Licensing Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Google Stadia is being put to one side in favour of focus shifting to the game streaming tech behind it.After launching in late 2019 the Google game streaming platform was met with some criticism regarding the quality of its streams, latency, and connection issues. After a slow roll out of major titles and news that the internal Stadia development studios would be shut down, all was looking lost for the game streaming platform.Now, Business Insider (paywall) reports that focus is apparently shifting from Google Stadia itself, as Google wants to focus more on licensing out the technology that the company uses to stream the games across the internet.Focus is reportedly shifting to selling the technology used in the streaming service, as obtaining big third-party titles Google Stadia is now being shelved.If you hear one thing, hear this: The Stadia team is working really hard on a great future for Stadia and cloud gaming.

Angelique Jackson The popular YouTube Originals series “Super Sema,” starring and executive produced by Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o, has appointed UTA as its North American licensing and publishing agency.UTA will work alongside global toy licensee Just Play to focus on retail initiatives and key partnerships in publishing, apparel, home and accessories for the program, which is the world’s first children’s animated series focused on an African kid superhero.The series follows the world-changing adventures of an extraordinary young African girl, Sema, and her twin brother MB, who are on a mission to protect their town Dunia from the villainous Tobor. Fueled by STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) superpowers, Sema knows that with determination and creativity, anything is possible.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterNetflix co-CEO and chief content officer Ted Sarandos proudly said “Stranger Things” is “as valuable a franchise as exists today in entertainment around the world” during the company’s Q4 earnings presentation Thursday. During the same pre-recorded Q&A, Netflix COO and chief product officer Greg Peters said while the streamer is very focused on its own titles, it’s still looking outside Netflix IP when it comes to building out a very young video games business.“It was exciting to see the activity in the space and I think, to some degree, it’s an endorsement of the core thesis that we have around subscription being a great model to connect consumers around the world with games and gaming experiences,” Peters said, when asked directly why Netflix isn’t making large acquisitions in the gaming space, following this week’s news that Microsoft is acquired Activision Blizzard in a deal valued at almost $70 billion.

German production house and distributor Leonine Studios has signed an expanded partnership with local broadcaster Sky Deutschland.

German production house and distributor Leonine Studios has signed an expanded partnership with local broadcaster Sky Deutschland.

Amazon Prime Video is continuing its push into the African market by signing a second exclusive licensing agreement with a production company based in Nigeria.

The new Lidl store in Kemper Avenue, Falkirk, was back in front of Falkirk Council’s licensing board a year and a day after being granted the provisional licence that allowed it to open.

Manori Ravindran International EditorAmazon Prime Video is breaking into the Nigerian film market, also known as “Nollywood.”The global streaming service has struck a multi-year licensing deal with Nigerian production outfit Inkblot Studios. Under the deal, Prime Video will have exclusive, worldwide distribution rights for the company’s slate of theatrical releases from 2022.

A family business selling ‘bespoke’ Caribbean rum online has been given the thumbs up by-licensing chiefs.

Naman Ramachandran All-rights sales agency and distribution company Park Circus has renewed a licensing deal for thousands of titles from Disney and Fox.The new distribution services agreement with The Walt Disney Company Limited allows Park Circus to grant exhibition licenses for screening of Disney’s repertory and library catalogue and other selected feature film releases in cinemas internationally. The agreement is valid until Sept.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorSnap has struck a licensing deal with Sony Music Entertainment — which means the music of all three major labels/ publishers and many indies is now available on the platform (which prefers to be called a camera company, not a social media network).

Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment reported third-quarter results that undershot Wall Street analysts’ expectations on the top or bottom line.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefNippon TV, one of Japan’s entertainment groups, has struck a deal to license 30 drama and entertainment titles to Netflix for play across Asia, outside Japan.

Naman Ramachandran Upcoming Bollywood blockbusters with A-list talent from leading Indian studio Yash Raj Films will stream on Amazon Prime Video four weeks after their theatrical release.The licensing deal is for exclusive global streaming rights.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorA test version of Donald Trump’s Twitter-like social network violated open-source licensing terms, according to the not-for-profit Software Freedom Conservancy.The Software Freedom Conservancy, which enforces open-source software agreements, said Trump’s Truth Social website — launched by the newly formed Trump Media & Technology Group — failed to provide the source code to users, as specified in the Affero General Public License (AGPL), a “copyleft license”

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Michele Amabile Angermiller In celebration of the Spice Girls’ 25th anniversary, the group has partnered with Universal Music Group’s Bravado for a wide-ranging deal spanning merchandising, direct-to-consumer products, touring, brand and retail licensing and distribution on a global scale.The girl group — comprised of original members Mel B, Emma Bunton, Melanie C, Geri Halliwell and Victoria Beckham — released its debut album “Spice” on Nov.

UPDATE, 7:29 AM: Actor Zachary Horwitz has pleaded guilty in a Ponzi scheme that cost investors more than $227 million with fake promises of licensing rights to films by WarnerMedia-owned HBO and Netflix in Latin America.

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Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, parent of ad-supported streaming services like Crackle, reported disappointing second-quarter results but showed sharp gains in advertising and licensing revenue.

Lily Moayeri Columbia Records has promoted Kerry Hickey to senior vice president, film & television licensing. The Los Angeles-based Hickey, who reports to general manager Jenifer Mallory and chairman/CEO, Ron Perry, joined Columbia in 2018 as vice president.In her newly elevated role, Hickey will continue to utilize the systems she has put in place over the last three years.

Manori Ravindran International EditorVice programs will remain on streaming service Hulu in the U.S. after Vice Distribution, the global distribution arm of the youth-skewing media brand, renewed its licensing partnership with the Disney-backed SVOD.The deal covers more than 130 hours of Vice programming, and continues a partnership struck in 2019, when Vice shows first landed on Hulu.

A lawyer who represents John Lydon yesterday said that he’d been working for the musician for four years before even being aware of any 1988 band agreement between members of the Sex Pistols that allows for licensing deals to be done if a majority of said members agree.

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Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon is being sued by two former bandmates after refusing to license the group’s music for inclusion in Danny Boyle’s biopic series, Pistols.Guitarist Steve Jones – whose 2016 memoir, Lonely Boy: Tales From a Sex Pistol, serves as the basis for the show – and drummer Paul Cook are legally challenging Lydon’s veto, with their lawyer Edmund Cullen appearing in the High Court yesterday (July 15).As per The Associated Press, Cullen said a band agreement made in 1998 stated

Universal Filmed Entertainment Group continues its spree of licensing deals in multiple windows. The latest one is a multi-year, theatrical output pact with Starz for the Post Pay-One window.

STARZ and Universal Filmed Entertainment Group have signed a multi-year, theatrical output deal which will allow Universal’s live-action films to be available on STARZ post the pay-one window.STARZ subscribers will have access to the newest installment in the blockbuster “Jurassic World” franchise, “The 355” and “Ambulance,” sa well as Focus and Blumhouse movies.Beginning with the 2022 theatrical releases, films will head to Peacock for four months, at which point Universal films will land on

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaNetflix and Universal Filmed Entertainment Group are extending an agreement that will give the streaming giant exclusive rights in the U.S. to the media company’s animated feature films.The pact is a multi-year licensing deal and guarantees that the streamer will have access to films involving the Minions, Shrek and much more.

Angelique Jackson Amazon’s Prime Video and IMDb TV have inked a multi-year licensing deal with Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, bringing blockbusters like “Jurassic World: Dominion” and “F9” to the company’s streaming platforms.Under the new agreement, Prime Video will will have an exclusive pay-one window for UFEG’s slate of live-action films in the U.S.

EXCLUSIVE: In another blockbuster streaming deal with a major movie studio, Amazon’s Prime Video and IMDb TV have closed a licensing agreement with Universal Filmed Entertainment Group. No one would comment on the financials, but we hear the multi-year deal is estimated to be in the ten-figure range.

Scammers will go to any lengths to try and con people out of handing over their personal and financial details and one of the most common ways is for crooks to pretend they are from TV Licensing. Everyone in the UK pays for a TV Licence, unless they are over 75 and receiving Pension Credit, so it’s a bill that criminals often target knowing there are millions of people paying for it.

Remember last month when the music industry hit Roblox with a $200 million lawsuit due to the amount of music that was breaching copyright laws by being used? Well, it seems that Roblox and Sony have sat down and reached an agreement so that music can be licensed, legitimately, in the game.

Haley Bosselman editorAlcon Entertainment has tapped Striker Entertainment to handle consumer product licensing for the “Blade Runner” franchise with an emphasis on “Blade Runner: Black Lotus” and “The Expanse,” the sci-fi series based on the novels of the same name by James S.A. Corey.“Alcon has showcased the fact that they know how to produce content that is aimed squarely at the fan in all of us,” Striker Entertainment president Russell Binder said.

“Since launching Peacock just one year ago, we have seen incredible viewership of movies and continue to expand our catalog with a range of films for every fan and occasion,” said Matt Strauss, Chairman, Direct-to-Consumer and International, NBCUniversal.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaUniversal will move its pay-one window for films from HBO to Peacock, the studio said Tuesday. The move is another sign of the importance that media conglomerates are placing on bolstering their in-house streaming services as they engage in a fierce battle for subscribers.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorUniversal Music Group and Snap announced a multiyear global agreement that will let Snapchat’s users incorporate UMG’s catalog of recorded music and content into creative tools, including Sounds on Snapchat and augmented reality Lenses.Under the terms of the deal, UMG’s entire recorded music catalog is available on a global basis in Snapchat’s Sounds tool, including search and curated playlists.