Fox, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery sports-streaming venture to be called Venu Sports

Warner Bros. Discovery‘s (WBD) boss in the UK has said the streaming industry has moved “smartly” away from a “subscriber growth almost at any cost” approach.

EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) has dipped into the acquisitions market for European drama series The Crimson Rivers.

TV takes on familiar IP isn’t new these days, although the quality of those series runs the gamut.  For every show like Prime Video‘s “Mr. & Mrs.

Andy Cohen once described the Real Housewives franchise as “guilt free gossiping,” and now he, NBCUniversal, Warner Bros Discovery and others are denying any guilt in the workplace discrimination and retaliation claims from RHONY vet Leah McSweeney.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Tony Billetter, formerly Apple’s head of worldwide business strategy and planning for video and sports, has taken on a similar role at Venu Sports, the recently formed joint venture of Disney, Fox Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery.

K.J. Yossman Former Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA boss Priya Dogra has joined Comcast-owned Sky in the newly-created role of chief advertising and new revenue officer.

Charles Barkley, one of the mainstays of the long-venerated studio show Inside the NBA, says the current media rights situation “sucks right now” for Warner Bros. Discovery staffers.

A college comedy series starring Steve Carell has landed a 10-episode, straight-to-series order from HBO. The half-hour, single-camera project comes from veteran comedy writer-producers Bill Lawrence (Ted Lasso) and Matt Tarses (The Goldbergs) and Warners Bros. Television where Lawrence’s Doozer banner and Tarses are under overall deals.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor The joint venture of Disney/ESPN, Fox Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery to package together a sports streaming bundle has a name — Venu Sports.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. Discovery kept up with TV upfronts week’s biggest trend at their presentation out of The Theater at Madison Square Garden Tuesday: Promoting not just its TV slate as a prime ad-buying opportunity — but also its film franchises. First up from CEO David Zaslav’s team, WB Discovery revenue and strategy chief Bruce Campbell addressed the Madison Avenue crowd following a sizzle featuring top WBD IP and brands across film and TV series.

Anna Marie de la Fuente With more people tuning in to free, ad-supported streaming TV alternatives, Warner Bros. Discovery U.S.

Warner Bros. Discovery has named Buddy Marini as its Japanese GM, reporting to WBD Asia-Pacific president James Gibbons.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Veteran Asian executive Buddy Marini has been appointed GM of Warner Bros. Discovery in Japan.The role covers all operations in Japan including home entertainment, digital & TV licensing, consumer products, anime production, franchise and pay-TV networks, but excluding theatrical and the Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyo: The Making of Harry Potter business. Marini joins WBD with 25+ years’ experience in leadership across media and technology companies in Japan, China and the U.S.

Warner Bros. has reversed its decision to delist all Adult Swim Games, with several developers reporting that control has been returned to them.Warner Bros. acquired Adult Swim in 2022, but back in March, several developers who had worked on games published through the Adult Swim Games banner reported that they had been told by Warner Bros.

Naman Ramachandran Warner Bros. Discovery has appointed entertainment creative advertising and marketing specialist, Once Upon a Time, and brand consultancy and creative agency, BigSmall, for the European launch of streamer Max.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Netflix used to say its goal was to become HBO faster than HBO could become Netflix. Well, Netflix succeeded on that front. Now Warner Bros.

Max streaming services in the US starting this summer, the companies said in a statement on Wednesday.Customers will be able to sign up on any of the three individual websites and chose from an ad-free or ad-supported plan. No prices were disclosed.Both Disney and Warner Bros are trying to build their streaming businesses as customers ditch traditional cable packages, in part because many of them rejected having to pay for a large bundle with dozens of channels.Butas the number of streaming apps exploded, consumers have complained about having to sign up for multiple subscriptions.The Disney/Warner bundle will simplify payment with one bill, and possibly offer a discount from the cost of subscribing to each app separately.Further details will be announced in the coming weeks, the companies said.Disney+ offers the company’s animated and live-action movies plus film and TV shows from Marvel, Star Wars and Pixar.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery — ordinarily rivals for consumers’ time and money — are teaming up for a triple-play bundle of Disney+, Hulu and Max. The companies announced a new streaming bundle comprising Disney+, Hulu and Max will be available this summer in the U.S.

Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery are breaking ground in streaming with a bundled offering featuring Disney+, Hulu and Max in a single package.

Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch said the upcoming sports streaming venture with Disney/ESPN and Warner Bros. Discovery is forging ahead with over 150 engineers now on board dedicated “to building a unique and innovative product” for sports fans outside the traditional cable bundle.