Dana White, CEO of mixed martial arts powerhouse UFC — and a good friend of Donald Trump — is joining Meta’s board. Meta announced White’s election to its board of directors Monday, alongside John Elkann, CEO of European investment firm Ekon, and Charlie Songhurst, former head of global corporate strategy at Microsoft. The three additional […]

Disney announced a deal with pay-TV streaming provider Fubo to combine Hulu + Live TV with Fubo’s operations in a joint venture. Under the deal, Fubo will drop its antitrust lawsuit seeking to derail Venu Sports, the sports-focused streaming package from Disney, Fox Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery. The Hulu subscription video-on-demand service is not […]

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, will personally give $1 million to President-elect Donald Trump’s inaugural committee — the latest move by a Big Tech exec to cozy up to the incoming president. Apple itself not expected to make any donations to the incoming president, according to a report Friday by Axios, which first reported on […]

Skydance Media and Paramount Global have said objections filed with the FCC over their planned merger “lack merit” and “seek relief that raises constitutional concerns” — and the companies have formally asked the agency to dismiss them. In particular, Skydance and Paramount said a petition by the Center for American Rights, a conservative public-interest law […]

The NAACP is launching original podcast series “Our Culture, Our Stories,” promising intimate and “unfiltered” conversations with an array of media and entertainment luminaries about navigating adversity, celebrating excellence and fostering community strength. Guests appearing in the 12-episode series include: actors Sterling K. Brown, Ryan Michelle Bathé, Hill Harper and Aja Naomi King; comedian Roy […]

Streaming is up; TV is down. Those contrasting trends were behind the two biggest corporate deals in the media and entertainment space unveiled in 2024: Skydance Media’s coming takeover of Paramount Global and Comcast’s planned spinoff of most of its cable networks. Warner Bros. Discovery signaled that it, too, would swing into the M&A dance […]

Canela Media has hired media and entertainment veteran exec Philippe Guelton as global president, where he’ll be tasked with leading the Hispanic digital media company’s growth and profitability in the U.S. and international markets. Guelton joins New York-based Canela after his previous employer, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, shut down after filing for bankruptcy […]

Meta’s president of global affairs, former U.K. deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, is leaving the social giant after more than six years. Taking his place: Joel Kaplan, a Meta lobbying exec with ties to the Republican party. Clegg is stepping down from the role just weeks before Donald Trump is set to be sworn in […]

Li Haslett Chen, founder and CEO of social-media commerce company Howl, is stepping down from Warner Bros. Discovery’s board of directors to devote herself full time to Howl. Chen’s exit from WBD’s board is effective Jan. 31, 2025. Her term was scheduled to expire at the Warner Bros. Discovery 2025 annual meeting of stockholders. Chen […]

Netflix was the breakaway winner among media stocks in 2024, with the streaming powerhouse’s shares up more than 90% over the course of the year. That easily outpaced other media companies, many of which continued to wrestle with the industry shift toward streaming and the decline of traditional linear TV. Netflix currently has a market […]

Apple is hoping those who don’t subscribe to Apple TV+ will ring in 2025 by binge-watching some of its original TV shows and movies — free for anyone with an Apple ID for three days. The full Apple TV+ catalog will be free to stream to users worldwide the first weekend of the year (from […]

President-elect Donald Trump believes he can cut a deal that would keep TikTok legal — while addressing the U.S. government’s national security concerns. TikTok, under a law passed this year, faces a looming deadline that will make the video app illegal in the U.S. as of Jan. 19 unless Chinese parent ByteDance divests its ownership […]

Ahead of the Supreme Court’s Jan. 10 hearing on whether to grant TikTok an emergency injunction to prevent it from being banned by the U.S. government, several groups and members of Congress have weighed in on the issue — both against the law, arguing it violates First Amendment rights of TikTok’s users, and in support […]

Smash-hit musical movie “Wicked” is flying into homes this New Year’s Eve — with a load of deleted scenes, commentary and other extras. Following its theatrical run, the Universal Pictures film, starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, will be available exclusively to purchase or rent on Dec. 31, 2024, on major digital platforms. Bonus content […]

UPDATED: Netflix’s rookie start as an NFL media partner didn’t draw any yellow flags. The streamer’s first Christmas Day game, Kansas City Chiefs vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, commenced at 1 p.m. ET, following two hours of pregame coverage. Next up was Baltimore Ravens-Houston Texans (starting at 4:30 p.m. ET), with superstar Beyoncé taking the field at […]

Fubo said TelevisaUnivision pulled its networks from the streaming pay-TV provider Monday — alleging the Spanish-language media giant was “refusing to offer what we believe to be fair and competitive rates.” According to Fubo, “thousands of Spanish-speaking consumers across the U.S. have lost access to local news and weather — providing vital information affecting their […]

UPDATE, 12/25, 4:30 p.m. PT: Netflix said it will provide on-demand access to the full halftime performance of “Beyoncé Bowl” as a stand-alone special “later this week.” The 20-minute spectacle — her first live TV performance in four years — featured Post Malone, Shaboozey and her daughter Blue Ivy Carter to debut tracks from “Cowboy […]

Sports streaming company DAZN is buying Australia’s Foxtel Group from majority shareholder News Corp and minority shareholder Telstra in a deal with an enterprise value of $2.2 billion. The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, will bring together Foxtel — Australia’s original pay-TV operator, with 4.7 million subscribers — with DAZN, the privately held […]

Netflix’s next shot on goal in live sports: the FIFA Women’s World Cup. FIFA and Netflix announced an agreement granting the streamer exclusive rights in the U.S. to the 2027 and 2031 installments of the FIFA Women’s World Cup. The companies said the deal “represents a landmark announcement for women’s football.” The FIFA Women’s World […]