Hollywood Buzz: April 2024
By Natalie Lifson, Agent Trainee at Buchwald and your co-Editor-in-Chief at THA
News
Endeavor to Be Taken Private Three Years After IPO -THR, 4/2
Hollywood Guilds Come Out Strong For “Ethical & Transparent” AI Bill From Adam Schiff -Deadline, 4/9
Studios Are Going After Piracy Again, Potentially Reigniting Fight Over Free Speech -THR, 4/10
Cannes Film Festival Launches New Competition Dedicated To Immersive Works -Deadline, 4/10
Prime Video took the market share lead among SVOD companies in the first quarter with 22%, edging out streaming rival Netflix (21%) but twice that of Hulu and Disney+ combined, according to researcher JustWatch.com. -Cynopsis, 4/12
CBS Greenlights the First Black Daytime Soap Opera in 35 Years -THR, 4/15
Showtime’s streaming service will be shut down on April 30. -Cynopsis, 4/15
Participant Closing Doors After Two Decades -Deadline, 4/16
Disney-Fox-Warner Sports Streaming Venture Questioned in Letter From Congressmembers -THR, 4/16
Netflix to Stop Providing Subscriber Numbers in 2025, Marking End of an Era in Streaming Wars -THR, 4/18
Los Angeles Film and TV Production Sees Sluggish Rebound From Strikes, but There’s Optimism -THR, 4/18
Netflix Co-CEO Greg Peters Says Password-Sharing Crackdown Has Not Hurt Viewership, Citing Internal Data That “Cuts Through The Noise” About The Policy Shift -THR, 4/18
Lionsgate is on track to spin off its film and TV studios business in a Special Purpose Acquisition Company. The deal creating Lionsgate Studios is expected to close in early May. -Cynopsis, 4/18
A Ban on Noncompetes Could Raise Pay — and Complicate Contracts — in Hollywood -THR, 4/23
X is launching a TV app, the company announced on Tuesday. -Cynopsis, 4/24
Roku Q1 Results Show Benefits Of Streaming Price Hikes -Deadline, 4/25
Black Public Media awarded a total of $610,000 to film and immersive projects and creatives at its seventh PitchBLACK Forum at the PitchBLACK Awards, the highest amount ever awarded at the event. -Cynopsis, 4/29
SAG-AFTRA Inks Deal With Nielsen to Measure Streaming Content -THR, 5/2
"Sony Pictures and Apollo Global Management have made a formal $26 billion all-cash offer to buy Paramount Global. The offer comes on the heels of Paramount CEO Bob Bakish stepping down Monday and the pending expiration of an exclusive negotiating period between Paramount and Skydance Media. Skydance has been in talks with Paramount for weeks – the exclusivity ends today (May 3) -- and last Sunday modified its bid, doubling the cash that could go towards Paramount’s balance sheet to $3 billion from $1.5 billion and paying less for National Amusements, the holding company controlled by Paramount chair Shari Redstone and the entertainment giant’s largest shareholder." -Cynopsis, 5/3
Paramount To Negotiate With Sony & Apollo But Continue Skydance Talks -Deadline, 5/5
Helpful Articles
Even Cable TV Giants Know That Consumers Prefer Streaming — but They’ve Got a Plan -THR, 4/23
Studio Profit Report: A Year of Major Transition -THR, 4/24
The Rise of Mega Studios: How MGM Remade Hollywood 100 Years Ago -THR, 4/29
U.S. Economy Added 303,000 Jobs In March; Losses Seen In Entertainment Employment -Deadline, 4/5
“I’m Scared”: Why It’s a Brutal Time to Be a TV Writer -THR, 4/2
IATSE Strike Updates
IATSE Local 871 Reaches Tentative Agreement With Studios Before Another Caucus Week -Deadline, 4/5
New York Production Vets Expect IATSE Strike Threat To Hamper Film And TV Shoots Before 2025 Rebound -Deadline, 4/12
Costumers Reach Tentative Deal With Studios On Craft-Specific Issues; 2 IATSE Locals Still In Talks As Union Looks Ahead To General Negotiations -Deadline, 4/19
IATSE Lays Out Top Bargaining Priorities as General West Coast Negotiations Resume -THR, 4/29
IATSE Talks Focus on $670 Million Shortfall in Health and Pension Plans -Variety, 5/3
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