Streaming 

• WarnerMedia’s HBO Max streaming service has acquired the rights to “Friends” and is set to pay $425 million to exclusively carry the sitcom for five years beginning in 2020, according to a person familiar with the terms. The service, which will have a limited launch later this year and a wide launch in spring 2020, will also feature WarnerMedia library content, exclusive projects from Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon and future CW shows including “Batwoman” and “Katy Keene.” 

• Netflix Inc. said in a tweet that the third season of “Stranger Things” has been viewed by a record 40.7 million households since its July 4 premiere, with 18.2 million already completing the entire season. According to Raymond James analyst Justin Patterson, those viewership numbers mean that more than a quarter of Netflix’s global subscribers have watched the show, given the company’s second-quarter forecast of 154 million subscribers.

• As streaming services continue to expand, publishers such as IGN and Mashable are seeing increased opportunities to generate revenue by using affiliate links to encourage readers to sign up for streaming services, earning anywhere from $10 to $60 per signup according to multiple sources. Publisher The Daily Dot currently attributes 60 percent of its commerce revenue to streaming services, up from roughly 10 percent last year.

• Jackie Lee-Joe has been named to succeed Kelly Bennett as Netflix’s chief marketing officer. Lee-Joe, who has served as marketing head for BBC Studios since 2015, will join the streaming service in September. 

• A new study from market research firm GlobalWebIndex has found that 69 percent of respondents were interested in paying for Walt Disney Co.’s Disney+ streaming service, set to launch in November for $6.99 a month. This comes as research indicates that streaming service subscriptions dropped to an average of 2.6 per household in the first quarter of 2019 from 2.8 in June 2018. 

Advertising 

• Univision is anticipating its best upfront in four years, with advance advertising commitments increasing between 5 and 6 percent year-over-year, according to a person familiar with the matter. The source attributed the increase to new advertisers, as well as increased spending from current clients. 

• WarnerMedia made fewer than 20 job cuts to its ad sales division, with Donna Speciale, WarnerMedia’s leading ad sales executive, and Dan Riess, executive vice president of the Turner Ignite business, among those leaving the company. 

Film

• STX Entertainment, the independent studio behind films such as “Bad Moms” and “UglyDolls,” is seeking to raise funds or find a partner, according to two people with knowledge of the matter, though STX board member Dominic Ng denied that he has met with potential partners, saying he was not involved in “putting a deal together.” Sources say that a yearly overhead of $55 million and a small film library have resulted in little interest from potential partners.

• Robert De Niro, alongside investors that include his son, are expected to spend around $400 million to build production and film studio Wildflower Studios in Queens to capitalize on New York’s growth as a production hub. Four major studios currently have operations in New York City and 332 movies were filmed there in 2018, according to officials, with film and television productions having already spent around $2 billion filming in New York state this year. 

Disney TV Studios reportedly mulling compensation change

• Executives from Disney TV Studios have reportedly told agencies and producers that the studio is mulling a compensation change for broadcast, digital and cable series to a “per point” profit participation model that would allow for easy distribution of content over broadcast and digital platforms. The shift in profit participation, which enables talent to start making money immediately, with pay increases based on viewership, awards and series run length, has also been tested at other studios, including Warner Bros. TV and Amazon Studios. 

Talent agencies 

• Verve, the highest profile talent agency to agree to the Writers Guild of America’s new code of conduct eliminating packaging fees for scripted products, is reportedly looking to add packaging fees to unscripted content. In a statement, Verve noted that the code “specifically stipulates that an agency can participate in packaging on unscripted projects where WGA members are not involved.” 

Video games 

• Facebook Inc. is looking to increase its presence in the gaming industry and boost Oculus virtual reality headset sales by purchasing game studios and making deals to produce games for the VR product, according to two people familiar with the matter. An Oculus spokesperson said that the company is focused on expanding its content library, with one source adding that the social media giant hopes popular games with help increase Oculus sales.

R. Kelly arrested on federal charges

• R. Kelly was arrested in Chicago in relation to 13 federal charges of child pornography and other crimes, with federal prosecutors expected to file additional charges in a separate indictment today, according to two law enforcement officials. Kelly, who was set to be arraigned on Friday, is already facing state charges in Illinois relating to allegations of sexual abuse. 

• D’Arcy Carden and Ken Jeong will announce nominations for the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards on Tuesday at 8:30 a.m PST. The final seasons of “Game of Thrones” and “Veep,” as well as sophomore runs of “Killing Eve” and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” are predicted to be among the nominees.  

• Netflix will report Q2 earnings on Wednesday, while Snap Inc. will hold its annual meeting of stockholders on Thursday. 

• This year’s San Diego Comic Con gets underway on Thursday and will run through July 21. HBO will host three panels — including the final one for “Game of Thrones,” while Marvel Studios will provide panels on the writing of “Avengers: Endgame,” as well as a panel with “Endgame” directors Joe and Anthony Russo. Marvel Studios is also returning to Hall H, where it is predicted that they will share information regarding upcoming films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 

• Snap, Facebook, AT&T Inc., Twitter Inc. and Apple Inc are all among companies scheduled to report earnings before the end of the month. 

1) The World’s Highest-Paid Entertainers 2019
Forbes Staff, Forbes 

2) Abigail Disney: ‘I’m choosing to be a traitor to my class’
Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, Financial Times 

3) Jeffrey Epstein Moved Freely in Hollywood Circles Even After 2008 Conviction
Tatiana Siegel and Marisa Guthrie, The Hollywood Reporter 

4) Disney TV Studios Eyes New Profit Participation Model As Industry Continues To Pull Away From Traditional Backend Deals
Nellie Andreeva, Deadline Hollywood 

5) AT&T Cuts Ad Sales Staff at WarnerMedia Unit
Sahil Patel, The Wall Street Journal 

6) Disney Won. Now What?
Adam B. Vary, BuzzFeed News 

7) Netflix could lose almost a quarter of its subscribers if it started running ads, study shows
Lauren Feiner, CNBC

8) De Niro and Netflix Bet That New York Can Be a New Hollywood
Matthew Haag, The New York Times 

9) ‘Stranger Things 3’ breaks Netflix record for most-viewed series in first four days
Ryan Browne, CNBC

10) Streaming video wars are giving publishers an affiliate fee bump
Max Willens, Digiday