And just like that, Netflix is close to tying up another major content licensing deal.
05.01.2024 - 18:35 / variety.com
Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. Discovery corporate communications chief Nathaniel Brown is exiting the company. CEO David Zaslav announced the news in a memo to staff Friday.
Variety has learned Brown decided to step down himself, following his tenure getting the company through its merger between the legacy Discovery and WarnerMedia, which closed in April 2022. Brown also led the PR strategy for the launch of Max, the combined HBO Max-Discovery+ streamer, in May 2023. A source says the decision to leave Warner Bros.
Discovery was completely mutual between him and Zaslav and Brown has no plans lined up for his next move as of now. Brown will be taking time off before looking for his next role. A replacement for Brown has not been named, but a search will begin shortly and likely focus on external candidates.
In his own message to the company’s employees, Brown wrote: “I realize there is never a perfect or easy time to make such a transition, but the start of the new year feels as good as any. These last several years have been fast and unforgettable. I joined Discovery in 2019 after a great run at 21st Century Fox, culminating in 21CF’s sale to Disney.
Since then, I’ve had the incredible opportunity to work alongside DZ as part of his leadership team and it has been an extraordinary ride, particularly these last few years as DZ has architected Discovery’s acquisition of WarnerMedia and established Warner Bros. Discovery. The team has worked tirelessly to launch the new company and restructure it for the future.
And just like that, Netflix is close to tying up another major content licensing deal.
Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Valerie Bertinelli‘s departure from “Kids Baking Championship” is not a cut-and-dry case of Food Network firing the “One Day at a Time” alum from her role as co-host and judge of the show. Rather, it’s the aftermath of the Warner Bros. Discovery-owned channel deciding not to renew Bertinelli’s larger exclusive deal with the network when it ended in 2022, sources tell Variety. Bertinelli signed a multi-series deal with Food Network in 2018, which expired in 2021.
Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. Discovery is asking high school students across the U.S. to “Say Yes to the Prom” for the 12th year in a row with its initiative that will give 1,500 juniors and seniors from underserved communities a chance to put together a complete prom look, courtesy of Macy’s and Men’s Wearhouse.
Naman Ramachandran Warner Bros. Discovery, the Board of Control for Cricket in India and Pitch International have signed a package of rights that will see them broadcast live international cricket hosted in India on its linear and digital platforms, TNT Sports and Discovery+, for the next five years.
After a 2023 upfront season marred by the WGA strike, Warner Bros. Discovery is first out of the gate to declare a return engagement this spring at New York’s Theater at Madison Square Garden.
Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor In an era when advertisers can buy digital inventory at any time they wish, does the media industry still need an “upfront” sales session? Warner Bros. Discovery believes it does. The media conglomerate said Thursday that it plans to hold a presentation for advertisers at 10 a.m.
EXCLUSIVE: UK Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer is expected to hail the biggest selling film of 2023 being “made and recorded in Hertfordshire – not Hollywood” at a glitzy parliament reception hosted by Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) tonight.
Earlier this week, news broke that Tom Cruise signed a film deal with Warner Bros. to produce and star in movies for the studio. But what does Cruise’s new deal really mean? It’s not an exclusive deal, and Cruise has a couple of titles to finish making, including the upcoming sequel to “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning,” before he pivots to WBD.
Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Just over a year into his tenure at the top of Roku Media, president Charlie Collier sees his service, “the number one TV operating system in America,” as the streaming industry equivalent to a hit primetime series airing ahead of your new show on broadcast TV. “We host the experience of television,” Collier told Variety co-editor-in-chief Cynthia Littleton at Variety‘s Entertainment Summit at CES in Las Vegas Wednesday.
There aren’t many true movie stars in Hollywood anymore. Sure, there are A-listers, but there aren’t many people who actually can lend their name to a film and watch it become a hit just based on name recognition alone.
official press release posted to the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group and shared on Cruise’s social channels, the deal is a partnership marks a return to WB for Cruise, who has worked with the studio on the likes of Edge of Tomorrow, Rock of Ages, The Last Samurai, Eyes Wide Shut, Interview with the Vampire, Risky Business, The Outsiders, and New Line’s Magnolia.Co-Chairs and CEOs Michael De Luca & Pam Abdy said in the release: “We are thrilled to be working with Tom, an absolute legend in the film industry. Our vision, from day one, has been to rebuild this iconic studio to the heights of its glory days, and, in fact, when we first sat down with David Zaslav to talk about joining the Warner Bros. Discovery team, he said to us, ‘We are on a mission to bring Warner Bros. back – we have the best resources, storytelling IP, and talent in the business – and we need to bring Tom Cruise back to Warner Bros!’ Today, that becomes a reality and we are one step closer to achieving our ambition. We couldn’t be more excited to welcome Tom back to Warner Bros. and look forward to bringing more of his genius to life on screen in the years ahead.”Cruise added: “I have great respect and admiration for David, Pam, Mike, and the entire team at Warner Bros. Discovery and their commitment to movies, movie fans, and the theatrical experience. I look forward to making great movies together!”Cruise is currently hard at work on the second part of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning which is housed over at Paramount.When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.@ THN - The Hollywood News 2023
Tom Cruise has announced a new partnership with Warner Bros., but don’t worry about your favorite franchises of his that are under other studios.
Brent Lang Executive Editor Tom Cruise has his next mission. The ageless action star signed a new deal to develop and produce theatrical films with Warner Bros. Discovery.
Harry Potter games following the success of Hogwarts Legacy.Speaking to Variety in a new interview, Haddad stated that not only was an already announced game based on the wizarding sport Quidditch in beta testing but that a “series of other things” are also in development which “will let the fans be part of this world and stories and characters in deeper and deeper ways.”Haddad spoke on the upcoming Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions, stating that they don’t have any “particular announcements on exactly how and when [the Quidditch game] is going to come to the market, but we are working to get it designed in a way just to delight fans.”He also spoke very briefly about the message that Warner Bros Discovery is giving to the gaming division, stating that they keep emphasising the “importance of franchises”.“There’s a unique and important games have in keeping our franchises relevant, resonant and exciting because there’s plenty of fans and plenty of people consuming content where games are their starting point, it’s their preferred form of content,” he explained.NME reviewed Hogwarts Legacy when it was released, stating that it was “fun and managed to get a lot of things right”, but that the game already felt “somewhat dated”.“It’s a stunning way to experience Hogwarts and the surrounding area and is probably the best representation for fans of the universe, regardless of the medium. Honestly, this is an exceptional piece of fan service and a loving recreation that for performance reasons and dated design, doesn’t quite come together,” our review read.In other gaming news, the face model for Mary Jane Watson in Marvel’s Spider-Man has called out the fanbase for harassing her.
Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer “Hogwarts Legacy” crossed 22 million copies sold by the end of 2023, with approximately 2 million of those units selling during the December holiday season, according to Warner Bros. Games. “But it’s not just the unit sold that I’m so proud of, it’s just that it delighted the fans so much,” Warner Bros.
Canal+ Group and Warner Bros Discovery have announced the renewal of their exclusive premium pay TV agreement for Warner Bros Pictures films.
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor A huge virtual world based on “Ready Player One,” a story set in a future where people enter into a virtual-reality simulation to escape the real world, is coming soon to a real (but, you know, virtual) platform near you. Futureverse, an AI and metaverse technology and content company, announced the formation of Readyverse Studios, a studio co-founded with Ernest Cline, the novelist and creator of “Ready Player One,” and Dan Farah, producer of the 2018 Warner Bros.
EXCLUSIVE: Production is about to be underway on Warner Bros/Vertigo/Legendary’s feature take on Mojang/Microsoft’s Minecraft in New Zealand, and sources are telling us that Jack Black is joining the cast of the Jason Momoa led movie.
Ellise Shafer Warner Bros. Discovery has acquired Turkish streaming service BluTV, the company announced on Friday. For the past three years, Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has acquired Turkish streamer BluTV.