UK antitrust enforcer is probing Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition

Gene Maddaus Senior Media WriterThe Church of Scientology has asked the Supreme Court to enforce a religious arbitration agreement that would bar Danny Masterson’s sexual assault accusers from suing the church for allegedly stalking and harassing them.In a petition filed on Tuesday, the church asked the court to overturn a California Court of Appeal ruling, which held that the women could not be bound by the arbitration agreement because they had left the church.The church argued that the ruling violates the church’s rights under the First Amendment, and amounts to religious discrimination.“The Opinion weaponizes the First Amendment against religious freedom, holding that the First Amendment requires limitations applicable only to religious — and not to secular — arbitration agreements,” the church argued. The plaintiffs filed suit in August 2019, alleging that the church had engaged in a campaign of harassment and intimidation after they reported rape allegations against Masterson — a prominent church member — to the LAPD.

acquisition of Australian-based animation studio Animal Logic to help support Netflix’s original film slate. Netflix has promoted Karen Toliver, currently VP of Animated Film, to lead the new film animation team on the content side and reporting to Global Film head Scott Stuber.

EXCLUSIVE: After announcing its acquisition of the Australian animation studio Animal Logic during yesterday’s earnings call, Deadline has learned that Netflix is making internal moves that will streamline its coterie of executives who’ll steer the Film Animation division.

Activision Blizzard, with the company’s Albany branch (formerly Vicarious Visions) making the bid.This makes the Albany QA branch the second potential union at the company, after the same department at Raven Software won its union election bid back in May. Called Game Workers Alliance (GWA) Albany, the new union issued a statement last night (July 19) via Twitter:“QA is currently an undervalued discipline in the games and software industries.

More details are emerging about the fatal shooting of a Law & Order: Organized Crime crew member this morning as the New York Police department scrutinizes the violent crime.

EXCLUSIVE: Producer Todd Lieberman has formed Hidden Pictures, and tapped Alex Young for the president post. Formed to generate film and TV projects, Hidden Pictures has entered a strategic film partnership with Lionsgate. Hidden Pictures has gotten off the ground with a film rights deal in competition for the Freida McFadden bestselling novel The Housemaid.

has issued a temporary block against President Joe Biden, stopping the administration from from enforcing LGBTQ civil rights protections in employment and education the President had put into place upon taking office. That order comes in response to a lawsuit filed by 20 right wing state attorneys general.Judge Charles E.

EXCLUSIVE: Dina Meyer (All American), Aaron Dominguez (Only Murders in the Building), Julia Tolchin (Loveland), Colin Bates (Broadway’s Girl from the North Country) and Jason Wiles (Third Watch) will star in the comedy Katie’s Mom (formerly The Dropout), marking the feature directorial debut of Tyrrell Shaffner.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorElon Musk is a freewheeling, shoot-from-the-lip kind of Twitter user who is famously fond of memes.But now Musk’s snarky and derogatory tweets aimed at Twitter have been dragged into court. The company, which is suing to force the mega-billionaire complete his $44 billion buyout, alleges that Musk has on multiple occasions violated a provision of the merger agreement stipulating that Musk may tweet about the deal only “so long as such Tweets do not disparage the Company or any of its Representatives.”“Since signing the merger agreement, Musk has repeatedly disparaged Twitter and the deal, creating business risk for Twitter and downward pressure on its share price,” the company’s lawsuit claimed.

EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros. Unscripted Television, the division run by Mike Darnell, is entering the feature documentary acquisitions market with its first big purchase – rights to Canadian true-con doc The Talented Mr. Rosenberg.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorBritain’s antitrust regulatory body has launched a probe into whether Microsoft’s mega-deal for Activision Blizzard would reduce competition in the U.K.Microsoft announced its $69 billion bid for Activision Blizzard in January, which would be the biggest-ever acquisition in the video-game business. The companies have said they expect the deal to close by mid-2023.On Wednesday, the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority said it investigating whether Microsoft-Activision Blizzard merger “may be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition within any market or markets in the United Kingdom for goods or services.”The CMA’s deadline for public comment on the matter is July 20.

Peter Chernin has launched The North Road Company, a global content studio that will bring together Chernin Entertainment, the U.S. assets of Red Arrow Studios, which includes Love Is Blind producer Kinetic Content, and Connor Schell’s non-scripted business Words + Pictures.

Endeavor Group has amended its pending purchase of sports betting company OpenBet in a cash and stock deal that’s now worth $800 million versus $1.2 billion when it was announced in September.

“You Can’t Ask That,” which went to air Down Under on Wednesday. Angela White, 35, was one of the stars who appeared on the show, with the porn queen confessing that getting down and dirty on camera has had a detrimental effect on her dating life. “It is difficult to find a partner that you truly connect with,” White — who has been dubbed “the Meryl Streep of porn” — admitted to the audience.

Almost nine months to the day after the surprise Deadline scoop that CAA was acquiring ICM Partners, the deal is finally going through after getting government approval to create a mega agency in the biggest linkup in the space since the WMA-Endeavor merger. Sources close to the situation said the Department of Justice finally approved the deal late last night or this morning, and it closed. It is valued around $750 million, and the combined value of assets is around $5 billion.

Moblo, who is moving to Universal from Netflix, will be responsible for sourcing and acquiring content for Universal Television (UTV), UCP, Universal International Studios (UIS) and Universal Television Alternative Studio (UTAS). He will report directly to Erin Underhill, President, UTV; Beatrice Springborn, President, UCP & UIS; and Toby Gorman, President, UTAS.In addition to overseeing global book and IP acquisitions, Moblo will also manage the studio’s podcast division, USG Audio, and graphic novel imprint, USG Graphic.“Jordan has impeccable taste in identifying and securing intellectual property that can be brought to series,” said Pearlena Igbokwe, Chairman, USG.

Carson Burton Jordan Moblo has been hired at Universal Studio Group (USG) as head of creative acquisitions and IP management, the company announced today. The executive was previously Netflix’s director of IP scouting.Moblo takes over for Scott Nemes, who recently exited Universal Studios Group for AGBO, though Moblo’s role is an expanded version of Nemes’ executive vice president of creative acquisitions and international development position.As executive vice president of USG’s IP focused division, Moblo and his team will be responsible for sourcing and acquiring content for USG’s four studios: Universal Television (UTV), UCP, Universal International Studios (UIS) and Universal Television Alternative Studio (UTAS).

Media and telecom M&A activity was lively in the first half of 2022 with deals for the 12 months ending May 15 totaling 1,014, up 28% year-on-year, with a record total value $469 billion. The tally was inflated by Elon Musk’s high-profile $44 billion bid for Twitter and Microsoft’s planned $68 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Neither deal has closed yet.