Cynthia Littleton Business

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorRyman Hospitality Properties, the Nashville-based parent company of the Grand Ole Opry, has struck a deal to sell a 30% stake in its entertainment operations to investment firm Atairos and NBCUniversal.The transaction values Ryman Hospitality’s Opry Entertainment Group unit at about $1.4 billion in total. Atairos and NBCUniversal will invest approximately $293 million in Opry Entertainment Group (OEG), which consists of the weekly “Grand Ole Opry” stage show and media rights, Nashville’s famed Ryman Auditorium, the legendary Nashville radio station WSM-AM and a 50% stake in TV channel Circle, the streaming home of “Grand Ole Opry.” The pact calls for Atairos to invest another $30 million in OEG down the road if certain performance targets are met.

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Altice USA Promotes to Keith Bowen to News President as Cheddar Founder Jon Steinberg Exits

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorDigital entrepreneur Jon Steinberg is exiting the streaming business news service that he founded in 2016 and sold to cable operator Altice USA three years later.On Tuesday, Altice promoted Keith Bowen to president of Altice News and Advertising. He’ll succeed Steinberg in leading the cable operator’s in-house News 12 hyper-local news operation serving parts of Long Island, as well as Cheddar News, the i24News international news service that Altice launched in 2017 and Altice’s A4 advanced advertising data operation.

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NBCUniversal Alum Adam Stotsky Named Head of MRC Live & Alternative, Absorbing Dick Clark Prods.

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorMRC has tapped NBCUniversal alum Adam Stotsky as president of the newly created MRC Live & Alternative, which will absorb the operations of Dick Clark Productions.MRC has slowly been phasing out the Dick Clark Prods. moniker.

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Property Brothers, Tina Knowles-Lawson, Guy Fieri to Produce OWN-Branded Shows for Discovery Plus

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorHGTV’s Property Brothers, Tina Knowles-Lawson and Guy Fieri are among the producers set to deliver a slate of five original unscripted series for Discovery Plus that will run on the streamer under the banner of Oprah Winfrey’s OWN.The news that OWN is stepping up its presence on the Discovery Plus streamer comes a day after the parent company disclosed in its second quarter earnings that it has about 18 million total direct-to-consumer subscribers across its international streaming platforms, up from 15 million at the time of its Q1 earnings disclosure in April.

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Studios and Hollywood Unions Extend Talks on Return to Work Rules

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorHollywood’s major studios and creative unions have agreed to extend talks on post-pandemic return to work rules beyond the June 30 expiration of the existing agreement. Terms of the previous deal will remain in place while negotiations continue.Both camps said they came to the decision to take the “necessary time” to hammer out the new deal.

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Judge Says Allison Mack ‘Willingly Enslaved, Destabilized and Manipulated’ Women: Read Full Memo

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorThe federal judge presiding over the prosecution of the NXIVM sex cult case has released a blistering memo on his decision to sentence actor Allison Mack to three years in prison for her role in the aiding Keith Raniere, the self-help guru who is now a convicted sex trafficker serving a 120-year sentence.U.S. District Court Judge Nicholas Garaufis did not mince words.

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Sucherman Executive Search Firm Acquired by ZRG

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorSucherman, the prominent executive search firm specializing in media and entertainment, has been acquired by ZRG.ZRG is a four-year-old search firm that emphasizes its “Moneyball” data-driven approach to matching people and jobs. Sucherman is known for its bespoke approach to recruiting for most of the major entertainment giants.

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Hollywood Studios and Unions Extend COVID Safety Protocols to June 30

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorHollywood’s major production companies and key unions have agreed to extend COVID safety protocols for TV and film production until June 30.The extension comes as California is slowly but surely emerging from the grip of the coronavirus. All signs are pointing to Los Angeles County moving into the least restrictive yellow tier of social distancing mandates within another week or so.

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Hollywood Unions Join AFL-CIO Push for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Public Policy Agenda

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorHollywood’s major unions have signed on with the AFL-CIO’s push to advance public policy initiatives involving diversity, equity and inclusion issues.The broad goal is to strengthen collective bargaining and copyright protections and the state and federal level. On Thursday, a clutch of entertainment industry union representatives gathered for a virtual news conference to detail the policy proposals and underscore the urgency for the need for action to better protect middle-class and low-rung workers.“We stand solidly behind the missions and goals.

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Bertelsmann to Buy Simon & Schuster for $2.1 Billion in Cash

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorGerman media giant Bertelsmann has set a deal with ViacomCBS to acquire publishing unit Simon & Schuster for $2.17 billion in cash.Bertelsmann, owner of publishing giant Penguin Random House, was seen as a logical contender for Simon & Schuster. ViacomCBS announced its intent to sell the publishing arm earlier this year as part of the company’s post-merger streamlining to focus on content investment.Simon & Schuster will operate as a separate unit under the Penguin Random House umbrella.

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‘We Are Really Demanding’: CAA’s Longtime Leaders Reflect on 25 Years at the Helm

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorCAA’s longtime leaders had a lot on their minds on the sunny afternoon in late October when Kevin Huvane, Bryan Lourd and Richard Lovett sat down with Variety for a no-holds-barred conversation in Lourd’s Holmby Hills backyard. The trio talked about their unique partnership and why it has endured, the state of the talent representation business, how they’re thinking about succession plans for the agency and why they chose to speak out now.

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Hollywood Studios and Unions Near Agreement on Safety Protocols to Restart Production

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorHollywood’s major studios and key industry unions are close to inking an omnibus agreement to restart TV and film production in the U.S.

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NBCUniversal Elevates Pearlena Igbokwe to TV Content Chief, Bonnie Hammer Named Vice Chairman

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorUniversal Television chief Pearlena Igbokwe has been elevated to head of TV content for NBCUniversal as part of the broader shakeup of NBCU’s senior executive ranks. Bonnie Hammer, the NBCU veteran who had been overseeing all TV production, segues into the NBCU vice chairman role that was hastily vacated last month by Ron Meyer.The shuffle in NBCUniversal’s content group comes at the same time the company is poised to bring in longtime Warner Bros.

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‘Grand Ole Opry’ Owner Sells Minority Stake to Atairos and NBCUniversal for Nearly $300 Million

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