Former Spotify Exec Max Cutler Launches Creator-Focused Media Company Pave Studios

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor SAG-AFTRA will license Nielsen‘s streaming content data, which the union will to enforce the terms of its 2023 contract with Hollywood studios. Under the deal for Nielsen’s Streaming Content Ratings, SAG-AFTRA will have “an objective source of domestic viewership data for original streaming programming,” the parties announced.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Anthony Wood, founder and CEO of Roku, had a pay package worth just over $20.2 million in 2023, while Roku’s media boss, Charlie Collier, received $6.8 million in salary. Wood’s compensation last year included salary of $1.2 million, stock awards worth $7.57 million and stock option awards ​valued at $11.43 million.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor The Onion has a new owner: a company called “Global Tetrahedron,” which is a real thing based on a fake entity invented by the satire site more than two decades ago. G/O Media, a private-equity backed firm that has owned The Onion since 2019, sold the site to a new Chicago-based firm called Global Tetrahedron, which is “made up of four digital media veterans with a profound love for The Onion and comedy-based content,” G/O Media CEO Jim Spanfeller said in a memo to staff Thursday. Financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

EXCLUSIVE: The Talk may be wrapping up after 15 seasons in December, but Executive Producer Rob Crabbe and his team are not going down without a fight.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Imax fans turned up in droves to see “Dune 2” on the really big screen, helping the company top analyst earnings estimates for the first quarter of 2024. Despite the sandworm bump, it was a tough compare with the year-ago period when Imax benefited from the blockbuster success of “Avatar: The Way of Water” in 2023 to deliver its highest-grossing Q1 to date.

EXCLUSIVE: Rotterdam competition title Small Hours of the Night from Daniel Hui (Demons, Snakeskin) and SXSW premiere Adrianne & The Castle by Shannon Walsh (The Gig is Up, Illusions of Control) have landed international reputation via non-fiction agency Indox. 

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Spotify reeled in fewer new users overall than it expected in the first quarter of 2024, but the audio-streaming giant touted “record strength” in profitability. Total monthly active users (free and paid) grew 19% year over year to 615 million, a gain of 13 million from the previous quarter — which missed its guidance by 3 million. Spotify said “moderated marketing activity” led to “more normalized growth” following 2023’s record performance (when it added 26 million new MAUs in Q1).

Lexi Carson Jane Nefeldt, former senior executive of the Writers Guild of America West, has died. She was 71. The WGAW said she died on April 16 in Hermosa Beach, Calif.

Anna Marie de la Fuente NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises Chairman Luis Fernandez is spearheading an executive shuffle and a restructuring of Telemundo Studios in a bid to amp up the company’s scripted content for both linear and streaming platforms. “At a time when Telemundo is the most-watched network in prime time, we are super-charging our scripted content production under one strong brand: Telemundo Studios,” said Fernandez who returned in December to Telemundo where he was previously head of the news division for six years before taking a hiatus.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Viaplay‘s streaming service — specializing in award-winning Scandinavian series and films — is now available as an add-on subscription on Amazon‘s Prime Video Channels in the United States. Starting Wednesday, Prime members in the U.S.

Max Cutler, the former Spotify executive who oversaw the audio streamer’s deals with the likes of Alex Cooper and Joe Rogan, is launching his own company.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Wonya Lucas, former president and CEO of Hallmark Media Networks, has joined Comcast‘s board as an independent director. Comcast announced Lucas’s addition to the board, effective as of April 15, in an SEC filing Monday. She has not yet been appointed to serve as a member of any board committee, according to the filing.

IAC, the Barry Diller-owned company that controls The Daily Beast, has landed a strategic partnership with former Disney executive Ben Sherwood and Hearst veteran Joanna Coles to define the digital publication’s next chapter in a struggling media climate.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Ben Sherwood and Joanna Coles inked a deal to lead IAC’s The Daily Beast, under which the media veterans have been granted a minority stake in the news and opinion site. Effective immediately, Sherwood — one-time president of the Disney ABC Television Group — will serve as The Daily Beast’s publisher and CEO. Coles, previously Hearst Magazines’ chief content officer, is the site’s chief creative and content officer.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Spotter, which provides capital, services and software aimed at helping creators and brands grow their online businesses, hired former Adobe Systems and Microsoft exec Ivo Manolov as chief technology officer. In the CTO role, Manolov will be responsible for leading all technology with a focus on launching Spotter’s suite of AI-powered software tailored to YouTubers.

Days after he left Amazon, Chris Brearton has found a new gig.

Former Netflix Head of Comedy Jane Wiseman is joining Jane Featherstone and Liz Murdoch‘s Sister entertainment group in a newly created position as Head of U.S. Television. Based in Los Angeles, Wiseman will report to Cindy Holland, Sister’s Global CEO, and will lead the company’s U.S. television business, specifically focused on development and production of premium scripted series.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Ubisoft, in collaboration with Lucasfilm Games, announced the launch date for “Star Wars Outlaws” — the first open-world Star Wars game — and released the official trailer as well as new details for the much-anticipated title. “Star Wars Outlaws” will launch Aug. 30 on Xbox Series X|S consoles, PlayStation 5, Amazon Luna and PC through Ubisoft Connect, at a suggested retail price of $69.99 for the base game.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Disney‘s games group has bulked up executive ranks with new hires and promotions after the announcement of its $1.5 billion investment in Epic Games and partnership to create a virtual world featuring the Mouse House’s brands and characters. Ray Gresko, formerly chief development officer at Blizzard Entertainment (who left prior to its the Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard), joins the Disney Games team as senior VP, product and development.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Spotify already has numerous ways for listeners to find music to listen to on its platform. Now it’s adding a new AI tool that can automatically compile a playlist based on user-entered text strings. The company has launched a beta version of a feature it calls AI Playlist, available first to Spotify Premium subscribers in the U.K.