Netflix Scores Two NFL Christmas Day 2024 Games Under Three-Year Deal With League

There have been a ton of new NFL contracts and extensions signed this NFL offseason, and now that the biggest deals have been done, we’re breaking down the highest paid players for the 2024-2025 season!

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Hulu, NBC, Netflix, Black and Missing, Hachette Books and CBC Podcasts were among the winners on Saturday night at the CrimeCon convention’s annual Clue Awards. Among top prizes, Dateline NBC’s “The Murdaugh Murders: Inside the Investigation” was named outstanding docuseries, while Huly’s “Me Hereafter” was top episodic series and Netflix’s “Cyberbunker: The Criminal Underworld” was top documentary film.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor OpenAI announced pacts with two more media companies — Vox Media and The Atlantic — to license their content for the ChatGPT artificial-intelligence chatbot. Under the deals, the companies also will work with OpenAI on a range of product-development initiatives.

The new series of Love Island is on the horizon, with a group of singletons stepping into the villa in the hope of finding love this summer.The cast for the 2024 ITV dating show has been confirmed with many already holding some celebrity links, including Ronnie Vint, who is 'like a brother' to reality TV star Olivia Attwood. Olivia, 33, took part in Love Island back in 2017 and has since shot to fame with her various TV ventures, including as a panellist on Loose Women as well as fronting her shows, Getting Filthy Rich and The Price of Perfection.This summer, Olivia will no doubt be watching the show that brought her fame as her family friend Ronnie will be entering the villa.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Dystopian thriller “Leave the World Behind” was the most-watched film — and title overall — on Netflix globally in the second half of 2023, while anime-inspired live action series “One Piece” led on the TV side. The data comes from Netflix’s second edition of “What We Watched: A Netflix Engagement Report,” reflecting viewership on the streamer from July-December 2023 covering 99% of all viewing on Netflix. Subscribers across the world watched about 90 billion hours of Netflix in the second half of 2023, compared with 93 billion hours in the first half of the year.

ESPN and TNT Sports have reached a 5-year sublicensing deal that will see the Warner Bros. Discovery subsidiary carry select College Football Playoff games from ESPN.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Comcast, as its legacy cable TV business continues to shrink, has built a new cable-style bundle for the streaming era. This month, the cable giant will launch StreamSaver, a package that includes NBCUniversal’s Peacock Premium (with ads), Netflix Basic (with ads) and Apple TV+ for one discounted price, available to TV and broadband customers in its footprint. As an add-on to Comcast TV or broadband, the StreamSaver bundle will cost $15 per month — a 30%-plus discount compared with the services sold separately.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent A new Italian distribution and international sales company called PiperFilm is launching in Cannes, having scored rights for Italy to Paolo Sorrentino’s Cannes competition title “Parthenope.” Former Vision Distribution managing director Massimiliano Orfei is president of PiperFilm, while Luisa Borella, who is also a former top-level Vision Distribution executive, serves as the new media company’s COO. PiperFilm is adopting an innovative distribution model by striking an agreement with Netflix under which the streaming giant will have the first exclusive post-theatrical window for Italy on their titles, while Warner Bros.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Elon Musk is retiring one of the last vestiges of Twitter — the twitter.com web address — as the social network has fully moved over to the x.com domain name. “All core systems are now on X.com,” the multibillionaire tech mogul posted on the platform late Thursday.

Grand Theft Auto VI, the latest installment in the mega-selling video game franchise, will be released in fall 2025, parent company Take-Two Interactive has confirmed.

Netflix‘s upcoming comedy series from Erin Foster, starring Kristen Bell and Adam Brody, has gotten a title, release date and a first-look photo. FKA Untitled Erin Foster Show, the series is now titled Nobody Wants This. It’s slated to premiere on the streamer September 26. You can see a first-look photo of Bell and Brody above. Netflix Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria announced the news Wednesday during the streamer’s Upfront presentation in New York City.

A small group of advertisers were serenaded by Metallica’s Master of Puppets (one of those songs that Stranger Things brought to a new generation) as they walked into Netflix’s first in-person Upfront.

EXCLUSIVE: Raven-Symoné is extending her relationship with Disney, which she has called home for many years, with a new multi-year overall deal at Disney Branded Television. Under the pact, she will produce, direct, and develop projects across linear and streaming, with a focus on multi-cam comedies.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Netflix may be a new-tech company, but it approached advertisers Wednesday with old-school TV talk: The company aims to make dozens of shows and movies that people like to watch and talk about. During an upfront presentation, executives from the streaming giant showcased a msssuve pipeline of content that included two Christmas Day games from the NFL, a year of WWE matches and a new movie that features the return of Cameron Diaz, who will come-star with Jamie Foxx in “Back in Action.” “At a time when the competition is pulling back, we are investing,” said Bela Bajaria, the company’s chief content officer.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Roku has landed exclusive multiyear rights for Major League Baseball‘s Sunday Leadoff live games, a package previously with NBCUniversal’s Peacock. Starting May 19, Roku will stream Sunday MLB games for free on the Roku Channel. The company also will launch a new MLB Zone to help baseball fans find live and upcoming games, nightly recaps, highlights, a fully programmed MLB free, ad-supported streaming TV channel, and other content across the Roku platform.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Carrie-Anne Moss is joining Arnold Schwarzenegger in action comedy series “Fubar” Season 2 as a former East German spy — who has a passionate history with Schwarzenegger’s CIA operative. Moss (“The Matrix” movies, Disney+’s “The Acolyte”) joins the returning cast of “Fubar,” which includes Schwarzenegger, Monica Barbaro, Fortune Feimster, Travis Van Winkle, Jay Baruchel, Aparna Brielle, Andy Buckley, Milan Carter, Fabiana Udenio and Barbara Eve Harris.In Season 2 of “Fubar,” Schwarzenegger reprises his role as Luke Brunner, a veteran CIA operative who, until recently, was on the verge of retirement.

Great news for Netflix subscribers: the streaming service announced another TV show renewal this week!

Amazon is getting into the talk show game.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor They’re not dead yet: Most of Vice Media Group‘s digital brands — including Vice.com — will be relaunched under a new joint venture formed by the struggling media company. But the future of Vice News remains uncertain. In February, Vice Media had announced that it would stop publishing content on consumer-facing digital outlets and the Brooklyn-based company laid off several hundred employees.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor More than three decades after they co-starred in hit sitcom “Cheers,” Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson are getting back together — going into the audio booth for a new podcast from SiriusXM. “Where Everybody Knows Your Name with Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson (Sometimes)” is set to premiere June 12, with new episodes releasing weekly on Wednesdays on all major podcast platforms.