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April 19 (Reuters) - Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' new oversight board has discovered another "11th hour agreement" that allows Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) to set its own utility rates at its Orlando theme parks, the board's chairman said on Wednesday. A Disney subsidiary, which provides utility services to the central Florida district that includes the Walt Disney World Resort, negotiated an agreement in February to extend its contract through 2032, Chairman Martin Garcia said at a public meeting. "Last Friday afternoon I learned for the first time about one of these new 11th hour agreements entered into between Disney and the district. "We'll have to evaluate the legality of that agreement, that essentially enables Disney to set their utility rates. The board was established to provide state oversight of a special district around Walt Disney World.

☆ No more red envelopes: Netflix to end DVD-by-mail business
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Dawn Chmielewski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 18 (Reuters) - Netflix Inc (NFLX.O) is winding down its DVD-by-mail business, the company said in a blog post on Tuesday, ending the service it started around 25 years ago. The company said its DVD rental business had been shrinking and it will not be able to continue to offer quality service. "Those iconic red envelopes changed the way people watched shows and movies at home - and they paved the way for the shift to streaming," Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos said in a blog post announcing the DVD service had entered its "final season." "Betting on DVDs was a risk," Randolph wrote in his book, "That Will Never Work: The Birth of Netflix and the Amazing Life of an Idea." When Netflix attempted in 2011 to split its DVD rental business from online streaming into a separate service called Qwikster, it provoked howls of protest from consumers.

Revenue and earnings for the first quarter came in roughly in line with the average analyst estimates from Refinitiv. Shares of Netflix dropped as much as 11% in after-hours trade following the report but recovered to gain 1.4%. From January through March, Netflix added 1.75 million streaming subscribers, missing analyst estimates of 2.06 million additions. The clampdown on password sharing will begin in the United States during the current quarter, Netflix said. UBS media analyst John Hodulik wrote that the password- sharing crackdown could well fuel Netflix's nascent advertising business, as it drives these "sharers" to the lower-priced version of the service.

Revenue and earnings for the first quarter, revealed in an earnings report on Tuesday, came in roughly in line with Wall Street expectations, according to analyst estimates from Refinitiv. From January through March, Netflix added 1.75 million streaming subscribers, missing analyst estimates of 2.06 million additions. Wall Street had been projecting $8.476 billion for revenue and $3.05 for diluted EPS. The company has said 100 million households are sharing passwords, including about 30 million households in the U.S. and Canada. If Netflix could convert 100% of those password-sharers, that would generate $4.4 billion in incremental revenue, according to MoffettNathanson estimates.

DeSantis told an Orlando radio station on Monday that the bill would "formally nullify" a development agreement Disney struck with outgoing members of the oversight board that ties the hands of DeSantis' appointees. "To do an end-run around the people of Florida shows how arrogant they are," DeSantis told the host of WFLA's "Good Morning Orlando." He and the Florida legislature have been working to eliminate the virtual autonomy the company enjoyed over Walt Disney World for more than century. Before the takeover by DeSantis appointees, Disney pushed through changes to the special tax district agreement that limit the board's action for decades. It also ensures that future boards would honor a commitment to $527 million in planned capital improvements to support Walt Disney World’s growth over the next decade.

April 17 (Reuters) - Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Monday fired another shot in his battle with Walt Disney Co (DIS.N), saying the state's Republican legislature would take steps to nullify the company's effort to circumvent state oversight of Walt Disney World. DeSantis said the new bill, announced on Monday, would return control of the special district that is home to Disney World to a state oversight board run by the governor's appointees. [1/2] People gather ahead of the "Festival of Fantasy" parade at the Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom theme park in Orlando, Florida, U.S. July 30, 2022. Before the takeover by DeSantis appointees, Disney pushed through changes to the special tax district agreement that limit the board's action for decades. It also ensures that future boards would honor a commitment to $527 million in planned capital improvements to support Walt Disney World’s growth over the next decade.

Negotiators for the Writers Guild of America (WGA) have asked the roughly 11,500 members to give them the power to call a strike after May 1 if contract talks break down. The last WGA strike, in 2007 and 2008, lasted 100 days. Film and television work has rebounded, but movie-going remains below pre-pandemic levels, despite blockbusters such as "Avatar: The Way of Water." Residuals paid to TV writers hit an unprecedented $493.6 million in 2021. In 2017, WGA members authorized a strike but reached a deal hours before writers headed to picket lines.

☆ Analysis: Twitter's advertising business seen facing slow recovery
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Sheila Dang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Musk, who also runs electric carmaker Tesla Inc (TSLA.O), earlier this week told the BBC that most of Twitter's advertisers are returning to the platform and the business was "roughly breaking even." Research firm Insider Intelligence this week slashed its forecast for Twitter's global ad revenue this year by 37% to $2.98 billion. That would represent a 28% decline from Twitter's 2022 ad revenue of $4.14 billion. 33 among Twitter's top advertisers before Musk's acquisition, according to Sensor Tower. Twitter's ad business is "eroding" and its subscription product Twitter Blue is seeing only moderate success, Similarweb said in a blog post.

☆ Warner Bros Discovery unveils its revamped 'Max' streaming service
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Dawn Chmielewski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

April 12 - Warner Bros Discovery Inc(WBD.O) said on Wednesday it will launch on May 23 its long-awaited new streaming service, christened "Max", which combines HBO Max's scripted entertainment with Discovery's reality shows. The opportunity to better capitalize on the streaming video revolution was one of the justifications for the merger of Discovery and WarnerMedia in 2022. "We are not trying to win the direct-to-consumer spending war," Zaslav assured investors, shortly after the merger was finalized. Zaslav repudiated his predecessor's COVID-19 era strategy of releasing new movies simultaneously in theaters and in the home, via HBO Max. Instead, Warner Bros films would enjoy a traditional theatrical release, and reap box office proceeds, before becoming available on the streaming service.

☆ Warner Bros Discovery unveils revamped 'Max' in push for streaming growth
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Dawn Chmielewski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Warner Bros Discovery eliminated "HBO" from the name of the streaming service, which for some viewers connotes bespoke series but repels others. He repudiated his predecessor's COVID-19 era strategy of releasing new movies simultaneously in theaters and in the home, via HBO Max. Instead, Warner Bros films would enjoy a traditional theatrical release and reap box office proceeds before becoming available on the streaming service. It licensed some of these shows to other streaming services, as Warner Bros Discovery looked for new ways to monetize its film and television libraries. Like other media companies, Warner Bros Discovery has yet to turn a profit on its HBO Max and Discovery+ streaming services, though the company has reduced losses from them.

April 11 (Reuters) - Florida Governor Ron DeSantis's newly formed oversight board is seeking to assert control over development in two cities where Walt Disney World Resort is located, the latest twist in a battle for authority over the company's Florida theme parks. A resolution, seen on Tuesday by Reuters, would give the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board the power to review and evaluate development in the 25,000-square acres of property in and around Walt Disney Co's (DIS.N) theme parks. The district would hold "superior authority and control" over planning, zoning and other land use in the cities of Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, under a Florida law that formed the state-appointed oversight board. A spokesperson for Lake Buena Vista and Bay Lake did not respond to Reuters' request for comment. A spokesperson for the oversight board referred inquiries to an attorney, who was not immediately available for comment.

☆ Rupert Murdoch and Ann Lesley Smith call off engagement
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Rupert Murdoch at the U.S. Open in New York, September 2017. REUTERS/Mike SegarApril 4 (Reuters) - Media mogul Rupert Murdoch and former San Francisco police chaplain Ann Lesley Smith have called off their engagement, a source confirmed on Tuesday. Murdoch and Smith, 66, met in September at his vineyard Moraga in Bel Air, California, and he called her two weeks later, Murdoch told News Corp-owned New York Post, which broke the news of the engagement. On March 17 in New York, Murdoch presented Smith with an Asscher-cut diamond solitaire ring, according to the Post. I’m happy,” Murdoch told the Post at the time.

[1/2] A screen shows the logo and a ticker symbol for The Walt Disney Company on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., December 14, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidLOS ANGELES, April 3 (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) Chief Executive Bob Iger fired back at Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis on Monday, saying his apparent retaliation against Disney for taking a position on legislation was "anti-business." Soon after, DeSantis and the Florida legislature moved to eliminate the virtual autonomy the company enjoyed in the running of Walt Disney World in Orlando. He also noted that Disney employs 75,000 people in the state and will welcome 50 million visitors to Disney World this year. "These efforts simply to retaliate for a position the company took sounds not just anti-business, but it sounds anti-Florida," Iger said.

Endeavor and WWE did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Sunday. The deal could be announced as early as this week, the sources said. Endeavor shareholders will own 51% of the combined company, while WWE shareholders would get 49%, the sources said. Endeavor is led by Hollywood power broker Ari Emanuel, who earlier this month declined to answer questions about a possible deal. In January, WWE said it would explore strategic options that could include a sale, shortly after Vince McMahon's return to the company.

☆ Disney's Florida surprise: an end run around DeSantis
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] People gather at the Magic Kingdom theme park before the "Festival of Fantasy" parade at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, U.S. July 30, 2022. Florida lawmakers passed a bill in February giving Governor Ron DeSantis effective control over a board that oversees municipal services and development in a special district that encompasses Walt Disney World resort. "It completely circumvents the authority of this board to govern," board member Brian Aungst Jr. was quoted as saying. Disney's then-chief executive officer, Bob Chapek, publicly voiced disappointment with the measure, saying he called DeSantis to express concern about it becoming law. In a move political observers viewed as retaliation for Disney's criticism of the Parental Rights in Education Act, Florida lawmakers passed legislation that ended Disney's virtual autonomy in developing 25,000 acres in central Florida where its theme parks are located.

☆ ABC News lays off senior executives in Disney's cost-cutting drive
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Dawn Chmielewski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

March 30 (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co's (DIS.N) ABC News laid off several senior executives on Thursday, as it restructures its newsroom, two sources confirmed. Among those to lose their jobs in the restructuring were Wendy Fisher, senior vice president of news gathering; Galen Gordon, senior vice president of talent; Alison Rudnick, vice president of corporate communications; and David Herndon, executive director and Los Angeles bureau chief. Godwin named London bureau chief Katie den Daas as vice president of newsgathering, overseeing domestic and international teams. The business and operations team will expand to include talent, production and business affairs, reporting to ABC News Executive Vice President Derek Medina. Stacia Deshishku, executive editor and senior vice president of News, will assume responsibility for the investigative and enterprise reporting unit.

March 29 (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) has laid off Marvel Entertainment Chairman Isaac "Ike" Perlmutter as part of a cost-cutting campaign, a source confirmed Wednesday. Dan Buckley, president of Marvel Entertainment, will remain and report to Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, the second source said. Perlmutter, who outmaneuvered billionaire Carl Icahn for control of the comic book publisher in the late 1990s, sold Marvel to Disney for $4 billion in 2009. Disney CEO Bob Iger later restructured Marvel in 2015, placing Marvel Studios under Walt Disney Studios. Perlmutter retained the title of chairman of Marvel Entertainment, a unit responsible for publishing, games, digital media and some consumer products.

☆ Walt Disney Co begins 7,000 layoffs
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Dawn Chmielewski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LOS ANGELES, March 27(Reuters) - Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) on Monday began 7,000 layoffs announced earlier this year, as it seeks to control costs and create a more "streamlined" business, according to a letter Chief Executive Bob Iger sent to employees and seen by Reuters. Several major divisions of the company - Disney Entertainment, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, and corporate - will be impacted, according to a person familiar with the matter. Iger said Disney would begin notifying the first group of employees who are impacted by the workforce reductions over the next four days. Josh D’Amaro, chair of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, sent a memo to theme parks employees in February warning that the profitable division would experience cuts. Officials for two of the unions representing cast members at Walt Disney World Resorts in Orlando, Florida, said “guest-facing” services were not expected to be affected by the layoffs.

Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) unveiled its own service, known as "Picasso," that uses AI to generate images, videos and 3D applications from text descriptions. Nvidia trained the technology on images licensed from Getty Images, Shutterstock Inc (SSTK.N), and Adobe, and plans to pay royalties. Image-generation technology is "trained" on billions of images, but whether that use is legally permitted is not always clear. Because the AI has been trained on Adobe Stock images, openly licensed content and older content where copyright has expired, the resulting creations are safe for commercial use, it said. "We're very interested in making this creator friendly," Ely Greenfield, chief technology officer for digital media at Adobe, told Reuters.

☆ Studio A24 captures Oscar spotlight with big wins for best picture, acting
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Dawn Chmielewski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

LOS ANGELES, March 13 (Reuters) - Independent studio A24 was the big winner at Sunday's Academy Awards, taking nine awards out of its 18 nominations, including best picture and all four acting prizes. The studio's "Everything Everywhere All at Once" won seven Oscars, the most of the evening, including best picture. However, Brendan Fraser took the best actor prize for A24's "The Whale," which also won for best makeup and hairstyling. Not since the heyday of Miramax in the 1990s has an independent studio garnered such attention, talent and box office success, entertainment industry insiders say. EVERYTHING EVERYWHEREThe first film A24 produced and financed, together with Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment, was “Moonlight,” which won the Oscar for best picture in 2017.

LOS ANGELES, March 12 (Reuters) - Independent film studio A24 emerged as the big winner at Oscar night on Sunday, sweeping every major category, propelled by the quirky, reality-bending film "Everything Everywhere All at Once" and the drama "The Whale." The studio claimed a total of nine Academy Awards, with "Everything Everywhere All at Once" receiving seven Oscars, including for best picture, director, actress, original screenplay and supporting actor and actress. Disney's leading Oscar contender, "The Banshees of Inisherin," received multiple nominations, but no awards. CNN celebrated its first Oscar win for "Navalny," a portrait of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, which won best documentary feature film. NBCUniversal collected 15 nominations, led by Universal Picture’s "The Fabelmans," directed by Steven Spielberg, and six for "Tar" from Focus Features, but no Oscars.

☆ Ke Huy Quan wins best supporting actor for 'Everything, Everywhere'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Ke Huy Quan wins the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for "Everything Everywhere All at Once" during the Oscars show at the 95th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S., March 12, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos BarriaBy Dawn ChmielewskiLOS ANGELES, March 12 (Reuters) - Ke Huy Quan, the Vietnamese-born actor who as a child appeared in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom," received the Academy Award for best supporting actor for his role as Waymond in "Everything Everywhere All at Once." Quan in his acceptance speech at the Golden Globes acknowledged "Indiana Jones" director Steven Spielberg for giving him his big break. "I was raised to never forget where I came from, to always remember who gave me my first opportunity," Quan said. Quan said he felt "so very lucky to have been chosen" for the "Indiana Jones" role, though he began to wonder "if that was it."

☆ Ke Huy Quan wins best supporting actor Oscar for 'Everything, Everywhere'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Dawn Chmielewski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Ke Huy Quan reacts after winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for "Everything Everywhere All at Once" during the Oscars show at the 95th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S., March 12, 2023. REUTERS/Carlos BarriaLOS ANGELES, March 12 (Reuters) - Ke Huy Quan, the Vietnamese-born actor who as a child appeared in "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom," received the Academy Award for best supporting actor for his role as Waymond Wang in "Everything Everywhere All at Once." Quan's portrayal of Waymond Wang was his first major role since the '90s. And they gave me an opportunity to try again.”On stage at the Oscars, Quan tearfully acknowledged his 84-year-old mother watching at home, hefting the Oscar and declaring, "Mom, I just won an Oscar!" I spent a year in a refugee camp, and somehow I wound up here on Hollywood's biggest stage," Quan said.

☆ Offbeat multiverse movie 'Everything Everywhere' dominates the Oscars
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-12 | by ( Lisa Richwine | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The movie claimed seven awards overall, including three of the four acting Oscars for stars Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis. Curtis, who built a career in horror films such as "Halloween," won best supporting actress for playing a frumpy tax agent named Deirdre Beaubeirdre. "The Whale" star Brendan Fraser, known for 1990s roles such as "The Mummy" and "Encino Man," won best actor for playing a severely obese man trying to reconnect with his daughter. "Naatu Naatu," a song from the Indian movie "RRR" that created a viral dance sensation, was honored as best original song. The 95th Academy Awards ceremony was broadcast live on Walt Disney Co's (DIS.N) ABC network.

☆ ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ studio A24 captures Oscar spotlight
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Dawn Chmielewski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

LOS ANGELES, March 10 (Reuters) - A24, the independent studio behind such films as “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and "The Whale," is poised to dominate this year’s Academy Awards, eclipsing Hollywood’s established studios and awards-hungry streamers that are spending millions on Oscar campaigns. Not since the heyday of Miramax in the 1990s has an independent studio garnered such attention, talent and box office success, entertainment industry insiders say. EVERYTHING EVERYWHEREThe first film A24 produced and financed, together with Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment, was “Moonlight,” which won the Oscar for best picture in 2017. The studio has garnered 53 Oscar nominations in less than a decade, including best picture nods for “Lady Bird, “Minari” and “Room.”A24's film slate has grown at the pace of its cash flow - starting with three movies in 2016 to 15 in 2022. This year, it’s on track to produce about 15 films for theatrical release, eight documentaries and 10 television shows.

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