Peter Liguori Replaces VideoAmp Founder as CEO While Company Lays Off Nearly 20% of Staff

So, here we are in mid-January, and though we’re staring down the barrel of a tough year ahead, it’s not all wintry doom and gloom on an international box office (and combined global) level. 

Anna Wintour kept her trademark dark sunglasses on even as she was delivering bad news to Pitchfork staffers, one writer that was part of the purge complains.

Coronation Street star Peter Ash has left the soap's fans guessing as he offered an update on Paul Foreman future. Character Paul, played by Peter, has been dealing with a heartbreaking Motor Neurone Disease (MND) diagnosis on the show.The condition affects the brain and nervous system, causing symptoms like muscle weakness and slurred speech. Fans were saddened to learn that Paul's condition has worsened significantly, with recent tests showing he only has months left to live.

YouTube is the latest tech division to feel the layoff pain. The company will eliminate 100 employees, a spokesperson confirmed todayto TechCrunch.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor YouTube is laying off about 100 employees and is restructuring some of its operations. The cuts at the internet video giant were announced in a memo to staffers Wednesday from Mary Ellen Coe, YouTube’s chief business officer. The roughly 100 jobs eliminated represent about 1.4% of YouTube’s nearly 7,200 headcount.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Toby Byrne, who rose over two-decades to run advertising sales for Fox Broadcasting and Fox Sports, is getting back into the TV-ad game. Byrne has been named executive vice president of national ad sales at A+E Networks, reporting to Peter Olsen, president of ad sales at the company, which is a joint venture of Hearst and Walt Disney Co.

Coronation Street star Peter Ash has sent a 'first day' message to his fans and followers as he shared an update on his and his character's future on the cobbles. There have been some heartbreaking scenes being delivered by the actor at the start of the year as Paul Foreman continues to face his Motor Neurone Disease diagnosis.

EXCLUSIVE: Annette Bening is joining Maggie Gyllenhaal‘s Frankenstein lore feature at Warner Bros; the studio making it official that this is a go-project. Cameras roll in Q1. This package with its attachments has been out there since it was at Netflix, and the deals have finally closed with everyone.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music After weeks of rumors, Universal Music Group has confirmed that it will be laying off an unspecified but significant number of employees in the coming weeks. The company’s recorded-music division is said to be receiving the brunt of the layoffs.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Audible, the Amazon-owned audiobook and podcast division, laid off about 5% of its employees, representing just over 100 staffers. The cutbacks come as other Amazon groups — including Prime Video, Amazon MGM Studios and Twitch — this week are pink-slipping several hundred workers. Audible CEO Bob Carrigan informed employees of the cuts in an audio memo Thursday.

Amazon‘s gamer-centric streaming outlet Twitch is laying off 500 staffers, CEO Dan Clancy told employees in a memo this morning.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Amazon is laying off “several hundred” employees at Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios. “This is a difficult decision to make and one that my leadership team and I do not take lightly,” the company’s entertainment chief Mike Hopkins wrote in an email to staff Wednesday.

Lawyers for Malaysia’s ex-prime minister Najib Razak are trying to get Netflix documentary Man On The Run taken off the platform due to what they describe as “sub judicial and contemptuous” content.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Julian Jacobs, a longtime UTA executive who has helped the firm expand into entertainment marketing, has been named to lead the agency’s New York office, effective in March. Jacobs expects to build on momentum fostered under Allan Haldeman, a partner and co-head of TV Lit, who has led New York operations since September of 2022.

Channel 4 is compiling a plan to enact its biggest round of layoffs for more than 15 years, with up to 200 staff potentially in line to be made redundant. The figure would represent around 17% of the network’s overall headcount.

Stand-up comedian and actress Jo Enright is to perform at a ladies comedy night hosted by the Upper Annandale Parish Church in Moffat.

Veteran entertainment exec Peter Liguori has taken the reins of ad tech firm VideoAmp as executive chairman amid the layoffs of 20% of its workforce in a restructuring.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Amazon has tapped a Disney veteran to lead its new push into the streaming ad wars. Jeremy Helfand, who rose from a position at Hulu to supervise all advertising sales across Disney’s interactive businesses will take the reins as a vice president and head of sales efforts for Amazon’s Prime Video, the executive disclosed in a post on Linkedin on Thursday.

Emily Andre has shared a photo of her blossoming baby bump as she and husband Peter prepare for the arrival of their third child later this year. The NHS doctor, 34, enjoyed a luxurious holiday in Ras Al-Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates with singer Peter, 50, and their two children, Amelia, nine, and Theo, seven, during the festive period. Taking to Instagram, soon-to-be mum-of-three Emily posted a snap of her bump as she sported a blue bikini.The photo was taken from above, with just Emily's stomach, legs and feet visible as she strolled along the beach.

Naman Ramachandran Malaysia‘s Skyzen Studios has unveiled the first trailer for Sun-J Perumal’s sophomore feature “Fire on Water” (“Neer Mel Neruppu”), which premieres at the International Film Festival Rotterdam‘s Harbour strand. Set over 20 years, the film follows Karthi, an aspiring filmmaker who has performed the gamut of roles in commercial television and film, from assistant director to editor to sound recordist.