| | | | | | What's news: YouTube is rolling out a voluntary employee buyout program. Comcast is interested in a potential WBD deal. CBS News is cutting back programming and foreign bureaus. Paramount Animation head Ramsey Naito is leaving the company. And John Malone is stepping down from the board of Liberty Media. — Abid Rahman
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YouTube Ad Revenue Hits $10.3B, Grows TV Market Share ►Monster. YouTube advertising sales hit $10.3b in Q3, as the video giant continues to dominate the ad market. Parent company Alphabet reported total revenue of $102.35b, up 16 percent year over year. The YouTube ad numbers are up 15 percent from $8.9b a year ago and $9.8b in the previous quarter. The upward trend comes as YouTube has consistently led the share of TV viewing in the U.S. for months, making up 12.6 percent of all viewing in September, beating out Netflix and other streaming services. In total, Alphabet now boasts more than 300m paid subscribers led by Google One, which offers expanded cloud service, and YouTube Premium, which offers watching without ads. Google Services revenues increased 14 percent to $87.1b. The results.
—Uh-oh. YouTube continues to be a dominant force in advertising and entertainment, but the disruption from generative AI spares no company. In a memo to staff Wednesday, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan cited the disruption and opportunity of AI as a reason to restructure the video platform, with the executive creating a new reporting structure for the company’s product teams, and rolling out a voluntary employee buyout program, offering severance to any YouTubers that may want to leave the company. A source notes that no roles are being eliminated as part of the changes, though voluntary separation programs can sometimes serve as a prelude to cuts later on. The story.
—🤝 Settlement. 🤝 YouTube has settled a lawsuit from Disney over its hiring of longtime company executive Justin Connolly to serve in a newly-created role as global head of media and sports. Disney on Tuesday notified the court of a deal to resolve the breach of contract lawsuit. Terms of the settlement weren’t disclosed, though it’s conditioned on the completion of certain unspecified terms within 45 days. Connolly and Disney last year entered into a deal in which he agreed to stay with the company until the end of 2027, according to the complaint. Under the terms, he was barred from engaging in dealings with competitors and had a onetime right to terminate the agreement for any reason as long as he provided written notice of his intent to exercise the provision. Connolly notified Disney of his resignation in May during its roll-out of a new ESPN streaming service. The story. |
Peacock Posts $217M Loss ►Meh. Peacock, the streaming service of Comcast’s entertainment unit NBCUniversal, narrowed its Q3 loss to $217m compared with $436m in the year-ago period. The streamer, which unveiled new programming like The Paper and M3GAN 2.0 in the quarter, ended September with 41m paying subscribers, unchanged from the end of June, and also the end of March, and compared with 36m a year ago. Peacock revenue dropped slightly to $1.4b in Q3, compared with $1.5b in the year-ago period when the Paris Olympics boosted results. The loss on the adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization line of the earnings update was down from the year-ago period after the streamer had lost only $101m in Q2. The results.
—"More things are viable than maybe some of the public commentary that’s out there." Comcast is very much interested in M&A dealmaking, but it still has a “high bar” for potential acquisitions, co-CEO Mike Cavanagh told Wall Street analysts Thursday. Cavanagh was asked about reports that Comcast may be interested in pursuing Warner Bros. Discovery, and whether Comcast would be able to get a deal through given the current regulatory regime. The executive noted the looming Versant spinoff, and that with NBC, theme parks and Peacock left as the media assets, that is the rubric through which they would examine any deals. The comments certainly suggest that Comcast would be interested in WBD’s streaming and studios business if it follows through with its own split, a move that would likely impact Paramount’s ongoing efforts to cut a deal with WBD for the entire company. The story.
—C-suite shuffle. Comcast is elevating a longtime finance veteran to a new C-suite role. The Brian Roberts-run conglomerate has promoted Steve Croney to the title of CEO of its Connectivity & Platforms division, succeeding Dave Watson on Jan. 1, 2026. Croney is currently the chief operating officer of the unit. Both Croney and Watson have been with Comcast for more than three decades. Watson will become vice chairman of Comcast, advising the company and leading strategic initiatives. The story.
—Beating the analysts. Fox topped Wall Street’s expectations for its fiscal first quarter of 2026, despite a profit decline. News, Tubi and the NFL were the usual bright spots for this time of year, carrying advertising revenue to a six percent increase. Fox reported adjusted earnings of $1.51 per share on revenue of $3.74b. Net income was $609m, down from $832m a year ago. Fox debuted new streamer Fox One midway into the quarter, which spanned July-September 2025. The results.
—33m subs. SiriusXM reported Q3 revenue of $2.16b, above analyst expectations but down 1 percent from the prior-year period, and net income of $297m, after reporting a net loss of $29.6b a year ago. The year ago net loss included a $3.36b noncash goodwill impairment related to the Liberty Media transaction. The satellite radio company reported 33m total subscribers, down 40,000 paid subscribers from a year ago. Monthly churn improved slightly year-over-year, reaching 1.6 percent. The lower subscriber base led to a $13m decrease in subscriber revenue this quarter. The results. |
John Malone to Step Down from Board of Liberty Media Empire ►End of an era. The pioneering media mogul John Malone is stepping aside from the empire he created. Malone announced Wednesday that he is stepping down as chairman of his holding companies Liberty Media and Liberty Global, effectively capping off a half-century-plus career that helped create and define the modern media and telecommunications business. Malone will shift to a new role as chairman emeritus of his companies beginning on Jan. 1. Liberty vice chairman Robert R. (“Dob”) Bennett will become chairman of Liberty Media, with Mike Fries becoming chairman at Liberty Global. The story.
—🤝 Extension. 🤝 The local TV giant Nexstar has signed its chairman and CEO Perry Sook to a new employment contract, one that will keep the executive at the helm of the company through March 2029. Sook, who founded Nexstar in 1996, is also the third-largest shareholder in the company after the institutional firms BlackRock and Vanguard, holding 5.8 percent of the company’s shares as of earlier this year. The contract extension comes at a pivotal moment for Nexstar, which is seeking to acquire TEGNA in a $6.2b deal that would reshape the TV station landscape. The deal would require the FCC to change its TV station ownership rules. The story.
—✊ Unionization push. ✊ Workers at Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the largest art museum in the western U.S. and a cornerstone of L.A.’s cultural landscape, announced Wednesday they are aiming to form a union, LACMA United, with AFSCME Cultural Workers United District Council 36. The new labor alliance would represent over 300 museum staffers, a workforce composed of curators, educators, guest relations associates and more. As detailed in an open letter announcing its formation, LACMA United urges museum management to “extend beyond rethinking hierarchies of display to include prioritizing the people who bring its mission to life. The story.
—A path to victory. It’s been around three years since the first AI copyright lawsuit was filed. The state of play is still unclear, but winners and losers in certain cases are emerging. So far, one of the losers appears to be OpenAI in a lawsuit from book authors, who have steadily been building a formidable case that may force the tech giant’s hand in forking over a big settlement ahead of trial. Earlier this week, a federal court advanced two new theories of infringement against the Sam Altman-led firm. As it stands, the authors, who include George R.R. Martin, have several outs to winning the case, writes THR's Winston Cho. The story. |
Paramount Layoffs Hit CBS News Hard ►Brutal. Wednesday’s Paramount layoffs hit CBS News, with a source saying that every corner of the news division has been impacted. While the cuts are being felt across the division, some shows will feel the impact more than others. CBS Mornings Plus and CBS Evening News Plus, the streaming spinoffs of the network’s morning and evening news programs, are being canceled. CBS Morning Plus is anchored by Tony Dokoupil and Adriana Diaz, while CBS Evening News Plus is led by John Dickerson, who announced his exit from CBS News earlier this week. Michelle Miller and Dana Jacobson, the co-anchors of the Saturday edition of the morning show, will exit the network as part of the cuts. In addition, the Saturday edition of CBS Mornings will be overhauled with a new format, with staffing merged with the team running the weekday edition of the program. And CBS News will close its Johannesburg, South Africa bureau, with the London bureau adding oversight of the region. The story.
—Another one. Ramsey Naito is the latest executive at Paramount to depart the studio as CEO David Ellison continues his leadership shakeup. Naito, who has been the president of Paramount Animation since September 2021, shared the news of her exit in a message to employees Wednesday evening. Before leading the studio’s animation division, she was previously the head of Nickelodeon Animation. During her time with Paramount and Nickelodeon, Naito oversaw the franchise expansions of PAW Patrol, SpongeBob SquarePants, Smurfs, Baby Shark, Rugrats, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Transformers, among others. The story. |
WB's 'Hello Kitty' Movie Sets 2028 Release ►Hello Hollywood! The Hello Kitty movie is getting ready to greet audiences. Warner Bros. is set to release director Leo Matsuda’s animated film in theaters July 21, 2028. The project hails from Warner Bros. Pictures Animation and New Line Cinema and will adapt the Sanrio's classic feline character. Plot details have not yet been revealed for the feature that has a script from Wicked screenwriter Dana Fox. Beau Flynn produces the project, and Shelby Thomas will oversee it for Flynn Picture Company. Japanese kawaii merchants Sanrio first launched Hello Kitty in 1974, and plans have been in the works for a decade to bring the property to the big screen. The story.
—🎭 Pinoy pride! 🎭 DreamWorks Animation hopes to make a splash with its casting for the forthcoming feature Forgotten Island. H.E.R., Liza Soberano, Lea Salonga, Dave Franco, Manny Jacinto and Jenny Slate will lead the voice cast for the animated comedy adventure film. Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado are writing and directing the movie that Universal is set to release theatrically on Sept. 25, 2026. Forgotten Island centers on lifelong best friends Jo (H.E.R.) and Raissa (Soberano), who find themselves stuck on the magical and forgotten island of Nakali. The only way home will potentially require the loss of their cherished memories together. Focusing on an island rooted in Filipino mythology, the film represents the third collaboration for Crawford and producer Mark Swift. The story.
—🤝 Sold! 🤝 Steven Paul is bringing Kevin Spacey back to American cinemas. Paul, producer on the Baby Geniuses franchise, and one of the architects of the Trump-backed “Make Hollywood Great Again” plan to renationalize runaway production, has taken North American rights to Spacey-starrer The Contract. Paul’s SP Releasing picked up the film and is planning a theatrical release in early 2026, Italian producers Anteprima tell THR. The film, from Italian director Massimo Paolucci, sees the actor playing “the devil” in the form of a human lawyer, akin to Al Pacino’s role in Devil’s Advocate. The story.
—🎭 "Coming of rage" tale. 🎭 Mia Goth, Dan Stevens and Zach Galifianakis have signed on to star in Hey Bear, the feature directoral debut of Portlandia co-creator Jonathan Krisel. Described as a “coming of rage” story, from a script written by Emmy-winner Carrie Kemper, Hey Bear follows Claire (Goth), a woman who seeks revenge on a bear after it kills her husband, Gregory (Stevens). Believing the animal was euthanized, Claire later discovers it has been relocated and vows to track it down. She teams up with a park ranger named Putt (Zach Galifianakis), whose own motives complicate their mission. The story. |
'Golden Bachelor' Star Admits to High Expectations Ahead of His Season ►"Be nice to me!" THR's queen of chat Jackie Strause spoke to Golden Bachelor star Mel Owens post the reunion special. The 60-and-over group of eliminated women convened to confront the reality star during Wednesday night's 'Women Tell All' reunion show, before the season heads into its final episodes. The interview.
—🎭 Straight-to-series. 🎭 Netflix has won a bidding war for a drama series starring Adam Driver that will follow a tense hostage standoff. The streamer has given a straight-to-series order for Rabbit, Rabbit, which comes from creator Peter Craig and indie studio MRC. Emmy winner Philip Barantini of Adolescence is set to direct. Driver will also be an executive producer. The logline for Rabbit, Rabbit reads, “When an escaped convict is cornered by law enforcement at a truck stop, he takes hostages in an effort to bargain for his freedom. But the standoff soon escalates into an unmanageable social experiment with his captives, as well as an emotional poker match with a veteran FBI crisis negotiator trained in ‘tactical empathy.’” The story.
—No surprises. Starz has canceled its drama series BMF, ending the show after four seasons. News of the cancellation comes about 2 1/2 months after BMF’s fourth and now final season concluded in mid-August. The show, from Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson’s G-Unit Film and Television and Lionsgate TV, chronicled the rise of Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory and Terry Flenory, brothers who became leaders of Detroit’s Black Mafia Family (hence the show’s title) in the 1980s and ‘90s. The writing may have been on the wall for the series, however, as Starz president and CEO Jeffrey Hirsch noted season four’s “underperformance” in a quarterly earnings call a day before the finale. The story.
—🎭 Filling out. 🎭 Betsy Brandt is joining the coven of Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches. The AMC Networks series has tapped the Breaking Bad alum as a series regular for season three. Brandt’s role only has a name: Katherine. The third season of the series starring Alexandra Daddario begins production this week in Vancouver, Canada. Per AMC, season three will “dive deeper into the mythology of witchcraft, introduce new spellbound families and feature some of the historical happenings of Salem, Mass., the infamous town of witch trials and folklore.” The story. |
TV Review: 'I Love LA' ►"An eventually intriguing portrait of late-20s anxiety." THR's Angie Han reviews HBO's I Love LA. Rachel Sennott created and stars in a half-hour series centered around a 20something talent manager who takes on her influencer best friend as a new client. Also starring Odessa A'zion, Jordan Firstman, True Whitaker, Josh Hutcherson and Leighton Meester. Created Rachel Sennott. The review.
—"Transporting and operatic." THR's Sheri Linden reviews Lee Sang-il's Kokuho. Japan’s Oscar submission, the film is a backstage melodrama meets succession saga. Starring Ryo Yoshizawa, Ryusei Yokohama, Ken Watanabe, Min Tanaka, Soya Kurokawa, Keitatsu Koshiyama, Mitsuki Takahata, Nana Mori and Shinobu Terajima. Written by Satoko Okudera, based on the novel by Shuichi Yoshida. The review.
—"Clever, if too comforting." THR's Jordan Mintzer reviews Pascal Bonitzer's Auction. The latest feature from the French writer-director follows what happens after a long-lost Egon Schiele painting is discovered by a working-class family. Starring Alex Lutz, Léa Drucker, Nora Hamzawi, Louise Chevillotte, Arcadi Radeff, Laurence Côte, Alain Chamfort and Olivier Rabourdin. Written by Pascal Bonitzer. The review.
In other news...
—Stranger Things S5 official trailer released: Vecna is back
—Patti LaBelle inks royalty deal with Primary Wave
—Margaret DePriest, writer on General Hospital and Days of Our Lives, dies at 94
What else we're reading...
—Wonderful visual piece from Adali Schell and Matt Stevens about the unseen parts of California that inspired One Battle After Another [NYT]
—Podcaster Brace Belden, he of True Anon fame, ruminates on the state of the industry and his own love/hate relationship with yapping into a mic [Baffler]
—Matt Day reports that Meta and Microsoft are testing investors’ patience with their AI spending sprees [Bloomberg]
—Brendan Ruberry and Max Tani unravel the pretty hilarious mystery behind the fake Bill DeBlasio quotes that were posted in a Zohran Mamdani hit piece in Rupert Murdoch's Times of London [Semafor]
—Robert Hart and Elissa Welle report that xAI’s Wikipedia-like website Grokipedia is racist, transphobic, and loves Elon Musk [Verge]
Today...
...in 1963, Paramount held the premiere of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward’s A New Kind of Love in New York. The film went on to be nominated for two Oscars — costume design and music — at the 36th Academy Awards. The original review.
Today's birthdays: Henry Winkler (80), Nia Long (55), Harry Hamlin (74), Matthew Morrison (47), Adam Copeland (52), Andrew Schulz (42), Gavin Rossdale (60), Fiona Dourif (44), Clémence Poésy (43), Michael Beach (62), Kevin Pollak (68), Jessica Hynes (53), Sarah Carter (45), Juliet Stevenson (69), Janel Parrish (37), Shaun Sipos (44), Maria Thayer (50), Claudia Jessie (36), Jun Ji-hyun (44), Christopher Backus (44), Brett Kelly (32), Charles Martin Smith (72), Leon Rippy (76), Paul Telfer (46), Steve Kazee (50), Billy Brown (55), Eva Marcille (41), Stephen Peacocke (44), Rachel Hilson (30), Kennedy McMann (29), Maggie Robertson (35), Jördis Triebel (48), Ananya Panday (27), Carla Tassara (50), Elisha Henig (21), Shante Broadus (54) |
| Maria Riva, the only child of Marlene Dietrich who as a rare contract player with CBS was one of the top television personalities in the medium’s early days of live, kinescope broadcasts, died Wednesday. She was 100. The obituary. |
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