As it looks to bolster its executive search business, Creative Artists Agency has acquired a boutique firm that has specialized in helping clients recruit C-suite candidates in human resources and diversity, equity and inclusion roles. The major talent agency said Tuesday it bought the Chicago-based firm Hanold Associates, led by co-founders Neela Seenandan and Jason Hanold, and will bring over...

One day after DirecTV and Dish Network agreed to a long expected merger to combine the two embattled satellite giants, a major credit agency rating has cast cold water on some of the rationale behind the major deal. In a bulletin on Tuesday, SP Global said it placed DirecTV, led by CEO Bill Morrow, on credit watch negative and warned...

Charles Barkley is launching a new production venture with big plans to get into the scripted, documentary, and live programming space. The former NBA star and current TNT Sports analyst will launch Round Mound Media in partnership with EverWonder Studio, with backing from Jeff Zuckers RedBird IMI. Barkleys longtime manager Marc Perman will be president of Round Mound in addition...

In a major change to its business strategy, CNN has officially launched a paywall on CNN.com, the beginning of a long-term effort to build a sustainable digital subscription offering. CNN executive VP of digital products and services Alex MacCallum announced the paywall in a memo to staff Tuesday. Starting today, we are asking users in the United States to pay...

On Aug. 10, some 12,000 of The Walt Disney Co.s most ardent fans gathered in Anaheims Honda Center waiting with bated breath. The entertainment giant was in the middle of its biennial D23 conference, and Saturday night was the flagship event for Disneys Experiences division, where chairman Josh DAmaro would lay out the companys long-term plans. What followed was part...

California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed into law a union-supported bill that seeks to protect entertainment workers use of loan-out companies after an audit earlier this year provoked widespread concern about their future. The governors office announced that Newsom had officially greenlit state Sen. Anthony Portantinos SB 422 on Monday. The bill, which received the backing of the Entertainment Union...

Theres a changing of the guard at Sony Pictures Entertainment, with chairman and CEO Tony Vinciquerra set to step down, and Ravi Ahuja set to become president and CEO beginning in 2025. Ahuja was elevated to president and COO earlier this year, a move meant to position him as a successor to Vinciquerra and give him experience across the company....

In a move to cut costs, Lionsgate is offering employees in the United States voluntary severance and retirement packages, its CEO wrote in a memo to staff on Monday. As we continue to move toward the full separation of the studio and Starz in a challenging operating environment, Lionsgates Executive Committee has approved a multifaceted strategic plan to enhance productivity...

Satellite TV giant DirecTV and Charlie Ergens EchoStar said Monday that they have entered a definitive agreement under which DirecTV will acquire EchoStars video distribution business Dish DBS, including Dish TV and Sling TV, through a debt exchange transaction. The combination will benefit U.S. video consumers by creating a more robust competitive force in a video industry dominated by streaming...

Songs by Adele, Kendrick Lamar, Bob Dylan, Nirvana, Green Day and Mariah Carey, among others, are currently unavailable on YouTube due to a contract dispute between the platform and SESAC, a performing rights organization. A YouTube spokesperson shared in a statement with The Hollywood Reporter on Saturday, We have held good faith negotiations with SESAC to renew our existing deal....

A federal court has advanced the key defamation claim in a lawsuit against Netflix over its portrayal of a woman depicted as a stalker in Richard Gadds Baby Reindeer, while dismissing other allegations. U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner on Friday found that Netflix couldve defamed Fiona Harvey, the inspiration behind Jessica Gunnings Martha depicted as a twice-convicted stalker sentenced...

After eight days of negotiations, New York and Los Angeles-based casting directors have reached a new tentative contract agreement with Hollywood studios and streamers, according to their union. The provisional three-year deal was announced on Friday by the Teamsters Local 399, which represents freelance casting professionals alongside Teamsters Local 817. As of this afternoon, Teamsters 399 817 have officially reached...

A legal brawl has broken out between Comcasts Sky and Warner Bros. Discovery, with the European media giant suing over breaches to a 2019 deal for exclusive rights to shows. Sky, in a lawsuit filed on Friday in New York federal court, says Warners was obligated to offer the opportunity to partner on at least four shows per year, including...