Jon Stewart to Launch Weekly Podcast With Comedy Central

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Dystopian thriller “Leave the World Behind” was the most-watched film — and title overall — on Netflix globally in the second half of 2023, while anime-inspired live action series “One Piece” led on the TV side. The data comes from Netflix’s second edition of “What We Watched: A Netflix Engagement Report,” reflecting viewership on the streamer from July-December 2023 covering 99% of all viewing on Netflix. Subscribers across the world watched about 90 billion hours of Netflix in the second half of 2023, compared with 93 billion hours in the first half of the year.

Jon Stewart was back on The Daily Show and compared Donald Trump to Mr. Magoo as the hush money trial continues.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Actor Scarlett Johansson said she turned down OpenAI‘s request for her to lend her voice to a conversational ChatGPT system — and that she was “shocked” and “angered” that the company went ahead and used a voice that sounded very similar to hers anyway. Johansson, in a statement provided to Variety, said her lawyers contacted OpenAI to have the voice of Sky, one of the new voices in the GPT-4o conversational chatbot release, pulled down. OpenAI introduced the Sky voice, which sounded very like that of Johansson’s disembodied AI companion in Spike Jonze’s 2013 movie “Her.” The company on Monday said it would “pause” the use of the Sky voice, and said the voice was supplied by another actor.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor After many people noticed that one of the voices in OpenAI‘s voice-enabled chatbot sounded very much like that of Scarlett Johansson’s disembodied AI companion in Spike Jonze’s 2013 movie “Her,” the company is suspending the voice for the time being. The Johansson-soundalike voice, Sky, was part of OpenAI’s updated GPT-4o, which it launched last week.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor BuzzFeed is changing the way it compensates founder and CEO Jonah Peretti, who will now receive most of his pay package in stock, in addition to introducing new incentives for other top execs — a bid to persuade shareholders that the senior leaders will be better incentivized to turn things around at the struggling digital media company. In an SEC filing Friday, BuzzFeed said Peretti’s annual base salary was immediately reduced from $325,000 to $115,000, “which approximates the median employee compensation for BuzzFeed and its peers.” That will also reduce the annual cash bonus for which Peretti is eligible (the target amount of which remains 100% of his salary).

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Everyone’s in the Emmy race, but the Television Academy has forced John Mulaney to make a change that may only benefit his awards run. Netflix‘s live smash “John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s in L.A,.” featuring the Emmy-winning stand-up comedian celebrating the quirks and unique personality of his beloved city, was massively popular on the platform.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor YouTube‘s message to Madison Avenue: The video giant isn’t like traditional TV — it’s bigger, with literally billions of viewers, and better at targeting relevant audiences. At its annual Brandcast event, held Wednesday during the TV biz’s upfronts week, YouTube drilled home massive scale. On average, viewers watch more than 1 billion hours of content on TV screens daily.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter “IF,” a fantasy-comedy from director John Krasinski and star Ryan Reynolds, looks to collect a promising $40 million in its box office debut. Based on projections, “IF” — short for imaginary friends — is tracking to land at least $35 million and as much as $45 million from 4,000 North American theaters. At the higher end of estimates, those ticket sales would mark a solid start for a live-action PG family film that’s not based on an existing property.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor In Netflix‘s first move into big-league sports streaming, the company has won the rights to two NFL games on Christmas Day 2024. On Dec. 25, 2024, Netflix will be the global home of the NFL’s two Christmas Day games.

Desi Lydic, like the majority of her Daily Show colleagues, was surprised on January 24 when it was revealed that Jon Stewart would return to host the long-running Comedy Central show.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Julie McNamara, one of Spotify‘s top podcast content execs, is leaving the company, Variety has confirmed. McNamara, who joined the company in 2021, most recently served as VP and global head of podcast studios. She oversaw Spotify Studios, which consolidated the Parcast and Gimlet groups producing original podcasts, as well as licensed podcast deals with partners including Joe Rogan, Alex Cooper (“Call Her Daddy”) and Emma Chamberlain.

Jon Stewart has been watching the television coverage of the Donald Trump hush money trial, but that doesn’t mean he has to like it.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor More than three decades after they co-starred in hit sitcom “Cheers,” Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson are getting back together — going into the audio booth for a new podcast from SiriusXM. “Where Everybody Knows Your Name with Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson (Sometimes)” is set to premiere June 12, with new episodes releasing weekly on Wednesdays on all major podcast platforms.

Jon Stewart will take an extended dive into current events in a new The Weekly Show With Jon Stewart a Comedy Central podcast set to launch in June.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Podcast ad revenue in the U.S. — after seven years of double-digit growth — hit a slowdown in 2023, with overall spending increasing 5% to $1.93 billion, according to a new report. The tepid growth in podcast ad spending last year came amid a “challenging advertising climate” that disproportionately affected mid-tier companies, according to research conducted by PwC for the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB).

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery — ordinarily rivals for consumers’ time and money — are teaming up for a triple-play bundle of Disney+, Hulu and Max. The companies announced a new streaming bundle comprising Disney+, Hulu and Max will be available this summer in the U.S.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Tubi will give up-and-coming creatives a streaming platform — and funding — for their passion projects, with an assist from Issa Rae. The Fox Corp.-owned free, ad-supported streamer launched Stubios, which it calls “a fan-fueled studio” for aspiring filmmakers and their fans.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor After more than a year of talks, Condé Nast management inked a new pact with hundreds of union workers at Vogue and other publications — heading off a strike and a picket line that threatened to disrupt the company’s splashy Met Gala on Monday. The two sides reached an agreement on the terms of a new contract in the early-morning hours Monday.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor UPADTED: After months of M&A talks, Paramount Global and controlling shareholder Shari Redstone might be going it alone after all — for now. Insiders tell Variety that the expectation at the company is that neither of the two offers in play — Skydance Media-RedBird Capital Partners and Sony Pictures Entertainment-Apollo Global Management — will come to fruition. And Redstone is said to have reluctantly concluded that a deal with David Ellison’s Skydance, a longtime partner of Paramount Pictures, will not be possible.

he lost it amid scandal — is addressing what happened. At the “Netflix Is a Joke” comedy festival on Thursday, Minhaj hosted a showcase featuring a variety of comedians.