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Warner calls election a 'huge repudiation' of Trump, says Northern Virginia felt it most
In his first availability since winning a fourth term, the senator said Virginia should still be the FBI's new home and called for federal limits on data centers
'You've Got Mail' reboot film set at Warner Bros. Pictures
Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks in 'You've Got Mail.' (Ronald Siemoneit/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images)
NYT: Trump wished Biden well in newly disclosed 2021 letter
(CNN) — In his forthcoming book, former President Joe Biden discloses the contents of a 2021 letter written by President Donald Trump as he prepared to leave the White House after his first term, according to an excerpt of the book and a copy of the letter obtained by The New York Times.“Many presidents have come and gone who simply governed as Republicans or Democrats,” Trump wrote in the letter to Biden, according to Times. “Largely, they did not change history, they were just swept along in its relentless tide. This will not happen to you because I know how much you love the American people.”Biden has previously alluded to a “very generous letter” left by his predecessor, and now successor, but until now had declined to talk about the contents.The reported letter, which was dated January 20, 2021, strikes a different tone than Trump’s public statements after losing the election to Biden in 2020. Trump repeatedly claimed the election was stolen and refused to conduct an orderly transfer of power to his successor, challenging the results in court and pressing his allies to move to block the certification of his loss.The matter came to a head when Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, as Congress was voting on whether to certify the results. While Congress ultimately certified Biden’s victory, Trump has continued to deny the 2020 results and pardoned over 1,000 people involved in the riot when he returned to the White House last year.“Not only are you joined by the past, but you carry the hopes and dreams of the entire nation on your shoulders. The gravity of that fact never leaves you, it is the anchor that grounds every decision you make,” Trump wrote in the letter.“Your strength, your deepest reservoir of energy, comes from the knowledge that millions upon millions of people are depending on you. Their ambitions and aspirations are the reason you are here, with so many counting on your success,” he continued.Biden was inaugurated the same day as the letter and Trump did not attend the festivities as is customary for most living presidents. Trump has sharply criticized Biden in the years since the 46th president left office.In his book, titled “Promise Me, America,” Biden writes it was “as if there were two Donald Trumps” and says Trump “deeply destabilized democracy,” according to the Times.“But here he was, offering his best wishes in warm language that sounded like it was coming from an old friend,” Biden wrote in the book, which is set to be released next Tuesday.In a statement to the Times, White House communications director Steven Cheung said, “Joe Biden should have heeded the president’s wise words, but instead he tried to destroy this country and weaponize the justice system against his political enemies.”“Biden is a disgrace, and America is better off with him no longer as president,” Cheung added.The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
11/10/2026: Supervisory Status and Health Care Rule Quirks
Union Electric Company D/B/a Ameren Missouri, 14-RM-394835 (Regional Election Decision) A Regional Director dismissed the Employer's petition after finding that Distribution System Operating Supervisors (DSOS) II are statutory supervisors under Section 2(11) of the NLRA, but not managerial employees. The Employer, an electric and gas utility, filed the petition after the Union demanded recognition for DSOS I and II positions. Because the DSOS II are supervisors excluded from the NLRA's protection, no election was ordered. The DSOS I position was not decided, since no one currently holds it, and ordering an election for a unit with zero employees would be contrary to Board policy. As a preliminary matter, the Union was precluded from litigating supervisory or managerial status because it filed its Statement of Position with the Region but did not serve it on the Employer by the deadline. The Regional Director still took evidence sufficient to decide unit appropriateness, as the Board's rules require. Supervisory status rested on the authority to assign. The DSOS prioritize work tickets, choose which Line Troubleman or Traveling Operator to send, pull employees off lower-priority jobs, hold employees past shift end, decide whether to call in crews and how large they should be, and handle sick call-outs, all without consulting anyone. Relying on Oakwood Healthcare and Entergy Mississippi, the Regional Director found this resembled utility dispatchers who used independent judgment in assigning employees to places. It did not matter that the record did not show who selects the specific employees who respond to a call-out. The Employer failed to prove responsible direction because nothing showed DSOS face adverse consequences for field employees' performance. The one Performance Improvement Plan involved a DSOS's own errors. The Employer also failed to prove discipline authority, since switching error forms merely report incidents and upper management decides whether discipline follows. The managerial claim failed because there was no evidence the DSOS formulate high-level employer policy. They exercise technical discretion, sit below Superintendents and a Manager, and are first-level supervisors. Significant Cases Cited Oakwood Healthcare, Inc., 348 NLRB 686 (2006): Defined "assign" and "responsibly direct" under Section 2(11) and placed the burden of proving supervisory status on the party asserting it. Entergy Mississippi, Inc., 367 NLRB No. 109 (2019): Held utility dispatchers were supervisors because they used independent judgment in prioritizing outages and assigning field employees. NLRB v. Kentucky River Community Care, Inc., 532 U.S. 706 (2001): Established the three-part test for supervisory status under Section 2(11). NLRB v. Yeshiva University, 444 U.S. 672 (1980): Described managerial employees as those who formulate and effectuate management policies and are aligned with management. Ikea Distribution Services, Inc., 370 NLRB No. 109 (2021): Affirmed preclusion of issues for a late-served Statement of Position while confirming the Regional Director must still determine unit appropriateness. NLRB Edge is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe Prime Healthcare Services – St. Michael’s, LLC D/B/a Saint Michael’s Medical Center, 22-RC-392696 (Regional Election Decision) The Regional Director dismissed a petition seeking an Armour-Globe self-determination election for two full-time radiation therapists at a Newark hospital. The union wanted the therapists to vote on joining its existing nonconforming unit of registered nurses, nurse anesthetists, and technical employees. The Regional Director found the union had not shown the therapists could appropriately be added to that unit under the Board's Health Care Rule and the community-of-interest factors. The Regional Director first explained that the Health Care Rule does not categorically bar an Armour-Globe election in a partially organized hospital with existing nonconforming units. Under St. Vincent Charity Medical Center, such an election does not create a new unit and so does not offend the Rule's concern with unit proliferation. The petitioner still bears the burden of showing the group is identifiable and distinct and shares a community of interest with the existing unit. The therapists were an identifiable, distinct group because they do identical work in the same department under the same managers. On community of interest, the evidence was mostly unfavorable to the union. The therapists work in the Cancer Center alongside unit nurses but have separate supervision (apart from occasional coverage), separate break areas, and distinct equipment and functions. Their contact with nurses is limited to routine patient handoffs, and they do not interact with or fill in for technical employees such as radiology technicians. The Regional Director found some overlap in certifications and training, which might tip the scale on those factors, but the union did not establish common terms and conditions. The Regional Director added that shared benefits or work rules would not suffice given separate supervision, no interchange, and physical separation. The decisive problem was the Health Care Rule's classifications. The therapists are professionals who fall within the Rule's "all other professionals" category. The parties' contract expressly excludes "all other professionals," and the union's attempt at hearing to classify some respiratory therapists as professionals contradicted that contract. Adding the therapists would create yet another nonconforming grouping and leave other unrepresented professionals in that category. A separate therapist-only unit would also be inappropriate because the record shows other unrepresented professional employees. A unit of all unrepresented employees in that category may be appropriate. Significant Cases Cited St. Vincent Charity Medical Center, 357 NLRB 854 (2011): An Armour-Globe election in an acute care hospital does not violate the Health Care Rule because it adds employees to an existing unit rather than creating a new one. Rush University Medical Center v. NLRB, 833 F.3d 202 (D.C. Cir. 2016): Section 103.30(c) of the Health Care Rule applies only to petitions for additional units, not to Armour-Globe elections adding employees to an existing unit. Warner-Lambert Co., 298 NLRB 993 (1990): A self-determination election requires that the employees share a community of interest with the existing unit and form an identifiable, distinct segment constituting an appropriate voting group. United Operations, Inc., 338 NLRB 123 (2002): Sets out the community-of-interest factors, and common supervision alone does not require inclusion in one unit absent interchange, contact, or functional integration. Wheatland Electric Cooperative, Inc., 375 NLRB No. 16 (2026): Functional integration requires that positions depend on one another to accomplish their tasks, and minor differences between groups should not be given too much weight.
‘We weren’t aware’: Mitchell Starc stands by his version of Sandpapergate despite David Warner backing Usman Khawaja
Mitchell Starc has once again addressed the controversy surrounding the 2018 ball-tampering incident, reaffirming his stance since 2021. Meanwhile, David Warner has backed Usman Khawaja's assertions, labeling them as the truth. He expressed his disappointment over the lack of in-depth scrutiny during Cricket Australia's initial probe. Starc denied any involvement or knowledge of the tampering, insisting that the bowlers were kept in the dark about the matter.
Cricket Australia rules out reopening ‘Sandpapergate’ inquiry despite Khawaja claims
The news comes after David Warner, who was sanctioned for the plot, backed Usman Khawaja’s claims that the entire team knew about it
Skydance Games Hit By Layoffs
A number of staffers at Skydance Games have been laid off following merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.
Skydance Games Confirms Layoffs Following Warner Bros.-Paramount Merger
Skydance Games has laid off staff following last month's Warner Bros-Paramount merger.
Skydance looks to cut more than $6 billion as it integrates Warner Bros. operations
Executives warned that Warner Bros. film slate would be disappointing in the fourth quarter.
The fierce battle for James Bond is playing out in public
(CNN) — It’s been five years since Daniel Craig bid farewell to the role of 007 in “No Time to Die,” which ended with a closing credit promise that “James Bond will return.” And while corporate machinations have slowed the character’s reappearance, the battle to play cinema’s most famous secret agent is playing out more publicly than usual.In recent weeks, there have been numerous leaks to the press about the slew of big-name actors said to be auditioning for Bond in what will be the 26th film in the franchise, stoking debates among fans.Last month, it was reported that “final screen tests” were being held, with “One Night Only” heartthrob Callum Turner, “Slow Horses” actor Jack Lowden and Josh O’Connor of “Challengers” said to be among those who made the cut. Then two surprise names entered the mix over the weekend, with Deadline and Variety reporting “Primetime” star Robert Pattinson and “X-Men” actor Nicholas Hoult had also undergone screen tests for the role. (Pattinson’s casting would be particularly remarkable given he’s also currently leading another major franchise as Batman, while Hoult is appearing as Lex Luther in the new “Superman” movies.)Other wild cards, per Variety? Pop singer Harry Styles or “The White Lotus” star Theo James. At 32, Styles would be the youngest choice, while 41-year-old James is the oldest.Representatives for the actors and Amazon MGM Studios, didn’t respond to requests for comment. None of the actors have revealed what the audition process has involved, although O’Connor told the BBC that being considered was an “incredibly bizarre pinch-me moment.”A ‘methodical’ huntProducer Amy Pascal, who steered “Spider-Man” to several reboots over her career, has said fans can expect a decision by the end of the year. “We are being really, really methodical,” she told Deadline this summer. “Daniel Craig is a hard act to follow. And it’s got to be something really different that is a stirring and exciting and different.”There is immense pressure to get the decision right. For one, the Bond franchise is big business, with Craig’s “No Time to Die” earning more than $900 million. (In 2022, Amazon paid $8.5 billion to acquire Bond’s parent company, MGM.) But the role also occupies huge cultural real estate as one of the most identifiably “British” characters in film.Just six actors have portrayed Bond. Sean Connery first appeared as the suave, shaken-not-stirred secret agent in 1962’s “Dr. No.” Tradition has it that the role should be played a Brit, although George Lazenby, an Australian, played Bond in 1969’s “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.”Pierce Brosnan, who played 007 in four movies, appeared to back Turner in an interview with Vanity Fair last week, saying the husband of Dua Lipa was a strong actor. “They all have a voice and a physique, and a presence on film,” Brosnan said of the final candidates. “They all have longevity as actors, all of these young men.”“Whoever plays the role, I wish him the very best of life and strength and courage,” he said.The next Bond movie will be directed by Denis Villeneuve, who knows a thing or two about working in a franchise, given he has overseen the “Dune” trilogy. At a Los Angeles gala on Saturday, Villeneuve appeared to be reveling in the media’s focus on the battle for Bond.“I should not comment right now because every word I’m going to say is going to be scrutinized,” Villeneuve told Variety. “I would just say that I’m having a great time.”The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.THE-CNN-WIRE (TM) & © 2026 CABLE NEWS NETWORK, INC., A TIME WARNER COMPANY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Skydance Games Layoffs Hit Following Warner Bros. Merger
Skydance Games has undergone a round of layoffs following the merger between Warner Bros. and Paramount.
James Gunn and Peter Safran are out in another DC Studios shakeup, Skydance appoints Jeremy Latchman
James Gunn and Peter Safran aren’t surviving the Skydance takeover of Warner Bros., after all. Skydance Motion Picture Group announced Monday that Gunn and Safran are stepping down after four years...
Skydance Lays Off Game Developers Post-Warner Bros. Merger
David Ellison's VR gaming division is downsizing
Skydance Starts Layoffs In Games Division After Warner Bros. Games Acquisition
After acquiring Warner Bros. Games as part of the bigger deal, layoffs have begun in the games division at Skydance.
Bill Hader’s $92M Comedy Stumbles at Box Office Despite No. 2 Opening
Bill Hader’s $92 million animated comedy just hit theaters, and Warner Bros. might already be sweating. The studio’s latest big-budget release opened at No. 2 domestically, and early numbers suggest i...
Kurt Warner shares his expectations for Burrow, Bengals
"I think he can carry (the Bengals) as far as they want to go, you know, which is winning it all," Kurt Warner said of Joe Burrow.
Pamela Abdy feels rage after Warner Bros. exit, she says at WIF Honors
Pamela Abdy received the inaugural Vanguard Award at the Women in Film Honors gala and delivered a powerful, 15-minute speech about the treatment of women in Hollywood.
Pamela Abdy Unleashes Her 'Pure, Unadulterated Rage' at WIF Honors
The former Warner Bros. exec gave a passionate 15-minute speech at the event, where she was presented with the Vanguard Award.
U.K. Culture Secretary Scrutinizing Comcast-Owned Sky's Acquisition of ITV Media & Entertainment
U.K. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy Nov. 4 disclosed that she will look into Comcast-owned Sky’s $2.15 billion acquisition of ITV’s Media & Entertainment, which includes its free-to-air channels and the ITVX streaming platform. In a statement, Nandy, who most-recently conducted an 11th hour investigation of Paramount’s $111 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, says she … Continue reading "U.K. Culture Secretary Scrutinizing Comcast-Owned Sky’s Acquisition of ITV Media & Entertainment"
'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' Remains Atop Weekly U.K. Home Entertainment Sales Chart
Sony’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day remained atop of the Official Film Chart, the weekly U.K. home entertainment sales chart through Nov. 4, in its fourth week in the Top 10. Warner’s sci-fi thriller The End of Oak Street, starring Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor, leapfrogged 10 spots to No. 2 in its seventh week, followed … Continue reading "‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Remains Atop Weekly U.K. Home Entertainment Sales Chart"
Democrat Mark Warner wins reelection to U.S. Senate from Virginia
Democratic incumbent Mark Warner won election Tuesday to the U.S. Senate representing Virginia, defeating Republican Bert Mizusawa.
'The Invited' TV Series Inspired By Wendy Webb Books In Works
'The Invited,' a series inspired by the ghost story thriller novels of Wendy Webb, is in the works from Impossible Dream Ent. and Wall to Wall.
Exclusive-Skydance shuffles distribution ranks as eight executives depart
By Jaspreet Singh Nov 3 (Reuters) - Skydance, the media giant that merged Paramount-Skydance with Warner Bros.
Paramount-Warner Bros. $110 Billion Merger Reshapes Hollywood
Page 28 dives into the road to Skydance, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Gala, Victoria's Secret Fashion Show and more.
Skydance Offers Buyouts Amid Paramount Merger Layoff Fears
Skydance offers employee buyouts and mandates five-day office work as the $110 billion Paramount-Warner Bros. merger raises layoff fears.
Skydance offers voluntary buyouts, mandates five-day office week after $110 billion Warner Bros Discovery deal
The media giant is looking to rein in costs and manage an estimated $80 billion debt burden as it integrates Warner Bros Discovery and prepares to outline its strategy to investors.
Skydance offers voluntary buyouts to some employees
Skydance Corp. is offering some employees a one-time voluntary buyout, a move that comes nearly three weeks after Paramount Skydance closed its $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. The
Skydance offers voluntary buyouts to some employees
Skydance is offering a one-time voluntary buyout offer to certain employees, as Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery merge operations.
Kurt Warner apologizes for mixing up Jaylen and Tyler Warren
The Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints met on Sunday in the NFL’s first ever game in France. NFL Network was on the call, with Dave Pasch on play-by-play and Jason Kelce and Kurt Warner both providing analysis. But throughout the broadcast, Warner suffered a painful mixup on several occasions, going out of his way…
Kurt Warner Addresses Major Gaffe During Steelers Win vs. Saints
Kurt Warner knows Jaylen Warren’s name even better now. The former St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals quarterback, who offered […]
Editorial: Company mergers are causing more harm to the entertainment industry than good
Two weeks ago, Paramount officially completed its $110 billion purchase of the historic Warner Bros.
Netflix’s Leadership Shake Up…Explained
(Welcome to the “Most Important Story of the Week”, my bi-weekly strategy column analyzing the most important (but often not buzziest) news story of the last two weeks. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. Please subscribe.) Well, I had a simple article planned for this week. Called “Whoa, I Missed It!”, I’d take a gander at a few important-but-under-the-radar stories I didn’t cover while I wrote about all things “Skydance. (Formerly known as “the saga of Netflix trying to buy Warner Bros., but not Discovery, then Paramount-Skydance bought all of Warner Bros. Discovery”.) Alas, that article will have to wait. Netflix made news. Ironically, my “Whoa, I Missed It!” article would have mostly been about “content” strategy decisions, which is also what today’s article is about. But instead of the entire industry, this article will only cover Netflix’s decision to upend their film and TV content teams. Just that! So that’s the full topic of the day. I’m going to tackle the issue in the opposite direction of the way “stuff” flows: uphill. We’ll start at film, then move onto TV, and then onto the CEOs themselves, and the strategy questions that still remain. But we start with the numbers driving this. Let’s dive in. Subscribe Most Important Story of the Week - Netflix Upends Their Corporate Hierarchy I’ve got a lot of thoughts, but we’ll start with the most common response to yesterday’s article. Let’s Talk Stock Price More than one person, responding to what I published two days ago, pointed out that, well, actually, the thing driving Netflix’s actions is this: In short, stock price! Even if Netflix isn’t obsessed with their own share price—they probably are, but, for the record, my strategic advice to every CEO is to absolutely ignore stock prices, which will, ironically, probably help the stock price long-term—most everyone thinks they are. By the way, I prefer market capitalization to stock prices, because it’s a more apples-to-apples way to compare companies: But there’s an even better way to look at it, and it kinda casts some doubt on the entire push here: price-to-earnings. I have a long list of articles that I wish I had written, and chief among them is an article titled, “Am I Still a Netflix ‘Bear’?” meaning someone who thinks Netflix’s stock is overvalued. As of last summer, Netflix had solved their biggest problem—which for me (circa 2019) was the lack of free cash flow—but their stock was CRAZY overvalued. That’s this chart here: Why did Netflix’s stock price increase to a price-to-earnings ratio of 50 last summer? What financial metric changed so quickly? Nothing. Given that, historically, mature entertainment companies average 10 to 20, with 16 being the average, that increase made little sense. Netflix’s stock swoon these last eight or so months wasn’t irrational; the stock price rise last year was. So if you want a really hot Netflix take, here it is: Netflix’s stock price has been going down because the financial industry recovered its senses, not because of any strategic mistake. Yes, that would imply that cleaning house may have been a mistake. That’s why the charts yesterday are so important, because they show that Netflix did have a strategic problem (a lack of hits) and that’s what they moved to address. (One could also argue the industry drastically overrated Netflix’s growth prospects, but that’s a financial industry problem, not a Netflix strategy problem per se. Some growth estimates are just crazy. *cough* AI *cough*) Now, the last time Netflix’s stock price crashed—circa 2022—it gave them an opening. I’d argue Netflix insiders knew they needed to expand post-COVID-19 crisis, adding advertising, cracking down on password sharing, and dabbling in sports. But if they had done that when their stock price was high, it would give folks a reason to second guess their strategy. (Arguably, last year, when Netflix pursued the Warner Bros. merger, it gave the industry a chance to review their business.) Instead, after the 2022 fall, they had the opening to make strategic changes. We may see Netflix pivot again following this latest slide. For example, the “binge versus weekly” conversation is alive and well again. Same for expanding into theaters even more. And adding both linear channels and streaming bundles. And maybe more either social, user-generated, vertical, or creator content. But the first shift came with who is making the content calls. A Message from Our Sponsor Last winter Pulp Fiction was on Netflix. For those same 90 days, it was also free, with ads, on Pluto TV and the Roku Channel. That is not a glitch, and it is not rare. The title has run on 20 different US streaming services since 2019, across 80 separate windows, and for more than 600 of those days it sat on a paid subscription service and a free ad-supported one at the same time. Almost nobody can see this, because when a title leaves a service, the record that it was ever there tends to leave with it. Reelgood keeps that record, dated to the day rather than the month: 4MM+ movie, show and episode titles across 300+ services globally, with timestamped arrivals, departures and moves across SVOD, AVOD, TVOD and vMVPD. Licensing teams price against every prior window. Rights teams check what a licensee actually delivered, and when. Pick a title you think you know: data.reelgood.com/title-availability Film - Dan Lin Want to know why I don’t opine on individual film or TV executives, especially new hires? Dan Lin. As I always caution, it’s really, really, really tough to predict which executives will succeed in new roles and which won’t. The successful head of co-production/finance partner, Rideback, Lin was considered for the head of DC Studios job before taking the job as the head of Netflix. By all accounts at the time, this was a smart hire. (That’s my read of the news coverage anyways.) But now that Netflix has fired Dan Lin, we got a slew of news stories about how he was doing a terrible job. In sports media, Bryan Curtis, new Substack writer/podcaster from The Ringer, calls this the “now you tell us” story, when you only hear the bad news after a star athlete leaves a sports team. In this case, now they tell us that Dan Lin was bad with talent after he got kicked out the door. So was Dan Lin a flop? It’s actually tough to say. While film moves faster than TV, even two years isn’t really enough time to evaluate a person’s output. The new head hasn’t really taken control. As Emily Horgan noted, it takes much longer than two years to produce animated films, so yeah, it’s definitely too early to judge in that domain. As for live-action films, I just published an article by Brandon Katz called “Netflix’s Summer of Bummer”, but I’d point out Netflix had a bad summer two years ago too. Arguably, their best summer came from KPop Demon Hunters last year and Happy Gilmore 2, the latter of which I saw credited to Lin. Then, the stories came out that Dan Lin clashed with talent, both Ben Affleck and Greta Gerwig, classic “now they tell us” factoids to explain his firing. This may have been true, but also should have been expected given that he was given the mandate to bring budgets back in check, especially after Rebel Moon. So if he made folks upset, well, that’s what he was hired to do! But also, he was described as “well-liked” at his hiring! In that case, I’m a bit sympathetic to Lin, since he may have been undercut by senior leadership, as often happens. Basically, a CEO hires a subordinate to be their “bad cop” and keep budgets in check, but then when talent complains, the CEO ends up undercutting them. That’s how I think you end up with a Narnia movie as expensive as any of the other flops, along with a film executive the town no longer likes. As a result, I think that Netflix is now executing a classic “hire the opposite” move by hiring Peter Rice. This phrase comes from my experience following football and basketball coaching decisions, where teams generally hire the opposite of who they just had. If you have an offense-minded head coach, hire the defensive guy. Or in college football, if you have a strong recruiter, then you pivot to an “X’s and Os” type of guy. Or in pro basketball, if you have a very analytically minded coach, you hire the player-friendly guy. I see that here. After dropping Scott Stuber—arguably a talent-friendly executive with lax budget control—Netflix hired the business guy to keep costs in check. Now Netflix is pivoting back to Peter Rice and presumably a more talent-friendly regime. (Disney, by the way, has done this twice: hiring business guys to succeed talent-friendly Bob Iger. It didn’t work out last time.) When it comes to Peter Rice…we’ll see! Maybe he works out, but maybe he doesn’t. I’d actually say the biggest problem is that Netflix still hasn’t solved its “IP Problem”, in that they don’t own much IP, so they just have a lower hit rate. The new executive won’t solve that. (Though buying Lionsgate would help.) Share “Content” - Bela Bajaria I almost published yesterday’s article after this column, but ended up flipping the order, because it told the story so well. So if you want the data for why Netflix is looking at TV to fix their problems, it’s in that article, this graph in particular: I know I just wrote that it’s often hard to judge executives, but Bajaria ran TV for six years and film for three and a half more. That’s more than enough to judge hit rates, and Netflix needs more hits. That’s the story. Since 2023, Netflix hasn’t had as many hit shows as it used to, and many of its previous power house TV shows have ended their runs (Stranger Things most of all). Also, many shows from 2020 to 2022 probably pre-dated Bajaria’s tenure. (That said, one thing may have been outside of Bajaria’s control, which I explain below.) Let’s lump some content strategy thoughts about Netflix and TV into one place: We’re just getting started with this issue, but the rest is for paid subscribers of the Entertainment Strategy Guy, so if you’d like to find out… Why I partially blame Squid Game for Netflix’s latest troubles… What is “the football trap”... Why it might not be the TV shows or films’ fault at all… What change I don’t think Netflix will make... How Bela Bajaria evolved Netflix’s TV strategy in smart ways… Whose departure likely submarined Bajaria’s final few years… One sneaky explanation for Netflix’s content struggles... And a whole lot more... ...please subscribe! We can only keep doing this great work with your support.
'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' Remains Atop Weekly U.K. Home Entertainment Sales Chart Through Oct. 23
Sony Pictures’ Spider-Man: Brand New Day remained No. 1 for a second week on the Official Film Chart, the weekly U.K. home entertainment sales chart, through Oct. 23. The movie currently tops the 2026 global box office with $2.51 billion in ticket sales. At No. 2 was Warner’s Practical Magic 2, which made its retail debut. … Continue reading "‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Remains Atop Weekly U.K. Home Entertainment Sales Chart Through Oct. 23"
'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' Remains Atop Weekly U.K. Home Entertainment Sales Chart Through Oct. 23
Sony Pictures’ Spider-Man: Brand New Day remained No. 1 for a second week on the Official Film Chart, the weekly U.K. home entertainment sales chart, through Oct. 23. The movie currently tops the 2026 global box office with $2.51 billion in ticket sales. At No. 2 was the retail debut of Warner’s Practical Magic 2, the … Continue reading "‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Remains Atop Weekly U.K. Home Entertainment Sales Chart Through Oct. 23"
There’s a Reason That Netflix’s Ad Business Has Underwhelmed
Somewhat lost in the company’s slew of firings and engagement warnings over the past few weeks was the fact that Netflix is scaling back its ad forecast for 2026 from $3 billion to $2.7 billion. That’s despite the fact that: CTV is growing by 14-15% this year This year saw a monster upfront Netflix is the biggest streamer out there this side of YouTube, and was the platform that for years brands were supposedly dying to be a part of In other words, that’s an alarming pull-back from Netflix. A Wall Street analyst I spoke with last week was blunt, calling Netflix’s ad business “disappointing.” To me, a red flag on the ad front is that Netflix has never revealed how many ad-supported subscribers it has. Because if I know anything about how big companies work, if they have a positive number that makes them look really good - they tend to share it. (How many subs does go90 have right now? We’re not saying just yet. How are ads going on ChatGPT? Oh, a billion run rate - I see). Yes, to date Netflix has shared some fuzzy ad numbers, such as the idea that the company’s ad tier ‘reaches’ 250 million users globally.’ Here’s why that figure gives me pause: a)they lead with global, and b) they don’t explain how they are calculated. (Are they based on average people in each room? Surveys of some kind?). Regardless, some insiders say that Netflix’s ad tier is scaling nicely - others not so much. Either way, one of Netflix’s biggest challenge on the ad front appears to have been its starting point. Remember, when Netflix launched ads in 2022, it had 73 million subs in the US and Canada. That’s 73 million people who were used to Netflix with zero ads. And when the ad product rolled out, the company clearly was going after new users - a limited pool of potential subscribers by default. That focus seems to have changed over time, as Netflix has tried to convert longtime subscribers to the ad tier. Historically Netflix subscribers are very sticky. But is the company’s low churn a problem? Not necessarily, according to Antenna data. Rather, Netflix’s consumer loyalty is a bit of a double-edged sword. “Netflix is the one streamer which actually has seen substantial “trade downs” but has much lower ‘win backs,’ said Antenna founder Jonathan Carson (win-backs being people who were on the ad-free plan, cancelled, then rejoined on the ad plan). “Netflix has lower churn and so has less opportunity to win back old subs with a lower cost plan option.” This all might explain why Netflix has been so slow to roll out all of these table stakes targeting options until just this week. It likely didn’t have enough users to carve up into various targets. etc. However, what really hit Netflix’s ad business was Amazon’s move a few years ago to turn on advertising for Prime Video by default. Suddenly the market was awash in premium inventory, and Netflix was playing catch-up on multiple fronts. Thus, the streaming giant appears to still be figuring out if if wants lead in ‘programmatic TV,’ or premium ‘upfront’ TV sales. “The CTV market now sorts into three businesses, and Netflix is not the leader of any of them,” wrote analyst Jack Myers. Ouch. So how does Netflix ratchet up its ads business? Get the next NFL package You’re gonna have to wait until 2030 unless one of the bigger media companies like Skydance opts out, but the easiest (not cheapest) way for Netflix to become a huge TV ads contender is to get one of the regular NFL packages, ideally Sunday afternoons. That way it can sell ads to its whole U.S. subs base overnight. Go FAST This one is risky, because to program a compelling FAST channel, you’d likely have to take some older Netflix exclusive shows and make them available for free to non-subscribers. But FASTs, for better or worse, are ad-inventory machines. Go full UGC I’m not sure I see this happening. There is something already off about Netflix carrying podcasts and shows for creators. The experience sticks out in what is such a produced, and generally non-communal environment. But Netflix could open up its platform by allowing creators to upload videos without having to be approved by the service. But that opens a whole other can of worms (policing brand safety, copyright infringement, overall quality). Make a huge RMN Deal I was going to suggest something crazy, such as ‘instead of buying Warner Brothers, Netflix should buy Target. But the company doesn’t want to be in the brick and mortar business. Yet for Netflix’s ad business to compete in an Amazon world, it needs to be able to connect ad exposures to shopping. What if, instead of letting Amazon target Netflix viewers with its DSP, Netflix inked a deal with Target, or even took control of Roundel, and created its version of the Amazon full-funnel for brands? Price us out. I hope they don’t do this, but Netflix’s price increases - while significant - haven’t been enough to push long-term customers out of the ad-free tier. But if they made those prices so prohibitive, it could push large swaths of consumers to trade down. Then again, that could also dent engagement - as binging becomes much less appealing once you bring ads into the equation. Or, they could just launch a bunch of hit shows and maybe everyone will quickly forget all this angst. More from Amazon unBoxed A few weeks ago, I recorded two podcasts live at Amazon’s unBoxed event in San Francisco. I was able to go really deep with several brand partners about how Amazon’s various data and ad products work - particularly the under appreciated Amazon Marketing Cloud. First, I talked with Laura Abadias Velilla, of the Amazon specialty agency Amerge, along with Amazon’s own Charlotte Maines, Vice President, Devices Content & Advertising, about how the two partners helped a very specific printer company Epson launch into a brand new category - high end projectors. It’s a great example of how brands connect audience data across platforms to make budget deployment decisions. Next, I chatted with Monks VP Head of Digital Investment for North America Tom Burchill about how the agency actually brought in data from Linkedin to help target B2B customers across various Amazon properties for the brand Quicken. Check it out: Check these out, or just listen:
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When 1 + 1 = 1: The Miserable Math Behind Many Media Mergers
(Welcome to the “Most Important Story of the Week”, my bi-weekly strategy column analyzing the most important (but often not buzziest) news story of the last two weeks. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. Please subscribe.) The last few issues of this newsletter have circled two topics: September’s streaming viewership and all the Paramount/Skydance/Warner Bros./Discovery merger news. I’m happy to say on the Streaming Ratings Report front, we’ll be all caught up by early next week, then the SRR will come out on a tight weekly schedule. Then, after today, I’ll have slayed my PSWbD dragon. It’s such a big story, it demanded multiple issues. With the announcement of a name (just Skydance) and executive team, though, I think we can almost close the book on this story. In terms of topics, it becomes just another studio to cover. So today, I have one last set of takes on that merger. As I’ve sat with it, reading about who was staying and who was going, a big worry crystallized in my brain, and I gotta get that take out. Plus, I still owe you a host of “ugliness” that didn’t fit in my previous “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” takes. Let’s dive in! Subscribe Most Important Story of the Week - As Paramount Shuffles Deck Chairs, Will They Build or Consolidate? On social media—I try to avoid most social media platforms, but sometimes I end up checking in—the best joke I saw about the announcement of the new name of Skydance was from fellow reporter Claire Atkinson who pointed out… Yeah, I laughed out loud at that one. Later, though, I saw another Twitter response (that later got deleted, so I can’t shout the person out) that did give me pause. The person noted that the Titanic film made the better analogy: a super expensive project everyone in the town doubted that went on to conquer the globe. So yeah: on one hand, the image of the Titanic recalls the actual ship and its infamous end, but that clip is from a movie which proved the doubters wrong. So for all the skepticism of the latest massive media merger, one could wonder which way this one goes. Does it crash like the Titanic or rise to glory like Titanic, the movie? Either way, this deal is “Titanic”, looking at the massive debt required to close the deal, which is not going well when it comes to borrowing costs for Paramount… …or borrowing costs for Oracle. But I’ve started to get worried about another outcome: the sum of this merger will be smaller and weaker and less profitable than its former parts. In other words, one plus one won’t equal three or two, but an even smaller number. Skydance paid to take a traditional studio off the board, but they won’t really capture the upside. Let me explain what I mean, but first, let’s look at the series of news that inspired this thought. Skydance Sets Its Leadership Team As soon as the Paramount-Skydance-Warner Bros.-Discovery merger closed, the new leadership team announced a new name—Skydance, which I’ll use going forward—and a new executive leadership team. You’ve probably read through all the executive shuffling, but if you haven’t, here’s a quick, incomplete summary, in rough order of importance: Mattel’s CEO Ynon Kreiz—who previously ran Maker Studios—joined as co-CEO with David Ellison. HBO/HBO Max’s Casey Bloys will stay and run streaming. Former head of streaming for Paramount-Skydance Cindy Holland—who was also at Netflix—will depart. The former heads of Warner Bros.—Pam Abdy and Mike De Luca—are out. The film studios will be run by Dana Goldstein and Josh Greenstein. George Cheeks of Paramount will run Skydance TV, controlling all the TV production units. In comic book news, the DC films will still be run by Peter Gunn and Peter Safran. Lastly, the head of CNN, Mark Thompson, will stay in place. Let’s quickly opine on the particulars before diving into the broad ramifications. We’re just getting started with this issue, but the rest is for paid subscribers of the Entertainment Strategy Guy, so if you’d like to find out… Who I like and dislike in their next gigs… Why I think this consolidation will likely leave Skydance worse off… The math behind which mergers succeed and which don’t… A lot more ugliness in this merger… And a whole lot more... ...please subscribe! We can only keep doing this great work with your support.
Skydance raises Discovery+ prices, a week after Skydance merger
Discovery+ is getting more expensive just a week after Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery became Skydance. Here’s what subscribers will pay, and when.
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It's been just about a week since the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery deal closed. In the months ahead, Hollywood will determine its future.
What does the combined Skydance, now in business, mean for Hollywood?
It's been just about a week since the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery deal closed. In the months ahead, Hollywood will determine its future.
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Who Won August and September: Original Films or Franchises?
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) I just heard someone say that if you’re reading a pundit or data analyst, and they don’t tell you that they got anything wrong, they’re not a pundit but an “influencer”. I agree with that. You have to tell your audience when you get things wrong, or they won’t (or shouldn’t) trust you as much. Today, we’ve got another edition of “What I Got Right, What I Got Wrong”. In general, I’m patting myself on the back (and patting very hard) about a few things like IP at the box office, LIV golf, horror films, crowdfunding movies, superheroes, and old people going to the theaters. That said, I also made a couple of data mistakes on the streaming bubble popping and HBO’s datecdotes, so I’m not perfect. But first, I need your feedback... Subscribe Follow-Ups: What Should We Call Mid-Budget Movies Which Aren’t Cinematic Enough for Theaters But Are Too Expensive to Make Money on Streaming? After I asked for feedback on what we should call straight-to-streaming films that are too big to pencil out on streaming but not really big enough to resonate in theaters, I got some great suggestions from you all, including... “Moldilocks” from John Aboud “Little Big Indie” from Travis Frick1 “Midflicks” from Jonathan Funke. “Extra-Medium” from Jona Nwuke. (Read the explanation in the footnote.) Between these and Brandon Katz—who suggested “Bermuda Budget Triangle”, “The Platform Gap” and “The Distribution Deadzone”—we’ve got some excellent suggestions. And they’re better than my suggestion, the “Streaming Budget Dead Zone”, so let’s take a poll! The winning entry becomes the new term. Loading... RIGHT: LIV Golf is Fully Bankrupt…Is Anyone Else Next? A few years ago, I was always a bit perplexed at all the articles I’d read praising LIV Golf and their strategy to disrupt the PGA. LIV Golf, a brand new professional golf league, offered PGA stars ten times what they made on the PGA Tour to join their new league. And folks praised this strategy for its initial “success” in that a lot of big names did indeed leave the PGA. Yeah, of course the players came over. LIV Golf paid them so, so, so much more! But LIV Golf hadn’t discovered a way to increase potential revenue. So think about this in basic business terms… They paid much more in costs… …but had no real way to increase revenue. That’s not a strategy! That’s deficit financing. It won’t work unless you bankrupt the competition (and then turn around and pay those same golfers much, much less). It’s not a sustainable strategy and only lasts as long as the company/person/nation backing it decides they’re cool with losing money. For LIV Golf, that meant Middle East oil wealth, in particular Saudi Arabian money. Clearly, the current Iran War has hurt Middle East finances, so they need to trim their more exorbitant spending. And LIV Golf was part of that trimming. This should be a major warning for others. TGL’s parent company, TMRW Sports, just got a $1 billion valuation, despite TGL’s (the indoor golf league) horrible TV viewership of less than half a million viewers per match. Unrivaled, the women’s basketball league, just secured a $650 valuation, despite its horrible TV viewership and a new rival (Project B) entering the scene next year. To relate this to streaming, Hollywood should ask which streamers may have wealthy patrons funding their losses. (Let’s be clear: Google, Amazon and Apple.) Could those patrons lose their appetite? For Amazon, probably not. But Apple has a new boss, so maybe! WRONG: My Analysis of the Streaming Bubble Was Missing a Week I’m going to be congratulating myself a lot today, but I make mistakes too, like this data goof. When I last compiled the data on the decline in TV shows, I was missing one week at the end of June. If you look at the first image, you can see that one week was mislabelled as “July”. Mainly, this image got updated to show a 27% decline, not 29%: This change doesn’t really impact the overall analysis, but it is two percent better. By the way, through the third quarter, the decline increased and it’s now a 30% decrease since 2022. (I’ll write/visualize this in an upcoming article.) But I want you to trust me and my data. Especially these days, when many people are using LLMs that I know are inserting faulty data into their charts, I want to keep earning my audience’s faith. So that’s the accurate data. RIGHT: IP Remains Very, Very Popular In July, I wrote a giant (and I mean giant) article on Backrooms, Obsession, and the box office, going over what we know, what we don’t know about what works in theaters, looking at YouTubers, IP, the horror genre, comic book movies, and a whole lot more. The month of August really tested a lot of my theses and, being honest, mostly supported my arguments. Let’s start with IP. Looking at 8-Aug (the weekend after Spider-Man: Brand New Day came out) to 18-Sep (the weekend that Resident Evil came out, which I think provides a nice bookend to this time period), there were seven films based on pre-existing IP: Resident Evil (2026) ($126 million) Practical Magic 2 ($65 million) _Insidious: Out of the Furthe_r ($65 million) Coyote Vs. Acme ($59 million) Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie ($53 million) Tony ($15 million) Super Troopers 3 ($7 million) Compare those to the notable original films from the past month—I actually could have included more movies, but here are just thirteen, bringing us to an even twenty films—including.... The End of Oak Street ($54 million) Buddy ($26 million) Mutiny ($15 million) By Any Means ($15 million) The Dog Stars ($14 million) Runner ($14 million) One Night Only ($11 million) Hope ($8 million) Spa Weekend ($7 million) The Uprising ($6 million) Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma ($6 million) Onslaught ($3 million) Eli Roth’s Ice Cream Man ($2.8 million) Here’s that in chart form: Five of the top six films in this time period were all based on IP. I made a big chart of films that grossed over $200 million at the box office before Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Odyssey hit theaters. Let’s update that chart! By the way, if you want to see how I categorized each film—so another bar chart—here it is: I know that many of my fellow critics/pundits/analysts dislike films based on IP and how Hollywood is making so many of them. And I’m sympathetic to this point of view. As I’ve written many, many times before, you need a balance between existing franchises, new IP, and original films. And Hollywood clearly needs to make more films like Resident Evil (a well-made film from a visionary director) and fewer Practical Magic 2’s (which didn’t get critical or customer buzz). But at some point, critics and pundits need to contend with what audiences are telling them: Movie-goers aren’t showing up to original films. Audiences are speaking with their dollars, telling you they want more IP and franchises. You can try to convince studio heads to make fewer IP-based films and franchises, but the data and numbers aren’t there. Instead, critics need to work harder to convince audiences to show up for original films. Aim your ire/concern at the average person, not studio heads.2 Because they’re just making the films that audiences are telling them to make. WRONG: Original Horror Films Didn’t Break Out I’ll be honest, even though I wrote an article casting some skepticism on the horror genre in July, if you asked me to make a prediction, I would have predicted that, in August, a new, original horror film would have blown up. No, seriously, I just assumed that Obsession and Backrooms presaged a change in audience behavior. But none of the buzzy new original horror films from August—Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, Onslaught (not an action film in spite of the ads), The End of Oak Street, Eli Roth’s Ice Cream Man, or _Buddy—_broke out. To be clear, exactly one of those films (Buddy) had good “ROI”, but again—I try to be specific in my language—none were “popular” in any broad sense of the word. None of them will be “saving” movies theaters like Backrooms or _Obsession_helped save the summer. The new Insidious film and Resident Evil, both based on IP, were far and away the biggest horror films since July. (We’ll see if this changes in October/Halloween season.) RIGHT: Stay Skeptical about Crowdfunding... I’ve long been skeptical about crowd-investing platforms as one of Hollywood’s saviors, mainly because there’s so much hype/buzz. People need to stay more skeptical about more things, explaining both the potential upside but also the downsides. In particular, the media often hypes crowdfunding at the start and never checks in on the actual results after they’ve come in later. And August gave us our first update! _Ice Cream Man—_directed by Eli Roth—grossed $6 million off of a $5.5 million budget. This is a production of The Horror Section, which was one of the first “crowd investing” studios with 2,400 investors, which means that 2,400 investors probably lost money. They certainly aren’t getting as great of returns as if they had just invested their dollars in the stock market. Hopefully Stiletto (Tagline: “Someone’s Going to Make it Rain Blood!”) does better next month. WRONG: Another Data Goof Here’s another data error. When the first episode of House of the Dragon came out, HBO put out that it had 21.5 million viewers in the first three days, and I read that to mean in the US…but no, it was global. So my US-only datecdotes charts shouldn’t have included it. We never got US-only numbers for the first episode, but for the final episode, HBO put out that it had 11 million US viewers. (And that global dropped to 21 million viewers.) Here’s the updated chart (which I’ve since used in the Streaming Ratings Report): Still, this show is absolutely huge. RIGHT: Superhero Films Remain Very, Very Popular After Supergirl flopped, I read a few takes that “comic book movies are going the way of the Western”. Post-Spider-Man: Brand New Day, that take didn’t age well. To be fair, I have a very nuanced take on the superhero genre right now; it’s down right now, for a lot of reasons. But it’s not “dead”. Maybe _Spider-_Man is just a really popular character? I saw that take, and it’s a fair counter-argument. (But pundits arguing that superhero movies were dead should have mentioned this $1.5 billion counter-argument…) But is it just Spider-Man? The next Avengers film already has $50 million in pre-sales (and I was skeptical that that film would do well) and the Avengers: End Game re-release topped the box office two weekends ago (over three original films). And I wouldn’t bet against Batman or Superman. So maybe it’s just Spider-Man, Batman, Superman and the Avengers. Oh, and Deadpool, of course. And Black Panther. And Wolverine. And probably the X-Men. Plus a well-made Wonder Woman or the Hulk film could break out. But that’s it! It’s just those ten characters/teams. Oh, what’s that? Lanterns is also doing well on HBO? (See previous section…) To be fair, I’m actually pretty sympathetic to the argument that more popular characters—like Spider-Man and Batman—anchor more popular films. In fact, I made that exact argument three years ago when I first wrote about the “Marvel-cession”. In many ways, you can blame The Guardians of the Galaxy for fooling Marvel Studios (and the rest of us) into believing that any character could pop. It turns out, the list of iconic characters is probably smaller than most people think. But it’s probably too early to say that superhero films and comic book movies are dead unless “death” means a slight decline over a longtime. RIGHT: Who Killed Theaters? Old People I get frustrated whenever I see headlines or analysis about how young people are “returning” to theaters. As I’ve detailed(for years), young people have always powered the US box office, despite narratives about “kids these days” and their “phones”. Really, what’s changed post-2020/pandemic is that old people aren’t going to the movies nearly as much. This summer, I saw a movie (from an older director) in a theater near a retirement community, and multiple older people at the theater were talking about how this was their first time seeing a movie in years. I dislike personal anecdotes, so YouGov can fill in the data, best summarized by this headline: “Who killed movie theaters? Not the youths”. According to them, 64% of people aged 18-29 have seen a movie in the last year, but only 30% of 65-and-older. 20% of 18-29 have seen a movie in theaters in the last week and 42% in the last month. Here’s the polling data: Most concerning? Many Americans (17%) think theaters are a worse or much worse experience than watching films at home. Slight WRONG: Hadestown Opens Big A live theater capture of the Broadway musical, Hadestown, made $20 million at the US box office, which begs the question: was I wrong to be skeptical about musicals a few years ago? Yes and no. On the one hand, $20 million is a far cry from being “popular”, so yeah, the genre isn’t that popular overall and Hadestown is one of the more popular musicals from recent years (i.e. the “Taylor Swift Data Fallacy” in action). On the other, I doubt filming this cost all that much, and I don’t think that they spent much on marketing, so this is a good source of ancillary revenue. Smaller Updates WRONG: As I mentioned in a Streaming Ratings Report, I underestimated the budget for Enola Holmes 3. It probably cost more like $50 million, if not more. But... I’m not sure that it really matters? At sub-10 million hours, prices have to come down to make this work. WRONG: Netflix is giving Ink a 27-day in theaters! To quote the kids/YouTubers these days, let’s go! Now I might actually have a chance to see Danny Boyle’s latest in theaters. I’d complained about this in a “Coming Soon” section, but I was heartened to read that Netflix is giving multiple films longer theatrical windows this year. RIGHT: Netflix is sending 4-5 films per year to theaters. Netflix is slowly but surely sending more and more films to theaters, as I cautiously predicted earlier this year. For now, it’s just three big films and a number of awards contenders, but still, this is great news. And they’ll be releasing box office grosses! Just this week, Ted Sarandos confirmed that KPop Demon Hunters 2 will come to theaters (and my guess is it performs in the box office top ten at a minimum). WRONG: Angel has 3 million subscribers! How do I know this? Well, they told Deadline, who reported it. I marked this as “wrong”, since they’ve doubled their subscribers in one year but, you know, they don’t really have a hit film to speak of and they’re still losing money. WRONG: Furious was only renewed for one more season. I accidentally wrote “two more seasons” in my latest “Renewals, Cancellations, Un-Orders and Removals Update”. RIGHT: House of David is ending with its third season. In July, Prime Video renewed House of David for a third season, as I just wrote in my latest “Renewals and Cancellations” report. Well, now it’s ending after that third season. Why? As I’ve been writing, its viewership wasn’t great. I got feedback that this show didn’t cost very much, but it cost enough that its limited viewership didn’t save it. WRONG: Adults was a Hulu original! So I missed Adults when it first came out last year; I saw that it aired on FX and just assumed that it was a linear-first program. Turns out, it aired three episodes on FX, but binge-released the rest of its episodes the next day on Hulu. Huh. So I should have covered it last year! But I just wrote about it. 1 “When I was a kid in the 90s, if you wore a t-shirt to school that wasn’t too big and also wasn’t too small, but somehow didn’t quite fit, we’d say you were wearing an “extra-medium” shirt.” 2 As always, a huge exception is Disney, which barely makes anything original anymore.
Entertainment news expert discusses the Paramount Skydance, Warner Bros. Discovery merger
Your 2026 NFL Week 5 announcing schedule
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Toby Emmerich Joins FilmNation Entertainment's Infrared As Consultant
Former Warner Bros Motion Picture Chief Toby Emmerich is boarding FilmNation Entertainment's Infrared as a consultant.
Kakao Entertainment strikes K-pop partnership with Warner’s Atlantic Music Group to develop artists ‘from the
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Skydance emerges as entertainment behemoth with Top Gun and Harry Potter
Continuity will be the immediate emphasis for Skydance, the new entertainment giant created by Paramount's takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery.
Skydance mashes proven properties of Paramount and Warner Bros. into an uncertain Hollywood hybrid
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Continuity will be the immediate emphasis for Skydance, the newly created entertainment behemoth borne of Paramount's $81 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery that closed on T...
Skydance now runs two of Hollywood’s legacy film studios. A look at the new company, by the numbers
David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance has completed its $81 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, bringing two of Hollywood’s most storied legacy film studios under one mammoth media and entertainment conglomerate named Skydance. Now, Skydance must decide how to make the most out of a trove of entertainment assets, including the HBO Max and Paramount+ video streaming services, a film library that includes “Star Trek,” “Barbie,” “Top Gun,” “Harry Potter,” and “Superman,” and two major news organizations, CNN and CBS News. Here’s a look at the new company, by the numbers.
Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger closes, creates combined company Skydance
David Ellison, CEO of Paramount Skydance, speaks during CinemaCon 2026 on April 16, 2026, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (David Becker/Getty Images for CinemaCon)
Entertainment: Paramount closes deal with Warner Bros.
Paramount has closed its $81 billion dollar purchase of Warner Brothers Discovery, forming a new Hollywood giant now called "Skydance".
Paramount, Warner Bros. Discovery Officially Merge Into Skydance
Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery complete their $110 billion merger, creating Skydance, a new global media and entertainment giant.
Warner Bros. and Paramount are now Skydance – What the merger means for you
Say goodbye to decades of Hollywood history and hello to the era of mega media corporations.
Warner Bros. and Paramount are now Skydance – What the merger means for you
Say goodbye to decades of Hollywood history and hello to the era of mega media corporations.
Skydance's $80 Billion Debt: Warner Bros., Paramount Owner's Reality
The combined company now has the scale to take on Netflix and Disney, but little room for error as it balances massive spending on film and TV with servicing its crushing financial obligations.
Paramount-WBD deal closes; here are top quant-rated entertainment stocks
The merger of Paramount Skydance (SKYD) and Warner Bros. Discovery NASDAQ:WBD marks a major shift in the entertainment industry after months of competing bids, lawsuits, and uncertainty.With the deal now closed, here are the top 20 Seeking Alpha's quant-rated stocks in the Movies and Entertainment…
Films and streaming prices - how the Warner Bros deal could affect you
The deal is expected to alter the entertainment and news industries but could it mean higher prices for consumers?
Paramount-Warner Bros merger: Four ways the deal could affect you
The deal is expected to alter the entertainment and news industries but could it mean higher prices for consumers?
Walmart goes after linear TV with Warner Bros ad deal
The retail giant has struck a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery so advertisers can target Walmart shoppers on linear TV.
Paramount-Warners Mega Deal Closes Creating Skydance Hollywood Giant
The combined company, Skydance, will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange this week.
Paramount and Warner Bros. to become one Hollywood giant: Skydance. Here's how we got here
Skydance-owned Paramount is expected to close its $81 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery on Tuesday. The new Hollywood giant will have a shorter nametag: “Skydance.” But it marks one of...
PARAMOUNT COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY, CREATING A NEW GLOBAL ENTERTAINMENT LEADER, SKYDANCE
Skydance Corporation (f/k/a Paramount Skydance Corporation) (NYSE: SKYD) ("Paramount") today announced the completion of its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ: WBD) ("WBD"), creating a combined company, named "Skydance." The company brings together two major film studios, two global streaming services, a premier television portfolio including CBS, HBO, and Paramount's and WBD's cable networks, two of the industry's most recognized news networks, CBS News and CNN, and a portfoli
Luis Silberwasser out at TNT Sports as CBS’s David Berson takes over Skydance’s combined sports group
The long-anticipated marriage of CBS Sports and TNT Sports now has a clear head of household, and it won’t be Luis Silberwasser. According to CNBC’s Alex Sherman, Silberwasser, chairman and CEO of TNT Sports, is exiting the soon-to-be combined Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery, he told his staff in an email on Monday. CBS…
CBS Sports Chief David Berson To Expand Portfolio As TNT Sports Chief Luis Silberwasser Exits
David Berson, who has led CBS Sports as president since 2024, will expand his portfolio after the close of the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger. The exec will take responsibility for sports across Skydance, the soon-to-be-umbrella over CBS and TNT Sports and their respective parents, Paramount and WBD. The $111 billion merger is due to close …
David Ellison names Skydance team that includes prominent Warner executives
Paramount Skydance Chief Executive David Ellison has rolled out his Skydance executive team, which includes several senior Warner Bros. executives who will segue into new roles at the soon-to-be merged
TNT Sports head Luis Silberwasser to depart Skydance as CBS Sports chief David Berson takes over combined global sports group
TNT Sports chief Luis Silberwasser will be leaving a combined Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros. Discovery company, sources tell CNBC.
Warner Bros. Executive Gerhard Zeiler to Enter Politics in Austria
Gerhard Zeiler, president of international for Warner Bros. Discovery, has declared his intention to enter politics in Austria.
Best Entertainment Stocks To Watch Now
Warner Bros. Discovery, Autodesk, DraftKings, Verizon Communications, and Spotify Technology are the five Entertainment stocks to watch today, according to MarketBeat's stock screener tool. Entertainment stocks are shares of publicly traded companies involved in producing, distributing, or deliveri
Mary McNamara: As David Ellison names his new empire Skydance, the message is clear: He owns Hollywood
LOS ANGELES — What a surprise. David Ellison has decided to name the Frankenstudio media company created by the merger of Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery simply Skydance. And
Skydance Executive Team Set By David Ellison Ahead of Deal Close
Skydance announced the executive leadership for the combined Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery.
'Coyote vs. Acme' Earns $100 Million, Proves David Zaslav Wrong
Three years after Warner Bros. shelved "Coyote vs. Acme," the Looney Tunes adaptation is a box office hit.
Tom Cruise-led ‘Digger’ tanks at the box office
The Tom Cruise-led movie "Digger" cratered at the box office this weekend, limping to a fifth-place finish with $8 million in the U.S. and Canada in its theatrical debut. The Warner Bros. film was expected to do poorly after polarizing...
Tom Cruise-led 'Digger' craters at the box office
Warner Bros.' climate change satire "Digger" collapsed at the box office with a domestic haul of $8 million, despite the star power of Tom Cruise.
On cusp of merger, ‘Digger bombs for Warner Bros., ‘Verity’ takes No. 1 at box office
On the cusp of the studio’s merger with Paramount, Warner Bros.
On cusp of merger, 'Digger bombs for Warner Bros., 'Verity' takes No. 1 at box office
On the cusp of the studio’s merger with Paramount, Warner Bros | 830 WCCO
On cusp of merger, 'Digger bombs for Warner Bros., 'Verity' takes No. 1 at box office
On the cusp of the studio’s merger with Paramount, Warner Bros | NewsRadio 1080 KRLD
On cusp of merger, 'Digger bombs for Warner Bros., 'Verity' takes No. 1 at box office
On the cusp of the studio’s merger with Paramount, Warner Bros.
Tony Gilroy Says Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger Will ‘Destroy’ a ‘Healthy and Beautiful Business’ in ‘The Name of Venture Capital’: ‘It’s Tragic’
Tony Gilroy blasted the “tragic” nature of the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger at the world premiere of his new film, “Behemoth!” Produced on a $36 million budget, “Behemoth!” is representative of the m...
Can Skydance CEO David Ellison Make Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger Fly?
David Ellison has to prove the merged Paramount-Warner Bros., dubbed Skydance, can become a profitable Hollywood powerhouse amid its massive debt.