In a sports world shocker, ESPNs lead NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowskiwill retire from the sports giant and from the news business altogether to lead the basketball program at his alma mater St. Bonaventure. Woj, as he is known, was ESPNs basketball scoop machine, breaking news about trades, injuries and signings before anyone else, gaining a huge social following as a...

YouTube is planning a major revamp of its connected TV app, adding new functionality and an entirely new look in a bid to defend its lead in streaming from other streaming platforms like Netflix, Max, and Disney+. The company announced its plans at a Made on YouTube event in New York Wednesday. The new TV app includes a number of...

MrBeasts production arm has been sued by contestants of the upcoming Beast Games reality competition show, who allege they were subject to abusive working conditions. Five unnamed contestants, in a proposed class action lawsuit filed on Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court, say they were paid insufficient wages and deprived of proper medical care, food and sleep. Some accuse the...

In a significant move, Lionsgate and the video-focused artificial intelligence research firm Runway have inked a deal that will see Runway train a new generative AI model on Lionsgate content, and will see the entertainment company use the tech as it produces future film and TV projects. While details are scarce, the companies say that the new model will be...

Veteran arts and culture executiveMichael Lynchhas been named acting sector head for media atNeom in Saudi Arabia, a hub for media, entertainment, tourism, andmore amid allegations of racism, misogyny and inappropriate workplace behavior by top executives. The Wall Street Journal reported that former Fox and Universal executive Wayne Borg, managing director of Neom Media Industries, was among the executives, citing...

A newly-revised complaint in Wendy Williams lawsuit against Lifetime parent company A+E Networks over the release of a documentary chronicling her deteriorating mental and physical state looks for all profits from the project to fund her medical care. The amended complaint, filed on Sept. 16 in New York County Supreme Court, says that Williams received roughly $82,000 for her participation...

In a major update, Snapchat is planning a wholesale revamp of its app, promising a simple interface, a number of generative artificial intelligence features, and of particular interest to Hollywood a unified video entertainment experience, which will combine creator-driven videos and professionally-produced Spotlight videos in one place. The changes were announced at the Snap Partner Summit, held at the Barker...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed two union-supported bills restricting the use of AI digital replicas of performers into law. In a symbolic move, the governor visited the Los Angeles headquarters of performers union SAG-AFTRA on Tuesday to officially greenlight the bills, AB 2602 and AB 1836, which were passed by the California state Senate in August. SAG-AFTRA sponsored both...

The U.K. needs to be better represented in all its diversity on film and TV screens, fight polarizing fake news, and level the playing field for streamers and traditional broadcasters, Lisa Nandy, U.K. Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport in the relatively new Labour Party government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer, told a London conference on Tuesday, highlighting...

Miley Cyrus has been sued for allegedly ripping off Bruno Mars When I Was Your Man for her Grammy-winning hit song Flowers. The lawsuit, filed in California federal court on Monday, was brought by Tempo Music Investments, which acquired in 2020 a share of the copyright to the Mars track from songwriter Philip Lawrence. It accuses Cyrus of intentional copying...

U.K. TV giant ITV got only 45 percent of its total revenue from non-advertising sources in 2016, while this year it will get 60 percent from production and digital businesses, CEO Carolyn McCall told an industry conference in London on Tuesday. And her team is pretty confident that these growth businesses will account for about two-thirds of total company revenue...

How Do We Value Our Industry? That was the question in focus during a Tuesday afternoon panel at the Royal Television Societys (RTS) London Convention 2024. The session, following morning appearances by Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, and BBC director-general Tim Davie, touched on what investors are looking for after the recent $1.45 billion takeover of...

Peacock had its best month to date in August, scoring the largest share of TV use in the United States in the streamers four-year history thanks to the Summer Olympics. With a huge menu of Olympics coverage, Peacock climbed to 1.5 percent of TV usage in July to 2.1 percent for the August period (which spanned from July 29 to...