Recent stories about Entertainment

Lions Gate's headquarters in California. Photo by Bloomberg

What Lions Gate’s Potential Starz Spinoff Move Means for Hollywood

By Martin Peers · Nov. 5, 2021 5:00 PM PDT

Amid the cacophony of earnings results this week, you might have picked up the faint but unmistakable sound of a pendulum starting to swing in the entertainment industry. The long-popular idea that film and TV studios should be paired with the TV networks or streaming services that broadcast the studios’ output is suddenly getting rethought.... Amid the cacophony of earnings results this week, you might have picked up the faint but...

Former Disney executive Kevin Mayer. Photo by AP

Former Disney Exec Kevin Mayer's Comeback

By Martin Peers · Nov. 3, 2021 5:00 PM PDT

How the world turns! A little more than a year ago, Disney’s onetime streaming chief, Kevin Mayer, looked like he had made the career blunder of the decade by quitting as CEO of TikTok during a short-lived fuss over the hugely popular app’s Chinese ownership. Today, though, Mayer has emerged as a player in the intense battle underway between... How the world turns! A little more than a year ago, Disney’s onetime streaming chief, Kevin...

Former Disney streaming chief Kevin Mayer. Photo by AP

Kevin Mayer’s Blackstone-backed Group Nears $3 Billion Deal for Moonbug Entertainment

By Jessica Toonkel · Nov. 3, 2021 6:38 AM PDT

A Blackstone-backed company led by former Disney executives Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs is nearing a deal to acquire Moonbug Entertainment, which makes childrens shows for streaming services, at a valuation that could reach a little above $3 billion, according to people familiar with the situation. The deal is not yet done and could still... A Blackstone-backed company led by former Disney executives Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs is nearing...

Art by Mike Sullivan

The Battle of the Streaming Gatekeepers Heats Up

By Jessica Toonkel and Sahil Patel · Oct. 21, 2021 6:01 AM PDT · 4 comments

Art by Mike Sullivan

The Battle of the Streaming Gatekeepers Heats Up

By Jessica Toonkel and Sahil Patel · Oct. 21, 2021 6:01 AM PDT · 4 comments

In 2019, David Limp, head of Amazon’s devices business, saw an opening. For years, Roku—Amazon’s chief rival in the market for devices that let you stream video onto television sets—had supplied software to TCL, one of the world’s leading TV makers, to power the Chinese company’s internet-connected TV sets.... In 2019, David Limp, head of Amazon’s devices business, saw an opening. For years,...

Google's devices and services senior vice president Rick Osterloh on Tuesday. Photo by Bloomberg

Google’s Pixel Subscription Offering Shows Flaws of Tech Service Bundles

By Martin Peers · Oct. 19, 2021 5:00 PM PDT

Danger ahead. At a moment when consumers are finally breaking free of the cable TV “bundle”—industry code for charging people a pile of money for a bunch of TV channels they mostly don’t watch—tech companies are trying to ensnare them with similar traps. Witness Google’s Pixel Pass subscription plan, unveiled on Tuesday. It offers the new Pixel... Danger ahead. At a moment when consumers are finally breaking free of the cable TV “bundle”—...

ViacomCBS executives, and SpongeBob, celebrate the merger of Viacom and CBS in 2019. Photo by Bloomberg.

crypto entertainment

Are SpongeBob NFTs a Dopey Idea? Maybe Not

By Martin Peers · Oct. 13, 2021 5:01 PM PDT

If you’re allergic to the catchy buzzwords executives and investors love to throw around, you might not want to read the next sentence, given the risk of anaphylactic shock. ViacomCBS has become “one of the first major media and entertainment companies to enter the metaverse in a significant way,” thanks to a partnership that will bring its TV... If you’re allergic to the catchy buzzwords executives and investors love to throw around, you...

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