Paramount Global, KKR Near Deal for Simon & Schuster Valued at $1.6 Billion

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Warner Bros. Discovery is back in the hunt for a new executive to oversee CNN. Mark Thompson, the former CEO of New York Times Co.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor CNN+ may not have worked, but perhaps CNN on Max will. Warner Bros. Discovery is planning to launch new original programs from CNN that will stream on its Max streaming service, according to three people familiar with the matter.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor When Amazon’s Prime Video streams a new “Black Friday” NFL game later this year, viewers won’t be greeted solely by a live match. The company plans to offer commercials featuring its talent around the event, according to Danielle Carney, who heads up NFL sales for Amazon. During remarks made at an industry conference, Carney envisioned different “talent” being tapped to talk to viewers about possible buying opportunities.

Manchester City's move for Lucas Paqueta is 'off', according to reports.

Mubi has snapped up rights across multiple territories for Sofia Coppola’s upcoming feature Priscilla ahead of its world premiere in Competition at the 80th Venice International Film Festival.

Michaela Zee Paramount Global has decided to no longer sell a majority stake in its BET Media Group. According to The Wall Street Journal, the company announced Wednesday that it would end the bidding process for the unit — which includes VH1 and BET Studios, streamer BET+ and the BET channel —because “a sale wouldn’t result in any meaningful deleveraging of its balance sheet, the people said.” Paramount Global had received bids ranging from approximately $2 billion to $3 billion.

It already took decades for a sequel to 1982’s “Tron” to arrive, but that eventually happened with 2010’s “Tron: Legacy.” Now, we’ve waited more than a decade for a third film, “Tron: Ares,” to arrive. And it appears that film is going to be delayed even more, but this time it’s not for any creative issues.

EXCLUSIVE: Big World Pictures has acquired U.S. and Canadian rights from Paris-based sales firm Charades to Giacomo Abbruzzese’s debut feature, Disco Boy.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Selina Wang, who served as CNN’s only reporter on the ground during the coronavirus-challenged Beijing Winter Olympics, will soon become one of ABC News’ key personnel in a very different arena: The White House. Wang, who had been with CNN since 2020, was named ABC News’ new senior White House correspondent Tuesday, during the Disney news unit’s daily editorial meeting.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Sage Steele, the veteran ESPN sportscaster who became better known in recent years for her stances on hot topics like coronavirus vaccinations, has left the Disney sports giant. Steele, who joined ESPN in 2007, said on social media that she had recently settled a lawsuit with her employer after she was suspended in 2021 for comments she made on an outside podcast about getting vaccinated, how women dress and former President Barack Obama’s lineage.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Dana Perino has long relied on a panel of experts and trusted sources to help guide her sense of the political landscape. Now she’s going to let some followers listen to her conversations with them. Fox News Audio will launch “Perino on Politics,” a new weekly podcast hosted by the co-host of Fox News Channel’s “The Five” and the co-anchor of its “America’s Newsroom.” The program, which will launch on August 21 — the week of the first debate among Republican presidential candidates — will last throughout the 2024 election cycle, Perino says.

Spanish soccer club FC Barcelona has financial troubles. But it hopes to fix that with plans to list its content creation unit Barca Media on Nasdaq.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have been slammed for "looking inwards" with their "curious" £3 million deal to secure the rights to a book whose characters have 'obvious parallels' with themselves, according to a royal author.

Paramount Global had a rocky June quarter in film as Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts, not surprising, found it tough going against last year’s Top Gun: Maverick.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Tom Cruise helped Paramount Global’s operations do good business last year, but he wasn’t able to lend a similar boost in the second quarter of 2023. The New York owner of CBS, Nickelodeon and the Paramount movie studio posted a second-quarter loss after ad revenue at its various TV networks sunk 10% and the company proved unable to devise a movie hit a movie hit on the order of last year’s “Top Gun: Maverick.” The tough results on the company’s linear side came even as it saw robust performance from streaming.

Paramount Global is close to announcing a sale of its publisher Simon & Schuster to private investment giant KKR, according to a person familiar with the situation. Timing is always fluid but a deal could be announced as early as today. Paramount will report second-quarter earnings this afternoon.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Bobby Flay wants to offer a tweak on a familiar journalism recipe. Each week, CNN’s Sunday series, “The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper,” takes viewers on a one-hour deep dive into a single story or topic, led by a different CNN journalist.

Follow OK! on Threads here: https://www.threads.net/@ok_mag Four months following the tragic death of S Club 7 member Paul Cattermole, a report has now claimed that the noughties popstar died without leaving behind a will, and with severe debts.The band had announced their plans in February to reconnect for a reunion tour, with Paul planning on joining long-term pals Hannah Spearritt, Bradley McIntosh, Tina Barrett, Jo O’Meara, Jon Lee, and Rachel Stevens on the road. "After eight years it feels amazing to announce that we’re reuniting and performing together again," the seven-member band told elated fans at the time.

Selome Hailu It’s a “Suits” week yet again. The legal drama that ran on USA Network from 2011 to 2019 had its third week in a row in the No. 1 spot on Nielsen’s weekly streaming rankings.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Warner Bros. Discovery appears to have bigger digital plans for Charles Barkley and Anderson Cooper. Warner Bros.