high-quality entertainment, including films, series, and other digital content, designed to appeal to the diversity of Indias audiences, the partners say....