Streaming Investment Spurs Profit Drop in Paramount Global Q2

K.J. Yossman Georgia Brown, head of European originals at Amazon Studios in the U.K., has said that even while the cost of living crisis bites and other streamers, such as HBO Max, have halted their local originals, Amazon Prime Video has no intention of cutting back. “We’ve always had a very different strategy,” Brown said during a panel at the Edinburgh TV Festival, before saying she abides by head of Amazon Studios Jennifer Salke’s mantra of offering a “really curated” slate. Brown emphasized her commitment to local productions, saying: “It was really critical to us that we have these local productions on the ground. Our strategy has always been ‘local for local.’”

AsianCrush and the Kocowa venture among major Korean broadcasters are generating viewership and creating a big secondary market for scripted series known as K-dramas — a movement that will only accelerate South Korea’s maturation into a major player in media and entertainment. For evidence, look no further than the 14 groundbreaking Emmy nominations racked up last month by Netflix’s “Squid Game.” “We’ve seen this growth in interest of Asian entertainment over the last 10 years and really picking up more recently in the last three to five years,” says Sam Wu, CEO of Rakuten Viki, the streaming arm of the Japanese retail conglomerate.

Warner Bros. Discovery has exited its £60M ($72M) shareholding in fledgling UK news channel GB News, having been bought out by existing backers Legatum Ventures Limited and Sir Paul Marshall.

Christopher Vourlias When it comes to creative pedigree, it would be hard to argue with the bona fides of Bosnian crime drama “The Hollow,” which was co-created by Oscar-winning director Danis Tanović (“No Man’s Land”) and had a splashy premiere Saturday night at the Sarajevo Film Festival. The series is directed by Tanović and Bosnian filmmaker Aida Begić, whose latest feature, “A Ballad,” also received the red-carpet treatment this week in Sarajevo’s official competition.More than just a prestige drama from a region that’s increasingly exporting its shows to the world, however, “The Hollow” could represent a paradigm shift in the countries of the former Yugoslavia, where global streaming services have been acquiring titles such as “The Paper” (Netflix) and “The Silence” (HBO Max) but are yet to put significant investment into local production.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorFox Corp. operates the only one of the four major U.S.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorOne of the commercials running on the streaming-video site Pluto is big enough to look just like one of its many content selections.Rather than break up a streaming show with a selection of traditional commercials, Ancestry decided to create a short film that its executives hoped would be as enticing as anything else consumers tried to binge. As part of a pact with Paramount Global, the vignette streamed on Pluto as well as CBS News’ streaming-video properties.Before Juneteenth, the online genealogy service released “A Dream Delivered: The Lost Letters of Hawkins Wilson,” which follows one family’s effort to find relatives of an ancestor, Hawkins Wilson, who was born into slavery.

Naman Ramachandran Prolific Indian studio Applause Entertainment is celebrating its fifth anniversary with a flourishing streaming slate, several films, an ambitious expansion model and a doubling down on investment.The company is led by CEO Sameer Nair, a pioneer of Indian television with previous stints at Star TV, NDTV Imagine, Turner General Entertainment, and Balaji Telefilms.On the film front, Applause’s Hindi-language “The Rapist,” by Aparna Sen, won the prestigious Kim Jiseok award at Busan in 2021. Next up is a film by actor-director Nandita Das, whose last film “Manto” was at Cannes.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterNexstar Media Group revealed Monday it is set acquire a 75% majority stake in the CW Network from Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery, more than six months after first beginning negotiations for the deal.Warner Bros.

Sam Fender, Wolf Alice, Arlo Parks, Dua Lipa, George Ezra, Glass Animals, Griff, Lewis Capaldi, Mabel, PinkPantheress and Rag N’ Bone Man.Recent BPI research also highlighted that the pool of talent is coming from across the nations and regions of the UK with nearly two-thirds of the past year’s most successful UK albums having been recorded by solo artists and groups from outside of London.More than 120 UK artists whose debut albums have been released since 2015, each amassed more than 100 million global audio streams last year, according to BPI analysis of data from Luminate (formerly MRC Data).

Carson Burton Paramount Global streaming chief Tom Ryan will receive the first-ever NATPE Award for Leadership in Global Streaming at the NATPE Streaming+ conference in Hollywood next month.Ryan will be recognized for his track record of innovation, entrepreneurship and determination in the streaming arena. The executive previously launched the Pluto TV FAST channel platform, serving as co-founder and CEO.

Wilson Chapman editorFederal prosecutors in Los Angeles have indicted a Redondo Beach man on fraud and identity theft charges, alleging he used the name of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz’s legendary Desilu production company to scam investors.Charles Hensley, 68, has been charged with 11 counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft for his alleged activities, which involved using the Desilu name to dupe investors into giving him money to shell corporations. The indictment stemmed from an investigation into Hensley’s businesses from the FBI and the IRS.

One of Greater Manchester's most well-known businessmen has helped invest £1.2m in a start-up founded by a former rugby league star and his wife.

major restructuring of its content divisions, and the entertainment conglomerate added 1.7 million global subscribers to both HBO Max and reaching 92.1 million global subscribers. However, Warner Bros.

Paramount Global CFO Naveen Chopra indicated streaming losses would total about $1.8 billion this year, higher than Wall Street expected, but stuck to the company’s target of peak DTC losses in 2023.

Paramount Global said Top Gun: Maverick powered a 126% surge in filmed entertainment revenue last quarter, surpassing Titanic to become the studio’s biggest domestic release of all time.

Video content budgets across India, Korea and Southeast Asia climbed 21% to reach $10.4bn in 2021, and are forecast to grow 15% to $12bn in 2022, according to a report from Media Partners Asia (MPA).

, the past truly does come back to haunt you. Every town has its secret, and Millwood is no different. In the  premiere, we learn the five main characters are all connected to a 20-year-old murder case.

Disney Plus this morning after originally landing in theaters on June 17. Giving fans a long-awaited look into the iconic character before he became a popular toy, the Buzz Lightyear origin story was the first Pixar movie in years to premiere in cinemas.