Disney+ Deal: Ad Plan Available for Just $2 per Month in Limited-Time Promo

EXCLUSIVE: The roller coaster ride of the Writers Guild and the Hollywood studios trying to seal a deal to end the writers’ nearly 5-month-long strike isn’t over yet.

Negotiations between the WGA and studios CEOs on a deal to end the nearly five-month long writers’ strike look within sight.

The Writers Guild brass and studios CEOs were working tonight to close a deal to end the scribes’ strike , but it seems they aren’t quite there yet.

The WGA is heading back to the bargaining table with the CEOs of Netflix, Disney, Universal, and Warner Bros Discovery on Friday.

EXCLUSIVE: The Writers Guild and studios and streamers are set to meet again tomorrow for further talks on a new contract for scribes.

Disney has huge plans to expand their theme parks, according to a report from The Hollywood Reporter.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Disney is planning to super-size its theme parks and cruise lines business. The Walt Disney Co.

Disney shares pulled back 2% in early trading after the media giant unveiled a comprehensive plan to double its investment in theme parks to $60 billion over the next 10 years.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Elon Musk may flip the switch to make X — the social network formerly known as Twitter — an entirely subscription-based platform. Musk brought up the idea of charging all users of X/Twitter during a wide-ranging conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday. “[We’re] moving to a small monthly payment for use of the X system,” Musk told Netanyahu, claiming that it is the only way to eliminate the problem of bots, as reported by Bloomberg’s Dave Lee.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Ari Emanuel reportedly made an offer that Elon Musk could refuse. Last year, Emanuel, chief executive officer of media and talent-representation conglomerate Endeavor, texted his friend Musk with an offer to take on the job of managing Twitter, according to “Elon Musk,” Walter Isaacson’s sprawling new biography of the techno-titan. Emanuel, in a three-paragraph text sent on the Signal encrypted messaging app, proposed that he and Endeavor would run Twitter (which is now called X) on Musk’s behalf, per Isaacson’s book.

Disney is pushing back on reports that the company is talking with Nexstar Media Group about a potential sale of ABC and its eight local ABC stations.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Jason Kilar, who exited as CEO of WarnerMedia after Discovery closed the acquisition of the media company last year, has joined the board of directors of online game platform Roblox. Kilar’s appointment to Roblox’s board was effective Sept. 13.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Linda Yaccarino, on her 101st day as CEO of Elon Musk’s X (aka Twitter), announced several new hires and organizational changes at the social network. New hires include Brett Weitz, who was general manager of Warner Bros. Discovery’s TNT, TBS and truTV, who joins X as the new head of content, talent and brand sales.

Disney CEO Bob Iger’s bombshell July comments that the linear TV business “may not be core” to the company brought a lot of anxiety for those working at any of the Disney’s linear networks.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Disney is dangling a new deal to get customers to sign up for Hulu + Live TV — before a price hike goes into effect next month. The temporary price drop for Hulu + Live TV also comes amid Disney’s ongoing contract dispute with Charter Communications, as the Mouse House has encouraged Charter’s Spectrum customers to switch to Hulu’s pay-TV package for access to ESPN and Disney’s other networks. Hulu is offering new and eligible returning subscribers Hulu (with ads) + Live TV at a discounted rate of $49.99/month for three months — that’s nearly 29% off the current $69.99/month price.

EXCLUSIVE: The writers have turned up to the theme parks.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Russian tennis pro Daniil Medvedev is as frustrated as Charter Communications’ millions of cable TV customers that he can’t watch ESPN’s U.S. Open coverage because of the operator’s carriage fight with Disney. Medvedev, one of the sport’s top-ranked players, revealed that he had resorted to piracy to watch the U.S.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Netflix just kicked off its big crackdown on illicit password-sharing users this spring — but co-CEO Greg Peters says there’s still a long road ahead of the company on this front. “We’ll be in the password-sharing business for some time,” Peters said, speaking Tuesday at the 2023 Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference. According to Peters, Netflix “built an elegant solution” to address the issue of informing users who were piggybacking on someone else’s account that they would need to pay for their own plan (or get added as an “extra member” for an additional fee).

Addressing Thursday night’s carriage impasse with Disney, Charter Communications executives told Wall Street investors on a conference call today that their linear video business is “at the edge of a precipice.”

California Treasurer Fiona Ma has sent letters to the CEOs of seven Hollywood studios urging a return to the bargaining table with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA to end a months-long double strike that’s shut down much of the entertainment industry and is taking a major toll on the California economy.