General
What Disney gets as its $71.3B buy of Fox assets closes
Mae Anderson, The Associated Press
It’s finally complete. Disney closed its $71 billion acquisition of Fox’s entertainment assets on Wednesday, more than a year after the mega merger was proposed .
Hollywood’s Musical Chairs: Top Execs Are Changing Jobs and Facing High Expectations
Cynthia Littleton, Variety
When NBC Entertainment chairman Bob Greenblatt said goodbye to his job in September after eight years, he became a free agent just when the largest players in media were taking a hard look at their management ranks.
James Corden to Host 2019 Tony Awards
Joe Otterson, Variety
James Corden has been tapped to once again host the Tony Awards, Variety has learned exclusively.
Peloton slapped with $150 million lawsuit for using songs by Drake, Lady Gaga without permission
Sarah Whitten, CNBC
A group of music publishers is suing Peloton, alleging the maker of video-streaming exercise bikes used more than 1,000 songs from Lady Gaga, Drake, Gwen Stefani, Justin Timberlake and others without permission.
Warner Bros. interim leadership team set after Kevin Tsujihara’s exit
Ryan Faughnder, Los Angeles Times
WarnerMedia has set the team that will lead its movie and television studio Warner Bros., for now, after the exit of Chairman and Chief Executive Kevin Tsujihara amid a sex scandal.
White Actors Suing ‘Hamilton’ for Discrimination? Supreme Court Hears Warning
Eriq Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter
Is Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda at risk for being sued by only casting African-Americans in the role of George Washington in his award-winning musical? According to a new petition before the Supreme Court, he very well might be.
Tim Armstrong, Former AOL Boss, Getting More Than $60 Million as He Exits Verizon
Sarah Krouse, The Wall Street Journal
Tim Armstrong, the former leader of AOL, is walking away with more than $60 million as he leaves Verizon Communications Inc., which recently wrote down half the value of the internet business he led.
Brother of Jeff Bezos’ girlfriend admits a ‘deal’ with National Enquirer
Howard Kurtz, Fox News
Michael Sanchez, the brother of Jeff Bezos’ girlfriend, is acknowledging for the first time that he made a “deal with the devil” — meaning the National Enquirer.
Film
Alamo Drafthouse’s movie-ticket subscription plan will launch in all its theaters by the end of the year
Jason Guerrasio, Business Insider
The wait for the Alamo Drafthouse movie-ticket subscription plan is almost over. The popular chain will launch Alamo Season Pass by the end of the year across all its theaters, the company’s founder and CEO, Tim League, told Business Insider.
Help Wanted: Warner Bros.’ New CEO Will Need Deep Digital Chops
Cynthia Littleton and Brent Lang, Variety
Warner Bros. Entertainment is suddenly in the market for a new CEO. The hunt is taking place at a moment when that job description is in a state of massive flux due to the corporate upheaval implemented in the past few weeks by new parent company AT&T.
‘Us’ Advance Ticket Sales Outstripping ‘A Quiet Place’ & Jordan Peele’s ‘Get Out’
Anthony D’Alessandro, Deadline Hollywood
Always a promising sign for how business could wind up this weekend: Fandango is reporting that advance ticket sales for Universal’s Us are out-pacing that of Paramount’s surprise hit A Quiet Place last year and Jordan Peele’s Get Out from two years ago. On Fandango, Us is also the bestselling horror film for the online and mobile advance ticket retailer since Universal Pictures and Blumhouse’s Halloween ($76.2M).
Television
CBS Seeks Up to $1.5 Million for Ads in ‘The Big Bang Theory’ Series Finale
Brian Steinberg, Variety
CBS hopes to get a bigger bang out of the very last episode of “The Big Bang Theory.” The network is seeking between $1.2 million and $1.5 million for a 30-second ad in the finale of the veteran series, according to two people familiar with negotiations between CBS and its advertisers.
When Calls the Heart ‘Not Cancelled’ Despite Lori Loughlin’s Hallmark Ouster
Michael Ausiello, TVLine
Hallmark’s Heart will continue beating without Lori Loughlin — but for how long?
Tegna to Acquire 11 TV Stations From Nexstar for $740 Million
Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter
TV station company Tegna Inc. has reached a definitive agreement with Nexstar Media Group to acquire 11 local TV stations in eight markets for $740 million in cash.
Dish Network’s Charlie Ergen 2018 Pay Rises to $3.1 Million
Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter
Charlie Ergen, the billionaire chairman and former CEO of Dish Network, took home $3.11 million in total pay for 2018, according to an SEC proxy filing issued Tuesday.
Technology and New Media
Apple’s upcoming video service won’t offer live sports at launch
Jon Fingas, engadget
Whatever video service Apple unveils at its March 25th event, live sports won’t be a part of it.
Why Roku Acquisition Could Make Sense for Disney or Walmart
Tom Dotan, The Information
A few years ago, when Roku was still a private company with uncertain prospects, it would occasionally get acquisition offers from bigger companies. CEO Anthony Wood was never interested.
Netflix is experimenting with different episode orders for ‘Love, Death & Robots’
Anthony Ha, TechCrunch
You probably know that Netflix is big on data and personalization — it tailors the shows and movies recommended to each user, and even tests different images to promote those titles. Now it’s extending that approach to the episode order of a new show, the animated science fiction series “Love, Death & Robots.”
Open that door? Netflix explores choose-your-own horror, romance
Lisa Richwine, Reuters
A Netflix Inc experiment that began with viewers picking a movie character’s breakfast cereal may expand to letting the audience choose the best on-screen date or the safest path to escape an ax murderer.
How Netflix is reshaping TV show economics
Sahil Patel, Digiday
Producers hoping to continue selling TV shows to Netflix should prepare for a future where those deals only run for two or three seasons max, before Netflix pulls the plug on the program.
Opinions, Editorials, Perspectives and Research
The Fox lot is one asset Rupert Murdoch wouldn’t sell to Disney — with good reason
Roger Vincent, Los Angeles Times
In the end, the legendary Los Angeles birthplace of what became the vast Fox film empire was just too dear to part with.
In end of 20th Century Fox, a new era dawns for Hollywood
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
The Fox Studio backlot, first built in 1926 on a Culver City ranch in Los Angeles, was enormous. Before much of it was sold off in the 1960s, it was four times the size of its current, and still huge, 53 acres.
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