Business of Media
As David Zaslav Takes Deal Crown, How Will He Rule His Discovery-WarnerMedia Empire?
The irony of David Zaslav’s ascent to the top of the as-yet unnamed WarnerMedia and Discovery combination is that had the Discovery CEO gotten this job at any other time in Hollywood history, he would have been the lowly outsider with no meaningful scripted experience, a purveyor of reality shows beneath the notice of the elite. He would have been in for a potentially fatal hazing, reports The Hollywood Reporter’s Kim Masters.
But at this moment, many in the entertainment business are eager to be rid of the AT&T regime — led by CEO John Stankey and WarnerMedia chief Jason Kilar — that seemed unwilling and unable to learn the language. So they’re prepared to welcome the head of the company that brings you 90 Day Fiance, House Hunters and Dr. Pimple Popper with wide-open arms.
MGM looks to Amazon as potential buyer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer has been in talks to sell itself to Amazon, according to three people briefed on the matter. If completed, a deal would turbocharge Amazon’s streaming ambitions by bringing James Bond, Rocky, RoboCop and other film and television properties into the e-commerce giant’s fold, reports the New York Times’s Brooks Barnes.
MGM has been looking for a buyer for months, with $US9 billion ($11.6 billion) floated as an asking price. Apple and Comcast had previously kicked MGM’s tyres and decided it was worth roughly $US6 billion.
It was unclear how much Amazon might be willing to spend, according to the people briefed on the talks. The purchase of Whole Foods for $US13.4 billion in 2017 was the biggest acquisition in Amazon’s history. Even $US6 billion would make MGM the second-largest.
Disney Upfront: ABC Doubles Down on Long-Running Hits During Disney’s Upfront Presentation
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. That was Disney’s motto during the company virtual upfront presentation on Tuesday afternoon, which emphasized the ABC shows that have served as ratings drivers for years, reports Indie Wire‘s Tyler Hersko.
ABC’s fall 2021 schedule will be full of long-running hits: Grey’s Anatomy is coming back for an 18th season, while Dancing with the Stars will return with its 30th season in the fall. Relatively newer shows that have found success on ABC are also coming back, including The Conners, The Goldbergs, and The Good Doctor.
Though Disney’s upfront event was primarily centered on the company’s existing shows there were a handful of series announcements, including two shows that will premiere on ABC in the fall. Queens, which will focus on four women who were formerly in a ’90s girl group who reunite in their 40s for a comeback, will premiere on the network later in the year. A reboot of the coming-of-age comedy The Wonder Years is also on the schedule. Several new shows will also premiere on ABC during the network’s midseason, including Abbott Elementary, Maggie, and Women of the Movement.
High court casts doubt on media companies’ claim of not being responsible for defamatory comments on social media posts
The high court has cast doubt on media companies’ claims that they are not responsible for defamatory comments on their social media posts, reports Guardian Australia‘s Paul Karp.
Fairfax Media and News Corp have taken the matter to the high court after a NSW court of appeal found they were liable for defamatory material in Facebook comments on their posts about the incarceration of juvenile offender Dylan Voller, whose mistreatment in the Northern Territory’s Don Dale youth detention centre led to a royal commission.
The NSW supreme court had ruled that the media companies were the primary publishers of third-party comments on their public social media pages and that they therefore could not rely on a defence of “innocent dissemination” which protects some distributors, such as newsagents and internet service providers.
Media outlets are opting to limit comments on Facebook posts to protect themselves
The ABC has adopted new technological safeguards to restrict online comments in a move that shields it from potential legal action, putting the national broadcaster in lock-step with Australia’s major commercial media outlets, reports News Corp’s Sophie Elsworth.
Both News Corp and Nine Entertainment have been using the new Facebook tool for the past month, and the ABC confirmed last week that it has begun “testing the function” by closing comments on selected Facebook posts in order to “prevent harmful, defamatory or otherwise unlawful user contributions”.
Previously, comments could be made on the Facebook pages of news organisations without those media entities having any right of veto over them before publication, with the only option being to remove offensive or defamatory posts manually.
Television
Screen Diversity Inclusion Network announces new co-chairs
The Screen Diversity Inclusion Network has appointed Kelrick Martin and Michelle Cheng as the new co-chairs for 2021-22, reports TV Tonight.
Martin is ABC’s head of indigenous, while Cheng is the SBS content industry diversity manager for TV and online content.
They take over the SDIN Chair position from Benjamin Law and Jo Dillon from 1st June. The Network thanks both for their contribution to SDIN.
Who Is the Next Ellen? Race Begins to Replace Daytime’s Biggest Host
With the May 12 news that Ellen DeGeneres will be signing off in spring 2022, stations and producers alike are busy plotting what’s next for those coveted late-afternoon time slots, report The Hollywood Reporter’s Lacey Rose.
Some stations that now air Ellen will consider turning to lower-cost news programs rather than a talk show replacement — though such a decision isn’t without risk, and only in part because it’s not an easily reversible one. Others will weigh the options that will be presented in the coming weeks and months as talent, seeing a major opening, begins to throw their hats in the ring.
Tiffany Haddish is widely seen as a dream get, and, per sources, is being heavily courted. After all, she’s already proved a knack for the format, having filled in for DeGeneres multiple times this season. Plus, touring comics like Haddish and DeGeneres are typically well-suited to the grind of daytime and its some 170 shows a year.