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☆ Warner Bros. Discovery is planning to run ads on HBO originals on HBO Max, a move that could be controversial in Hollywood
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Discovery is exploring running ads on HBO originals like "Game of Thrones." HBO Max launched its ad-supported tier in June 2021 for $10 a month versus the streamer's $15 ad-free version. HBO Max capped ads at four minutes per hour, limited how often users would see the same ad, and said no ads would run on original HBO programming. Since then, HBO Max parent WarnerMedia has been acquired by Discovery, and under new CEO David Zaslav, the merged entity Warner Bros. It's also unclear whether WBD will charge a premium for ads appearing in HBO originals — and if so, how much.

☆ HBO's 'White Lotus' season 2 was filmed at a real hotel in Italy. Here's what it's like.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

"The White Lotus" season two was filmed at the San Domenico Palace hotel in Taormina, Italy. The season was filmed at the San Domenico Palace Four Seasons luxury hotel in Taormina, a town in the Sicily region of Italy. Getty Images"It has so much personality," "White Lotus" executive producer David Bernad told People Magazine last month. HBOBut if you can get past the alleged hauntings, the San Domenico Palace sounds like a beautiful place experience. Here's how it's described on the website: "Perched on a rocky promontory high above the Ionian Sea, the iconic San Domenico Palace welcomes you to a 14th-century convent reimagined.

☆ Brad Pitt sells 60% of his Plan B production company to French media conglomerate Mediawan, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Alex Sherman | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Brad Pitt is selling 60% of his production company, Plan B Entertainment, to French media conglomerate Mediawan in a deal that's set to be announced this weekend, according to people familiar with the matter. Neither Plan B nor Mediawan responded to requests for comment. For TV, Plan B's productions have included HBO's 2014 adaptation of "The Normal Heart," directed by Ryan Murphy, and Amazon Prime Video's 2021 miniseries "The Underground Railroad." Candle Media also acquired a minority stake in Westbrook Inc. — the production company founded by Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith – earlier this year. The boutique investment bank Moelis led the sale for Plan B.

☆ 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.

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.

☆ HBO layoffs, cuts, and 'ill will' over show cancellations have damaged its reputation among TV creators
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Elaine Low | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

"I'm super, super nervous, because HBO has always been my favorite place to do business," said one TV agent. But concerns about new corporate leadership, layoffs, budget cuts, and the future of HBO Max — the streaming home of HBO — kept bubbling to the top. "I'm super, super nervous, because HBO has always been my favorite place to do business," one TV agent said. Aside from the 70 or so layoffs at HBO and HBO Max over the summer amid broader restructuring at WBD, creatives were troubled by the company's decision to pull existing TV shows and films from HBO Max. Read all of Insider's 2022 report here: 14 TV insiders rank the streamers where they want to sell shows: HBO is No.

☆ Bob Iger needs to fix Disney's 'Star Wars' problem
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

He said then that a movie-a-year strategy for "Star Wars" was "too much, too fast." But Disney might have slammed on the brakes a little too hard: The only "Star Wars" movie to be released since then has been "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker," in 2019. And now, there isn't a "Star Wars" film on the theatrical release calendar until 2025. It's unclear if Iger foresaw a six-year wait, at least, when he said back in 2018 that "Star Wars" movie output would slow. But Lucasfilm hasn't made any public commitment to any of them as the next stage of "Star Wars" on the big screen.

☆ 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."

☆ Self-made millionaire Barbara Corcoran shows off 'the best thing' in her closet—and it cost less than a penny
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Hanging in my closet," Corcoran wrote in the caption for her Instagram post, quoting HBO's "Sex and the City." Real estate broker Barbara Corcoran may be a self-made millionaire , but that doesn't mean she can pass up a good deal. "The best thing" in her closet, Corcoran said in the video, is also the least expensive: a paper necklace bearing fake emeralds that cost her "two Lira" in Italy. It's unsurprising that a custom job would cost Corcoran even more. In her recent Instagram video, Corcoran didn't offer up the number of times she's worn the Lhuillier gown — but judging by her past criteria, it's safe to assume she plans to keep it in use.

☆ Warner Bros. Discovery layoffs, cuts, and 'ill will' over canceled shows have tarnished HBO with TV creators
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Elaine Low | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

"I'm super, super nervous, because HBO has always been my favorite place to do business," said one TV agent. But concerns about new corporate leadership, layoffs, budget cuts, and the future of HBO Max — the streaming home of HBO — kept bubbling to the top. "I'm super, super nervous, because HBO has always been my favorite place to do business," one TV agent said. Even original series created just for the streamer, such as "Little Ellen," "Summer Camp Island," and "My Dinner with Hervé," were pulled. Read all of Insider's 2022 report here: 14 TV insiders rank the streamers where they want to sell shows: HBO is No.

Democratic US Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto is running against Republican Adam Laxalt in Nevada. Senate Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. RenoNorth Las Vegas MayorDemocratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto is locked in one of the nation's closest-watched Senate races in Nevada against Republican Adam Laxalt, a former state attorney general. If Cortez Masto manages to hold on, the GOP's path to 51 seats becomes even more perilous and Democrats' odds of retaining power in the Senate improve. The money raceAccording to OpenSecrets, Cortez Masto has raised $44 million, spent $39.1 million, and has roughly $5.1 million on hand, as of September 30.

☆ Before 'Succession,' Jeremy Strong spent years watching close friends like Jessica Chastain land starring roles while crashing in his grandpa's basement: 'I'd be lying if I said it wasn't difficult'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Eboni Boykin-Patterson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Jeremy Strong is the award-winning actor who plays Kendall Roy in HBO's 'Succession.' In an interview with The Times, Strong opened up about why he never gave up on acting. Now at age 43, Strong has had a successful turn as Kendall Roy on "Succession," earning him an Emmy — but his success was hard-won. In a recent interview with The Times, Strong said that in 2010, he was struggling to find work in LA. "I'd be lying if I said it wasn't difficult to see people I was close to getting work," Strong told The Times.

Warner Bros. Pictures, film subsidiary of Warner Bros. "We're spending more money this year than we've ever spent historically," Warner Bros Chief Executive David Zaslav told a conference call. Warner Bros posted a third-quarter loss of $2.3 billion, or 95 cents a share, which includes $1.5 billion in pre-tax restructuring charges. Warner Bros Discovery, home to hit franchises such as "Batman" and "Euphoria," added 2.8 million new streaming subscribers in the third quarter, bringing its total to 94.9 million. A merger of HBO Max and Discovery+ will debut on an accelerated timetable, in spring of 2023.

☆ Netflix CEO once handed out army berets to his execs in response to an insult from the former Time Warner boss, and it shows the rivalry between Netflix and HBO stretches over a decade
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Former Time Warner CEO Jeffrey Bewkes implied Netflix was overrated in a 2010 interview. A new book about HBO reveals that Netflix CEO Reed Hastings took the comments in stride. "We didn't have the financial flexibility to make that commitment," former HBO CEO Richard Plepler told the book's authors, Gillette and Koblin. In other words, Netflix wanted to be more like HBO and HBO's corporate overlords wanted it to be more like Netflix. HBO's content chief, Casey Bloys, was recently elevated to CEO of HBO, HBO Max, and HBO Content.

☆ Amazon has been suspiciously quiet about 'The Rings of Power' viewership in the 2 weeks since the first season concluded
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Steven Tweedie | Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Amazon has yet to share viewership numbers on its "Rings of Power" finale, weeks later. The show has yet to cross the vague 100 million viewers milestone it teased three weeks ago. Payne and Patrick McKay later noted that 12.6 million viewers watched the premiere in the US in the first four days. Still, Amazon said "Rings of Power" in its first two months has driven "more Prime signs-up globally than any other Amazon original." HBO said this week that "House of the Dragon" was averaging 29 million viewers per episode.

☆ 'House of the Dragon' creator knows that one scene was too dark, says he's learned 'we are making the show for people's television sets'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

"House of the Dragon" showrunner Ryan Condal acknowledged how dark scenes in episode seven were. He said he has to take more into account that "we are making the show for people's television sets." Episode seven in particular, titled "Driftmark," was criticized for scenes that many viewers said were too dark to see on their TV screens. "The unique challenge of making television post-production is that you're making it in this highly calibrated facility with millions of dollars' worth of equipment and high-end professionals," Condal said. Sapochnik also directed a "Game of Thrones" episode that received some backlash for being too dim, the season eight episode "The Long Night."

☆ ‘Star Wars’ movie in development from 'Watchmen' showrunner and 'Ms. Marvel' director, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Stefan Sykes | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A new "Star Wars" movie is under development with a pair of buzzy names already attached, according to media reports. Damon Lindelof, showrunner for "Lost," "The Leftovers" and "Watchmen," is co-writing the new Lucasfilm movie, with Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy of "Ms. Marvel" signed on to direct, according to media entertainment site Deadline. But the upcoming feature marks the first "Star Wars" film set for theaters since 2019's "The Rise of Skywalker." "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" was a massive success for the franchise, grossing $1 billion at the global box office. Other "Star Wars" film projects from Taika Waititi, Rian Johnson and Kevin Feige have yet to be officially announced by the studio or given release dates.

☆ The new iPad Pro is Apple's best iPad, but it's overkill for most people
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Sofia Pitt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Sofia PittI've been testing Apple's new 12.9-inch iPad Pro for the past several days. Unlike the entry-level iPad, the iPad Pro's price didn't increase from last year's model, the 11-inch iPad Pro starts at $799 and the 12.9-inch iPad Pro starts at $1,099. Here's what you need to know about Apple's new 12.9-inch iPad Pro. 2022 iPad Pro and iPad. iPad Pro Apple Pencil Hover experience.

☆ HBO's big 'House of the Dragon' finale leaked 2 days before it was supposed to air. The company says it's 'aggressively' policing and issuing takedowns.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Samantha Delouya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The season finale of HBO's "House of the Dragon" reportedly leaked online 2 days before it was supposed to air. The episode was leaked on Friday, two days before its air date. While this is the first reported leak for the "Game of Thrones" spinoff, HBO has a long history of dealing with piracy. In August 2017, hackers leaked episodes of HBO's "Insecure," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," and a reported draft script of a yet-to-air episode of "Game of Thrones." The hacks led HBO to make the decision to film multiple "Game of Thrones" endings in an effort to throw off would-be leakers from spoiling the series finale.

☆ Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto faces off against Republican Adam Laxalt in Nevada's closely watched US Senate race
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Democratic US Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto is running against Republican Adam Laxalt in Nevada. A protégé of the late-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Cortez Masto made history as the first Latina elected to the US Senate when she succeeded Reid in 2017. If Cortez Masto manages to hold on, the GOP's path to 51 seats becomes even more perilous and Democrats' odds of retaining power in the Senate improve. The money raceAccording to OpenSecrets, Cortez Masto has raised $44 million, spent $39.1 million, and has roughly $5.1 million on hand, as of September 30. What experts sayThe race between Cortez Masto and Laxalt is unanimously rated as a "toss-up" by Inside Elections, The Cook Political Report, and Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.

"House of the Dragon" will air its season one finale on October 23 on HBO and HBO Max. The "Game of Thrones" prequel series focuses on the Targaryen civil war. The season one finale will air on HBO and HBO Max on October 23. How to watch 'House of the Dragon'You can watch "House of the Dragon" exclusively on HBO and HBO Max. That said, many of the characters in "House of the Dragon" are ancestors of the characters we meet in "Game of Thrones."

☆ Netflix is giving its critics the middle finger and taking a victory lap
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The streaming company gained over 2 million subscribers — avoiding the third straight quarter of subscriber losses. The results appear to have been enough for Netflix to take a victory lap. "We're in the business of entertaining our members with Netflix movies on Netflix," he said. It will stop providing membership guidance in future earnings reports. In other words, Netflix continues to think that the future of entertainment is still, undeniably, Netflix.

☆ Netflix threw shade at 'House of the Dragon' and 'Rings of Power' with a chart showing 'Dahmer' surpassing them in Google Trends
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Netflix touted the success of "Dahmer" by comparing it to "House of the Dragon" and "Rings of Power" on Google Trends. It shared a chart in its Q3 earnings report on Tuesday that showed "Dahmer" surpassed the shows in interest. In its third-quarter earnings letter to shareholders on Tuesday, Netflix threw shade at the two fantasy TV shows with a Google Trends chart, which showed searches for "Dahmer" surpassing both shows after its debut on September 21. The Google Trends data shows that the "Dahmer" search term skyrocketed in interest after its debut, well past the "Rings of Power" and "House of Dragon" search terms. As the Google Trends chart shows, the ability to watch all of 'Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story' helped drive significant interest in the show."

☆ A top House Republican gifted Kevin McCarthy an ornate silver bowl as a nod to a famous scene from HBO's 'The Wire' about leaders having to eat crap: book
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A top ally of Kevin McCarthy loved "The Wire" so much that he gave the Republican a silver bowl. Nonetheless, McHenry continued to email the Republican clips of the scene that incredibly is a parable an actual politician used to tell. "There's a knock at the door in the corner of the room, and Pete comes walking in carrying this gorgeous Sèvres silver bowl, hand chased ... 'It's from the unions,' Tony, played by Sam Coppola, says. You're sitting, eating shit all day long, day after day, year after year." So according to Draper, the North Carolinian bought an ornate silver bowl that was once the property of the British army.

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