Viacom18 have revealed a multi-year agreement making JioCinema India’s new streaming home for HBO, Max Original and Warner Bros. content from May. The WBD content had previously been carried on the Disney-owned Star TV platform. But the deal with Star expired at the end of March. WBD sources have confirmed that, except for a handful of shows licensed to third parties, HBO content has been absent from Indian airwaves since the beginning of the month. The new deal is another major victory for Mukesh Ambani, one of India’s richest and most politically influential businessmen. His Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) is behind Viacom18 and the JioCinema streaming platform, as well as India’s dominant cellular phone and broadband internet providers.
Dem Lawmakers Call on DOJ to Investigate Warner Bros. Discovery Merger: ‘Content Creators Harmed in Unprecedented Ways’
07.04.2023 - 21:11 / thewrap.com
letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Assistant Attorney General Johanthan Kanter from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), Rep.
David Cicilline (D-Rhode Island) and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Washington) claims that the merger has appeared to have enabled the company to “adopt potentially anticompetitive practices that reduce consumer choice and harm workers in affected labor markets.”Thousands of jobs cut, content creators harmed in unprecedented ways, less consumer choice. Mergers aren’t automatically good for business or people.
(2/2)Discovery closed its $43 billion merger of WarnerMedia in April 2022 that was ultimately not challenged by the DOJ after a review. The letter cites several workforce reductions that have occurred at the company over the past several months as part of its restructuring, including layoffs of 350 people at CNN+, 400 additional people across CNN and 100 people in its ad sales department. It also claims that WBD’s new ownership is “hollowing out an iconic American studio,” citing cancellations of various projects including the $90 million “Batgirl,” Gordita Chronicles,” “Demimonde,” and “The Time Traveler’s Wife.”“The damage to content creators whose projects are cancelled in deep development and post-production cannot be overstated,” the letter states.
Warner Bros Discovery, Viacom18 Sign Exclusive Content Partnership For India
Warner Bros Discovery has signed a multi-year licensing deal with Viacom18 under which its JioCinema service will become the new streaming home of HBO, Max Original and Warner Bros content in India starting next month.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s David Zaslav Embraces Theatrical in Emotional CinemaCon Debut: ‘This Is Our Time’
Max streaming service, David Zaslav and Warner Bros. embraced theatrical as they showed off their upcoming 2023 slate at CinemaCon in Las Vegas.Zaslav made his debut at the movie theater trade show on Tuesday with a lengthy speech that earned plenty of applause from cinema execs, especially when he reaffirmed his company’s plans to never go back to the day-and-date releasing model that his predecessor, Jason Kilar, rolled out for all of Warner’s theatrical releases in 2021. “We believe in full theatrical windows, we don’t believe in direct to streaming.
Warner Bros. Discovery Boss Says Studio “Does Not Believe In Streaming Movies”
It really does feel like a lifetime ago when Warner Bros. defiantly said, during the beginning of the pandemic, that every film released in 2021 was going to hit theaters and streaming on the same day.
Fox, Warner Bros Discovery And Comcast Stocks Dip After Major News Breaks About Tucker Carlson, Don Lemon And Jeff Shell
Fox, Comcast and Warner Bros Discovery shares each took a dip Monday after the media companies took turns generating industry-shaking headlines over less than 24 hours.
Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav To Take Stage At CinemaCon In Rare Appearance For A Conglom Boss
EXCLUSIVE: Deadline has learned that Warner Bros Discovery CEO and President, David Zaslav, will be teeing off Warner Bros studio presentation at CinemaCon on Tuesday AM, April 25.
Warner Bros. Discovery Owes $52 Million for ‘South Park’ Streaming Rights, Paramount Alleges
Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Paramount Global fired back on Wednesday in the battle over “South Park” streaming rights, accusing Warner Bros. Discovery of withholding $52 million in license fees. Warner Bros. Discovery sued Paramount in February, alleging that the company had breached its $500 million licensing deal with HBO Max by diverting “South Park” specials to Paramount+. On Wednesday, Paramount filed a counterclaim, alleging that HBO Max got everything it bargained for under the agreement, but has nevertheless withheld two required payments of $26 million apiece. The countersuit, filed in New York Supreme Court, also argues that the unpaid fees cover the 300-plus episodes of “South Park” now streaming on HBO Max, which are not in dispute in the lawsuit.
Warner Bros. International Television Production Hires Fremantle’s Harry Gamsu In Key LA Formats Role
EXCLUSIVE: Harry Gamsu is heading back to Warner Bros. Discovery.
Max Pulls Out Promotional Stops In Rebranding Promo Push As Warner Bros Discovery Looks To Make A “Second First Impression”
The last time the parent company of Warner Bros and HBO promoted the launch of a streaming service, it faced the once-a-century challenge of the coronavirus pandemic.
John Oliver Dings “Business Daddy” Warner Bros. Discovery For Taking “Content Purge Up A Notch” With HBO Max Rebrand
John Oliver greeted the Last Week Tonight viewers by taking a swing at “business daddy” Warner Bros. Discovery after announcing the rebranding of HBO Max to Max.
Steven Spielberg, David Zaslav & Paul Thomas Anderson Talk Urgency Of Film Preservation And Warners Bros. Commitment At TCM Classic Festival Opening Night
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO and President David Zaslav, just a day after revealing details of the new combined streaming service Max, joined industry titans Steven Spielberg and Paul Thomas Anderson to tout another area close to the heart of the studio he now heads: the importance of restoring and preserving Warner Bros.’ rich legacy of film classics, especially as it heads into its 100th anniversary year. Appearing on stage at the opening night of the 14th TCM Classic Film Festival with Spielberg and Anderson in a conversation moderated by TCM host Ben Mankiewicz, Zaslav — who previously stated his belief in the theatrical experience and a return to that after 2021’s much-derided day-and-date release model under past CEO Jason Kilar — made it clear that the studio’s commitment to the preservation and well-being of the studio’s rich library will be a priority in his administration. (Turner Classic Movies is a cable channel under the WBD umbrella.)
Max Rebrand Sees Warner Bros. Discovery Return To Kids Space With Reboots & New Parental Controls
Warner Bros. Discovery disappointed the children’s TV industry last year when it pulled a number of shows from HBO Max, signaling an exit from this part of the business.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max Streamer Ripped as a Terrible Brand Strategy: ‘Insanely Bad Decision’
It’s a good move. The “HBO” brand is associated with some of the worst content ever: Sopranos, The Wire, Band of Brothers, Game of Thrones, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Veep, Deadwood and Silicon Valley.Good riddance.
Warner Bros. Discovery Shares Tumble Amid Max Relaunch
separate, lower-priced service. The company also plans to launch a free, ad-supported streaming service this year.
Warner Bros. Discovery Stock Drops After Max Presentation
Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Warner Bros. Discovery shares were down 6% at the close of trading Wednesday, on the heels of the company’s expansive presentation of its plans to overhaul the HBO Max streamer. WB Discovery shares have been battered over the past year as the company dealt with post-merger cost-cutting and management realignment. On Wednesday, the stock fell 5.8% to $14.05 on what was a down day overall for the market and a down day for most of WB Discovery’s media rivals, including Disney (down 2.5%), Paramount Global (3.3%) and Netflix (down 2%). The Dow Jones index fell a modest 38.2 points while the Nasdaq dropped 102 points, or 1%. The hourlong WB Discovery presentation was held during trading hours, at 10 a.m. PT on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank. Wall Street’s verdict on WB Discovery’s plans is still not in, but the immediate reaction of investors indicates that the company still has a long road ahead in sorting out its profit centers in the age of streaming.
New ‘The Big Bang Theory’ Project In The Works From Warner Bros. And Max
“The Big Bang Theory” is approved for additional funding.
Max Launch Date, Programs, Pricing & All You Need To Know About Warner Bros Discovery’s Rebranded Streamer
“This is our time. This is our chance,” Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said today in his livestream intro for the company’s unveiling of Max, its rebranded streaming service that goes live May 23. “This is our rendezvous with destiny.”
Warner Bros Discovery Boss David Zaslav Praises Streaming Competition For Getting Into Theatrical Business
As rival motion picture studios were becoming intoxicated on theatrical day-and-date releases tied to their streaming platforms during Covid, and big streamers like Netflix completely sidestepping wide theatrical releases, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav believed in the economics of the big picture.
Warner Bros Discovery Unveils 3 Price Tiers For New Max Streaming Service
Warner Bros. Discovery unveiled three tiers for its new Max service today. The pricing keeps Max in line with HBO Max, and at the top end of the entertainment streaming spectrum. A price hike several months ago by HBO Max made it the most expensive service among major streamers, and the new set of plans will keep it just ahead of Netflix’s most popular U.S. plan, which now costst $15.49 a month.
‘Max’ Is the New Name for Warner Bros. Discovery’s Combined Streaming Offering
offering a differentiated and high-performing experience for every user across the whole service.At launch, Max will introduce a default kids profile for new subscribers along with accompanying parental controls. Parents can choose to customize settings and select to limit content for the kids profile byratings: little kids (TV-Y), big kids (TV-Y7, TV-Y7-FV), big kids plus (TV-G, G), preteens (TV-PG/PG), or teens (TV-14, PG-13).