Discovery, Inc. hit 22 million paid streaming subscribers worldwide by the end of 2021, with the vast majority being Discovery Plus customers, the company revealed Thursday. The company reported last November that it grew to 20 million paid direct-to-consumer subscribers by the end of Q3. For comparison, Discovery previously said it had 18 million streaming
Discovery said profit tumbled in the fourth quarter as the owner of Food Network, Discovery Channel and Eurosport contended with expenses related to the Discovery Plus streaming hub and a group of one-time items related to expenses. Even so, the company saw revenue increase as its streaming efforts helped boost advertising and distribution revenue. Discovery
Thieves have stolen over $200,000 worth of props from the set of Netflix series “The Crown” while the production was shooting nearby. Over 350 items were taken during the heist, including a replica Fabergé egg, a grandfather clock clockface, a dressing table, crystal glassware and silver and gold candelabras. South Yorkshire police are investigating the
Britain’s monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, has postponed further engagements following her COVID-19 diagnosis, according to reports. On Thursday, Feb. 24, the Press Association reported that they had been told by Buckingham Palace staff that the Queen had “postponed two virtual audiences in the wake of her Covid diagnosis.” The Queen has been at Windsor Castle
Copenhagen Intl. Documentary Film Festival (CPH:DOX), which runs in-person March 21-April 3, has revealed the lineup for its music program, Sound & Vision. Highlights of the program, which contains 18 films, include a Nick Cave documentary, a look at the rise and fall of Sinéad O’Connor’s music career, the story behind Leonard Cohen’s hit “Hallelujah,”
SF Studios has boarded “Forever,” a football-themed film directed by Anders Hazelius, the award-winning director of “Thunder in My Heart” and the popular TV series “Tunna Blå Linjen.” Tackling friendship, love and football, “Forever” is based on a script by Jessika Jankert (“So Damn Easy Going”) and produced by Stefan Lindén (“Eagles”) and Erik Lundqvist
“The Daily Show with Trevor Noah,” “The Harder They Fall” and “Red Table Talk” were among the productions that nabbed top prizes on Wednesday for the third night of the NAACP Image Awards’ visual ceremonies. The Image Awards’ non-televised kudos are being handed out during five virtual ceremonies stretched across the week starting Feb. 21,
Ynon Kreiz knew he was sitting on a “treasure trove” of IP when he took the reins of toymaker Mattel as CEO in 2018. Mattel’s big vault of toy and game brands had the kind of built-in audience and multi-generational appeal that make for four-quadrant hits. But first he had to sort out major issues
Details of this year’s upcoming Oscars telecast are emerging following a Wednesday meeting between the Academy and representatives for the studios and talent publicists. On Tuesday, it was announced that several major categories will not be presented on the air during the live telecast. Instead, in an effort to present a more streamlined and television-friendly
Christopher Nolan has begun filming his atomic bomb drama “Oppenheimer,” starring Cillian Murphy in the eponymous role of Manhattan Project leader J. Robert Oppenheimer. Murphy is leading his first Nolan tentpole after playing supporting roles in five of the director’s movies (three “Dark Knight” films, “Inception” and “Dunkirk”). When it came time to prepping for
For months, TV industry insiders have been wondering why private equity giants like Apollo Global Management and Blackstone have been kicking the tires on local TV station groups. Television stations — the medium’s oldest form of distribution — hardly seem like a sexy acquisition target these days. By definition, local stations are regionally focused hubs
Live Nation has released financial results for the quarter and full year ended December 31, 2021, and those results are strong, despite a return to live entertainment that was disrupted by the omicron variant and the tragedy at Travis Scott’s Astroworld festival last fall. Yet the company’s eyes are on the coming months: CEO Michael
SAG Awards executive producer Kathy Connell, who helped launch the awards show 28 years ago and has been with the show ever since, has confirmed that this weekend’s ceremony will be her last. “I am retiring,” she tells Variety. “It’s been 28 wonderful years. Well, last year was sort of interesting, but 27 wonderful years.
Troye Sivan remembers that first time he got tested for HIV. “I was in a new relationship and I wanted to have sex,” he recalls on this week’s episode of the “Just for Variety” podcast. “We both went and got tested and once we were all clear, it was all good to go.” He also
“Adults Adopting Adults” has come to an end. The reality series, which was originally set for a 10-episode run on A&E, debuted in January, running both on the network and streaming on the app and AEtv.com. However, the show was suddenly pulled from all platforms after the third episode aired on Feb. 14 and has
Paramount Plus has announced that its upcoming live-action “The Fairly Oddparents: Fairly Odder” series will premiere March 31. Season 1 of “The Fairly Oddparents: Fairly Odder” will be made up of 13 episodes. The series follows Nickelodeon’s animated “The Fairly OddParents” program, which ran from 2001-2017 and focused on the adventures of Timmy Turner and
Showtime’s upcoming “The First Lady” anthology series is described as “a revelatory reframing of American leadership, told through the lens of the women at the heart of the White House.” While the first season focuses on icons Michelle Obama (played by Viola Davis), Betty Ford (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Eleanor Roosevelt (Gillian Anderson), the executive producers
Sidney Poitier — film noir icon? That may not be one of the phrases that popped up most frequently in the recent obituaries and appreciations for the late actor, but Poitier did take his turn at noir. The movie with which he made his screen debut, “No Way Out,” will be featured at the upcoming
Imax has continued to dig out from a global pandemic that devastated the theatrical movie business, posting its best quarterly results since COVID-19 became a facet of daily life. At the same time, the big screen company made it clear that it is setting its horizons behind the latest new releases, talking up the opportunities
Matt Hutchins, the husband of late cinematographer Halyna Hutchins who was killed on the set of “Rust” in October, said in a new interview with “Today” that he was “so angry” that Alec Baldwin did not accept responsibility for her death. Baldwin, the star and producer of the film, was holding the prop gun that
Anne del Castillo has been reappointed as the commissioner of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, Mayor Eric Adams announced Wednesday. Del Castillo was first appointed as commissioner of media and entertainment in 2019, shortly before the pandemic, by former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. In her role, del
The upcoming “Dark Winds” series at AMC has cast Deanna Allison in a series regular role, Variety has confirmed. The series is based on the Leaphorn & Chee book series by Tony Hillerman. It follows Navajo police officer Joe Leaphorn (Zahn McClarnon) as he investigates the murder of a young Navajo woman and begins to uncover
The Dark Knight is streaking across Google’s search pages in a new Easter egg, ahead of the premiere of Warner Bros.’ “The Batman” next week. On Google Search, either on desktop or mobile, a query for “Bruce Wayne,” “Gotham City” or “Bat-Signal” will reveal a swiveling yellow Bat-Signal icon in the results. Clicking or tapping
AT&T and Discovery are expecting to close Discovery’s $43 billion acquisition of WarnerMedia to create new company Warner Bros. Discovery as early as mid-April, Variety has learned. According to two people familiar with the matter, with Discovery’s shareholder vote on the deal — which has already received regulatory approval from the DOJ — set for
Did a chill go down your spine when you noticed Robert Pattinson’s “The Batman” was just shy of three hours long? Maybe you feel, along with other comic book enthusiasts, there’s no such thing as too much Bruce Wayne. Three hours? Five hours? Inject it directly into your eyeballs. Or, after two years of pandemic
A limousine driver testified on Wednesday about working for Harvey Weinstein, making him the first witness to take the stand for the producer’s upcoming Los Angeles trial. Alfred “Freddy” Baroth was called to testify early because L.A. prosecutors worry that his health could prevent him from appearing at the trial, which has not been scheduled
Inspired by the new Warner Bros. TV series “All American: Homecoming,” Warner Bros. Television Group has established a scholarship to support students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The studio partnered with the NAACP to develop the Warner Bros. Television Group ‘All American: Homecoming’ Grand Slam Scholarship, which will award $100,000 in grants to
After a huge 2021, Andrew Garfield looks to continue his hot streak with the first teaser for “Under the Banner of Heaven,” a new true crime miniseries premiering this spring on FX on Hulu. Based off of the 2003 nonfiction book from Jon Krakauer, “Under the Banner of Heaven” focuses on a double murder committed
Eddie Vedder had a reaction to fellow musician Mark Lanegan’s passing this week that was not just tantamount to each-Seattle-rocker’s-death-diminishes me — he felt it deeply viscerally, as he described it during a concert at the city’s Benaroya Hall Tuesday night. “We felt good last night and excited… and then I got here at 4:00
Just how important is music to movies? Not too important, according to the producers of the upcoming Academy Awards, who have decided to relegate the score Oscar — along with seven other categories — to an off-air segment prior to the three-hour telecast. It is a slap in the face to the hundreds of composers,