Month: April 2020

Sports betting giant DraftKings has been cleared to become a public company following approval of a merger with SBTech and Diamond Eagle Acquisition, the public acquisition vehicle headed by industry veterans Harry Sloan and Jeff Sagansky. Diamond Eagle Acquisition Corp., led by Sloan, announced Wednesday that it had received the approval from the Securities and
0 Comments
Sal Petruzzi, a media-industry communications veteran who previously supervised many areas of business outreach for the Turner division of the former Time Warner, haw been named a senior vice president of communications at Fox Corporation, where he will lead communications strategies for the company’s ad-sales efforts. Petruzzi will report to Marianne Gambelli, Fox’s president of
0 Comments
As entertainment businesses go, the live music sector has taken among the heaviest beatings by the coronavirus pandemic, with some experts positing that it will be at least 18 months before concerts and other stage performances return to something resembling normalcy. But for artists, agents, promoters, vendors and customers, the pain is immediate and complicated.
0 Comments
Rihanna’s The Clara Lionel Foundation (CLF), Twitter & Square CEO Jack Dorsey’s #startsmall and Jay-Z’s Shawn Carter Foundation (SCF) today announced additional joint grants dedicated to supporting COVID-19 rapid response efforts in the United States and across the globe, the organizations announced today. According to the announcement, the latest funds, totaling over $6.2 million, will continue to go
0 Comments
In 1995, “Outbreak” represented a very different type of Hollywood thriller. Instead of pitting its heroes against criminals, terrorists or other generic baddies, the movie’s antagonist was a deadly virus. Twenty-five years later, with the globe on lockdown due to the coronavirus and the death count from the disease rising, “Outbreak” looks remarkably prescient. But
0 Comments
Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro are offering fans the opportunity to win a walk-on role in their upcoming film “Killers of the Flower Moon,” directed by Martin Scorsese. Fans can enter the contest by donating funds through the “All in Challenge,” which supports DiCaprio’s “America’s Food Fund,” “Meals on Wheels” and “No Kid Hungry.”
0 Comments
George Schweitzer remembers the time he had to break the news to CBS founder William S. Paley that the Tiffany Network had struck a promotional deal … with the not-so-Tiffany department store chain Kmart. “I was scared to death,” says Schweitzer, the CBS marketing head who officially retires on April 15. “He was the chairman
0 Comments
U.K. regional funder Liverpool Film Office has launched a £250,000 ($312,000) single project development pot to support local talent during the coronavirus crisis using funds repurposed from its existing production fund. The new Liverpool City Region Film & TV Development Fund will support feature film and TV content, including both scripted and factual programs, with
0 Comments
“Better Call Saul” and “Breaking Bad” star Bob Odenkirk is launching a new production company, Cal-Gold Pictures, and has signed a first-look deal with Sony Pictures Television. The company’s mission is to develop stories that are compelling and unique, with dynamic characters and social relevance. “I started in this grand charade called showbizness as a
0 Comments
Performing Rights Organizations, including the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), and SESAC announced today that they are contributing to create a special fund as part of the MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund to support music creators who are affected by the coronavirus pandemic. While the COVID-19 Relief Fund was created to help all music industry
0 Comments
The Writers Guild of America East is accusing NBC News of union-busting. The organization has filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board accusing NBCUniversal of undermining the union that was in place at the now shut-down Peacock Productions, an in-house non-fiction production unit. WGAE wants the collective bargaining agreement that applied to Peacock
0 Comments