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Top Hollywood Agency Takes On New Client: Parmigiano Reggiano. No, Not Some Drag King, The Actual Cheese.

“The Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium has revealed that United Talent Agency (UTA) has signed the governing body for ‘the king of cheeses’ to get the supermarket staple placement in films, TV shows and streaming projects around the globe.” - The Hollywood Reporter

BBC Is Now Losing $1 Billion/Year In Lost Licensing

The BBC is now losing more than £1bn a year from households either evading the licence fee or deciding they do not need one, according to a cross-party group of MPs who warned the corporation is under “severe pressure”. - The Guardian

Three Bids To Buy Warner Bros. Discovery

Netflix, Paramount and Comcast submitted bids to acquire the Hollywood colossus, which owns the Warner Bros. movie studio, HBO, and cable networks like CNN and TNT, four people with knowledge of the proposals said. - The New York Times

Lawmakers Reject Proposed Nine-Figure Subsidy For Film And TV Soundstage In Las Vegas

“The Nevada Senate has again rejected a $120 million annual subsidy for film and TV production, which would have enabled construction of a new soundstage facility in Las Vegas. The bill, AB 5, fell one vote short of a majority during a special session on Wednesday night.” - Variety

Seattle International Film Festival Bought An Iconic Theatre. It Didn’t Work So Well. Now SIFF’s Director Is Out (Immediately)

Earlier this year, The Times spoke to a dozen current and former SIFF staff and board members, many of whom expressed profound concerns about both SIFF and the impact that the landmark acquisition had on the organization amid broader challenges in the industry. - Seattle Times 

Concern As Warner Brothers Sale Looms

Warners Brothers has had multiple owners over the decades. Three years ago, Warner Media, as it was called, merged with Discovery. And in June, the company announced it would split in two, with film, TV and streaming studios in one camp, and in the other, mostly legacy cable channels, including CNN. - NPR

One Company Is Flooding The Zone With Tens Of Thousands Of AI-Generated Podcasts — And People Are Listening

“Point AI, a startup with eight employees, (cranks) out 3,000 episodes a week covering everything from localized weather reports to a detailed account of Charlie Kirk's assassination and its cultural impact to a biography series on Anna Wintour. Its podcasting network has generated 12 million lifetime episode downloads and amassed 400,000 subscribers.” - TheWrap (MSN)

Disney Hits A Wall With Its AI Ambitions

Even as other industries — from technology to publishing — proceed to incorporate AI to cut costs and replace jobs, media companies have bumped up against numerous roadblocks including actors reluctant to cooperate with AI models, animators and post-production experts pushing back on change, technological limitations and legal questions. - Yahoo Finance

Pope Leo: Movie Theatres And Cathedrals

There's "an inner peace that comes from entering the sanctum sanctorum of those movie palaces with the wall-sized screens.2 Don’t take it from me. Take it from a higher authority: his holiness, Pope Leo XIV." - The Bulwark

Alabama Public Television Decides Not To Break Up With PBS (Yet)

“Facing a public backlash, the commission that oversees Alabama Public Television voted Tuesday to continue paying its contract with PBS, rejecting an effort — at least for now — to be the first state to cut ties with the broadcast giant because of politics.” - AP

What Does News Independence Mean After BBC Mess?

The resignations come as the BBC enters a decisive period. The renewal of its royal charter in 2027 will define the corporation’s funding model and public purpose for the next decade. At the same time, the BBC faces a hostile political climate, sustained financial pressure, and a rapidly fragmenting audience. - NiemanLab

Corporation For Public Broadcasting Resolves Suit By NPR Following Trump Cuts

The arrangement resolves litigation filed by NPR accusing the corporation of illegally yielding to Trump's demands that the network be financially punished for its news coverage. - NPR

Taylor Sheridan’s TV Series Have Earned An Astonishing Amount Of Money For Paramount+

“Since the first of his Paramount+ originals premiered in 2021, Sheridan's titles have generated more than $800 million in global streaming revenue for the platform.” And that’s without domestic revenue from his cornerstone show, Yellowstone, whose US streaming rights are held by Peacock. - TheWrap (MSN)

High Visibility Can Be Great For Representation, And Hell On The First Person Through The Gates

It’s great that wheelchair user Marissa Bode plays wheelchair user Nessarose Thropp, but “after the release of the first Wicked film in November 2024, Bode was targeted on social media” — and she expects the same thing to happen with the new Wicked movie. - The Guardian (UK)

The Oracle Of Hollywood As It Cruises To Disaster

Matthew Belloni has become a narrator of the industry’s troubles during the most transformative period since the birth of television, brought on by the arrival of tech companies and the disappearance of the lucrative cable TV model, followed closely behind by theater audiences. - The New York Times

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