Roku Reaches 55M Active Users as Total Streaming Hours Fall Behind

Aug

05

2021

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By Troy Warren

Roku Reaches 55M Active Users as Total Streaming Hours Fall Behind

Business, DigitalBusiness, Digital, Roku

BY J. CLARA CHAN | HollywoodReporter.Com Troy Warren for CNT #business #digital Streaming hours decreased by 1 billion compared to the previous quarter. Roku added 1.5 million active accounts in the second quarter of this year for a total of 55.1 million active users, according to the company’s latest quarterly earnings, showing a slight decline in growth compared to the pandemic-fueled surge seen last year. Net revenue reached $645 million for the quarter, with profit totaling $338 million. But player gross profit fell into the negatives, costing the company $6.7 million and representing a 180 percent decrease year over year. Total streaming hours…

Aug

04

2021

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By Troy Warren

DC Comics in Rebuilding Mode: Top Execs Speak Out on “Future-Proofing” Publishing

Business, Editors Picks, In The NewsBusiness, DCComics, EditorsPicks

BY BORYS KIT | HollywoodReporter.Com Troy Warren for CNT #business Chief creative officer Jim Lee and senior vp and general manager Daniel Cherry III share about their responsibility to book shop owners, synergy with films like 'Suicide Squad,' WarnerMedia ownership amid a merger and why "fewer, bigger, better" is a guiding principle. Almost a year ago, DC Comics — the publishing unit behind superheroes Batman, Wonder Woman and Harley Quinn — was hit with a brutal cut that saw one-third of the company ranks wiped out due to broad layoffs at its parent WarnerMedia. But the Burbank-based comics division, led by chief creative officer…

Aug

04

2021

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By Troy Warren

WarnerMedia Launching “House of Max” Branded Content Studio

Business, DigitalBusiness, Digital, HBOMax, WarnerMedia

BY ALEX WEPRIN | HollywoodReporter.Com Troy Warren for CNT #business #digital In a bid to turbocharge its HBO Max with Ads business, the company will make its talent and IP available to marketers. WarnerMedia is launching a new branded content studio, in a bid to turbocharge HBO Max’s new advertising-supported tier. The new studio, called House of Max, “will deliver marketers meaningful and brand-forward partnership opportunities aligned with WarnerMedia’s renowned talent, iconic characters, resounding storytellers and premium brands to drive full-funnel business results,” the company says. In other words, marketers will be able to utilize HBO Max talent and IP in custom campaigns that will be available…

Aug

04

2021

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By Troy Warren

Disney vs. Scarlett Johansson: Why “a Ton of Lawsuits” May Be Next

Business, Celebrity, EntertainmentBusiness, Disney, Entertainment, ScarlettJohansson

BY KIM MASTERS | HollywoodReporter.Com Troy Warren for CNT As the Bob Chapek-led regime goes to war with a Marvel star, Hollywood stars and creatives fear the end of massive backend deals. Let’s set aside for a moment the question of whether Scarlett Johansson has a legal leg to stand on in her fight with Disney over her compensation for Black Widow. Let’s even say she doesn’t, and that she is — as Disney has publicly contended — greedy and indifferent to the horrors of the pandemic. It doesn’t matter. Because even if all that were true, industry insiders agree, attacking Johansson so personally…

Aug

04

2021

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By Troy Warren

Delta Variant Disrupts Moviegoing Comfort Levels as Studios Worry

Business, COVID-19, Entertainmentcovid-19, Entertainment, Moviegoing

BY PAMELA MCCLINTOCK | HollywoodReporter.Com Troy Warren for CNT Amid a surge in COVID-19 cases, the percentage of Americans who say they’re willing to return to cinemas has tumbled 11 points in less than a month. The results of a late July poll on moviegoing confidence levels were alarming. The National Research Group survey, closely watched by studios, showed that the overall comfort level had tumbled from a pandemic-era high of 81 percent to 72 percent in the span of just three weeks amid the delta variant. Moms appeared to be the most concerned about taking a trip to the multiplex,…

Aug

03

2021

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By Troy Warren

Judge Judy’s $47M Salary Isn’t Excessive, Appeals Court Agrees

Business, EntertainmentCBS, JudgeJudy

BY ERIQ GARDNER | HollywoodReporter.Com Troy Warren for CNT CBS wins the first appellate round in a legal battle now in its sixth year. At a California appeals court, CBS has again triumphed against the talent agent who thought Judge Judy Sheindlin’s $47 million yearly salary was funny business. The suit came from Richard Lawrence’ Rebel Entertainment Partners, the successor-in-interest to the agency that originally packaged Judge Judy. For the agency’s work, Lawrence was forever entitled to five percent of Judge Judy‘s net profits, and further, there would be no deductions for sums paid to other profit participants. As such, Sheindlin’s lucrative salary provoked grievance. Was she…

Aug

02

2021

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By Troy Warren

San Jose: Zoom reaches $85M settlement in lawsuit over ‘Zoombombings’

Business, City News, DigitalSanJoseNewsAndTalk, ZoomSettlement

By Avery Newmark, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Troy Warren for SanJoseNewsAndTalk.Com Communication platform Zoom has reached an agreement in a class-action lawsuit over how it handled user data following accusations the company violated users’ privacy rights by sharing personal information with Facebook, Google and LinkedIn, and allowed hackers to disrupt Zoom meetings in a practice known as “Zoombombing.” The San Jose-based company agreed to pay $85 million, according to documents detailing the proposed settlement filed in U.S. District Court in Northern California. Zoom will also bolster its security practices to “improve meeting security, bolster privacy disclosures, and safeguard consumer data.” Subscribers between…

Aug

02

2021

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By Troy Warren

Is Business Travel Poised for Early Return?

Business, TravelBusinessTravel

RICH THOMASELLI | TravelPulse.Com Troy Warren for CNT Business travel, arguably the group most affected by the coronavirus pandemic over the last 18 months, could be poised for a comeback earlier than expected. Perhaps as early as this year. According to a survey conducted by Oliver Wyman Inc., growing numbers in the U.S. and a few other countries suggest people are eager to travel again for business instead of just settling for a Zoom meeting or working remotely. In a survey of more than 900 Americans conducted in late June, the third of three surveys, three-quarters of the respondents who…

Aug

02

2021

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By Troy Warren

Atlanta: Virus surge threatens local back-to-office plans

Business, City News, COVID-19AtlantaNewsAndTalk, BackToOffice, covid-19

By Matt Kempner, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Troy Warren for AtlantaNewsAndTalk.Com Many big area companies have been targeting September return date After months of planning, a big wave of metro Atlanta workers was finally slated in the coming weeks to roll back into corporate offices for the first time since the pandemic began. But the the surging delta variant, Georgia’s lagging vaccination rate and new federal guidance and local directives to wear masks indoors are injecting major uncertainty into those plans. Many large employers, including Coca-Cola, UPS and Home Depot, prepped for new September arrivals at their local headquarters, timed to follow…

Aug

01

2021

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By Troy Warren

Alex Kurtzman Inks New Nine-Figure Overall Deal With CBS Studios

Business, Editors Picks, EntertainmentAlexKurtzman, StarTrek, ViacomCBS

BY LESLEY GOLDBERG | HollywoodReporter.Com Troy Warren for CNT The captain of the 'Star Trek' franchise for the studio has extended his relationship with ViacomCBS through 2026. Following a year-plus of negotiating, Star Trek franchise captain Alex Kurtzman has extended his overall deal with producers CBS Studios. Kurtzman has been with the studio for more than a decade. In 2018, Kurtzman and his Secret Hideout inked a $25 million overall deal extension with CBS Studios. The five-year deal was to have taken him through 2023. Sources say Kurtzman — who oversees five (and counting) Star Trek shows, among others, for the studio — asked to renegotiate his deal more than…

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