Cynthia Littleton Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor The inevitable M&A question came toward the end of Paramount Global‘s hourlong conference call with Wall Street analysts on Wednesday — a session that undoubtedly would have been more contentious for Paramount leaders if they hadn’t started out by serving up sacrifices for the greater good of free cash flow and profit. Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish waved off the inquiry from Bank of America Merrill Lynch media analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich about the tidal wave of media speculation about suitors coming (and going) for the company with a breezy “We’re always looking for ways to create shareholder value.” But it was clear from the earlier commentary and business updates from Bakish and chief financial officer Naveen Chopra that they are charting a course for this year and next to take streamer Paramount+ to the promised land of profitability and keeps the company entact as a standalone entity.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Endeavor‘s fourth-quarter results reflected the company’s growth in sports through the acquisition of WWE last September, but its bottom line was hit by nearly $30 million in legal and restructuring costs and $47 million in write-offs from its Events, Experiences and Rights division. Last year Endeavor also paid out $101 million in advisory fees and bonuses related to the WWE merger with Endeavor’s UFC as well as the sale of its IMG Academy business.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor The contract talks finally reached the handshake point at 3 a.m. PT on Feb. 23.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor UFC and WWE logged record revenue and sponsorship deals in 2023, which added up to a strong fourth quarter for TKO, the newly formed parent company of both sports brands. The strong numbers for WWE stand in contrast to the controversy that erupted last month when disturbing sexual assault allegations were leveled against former WWE chairman Vince McMahon in a lawsuit by a former WWE employee.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor David Zaslav came to market Friday morning with a fourth-quarter earnings report that delivered enviable free cash flow and put another sizable dent in Warner Bros. Discovery’s heavy debt load. But it wasn’t enough to stop a 10% slide for the company’s already battered share price that took place minutes after the results were unveiled.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Judi Pulver, a singer-songwriter who became the top music sales executive for Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, died Tuesday in Santa Monica, Calif. She was 77. Pulver spent about 15 years with Variety, steering all music-related sales and marketing activity.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Bill Weinstein has exited Verve talent agency after a little more than a year as CEO and 14 years after he helped launch the literary boutique on the heels of Endeavor’s takeover of the William Morris Agency. The parting was confirmed late Monday by Verve in a statement. “We thank Bill as a co-founder and for his 14 years of service and wish him nothing but success in his future,” read a statement attributed to “Verve leadership.” The agency also confirmed that Weinstein’s role as CEO would not be filled but rather “shared by the founders and managing partner.” Weinstein could not immediately be reached for comment.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Leslie Moonves, the ousted former leader of CBS Corp. whose storied career came to an abrupt end in 2018 amid the disclosure of past sexual assault allegations, has been ordered to pay a $11,250 fine by the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission for his role in a 2017 LAPD scandal connected to his downfall at CBS. In 2017, as CBS’ leader was increasingly consumed with dodging accusations of past sexual misconduct from multiple women, he was tipped off to a police report filed in November 2017 by one of those accusers.

William Earl Variety veteran Todd Spangler has been promoted to Business Editor, overseeing coverage of corporate and financial news, mergers and acquisitions and other deal activity for media and entertainment’s largest conglomerates. Spangler will also continue to drive Variety‘s coverage of digital media and Silicon Valley tech giants. Based in New York, Spangler is a pillar of daily breaking news coverage.

William Earl Carolyn Giardina, award-winning journalist and author, has joined Variety and Variety VIP+ as Senior Entertainment Technology & Crafts Editor as Variety expands its coverage of the fast-evolving production technology landscape as well as the Artisans sector. Giardina has devoted her career to covering the art and science of entertainment and brings to her new role a wealth of knowledge of entertainment technology and the creative arts, as well as film history.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Producer Tom Werner and the team behind ABC sitcom “The Conners” have reason to smile. The series independently produced by Werner Entertainment has been sold in syndication by distributor Debmar-Mecury to TV station groups representating 85% of U.S. TV households.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor She’s the reason that rising female stars are often called “the It girl.” She starred in the first movie to win an Oscar for best picture. By 1930, she’d made in 45 movies in six years. By 1933, after struggles with men and mental illness, Clara Bow’s Hollywood career was over.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor The Kansas City Chiefs are headed to the Super Bowl again. The NFL’s dominant team of the past few years defeated the Baltimore Ravens 17-10 in Baltimore on Sunday, nabbing the AFC championship trophy and securing the team’s fourth Super Bowl berth since 2020. The Chiefs’ opponents in the Feb.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Premieres of new and returning TV shows fell sharply last year while the number of movies getting a theatrical wide release went way up. The volume of TV programs in the true crime genre went through the roof and non-English language films are becoming a bedrock of streaming platforms. Those are among the notable content trends documented in the 2023 Year-End Film and TV Report released today by Luminate, the entertainment data and insights firm.

Variety Staff Follow Us on Twitter Variety.com was the highest-ranking entertainment business news site every single month in 2023. The online home of legacy brand and weekly entertainment business magazine Variety scored record-breaking traffic last year. An average of 29.1 million unique users visited the site each month in 2023 — and Variety reached a bigger digital audience than consumer news publications such as Vanity Fair and Entertainment Weekly, as measured by unique visitors according to ComScore.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor The NFL delivered for NBCUniversal streamer Peacock on Saturday as the exclusive Wild Card playoff game between the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs drew an average audience of about 23 million viewers. NBCUniversal shelled out megabucks to secure the first-ever NFL playoff game to run exclusively on a streaming platform, with the exception of broadcast TV coverage on the NBC affliates in Miami and Kansas City. NBCUniversal reported Sunday that game viewership peaked at an average of 24.6 million in the game’s second quarter, from 9:15 p.m.-9:30 p.m.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Ruth Ashton Taylor, a pioneering TV and radio journalist who worked with Edward R. Murrow at CBS News and was a fixture on the air in Los Angeles for decades, has died. She was 101.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Attending the Consumer Electronics Show is an eye-opening experience that offers intriguing glimpses into the future and an overwhelming amount of information about how the media, entertainment and tech industries are evolving in the present day. For the past decade, Variety has partnered with the Consumer Technology Association to help Hollywood players navigate a fast-changing marketplace with an entertainment business-focused track of programming at the big show.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor LAS VEGAS – The Walt Disney Co. showcased its investments in cutting-edge advertising technology on Wednesday at the Consumer Electronics Show, with top executives talking up the company’s enhanced ablity to serve marketers across linear and streaming platforms around the world. “2023 was Disney’s biggest year in our history for investments in ad technology, including theglobal expansion of Disney+ with ads,” said Rita Ferro, Disney’s president of global advertising, told the crowd at the Cosmpolitan hotel.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Just over a year into his tenure at the top of Roku Media, president Charlie Collier sees his service, “the number one TV operating system in America,” as the streaming industry equivalent to a hit primetime series airing ahead of your new show on broadcast TV. “We host the experience of television,” Collier told Variety co-editor-in-chief Cynthia Littleton at Variety‘s Entertainment Summit at CES in Las Vegas Wednesday.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Netflix is seeing strong growth of its advertising-based plan, having recently eclipsed 23 million global monthly active users, president of advertising Amy Reinhard said. Reinhard spoke Wednesday at the Variety Entertainment Summit at CES 2024 at Las Vegas’ Aria Resort and Casino.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Roku Channel has cut a deal with actor B.J. Novak‘s ChainFest to air an hourlong special about the food festival that celebrates the culinary creations of chain restaurants. Novak and chef Tim Hollingsworth created what is billed as an “immersive dining experience” that celebrates the pleasures of fast food and fast casual chain restaurants such as Chili’s, Panda Express, Pizza Hut, Red Robin and more.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor As Hollywood tries to get its arms around the potential uses of generative AI, a Detroit-based tech firm has quietly spent the past few years building a video AI platform that can create ready-to-air TV commercials in a matter of minutes. Waymark has signed a broad pact with E.W. Scripps Co.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor From Hollywood strikes to the ascent of AI to sinking stock prices, 2023 was a topsy-turvy year for media and entertainment. Cynthia Littleton and Andrew Wallenstein, hosts of Variety podcast “Strictly Business,” discuss the highs and lows of the past year on the latest episode.

William Earl Variety and “Entertainment Tonight” have partnered to produce the official digital red carpet pre-show for the 81st annual Golden Globe Awards, which will air Jan. 7 live on CBS and Paramount+ The digital pre-show will air live starting at 3:30 p.m. PT on Variety‘s digital and social platforms, ETOnline.com, the Golden Globe Awards website and on the digital platforms of 20 other publications owned by Penske Media Corp., parent company of Variety, which also owns the Globes in a joint venture with Eldridge.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Herman “Hy” Levine, a 48-year veteran of the film industry who rose through the marketing ranks at Universal and Disney, died Dec. 27 in Rockville, Md. after suffering from pancreatic cancer.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Shecky Greene, the legendary standup comedian known for his long tenure as a Las Vegas headliner and for working with Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley, died Dec. 31 at his home, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Paramount Global has clinched a deal that is crucial to its future — but it’s not the transaction that Wall Street has been buzzing about for a few weeks. Paramount Global and Comcast have set a new carriage agreement covering Paramount’s cable channels and CBS-owned stations. The pact averts the prospect of a blackout for CBS stations and Paramount channels across Comcast’s cable systems, which reach about video 14.5 million subscribers and 29 million broadband subscribers.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Selma Archerd, an actress who was well known in Hollywood as the vivacious wife of longtime Variety columnist Army Archerd, has died. She was 98.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Here we go again? Warner Bros. Discovery is flirting with the idea of acquiring Paramount Global. If a deal involving the Redstone empire comes to fruition, it would mark another transformative mega-merger for Hollywood legacy brands, following on the heels of Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox in 2019, AT&T’s difficult marriage with Time Warner in 2018 and the subsequent Discovery-WarnerMedia tie-up that closed in April 2022.