• The Justice Department is seeking to drop outdated components of the Paramount consent decrees — the protocols that largely prevent studios from owning movie theaters that play their films and participating in block booking — with DOJ antitrust chief Makan Delrahim saying that terminating the decrees “clears the way for consumer-friendly innovation.” The move, which would sunset certain rules over two years and is expected to be started by filing a motion in Manhattan court in the coming days, could prove problematic for smaller theaters and studios that struggle to keep up with blockbuster releases. (The Wall Street Journal) 

• Paramount Pictures hired Chris Aronson to serve as president of domestic distribution, starting Dec. 2. Aronson previously served as head of domestic distribution at 20th Century Fox Film, where he worked for roughly 14 years. (Los Angeles Times)

• Viacom Inc. and CBS Corp. have named four people, including three current Viacom employees, who will take on executive roles at ViacomCBS when the merger closes in December: Nancy Phillips, currently Nielsen Holdings PLC’s human resources chief and the sole outside hire of the group, is set to oversee human resources as the executive vice president and chief people officer, while Alex Berkett will oversee corporate development and strategy, Marva Smalls will serve as the global head of inclusion and Jose Tolosa will be executive vice president, chief transformation officer. (Deadline Hollywood)

The Rothman Brecher Ehrich Livingston Agency Signs Deal With the WGA
Nellie Andreeva, Deadline Hollywood 

Respected TV and film literary boutique The Rothman Brecher Ehrich Livingston Agency, a member of Association of Talent Agents, has reached a deal with the Writers Guild.

John Malone Buys $75 Million in Discovery Stock
Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter 

After recently selling his remaining stake in Lionsgate, billionaire investor and media mogul John Malone has acquired more stock of Discovery in what is believed to be his largest or one of his largest open-market purchases of the stock ever.

Taylor Swift Is Cleared to Perform Her Old Hits at Awards Show
Lucas Shaw, Bloomberg 

Taylor Swift will be able to perform her past hits at an upcoming awards show after her old label, Big Machine Label Group, reached a deal with Dick Clark Productions, the producer of the American Music Awards. Swift plans to perform later this month at the American Music Awards, where she will be crowned artist of the decade. 

Sony Exec Launches Stage Banner With ‘Almost Famous,’ Michael Jackson Musical
David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter 

For a newly formed company developing its first slate for Broadway, Lia Vollack Productions is not starting small, readying 2020 bows for two potentially massive shows with Almost Famous and MJ the Musical.

Selfies, Breast Implants, Cabaret Bring Fans to First BravoCon
Kelsey Butler, Bloomberg 

The lines of women started forming by 9 a.m. on Friday morning, across the street from gentlemen’s club Scores New York. The anticipation was palpable and the leopard print unrepentant.

Streaming was supposed to kill original theatrical movies. Don’t tell ‘Ford v Ferrari.’
Steven Zeitchik, The Washington Post 

This was to have been, as a quick glance at social media would tell you, the weekend of Disney Plus. Thousands of the company’s movies and TV episodes were available for streaming for the first time on a Saturday and Sunday. 

Will Studios Rush To Buy Theater Chains Without The Paramount Decrees? Don’t Bet On It
Ted Johnson, Deadline Hollywood 

In the hours after the Justice Department announced it would move to terminate the Paramount consent decrees, the stock price in AMC, Cinemark and IMAX all popped in after-hours trading. But even if studios are freed from 71-year-old restrictions that prevent them from exercising significant control over the exhibition pipeline, it doesn’t necessarily mean they will rush to buy up theater chains.

Is the Snyder Cut Really Going to Get Released?
Miles Surrey, The Ringer 

If you thought that Marvel directors and actors getting upset about Martin Scorsese disliking their content was the pinnacle of dumb superhero-movie discourse, then clearly it’s been a while since you thought about the Snyder Cut. After spearheading the early efforts of the DC Extended Universe, Zack Snyder left the production of Justice League before the project was completed due to a family tragedy.

Comcast Faces Fights on Multiple Fronts as Cable Pie Shrinks
Gerry Smith, Bloomberg 

Comcast Corp. is battling a growing array of channel owners as the cable giant tries to rein in programming costs and squeeze profit out of the shrinking pay-TV business.

Fox Files Trademark For ‘OK Boomer’
Jeanine Poggi, AdAge 

Fox has filed a trademark application for “OK boomer,” a phrase used by Gen Zers and millennials as a dig to older people. Trademark lawyer Josh Gerben tweeted that the application was filed on Nov. 11, and according to the filing Fox intends to use the phrase as the name of a reality, comedy or game show.

Sony Pictures Entertainment Buys AT&T’s Stake in Game Show Network
Cynthia Littleton, Variety 

Sony Pictures Entertainment has bought out AT&T’s minority interest in Game Show Network for about $500 million. The deal makes Sony the sole owner of GSN.

‘The Kelly Clarkson Show’ Renewed For Season 2 By NBCUniversal
Nellie Andreeva and Denise Petski, Deadline Hollywood 

Two weeks into the 2019-20 season, we have the first freshman syndicated series to get a Season 2 pickup. NBCUniversal has given an early season 2 renewal to daytime talker The Kelly Clarkson Show. 

Nick Cannon Syndicated Daytime Talk Show From Debmar-Mercury Picked Up By Fox Stations For Fall 2020 Launch
Nellie Andreeva, Deadline Hollywood 

Fox Television Stations has signed on to serve as the launch group for Nick Cannon, the recently announced daily, nationally syndicated daytime talk show headlined by the actor-comedian. The program, from Lionsgate’s Debmar-Mercury, is set to premiere in September 2020 and originate from New York.

HBO Max wants to be the next cable bundle instead of the next Netflix
Jason Del Rey, Recode

If the guy leading HBO’s parent company WarnerMedia has his way, the new HBO Max streaming video service won’t just be a Netflix competitor for cord cutters, it’ll be a new kind of cable bundle.

Disney’s Streaming Push Turned Amazon Into Its Frenemy
Christopher Palmeri and Matt Day, Bloomberg 

When Walt Disney Co. launched its new streaming service last week, it had a key partner: Amazon.com Inc. Many consumers connected to Disney+ through the tech giant’s Fire TV digital media players.

Inside the Streaming Services’ Scheduling Struggles
Kelsey Sutton, Adweek 

When Disney debuted its streaming service Disney+ on Nov. 12, its original programming rollout looked less like a streaming service and more like a linear TV network.

New Faith-Based Streamer Launches With ‘Veggie Tales’ Library Rights
Paul Bond, The Hollywood Reporter 

In the midst of the streaming wars that has Disney+ grabbing the bulk of headlines, a faith-based firm founded by a former senior executive at Amazon is set to formally launch a subscription product on Monday that boasts the largest collection of library Veggie Tales episodes, along with other Christian fare aimed at families with children.

Fox News signs former CBS correspondent Lara Logan for documentary series
Stephen Battaglio, Los Angeles Times 

Fox News has signed former CBS News chief foreign correspondent Lara Logan to host a documentary series for its streaming service. The company announced Monday that it will launch “No Agenda With Lara Logan” on its subscriber-based on-demand streaming channel Fox Nation in January.

Disney’s new streaming service bafflingly leaves out 2 key features that everyone uses on Netflix
Dave Smith, Business Insider 

After years of anticipation, Disney last week finally released its streaming service, Disney Plus. Disney Plus features movies and shows from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic.

Mark Duplass doesn’t think Netflix can get Ray Romano awards attention. So he’s doing it himself
Amy Kaufman, Los Angeles Times 

“Excuse me?” Mark Duplass asked, trying to get the attention of a tourist rushing by him on Hollywood Boulevard. “Have you ever seen ‘Everybody Loves Raymond?’”

Snapchat follows YouTube’s lead with extended unskippable ads
Rebecca Stewart, The Drum 

Snapchat will now let brands buy unskippable ads that go beyond their current six-second time limit, giving longer pieces of creative the chance to reach more eyeballs within its walls.

Sure, Streaming’s Transformed the Music Business. But What’s Next?
Tim Ingham, Rolling Stone 

The fortunes of the global record industry can be neatly summed up in three stats: Its peak came in 1999, back when Ricky Martin was Livin’ La Vida Loca, as the world’s record companies generated nearly $29 billion; by the close of 2013, according to IFPI data, that number had been slashed in half, falling to below $15 billion; and last year, thanks to growth almost entirely driven by streaming, it had recovered to just over $19 billion – an upswing from the industry’s nadir, but still roughly $10 billion off the peak of the CD boom.

Analyst Sees HBO Max Hitting 51M Subs by 2025
Jon Lafayette, Broadcasting & Cable 

Analyst Michael Nathanson of MoffettNathanson Research is projecting that AT&T’s upcoming streaming service HBO Max will reach almost 51 million subscribers by 2025–even more than AT&T is expecting.

Why the Wave of Buzz Surrounding ‘Succession’ Should Result in its First Golden Globe Nom
Michael Schneider, Variety 

This year’s Golden Globes race for drama series could come down to a battle of the oligarchs. Season 3 of Netflix’s “The Crown,” now featuring Olivia Colman as Queen Elizabeth II, is considered the frontrunner in the category right now — but don’t underestimate the ever-growing interest in the scheming, powerful Roy family of HBO’s “Succession.”

Are ‘Harriet’ and Slavery Films Good for African Americans?
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, The Hollywood Reporter 

In the past seven years, seven high-profile movies about slavery have been released, the most recent being Harriet, chronicling the extraordinary life of slave liberator Harriet Tubman. The others are The Birth of a Nation (2016), Free State of Jones (2016), Freedom (2014), 12 Years a Slave (2013), Django Unchained (2012) and Lincoln (2012).

How The Golden Globes Celebrate Cinematic Television
Daniel Holloway, Variety 

When Martin Scorsese complains that a Marvel movie isn’t cinema, he’s not wrong. But his critique of the commercialism undergirding those movies is expressed in the language and tone of an old crank defending a fading novelty from some darned, degenerate kids. It’s not that the theatrical movie-going experience (so sacred!) is going away anytime soon.