DirecTV Takes Issue With New CNN Streaming Service

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer Anonymous Content enacted a small round of layoffs on Friday, representing about 8% of the workforce at a company of around 170 people. The talent management and production shop reduced staff across all divisions, including representation, television, motion picture, literary, media rights and branded entertainment. Insiders familiar with Anonymous cited the Hollywood labor strikes and a volatile larger entertainment marketplace as reasons for the job cuts.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Rooster Teeth has pulled some content off YouTube, claiming the video platform’s ad-supported economics don’t make sense. Rooster Teeth, Warner Bros. Discovery’s fandom, gaming and comedy entertainment brand, has removed some of its most popular animated shows, including “Red vs.

EXCLUSIVE: In addition to streaming on Disney+, all 11 live-action Star Wars movies will now also be available on Disney’s linear networks — including broadcast (ABC) and cable (FX nets, Freeform) — starting this month. The arrangement stems from Disney renegotiating the existing domestic licensing agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery’s Turner Networks, which will continue to carry the full suite of movies.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Roy Wood Jr., a longtime contributor to Comedy Central‘s “Daily Show,” will not return to the late-night program when it returns to production, the latest wrinkle to develop at the long-running show as executives continue to hunt for a successor to Trevor Noah. “I can’t come up with Plan B is while still working with Plan A,” the comedian told NPR, noting he doesn’t want to continue as one of the show’s cadre of correspondents while someone else is being considered for the top role. “The job of correspondent…it’s not really one where you can juggle multiple things.

Warner Bros. Discovery international boss Gerhard Zeiler has set a new leadership structure for his team following a spate of exits in the past few weeks.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Amid a widespread executive exodus, Warner Bros. Discovery’s international boss Gerhard Zeiler sent out a memo to the staff today laying out the company’s new global leadership structure. Following France boss Pierre Branco’s exit earlier this week, WBD has tapped Clément Schwebig to oversee France, Benelux, Afrique, Allemagne, Autriche and Suisse.

Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max ranked highest in total customer satisfaction among U.S. subscription-streaming services, according to Whip Media’s 2023 Streaming Satisfaction Report.

SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, is attending New York Comic Con on Oct. 14 for the panel “AI in Entertainment: The Performer’s Perspective”.

In the long history of horror films since the dawn of cinema, it would be hard to imagine any of them quite having the particular impact of 1973’s The Exorcist which became the first horror film ever to be nominated for the Best Picture Oscar, along with nine other nominations including Best Actress for Ellen Burstyn. It eventually won two Academy Awards for William Peter Blatty’s screenplay based on his 1971 novel, and for the bone chilling Sound work. When I saw it as a young kid in its original incarnation at the National Theatre in Westwood (now no longer existing), there were lines like you have never seen wrapping completely around the block. Warner Bros. even put a nurse on duty in the lobby for those who passed out, no mere gimmick because it actually happened. Nothing I have seen since in the genre has matched that one for me, but it wasn’t for Hollywood not trying. There are countless imitations, even a couple of failed direct sequels including the dreadful 1977 followup, Exorcist II: The Heretic, and the forgettable Exorcist III: Legion in 1990. There have been TV series attempts, an origin angle with Exorcist: The Beginning in 2004, and countless others using the come-on Exorcist in their title. Earlier this year we even had another film, based on the Vatican’s longtime real life demon slayer, The Pope’s Exorcist which thanks to a dedicated performance by Russell Crowe worked quite well on its own terms

In another latest salvo amid tensions between video providers and programmers, DirecTV sent a letter to Warner Bros. Discovery warning that offering CNN as part of its streaming package risks violating the contract between the two companies.

EXCLUSIVE: Amidst one of the most creatively fertile periods in his career to date, actor Michael Cera has taken on new agents at CAA.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Warner Bros. Discovery is hiking the price of Discovery+ by nearly 30% in the U.S. and Canada, effective immediately.

EXCLUSIVE: Following major roles in everything from Netflix’s Sex/Life to the hit Prime Video pic Red, White & Royal Blue and New Line/Warner Bros’ Black Adam, actress Sarah Shahi has signed with agency Independent Artist Group, at the same time inking with Untitled Entertainment for management.

Back at the bargaining table Monday for the first time in more than two and a half months, SAG-AFTRA and the Hollywood studios and streamers have a long way to go to make a deal – even with the momentum gained by the end of the writers’ strike.

“Gangs of New York.”“I realized that I couldn’t work if I had to make films that way ever again,” Scorsese told GQ in a profile published last week.“If that was the only way that I was able to be allowed to make films, then I’d have to stop,” he said. “Because the results weren’t satisfying. It was at times extremely difficult, and I wouldn’t survive it.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor On Sunday, Allstate is trading in its famous Mayhem character for chaos of a different sort. The big insurance company is testing a sponsorship of a new kind of sporting event that will feature some of Pixar’s best-known animated characters tackling a real-life NFL game. When the Jacksonville Jaguars play the Atlanta Falcons at 9:30 a.m.

It was everything everywhere all at once Thursday in New York City: Striking actors getting ready for contract talks were joined by writers who have just wrapped up theirs at a rally in Manhattan that also highlighted Asian American Pacific Islander culture in film and television. 

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor AMC Networks has joined the ranks of ad-supported streaming. The company said Thursday that it has begun rolling out an ad-supported version of its AMC+ service for broadband users, and will charge $4.99 per month for it, as opposed to the $8.99 per month it seeks for an ad-free tier.

K.J. Yossman Rachel Griffiths has been cast as the lead in “Madam,” a new dramedy series about an escort agency. Griffiths, best known for her roles in “Six Feet Under” and “Brothers & Sisters,” stars as McKenzie ‘Mack’ Leigh, who sets up an ethical brothel in New Zealand after her philandering husband and mountain of debt leave her struggling to provide for her family.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Comedy Central’s “Daily Show” will return to the air on October 16, the latest of TV’s late-night shows to chart a reboot following a shut-down due to the Hollywood writers strike. While wee-hours rivals like “Tonight:” and “Late Show” are coming back on October 2 with their regular hosts, “Daily” will continue to rely on guests, as it has since Trevor Noah left the program last year.

This is Day 76 of the SAG-AFTRA strike.