Byron Allen’s Allen Media Will Buy 7 Stations From Gray TV for $380 Million

Irina Shayk, Emily Ratajkowski, and Gigi Hadid each attended the Michael Kors NYFW show on Tuesday.The three supermodels, 36, 30, and 26 respectively, all arrived to Terminal 5 showing off their individual sense of fashion.Irina was dressed in green underneath a long, brown coat; Emily opted for jeans; and Gigi sported brown Dr. Marten boots.

Britney Spears made her acting debut opposite Zoe Saldana and Taryn Manning in the coming-of-age film Crossroads, which hit theaterson February 15, 2002.And on its 20th anniversary, director Tamra Davis spoke toVarietyabout working with the 40-year-old singer, who hoped the role would allow her to 'take control' of her image and go in a mature direction.Davis, 60, recalled meeting Spears for the first time in a Las Vegas hotel suite where the star greeted her in just 'a little T-shirt and underwear' and admitted to getting 'hammered' the night before.She also dished on Spears' then-boyfriend Justin Timberlake, 41, spending a lot of time on set of Crossroads and how he was 'so supportive' of the Toxic hitmaker. Looking back: On the 20th anniversary of Crossroads, director Tamra Davis recalled to Variety what it was like working with Britney Spears, who hoped the role would allow her to 'take control' of her image and take it in a more mature direction; Spears pictured in 2002Davis commenced the interview by admitting that she originally did not want to direct the film after learning that it would be starring Spears in the leading role.'At first, I said no.

The catalog of SpongeBob SquarePants content is about to get a whole lot bigger.Three new spin-off movies are making their way to Paramount+ and another film will receive a theatrical release, Deadlinereported.The spin-off films will center around different residents of the titular sea sponge's hometown Bikini Bottom. The first of three will premiere in 2023.

Chris Pine is currently in talks with Paramount to return to the role of Captain James T. Kirk in an upcoming Star Trek film.The 41-year-old actor is the first member of the cast who has been approached to join the sequel, which is expected to start production in late 2022, Deadline reported on Tuesday.Pine was last at the helm of the USS Enterprise for the 2016 movie Star Trek Beyond, which ended up underperforming at the box office.

Three-time American Idol contestant David Willis was arrested last Friday for drug possession, TMZreported.The singer was pulled over by police in Lake County, Florida because of a malfunctioning headlight.Upon being pulled over, the outlet reported that officers could 'smell marijuana billowing from the car and proceeded to search the vehicle.' Booked:Three-time American Idol contestant David Willis was arrested last Friday for drug possession, TMZ reportedPolice said they found a grinder and squares of aper which later tested positive for the hallucinogenic substance LSD. Officers also said that Willis admitted to smoking marijuana with a friend before getting behind the wheel but also claimed that the LSD was not his.Willis was arrested and processed on possession of a controlled substance which is a third-degree felony.

With nearly two months left until Sonic the Hedgehog 2 hits theaters, Paramount is already expanding the franchise in a big way.The studio announced the news at Viacom Investor event on Tuesday, with Paramount CEO Brian Robbins delivering the news (via Deadline).The studio also announced that they are teaming with original Sonic the Hedgehog video game developer Sega to develop a live-action Sonic TV series featuring Knuckles from the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog 2, with Idris Elba returning. Expanding:With nearly two months left until Sonic the Hedgehog 2 hits theaters, Paramount is already expanding the franchise in a big way Knuckles:The studio also announced that they are teaming with original Sonic the Hedgehog video game developer Sega to develop a live-action Sonic TV series featuring Knuckles from the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog 2, with Idris Elba returning'We are delighted to announce that the third Sonic theatrical film and the first live-action Sonic series for Paramount+ are being actively developed,' saidSega CEO Haruki Satomi.'We’ve got a remarkable partnership with Paramount, and we are excited to continue expanding the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise with them,' he added.

Kandi Burruss received the break she deserved.The Real Housewives of Atlanta vet shared pictures with her nearly 10 million Instagram followers of a trip her husband, Todd Tucker, surprised her with for Valentine's Day.'My hubby is taking me on a surprise trip! A quick get away is just what we needed. I love you,' she said, tagging her husband and adding red heart emoji.

Bethenny Frankel said Kanye West needs to stay focused and avoid airing dirty laundry amid his publicized split with estranged wife Kim Kardashian.Frankel, 51, spoke on the issue on her podcast Just B with Bethenny Frankel Tuesday after West walked back controversial statements he made in recent weeks that he said 'came off as harassing Kim.'On her podcast, the Skinnygirl entrepreneur said that West, 44, had been taking the wrong approach in airing his grievances with Kim over a multitude of issues, including his attendance at a family birthday party, their daughter North's presence on TikTok, and Kim's relationship with comic Pete Davidson, 28. The latest:Bethenny Frankel, 51, said on her podcast Tuesday that Kanye West, 44, needs to stay focused and avoid airing dirty laundry amid his publicized split with estranged wife Kim Kardashian, 41'My advice to Kanye would be, you have to stay the course you cannot go rogue and take matters into your own hands when it comes to the divorce and custody process - it will only hurt you,' she said.

Vivienne Chow Police in Hong Kong on Tuesday arrested Tommy Yuen, a popular singer and pro-democracy campaigner. Local media and rights groups reported that Hong Kong authorities have also blocked access in the city to a pro-democracy website operated from the U.K.Yuen, a former member of the Canto-pop boy band E-kids, was arrested by national security police over the suspicion of sedition and money laundering.

The CFO of ViacomCBS, soon to be known as Paramount, said Tuesday that the company is looking hard for “efficiencies” at its traditional businesses to divert as much cash it can to streaming, where investment will hit an estimated $6 billion in 2024.

UPDATED, with Allison Gollust comment: Less than two weeks after Jeff Zucker resigned from CNN, the cable newser’s chief marketing exec Allison Gollust is out too.

Jennifer Aniston is a big fan!

Zoe Saldana is headed to Paramount+.

CNN's chief marketing officer, has resigned from the network following a WarnerMedia investigation into «issues associated with Chris Cuomo and former Governor Andrew Cuomo.»WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar announced Gollust's resignation in a memo to CNN staffers Tuesday, following the completion of the company's «comprehensive and definitive» investigation, which WarnerMedia says was performed by «a third-party law firm and led by a former federal judge.»«Based on interviews of more than 40 individuals and a review of over 100,000 texts and emails, the investigation found violations of Company policies, including CNN's News Standards and Practices, by Jeff Zucker, Allison Gollust, and Chris Cuomo,» Kilar said in the memo.«We have the highest standards of journalistic integrity at CNN, and those rules must apply to everyone equally,» he continued.Gollust responded to the statement with one of her own, calling WarnerMedia's statement an attempt to retaliate against her following CNN president, Jeff Zucker's resignation just weeks prior.«WarnerMedia's statement tonight is an attempt to retaliate against me and change the media narrative in the wake of their disastrous handling of the last two weeks,» Gollust said.«It is deeply disappointing that after spending the past nine years defending and upholding CNN's highest standards of journalistic integrity, I would be treated this way as I leave,» Gollust added.

Bob Saget's family is attempting to block the release of records related to the investigation into the comedian's death in January.Saget was found dead on Jan. 9 in his hotel room in Orlando, Florida. Now, Saget's family is suing the medical examiner's office and the Orange County sheriff, according to multiple reports, seeking an injunction in an effort to prevent the release of records that may contain photos, videos or audio recordings related to his death.The lawsuit states, «Plaintiffs will suffer irreparable harm in the form of extreme mental pain, anguish, and emotional distress if Defendants release the Records in response to public records requests or otherwise disseminate the Records for any other reason or purpose,»According to the Orange County Medical Examiner's autopsy report, obtained by ET on Feb.

Advertising giants GroupM and Interpublic Group have agreed to invest in Black-owned media companies following more than a year of campaigning by a group led by Byron Allen.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorBig advertisers like General Motors and Target say they intend to pay more attention to Black-owned media outlets. Now Interpublic Group, one of the nation’s biggest advertising companies, intends to follow suit.Interpublic’s large Mediabrands media-buying unit said Friday it expected to spend “a minimum of 5%” of its clients’ ad budgets in Black-owned media by 2023, the latest in a series of efforts by big advertisers and Madison Avenue agencies to correct decades of disparity between what is spent in traditional mainstream media and what is allocated for media outlets owned by entrepreneurs from a variety of backgrounds.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorViacomCBS said first-quarter profit surged as the company enjoyed the benefits of ad sales associated with Super Bowl LV and lured 6 million new subscribers to streaming outlets such as Paramount Plus.The New York owner of CBS, Showtime and Nickelodeon said revenue increased 14% to $7.41 billion, up from nearly $6.5 billion in the year-earlier quarter.

Byron Allen's Allen Media Broadcasting has acquired seven divestiture TV stations from Gray Television for $380 million. Gray spun the TV stations off as part of a separate deal to acquire Quincy Media for $925 million.

Gray Television said Thursday that it has sold seven television stations to Byron Allen’s Allen Media Broadcasting for $380 million in cash, part of a divestiture related to Gray’s purchase earlier this year of Quincy Media.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorDiscovery revealed the big challenge behind getting involved in the media industry’s streaming wars: A new broadband hub can bring in millions of new customers — but it also requires millions of dollars in investment.The New York owner of Food Network, HGTV, TLC and its flagship Discovery cable outlet said Wednesday that its first-quarter profit slumped after it ramped up spending for content and marketing related to Discovery Plus, the streaming-video outlet it launched in the U.S. on January 4.