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☆ A TikToker who 'consensually' doxxes people says it's easier than you'd think
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Jordan Parker Erb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Today, I am introducing you to a viral phenomenon that certainly wasn't on my 2022 bingo card: "consensual doxxing." Meet a TikToker who's gone viral for her "consensual doxxing" content. But one TikToker has garnered hundreds of thousands of followers who want her to expose their secrets. Kristen uses her platform to "consensually dox" users and reveal their birthdays using just social media — and has become a data-privacy educator by proxy. Users are often shocked by how easy it is for her to find out their information, Kristen said.

☆ Millions of HBO Max users who subscribed through Amazon can do so again, a year after they were booted from the platform
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

"It's important for us to own the customer," the former head of HBO Max, Andy Forssell, told Bloomberg in August 2021. HBO Max will cost $14.99 a month through Channels, the same price at which it is available to consumers via other distribution platforms. HBO and HBO Max had 67.5 million combined subscribers, as of a July 2021 earnings report. Discovery said during its most recent earnings report last month that HBO, HBO Max, and Discovery+ had a combined 95 million subscribers, but didn't break out the numbers by service. The company plans to merge HBO Max and Discovery+ into one streaming platform next year.

☆ From Apple and Disney to Warner Bros. Discovery, here's the 2023 media deal outlook for Hollywood's biggest companies, according to 13 bankers and industry experts
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Lucia Moses | Claire Atkinson | Reed Alexander | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Continued pressure to get bigger has big media companies in Hollywood looking to scale up. Media bankers and investors predicted to Insider that dealmaking will rebound in 2023 as companies big and small size up their options for possible tie-ups. Pressure on big media companies to get bigger hasn't gone away. Apple: Could eye a big content prizeTim Cook. Paramount's library could help a streaming company bulk up its content; Netflix for one has explored Paramount's studio business before.

☆ David Zaslav's top priority at Warner Bros. Discovery: Get the cash flowing again
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Alex Sherman | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Discovery will generate more than $3 billion in free cash flow this year, about $4 billion next year and close to $6 billion in free cash flow in 2024, according to company forecasts. Warner Bros. The one certainty is Zaslav's decision will be squarely based on how a deal affects the company's free cash flow.

☆ The former CEO of WarnerMedia predicts only 3 major entertainment companies will survive in the streaming space
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Media exec Jason Kilar predicts only 3 entertainment companies will survive the streaming war. In a piece for The Wall Street Journal, Kilar predicted that only three of the global entertainment companies, not including tech giants Amazon and Apple, will come out of the "streaming war" unscathed. But based on Kilar's threshold, Disney is well-positioned to survive, with 235 million global subscribers across its services, 164 million of which belong to Disney+. Kilar added that "two or three major mergers and/or acquisitions" in the entertainment industry would occur in the next two years because of shifts in the streaming space. Former Disney CEO Bob Chapek, who was ousted last month, hinted in September that he'd want to integrate Hulu into Disney+ once the deal is complete, though it's unclear what returning CEO Bob Iger's plans are.

Discovery logo is displayed on a smartphone screen and in the background, the HBO Max and Discovery Plus logos. Warner Bros. Discovery executives are close to formalizing a new name and platform for its soon-to-be launched streaming service that will combine the preexisting HBO Max and Discovery+ services. HBO, Discovery, DC Comics and Warner Bros. will be among the landing hubs on the platform, the people added. The pricing of the combined streaming service is still being discussed, the people said.

☆ CNN’s chief outlines changes to network after layoffs, including end of live programming on HLN
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN Business —CNN on Thursday executed sweeping layoffs and implemented a series of changes that impacted multiple divisions across the news organization, including ending live programming on HLN, the company’s chief executive, Chris Licht, said in a memo to employees. The layoffs, which started Wednesday and were expected to impact hundreds of employees, largely had been completed by Thursday afternoon. The series of changes, which came after Licht conducted a months-long review of CNN’s business after taking over in May as the network’s head, notably included the ending of live programming on HLN, CNN’s longtime sister channel. Discovery, CNN’s parent company. Some of those changes have already been implemented, as CNN has made smaller cuts to parts of its business in the last several months.

☆ CNN is notifying staff of layoffs as Warner Bros. Discovery seeks further cost reductions. Read CEO Chris Licht's memo to staff about the cuts.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

CNN is executing a huge layoff plan starting today, according to a company memo sent out by CEO Chris Licht. CNN CEO Chris Licht notified employees today that the news organization will begin lay-offs as part of a cost reduction effort implemented by parent company Warner Bros. On Thursday, CNN employees will learn if they are impacted. Read Licht's full memo below:To my CNN colleagues,Our people are the heart and soul of this organization. Tomorrow, we will notify impacted employees, and tomorrow afternoon I will follow up with more details on these changes.

☆ 21 Warner Bros. Discovery streaming and content vets who are on the market after layoffs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Lucia Moses | Elaine Low | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A slew of top content and streaming executives exited WarnerMedia after its merger with Discovery. Insider identified 21 respected film, TV, digital, and sales pros who are free agents. They're ones to watch as the media industry continues to figure out its streaming future. Sign up for our newsletter to get the news, trends and strategies that advertising and media pros want to know — delivered weekly to your inbox. The first execs to exit in April were Jason Kilar, CEO of WarnerMedia, Warner Bros. CEO Ann Sarnoff, and other C-suite leaders reporting to them.

☆ CNN begins layoffs in what CEO says will be a ‘gut punch’ to the network
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN Business —CNN on Wednesday informed employees that layoffs had commenced, a move that is expected to impact hundreds of staffers at the global news network and mark the deepest cuts to the organization in years. CNN declined to say on Wednesday how many employees precisely would be impacted by the layoffs. The layoffs come as media companies are being battered by brutal economic headwinds that have taken a bat to the advertising sector. Social media companies such as Facebook (FB)-parent Meta, which also rely on advertising revenue, have also executed layoffs in recent months. After Licht took over as head of CNN, he conducted a months-long review of the business.

☆ HBO is No. 1 as 14 TV insiders rank the streamers where they want to sell shows: Apple's a big spender and 'there's a sheen when you're a Hulu show,' but there's 'fear in the air' at Netflix
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Elaine Low | Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

"It's definitely been not the most exciting and robust year," said one TV agent at a major agency. Around 70 people at HBO and HBO Max have been let go this year, and their comedy development teams have merged. While WBD doesn't break out streamer-specific figures, it said on Thursday's earnings call that HBO Max, HBO, and Discovery+ have a combined 94.9 million subscribers, ensuring that any show on HBO Max has the chance to get a lot of eyeballs. They'll also take smaller swings in the genre department, do things at a lower budget," said the second TV agent. Echoed the first TV agent: "You pitch and sell to them if no one else wants it."

☆ 21 streaming and media free agents on the market after Warner Bros. Discovery layoffs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Lucia Moses | Elaine Low | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A slew of top content and streaming executivess exited WarnerMedia after its merger with Discovery. Insider identified 21 respected film, TV, digital, and sales pros who are free agents. They're ones to watch as the media industry continues to figure out its streaming future. Sign up for our newsletter to get the news, trends and strategies that advertising and media pros want to know — delivered weekly to your inbox. The first execs to exit in April were Jason Kilar, CEO of WarnerMedia, Warner Bros. CEO Ann Sarnoff, and other C-suite leaders reporting to them.

☆ Disney Needs ‘Chainsaw’ Bob Iger
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Holman W. Jenkins | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The weekend was an interesting one in the streaming wars. If it’s possible for there to be a run on a chief executive officer the way there can be a run on a bank, that’s what happened to Disney ’s Bob Chapek . Disney brought back his predecessor, Bob Iger , partly to deal with giant losses in streaming. In the New York Times , meanwhile, appeared the longest yet disquisition on the travails of WarnerMedia under previous owner AT&T and new owner Discovery. Though short on analysis and long on narrative, the epic reporting nicely illustrated traditional Hollywood’s flailing inability to cope with a technological revolution in how filmed entertainment is distributed.

Iger is widely considered entertainment industry royalty, celebrated for his management acumen and creative chops. He turned Disney into a global powerhouse by acquiring marquee brands such as Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm and 21st Century Fox. Bob Chapek, left, and Bob Iger, in Orlando, Fla.,on Sept. 30, 2021. Shares of the Walt Disney Co. are down 40% this year, and layoffs are pending. But almost immediately, the entertainment industry media zeroed in on what was thought to be a frosty relationship between the two men.

☆ HBO star Issa Rae recalls 'crippling' experience with credit card debt: 'I was their ideal target'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Nicolas Vega | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Issa Rae may have an eight-figure TV deal with WarnerMedia and a successful career in showbusiness, but as a college student she fell into credit card debt like so many Americans. "I was targeted by credit card companies when I was in college because I was their ideal target. "I got really, really wrapped up in credit card debt early on and it felt like it weighed on me. For Rae, the wake up call moment came after her aunt died, leaving behind an inheritance for her nieces and nephews. "It was meant to invest in our futures," Rae explains, "and it broke my heart, but I used that to get myself out of credit card debt."

☆ Ad market worse than during lows of the pandemic, says Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Alex Sherman | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The advertising market is currently weaker than at any point during the coronavirus pandemic slowdown of 2020, Warner Bros. Discovery Chief Executive David Zaslav said at an investment conference Tuesday. Advertisers have reduced spending as the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates to cool inflation, pressuring equities including media companies'. Merging Discovery with WarnerMedia earlier this year has brought a series of unforeseen challenges because some assets were "unexpectedly worse than we thought," Zaslav said. "It's messier than we thought, it's much worse than we thought," Zaslav said.

☆ CNN CEO Chris Licht details layoff plans at all-hands company meeting
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Claire Atkinson | Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

CNN CEO Chris Licht detailed layoff plans to staff amid tough conditions for parent Warner Bros Discovery. CNN Worldwide Chairman and CEO Chris Licht attempted to assert his authority at an all-hands meeting with staff Tuesday morning about the coming layoffs and his plans for the news organization. Licht took some fire at the all-hands over his previous assertions in June that there would be no major layoffs. He told staff there will be a wider reorganization of newgathering staff. Licht also said there would be no layoffs at CNN Digital, although some newsgathering staff are part of CNN Digital.

☆ 8 top recruiters hiring in media as layoffs and hiring freezes hit Netflix, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and more tech and entertainment companies
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Ashley Rodriguez | Elaine Low | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Media is in flux as layoffs and hiring freezes have hit Netflix, Disney, and Warner Bros. Insider identified 8 recruiters in Hollywood and media that job seekers and hiring managers should know. These experts said many companies have become more flexible about remote work and other pandemic shifts. But with massive M&A activity still rippling through entertainment, the Great Resignation disrupting workforces across industries, and a potential recession on the horizon, media and entertainment hiring — and firing — are once again in flux. Insider identified eight leading recruiters, including DeCastro, who work with media and entertainment clients (listed below in alphabetical order).

☆ Steven Spielberg calls out HBO Max, accuses streaming service of throwing filmmakers 'under the bus'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Director Steven Spielberg called out HBO Max, accusing them of throwing filmmakers "under the bus." He was referring to Warner Bros. putting its 2021 movies on HBO Max and in theaters simultaneously. "They were paid off and the films were suddenly relegated to, in this case, HBO Max. Warner Bros. released all of its movies in 2021 simultaneously to theaters and on HBO Max. At the time, the film studio was under AT&T's corporate umbrella, and boosting HBO Max was a key part of its business.

☆ 14 TV insiders rank the streamers where they want to sell shows now as Apple TV+ closes in on HBO Max amid turmoil at Warner Bros. Discovery
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Elaine Low | Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

☆ Warner Bros. Discovery 3Q Revenue Pulled Down by Weaker Ad Market
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Denny Jacob | Joe Flint | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Warner Bros. Discovery exceeded forecasts for subscribers in the latest quarter while other streaming companies have struggled. Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. posted revenue below analysts’ estimates, reflecting challenges from a weaker advertising market due to rampant inflation and charges related to its merger. The New York-based media giant, which in April completed a megamerger with the WarnerMedia business of AT&T Inc., posted revenue of $9.82 billion due to less demand in the ad space.

☆ Warner Bros. Discovery is swirling with talk of more layoffs and concerns about integrating streamers HBO Max and Discovery+
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Discovery insiders are bracing for another round of layoffs the week of November 7. This round is expected to hit sales support roles as the company looks for $3B in cost cuts. Some are also speculating that the planned streamer combining Discovery+ with HBO Max will be delayed. A second insider said WBD was closely scrutinizing vendor contracts as it tries to find cost savings wherever possible. Questions are also swirling about the company's new streaming service that will combine Discovery+ with HBO Max.

☆ Warner Bros Discovery reports underwhelming revenue, says new streaming service coming earlier
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Discovery reported its third-quarter earnings on Thursday, missing analyst expectations, as it felt the effects of a tough advertising environment and costs associated with its post-merger restructuring. CEO David Zaslav also announced that the merged version of the company's HBO Max and Discovery+ streaming services will be coming in the spring, earlier than the previously announced summer release date. Here's what the company reported compared with analysts' expectations, according to Refinitiv:Revenue: $9.82 billion vs. $10.36 billion expectedThe company reported a loss per share of 95 cents, citing macroeconomic headwinds, particularly in advertising. Discovery is the result of a merger between AT&T's WarnerMedia and Discovery, which was completed earlier this year. Industry peer Paramount Global reported earnings on Wednesday, also missing analyst estimates as its TV and advertising revenue fell.

☆ Warner Bros. Discovery Marriage Hurt by High Debt, Low Morale
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Joe Flint | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery, which reports its quarterly results Thursday, have fallen about 46% since April. David Zaslav declared it a “bright shiny day’’ after the deal to merge his cable programming juggernaut Discovery Inc. with AT&T Inc.’s WarnerMedia unit closed last April. It has been anything but that for Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. and the new chief executive of the media giant, whose holdings include movie and television studios, CNN and HBO, and Discovery channels such as Food Network and HGTV.

☆ 'Avengers: Endgame' director blames 'corporate sociopathy' on Warner Bros. Discovery scrapping 'Batgirl'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

"Avengers: Endgame" co-director Joe Russo blamed "corporate sociopathy" for "Batgirl" being scrapped. Russo said it's rare for "something that high profile, that expensive" to be "murdered in such a way." "It's sad, but we're at a time in the business where corporate sociopathy is going to rear its head because people are scared," he added. Discovery canceled the release of "Batgirl" earlier this year after the WarnerMedia-Discovery merger completed, as the company looked to cut down on costs. "Avengers: Endgame" is the second-biggest movie at the worldwide box office of all time, behind "Avatar."

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