News kept on churning last week — from Sunday morning until the end of Friday — on the Warner Bros. Discovery front.
Headlines included big changes at TCM; The Flash's disappointing box office; discussions with Netflix for potential HBO streaming license deals; more chatter around the fate of CNN; renewed talk of a music publishing sale; and a glum industry report on cost cutting.
The flurry, which touched virtually every corner of the WBD universe, came as the company announced it will reveal quarterly financial results on August 3. The report will be the first to provide almost entirely apples-to-apples year-to-year comparisons since the Discovery-WarnerMedia merger closed (on April 8, 2022), ushering in a period of nearly non-stop flux. There have been cost cuts, layoffs and content write-downs in the service of a promised $5 billion-plus in savings. There have been industrywide shifts in the ad market, the box office and the pay-TV ecosystem. And there have been multiple rounds of restructuring. This past week was a microcosm of all of that.
Fourteen months in, the org chart is still coming into focus. On Friday, it emerged that Turner Classic Movies will be moved under Warner Bros chiefs Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy. That news followed layoffs at WBD’s cable networks, including high-profile departures at TCM that drew a high-profile protest from the likes of Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese and Paul Thomas Anderson. The leadership change Friday became public less than two days after CEO David Zaslav held an emergency conference call with the A-list filmmakers.
Having film studio chiefs overseeing a cable network is hardly standard procedure at big media companies, but the setup will likely placate the filmmakers and other cinephiles who had voiced displeasure about the cutbacks and what they perceived as an existential threat to TCM. >>>Multiple Crossroads Ahead |
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"A Piece Of The Action" - At 80, Harrison Ford is working more prolifically than at any time in his long career, splitting time between the Emmy-caliber series Shrinking and 1923, while hoisting the whip and fedora one last time in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, and joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a major role. Here, he speaks with Deadline's Mike Fleming Jr about why, at this stage in life, he's working more than ever. >>> Watch The Interview
Titanic Ratings - The search for a submersible sent to tour the remains of the Titanic dominated coverage across cable news networks all week, along with the tragic news that the vessel most likely suffered a “catastrophic implosion,” killing all five on board. According to the latest figures from Nielsen, all three cable news networks saw a viewership increase versus their averages from last month. >>>See The Numbers
'House Of The Dragon' "Heirs of the Dragon," Script - Deadline’s It Starts on the Page features standout drama series scripts in 2023 Emmy contention. It showcases the critical role writers’ work plays in a show’s success. Arrangements were made before the WGA strike began on May 2. Click below to read the pilot script for “Heirs of the Dragon,” Episode 101 of House of the Dragon, written by Condal and directed by Miguel Sapochnik. >>> Read It
Mission Statements - The Academy Museum, at first "dedicated to the arts and sciences of motion pictures,” now says its job was to advance “the understanding, celebration and preservation of cinema through inclusive and accessible” initiatives. The museum would work, it said, “in active partnership with motion picture artists and specialists, scholars, staff, and diverse communities to contextualize and challenge dominant narratives around cinema, inspiring discourse, connection, joy and discovery.” >>> Michael Cieply's Column
The Face Of 'Face The Nation' - Season to date, Face the Nation (in its half-hour format) has topped its rivals in total viewership and the 25-54 demo. Margaret Brennan has been moderating Face the Nation for the past five years, and she soon will have a new broadcast rival: Kristen Welker, who is taking the helm of NBC News’ Meet the Press in the fall. In a recent interview with Deadline, Brennan talked about China tensions, concerns about press freedoms in foreign reporting, and about changes in the Sunday morning landscape. >>> Q&A |
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Heidi Gardner has become one of the Saturday Night Live seniors after having joined the venerable NBC show in season 43. After a slew of cast members including Cecily Strong, Kate McKinnon and Pete Davidson left last summer, Gardner, along with the likes of Ego Nwodim and Bowen Yang, has stepped up to fill the gap left. And she’s enjoying being “passed the ball more.” She spoke to Deadline, from her hometown of Kansas City, about her elevated role on the show, preparing for season 49 and some of her other projects, including writing a period comedy with her friend Melissa Hunter. >>> Read The Interview |
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BY THE NUMBERS
-73% - The second-weekend domestic BO drop on DC's 'The Flash' |
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More News
🦊 Fox News unveiled a new primetime lineup, with Jesse Watters moving to Tucker Carlson’s old 8 p.m. ET time slot and Laura Ingraham slotted earlier in the evening at 7 p.m. Hannity will remain at 9 p.m. ET, while Greg Gutfeld’s show will take over Ingraham’s slot at 10 p.m. ET.
🚨 The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s office announced that hikers had found a body in the Mount Baldy wilderness, the same general vicinity where actor Julian Sands disappeared in January. The statement makes no mention of the actor, but it does promise,”Identification should be completed next week at which time we will update this press release."
👍 Harrison Ford is not leaving acting anytime soon. While being interviewed by Chris Wallace, the CNN host asked Ford if he was retiring as the actor turns 81. "I don’t do well when I don’t have work," Ford said. "I love to work… I love to feel useful."
⚖ Veteran producer Arnon Milchan testified on Sunday in the long-running corruption trial against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, involving three separate charges of breach of trust and fraud. Milchan told the hearing he had given gifts of champagne, cigars and jewellery to Netanyahu and his wife. He said the gift-giving began of his own volition but that over time Netanyahu had started making requests and that it had become routine, with the politician using code words to indicate what he wanted such as “pink” for champagne “leaves” for cigars. |
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Trending  The 2023 NBA Draft on ESPN and ABC was the most-watched talent dispersal ever on any network, according to Nielsen. The first round averaged 4,928,000 viewers across both networks, up 24% from last year’s first round on both platforms. It peaked with 6,085,000 viewers in the 8 p.m. ET quarter hour.
🔻 The rollout of 5G wireless signals on July 1 may mean older planes could be banned from takeoff or landing, throwing travel schedules into chaos just before the massive exodus for the July 4 holiday. The concerns stem from beliefs that the new network may interfere with radio transmissions to arriving and departing airlines. |
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Obituaries
🕯 Oscar-nominated character actor Frederic Forrest, who starred in The Rose, Apocalypse Now and Valley Girl, died Friday in Santa Monica, Calif. at 86 after a long illness. Bette Midler, his former costar, shared the news on Twitter. 🕯 David Bohrman , a longtime producer and news executive who was responsible for innovations in live and special events and breaking news, including at CNN and other networks, died on Sunday. He was 69. "He was the creator of more news programming than almost any other producer working in television news today," CNN’s leadership team wrote in a memo to employees on Sunday evening. |
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On the Radar
Mon - Emmy voting ends
Tue - "Paramount+ with Showtime" rebrand launches
Thu - The Witcher S3 premiere
Fri - SAG & DGA contracts expire; Essence Festival of Culture begins |
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Hot Coco - Coco Jones won Best New Artist at the BET Awards on Sunday night. SZA and Beyoncé took home the most hardware, each winning three times, including tying for Album of the Year. |
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