CEO: Last News

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer America’s culture wars are not usually waged at the Federal Communications Commission. With rare exceptions — like net neutrality — the New Deal-era agency stays out of the headlines, while focusing on issues like rural broadband access and stopping spam calls. But that will change come January, when Brendan Carr becomes chairman of the agency under President Trump.

Tommy Fury was involved in a heated altercation with former UFC star Darren Till at a press conference promoting their upcoming boxing fight on January 18.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Is generative artificial intelligence Hollywood’s friend or foe? A new studio venture, which has received backing from Peter Chernin and venture-capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, is enthusiastically in the latter camp — embracing gen AI as a power tool for creatives. Promise says it will produce films and TV shows and “pioneer new formats, empowering both gen AI artists and established Hollywood talent to bring ambitious, creative visions to life.” A key piece of the startup’s business model is proprietary software that will facilitate “a reimagined production process.” The company’s trio of founders have digital-media bona fides: CEO George Strompolos is the former founder of creator network Fullscreen; president/COO Jamie Byrne, a YouTube content executive who helped launch the platform’s creator revenue-sharing program; and chief creative officer Dave Clark, a marketer, commercial director and AI filmmaker includes short film “Battalion,” following the only Black unit to arrive on Omaha Beach in Normandy during World War II.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group has struck a deal with CJ ENM, the backers of Bong Joon Ho’s Oscar-winning “Parasite” and Celine Song’s acclaimed “Past Lives,” to develop, finance and distribute English-language and Korean-language remakes of each studio’s films. Through the new agreement, Warner Bros.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor The Associated Press is making cutbacks in staff as the not-for-profit news organization seeks to “accelerate” its digital-first focus, according to Daisy Veerasingham, the AP’s president and CEO. The AP will reduce its workforce by 8% through a combination of voluntary buyout offers and layoffs, Veerasingham wrote in a memo to staff Monday, a copy of which was obtained by Variety. A rep for the AP declined to disclose how many employees the organization has.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Turkish-British writer Elif Shafak‘s Booker Prize-nominated novel “10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World,” which is set in the world of Istanbul sex workers, will be adapted into a feature film by Madrid-based ISB Films and Turkey’s Limon Film. Shafak, who is Turkey’s most widely read female author, is known for her vast body of work spanning a dozen novels that have been translated into 50 languages. They often delve into themes of human rights, freedom of expression and identity.

The SpringHill Company and Fulwell 73 have confirmed their merger and raised $40M from existing investors as they attempt to build clout in a challenged content market.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent For a brief period, over 1982-86, the U.K. enjoyed a remarkable film renaissance. Four films – “Chariots of Fire,” (1982) “Gandhi,” (1983) “The Killing Fields” (1985) and “The Mission” (1986) – won a total 19 Academy Awards, including Best Picture two years running.

Michaela Zee President-elect Donald Trump has selected Brendan Carr to serve as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Carr is the senior Republican on the FCC, having served previously as the telecommunication agency’s general counsel. Trump first nominated Carr to the FCC in 2017.

There are a lot of people making a move from the Elon Musk-owned X (formerly Twitter) to Bluesky.

J. Kim Murphy The Weekend Update desk at “Saturday Night Live” devoted its opening to hocking some loogies at Donald Trump’s picks to lead his presidential administration.

Gabrielle Union is joining a now-growing list of public figures that are leaving social media platform X.

Just 13 weeks into PBR‘s (Professional Bull Riders) TV deal with Dr. Phil McGraw’s Merit Street Media, the league has severed ties with the upstart network, launched in April with Christian-based Trinity Broadcasting cable network as a main distribution partner.

Allison Holker is taking a big step in her new relationship!

A host has been selected for the 2025 Oscars!

Wow. It sounds like the “King of Instagram” may have been the victim of a coup d’etat?

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor The battle between Paramount Global and measurement giant Nielsen is fast becoming a war of words. In a dispatch sent to clients earlier this week, Nielsen CEO Karthik Rao said that Paramount has been pushing for “a nearly 50% reductionin the price of our service” in as-yet-unfruitful negotiations between the two sides that has resulted in a weeks-long blackout of use of Nielsen ratings for Paramount properties such as CBS, Comedy Central and Paramount Network. Paramount, which is in the midst of cutting $500 million from its operations, has suggested it should not be paying Nielsen higher prices when the fees come to more than the advertising revenue that TV ratings generate.

Alex Jones‘ Infowars has a new owner – The Onion.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Infowars, the far-right conspiracy theory outlet driven into bankruptcy over lies founder Alex Jones spread about the Sandy Hook massacre, has a new owner: satirical news site The Onion. The Onion, whose parent company is Global Tetrahedron, declined to disclose how much it paid for Infowars’ assets in the Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation auction.

Disney CEO Bob Iger had a “hot mic” moment on the company’s fiscal fourth quarter earnings call Thursday morning, questioning aloud whether he should have revealed key streaming numbers.

David Chalian, CNN‘s longtime political director, has been promoted to senior VP and Washington, DC bureau chief.