Kevin Mayer Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs’ Candle Media have struck again, announcing the purchase ATTN, a social media storytelling company for Gen Z and Millennials. Candle said today it will help provide scale, capital and expertise to accelerate ATTN’s growth as it continues “to create original content for Gen Z and Millennials across social media, network television and streaming services, in addition to growing their publishing, brand studio, creative strategy and agency services. That includes a TikTok Studio that supports brands and influencers.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorCandle Media, the next-gen media roll-up play run by ex-Disney execs Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs, announced the acquisition of ATTN:, a media company that produces short-form news content for Gen Z and millennial audiences.Financial terms weren’t disclosed. According to a source familiar with the pact, Candle Media is paying about $100 million for ATTN: in cash and stock; the deal could be worth up to $150 million with additional earn-out provisions.

The release date for Will Smith's upcoming project with Apple, "Emancipation," is in flux. The movie's release has reportedly been delayed to 2023, according to Variety. Although "Emancipation" didn't have an exact release date, the film was expected to be shown at the fall film festivals later this year, the outlet reported.

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorInvestors are going all-in on the metaverse.That’s the prediction of Carlos Jimenez, managing director of Moelis & Co., who details his view that the entertainment business is in the midst of a massive transformation into a marketplace where entertainment, media, gaming, sports and other activities merge and often take place.“All of these worlds are colliding — it’s the future,” Jimenez, a veteran dealmaker, says on the latest episode of Variety podcast “Strictly Business.”  “You’re going to have all these Gen Zers, or whatever the next generation is called, playing an E-sports tournament in the metaverse while listening to a concert inside of it. I think that’s where we’re going to end up.” It may sound futuristic but investment dollars are flowing in, Jimenez said.

Happy Friday readers. Tom Grater here looking back on the week’s top international headlines.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentIt’s a growing tradition that as MipTV or Mipcom winds down, Ampere Analysis’ Guy Bisson will present a concise bullet point analysis on what’s really going on with the TV business, making complex current phenomena eminently comprehensible.He did just that on Wednesday at this year’s MipTV, listing “15 things you need to think about to survive and thrive” in a presentation, Navigating the New World Order: TV Business Now and Next.  Here’s a summary of key points:It’s a Great Time to Be a Big Independent Access to Hollywood studio content has plunged as the majors reserve much for their own streaming platforms. Netflix had 816 Disney titles in its catalog in 2016, only 227 in 2021.

Candle Media Founder Kevin Mayer has set out his strategy to take advantage of the wealth of deep-pocketed new buyers, as he unveils a tie-up between kids powerhouse Moonbug Entertainment and Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine.

K.J. Yossman Kevin Mayer, co-CEO of Blackstone Group-backed Candle Media, discussed the company’s 360 IP-investment strategy at the MipTV conference in Cannes on Monday morning.Mayer was appearing alongside Moonbug Entertainment co-founder René Rechtman on a panel moderated by Variety international editor Manori Ravindran.

Travel chaos has hit Mip TV, with a string of EasyJet cancellations from the UK causing attendees to scramble to find alternative routes to the Cannes market.

Wilson Chapman editorCandle Media co-CEOs Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs have been making waves in Hollywood for the past year as they hunt for content assets to acquire with the help of a bankroll from private executive giant Blackstone.The pair has mostly kept quiet about the venture, but Mayer sat down this month at the SXSW conference and festival in Austin, Texas, for a keynote session that featured his most expansive remarks to date on the new-model studio that he and Staggs are trying to build.In the conversation with MediaLink CEO Michael Kassan that was moderated by Variety co-editor-in-chief Cynthia Littleton, Mayer answered a number of key questions about how Candle Media intends to function — for one, it’s not a holding company nor an operating entity — and he detailed the vision for “social commerce” activity tied to such 360-media stars such as Reese Witherspoon, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. “We do have a vision for a modern creator economy business,” Mayer said.

Speakers Unveiled For Mip TV & Series Mania

Discovery shareholders are set to OK the $43 billion merger with WarnerMedia on Friday, the last big step before AT&T completes the spinoff. Ahead of the deal’s expected close next month, a who’s-in/who’s-out parlor game is gaining intensity as CEO David Zaslav finalizes the leadership team.

Sasha Urban editorThe SXSW Conference has added music executive Nabil Ayers, Candle Media co-CEO Kevin Mayer, MediaLink CEO Michael Kassan and singer-author Michelle Zauner oas keynote speakers for this month’s gathering in Austin, Texas.SXSW confirmed the final lineup of featured speakers, which now includes Pete Buttigieg, U.S. Secretary of Transportation; investor Bill Gurley of Benchmark; former Texas Congressional rep Beto O’Rourke with Texas Tribune CEO Evan Smith; actors Gillian Jacobs and Joel McHale, who will appear virtually; and civil rights activists Ju’Niyah Palmer and Kenneth Walker.The newly announced keynotes include Ayers, the U.S.

South by Southwest Conference and Festivals today announced a final round of Keynotes and Featured Speakers for the 36th annual Conference taking place in Austin, TX from March 11-20, with Ron Howard, Ted Lasso stars Brett Goldstein and Brendan Hunt, actor-filmmaker Gillian Jacobs, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, former U.S. representative Beto O’Rourke, and musicians Brian Eno and Nathaniel Rateliff among the notable additions.

Hello Sunshine has acquired The Home Edit and aims to help accelerate the household organizing outfit’s move into a lifestyle brand. Its founders Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin are stars of the Emmy-nominated Netflix series , produced by Hello Sunshine, that will debut its second season this year.

EXCLUSIVE: A restructure at the company behind Mipcom, Mip TV and associated markets is gathering pace and several people working on the annual TV industry events have left in the past few weeks.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorMoonbug Entertainment is expanding its kid-vid footprint by snapping up Little Angel, a big producer of YouTube videos and songs for preschoolers.Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. The acquisition is Moonbug’s first since it was bought in a $3 billion deal by Candle Media, the next-generation media roll-up venture headed by former Disney execs Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs and backed by private-equity firm Blackstone.

Discovery and BT Sport are in talks to combine and create a UK sport venture.

Naman Ramachandran British telecom major BT Group revealed that on Thursday that it has “entered exclusive discussions with Discovery, Inc. on a deal to create a new sport and entertainment offering for customers in the U.K.”The new business would be a 50/50 joint venture, bringing together BT Sport with Eurosport U.K. “The new combined business would remain committed to retaining BT Sport’s existing major sports broadcast rights while BT Sport customers would get access to Discovery’s sport and entertainment content, including the Discovery Plus app,” said a statement from the BT Group.

Naman Ramachandran DAZN chair Kevin Mayer and Rene Rechtman, co-founder and CEO of Moonbug Entertainment, will deliver a joint keynote at this year’s in-person MipTV (Apr. 4-6). Mayer also serves as co-chair and co-CEO of Candle Media, which purchased Moonbug, the company behind the wildly popular children’s show “CoComelon” in Nov.

Former Disney exec and DAZN Chairman Kevin Mayer, along with Moonbug Entertainment CEO René Rechtman, is to headline this year’s MIP TV.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorNetflix has pumped billions of dollars into original programming — but overall, its library of older licensed TV shows far outperforms homegrown hits like “Squid Game” or “Bridgerton.”In 2021 on Netflix, “Criminal Minds,” the crime-drama procedural that aired on CBS from 2005-20, scored as the most-viewed TV show among U.S. streaming platforms tracked by Nielsen.The 12 seasons of “Criminal Minds” available on Netflix registered an estimated 33.9 billion minutes watched last year by American viewers, per Nielsen.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorSpotify is boosting its audio lineup for kids and families, including a new story-time show under an exclusive multiyear agreement with CoComelon, the YouTube children’s content powerhouse.The new “CoComelon Story Time” podcast — CoComelon’s first spoken-word original programming — will premiere Jan. 24 exclusively on Spotify.

Sports streaming service DAZN has rejigged its leadership structure, with Shay Segev becoming sole CEO, and the appointment of a new CFO.

UPDATED with official announcement: Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs’ Blackstone-backed Candle Media has formally clinched its latest deal — for Faraway Road Productions, the company behind Fauda and Hit & Run. 

EXCLUSIVE: Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine is doubling down on podcasting.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorThe roll-up media venture led by ex-Disney execs Tom Staggs and Kevin Mayer has set its next acquisition: Faraway Road Productions, the Israeli entertainment company behind Netflix series “Fauda” and “Hit & Run,” Variety has confirmed.The deal for Tel Aviv, Israel-based Faraway — founded by and headed by Avi Issacharoff and Lior Raz (pictured above) — is the third for the still-unnamed company formed by Stagg and Mayer with the backing of private-equity company

Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs’ Blackstone-backed media venture has set its next acquisition, of Faraway Road Productions, the company behind Fauda and Hit & Run, Deadline has confirmed.

Genius Brands has tapped Disney and Goldman Sachs veteran Zrinka Dekic as its new CFO and head of strategy and mergers and acquisitions.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorRené Rechtman, CEO and co-founder of Moonbug Entertainment, was gearing up to launch an IPO for his 3-year-old digital kids’ content company.But earlier this year, two of his former Disney colleagues — Tom Staggs and Kevin Mayer — came calling with an offer he couldn’t refuse.

Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs’ Blackstone-backed company has bought Moonbug Entertainment, producer of he popular Netflix children’s program “CoComelon,” it was announced Thursday.

The media venture run by Disney alums Kevin Mayer and Tom Stags and backed by private equity firm Blackstone has acquired Moonbug Entertainment, maker of popular kids shows like CoComelon.

Ellise Shafer administratorMoonbug Entertainment, the company behind the wildly popular children’s show “CoComelon,” has been acquired by Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs’ unnamed media venture. Though the terms of the deal were not made public, Bloomberg reports that the pricetag was $3 billion.This marks the second acquisition for the former Disney execs’ company, which is backed by private equity firm Blackstone Group Inc.

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorWarner Bros.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film WriterWestbrook Inc., the entertainment company founded by Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, has ended talks to sell to a new media venture backed by Blackstone Group and executives Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs, sources tell Variety.The two parties began discussions in mid-September, Variety previously reported, with the former Walt Disney Co.

Twitter.Campbell has been with the company for four years. She was named president in 2020.Campbell replaced Randy Freer, who himself exited amid a reorganization last year that had consolidated the streaming service’s operations under Disney’s direct-to-consumer and international unit, which was then run by Kevin Mayer.