Latest Business News
Paramount, Citing Experiment During Strikes, to Cut Costs Per Title For Films, Series
After the Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA strikes last year, and with every streaming service now laser-focused on profitability, Hollywood has been keeping a close watch on efforts to adjust content spend, either reducing spend overall, or finding ways to change the cost structure. At Paramount, reducing that programming spend has now become a top corporate […]
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Taylor Swift, Beyoncé Drove “Literally All” of AMC Theatres’ Quarterly Revenue Increase
AMC Theatres beat Wall Street expectations, reporting fourth-quarter revenue of $1.10 billion, up from $990.9 million in 2022 and a net loss of $182 million, compared to a net loss of $287.7 million in 2022. For the full year, the theater chain reported total revenue of $4.8 billion, up from $3.9 billion in 2022. Net […]
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Paramount+ Hits 67.5M Subscribers As Streaming Loss Shrinks to $490M
Paramount Global hit 67.5 million Paramount+ streaming subscribers worldwide at the end of its fourth quarter, a gain of 4.1 million from the previous financial quarter. The Hollywood conglomerate, with its future the subject of mounting speculation on Wall Street, on Wednesday said it expected to deliver “significant total company earnings growth” in 2024, and reach […]
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More News Publishers Sue OpenAI Over Copyright Claims As Legal Strategy Shifts
As battle lines are being drawn between artificial intelligence companies and news publishers, a trio of media companies have taken a legal shot at OpenAI and Microsoft. Two lawsuits — one filed by The Intercept and another by Raw Story and Alternet in New York federal court on Wednesday — accuse the firms of taking […]
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Regal Cinemas’ Post-Bankruptcy Plan Revealed By CEO
Eduardo Acuna, CEO of Regal Cinemas owner Cineworld Group, says his movie theater chain is well-positioned for post-pandemic and post-bankruptcy growth amid Hollywood’s box office recovery. “I think it’s a very pivotal moment in our history,” Acuna told The Hollywood Reporter in an interview on Wednesday via Zoom while seated in a giant 4DX auditorium […]
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Dan Lin Tapped to Replace Scott Stuber as Netflix Film Boss (Exclusive)
Dan Lin, the producer behind the Lego movies and the new live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender, has been tapped as the new head of film for Netflix, according to sources. Lin steps into the role vacated by Scott Stuber, who announced in January he would step down in March. Lin’s name had been […]
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Taylor Swift, Rolling Stones Help Drive Universal Music Group Quarterly Results
Universal Music Group, whose artist roster includes the likes of Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo, reported improved fourth-quarter financials. Quarterly revenue rose 9 percent, or 15.6 percent on a constant currency basis, to 3.2 billion euros ($3.5 billion), with UMG touting “strong growth across all segments.” It cited album top sellers from the likes of […]
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CNN Gives Phil Mattingly New Role After Morning Show Cancellation
CNN has found a new role for Phil Mattingly. The veteran journalist will become the channel’s chief domestic correspondent and an anchor, delivering enterprise reporting and filling in as a host on programs across the daypart. Mattingly, whose first assignment will be covering Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, will also appear in 2024 convention programming, […]
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Disney Inks $8.5B Deal to Merge India Business With Reliance Industries
Disney is officially merging its India business with Reliance Industries, forming a joint venture that will bring together Reliance’s Viacom18 and Disney’s Star India. Disney has been exploring options for its India business for months, and the deal with Reliance has been rumored for some time. On Wednesday, the companies made it official. Under the […]
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Formula 1 Profit Jumps Amid Growth Year for Racing Brand
Liberty Media, the company controlled by billionaire mogul John Malone that owns such assets as audio entertainment giant SiriusXM and the Formula 1 racing circuit, reported fourth-quarter financials on Wednesday, touting growth at Live Nation Entertainment, which recently posted a record 2023 and projected continued momentum in 2024. Live Nation is “capitalizing on the globalization of the […]
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Shane Smith and the Final Collapse of Vice News
Just weeks after the company he founded entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy last May, Shane Smith jetted to the French Riviera. But this wasn’t a vacation for the 54-year-old flamboyant former Vice CEO to drown his sorrows. Smith landed in Cannes on a mission to save the media company that he had started as a scrappy […]
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Endeavor Earnings: Representation Business Grew Despite Strikes, Strategic Review Ongoing
Despite the SAG-AFTRA strike dragging on well into the fourth quarter (not to mention the Writers Guild strike ending just as the quarter began), Endeavor’s representation business (including WME) saw earnings growth in its fourth-quarter thanks to the agency’s music, sports and fashion representation segments. Endeavor disclosed its latest earnings results Wednesday morning, reporting revenue […]
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Amazon Studios Hit With ‘Road House’ Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Involving AI Abuse Claims
A legal fight is brewing over the upcoming Road House remake, with the original film’s screenwriter suing Amazon Studios. R. Lance Hill, in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in California federal court, accuses MGM Studios and its parent, Amazon, of copyright infringement for refusing to license his 1986 screenplay after he allegedly clawed back the rights […]
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Box Office Slowdown Hits Imax As Quarterly Revenue Falls
Imax released its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday, and posted slightly lower net earnings on falling overall revenues. That came amid tentpoles like Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour and Wonka playing on the cinema technology company’s big screens. Overall fourth-quarter revenue came to $86 million, down 12 percent from a […]
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TKO Reports $614M in Quarterly Revenue As It Targets Growth on New Media Rights
In the first full quarter to incorporate WWE earnings since its formation, TKO Group Holdings reported revenue of $614 million and adjusted EBITDA of $223.2 million, laying a roadmap for growth in 2024 and beyond as the company seeks to capitalize on its media rights renewals, as well as live events and sponsorship growth. TKO […]
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Hilde Lynn Helphenstein Signs With UTA (Exclusive)
Hilde Lynn Helphenstein, AKA Jerry Gogosian, has signed with UTA. The visual artist and digital storyteller is the brains behind @jerrygogosian, a popular Instagram meme account that satirizes and comments on the global art world through viral images, videos and text pieces. UTA, the Hollywood talent, entertainment and sports company, will partner with Helphenstein on […]
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