Warner Bros. Discovery Streaming Comms Exec Chris Willard to Exit After 14 Years at HBO (EXCLUSIVE)

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Layoffs have hit the streaming marketing team at HBO and Max. A source close to the situation told Variety Wednesday that the cuts are in the double digits, but no specific number was available at the time of publication. The insider says the content division is not impacted by these layoffs.

Barbie‘s dream house full of box office keeps getting stuffed with cash with the Greta Gerwig-directed Mattel doll adaptation becoming the highest grossing Warner Bros. movie ever in the studio’s 100 year history at the domestic box office with $537.4M, unseating previous champ, Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight which made $534.9M back in 2008.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. Discovery is getting into the spooky spirit early, setting the Halloween-themed programming slate for its cable networks, which includes the linear debut of Matt Reeves’ “The Batman,” as well as new and returning specials and film marathons across Food Network, Discovery Channel, TNT, TBS, TCM, Travel Channel and Cartoon Network/Adult Swim. The leader in Warner Bros.

At this point in their respective careers, Steven Soderbergh and Christopher Nolan are household names for cinephiles. But once upon a time, in the early ’00s, Soderbergh needed to help Nolan get his foot in the door when it came to his entry into studio filmmaking.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Gordon Ramsay’s “MasterChef” has been renewed for a 14th season at Fox ahead of airing its milestone 250th episode Wednesday at 8 p.m. “I cannot believe 250 episodes have flown by since we started this journey in 2010,” Ramsay told Variety.

Steven Soderbergh had a hand in Christopher Nolan landing the director’s chair for the 2002 thriller Insomnia. The Command Z director recently recalled that he reached out to Warner Bros. bosses to suggest they take a meeting with Nolan.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Steven Soderbergh recently spoke to Rolling Stone while promoting his new series “Command Z” about the origins of his friendship with fellow filmmaker Christopher Nolan. According to the “Traffic” and “Ocean’s Eleven” director, a Warner Bros. executive refused to meet with Nolan about a potential directing gig for the studio’s thriller “Insomnia.” The exec allegedly disliked Nolan’s “Memento,” which counted Soderbergh as one of its biggest fans.

Manori Ravindran Executive Editor of International Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA boss Priya Dogra is leaving the company after almost 14 years. Dogra, a well-respected industry veteran, served as president and managing director of EMEA since the merger last year, having previously held a similar role for WarnerMedia that also covered Asia, including China.

“Barbie is really important for us,” beamed Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav on the conglom’s Q2 earnings call about the first pic to hit $1 billion under his reign.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. Discovery reported the Hollywood writers and actors’ ongoing work stoppage had brought the company savings in the “low$100 million range” during its Q2 earnings results call Thursday. “We’re in the business of storytelling.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Warner Bros. Discovery lost 1.8 million streaming subscribers from April 1-June 30, the quarter during which it launched new combined streamer Max. Streaming subscribers across WBD’s HBO, Max and Discovery+ now total 95.8 million, per the company’s Q2 earnings report released Thursday.

The U.S. branch of Warner Bros. issued an apology after being called out by the Japan division for engaging with “insensitive” Barbenheimer tweets.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer WGA East president Michael Winship will not be seeking re-election amid the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. “This is a decision that was made right from the start two years ago when I was asked to return to the presidency,” Winship said in a statement sent to guild members Tuesday, just as WGAE revealed the candidates up for officer seats in its upcoming council election this September.

Warner Bros. U.S. has deleted “Barbenheimer” tweets after being criticized by Warner Bros. Japan.

Growing Up Chrisley star Chase Chrisley & fiancee Emmy Medders have ended their engagement – Just Jared Jr Kylie Jenner regrets her past plastic surgery procedures – Celebitchy A pro footballer is shooting his shot with Taylor Swift – Popsugar So many new titles are being added to Netflix in August – Just Jared Jr

Zack Sharf Digital News Director When Warner Bros. contacted “Charm City Kings” filmmaker Angel Manuel Soto about potentially directing a DC comic book tentpole, he geared up to pitch the studio on a much different movie. “I wanted to pitch ideas, and one of them was the Bane origin story,” Soto recently told Den of Geek magazine.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Christine Romans is getting ready for a new start after “Early Start.” The CNN veteran, who has been with the Warner Bros. Discovery network for 24 years as a business correspondent and early-morning anchor, is leaving for an as-yet unannounced role with another outlet, according to people familiar with the matter. She announced her exit on Friday’s broadcast of “Early Start,” the CNN crack-of-dawn program she has anchors since 2014.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Traditionally a strong performer in the fall and holiday TV season, Food Network is sizzling this summer, too. From Memorial Day on May 27 through July 20, Food Network content has drawn more than 50.6 million total viewers across the linear TV channel, as well as Warner Bros. Discovery-owned streamers Max and Discovery+.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Comcast reported its second-quarter 2023 earnings Thursday, revealing theatrical revenue rose 65.9% year over year with the release of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” while Peacock added just 2 million more subscribers over the three month period. At the end of Q1, Comcast said the NBCUniversal streamer had reached 22 million U.S.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Tarek El Moussa and Heather Rae El Moussa’s new HGTV docuseries “The Flipping El Moussas” has been renewed for a second season with an expanded 14-episode order. Per HGTV’s description for the second batch of “The Flipping El Moussas” episodes, “During the new season, the couple will face unexpected challenges both professionally and personally, including welcoming a new baby and contending with strong headwinds from the tumultuous southern California real estate market.