The new owner of the Just For Laughs festival brand has taken the first steps to resurrect the once-dominant stand-up comedy brand. ComediHa!, which picked up assets from former parent Groupe Juste Pour Rire as part of a recent court-directed bankruptcy protection in June 2024, has confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter plans for a Just For Laughs festival in Sydney,...

The Rotten Tomatoes Certified Fresh badge has become online shorthand for checking the quality of films, a sign that professional critics or at least a large percentage of them think that a movie is worth watching. Now, the Comcast-owned digital movie site is making a significant addition to its film rankings, unveiling a new Verified Hot badge on Aug. 21...

Paramount Globals decision to shutter its namesake TV studio means the loss of dozens of jobs, the shifting of several series to another banner and a consolidation of power within the companys two remaining TV studios at least until a potential Skydance-Paramount merger is complete. Paramount TV Studios ceased operations Aug.16 as part of heavy layoffs at the parent company....

Comcast-owned European media and telecommunications giantSkyrecently all of its non-sports content teams in the U.K. and Ireland under one leadership structure, led by Ccile Frot-Coutaz as she expanded her role from CEO ofSky Studios by adding the chief content officer title. In late July, BBC Studios said that its BBC Studios Productions arm has named Sky managing director of content...

Paramount Groups Paramount+ streaming service andFrances Canal+ Group on Wednesday unveiled an expansion and strengthening of their partnership in France after the streamer launched via the pay-TV giant in the country in 2022. This strategic collaboration aims to expand the distribution of Paramount+ and its premium content in France, enriching the value proposition of Canal+ subscribers, the companies said. Under...

Over the past two years, a thriving market for licensing copyrighted material to train artificial intelligence systems has emerged. OpenAI was the first to strike deals with publications, like Axel Springer, News Corp. and the Associated Press. A few others in the field followed. Such agreements werent in place when AI firms first started to face litigation accusing them of...

Cole Escolas Oh Mary! broke the house record at the Lyceum Theatre last week, bringing in $1.057 million and besting its own record from July 21. The production, written and starring Escola as a reimagined Mary Todd Lincoln, played to 100 percent capacity last week, as it has for the majority of its run. The show previously broke the record...

Cond Nast is the latest media organization to strike a multiyear partnership with OpenAI. As part of the partnership, content from Vogue, The New Yorker, Cond Nast Traveler, GQ, Architectural Digest, Vanity Fair, Wired, Bon Apptit and more will be used within OpenAI products, including ChatGPT and the companys Search GPT prototype, a new search feature which offers direct links...

Time magazine is cutting 22 roles across departments, including editorial, technology, sales marketing and TIME Studios. In a memo to staff announcing the layoffs Tuesday, Time CEO Jessica Sibley cited business challenges, including lower advertising budgets, competition and shifts in consumer behavior and a shift to focus on higher growth coverage areas, which include Climate, AI and Health. Like our...

Netflix saw a more than 150 percent increase in ad sales commitment after this years upfront, compared to last year, the streaming giant said Tuesday. The commitments included buys from advertisers in all key categories, Netflix said, and include partnerships for Squid Game, Wednesday, Outer Banks, Happy Gilmore 2, Ginny Georgia, and Love is Blind as well as deals around...

Alex Cooper is breaking up with Spotify. The worlds most popular female podcaster has struck a new multiyear deal to take herCall Her Daddyshow and Daddy Gang of super fans over to SiriusXM starting in 2025. The move represents a major poach by the SiriusXM Podcast Network, as Cooper has been the music streamers No. 2 original behind Joe RogansJoe...

Paramount Global mogul Shari Redstone, who deliberated for months about whether and how to relinquish control of her familys film and TV empire, now formally has a new offer to consider. A consortium led by Edgar Bronfman, Jr. heir to his familys Seagrams liquor fortune and an executive who formerly ran Universal Studios when his father owned its parent company...

CAA has lost its bid to dismiss a lawsuit from Julia Ormond faulting the agency for failing to warn her about Harveys Weinsteins history of sexual misconduct before she took a meeting with the former movie mogul that led to her assault. Ormond last year filed a wide-reaching lawsuit accusing her ex-agency, Miramax and Disney of turning a blind eye...