Ellen DeGeneres

• WarnerMedia is conducting an internal investigation into “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and will interview current and former staffers about their experience working on the show, according to sources, following media reports detailing allegations of racist and intimidating behavior, as well as poor communication regarding how the show’s initial COVID-19 induced shutdown would impact crew members. 

• In a letter to her staff, Ellen DeGeneres addressed allegations of racism, intimidation and unjust termination against her talk show’s top producers, saying that she takes responsibility and has launched an internal investigation alongside Warner Bros. to “correct the issues” in the workplace. Two sources said that executive producer Ed Glavin is expected to be let go, though DeGeneres and Warner Bros. did not comment on the status of specific employees. 

• Dozens of men and women who previously worked on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” alleged that executive producers Glavin and Kevin Leman sexually harassed employees in the office and at company functions, making sexually explicit comments and touching employees inappropriately. 

Movie theaters 

• Universal Pictures and AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. have reached an agreement to shorten the window of theatrical exclusivity for new films, which will allow titles to debut on premium video-on-demand 17 days after their premiere at AMC theaters, instead of the traditional 90-day window. A start date for the move was not announced due to uncertainty about theater openings amid the pandemic, but the pact will cover titles from Universal and its specialty division Focus Features, with the two parties beginning negotiations for international releases in the coming weeks. 

• Warner Bros. is planning to release Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” in at least 70 international markets, including Canada, Japan and Britain, on Aug. 26, before premiering the film in select U.S. cities over Labor Day weekend. 

• Cineworld Group PLC said it is planning to reopen its Regal Cinemas movie theaters in the United States on Aug. 21 ahead of the early September release of “Tenet.” As of right now, Regal is slated to play a mix of new titles and re-released films when it resumes operation this month. 

Earnings 

• Spotify Technology SA reported 299 million monthly active users and 138 million paying subscribers as of June 30, but lost 356 million euros (roughly $417.4 million) during the second quarter of 2020, with average revenue per subscriber dropping 9 percent due to discounted plans and lower pricing in international markets. 

• Comcast Corp.’s NBCUniversal reported revenue of $6.1 billion for the second quarter – a 25 percent year-over-year decrease – with its advertising revenue dropping 27 percent and distribution revenue down 15 percent during the same time period. Comcast said that the company’s Peacock streaming service, which launched for Comcast cable subscribers in April before premiering nationwide on July 15, has attracted 10 million sign-ups so far. 

Awards season 

• Netflix Inc. earned a record 160 Primetime Emmy nominations, the most ever for any network, including nods for “Ozark,” “The Crown,” “Hollywood” and “Stranger Things.” HBO ranked No. 2 in nominations this year with 107, including 26 nods for its “Watchmen” limited series, the most of any individual program. 

• The 2020 Primetime Emmys will be held virtually, according to a letter from the ceremony’s executive producers and host Jimmy Kimmel, which told acting nominees to prepare to participate from their homes, and that technicians, producers and writers will work with them to produce the ceremony remotely. 

• Forty-six percent of the films selected for this year’s Toronto Film Festival have female directors at the helm, up from 36 percent in 2019, with the lineup including titles from Oscar winners Regina King and Halle Berry. Major studios including Netflix Inc., Warner Bros., and Focus Features are skipping this year’s festival due to the coronavirus pandemic, but indie distributors such as Sony Pictures Classics and Neon – the distributor behind Oscar Best Picture winner “Parasite” – will show films at the festival.

Streaming services 

• ViacomCBS Inc. added 70 shows to CBS All Access, including MTV’s “Laguna Beach,” Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants” and Comedy Central’s “Chappelle’s Show.” The company is set to relaunch the service under a new name with 30,000 TV shows and movies in early 2021, but has no plans to raise the price of the platform, which currently costs $5.99 a month for the ad-supported version and $9.99 a month for the ad-free plan.

• More earnings reports are coming this week. Sony Corp., Cinemark Holdings Inc., AMC Networks Inc., Walt Disney Co. and Activision Blizzard Inc. are scheduled to report on Tuesday. Discovery Inc., The New York Times Co. and Nielsen Holdings PLC are on the calendar to report on Wednesday and ViacomCBS is scheduled for Thursday. 

• This year’s Film Independent Forum runs through Friday. Keynote speakers include filmmaker Lulu Wang and President of NEON Pictures, Elisa Federoff. 

• Variety will host the Locarno Film Festival in its streaming room beginning Wednesday and running through Friday. The festival will include sessions discussing independent film, as well as the future of movie theaters and film festivals. 

1) ‘Ellen DeGeneres Show’ Workplace Under Investigation by WarnerMedia
Matt Donnelly, Variety 

2) Endeavor CEO Unveils Inclusion Plan: $5M Donation, Disclose Diversity Numbers, Update Hiring Policy
Rebecca Ford, The Hollywood Reporter 

3) I Went to Disney World
Graeme Wood, The Atlantic 

4) Disney World employees describe the cost of staying safe as coronavirus cases surge in Florida
Shoshy Ciment, Business Insider 

5) Chainsmokers Hamptons concert under investigation by Gov. Cuomo’s office
Ian Mohr et al., Page Six 

6) Half of Streaming Subscribers Can’t Decide What to Watch, but Just One-Third Would Use a Feature That Picks a Program for Them
Sarah Shevenock, Morning Consult 

7) How Law & Order’s Dick Wolf Is Reimagining His Shows In The Wake Of The BLM Protests
Dawn Chmielewski, Forbes 

8) Disney World tightens its park rules to ban masks with valves, holes, or mesh on them
Evan Sully, Business Insider 

9) Taylor Swift Made an Album. Now She’s Going to Sell Thousands of Cardigans
Ethan Millman, Rolling Stone 

10) Comcast Tops Wall Street’s Q2 Estimates, But NBCUniversal Ad Revenue Falls 27%
Dade Hayes, Deadline Hollywood