ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro confirmed the Disney division will bid on World Cup rights for the 2030 tournament. “We had the World Cup for two decades and it was a big part of ESPN’s identity and DNA,” the exec said during a CNBC-hosted conference Thursday at Fanatics Fest in New York. “Of course…

Streaming giant Netflix anticipates content spending (of about $20 billion) will be up around 10% in 2026, accelerating from 8% increases over the last five years but below the 14% the company averaged over the past decade. Live, now a focus, will be about 5% of total. The higher outlay comes…

Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters used the company’s second-quarter earnings interview to try to clear the air regarding prospects for M&A, strategic partnerships and FAST channels. Responding to a question about Lionsgate or NBCUniversal, both considered prime suspects in the current…

A federal judge has denied a group of consumers a preliminary injunction to at least temporarily block Paramount’s proposed merger with Warner Bros. Discovery. The judge, Araceli Martínez-Olguín, said that she is taking Paramount’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit under advisement. The lawsuit…

Netflix shares dropped in after-hours trading Thursday after the streaming giant reported lackluster results for the second quarter. Shares, which have already fallen nearly 45% over the past year, shed 9% after the close of trading as investors processed the earnings report. It showed revenue…

With a judge in Oakland County set to hear arguments for and against a temporary restraining order on Paramount's planned merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, the David Ellison-led company said State AG’s motion for a temporary restraining order "presents one of the weakest merger challenges in modern…

A White House teleprompter operator has been placed on leave after he allegedly made around $100,000 from bets on speeches given by President Trump. Gabriel Perez, a technical assistant to Trump and teleprompter since 2016, is reportedly in discussions with the Commodity Futures Trading…

EXCLUSIVE: Jon M. Chu’s production company Electric Somewhere has hired Jana Helman as Head of Television and Aimee Rivera as SVP of Motion Pictures. The hires come at a time when Electric Somewhere is expanding into other areas of content including animation and television, in addition to…

EXCLUSIVE: WME has signed Sarah Sherman — comedian, actress, writer and current SNL cast member — with an eye toward helping her expand her footprint across film, television, and beyond, as she continues developing her own original projects. Sherman performs cult-favorite live stand-up shows…

EXCLUSIVE: Helium Comedy, one of the United States’ premier independent comedy club operators, is getting into original content with the launch of a new division overseen by Maureen Taran. Conceived as a development platform for creators, comedians, producers and strategic partners, Helium's…

The New York Times has filed a motion to quash subpoenas of a group of its journalists after they reported on the lack of security features on the new Air Force One, a gift of the government of Qatar that was accepted by President Donald Trump. The Times reported that Julian E. Barnes, Eric…

UK regulator Ofcom is investigating TikTok after raising “serious doubts” about the effectiveness of its ability to identify when a person is under 18. On the same day it published its first Age Assurance Report and coming a few months before TikTok is set to be banned for kids and teens, Ofcom…