Todd Spangler Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorSpotify is on the hunt for another big-name podcaster: The company is in advanced talks with Alexandra Cooper to bring raunchy talk show “Call Her Daddy” — currently produced and distributed by Barstool Sports — exclusively to its platform, Variety has confirmed.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorAmazon inked a deal with Moonbug Entertainment, a big producer and distributor of digital kids’ programming, to create content for Amazon Kids Plus.The first joint project centers on an original production of “Arpo Robot Babysitter,” based on Moonbug’s YouTube show Arpo, and encompasses long-form specials. The Arpo original content is slated to premiere exclusively on Amazon Kids Plus in the fall of 2021.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorSnap is pulling new star power into its 2021 slate of original shows for Snapchat, unveiling reality series with Megan Thee Stallion and the D’Amelio Sisters, the sibling digital influencers who rose to fame on rival app TikTok.The new shows are among nine new and renewed Snap Originals aimed at Snapchat’s young-skewing user base.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorIMDb TV, Amazon’s free-streaming video service, has ratcheted up its spending on original content — and more broadly, the e-commerce giant is trying to make the case to Madison Avenue that it has amassed a huge audience for ad-supported video content.At Amazon’s first NewFronts presentation for advertisers Monday, IMDb TV announced unscripted series with country star Luke Bryan and famed interior designer Jeff Lewis (“Flipping Out”).

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorThere are hundreds of social-media stars, each with millions of fans.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorT-Mobile is throwing in the towel on its ambitious “uncarrier” move to shake up cable TV: The wireless carrier is shutting down TVision about six month after launching it.The company announced Monday that YouTube TV is becoming T-Mobile’s preferred live TV solution, with the three TVision packages it introduced last fall “winding down” on April 29.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor“The Crown” was already among Netflix’s most-viewed originals — and the recent palace intrigue involving Meghan Markle and Prince Harry drove interest in the show about the British royals even higher among American audiences.Oprah’s exclusive interview with Meghan and Harry, broadcast March 7 on CBS, drew more than 21 million U.S.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorTwitter beat Wall Street earnings expectations for the fourth quarter of 2020, and netted a gain of daily users — though not as many as analysts were projecting — to close out a tumultuous year.The social-networking company reported a net gain of 5 million monetizable daily active users, to 192 million worldwide for Q4.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorThe rebirthed G4 TV is kicking off a weekly content series — dubbed “B4G4” — to get fan feedback on the programming ahead of the gaming network’s official summer 2021 bow.G4, which is being revived under the auspices of Comcast’s Spectator sports unit, will publish content under the B4G4 (“before G4”) banner on its YouTube and Twitch channels.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorAgnes Chu, the former Disney Plus SVP of content who’s five months into her new gig as president of Condé Nast Entertainment, has recruited former Mouse House colleague Jennifer Jones and promoted several CNE execs to senior roles.Jones joins Condé Nast Entertainment as head of global business affairs and operations, after almost three years as VP of business affairs for Disney Plus. She’s based in L.A.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorTwitter switched over control of the official @POTUS account and other official White House handles to President Joe Biden just minutes after he was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States.Twitter transferred the official White House accounts to the Biden team on Wednesday after President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took the oath of office. In addition to @POTUS, those are  @WhiteHouse, @POTUS, @VP, @FLOTUS and @PressSec.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorEllen Digital Ventures, the joint venture between Ellen DeGeneres and Warner Bros., has hired digital-media veteran Nathan Brown as general manager.Brown takes over the GM role at Ellen Digital Ventures after the exit of former general manager Michael Riley, who departed EDV last fall after less than three years to join Netflix as VP, global head of editorial and publishing.Brown brings more than 20 years of experience in the business to EDV, including holding

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorDonald Trump has been kicked off Twitter for good, the social network said Friday.“After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them — specifically how they are being received and interpreted on and off Twitter — we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence,” the company said in a statement.Trump, who had 88.8 million followers at last count on Twitter — his favored

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorThe news this week that HBO Max — finally — was coming to Roku devices was welcomed by millions of customers eager to stream the WarnerMedia service on their TVs and catch “Wonder Woman 1984” when it premieres on Christmas Day.But there’s a wrinkle for some Roku users who want to get HBO Max.Under its agreement with WarnerMedia, Roku is no longer selling the legacy standalone HBO channel through its Roku Channel store.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorWonder Woman and HBO Max are giving Roku a power-up on Wall Street.On Thursday, shares of Roku were up over 7% in early trading coming the day after the company announced a pact with AT&T’s WarnerMedia to add HBO Max to its streaming devices following months of haggling.Roku’s stock was up over $350 per share into new all-time highs.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorReddit announced the acquisition of Dubsmash, a TikTok-like short-form video app whose mission is to “elevate underrepresented creators.”Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorBad Robot Games, a division of J.J.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorSteve Bannon’s “War Room Pandemic” account was permanently suspended by Twitter, after the ex-Trump strategist said in a video Thursday that the president should execute Dr.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorWarnerMedia’s recent restructuring was “spot on,” and the company accelerated those changes to the media division — which had been eyed for 2021 — because of COVID to boost the streaming profile of HBO Max, according to AT&T CEO John Stankey.Stankey, speaking Monday at the Wall Street Journal’s WSJ Live streaming conference, praised WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar’s changes at the company.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorAfter six years at Condé Nast Entertainment, Joe Sabia is stepping down as the division’s SVP of creative development.Sabia, best known as the creator and host of Vogue’s “73 Questions” interview series, told Variety he is departing the media and publishing company on good terms.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorWarnerMedia is looking to drive up HBO Max subscribers as the third quarter of 2020 winds down.Starting Friday, Sept. 4, new and returning customers who sign up for HBO Max are eligible to get the service for $11.99 per month for the next 12 months.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorCondé Nast named Dawn Davis, a 25-year veteran of the book publishing business and a prominent editor in the field, as editor-in-chief of Bon Appétit.Her appointment comes after the June ouster of former EIC Adam Rapoport amid allegations of racial discrimination at the food-media brand.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorSpotify signed a deal with Rickey Thompson and Denzel Dion, best friends and popular fashion and lifestyle influencers, for an exclusive weekly podcast series.The two L.A.-based comedic internet stars, who first rose to fame on the now-defunct Vine app, have sizable followings on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok — a fanbase Spotify is banking on to attract listeners.

vmlennox pmc-editorial-managerVariety’s Todd Spangler will moderate a conversation with leading content distributors, streaming platforms and technology partners as they discuss strategies to succeed at distributing content securely within the expansive digital environment. The conversation will be hosted in the Variety Streaming Room presented by BuyDRM on September 8 at 9 a.m PT / 12 p.m.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorSports journos Michael Smith and Michael Holley are co-hosting Peacock’s first original sports talk show, a three-hour weekday show set to debut next month on NBCUniversal’s recently launched streaming service.“Brother From Another” with Smith, a former ESPN “SportsCenter” anchor, and Holley, host and columnist for NBC Sports Boston, will stream live from 3-6 p.m. ET weekdays on Peacock starting in September.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorTikTok is facing an uncertain future — and the popular app may be effectively banned in a few weeks by the Trump administration in the U.S. — but it’s still plowing ahead as if all systems are go.Last month, TikTok announced the formation of a new Creator Fund to support creators who are building careers on the short-form video platform.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAhead of Spotify’s earnings call for its second-quarter results, the company’s cofounder and CEO Daniel Ek and CFO Paul Vogel got on the phone for a short call with Variety’s Jem Aswad and Todd Spangler.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorThe Twitter hackers behind the unprecedented coordinated July 15 attack on high-profile accounts of multiple celebrities, politicians, tech titans and Silicon Valley companies went after about 130 separate accounts, the company said late Thursday.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorNetflix announced that chief content officer Ted Sarandos has been appointed co-CEO of the company, alongside co-founder Reed Hastings.Sarandos, who will continue to serve as content chief, joined Netflix over 20 years ago. He’s also been elected to Netflix’s board of directors.“Ted has been my partner for decades,” Hastings said in announcing the appointment.