The entertainment giant is developing a host of new features aimed at lengthening the amount of time subscribers spend viewing its shows and movies. The goal is to mitigate customer defections and generate more revenue from advertising sales. - The Wall Street Journal
Alejandra Santamaria, most recently interim president and general manager at Univision Los Angeles, takes the helm at a difficult moment: 28 positions were recently eliminated as the station faces an expected deficit of $4 million to $5 million, due primarily to "a decline in advertising." - Variety
“The plaintiffs allege Wilson’s unprofessional behavior included abandoning the project for extended periods and making ‘unauthorized and improper disclosures about the film.’” - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
Uh, investor update: “Under its traditional mountain and stars, it shouts PARAMOUNT, using the all-caps styling and arched text of the Skydance logo instead of a more gently whispered Paramount.” - The Verge
But Mary C McCall Jr was “airbrushed” from much of Hollywood history, perhaps because while “to screenwriters in the 1950s, she was a major power player, fighting for pay rises and striking rights. To the Hollywood studio heads, she was ‘the meanest bitch in town.’" - The Guardian (UK)
“The Conservative government suggested in 2022 it would abolish the licence fee when its charter was up for renewal and move towards a voluntary funding model,” but Keir Starmer says it will stay the same for now, and for a few years. - BBC
Inside Out 2 finished Tuesday with $1.251 billion in global ticket sales, including $543.5 million in North America, where it’s already the third-biggest animated pic of all time, and $708 million internationally, where is the eighth-biggest animated title ever. - The Hollywood Reporter
"The global popularity of Turkish TV dramas — dizi in Turkish — has thrust Turkey into the position of a leading exporter of television, greatly bolstering the nation’s international image and drawing millions of viewers and tourists worldwide to its historical and cultural sites which are backdrops to many of the shows." - AP
"Redbox’s network of 24,000 DVD rental kiosks and its streaming services will be shut down after its parent company, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, converted its Chapter 11 bankruptcy case to a Chapter 7 liquidation proceeding on Wednesday." - Variety
In the greater Appalachia region, the newsroom will bring together six public media outlets in Kentucky and Tennessee, with the possibility of adding more. - Inside Radio
The tracking company found that production in the United States was down about 40% in the second quarter of 2024 compared to peak-TV levels of filming activity during the same period in 2022. For nearly two years, Hollywood has suffered a stark decline in film and TV shoots. - Los Angeles Times
"Film isn’t reality, no matter how it’s shot. … I guess people are so afraid of being tricked or manipulated that they feel if they impose a set of rules, somehow they don’t have to be afraid anymore. I would like to assure them that they still need to be afraid." - Nieman Lab
"When studio grip Rico Priem, 66, died on the freeway after pulling two 14-hour overnight shifts in a row on the Pomona set of the TV series 9-1-1 in May, a common refrain among crew members became, 'That could've been any of us.'" - Los Angeles Times (MSN)
The raise is intended to boost its already existing locations (425 theaters across the country) with enhancements like luxury recliners and other amenities. - The Hollywood Reporter
