AMC Networks to Lay Off 10% of U.S. Staff Following Strategic Shift

AMC is rebranding UMC, its streaming service devoted to Black television and film programming. Beginning in January, UMC will become ALLBLK as it ramps up production on a slate of new originals, including multi-cam comedy Millennials and legal drama Lace.

UMC, the AMC Networks-owned streaming service focused on Black TV and film, will rebrand as ALLBLK in January.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorUMC, the AMC Networks-owned streaming service focused exclusively on Black television and film that was created by BET founder Robert L. Johnson, will be rebranded Allblk in January 2021 with a new look and feel.Johnson’s RLJ Entertainment launched UMC (Urban Movie Channel) in November 2014.

AMC Networks has realigned its UMC streaming service and WE tv network under a shared leadership team headed by Brett Dismuke.

AMC Networks investor relations head Seth Zaslow is stepping down at year end, the company said Wednesday, expanding the role of Nicholas Seibert to VP, Corporate Development and Investor Relations.

AMC Networks has appointed Aisha Thomas-Petit as the company’s first Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer.

Will Thorne Staff WriterAMC Networks has appointed its first ever chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer.The company has hired Aisha Thomas-Petit in the new role, which will see her look to build on the AMC’s current diveristy, equity and inclusion foundation.Thomas-Petit will play an integral role in developing and retaining a diverse and inclusive community of talent within the company’s workforce, as well as behind the camera and on-screen.“Diversity, equity and inclusion are more

Taylor Swift has revealed the true identity of songwriter William Bowery.Bowery, who is credited as a songwriter on two songs on Folklore (‘Betty’ and ‘Exile’), is in fact Swift’s boyfriend, Joe Alwyn.The news, which has long-been suspected by fans, was confirmed by Swift in her new concert film Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions, which was released on Disney+ today (November 25) which was billed as “an intimate concert of the record-breaking ‘Folklore’”.Speaking about the true identity of

NEW YORK -- Taylor Swift won her third consecutive artist of the year prize at the American Music Awards, but she missed the show for a good reason: She said she's busy re-recording her early music after her catalog was sold.In a video that aired during Sunday's awards show, the pop star said “the reason I’m not there tonight is I’m actually re-recording all of my old music in the studio where we originally recorded it. So it’s been amazing.

NEW YORK -- Taylor Swift won her third consecutive artist of the year prize at the American Music Awards, but she missed the show for a good reason: She said she's busy re-recording her early music after her catalog was sold.In a video that aired during Sunday's awards show, the pop star said “the reason I’m not there tonight is I’m actually re-recording all of my old music in the studio where we originally recorded it. So it’s been amazing.

Guy Lodge Film CriticEven in his dotage, stooped and tissue-skinned and walker-dependent, the former (and final) Soviet Union president Mikhail Gorbachev is an imposing, even intimidating figure — formidable enough to have stymied the venerable Werner Herzog two years ago. The German auteur’s oddly cautious 2018 doc “Meeting Gorbachev” was a missed opportunity, colored by the filmmaker’s obvious admiration for his subject but never getting under his skin in any sense.

Also Read: AMC Networks COO Defends High AMC+ Price Point: 'It's the Comic-Con Crowd'AMC’s national networks include AMC, WE tv, BBC America, IFC, SundanceTV and AMC Studios. Internationally, its subscriber-video-on-demand services include Acorn TV, Shudder, Sundance Now and UMC.When AMC Networks released its third-quarter earnings results earlier this month, Sapan put a strong focus on streaming, saying that SVOD subscribers are projected to top 4 million by the end of the year.

Also Read: 'The Wonder Years' Reboot From Lee Daniels in the Works at ABCThe film, based on Terry McMillan’s 1992 novel, starred Whitney Houston, Angela Bassett, Lela Rochon and Loretta Devine as four women and good friends living in Phoenix and dealing with both relationship and career challenges.

Dade Hayes Finance EditorEXCLUSIVE: AMC Networks is letting go 10% of its U.S. workforce, eliminating nearly 100 positions in a reorganization designed to streamline the company’s linear and streaming operations.CEO Josh Sapan announced the cuts during a virtual town hall meeting earlier today, company insiders tell Deadline.

Nellie Andreeva Co-Editor-in-Chief, TVEXCLUSIVE: ABC has given a script commitment with penalty to Waiting To Exhale, a drama series followup to the 1995 film, from Lee Daniels (Empire) and 20th Television, where Daniels is under a deal.Your Complete Guide to Pilots and Straight-to-Series ordersWritten by Attica Locke (When They See Us) and Tembi Locke (Never Have I Ever) and directed by Anthony Hemingway (Genius: Aretha), Waiting To Exhale is infused with the humor, sensuousness, and sincerity

Denise Petski Senior Managing EditorIMDb TV, Amazon’s premium free streaming service, has put in development Hialeah: Dade F*ckin County, a half-hour family comedy from writers Monique Alvarez and Jessica Lee Williamson and Amazon Studios.Co-created and written by Alvarez and Williamson, Hialeah: Dade F*ckin County follows first generation Cuban-American, ChiChi Rodriguez, who makes a run from her failed marriage and lands back with her disapproving family in the Cuban mecca of Hialeah: a hard

to Deadline, Lee waxed poetic about the upcoming musical project.“First And Foremost, I Thank Ms. Jacquelyn Shelton Lee.

Has Scooter Braun stamped out the fire of his feud with Taylor Swift or did he just light another match?