The “streaming wars” are widely understood to be a clash of content titans fighting for a piece of consumers’ entertainment wallet. But behind the scenes, another intense business brawl is happening between streaming services and the industry’s two connected-TV heavyweights: Roku and Amazon. WarnerMedia launched HBO Max in late May, and more than six weeks
Prada’s announcement last February that Raf Simons would be co-creative directing with Miuccia Prada did not seem to really sink in, because today, we were surprised to witness her last solo collection. This is Prada’s final bow, three decades after presenting her first ready-to-wear collection in 1989. As with all designers reacting to Milan’s spring
Trevor Noah is about to get fancy with the right analog stick. The “Daily Show” star, who apparently claims to be among the best non-professional FIFA players in the world, has signed on to host a new gaming series at Quibi which will see him try to prove his video game skills. Titled “Player Vs.
“World of Dance,” the popular NBC dance competition show judged by Jennifer Lopez, NE-YO and Derek Hough, is adding a record label to its brand portfolio which includes a YouTube network, tours, a brand management company and the U-Jam dance fitness program. Music released will be co-managed, marketed and promoted with digital and physical distribution
“Titan Games” continued to flex its relatively sizable muscles on Monday night, leading the broadcast networks alongside ABC’s “CMA Best of Fest.” The Dwayne Johnson-hosted NBC show scored a 0.7 rating among adults 18-49 and drew 3.8 million total viewers, which is almost exactly the same tally in both metrics as the week before. A
Michael Che has set up his own sketch comedy series at HBO Max, Variety has learned. The streamer has given the series a six-episode order. Che will star in the series, with each episode set to tackle a different theme or incident — such as police brutality, unemployment, or falling in love — from a Black
USA Network is no longer moving ahead with the limited series about Evel Knievel starring Milo Ventimiglia, Variety has confirmed. It was announced last September that Ventimiglia, who stars on the hit NBC drama “This Is Us,” was to play the famous daredevil. However, the coronavirus pandemic shut down the series on March 13, right before
Within days of Hong Kong’s controversial new national security law taking force on July 1, scenes once unimaginable in the financial hub have nightmarishly come true: a 15-year-old girl arrested for waving an independence flag; books potentially offensive to China’s Communist Party removed from public libraries; protesters, fearing life imprisonment for wielding slogans, holding up
Dina LaPolt is one of the music industry’s leading attorneys — and she is almost indisputably the loudest. Outspoken and seemingly fearless, the owner and founder of LaPolt Law represents artists including Steven Tyler, Britney Spears, 21 Savage, Deadmau5 and, for many years, the Tupac Shakur estate. But Variety’s 2020 Power of Law honoree has
NBCUniversal has upped the amount of content to be available in Peacock for the U.S. national launch on Wednesday, July 15, in both its free and paid tiers. But the fledgling streamer will not be on Roku or Amazon Fire TV in its first nationwide flight. Starting Wednesday, Peacock will be available in two main
NBCUniversal’s Peacock is set to go live on July 15 for a national audience, stuffed with more than 20,000 hours for Premium subscribers — and more than 13,000 hours entirely for free. So what’s on the service? Here’s a breakdown of what to stream on Peacock Free and Peacock Premium ($4.99/month extra with ads, $9.99/month
Bari Weiss, a staff writer and editor for the New York Times’ increasingly heated Opinion section, is leaving her job, she announced in a letter to the publisher. “Twitter is not on the masthead of The New York Times. But Twitter has become its ultimate editor,” Weiss said in a note addressed to A.G. Sulzberger
There’s one place Andrew Lloyd Webber gravitates to after a bad day in the business — the largest of his theaters, the London Palladium. Late at night, when the West End impresario stands onstage and looks out at the 2,300-seat venue, “I just say, ‘That’s why. That’s why I want to be in theater,’” Lloyd
Jeron Smith, CEO of Unanimous Media — the production company co-founded with NBA star Steph Curry — wants to broker film deals at Sony Pictures Entertainment with underrepresented talent, via a new joint venture. Smith and SPE have formed The Incubation Lab, which Smith describes as a “culture-forward content incubator.” Smith told Variety the goal
Jamie Lee Curtis is producing and lending her voice to a new scripted comedy/mystery podcast series aimed at middle-school kids: “Letters From Camp,” the latest original from Amazon-owned Audible. Cast of “Letters From Camp” also includes 11-year-old Sunny Sandler (“Grown Ups,” “Hotel Transylvania”), Jake Gyllenhaal, Edi Patterson (“Knives Out,” “Righteous Gemstones”), and Kirby Howell-Baptiste (“Barry,”
It had been a grueling few months for John Benjamin Hickey. Not only had he wrapped up a long run playing a pivotal supporting role in Matthew Lopez’s two-part AIDS epic “The Inheritance,” but Hickey was also making his Broadway directing debut with “Plaza Suite,” a romantic comedy starring real-life couple Matthew Broderick and Sarah
The iconic Tomorrowland Festival – which usually takes place in Boom, Belgium – has found a new home in the digital space for its 2020 edition, now called Tomorrowland Around the World. But, the EDM fest promises to pack just as much of a punch with a unique interactive experience, eight stages and over 60
Netflix has pulled the second season of Channel 4’s hit comedy “Derry Girls” from its service in the U.K. and Ireland, noting it was too early in rolling out the show. On Tuesday, the SVOD issued a rare statement on Twitter, highlighting that it was “a bit early” in launching season two on July 9.
Seven South Asian film festivals in the U.S. and Canada have decided to merge their efforts into one online event running Oct. 3-17. According to a statement from the coalition, for 15 days the virtual festival will stream films and host Q&As with filmmakers, as well as other conversations on industry topics and relating to
Reteaming provocative Polish director Jan Komasa with screenwriter Mateusz Pacewicz, “The Hater” hits Netflix mere months after the duo’s acclaimed impostor-priest drama “Corpus Christi” was nominated for the Oscars’ newly rechristened international feature award. Timing wise, that’s a savvy acquisition of a youth-targeted thriller that deals with such topics as ethics, elections and online obsession,
Set against the background of Nigeria’s vibrant Igbo community in downtown São Paulo, Matías Mariani’s “Shine Your Eyes” has been acquired by Netflix, which will launch the film on July 29. The global licensing deal was closed with Netflix Africa, which is likely keen to leverage the star power of lead I.C. Ukeje, whose career
When the COVID-19 pandemic caused the cancellation of the 2020 San Diego Comic-Con, it was the first time in the 50-year history of the fan convention that it would not take place. “It was really a heartbreaking decision,” says David Glanzer, chief communications officer and strategy officer at Comic-Con Intl., the organization that oversees SDCC
The British government has banned mobile providers from purchasing Huawei 5G equipment after Dec. 31. All 5G kit supplied by the company must be removed from U.K. networks by 2027. The move is likely to worsen the U.K.’s relationship with China, already under strain due to their differences over Hong Kong. Digital secretary Oliver Dowden
While Shazam’s mid-year charts are filled with new artists and songs, The Weeknd dominated the two biggest ones — he’s the most Shazamed artist worldwide, and his “Blinding Lights” single is the most-Shazamed song globally and in 16 countries. (Check out Variety‘s cover story on The Weeknd from earlier this year, and our exclusive track-by-track
Kelly Reichardt’s “First Cow” is set as the opening movie of the Melbourne International Film Festival. The event was postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak, before being revived online under the label MIFF 68 ½. The festival will unspool virtually Aug 6-23, 2020. “First Cow” is an unlikely story of friendship and free enterprise on
Channel 4 commissioner Fatima Salaria is joining the production ranks, moving to Fremantle-backed “Indian Summer School” producer Naked as managing director. Salaria takes over for former Naked CEO Simon Andreae, who was recently appointed CEO of Fremantle U.K. Her role will be both creative and commercial, and she will work closely with creative director Tom
Tamera Mowry-Housley is leaving her talk show “The Real” after six seasons. She co-hosted the show since 2013, which originally featured her alongside Tamar Braxton, Loni Love, Jeannie Mai and Adrienne Houghton. “For seven years, my home and heart has been at ‘The Real.’ The friendships that I’ve made there will last a lifetime, and
Grant Imahara, an electrical engineer and former host on the Discovery Channel show “Mythbusters” has died at 49, a spokesperson for Discovery has confirmed to Variety. “We are heartbroken to hear this sad news about Grant. He was an important part of our Discovery family and a really wonderful man. Our thoughts and prayers go
Rapper Tory Lanez was arrested in the early hours of Sunday morning after a house party altercation turned violent and the LAPD arrived on the scene. The arrest happened around 4:30 a.m. near a house in the Hollywood hills where the 27-year-old hip-hop star was arrested and charged with carrying a concealed weapon in his
Tucker Carlson, one of Fox News Channel’s most-watched hosts, said he would take a pre-planned vacation as his primetime program comes under intense scrutiny. Carlson announced his plans Monday in the wake of a new controversy surrounding his program, “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” after a CNN report last week revealed one of his top writers, Blake