Bob Iger, chief executive of Disney, cashed out a chunk of his stock options worth $42.7 million, according to a regulatory filing. Iger sold 372,412 shares of Disney on Nov. 22, with an aggregate market value of $42,667,125.16, according to an SEC filing. Those shares were vested stock options Iger was granted in 2014 that […]

SiriusXM will revise the process of canceling subscriptions in New York to make it faster and easier, after a judge found it broke the law by failing to provide “simple mechanisms” for quitting. New York state Supreme Court Justice Lyle Frank ruled that SiriusXM violated the federal Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act of 2010 because […]

The U.S.’s two satellite TV providers aren’t getting hitched anymore, at least anytime soon. DirecTV on Thursday formally announced that it was nixing the agreement with EchoStar to buy Dish Network. The deal is being terminated effective as of 11:59 p.m. ET on Nov. 22, DirecTV said. DirecTV’s official termination of the agreement follows Dish […]

Paramount Global is offering $1 million retention bonuses to two top executives, contingent on them remaining with the company through the close of the Skydance Media merger. On Thursday, the media conglomerate — parent of CBS, Paramount Pictures, and cable networks including MTV and Comedy Central — said it was granting $1 million potential cash […]

Hulu will continue to be the U.S. streaming home for Fox’s “The Simpsons,” “Family Guy,” “The Masked Singer” and other shows for at least the next four years. Fox Corp.’s Fox Entertainment and Disney’s Hulu announced a multiyear renewal of their content partnership, encompassing in-season streaming rights for Fox’s programming slate. The agreement also includes […]

The day after Thanksgiving, Jennifer Hudson and Martha Stewart will suit up to pitch Amazon special deals, as part of a series of live shopping shows produced by video-commerce company TalkShopLive. Amazon’s TalkShopLive shows on Black Friday (Nov. 29) will be hosted by Stewart, Hudson, actor Eva Mendes and Kimberly Schlapman (of country supergroup Little […]

In a proposal that could radically alter the internet, the Justice Department is seeking to break up Google — by forcing it to divest the popular Chrome browser — as a way to end its monopoly on search. The DOJ’s request comes after a judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia […]

At least one Netflix customer was disappointed enough over the company’s glitchy livestream of last Friday’s fight between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson that he’s gone to court. Ronald “Blue” Denton, a resident of Hillsborough County, Fla., who says he is a Netflix subscriber, sued the company in Florida state court. The lawsuit, filed Monday, […]

Comcast is officially cutting the cord on most of its cable networks. The company announced a plan Wednesday that will offload the bulk of NBCUniversal’s financially challenged cable portfolio — excluding Bravo — into a new entity owned by Comcast shareholders. The thinking is the new company will be positioned to acquire other media and […]

Spotify and DC are bringing back the tortured soul of Batman/Bruce Wayne, voiced by actor Colman Domingo, in a second season of “Batman Unburied.” “Batman Unburied: Fallen City” is set to premiere Nov. 26 exclusively on Spotify — promising to take listeners deeper into the Dark Knight’s history. The audio streamer released the first 10-episode […]

Tucker Carlson, who went solo after losing his job at Fox News, had the No. 1 new show on Apple Podcasts this year in the U.S., according to the tech giant. On Apple Podcasts, the conservative media personality released more than 150 episodes of “The Tucker Carlson Show” with guests including Vladimir Putin, JD Vance, […]

Amazon Music is bolting on a new benefit for unlimited-plan subscribers: They can now access the 1 million-plus catalog of audiobooks in the U.S. from Amazon-owned Audible. The catch? You can listen to just one book per month at a time. Starting Tuesday, Amazon Music Unlimited customers in the U.S., U.K. and Canada can listen […]

A “Wicked” promo is alighting in millions of Snapchatters’ chat inboxes. On Tuesday, Snapchat and Universal Pictures will debut the first-ever Sponsored Snap, an ad for “Wicked,” the adaptation of the smash Broadway musical starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. The film opens in theaters on Friday, Nov. 22. In the 10-second “Wicked” Sponsored Snap, […]

The Associated Press is making cutbacks in staff as the not-for-profit news organization seeks to “accelerate” its digital-first focus, according to Daisy Veerasingham, the AP’s president and CEO. The AP will reduce its workforce by 8% through a combination of voluntary buyout offers and layoffs, Veerasingham wrote in a memo to staff Monday, a copy […]

The Onion’s winning bid for the assets of Alex Jones’ bankrupt conspiracy-theory site Infowars is under further review. The bankruptcy judge overseeing the Chapter 7 liquidation of Infowars and Jones’ assets on Thursday temporarily halted the transfer of Infowars to the Onion and ordered an evidentiary hearing for next week to review the auction — […]

Disney CEO Bob Iger adopted a trading plan to exercise options granted 10 years ago, currently worth more than $40 million. According to Disney’s 10-K filing Thursday with the SEC, on Aug. 14, Iger adopted a trading plan that provides for the potential exercise of 372,412 vested stock options granted to him on Dec. 18, […]

Mythical, the digital entertainment studio founded by YouTube stars Rhett & Link, hired digital marketing pro Melinda Petrow as senior VP of audience development. Petrow most recently was head of content marketing at Amazon’s Wondery podcast studio and prior to that led marketing and PR at Conan O’Brien’s Team Coco podcast company. Over year 15-plus […]

Infowars, the far-right conspiracy theory outlet driven into bankruptcy over lies founder Alex Jones spread about the Sandy Hook massacre, has a new owner: satirical news site The Onion. The Onion, whose parent company is Global Tetrahedron, declined to disclose how much it paid for Infowars’ asserts. The Onion was acquired in April by Jeff […]

Disney has called its next streaming blitz: In a few weeks, Disney+ will add an ESPN “tile” to the streaming service — and the company will include some live sports and other ESPN shows even if you’re not an ESPN+ subscriber. Disney+ will introduce the ESPN tile for U.S. subscribers on Dec. 4. That will […]