Netflix Scraps Live Upfront Event, Will Go Virtual

EXCLUSIVE: The Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation has created the Erik Lomis Leadership Award.

Manchester United secured their place back in the Champions League on Thursday after their win 4-1 over Chelsea cemented a top-four finish.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent Brazil’s on fire, and rapidly putting into place the policies that will rebuild its film and TV industries, which look set to transform it into the film-TV powerhouse of Latin America. That cuts several ways.  Under Jair Bolsonaro, Brazilian president over 2019-2022, ApexBrasil, the Brazilian Trade and Investment Agency, saw its funding for Brazil’s audiovisual sector almost entirely nixed. Often working together, promotion agency Cinema do Brasil, backed by Audiovisual Industry Syndicate of the State of São Paulo (SIESP), Projeto Paradiso, a philanthropic org focusing on new talent and project development, and SP Cine, the energetic São Paulo City film commission, did an extraordinary job to support and promote Brazilian filmmakers and companies’ presence at festivals, drawing on highly contained resources.

On a blog found on its media site, the streaming giant outlined the email it would be sending to subscribers who are sharing Netflix outside their household in the United States. “Your Netflix account is for you and the people you live with — your household,” the email begins. It then reassures users that they will still be able to “easily watch Netflix on the go” through either personal devices, hotel TVs or vacation homes.

Joaquin Phoenix‘s next role is going to be an explicit one.

Our favorite TV mom and dad are back! Family Matters stars Reginald VelJohnson, Jo Marie Payton and Kellie Williams are coming to 90s Con, Us Weekly can exclusively reveal.

Loyle Carner will be the first artist to perform at an upcoming live music series created by the organisers at Strawberries & Creem, it has been announced.The new series was developed by the festival in collaboration with HUGO – the younger of the two Hugo Boss brands.Titled ‘S&C Presents HUGO Nights’, the two brands have joined forces to co-host a series of unique parties throughout London, and unite music lovers by celebrating the best of music, fashion and youth culture in 2023.Set to take place at a variety of exclusive venues across the capital, the series looks to showcase cutting-edge acts from around the world, offer a platform for emerging new talent, and “generate its own unforgettable moments” in a way that is accessible to people of all backgrounds.The first instalment of ‘S&C Presents HUGO Nights’ — dubbed ‘Chapter One’ is set to kick off at a secret venue in the heart of the city Next Wednesday (May 24). Headlining the inaugural event will be the Mercury-nominated hip-hop artist Carner.Other artists set to perform on the night include Keyrah and Chris Jammer.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Andrew Ross Sorkin is the co-creator of the Showtime series “Billions,” but he isn’t really known for drama in his professional life, just financial reporting. So it came as something of a surprise on Monday, when the CNBC and New York Times journalist got up on stage at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall to tout some of the dramatic fare that NBCUniversal was able to cobble together for the advertisers and media buyers assembled in the audience. It was all part of the industry’s annual “upfront,” when U.S. media companies try to sell the bulk of their advertising inventory before the release of their next cycle of programming.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor The upfront presentation that looks most like traditional TV came from a company that likes to tell investors, advertisers and consumers how it’s leapfrogging that entire business. Netflix on Wednesday showed dozens of scripted series and movies that could support advertising — if only Madison Avenue would take a chance and bet on its nascent efforts to sell commercials. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Chris Hemsworth and Julia Roberts were only some of the actors whose efforts could be tied to advertising. Counterparts like NBCUniversal and Fox Corp. were hard-pressed to do the same earlier this week. “We are just getting started,” said Peter Naylor, vice president of global advertising sales at Netflix.

For years, Netflix had focused squarely on subscriber growth and becoming the dominant player in the streaming world. That changed last year when, after a big market correction, Netflix made a course correction with a focus on profits, including an ad-supported tier which launched in November.

ESPN is giving tennis great Serena Williams the episodic documentary treatment with In the Arena, a series co-produced with Religion of Sports, 199 Productions and Williams and Caroline Currier’s Nine Two Six Productions.

Prince Andrew is reportedly refusing to vacate the Royal Lodge, despite plans for Prince William to move into the property. King Charles is said to have embarked on a shake-up of royal households in recent months, with the duke of York set to be moved from Royal Lodge - the 30-room, Grade II listed mansion, in Windsor Great Park, where he has lived with ex-wife Sarah Ferguson since 2003. As part of the shake-up, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were evicted from Frogmore Cottage - the UK home they were gifted by the late Queen following their marriage in 2018.

TV's Dr James Greenwood - star of BBC's much-loved early-rise show Morning Live - has welcomed a baby boy with his husband Mark Titterton.The on-screen vet, 37, shared the joyful news on Instagram on Friday, posting a snap of the loved-up couple alongside their newborn son and their "incredible" surrogate, Rachael Davis. Captioning the family photo, James wrote: "Here we go!!! We are all so thrilled and our hearts are bursting with joy.

Love Island stars Jessie Wynter and Will Young are preparing for a potential long-distance relationship after she revealed to fans that she would be heading back to Australia “soon” and wasn’t sure if her other half would be going with her. Since falling in love earlier this year during the Winter Love Island series, farmer Will, 23, and Aussie Jessie, 26, have been going from strength to strength, with Jessie moving in with Will on his family farm.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Getting to Carnegie Hall requires, as the old joke goes, practice, practice practice. Walking away, it would seem, is significantly easier. Paramount Global, a media company that has over the past decades come to emblematize the entertainment industry’s annual “upfront” sales session in no small part because of its presentations at the New York landmark, this year surprised many by walking away from holding one. Chances are the company won’t be returning in the near future. “We are not going to go back to the old way of doing things,” says John Halley, Paramount’s president of advertising, in an interview.

King Charles III’s historic Coronation on May 6 starts at 10 a.m. BST in the UK at 5 a.m. ET/2 a.m. PT in the U.S. Every major British and American network will have live coverage of the event, which you can watch live in the player embedded below.

Royally romantic! Prince William and Princess Kate expressed their love for one another in the sweetest way to ring in 12 years of marriage.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor You’ll have to wait a while for the next original “Live, from New York!” “Saturday Night Live” will not produce any new episodes for the next while, owing to the writers’ strike called for by the WGA. The show’s next scheduled episode, slated for Saturday night and hosted by former cast member Pete Davidson with musical guest Lil Uzi Vert, will not take place, according to NBC. With a work stoppage in place, it’s quite possible that fans will not have any more new episodes of “SNL” in its 48th season. The show usually goes on its summer hiatus after May. “‘SNL’ will air repeats until further notice starting Saturday, May 6,” NBC said.

A woman has been arrested after a serious sexual assault in Liverpool city centre.

EXCLUSIVE: Daddy Yankee has signed on as an executive producer of the upcoming Netflix series Neon. Yankee, a pioneer of the reggaeton genre popularized in his native Puerto Rico, also makes a cameo appearance.