Endeavor Q4 2023 Results Dented by Write-Offs, WWE-Related Legal and Restructuring Costs

Cardi B has said that she wants to collaborate with Rihanna – but only if she can present her with the “perfect” song.During a recent appearance on the Million Dollaz Worth Of Game podcast, the Bronx rapper was asked who was on her “wishlist” to work with in the future. “Like whoever comes, comes,” she responded.“There’s some people that I want to do like a song with, but I just feel like I don’t have that worthy song to like give it to them.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor John Oates carefully sidestepped the elephant in the room on Wednesday during his keynote conversation at SXSW, even as the veteran hitmaker offered anecdotes and pearls of wisdom from his more than 50 years in the music business. Oates made no overt mention to the lawsuit and enmity that has erupted between him and longtime professional partner Daryl Hall during his hourlong Q&A, held at the Austin Convention Center as part of the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas.

Addie Morfoot Contributor British director Dan Reed (“Leaving Neverland”) spent four years filming Sandy Hook Elementary parents as they attempt to hold Alex Jones — the infamous talk-news conspiracist guru of InfoWars — accountable for the lies he spread about their children’s murders in 2012. The result is the HBO documentary “The Truth vs. Alex Jones.” Bringing Jones to trial involved years of effort by the grieving parents and their legal teams and culminated in two jury trials for damages in Texas and Connecticut.

As Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, celebrates his 60th birthday on March 10, 2024, his profile within the British monarchy has surged, particularly in the wake of King Charles III's health crisis and other family controversies. Edward and his much-admired wife, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, stand in stark contrast to the family’s black sheep.These include Edward’s brother Prince Andrew, sullied by the Epstein scandal, and toxic Prince Harry and Meghan Markle who must be kept at arm's length lest the family’s private affairs be sold to the highest bidder for financial enrichment and maximum damage infliction. Edward is the youngest child of the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Issues around the use of AI in the production process is the big sticking point in SAG-AFTRA’s negotiations with the largest video game companies, SAG-AFTRA chief Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said Saturday during a wide-ranging Q&A at SXSW in Austin, Texas. Crabtree-Ireland, who is national executive director and chief negotiator of the performers union, said he put the chances of union members striking against key game companies is “50-50, or more likely than that we will go on strike in the next four to six weeks because of our inability to get past these issues,” Crabtree-Ireland told Brendan Vaughan, editor-in-chief of Fast Company, during a conversation focused on AI.

Jenny Newby is one of the most popular stars of Gogglebox, where she stars alongside her best pal, Lee Riley, as they delight fans every Friday night. Jenny and Lee joined the Channel 4 show in 2014, and have been entertaining fans ever since with their hilarious commentary and chemistry together as they watch the week's TV highlights. The hilarious pair film the series inside Lee's holiday caravan in Holderness, Yorkshire.

More than two years since the cost of living crisis began to bite, families are still facing tough decisions about their money. While inflation may have slowed down from its fiercest spike, bills are still on the rise.

Olly Alexander has shared the new solo track ‘Dizzy’, which will also serve as the UK’s official entry for Eurovision 2024. Check it out below.Released today (March 1), the track was written by Alexander in collaboration with electronic producer Danny L Harle (Charli XCX, Dua Lipa, Caroline Polachek), and looks to capture that same intoxicating rush felt when with someone new.Inspired by the club classics of the ‘00s, the song also comes alongside a new music video – capturing a head-spinning representation of the emotions described in the lyrics and blurring the line between fantasy and reality.“I wrote the song last summer with Danny L Harle, we started off with the word ‘Dizzy’ because it just popped into my head and I liked it.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor The inevitable M&A question came toward the end of Paramount Global‘s hourlong conference call with Wall Street analysts on Wednesday — a session that undoubtedly would have been more contentious for Paramount leaders if they hadn’t started out by serving up sacrifices for the greater good of free cash flow and profit. Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish waved off the inquiry from Bank of America Merrill Lynch media analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich about the tidal wave of media speculation about suitors coming (and going) for the company with a breezy “We’re always looking for ways to create shareholder value.” But it was clear from the earlier commentary and business updates from Bakish and chief financial officer Naveen Chopra that they are charting a course for this year and next to take streamer Paramount+ to the promised land of profitability and keeps the company entact as a standalone entity.

Endeavor grew revenue 25% last quarter to $1.58 billion, beating forecasts, and shrunk losses to $29 million from $226 million as CEO Ari Emanuel reminded Wall Street that it’s still looking at strategic options – four months after the company said it was evaluating its businesses, and its largest shareholder Silver Lake floated the idea of taking the company private.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor The contract talks finally reached the handshake point at 3 a.m. PT on Feb. 23.

Endeavor-controlled ring sports giant TKO Group Holdings reported $614 million in total revenue in the fourth quarter, along with a slight dip in UFC profits.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor UFC and WWE logged record revenue and sponsorship deals in 2023, which added up to a strong fourth quarter for TKO, the newly formed parent company of both sports brands. The strong numbers for WWE stand in contrast to the controversy that erupted last month when disturbing sexual assault allegations were leveled against former WWE chairman Vince McMahon in a lawsuit by a former WWE employee.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor David Zaslav came to market Friday morning with a fourth-quarter earnings report that delivered enviable free cash flow and put another sizable dent in Warner Bros. Discovery’s heavy debt load. But it wasn’t enough to stop a 10% slide for the company’s already battered share price that took place minutes after the results were unveiled.

Todd Gilchrist editor The creative process can sometimes be highly organized, and others completely ephemeral: for every story that’s been mapped out beat by beat there’s another that arrived completely intact from a writer’s fingers in a feverish outpouring of inspiration. Somewhere in between these extremes is the unglamorous, frequently tedious work of chipping away at an idea, a sequence, or line of dialogue that gets to the heart of what a scribe wants to say — or more precisely, hopes to communicate.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Judi Pulver, a singer-songwriter who became the top music sales executive for Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, died Tuesday in Santa Monica, Calif. She was 77. Pulver spent about 15 years with Variety, steering all music-related sales and marketing activity.

A man has been arrested and charged in connection with the death of Alan Lawson whose alleged 'kidnap and torture' was shared on social media.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Bill Weinstein has exited Verve talent agency after a little more than a year as CEO and 14 years after he helped launch the literary boutique on the heels of Endeavor’s takeover of the William Morris Agency. The parting was confirmed late Monday by Verve in a statement. “We thank Bill as a co-founder and for his 14 years of service and wish him nothing but success in his future,” read a statement attributed to “Verve leadership.” The agency also confirmed that Weinstein’s role as CEO would not be filled but rather “shared by the founders and managing partner.” Weinstein could not immediately be reached for comment.

TV star Alex Jones is best known for fronting BBC's The One Show but away from the cameras, the Welsh presenter and her husband Charlie Thomson, who is from New Zealand, live a regular life with their young family in their London home.The couple share three children together: Teddy, six, Kit, four, and Annie, two. Alex, met insurance broker Charlie at a party back in 2011 and they announced their engagement four years later. She said at the time that she didn't want an over-the-top wedding saying: "It'll be just with our close friends and family and a day when everybody can have a bit of a laugh." The happy couple tied the knot on New Year's Eve in 2015 in a private ceremony at Cardiff Castle.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Leslie Moonves, the ousted former leader of CBS Corp. whose storied career came to an abrupt end in 2018 amid the disclosure of past sexual assault allegations, has been ordered to pay a $11,250 fine by the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission for his role in a 2017 LAPD scandal connected to his downfall at CBS. In 2017, as CBS’ leader was increasingly consumed with dodging accusations of past sexual misconduct from multiple women, he was tipped off to a police report filed in November 2017 by one of those accusers.