Disney Alum Kevin Mayer To Lead Streaming Service DAZN As Chairman, Replacing John Skipper

Disney+ says that The Falcon and The Winter Soldier ranks as the most watched series premiere ever for the streaming service during its opening weekend, Friday, March 19 – Sunday, March 22, and the most watched title overall for the same time period on a global basis, including in Disney+ Hotstar markets. No viewership numbers were provided whatsoever.

EXCLUSIVE: Oscar-winner F. Murray Abraham (Amadeus) and Stéfi Celma (Call My Agent) are among cast joining the modern reimagining of Mozart’s popular opera, The Magic Flute. The film is being executive-produced by Roland Emmerich.

Life moves pretty fast! Matthew Broderick shot to superstardom after playing high school senior Ferris Bueller in the 1986 film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterAfter a year in which most people were stuck indoors, it should come as little surprise that streaming platforms skyrocketed in popularity over the past 12 months. For the first time ever, subscriptions to streaming services surpassed one billion, reaching 1.1 billion globally.At the same time, box office receipts plummeted because movie theaters across the world were closed for a significant part of 2020.

Lionsgate Play, the Mumbai-based streaming service operated by STARZ, unveiled its second original series Wednesday targeting the fast-growing India market. A college romance drama series, U Special will be headed up by veteran actor/writer/director Akarsh Khurana as showrunner.

Hank Azaria will reprise his role from the IFC comedy Brockmire in a 10-episode podcast produced by Dan Le Batard and John Skipper’s Meadowlark Media.

Thom Yorke and Lily Allen are among the musicians to have criticised the controversial new policing bill which passed its first hurdle in Parliament last night (March 16).After being debated in the House of Commons for a second time yesterday afternoon, the new Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill was voted upon at 7pm GMT.It has now been confirmed that the bill passed by 359 votes to 263 – a majority of 96 – after it was overwhelmingly backed by Tory MPs.The new bill proposes tougher

Comcast-owned European pay TV giant Sky is tweaking the brand name of its streaming service, highlighting how its service offerings have gone far beyond television. Its streaming service in Britain, Ireland, Italy and other markets will change its name from Now TV to just Now and also get a new"look and feel." "With a new name, Now reflects how brilliant simplicity meets brilliant entertainment," the company said.

Big Sean has announced that his 2012 mixtape ‘Detroit’ is finally coming to streaming services.The acclaimed project, which won Mixtape Of The Year at the 2013 BET Hip Hop Awards, features the tracks ’24K’, ‘Mula’ and ‘Sellin Dreams’, and includes guest appearances from Kendrick Lamar, Royce Da 5’9″ and Chris Brown.Yesterday (March 13), the city of Detroit celebrated its annual 313 Day (313 is the area code for Detroit).

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorA special-purpose acquisition corporation targeting tech, media and telecom firms led by two former senior Disney execs — Tom Staggs and Kevin Mayer — raised $350 million in its upsized initial public offering.The SPAC, Forest Road Acquisition Corp. II, is led by Staggs (former Disney COO) and Mayer (previously chairman of Disney’s Direct-to-Consumer and International and briefly CEO of TikTok) who both serve as co-CEOs and co-chairs of the board.

Entertainment finance firm Forest Road has launched its second SPAC with Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs as co-CEOs and co-chairs. Units of Forest Road Acquisition Corp. II started trading today on the New York Stock Exchange as the execs begin the search for a target company in the tech, media, telecommunications or consumer space.

Former Vice President Mike Pence is coming to TV, or at least streaming. Pence will narrate a four-part limited series for Fox News Media's streaming service Fox Nation.

Former Vice President Mike Pence will narrate a four-part limited series on the life of Rush Limbaugh for Fox News Media’s subscription streaming service Fox Nation.

Paramount+ finally made its launch on Thursday.  In addition to the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, viewers will be able to opt for CBS's rebranded streaming service.  With Hollywood blockbusters like "The Godfather" and "Mission Impossible" to popular TV series like "Blue Bloods" and classic throwbacks like "Frasier," the newest streaming service offers an eclectic mix of programming.  Here’s a look at what other TV shows and movies Paramount+ has to offer.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorSquare, the payments-processing company led by CEO Jack Dorsey, announced plans to buy a “significant” majority stake in Tidal, the music and entertainment streaming platform run by Jay-Z.Square said it expects to pay a $297 million, in a combination of cash and stock, for the Tidal stake, with existing artist shareholders the remaining stakeholders. Tidal will operate independently within Square.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorSquare, the payments-processing company led by CEO Jack Dorsey, announced plans to buy a “significant” majority stake in Tidal, the music and entertainment streaming platform run by Jay-Z.Square said it expects to pay a $297 million, in a combination of cash and stock, for the Tidal stake, with existing artist shareholders the remaining stakeholders. Tidal will operate independently within Square.

Former Disney streaming chief and TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer is taking on another role in the streaming world. Mayer has been named chairman of the board of directors at DAZN Group, the global streaming sports platform.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorKevin Mayer, previously one of Disney’s top executives and ex-CEO of TikTok, was named chairman of DAZN, a global sports-streaming service, the company announced.Mayer, who worked at the Walt Disney Co. for more than two decades and led the launch of Disney Plus, will replace John Skipper, the former ESPN chief who had joined DAZN in 2018.

fighting for several years to preserve the "theatrical window", a period of exclusivity that once lasted six months but has been steadily shrinking since the turn of the millennium. A bombshell decision by Warner Bros to release all its 2021 films immediately on HBO Max in the US drew backlash from actors, cinema bosses, the Directors' Guild of America and Warner Bros' own star director, Christopher Nolan, as well as a lawsuit threat from producers.