Roku’s Big TV Hire: Can Charlie Collier Work ‘Mad Men’ Magic on Streaming Company’s Content Strategy?

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Streaming soon on Roku devices: your front door? Roku is expanding beyond its streaming-media players, Roku-branded TVs and home-entertainment speakers with the launch of an array of new smart-home products. The smart-home products include security cameras, video doorbells, smart lightbulbs and smart plugs. Walmart is the exclusive bricks-and-mortar retailer for the Roku Smart Home line, which will be available in nearly 3,500 Walmart stores in the U.S. beginning Oct. 17. The smart-home products also will be sold via roku.com and walmart.com. At launch, customers with Roku devices will be able see who is at their door with their the Roku video doorbell. Users will also be able to view live streams from their Roku cameras or use a Roku voice remote to bring up video feeds.

Fox’s new Entertainment Global sales unit will “go against the grain of other U.S.-based media entities” by being wholly agnostic and selling to everyone, according to CEO Fernando Szew.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Any Slingboxes still out there are about to get bricked. Dish Network this week emailed reminders to users of Sling Media’s Slingbox — the once-controversial devices that “place-shift” pay-TV services by streaming live TV over the internet — that the servers that power Slingboxes will be permanently taken offline on Nov. 9, 2022. The Slingbox, which never achieved mass adoption, came out before the ascendancy of video-streaming powerhouses like Netflix and YouTube. But some of the technologies developed by Sling Media have since become widely adopted by the industry.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor UDPATED: A Delaware judge granted mega-billionaire Elon Musk’s motion to halt Twitter’s upcoming trial — seeking to compel him to pay what he promised for the company — until Oct. 28 in order to allow the parties to close on the $44 billion deal. Musk, after trying for three months to exit his deal to buy Twitter, in the last few days has grown frustrated that Twitter wasn’t calling off its lawsuit. Lawyers representing Musk, in a filing Thursday with the Delaware Court of Chancery, requested that the trial, slated to commence Oct. 17, be suspended while he works out a deal to finalize the required debt financing to swing the acquisition. Musk expects that to happen by Oct. 28, per the court filing.

replaces Charlie Collier, who announced his surprise exit to join Roku last month.Wade most recently served as president of alternative entertainment and specials at the company, where he oversaw the network’s unscripted content and development slate.“Since the formation of FOX Entertainment, Rob has been an integral part of the leadership team responsible for delivering on its long-term strategy of creating an independent media company built on broadcast, developing an owned content portfolio and maintaining a disciplined in-house infrastructure,” Murdoch said in a statement. “Given Rob’s sharp creative instincts and proven operational acumen, he is well-suited to lead FOX Entertainment in what promises to be an exciting next chapter in its rich history.”Fox Entertainment includes an expanding portfolio of content studios, including animation house Bento Box Entertainment, TMZ, MarVista Entertainment and Studio Ramsay Global.

EXCLUSIVE: Fox’s reality supremo Rob Wade has been elevated to CEO of Fox Entertainment.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Elon Musk looks ready to get his hands on Twitter: The world’s richest person has agreed to his original $44 billion acquisition of his favorite social network, after a three-month legal fight trying to nix the deal. And that has renewed worries among some that he’s going to make drastic changes to Twitter’s content-moderation policies — and unleash a flood of right-wing misinformation and harassment. Musk informed Twitter on Oct. 3 that he will go forward with the takeover at $54.20 per share. The deal could close as soon as Friday, CNBC reported. When he announced his $44 billion deal for Twitter, Musk said he was primarily interested in protecting “free speech” on the platform, and he has criticized the company for allegedly having a left-leaning political bias.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Has Peacock regained its forward momentum? NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell claimed the media company’s flagship streamer notched healthy growth in the third quarter — thanks to a strong content lineup, including Peacock’s reclaiming day-after-air rights to episodes of NBCU shows from Hulu. Shell, in an appearance Tuesday on CNBC, said Peacock added more than 2 million paid subscribers in Q3, to top 15 million. Overall, Peacock’s active user accounts is now at 30 million, he said, up more than 3 million in the September quarter. “If you have the right content, and you offer a broad distribution platform, your consumers are going to find you — and that’s what we’re doing with Peacock,” Shell said.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Ari Emanuel, the legendary Hollywood agent who is CEO of Endeavor, reportedly got involved in the dispute between Twitter and Elon Musk over Musk’s attempt to nix his takeover of the company — but it’s not exactly clear why. Within the “past few weeks,” Emanuel had reached out to Twitter board member Egon Durban to suggest the social network work with Musk to “find a solution” to their legal fight ahead of a trial scheduled to commence Oct. 17 in Delaware Chancery Court, according to a report by Bloomberg Law citing anonymous sources. Emanuel has ties to both Durban and Musk. Durban, co-CEO of tech investment firm Silver Lake, currently sits on Endeavor’s board. Musk had been on Endeavor’s board of directors before resigning in March 2022.

Roku’s splashy hire of Charlie Collier, former CEO of Fox Entertainment and president of AMC, has sent a clear signal about the company’s ambition to make more noise with original programming.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor OnlyFans has become synonymous with sexually explicit content and providing a way for adult creators to earn money online. Now the social-media platform wants to tickle some funny bones, as well. OnlyFans announced the launch of its Creative Fund: Comedy Edition, which will let creators in the U.K. and Ireland compete for the chance to win a total of £100,000 — more than $100,000 at current exchange rates — and appear in a reality-competition series on OFTV, its non-pornographic streaming service. While continuing to support adult performers, London-based OnlyFans stepped up efforts to recruit mainstream celebrities to its platform and expand into non-sexual genres. It recently ordered a reality show, slated to stream on OFTV, from British reality TV stars Chloe, Demi and Frankie Sims after their exit from “The Only Way Is Essex.”

EXCLUSIVE: There is a change at the helm of Fox’s comedy department. Julia Franz is stepping down as SVP and head of comedy for Fox Entertainment after three years. She will be succeeded in the role by former 20th Television head of comedy development Cheryl Dolins who will be based in Los Angeles, reporting to Fox Entertainment President Michael Thorn. The changeover had been in the works for awhile and is not related to Fox Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier’s surprise exit on Thursday to join Roku.

Fox Entertainment chief executive officer Charlie Collier is exiting the company and heading to Roku next month.Collier joins Roku as president, Roku Media. He will be based in New York.According to a release, his role will see him “reinforce Roku’s commitment to serving advertisers, content partners, and consumers across Roku’s market-leading streaming platform.” He will also be in charge of overseeing the growth and evolution of Roku Media on a global scale.

Fox Entertainment Chairman Charlie Collier is leaving the linear network to join Roku.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor In a sign of big moves to come for Roku, veteran TV executive Charlie Collier is exiting his post as chairman of Fox Entertainment to join the digital distribution platform as president of Roku Media. Collier will oversee advertising sales and content for Roku’s owned-and-operated channels featured on the streaming platform that hosts the fast-growing number of free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels as well as serving as a key funnel for Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+, Paramount+ and other subscription streamers. Collier is set to shift to his new post at Roku in late October and will be based in New York.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor TikTok can add jet fuel to entertainment marketers’ messages — but they have to learn how to speak the language of the platform to effectively harness the creativity of its creators. That was one of the key takeaways from the Variety/TikTok Culture Catalysts Dinner, held in West Hollywood on Sept. 20. Paramount Pictures’ approach with its TikTok campaign for blockbuster “Top Gun: Maverick” — 2022’s top-grossing movie at the box office so far — was to introduce the nearly 40-year-old flyboy franchise to Gen Z, said Danielle De Palma, EVP of global marketing for the studio. With TikTok, its biggest goal was to reach “younger audiences that didn’t have that same emotional, nostalgic connection to the film that so many of the older audiences did,” De Palma said.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Kevin Hart’s “Die Hart” action-hero spoof is bringing in some fresh faces for Season 2 of the Roku original comedy: John Cena, Ben Schwartz and Paula Pell have joined the cast of “Die Hart 2: Die Harter,” the streaming company announced. In addition to the new cast, Nathalie Emmanuel will reprise her role in Season 2. Eric Appel returns to direct with Tripper Clancy returning as writer. Production of “Die Hart 2: Die Harter” has begun in Atlanta. The series will stream free (with ads) on the Roku Channel but a premiere date has not been set. In “Die Hart” Season 1, which co-starred John Travolta, Hart played a fictionalized version of himself who ultimately achieved his dream of becoming a bona-fide action hero. In the second season, Hart now wants to cement his legacy as the greatest action star of all time. He’s developed a concept for a revolutionary movie where the action is so unscripted and unexpected that even Kevin won’t know what’s coming next. But Kevin’s vision comes with a blind spot, and he soon finds himself the victim of an evil revenge plot, orchestrated by someone from his past. To survive, Hart must enlist the help of his favorite co-star, Jordan King (Emmanuel), his overeager assistant Andre (Schwartz), Andre’s mom Cynthia (Pell) and legendary Hollywood stuntman Mr. 206 (Cena).

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Twitch said that, starting next month, it will ban the streaming of certain gambling websites that aren’t licensed in the U.S. or “other jurisdictions that provide sufficient consumer protection.” The move by the Amazon-owned livestreaming platform, most popular among game creators, comes after reports that a streamer called ItsSliker had scammed fellow Twitch creators out of hundreds of thousands of dollars to support a “gambling addiction,” as the Verge reported. In a tweet Tuesday, Twitch announced that as of Oct. 18, it will ban livestreaming sites that provide dice games, slots and roulette. It identified four sites that will be banned — Stake.com, Rollbit.com, Duelbits.com and Roobet.com — and said “we may identify others as we move forward.”

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Ryan Spicer, after more than 14 years with WarnerMedia and Turner Broadcasting, is joining Atmosphere, which operates a national out-of-home streaming news and entertainment network, to lead ad sales in the role of chief revenue officer. Most recently, Spicer served as VP of sales and partnerships for WarnerMedia Digital, which is now part of Warner Bros. Discovery, covering the CNN Digital portfolio as well as the HBO Max with ads streaming platform. Prior to joining Turner Digital in 2008, he worked as a sales exec at MTV Networks. At Atmosphere, Spicer reports to chief operating officer Blake Sabatinelli. Spicer officially started in the role on Sept. 6.

EJ Panaligan editor Disney, Amazon Studios, Fox Corp., Warner Bros. Discovery and other major Hollywood players are pledging support for the Roybal Film and Television Production Magnet, a major educational outreach initiative championed last year by George Clooney and others. Paramount and NBCUniversal/Telemundo Enterprises are also signing on to become founding partners of the Los Angeles Unified School District magnet facility. These companies join previously announced founding partners History Channel/A+E Networks, Netflix and Sony Pictures Entertainment. The group has committed to providing more than $4 million in funding for the school, which opened in August with 150 students at the Edward G. Roybal Learning Complex in downtown Los Angeles.