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Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor UPADTED: After months of M&A talks, Paramount Global and controlling shareholder Shari Redstone might be going it alone after all — for now. Insiders tell Variety that the expectation at the company is that neither of the two offers in play — Skydance Media-RedBird Capital Partners and Sony Pictures Entertainment-Apollo Global Management — will come to fruition. And Redstone is said to have reluctantly concluded that a deal with David Ellison’s Skydance, a longtime partner of Paramount Pictures, will not be possible.

Jeff Bader, president of program planning strategy at NBCUniversal Entertainment, has explained why Quantum Leap has been canceled after two seasons.

We all know that Taylor Swift is a genius when it comes to planning a long-term strategy for her music releases, but we bet fans had no idea that she had all of this on the radar back in 2023.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Julie McNamara, one of Spotify‘s top podcast content execs, is leaving the company, Variety has confirmed. McNamara, who joined the company in 2021, most recently served as VP and global head of podcast studios. She oversaw Spotify Studios, which consolidated the Parcast and Gimlet groups producing original podcasts, as well as licensed podcast deals with partners including Joe Rogan, Alex Cooper (“Call Her Daddy”) and Emma Chamberlain.

The secret to the perfect nap has been revealed and it's quicker than you think, as snooze enthusiasts claim you can feel "fully rested" in under 15 minutes. Fans of sleep on X (formerly Twitter) believe the best daytime naps are actually the shortest, and there's even scientific evidence to back up their claims.

Naman Ramachandran Warner Bros. Discovery has appointed entertainment creative advertising and marketing specialist, Once Upon a Time, and brand consultancy and creative agency, BigSmall, for the European launch of streamer Max.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Kii Muneyuki, a former head of production at Japan’s Toei, is launching K2 Pictures, a company that aims to upend Japanese filmmaking practices. Its debut slate, with films by Kore-eda Hirokazu, Iwai Shunji and Nishikawa Miwa, will be unveiled in Cannes next week. A key part of the new company’s strategy is the establishment of a film fund, K2P Film Fund I, that will invest in live action and animations productions.

Should Sony and Apollo get their hooks into Paramount Global their strategy would be to keep theatrical release output steady between both studios –not reduced– while cutting the more burdensome parts of the conglom, read auctioning off CBS, the linear channels like MTV and Paramount Plus streaming service.

Fox Corp. saw revenue dip for its fiscal third quarter as advertising slid on tough comps with the Super Bowl broadcast the year earlier.

Money-saving expert Martin Lewis has shared his advice on how to transform a relatively modest sum of £800, or even less, into a hefty £5,400 by following a simple eight-step process.

It took Khloé Kardashian quite a while to officially name her son — and now we know why!

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Disney CEO Bob Iger says the company is shrinking the MCU with a new mission to drop the number of Marvel TV series to two a year and the film output to no more than three movies per year. Iger said this is part of Disney’s overall strategy to reduce output and focus on quality, a strategy “that’s particularly true with Marvel.” On the TV side, Iger says that a portion of the upcoming series set for release are “a vestige of basically a desire in the past to increase volume.” “We’re slowly going to decrease volume and go to probably about two TV series a year instead of what had become four and reduce our film output from maybe four a year to two, or a maximum of three.

Studiocanal has appointed former Netflix France exec Isabelle Pain as Head of Global Acquisitions & Analytics in a new position created in response to the company’s international expansion.

Manchester United loanee Jadon Sancho has been told to help Borussia Dortmund win the Champions League this season for club legend Marco Reus.

A school in Harpurhey is set to expand to meet rising demand for places.

Manchester City supporters will be able to get their hands on the new Erling Haaland Clash of Clans skin.

Annika Pham In a move to consolidate its bullishly expanding audiovisual industry, Spain’s Canary Islands have just scrapped a prior €50 million ($53.5 million) cap on total annual tax incentives tapped by movies and series shooting in the archipelago. Announced April 30, the ground-breaking measure was applauded by local industry heavyweights who have been lobbying national and regional authorities, “This couldn’t be better news for the Canarian audiovisual sector, and by extension, for the Spanish audiovisual sector,” said Rubén Zarauza, president of the Audiovisual Cluster of the Canary Islands, and co-head of Amuse Studios, the Spanish branch of France’s Amuse Animation group.

Matt Donnelly Senior Film Writer As the 2024 presidential election inches closer, two nonprofit groups favored by pop icons and Hollywood stars are merging to get out the vote. I Am a Voter has been absorbed by HeadCount.

For the first time this year, CBS did not order any pilots during the traditional pilot season window. And it may not be the last.

Lexi Carson Disney’s “Launchpad,” the anthology series of American independent short films will return for its third season. Submissions for the new season are now open through June 2.

A+E Networks executive David Bank has been promoted to Chief Financial Officer.

Selena Kuznikov The Hollywood Radio and Television Society has elected six new board members to its HRTS Foundation, the org announced Wednesday. The HRTS Foundation, first launched in 2022 (in honor of the HRTS’ 75th anniversary) is a charity that aims to foster “a more diverse, equitable and inclusive TV and entertainment industry.” Joining the board: Aimie Billon, a partners and strategy consultant in cause-related storytelling; Keely Cat-Wells, to co-founder and CEO of Making Space; Tony Jonas, the founcer of Tony Jonas Prods.; Noriko Kelley, the exec VP of programming strategy at CBS Entertainment; Dick Lippin, the chairman, chief executive and founder of The Lippin Group; and Frederic Richter, a writer, researcher and NYU SPS faculty member.

A cheeky councillor bidding to be re-elected in the Gay Village has launched an innovative campaign strategy — advertising on Grindr.

It’s Ariana Madix‘s turn to speak out.

Manor Lords‘ time to shine.Manor Lords is a mediaeval strategy game with city-building mechanics, and it’s taken the gaming world by storm. Despite only launching April 26, it has already hit a player peak of 173,178.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor The three Paramount Global executives installed to run the company after Bob Bakish was removed as CEO sought to reassure employees that they have a long-term strategy. On Monday, Paramount Global said Bakish was stepping down as CEO and leaving the board. In his place, the company established an “Office of the CEO” committee led by three divisional heads: George Cheeks, president and CEO of CBS; Chris McCarthy, president and CEO, Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks; and Brian Robbins, president and CEO of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon.

Tom Holland once again proves he’s Zendaya‘s biggest fan!

Prince William reportedly backed his stepbrother Tom Parker Bowles' decision to counter Prince Harry's accusations about Queen Camilla, according to commentator Kinsey Schofield.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter “NCIS: Hawai’i” has been canceled at CBS. The “NCIS” spinoff is currently airing its third season at the broadcast network. The season finale scheduled to air on May 6 will now serve as the series finale.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has said it still plans to close its helplines despite a previously announced u-turn.