Fox CEO Pays $150 Million to Buy ‘Beverly Hillbillies’ Estate
TheWrap: Move over, Jed Clampett! Lachlan Murdoch has paid a record price of roughly $150 million for the 10-acre Bel-Air, California, estate known as Chartwell — including the mansion used in the credits of the 1960s sitcom “The Beverly...
Disney CEO Wants Filmmaker Meeting Over ‘Nasty’ Remarks
Hollywood Reporter: Like many a fanboy on Twitter, Bob Iger hasn't gotten over Martin Scorsese's comments about Marvel movies. In a new story in Time magazine, Iger says that the famed filmmaker's comments about his company's superhero movies were...
ViacomCBS Returns to Talks for Acquiring Stake in Miramax
Variety: ViacomCBS and Paramount Pictures are said to have resumed talks to acquire a stake in Miramax. In November, negotiations were called off abruptly over frustrations with the deal terms. Miramax boasts one of the largest collections of film titles...
Liberty Media Wants Bigger Stake in Radio Giant iHeartMedia
MarketWatch: An affiliate of John Malone’s Liberty Media is seeking Justice Department permission to buy a larger piece of iHeartMedia, a deal that would put the nation’s largest radio broadcaster under the same corporate umbrella as satellite-radio giant...
Discovery Veterans Unveil Indie Production Venture in London
World Screen: Former Discovery Networks executives Mark Procter and Steve Jones have formed Big Little Fish, a new London-based production company focused on producing returnable unscripted series for the international...
Comcast Loses Euro Soccer-League Rights to DAZN, Amazon
Reuters: Digital sports provider DAZN has won the German rights to broadcast European soccer Champions League matches for the 2021/22 season, along with Amazon, a blow to Comcast’s Sky. Amazon confirmed earlier that it had secured the...
Disney’s Hulu Unveils Ad Format to ‘Reward’ Binge-Watching
TheDrum: Hulu is hoping to cash in on another new ad format. The company has launched an ad experience specifically designed for binge watching, which counts for nearly 50% of viewing on the ad-supported version of the...
Apple, Twitter Plan to Co-Host Democratic Election Debates
Axios: The Democratic National Committee announced on Thursday the hosts of the next four presidential debates in the first four primary and caucus states. This will be the first time Apple News will co-host a presidential...
Netflix Expats Offer Tips for Job Interviews at Streaming Giant
Business Insider: Netflix, which routinely ranks in surveys as one of most attractive places to work in tech, has an army of recruiters hunting for top candidates. The streaming-video giant also relies on employee referrals to find rockstar...
Google’s New Rules Move Creators to Launch #YouTubeIsOver
Metro: YouTubers are threatening to close their accounts after the video website made another controversial policy change. The Google-owned company has announced new rules designed to prevent harassment on the platform. But the move has angered...
Facebook Faces Possible US Injunction Over Antitrust Worries
MarketWatch: The Federal Trade Commission is mulling a preliminary injunction as early as next month against Facebook amid antitrust concerns over how its products interact. Regulators are monitoring how Facebook integrates Messenger, Instagram and...
Spotify Names Conde Nast Veteran to Take Over Ad Business
The Information: Dawn Ostroff, the head of content at Spotify, is taking over the company’s advertising business, including sales, marketing and product development of its ad offerings, under a reorganization following the departure of CFO Barry...
Conde Nast Turns to Google, Sotheby’s Alumni for Top Execs
New York Post: Conde Nast CEO Roger Lynch is finally rounding out his executive suite with talent from outside the traditional publishing world. On Thursday, he tapped Mike Goss as chief financial officer and Deirdre Findlay as chief marketing...
Hearst Magazines Chief in Hot Seat as Former Leader Returns
New York Post: David Carey, the former president of Hearst Magazines, is returning to the fold a year after his departure — raising questions about the future of successor Troy Young. Many see his arrival as a move to calm the waters in the magazine...
Meredith, Hearst, Conde Veterans Seek a Life After Magazines
WWD: The revolving doors at Hearst, Conde Nast and Meredith have been spinning faster than ever over the past few years as the glory days of glossy magazine editing fade fast. So, what have some of the once big-time editors in chief been up to since their...
Benioffs’ Time Person of Year Trades Twitter Jabs with Trump
Associated Press: President Trump lashed out at 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg on Thursday, a day after she was named by Time as its Person of the Year, calling her selection “ridiculous.” He added: “Chill Greta,...
Belo CEO Bolsters Stake in Parent Firm of Dallas Morning News
Dallas Morning News: Robert Decherd is bolstering his ownership stake in the Dallas Morning News’ parent company, buying $3.34 million in shares from his cousin and former CEO Jim Moroney III. Decherd now controls 49.6% of the voting...
News Corp, Insider Lead Publisher Charge in Indie Ad Coalition
Adweek: As publishers look to reduce their reliance on the ad-tech industry’s dominant players, a coalition of independent ad-tech companies under the banner Prebid is attracting some of the sector’s largest names, including News Corp. and...
Hearst Newspaper Ditches Bloomberg News for 2020 Coverage
The Hill: The Houston Chronicle has announced that the newspaper will stop using Bloomberg News stories pertaining to the 2020 presidential campaign in light of the news service's decision to not investigate its owner or his Democratic presidential...
BuzzFeed Wants to Sell More Stuff in Push to Rely Less on Ads
Bloomberg: BuzzFeed is expanding its business of connecting shoppers and retailers to seven more countries as the digital publisher tries to become profitable and rely less on advertising. Like many media companies, BuzzFeed has an affiliate...
Big Media Dealmaker Predicts M&A Slowdown in Next Decade
Wall Street Journal: Aryeh Bourkoff, whose company, LionTree, has helped shepherd about $500 billion in transactions since its founding in 2012, expects the next decade to be defined by the biggest media companies building out their...
Media Investors See Email Newsletters, Audio as Hot for 2020
Business Insider: Some investors still see pockets of opportunity in media. Top investors from five venture capital firms revealed their biggest predictions for media in 2020, from the rise of text messaging-based marketing to the explosion of subscription...
Disney CEO is Named Time Magazine’s Businessperson of Year
CNBC: The massively successful launch of Disney+ and a record $10 billion in global box office sales helped make Disney CEO Bob Iger businessperson of the year, Time magazine says. “Iger’s tenure has been one long CEO highlight...
AT&T’s WarnerMedia Ad-Sales Chief Position Remains Vacant
AdAge: The biggest question in TV ad sales for 2020: Who will replace Donna Speciale as president of ad sales at WarnerMedia? Speciale, who had been at the helm since 2012, was pushed out this summer shortly after she closed the annual upfront ad...
Weinstein Inks Tentative $25 Million Settlement with Accusers
Associated Press: A tentative $25 million settlement to end nearly every sexual misconduct lawsuit brought against Harvey Weinstein and his former film studio’s board was praised by a plaintiff and some lawyers but criticized by others who say those who opt out are...
Comcast to Keep Starz in TV Packages Until End of December
Philadelphia Inquirer: Comcast customers can see Starz for a little longer, as the cable giant has decided to keep the premium channel in its TV packages until at least the end of the month. The company had planned to remove Starz from all packages on...
Disney Faces Lawsuit for Failing to Pay Workers Living Wage
Daily Beast: A new class action lawsuit argues that Disney, worth approximately $130 billion as of this year, failed to pay hundreds of workers a living wage. The complaint was filed by five Disney employees on behalf of more than 400 hospitality...
Vice Media Hires Gizmodo Alum for Top Newsgathering Post
Variety: Susie Banikarim, a journalist with nearly two decades of experience in digital and TV news, is joining Vice News as one of its top editorial execs. Vice Media tapped Banikarim as EVP and global head of newsgathering for Vice News, a new...
Sinclair TV Axes Analyst in Move Away from Political Punditry
NBC News: Sinclair Broadcast Group is axing the "must-run" segments of one of its biggest stars, Boris Epshteyn, the network's chief political analyst and a former aide to President Trump. The move is part of a company effort to move away from political...
Netflix at Risk of Losing Millions of Users if Ads Aren’t Added
Bloomberg: Netflix “must add a second, lower priced, service to compete with Disney+, Apple+, Hulu, CBS All Access and Peacock,” said Needham analyst Laura Martin, who forecast 4 million U.S. subscriber losses next year if the company doesn’t make changes....