The closing months of 2025 saw media companies ramp up dealmaking across film, TV, publishing and technology. Streaming platforms poured money into sports rights, bundling strategies and tech partnerships, while other players turned to acquisitions and licensing agreements. The quarter’s most dramatic moment came when Netflix announced its $83 billion bid for Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming and studio assets—only for rival Paramount Skydance to counter with a cash offer for all of WBD. (At press time, WBD has formally recommended that shareholders accept Netflix’s offer.)

Here’s a look at some of the most notable media and tech deals that made headlines during the fourth quarter:

Paramount Skydance acquires The Free Press

One of Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison’s most attention-grabbing moves of 2025 came in October, when the company announced its $150 million acquisition of Bari Weiss’ independent, subscription-based media company, The Free Press. As part of the deal, Weiss was named the first-ever editor-in-chief of Paramount-owned CBS News.

YouTube teams up with the Oscars, starting in 2029

The post-broadcast future of the Oscars is coming into focus. Beginning in 2029, the ceremony will stream live—and for free—worldwide on YouTube under a deal that runs through 2033. The agreement includes red carpet coverage and behind-the-scenes access, along with year-round Academy programming and a selection of Academy Museum content. The Walt Disney Company’s ABC will remain the Oscars’ U.S. broadcast partner through its 100th ceremony in 2028.

Apple and Formula 1 reach a U.S. streaming deal

Following the release of Apple Original Films’ Brad Pitt–led racing drama F1, Apple TV has expanded its sports slate by securing exclusive, five-year streaming rights to Formula 1. The deal, which begins in 2026 and is valued at around $150 million, will make Apple TV the home of all Formula 1 practice sessions, qualifying races, Sprint events and Grand Prix races after ESPN’s contract expires at the end of this year. Formula 1 content will be included at no extra cost as part of Apple TV’s $12.99 monthly subscription.

Disney announces a $1 billion partnership with OpenAI

More than 200 iconic Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars characters are coming to OpenAI’s Sora video-generation tool. Disney has struck a $1 billion investment and partnership deal with OpenAI. The agreement will allow users to create short videos featuring Disney-owned characters, while Disney plans to integrate A.I. more broadly across its businesses and into Disney+.

Apple TV and Peacock launch a streaming bundle

Apple and NBCUniversal teamed up on a cross-streamer bundle pairing Apple TV with Peacock Premium for around $15 a month—roughly a 30 percent discount compared with subscribing to each service separately. As streamers search for ways to stand out in an increasingly crowded market dominated by giants like Netflix, the bundle offers access to Apple TV’s prestige originals, such as Ted Lasso, alongside Peacock’s mix of live sports, reality TV and mainstream entertainment.

Meta reaches licensing agreements with news outlets

Meta announced multi-year licensing deals with major publishers, including CNN, Fox News and USA Today, bringing their journalism directly into Meta’s A.I. products. Under the agreements, Meta will pay for access to real-time reporting and updates, allowing its A.I. systems to surface breaking news, entertainment and lifestyle coverage while linking users back to the original publishers.

Warner Bros. Discovery teams up with a South Korean firm to produce HBO Max K-dramas

Warner Bros. Discovery and South Korean entertainment company CJ ENM, the studio behind Bong Joon-ho’s Oscar-winning Parasite, have entered a multi-year partnership to adapt Korean content into a global slate of shows for HBO Max. The deal includes co-producing and co-financing original K-dramas for worldwide release, while making Max the primary streaming home for CJ ENM’s TVING platform across 17 Asia-Pacific markets.

Fox Entertainment acquires rom-com podcast company Meet Cute

Fox Entertainment continued its podcast expansion by acquiring Meet Cute, the romantic comedy audio studio behind scripted hits like A Mid-Semester Night’s Dream, starring Bridgerton’s Charithra Chandran. The deal positions Meet Cute as an incubator for scripted—and eventually unscripted—projects, with founder Naomi Shah joining Fox as SVP of operations and strategy.

People Inc. acquires food publisher and creator network Feedfeed

People Inc. made its first acquisition since rebranding from Dotdash Meredith, snapping up Feedfeed, a 12-year-old food media brand built for the social era. With more than 7 million followers and a network of roughly 1,000 creator partners, Feedfeed strengthens People Inc.’s food portfolio, which includes Allrecipes and Food & Wine, while adding a playbook for influencer-led publishing.

The two-week standoff between YouTube TV and The Walt Disney Company may be resolved, but the frenemy dynamic between the Mouse House and the Alphabet-owned streamer remains as tangled as ever. YouTube TV is both a key distributor for Disney—helping channels like ESPN reach millions of additional viewers—and a direct competitor to Disney’s Hulu + Live TV bundle—and, for that matter, all Disney-owned networks for screen time.

On Nov. 14, the two parties announced a new multi-year distribution agreement, restoring all Disney-owned channels to YouTube TV after a blackout over carriage fees (the payments a provider like YouTube TV makes to carry another company’s programming). The deal also adds the upcoming ESPN Unlimited package to YouTube TV’s base plan at no extra charge for subscribers through 2026.

That addition is expected to raise YouTube TV’s programming costs, which may ultimately be passed on to consumers. The streamer may also still be feeling the effects of the blackout. To lure back customers who canceled, YouTube TV has reportedly offered targeted $60 welcome-back discounts—dropping some subscribers’ first month to roughly $22.99. It’s a pragmatic concession, but one that makes an eventual price hike even harder to avoid.

For now, YouTube TV is holding steady at $82.99 a month. Any increase would mark its sixth since the service’s 2017 debut at $35 and push its annual cost past $1,000.

Disney, meanwhile, gains more than just restored affiliate revenue. Keeping ESPN and ABC in front of YouTube TV’s sizable audience helps justify soaring sports-rights costs at a time when the traditional pay-TV base continues to erode. The agreement also secures YouTube TV’s ability to sell bundles of Disney+ and Hulu, creating additional pathways to bring viewers into Disney’s broader streaming ecosystem.

How viewers respond to YouTube TV’s integration of ESPN Unlimited could be pivotal. The industry is about to learn whether consumers truly want a single, consolidated TV app—or whether they’ll tolerate juggling multiple apps to avoid a bundle that keeps getting more expensive.

Live streaming TV occupies a middle ground between legacy cable and on-demand apps like Netflix. Services like YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV mimic the traditional bundle—with cloud DVRs and linear channels—but without contracts or set-top boxes. The market remains concentrated: YouTube TV surpassed 10 million subscribers earlier this month, while Hulu + Live TV sits at just over 4 million. It’s still a small slice of the overall streaming piece—Netflix has more than 300 million subscribers globally, and Disney+ has more than 130 million.

At the end of every episode of creator Vince Gilligan’s new Apple TV+ drama Pluribus, a brief message appears with the credits: “This show was made by humans.” It might as well be a declaration of war on A.I.’s creeping presence in Hollywood. The Breaking Bad creator has been outspoken in his distrust of A.I., calling it “the world’s most expensive and energy-intensive plagiarism machine,” in a Variety interview recently.

Not everyone in Hollywood shares his view. Some actors are taking a different approach. Case in point: Matthew McConaughey and Michael Caine have officially licensed their voices to ElevenLabs, the fast-growing startup known for its ultra-realistic A.I. voice models. Their move comes as much of the entertainment industry is still debating what A.I. collaboration should look like. For ElevenLabs, it’s the company’s highest-profile partnership yet—an attempt to prove it can be a creative ally rather than a threat.

Caine is joining ElevenLabs’ new “Iconic Voice Marketplace,” which lets companies request permission to use authorized, A.I.-generated versions of celebrity voices in creative projects.

“ElevenLabs is at the very forefront of technology, using innovation not to replace humanity, but to celebrate it,” Caine said in a statement about the partnership. “ElevenLabs gives everyone the tools to be heard. It’s not about replacing voices; it’s about amplifying them, opening doors for new storytellers everywhere.”

ElevenLabs describes its marketplace as a “performer-first” platform built around consent and control. Celebrities must authorize the use of their voice, and clients request access on a case-by-case basis. That structure aligns with SAG-AFTRA’s latest contract, which requires explicit permission and fair compensation for any digital replica of an actor.

McConaughey is taking things a step further. The True Detective star has taken an equity stake in ElevenLabs (terms undisclosed) and is launching a Spanish-language version of his “Lyrics of Livin’” newsletter, narrated by a synthetic version of his own voice.

In announcing the deal, McConaughey praised the “extraordinary storytelling capabilities and creative potential that ElevenLabs unlocks.”

The two stars represent a major win for ElevenLabs, founded in 2022 by two childhood friends and Big Tech veterans. The company says more than 60 percent of the Fortune 500 use at least one of its A.I. audio tools. Its clients include Perplexity, The Washington Post, and even New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

But the company has also faced controversy. During the 2024 Presidential race, a user created a deepfake of President Biden’s voice and deployed it in a robocall scheme. ElevenLabs suspended the account, but the episode underscored how quickly voice A.I. can cross ethical lines.

Since ElevenLabs’ launch, the technology has advanced rapidly, now used in everything from audiobook production to real-time video translation. Still, fear remains widespread in Hollywood. Last year’s WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes were fueled in large part by concern that A.I. could devalue creative work and reuse performances without consent.

Morgan Freeman, known for his distinctive voice, told The Guardian that his lawyers are pursuing cases in which his voice has been cloned without permission. “I’m a little PO’d, you know,” Freeman said. “I’m like any other actor. Don’t mimic me with falseness. I don’t appreciate it, and I get paid for doing stuff like that, so if you’re gonna do it without me, you’re robbing me.”

For proof of how quickly A.I. has seeped into entertainment, look no further than Netflix. The Argentine sci-fi series The Eternaut used generative A.I. to depict the collapse of a building, while Happy Gilmore 2 relied on the technology to de-age characters.

The McConaughey and Caine deals are just one chapter in Hollywood’s ongoing A.I. reckoning. Their ElevenLabs partnerships don’t resolve every concern, but they do suggest a model where actors retain control—and get paid.

David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance reported its first quarterly earnings under its new name, revealing a company still deep in restructuring. The short-term outlook remains focused on cost efficiencies, even as Ellison emphasizes long-term investment in content.

The company posted $6.7 billion in revenue for the July–September quarter, essentially flat year-over-year and slightly below Wall Street expectations. Streaming revenue from Paramount+ rose 17 percent to $2.17 billion, offset by a 12 percent decline in TV advertising revenue. Paramount Skydance recorded a net loss of $257 million, largely due to merger-related expenses.

Paramount+ added 1.4 million subscribers in the quarter, bringing its global total to 79.1 million. The hit show South Park was cited as the top driver of new signups. While Paramount+ continues to grow, it remains a mid-tier player compared to giants like Netflix, which boasts more than 300 million global subscribers.

Subscribers, however, face higher prices ahead. Paramount+ will raise rates in January 2026, partly to cover costs from its new seven-year, $7.7 billion UFC rights deal. The ad-supported plan currently costs $7.99 per month, matching Netflix’s ad tier, while the ad-free plan costs $12.99 per month, below Netflix’s $17.99 ad-free price.

Meanwhile, cost-cutting continues. Executives confirmed plans to eliminate 1,600 jobs—about 9 percent of total staff—as part of a broader effort to reduce $3 billion in expenses by 2026. The layoffs will affect film, TV, streaming and corporate divisions.

Paramount doubles down on content spending

Despite the cuts, Ellison reiterated his commitment to content investment. “We expect to make incremental programming investments in 2026 in excess of $1.5 billion, which includes our investments in the UFC, Paramount+ originals and third-party catalog licensing and the ramp in our film slate,” he said on an earnings call yesterday.

Ellison acknowledged that Paramount’s 2025 film slate is underperforming, requiring what he described as a “recalibration.” Much of the weakness, he noted, stems from prior leadership’s reliance on reboots of older IP that failed to resonate with audiences. The Smurfs reboot, for instance, struggled to recoup its production and marketing costs. The studio now aims to prioritize quality over quantity in its upcoming film lineup.

Recent announcements underscore that shift. Paramount Skydance has inked a five-year exclusive deal with South Park creators; a four-year partnership with Stranger Things creators, the Duffer Brothers, for film and TV projects; and plans for the first live-action adaptation of the video game franchise Call of Duty, directed by Peter Berg and written by Taylor Sheridan. (Ellison has described himself as a “lifelong fan” of the games, having spent “countless hours” playing them.)

Beginning in 2026, Paramount intends to release at least 15 films annually, up from roughly 11 to 14 in recent years.

No rush for WBD

Inevitably, Warner Bros. Discovery came up during the earnings call. According to Variety, Ellison had reportedly told associates ahead of the Paramount–Skydance merger approval that he was also eyeing another target at the time: “We’re going after Warners.”

Asked whether a merger with WBD remains a priority, Ellison said there’s no immediate need for another deal. “It’s important to know that there’s no must-have for us. We really look at this as buy-versus-build, and we absolutely have the ability to build to get to where we want to go,” Ellison said. “We believe we can achieve our streaming goals, that we can drive enterprise efficiency, and create value and long-term free cash flow generation all through the building.”

The Hollywood rumor mill kicked into high gear last month after Warner Bros. Discovery confirmed it’s looking for a buyer. Paramount Skydance appears to be leading the race, with Comcast, Netflix and even Amazon circling on the sidelines. If a Paramount-WBD merger goes through, it would mark the largest industry consolidation since Disney acquired 20th Century Fox in 2019. One of the biggest questions it raises: What happens to the two streamers at the center of the deal—Paramount+ and HBO Max?

Reports suggest Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison might fold HBO Max into Paramount+. To gauge what a combined platform might look like, it’s helpful to look at the data. “In August, Paramount+ was looking like a good value in terms of the demand for its content relative to the monthly cost. HBO Max was looking a bit overpriced relative to the competition—and that has only gotten worse since they announced further price increases,” Cristofer Hamilton, industry insight manager at Parrot Analytics, told Observer.

HBO Max most recently raised prices in October. Its basic ad-supported plan now costs $10.99 per month, while its ad-free tier runs up to $20.99. Paramount+ is cheaper, with its ad-supported plan at $7.99 and its ad-free tier at $12.99. Hamilton estimates that the demand for a hypothetical HBO Max/Paramount+ bundle would support a “market competitive” price of around $21 per month.

“I think HBO Max and Paramount+ could eventually become a kind of super streamer, but it would take time. On paper, the combined libraries and studio power would make it a serious rival to Netflix and Disney+,” Crystal Gorges, media analyst at The PR Group, told Observer.

Still, such a bundle would face stiff competition. Parrot data shows that audience demand for the Disney+/Hulu library currently exceeds that for HBO Max and Paramount+ combined. Disney’s aggressive bundling and Netflix’s global dominance would make it difficult for a new “super streamer” to break through without substantial discounts or aggressive promotions.

That said, the two platforms could offer complementary strengths. Paramount+ has more populist appeal—with hits like SpongeBob SquarePants and Yellowstone—while HBO Max leans prestige, thanks to series like The Last of Us and Succession. “Considering the fundamental differences in branding and tech infrastructure, short-term bundling and price promotions could draw the two services together in a meaningful way,” Sam Khoury, senior analyst at Ampere Analysis, told Observer. “It may also be viable to keep both brands in play and combine the services by market, depending on which brand resonates more at a territory or regional level.”

Adding to the uncertainty: Paramount will soon lose TV hitmaker Taylor Sheridan, who’s set to depart for NBCUniversal after his current contract expires in 2028. Sheridan’s shows not only dominate Paramount+’s Top 10 lists but have also generated an estimated $263 million in subscriber revenue for the platform in the U.S. and Canada since 2021, according to Parrot Analytics.

“Taylor Sheridan has really been the heartbeat of Paramount’s success over the last few years,” Gorges said of the creator behind 1923, Tulsa King, and Landman. “His storytelling built the foundation of what viewers now associate with Paramount+. He didn’t just make hit shows. He gave the platform its personality and a loyal fan base.”

The potential for a media powerhouse is there—but even if a deal happens, don’t expect it to reshape the streaming landscape overnight.

The merger would unite an extraordinary lineup of brands—HBO, DC, CNN, Nickelodeon, MTV and Paramount Pictures—but it would also bring massive debt and the challenge of integrating two sprawling corporate empires. The potential is real, but even if the deal moves forward, it won’t reshape the streaming landscape overnight.

Conan O’Brien sounded a little wistful when he reflected on the slow decline of late-night talk shows seven years ago. The long-standing formula of a nightly monologue followed by a carousel of guests on the promotional circuit “doesn’t make sense anymore,” he said at the time. Since then, the evidence has only piled up, as audiences increasingly consume comedy in short bursts on their phones.

In recent years, the major network late-night shows—Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and Late Night with Seth Meyers—have all suffered steep viewership declines. Nielsen data shows Colbert’s Late Show, which will end in May 2026, has lost one million viewers over the past eight years—a 26 percent drop. During the same period, audiences for Kimmel, Fallon and Meyers fell from 2.3 million to 1.8 million; 2.8 million to 1.2 million; and 1.4 million to 923,000, respectively, and ad revenue nearly halved even as production costs have soared, according to media analytics firm Guideline.

Most of the major network shows began uploading clips to YouTube in the early 2010s, as networks recognized how the platform was increasingly driving younger viewership and next-day buzz. Jimmy Kimmel said he loves YouTube and the wider reach it gives his show, but it has hurt ratings and comes with an economic problem. “I’m very conscious of the fact that ABC pays for the show and YouTube pays nothing, and YouTube gets to sell it, and keeps half the money—that’s quite a deal for them, it really is,” Kimmel said at the Bloomberg Screentime conference earlier this month.

Late-night shows used to be “a way to get high-priced talent for almost free,” Kimmel added. But with annual costs topping $100 million, he sees the model as unsustainable. “Somebody will figure it out,” he said, pointing to Hot Ones—a YouTube interview series where guests answer questions while eating spicy wings—as proof that similar concepts can thrive at a fraction of the cost. “You could still have the same format for a lot less—the host won’t make as much, the audience won’t be as big, but that’s okay,” he said.

Last month, ABC briefly suspended Kimmel’s show after a monologue that included remarks about slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The controversy, which sparked outrage on the right, underscored how tightly network hosts remain bound by advertisers and FCC oversight.

Late-night’s traditional functions have scattered across the internet today: news commentary thrives on X; sketch comedy dominates TikTok; and celebrity interviews have migrated to podcasts. The format, as Washington Post columnist Megan McArdle put it after Colbert’s cancellation, is “built for a media world that no longer exists.”

More precisely, it’s not just late-night that’s fading—it’s the cultural middle that sustained it. “In comedy, as in much of our culture, the age of institutions is giving way to an age of individuals talking to individuals,” Atlantic writer Derek Thompson said on a July episode of his Plain English podcast.

Nowhere is that shift clearer than in the success of Fox News’ Gutfeld!. Hosted by Greg Gutfeld, the show’s mix of partisan punchlines, culture-war riffs and nightly takedowns of liberal targets draws about 2.9 million viewers—regularly beating the major network shows.

Recent episodes have seen Gutfeld mock figures like Vice President Kamala Harris and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, as well as late-night peers Colbert and Kimmel. In an August episode, he put it more bluntly: “For years, the left owned the culture. They told us what was funny and what was offensive … The grown-ups are back in charge of the party, and we’re turning the music up louder than ever.”

Seen in that light, Netflix’s recent deal with Spotify to bring several popular podcasts—including The Bill Simmons Podcast, The Rewatchables and The Dave Chang Show—to the streaming platform in video form reflects the same shift. Where a single late-night appearance once captured the national spotlight, influence today flows through niche fandoms, podcasts and ideological entertainment ecosystems.

Since Netflix stopped disclosing subscriber numbers in its earnings reports earlier this year, the company’s executives have shifted their focus to discussing innovation in advertising, A.I., and real-world ventures on earnings calls. The pivot signals Netflix’s gradual evolution from a pure streaming platform into a broader tech and entertainment powerhouse. On the scale of a crawl-walk-run spectrum, Netflix is “now squarely in the ‘walk’ phase,” co-CEO Greg Peters told analysts on the company’s third-quarter earnings call yesterday (Oct. 21). “We feel like we’ve established the fundamentals of the business now. Advertisers are excited about our growing scale,” he said. 

Netflix’s advertising business, once considered a side experiment, saw its best quarter in the July-September period, proving it is now a reliable revenue stream in addition to subscription. Netflix said it doubled its U.S. upfront commitments, or pre-sold ad inventory for the coming year, during the quarter. Peters said Netflix’s in-house tech will soon support interactive ads that let viewers engage directly with campaigns.

Netflix is testing similar interactivity in live programming. Peters said the company is exploring real-time voting features for its expanding slate of live shows and events. This capability could debut in Star Search, the classic talent competition Netflix plans to revive in 2026.

For the July-September quarter, total revenue rose 17 percent year-over-year to $11.5 billion, while profit climbed 8 percent to $2.5 billion. Both figures came in below Wall Street expectations, primarily due to a one-time $619 million tax expense in Brazil, sending the company’s share price to fall 10 percent today. Without disclosing the exact subscriber number, co-CEO Ted Sarandos said the company now serves nearly a billion viewers globally. 

Netflix is also delving deeper into generative A.I. to boost efficiency and creativity across its operations, from content localization and dubbing to personalized viewing recommendations. Recent examples include the use of A.I. in Happy Gilmore 2 to de-age characters in an opening flashback scene, and in Billionaires’ Bunker, a Spanish-language original created by the Money Heist team, where A.I. tools helped design sets and wardrobes.

In response to an analyst question about A.I. and tools like OpenAI’s video-creation platform Sora, Sarandos emphasized that Netflix isn’t concerned about A.I. replacing human creativity. “For what we do, it takes a great artist to make something great. A.I. doesn’t automatically make you a great storyteller if you’re not [one],” he said.

Beyond its advances in ad tech and A.I. applications, Netflix continues expanding its brand beyond the screen. The company is building a real-world ecosystem that spans merchandising, gaming, live events and new consumer experiences. Initiatives include a recent Spotify podcast partnership, a “Netflix House” entertainment center rollout, a Netflix-branded restaurant in Las Vegas, and new toy and collectibles collaborations with Mattel and Hasbro tied to KPop Demon Hunters.

Over the past few months, media companies large and small have busied themselves with everything from cutting deals to forming new alliances and rethinking old playbooks. Traditional outlets like C-SPAN, for example, are chasing new audiences, while tech-first platforms like X are finding ways to fold ads into A.I. products. Together, these moves highlight how rapidly the industry is evolving—and how increasingly blurred the lines between tech and media have become.

Between July and September, established players and entertainment giants alike capitalized on new growth opportunities through equity stakes, acquisitions and mergers—giving media watchers plenty to track during the third quarter.

Here’s a look at some of the most notable media and tech deals that made headlines during that quarter:

Puck acquires Graydon Carter’s Air Mail

Puck, the media startup co-founded by Jon Kelly, announced in September that it’s acquiring Air Mail, the digital media company launched by former Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter. Air Mail’s flagship product is a weekend email newsletter. Terms weren’t disclosed, but The New York Times reported that Puck paid for the acquisition with its own stock. Carter, who founded Air Mail in 2019 with a business model focused on luxury advertisers and e-commerce, will stay on as a consultant for now.

Minute Media buys A.I. sports tech firm VideoVerse

Also in September, Minute Media, the parent company of Mental Floss and Sports Illustrated, announced its largest acquisition to date: the purchase of VideoVerse, an India-based video software company. The deal strengthens Minute Media’s sports and short-form video capabilities. VideoVerse’s Magnifi tool can automatically generate real-time sports highlights and streamline content sharing across social channels. While terms weren’t disclosed, multiple reports valued VideoVerse at between $200 million and $250 million.

Paramount and Skydance complete $8 billion merger

David Ellison’s Skydance Media finalized its $8 billion merger with Paramount Global in August, creating a new entity called Paramount, a Skydance Company. The deal transfers control of one of Hollywood’s oldest studios and positions Skydance to reinvent the home of franchises like Star Trek and Mission: Impossible for a tech- and streaming-driven era. In his first month as CEO of the combined company, Ellison announced several major moves, including a $7.7 billion deal making Paramount the exclusive U.S. broadcaster of the UFC starting in 2026, a four-year partnership with Stranger Things creators Matt and Ross Duffer, and plans for a Call of Duty feature film.

C-SPAN secures new streaming distribution deals

Following a congressional resolution urging streaming platforms to carry C-SPAN’s live coverage of Congress and federal hearings, the network struck new distribution deals with YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV. Announced in September, the agreements bring C-SPAN to the basic tiers of both services, expanding its reach by an estimated 13.8 million potential viewers beyond its traditional cable audience.

Disney takes a stake in Webtoon Entertainment

The Walt Disney Company deepened its relationship with Webtoon Entertainment through a 2 percent equity investment tied to the launch of a new digital comics platform. Announced in September, the initiative will combine titles from across Disney’s portfolio—including Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar and 20th Century Studios—into a single subscription-based service operated by Webtoon. The platform, which will house more than 35,000 comics, will also adapt Disney franchises into content for Webtoon’s signature vertical-scroll format.

X brings ads to Grok

In August, X owner Elon Musk announced plans to include paid advertising inside the platform’s A.I. chatbot, Grok. Brands will be able to pay to appear in Grok’s responses when users ask for things like product recommendations. Musk described the move as a way to help offset Grok’s high computing costs. Grok is developed by another Musk-owned company, xAI.

Delta and YouTube expand in-flight entertainment partnership

Delta Airlines and YouTube have expanded their multi-year partnership to enhance in-flight entertainment. Under the new deal, Delta passengers can access ad-free videos, podcasts and music playlists from top creators like MrBeast via Delta wifi. U.S. SkyMiles members on domestic flights can also redeem a 14-day YouTube Premium trial. The collaboration even extends to the boarding experience, with a YouTube Music playlist greeting passengers as they step onto the plane.

For months, it was one of the worst-kept secrets in media circles: Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison was angling to buy The Free Press, the provocative digital outlet founded by a culture warrior who left The New York Times over what she viewed as its anti-conservative groupthink. Yesterday (Oct. 9), just four days after Paramount Skydance confirmed its $150 million acquisition of The Free Press, Ellison finally explained his reasoning in detail at the Bloomberg Screentime conference in Los Angeles.

He described the deal—which also includes naming Free Press founder Bari Weiss the first-ever editor-in-chief of CBS News, the crown jewel of Paramount’s media holdings—as a cornerstone of his plan to rebuild trust in journalism and connect with audiences “where they are.” That means a mix of broadcast, digital and direct-to-consumer platforms aimed at the roughly 70 percent of Americans he believes fall between the ideological extremes.

“Our goal in news is to become the most trusted destination in news media,” Ellison said. “Civil discourse that currently exists is not in a great place. We basically believe in all the things The Free Press believed in—speaking to the 70 percent of the audience that identifies themselves as center-left to center-right. We believe in the open exchange of ideas, and then fundamentally presenting both sides and allowing the audience to ultimately make their determination about how they feel about it. But they’re presented with the facts.”

Ellison praised the heritage of CBS News and 60 Minutes but said the network lacks a cohesive digital strategy—one reason The Free Press became central to the deal. He said Weiss’s publication would continue to operate online while helping Paramount expand across formats such as broadcast, podcasts and eventually a direct-to-consumer platform that unites them all.

Ellison also used the conference to outline a broader vision for Paramount Skydance as a company built for reinvention. He pointed to its 80 million streaming subscribers and what he called “one of the best content libraries in existence.” He drew a distinction between CBS’s broadcast business and the broader decline of linear TV, calling CBS “a remarkable asset that’s been number one in primetime for 17 straight seasons,” one that remains profitable and buoyed by sports rights.

In addition to the Free Press deal, Paramount Skydance has also secured high-profile partnerships in recent weeks with the UFC, Activision’s Call of Duty and filmmaker James Mangold. Ellison called the acquisition of UFC rights a key piece of a “year-long sports strategy” that complements CBS’s existing portfolio of the NFL, March Madness and The Masters.

Pressed about consolidation rumors, particularly speculation over a possible Warner Bros. Discovery merger, Ellison declined to comment. But he emphasized that any acquisition would be guided by storytelling, talent relationships and shareholder value. “Consumers don’t love going to seven different apps,” he said, arguing that any deal would need to produce “more content, not less,” and create something better for audiences.

Ellison is the son of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, who was briefly the world’s richest person recently, thanks to Oracle’s surging stock. When asked about family dynamics, the Paramount Skydance CEO described their relationship as “phenomenal,” calling Larry Ellison a mentor with an unmatched record of value creation. “He’s the largest shareholder [in Paramount Skydance], but I run the company day-to-day,” Ellison said.

Ellison closed his onstage talk by reflecting on the passion that started it all. “I fell in love with movies as a kid. My mom and I would go to the movies every single weekend. We went 52 weeks a year and just saw anything that was playing,” he said. “I have always loved and believed in this business. I love storytelling. I believe in the value of entertainment and media and what these stories mean, and it’s a privilege to get to tell them in our culture.”

Comcast has announced a major leadership change ahead of the spinoff of most of its NBCUniversal cable networks by the end of the year. The company said Monday that longtime president Michael Cavanagh will be promoted to co-CEO in January 2026, sharing duties with Comcast’s current chairman and CEO, Brian Roberts.

Cavanagh, long seen as Roberts’ likely successor, joined Comcast as CFO in 2015. He was elevated to president in 2022, taking charge of NBCUniversal’s film, TV and theme park businesses. His upcoming promotion puts him at the helm of one of the world’s largest telecom and media conglomerates.

“Since joining Comcast a decade ago, Mike has proven himself to be a trusted and collaborative leader,” Roberts said in a statement, adding that he and Cavanagh work “seamlessly” together. “He is the ideal person to help lead Comcast as we manage the pivot we are making to drive growth.”

The shakeup comes during a challenging period for Comcast, whose stock is down about 15 percent this year. The company faces accelerating broadband losses, continued erosion of cable TV and persistent streaming competition. While NBC-owned Peacock is narrowing its financial losses, the service remains unprofitable even as the wider streaming sector shifts its focus from growth to profitability.

NBCUniversal, meanwhile, is preparing to spin off a large chunk of its cable networks and digital assets into a new publicly traded company, Versant Media Group, by the end of this year. The separation will leave Comcast more concentrated on businesses such as Peacock, its theme parks and its broadband operations.

Comcast’s incoming dual-leadership structure could, in theory, bring both fresh thinking and stability, pairing Cavanagh’s operational expertise with Roberts’ long-term vision. Similar co-CEO models across corporate America provide a template for how things might unfold.

The rise of the dual-leadership structure

Netflix adopted this approach in 2020, when founder Reed Hastings named content chief Ted Sarandos co-CEO. Sarandos was later joined by Greg Peters after Hastings stepped down in 2023. That arrangement reflected Netflix’s dual identity as a tech and content company.

Other major corporations, including private equity giant KKR and software powerhouse Oracle, have also embraced co-CEO setups. The latest to join the group is Spotify, which announced a dual-CEO leadership today (Sept. 30) as its founder, Daniel Ek, steps back to an executive chairman role. Advocates say the structure allows leaders to divide responsibilities according to their strengths—especially valuable during times of disruption. A 2022 Harvard Business Review study of 87 public companies found co-CEO arrangements generated an average annual shareholder return of 9.5 percent, compared with 6.9 percent for companies led by a single CEO.

“They can be in two places at once—literally,” the HBR study noted. “They can form a left-brain/right-brain partnership. One CEO can focus on technology-driven transformation while the other attends to more-traditional aspects of the business, such as marketing, finance and operations.”

Roberts and Cavanagh’s long working relationship could make for a smoother transition as Comcast adopts the co-CEO model.

“Comcast is a special company with exceptional businesses and an incredible team,” Cavanagh said Monday. “It is an honor to work with Brian and the entire Comcast NBCUniversal leadership team during this transformative time in our industry.”

When Taylor Swift got engaged to Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce last month, New York-based chocolatier Jacques Torres saw an opportunity. The day after Swift revealed her engagement, Torres posted a meme on Instagram based on the singer’s now-viral engagement photo, in which Swift is seen clasping her fiancé’s face. In Torres’ version, however, Kelce’s body is labeled “Jacques Torres Chocolate Chip Cookies,” while Taylor is labeled “Me.” The message? The only thing more swoon-worthy than true love is a warm chocolate chip cookie.

“We couldn’t resist joining in on the excitement around Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce,” Torres told Observer. “It’s such a sweet moment, and sweets are what we do best. The post was all in good fun, and our fans loved it. For me, it’s always special to see how a little chocolate and a little humor can connect us to a cultural moment like this.”

That one Instagram post is an example of trend-jacking, where brands latch on to trending topics for visibility. It illustrates just how much Swift has become a cultural and economic powerhouse. Her milestones—whether it’s a new album drop, a tour announcement or even her engagement—don’t just trend; they become monoculture moments that fuel everything from internet clicks to retail commerce. Swift is no longer just a superstar. As she prepares for the release of The Life of a Showgirl, her 12th studio album, she’s arguably become an economy unto herself.

“Taylor Swift is a person, but she is also a business,” said Cameron Tucker, an economic education analyst at the St. Louis Federal Reserve, during a webinar he hosted earlier this year on “What Taylor Swift Can Teach Us About Economics.”

Among the “Swiftonomic” insights Tucker shared: The California Center for Jobs and the Economy estimated that just six sold-out Los Angeles-area concerts in August 2023 during Swift’s Eras tour added $320 million to the county’s GDP and created 3,300 jobs. The U.S. Travel Association estimates that the entire Eras tour, which ran from March 2023 until December 2024, may have generated as much as $10 billion in economic impact, including $2 billion in ticket sales, making it the highest-grossing concert tour ever.

Swift’s upcoming album also showcases how she bends both culture and commerce to her will. Target stores across the U.S. are planning to stay open past midnight on Oct. 3 to sell the first copies of The Life of a Showgirl—a nod to the 1990s and 2000s record store culture, when fans would line up for coveted new releases. Roughly 500 Target locations will extend their hours, and fans will be handed tickets to control demand, limiting how many copies a shopper can purchase.

Swift is also taking The Life of a Showgirl to the big screen with Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl, an 89-minute film showing in thousands of theaters worldwide for one weekend only (Oct. 3–5). The film, which includes track-by-track commentary and lyric videos, has already generated $15 million in pre-sale tickets, with expectations that it will earn between $30 million and $50 million.

Swift’s ability to turn almost anything into a revenue-generating event is central to how She has built her career. Instead of relying on a traditional magazine cover or TV appearance to announce her new album, Swift revealed the project on New Heights, the podcast co-hosted by her fiancé and his brother, Jason Kelce. The August livestream of that episode drew 23 million views, with clips across TikTok, Instagram and X generating hundreds of millions more.

Similarly, brands jumped on the new album announcement. For instance, restaurant chain Olive Garden dressed one of its signature breadsticks as a “showgirl” in an Instagram post. Swift’s influence extends beyond traditional media and into all kinds of brand activations.

In short, Swift has graduated from being a celebrity to becoming a full-fledged economic force.

Forbes named her a billionaire in 2023, making her the first artist to reach that milestone solely through music sales. Her net worth has since climbed to an estimated $1.6 billion. The commercial impact of her empire continues to reverberate outward, from Target’s midnight openings to Instagram memes and even local economies getting a boost from her presence.

The media now treats any Swift headline as a spectacle, cutting across all beats. After her engagement news broke, for example, The New York Times analyzed her engagement ring; The Athletic discussed how it might affect the Chiefs’ season; and the Nieman Journalism Lab even joked that in SEO, the “S” could just as well stand for Swift.

That wide-ranging media coverage speaks to just how far Swift’s cultural reach extends. She has become more than just a superstar—she is now running her own economy, one in which brands, media and fans all eagerly participate.

“That’s what entertainment is, really,” Swift said during the New Heights episode. “Giving people something to escape, to sink their teeth into—like, we’re world-building, you know?”

On Oct. 3, A24 returns to the spotlight with The Smashing Machine, a biopic about mixed martial arts legend Mark Kerr’s rise and fall. Directed by Benny Safdie and starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Emily Blunt, the film already stirred awards chatter at its Venice premiere last week. As the film continues to command attention and possibly sweep award ceremonies soon, A24’s press-shy founders will likely remain in the wings, letting the films and talent speak for themselves—a modus operandi that has long set the studio apart from Hollywood norms.

Founded in 2012, A24 has since grown into a $3.5 billion business spanning filmmaking, podcasts, retail, publishing and even theatre real estate. (Its first renovated off-Broadway venue opened this week.)

The name traces back to co-founder Daniel Katz, who had a flash of inspiration to start a movie studio while driving along Italy’s A24 highway in 2012. “I always had dreams of (starting a company),” Katz told GQ in 2017. “And on some level, honestly, I was afraid to go out on my own and try to make it work.”

The elusive founders

Katz, a numbers man who previously led the investment firm Guggenheim Partners’ film finance arm, teamed up with David Fenkel, the co-founder of Oscilloscope Laboratories, a New York distributor and film company, and John Hodges, who led production and development at Big Beach, the studio behind Little Miss Sunshine.

Katz and Fenkel still lead A24 today. Katz oversees project green-lighting, talent relations and strategic deals, while Fenkel manages financing and distribution. Hodges has since moved on and now serves as head of film at Jax Media. Beyond the co-founders, A24’s leadership team today also includes longtime executives like Ravi Nandan, who oversees television, and Noah Sacco, the company’s head of film.

Katz and Fenkel rarely give interviews—over the company’s 12-year history, they’ve spoken publicly only a handful of times, and almost never on camera. When they do, it’s usually in long-form settings rather than quick press junkets.

From the outset, the plan was to reject Hollywood convention: no test-screened, committee-driven films, no cookie-cutter campaigns, no assembly-line slop. Instead, A24 emphasized creative freedom, producing acclaimed films like Moonlight, Lady Bird, and Uncut Gems. Actor Robert Pattinson once described the studio as “creating a kind of renaissance in filmmaking.”

A24 keeps budgets lean and relies heavily on creative, digital-first promotion. What emerged was the idea of a studio that markets not just movies but vibes. Rather than massive ad blitzes, A24 crafted campaigns that turned each film into an event, closer in spirit to a Supreme drop than a traditional Hollywood rollout.

At SXSW 2015, the studio pulled off one of its cheekiest stunts to promote Ex Machina: festivalgoers swiping on Tinder encountered a profile for Alicia Vikander’s character, which redirected matches to the film’s Instagram page. The prank went viral and remains one of the studio’s cleverest marketing schemes.

In 2021, A24 made headlines again with Zola, the first feature film adapted from a viral Twitter thread—the 148-tweet saga of a stripper’s chaotic road trip. More recently, it winked at its own mystique by stamping the A24 logo on an apartment door in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment in Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest.

Beyond the big screen

The A24 logo, designed to evoke Art Deco style and old Hollywood glamor, has become a lifestyle symbol. Its merch line spans T-shirts, incense holders, hot sauce, beach towels and even a $200 replica dollhouse from Hereditary. Just this week, subscribers were pitched a “Smashing Machine Real American Hero Tee,” a recreation of Kerr’s 1999 Pride 7 shirt.

The company has also built a strong television portfolio, co-producing series like HBO’s Euphoria and Netflix’s Beef. It was an early adopter of TikTok, favoring surreal, meme-driven clips over traditional prestige media.

Its publishing arm is equally influential: A24’s screenplay books, packed with behind-the-scenes essays, art and photography, have become collector’s items.

All of this has fueled a run of dominance. In 2023, A24 became the first studio ever to sweep all six major Academy Awards in one night, with Everything Everywhere All at Once and The Whale winning Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress. The studio now has 21 Oscars to its name.

Looking ahead, in addition to The Smashing Machine, the slate includes Noah Baumbach’s TV adaptation of Andrew Ridker’s novel Hope and Alex Garland’s live-action take on the Elden Ring video game.

Four weeks into his tenure as CEO of the newly merged Paramount Skydance Corporation, David Ellison has wasted no time putting his stamp on the company. Since formally taking the reins on Aug. 7, the 42-year-old mogul has moved at breakneck speed—striking billion-dollar deals, wooing creative talent, greenlighting major franchises, and even courting a controversial media startup.

Ellison promised to transform the legacy studio into a “tech-forward company that blends the creative heart of Hollywood with the innovative spirit of Silicon Valley,” he said in a strategy memo last month. Here’s a look at how he’s already begun to make good on that promise:

The UFC inks a deal with Paramount

On Aug. 11, Ellison announced a blockbuster $7.7 billion agreement making Paramount the exclusive U.S. home of the UFC mixed martial arts organization beginning in 2026. The deal will move UFC away from its pay-per-view model and deliver its lineup of annual events directly to Paramount+ subscribers, with some simulcast on Paramount-owned CBS.

“Live sports continue to be a cornerstone of our broader strategy,” Ellison said when unveiling the deal. “The addition of UFC’s year-round must-watch events to our platforms is a major win.”

The hope is that Paramount+, which trails rivals like Netflix and HBO Max with 77.7 million subscribers (as of June), could find in UFC the kind of audience magnet it desperately needs.

Adding to that strategy: Ellison recently tapped Cindy Holland, the former Netflix executive who helped drive its early growth, to oversee all of Paramount’s streaming efforts.

The Duffer brothers join Paramount

Just a week after the UFC announcement, Ellison unveiled another coup: a four-year partnership with Matt and Ross Duffer, the creative duo behind Stranger Things. Starting in 2026, the brothers will develop films and series through their Upside Down Pictures banner for Paramount Pictures, Paramount Television and Paramount+.

The Duffers framed the move as a homecoming, reuniting with Paramount executives Holland and Matt Thunell, who championed Stranger Things at Netflix back in 2015. The deal sends a message to Hollywood creatives that Paramount intends to be, as he put it in his strategy memo, “the first call for filmmakers and artists seeking a creative home that champions their work.”

Ellison levels up with Call of Duty and Street Fighter

Ellison, an avid gamer who admits to spending “countless hours” playing Call of Duty, is also pushing Paramount into video game IP. On Sept. 2, the company announced a live-action feature film adapted from Activision’s Call of Duty franchise, which has sold more than 500 million copies over two decades. Calling the project “truly a dream come true,” Ellison likened it to Paramount’s 2022 blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick, pledging the same “disciplined, uncompromising commitment to excellence.”

Two days later came another headline: a multi-year global distribution deal with Legendary Entertainment. The partnership will debut with Street Fighter in 2026, co-produced with Capcom and filmed for IMAX. Legendary CEO Josh Grode hailed the pact as an “extraordinary opportunity” to reach audiences worldwide.

Courting The Free Press founder Bari Weiss

Among Ellison’s whirlwind first-month moves, none has drawn more controversy than his reported bid to acquire Bari Weiss’s The Free Press and bring her into a senior role at CBS News.

Puck’s Dylan Byers reports Ellison pitched Weiss, the journalist who grew her Substack into a multimillion-dollar media brand, during July’s Allen & Co. conference in Sun Valley. Talks have reportedly intensified, with Byers’ sources saying a deal is “on the one-yard line.”

Ellison’s plan reportedly includes giving Weiss a major decision-making role at CBS News, though the possibility has already sparked blowback from some staffers, who are griping off the record to reporters.

Ellison appears willing to bet on Weiss’s mix of contrarian politics and audience loyalty. That could complicate his pledge, made the day the Paramount-Skydance merger closed, that he doesn’t want to politicize the new company “in any way, shape or form.”

Return-to-office for Paramount employees

Ellison’s opening month hasn’t been all wins. The CEO also rolled out a return-to-office policy effective January next year, requiring employees to be in the office five days a week. Buyouts are available for those unwilling to commute or relocate, effectively making the policy an early step toward downsizing ahead of deeper layoffs this fall.

“I believe that in-person collaboration is absolutely vital to building and strengthening our culture,” Ellison told staff in a company-wide email. He framed the move as fostering creativity, but for many employees already weary from years of cost-cutting, it’s another worrying signal.

Ellison has been candid about these choices. In his August strategy memo, he promised to make Paramount “leaner, faster, smarter and more agile” with $2 billion in cost cuts while redirecting resources to premium storytelling and streaming. “Technology is not—and never will be—a replacement for human creativity,” he wrote. “Rather, it serves as a powerful multiplier.

The bottom line: For Ellison, the next few years will test whether a studio born in the silent film era can be reborn as what he calls “the world’s next generation media and entertainment company.”

The walls separating cable television and streaming are collapsing quickly. For years, sports and live news were considered the glue holding the traditional pay-TV bundle together even as scripted shows and movies migrated to Netflix, Disney+ and other streaming platforms. But now, even that final tether is beginning to fray.

In just the past few days, ESPN and Fox have rolled out ambitious new streaming services, while CNN is preparing to launch one later this year. Together, these moves signal a decisive shift: the cable industry’s most established players no longer view streaming as a side experiment. Instead, they’re betting that the future of news, sports and live events lies outside the cable box in standalone apps and subscriptions that look nothing like the old bundles.

ESPN’s flagship streamer brings the full network to cord-cutters

Live sports has always been one of the most important pieces of any TV package. The network’s new direct-to-consumer streaming service makes ESPN’s full suite of channels available for the first time without a cable subscription.

The launch, on Aug. 21, was timed to coincide with college football season, alongside the NFL kickoff, the U.S. Open in tennis, and more. Accessible through an updated ESPN app, the service includes 12 linear networks, the content previously available on ESPN+, and staples like SportsCenter and First Take. New features include multiview camera angles and a personalized, A.I.-powered SportsCenter feed.

There are now two main packages:

• ESPN Unlimited ($29.99/month or $299.99 annually): The first time all of ESPN’s linear channels can be streamed directly by consumers without cable. Until now, fans needed either a traditional TV subscription or a live-streaming service like Sling TV to access the flagship channels.

• ESPN Select ($11.99/month or $119.99 annually): Essentially the rebranded ESPN+, which has existed since 2018. It includes documentaries, studio shows and some live sports but excludes the main ESPN linear feeds.

Fox bundles news, sports and entertainment in one app

Fox has launched Fox One, a $19.99-per-month service that streams all of the company’s sports, entertainment and news content in one place. The platform builds on Fox Nation, its earlier streaming venture designed for “superfans” with documentaries, patriotic series and next-day access to primetime shows.

Fox One, however, goes much further: it streams Fox News Channel live, includes sports and entertainment, and comes with unlimited cloud DVR storage. Personalized recommendations and highlights are part of the pitch, along with bundle options. Subscribers can add Fox Nation, or starting in October, combine Fox One with ESPN’s new service for $39.99 per month.

Fox also touts A.I.-driven personalization to help users discover new content. The goal, according to Pete Distad, CEO of Fox’s direct-to-consumer business, is to target “the cord-cutter and cord-never fans currently not served by conventional pay TV packages.”

CNN prepares its next digital push

Later this fall, CNN will launch its own streaming product. The service will build on CNN’s subscription package, introduced in October 2024, which gives users unlimited access to CNN.com and subscriber-only content.

Pricing remains unknown, but one distinction is clear: unlike CNN+, the short-lived experiment shuttered in 2022, the new service will function as a true extension of the linear CNN channel. It will stream live news, offer video-on-demand, and include original programming and documentaries. CNN+, by contrast, leaned more on lifestyle and supplementary content and never positioned itself as a full-fledged alternative to cable CNN.

“CNN has been leading and innovating in video-led journalism since its inception, and the expansion of our subscription offering to include streaming embodies that pioneering spirit,” Alex MacCallum, CNN’s EVP of digital products and services, said in an announcement in May. Current pay-TV subscribers will receive access to the new service for free.

Americans with K-pop fans at home might think Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters is the hottest story in animation right now. The musical, about a fictional girl group that moonlights as demon fighters, has dominated Netflix’s charts since June. But when it hits theaters this weekend, it will face an unlikely challenger: Ne Zha 2, a mythological fantasy from China arriving in the U.S. through a partnership between A24 and China’s CMC Pictures. Most U.S. audiences have never heard of it, yet the film has already grossed more than $2 billion (almost entirely from China), making it the highest-grossing animated movie of all time. Its Aug. 22 release sets up a fascinating box office showdown between two very different kinds of animated hits.

Ne Zha 2 is the sequel to the 2019 smash Ne Zha, which earned $720 million and is now available in the U.S. via on-demand platforms like Apple TV. The new film had a limited American run in February, including a screening at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. Thanks to the A24-CMC partnership, it’s now poised for a much wider release.

A beloved mythological figure turned big-screen hero

The story centers on a rebellious boy born with destructive powers who must confront an ancient force bent on destroying humanity. The English-language version features Oscar-winner Michelle Yeoh, who has said she was drawn to the film’s universal themes of identity and resilience.

The scale of the production is staggering: more than 4,000 artists from 138 studios worked for five years to complete nearly 2,400 animation shots and 2,000 visual effects shots. Set pieces like the Battle of Chentang Pass—where magma splits the earth as monsters pour into the battlefield—were designed specifically for IMAX and 3D. As the press notes put it, “it’s not much of an exaggeration to say the entire Chinese animation industry had a hand in the making of Ne Zha 2.”

Audiences have responded in kind. The film currently holds a near-perfect 99 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, making it not just the top-rated animated release of 2025 but one of the year’s highest-rated films overall. Its U.S. rollout includes regular, IMAX and 3D formats, with a fresh English dub likely to broaden its appeal.

A24’s quiet ambition beyond its indie roots

While A24 typically keeps quiet about its strategy, the studio told Observer it backed Ne Zha 2 to champion bold, distinctive films and spark conversation around a global hit that had gone largely unnoticed stateside. This isn’t the studio’s first foray into global cinema; In 2023, A24 distributed The Zone of Interest in the U.S., a Holocaust drama that went on to win the Oscar for Best International Feature Film.

The figure of Ne Zha has deep cultural roots. In Chinese mythology, he is a rebellious warrior who defies the gods in pursuit of his destiny—a household name embodying both the search for identity and resistance to authority. The Ne Zha films are the first time this folklore has been told on a blockbuster scale and exported around the world.

That makes Ne Zha 2 an ideal project for A24, which is expanding beyond its indie-film roots into a global distribution role. Known for edgy, auteur-driven work like Moonlight and HBO’s Euphoria, A24 has built a reputation as a tastemaker while growing through smart partnerships. The Ne Zha 2 release lets it expand its reach without abandoning the offbeat, distinctive style that defines the brand.

The film’s cultural impact also lies in its art. Its visuals blend modern effects with traditional Chinese aesthetics: ink-wash landscapes, jade palaces inspired by Han Dynasty architecture, and monsters modeled on ancient bronzeware. Combined with large-scale battle scenes, the result is a visual spectacle built for the biggest screens possible.

When director David Fincher’s Netflix film The Killer premiered in 2023, Jessica Carmona didn’t watch Michael Fassbender’s hitman from her couch. Instead, she saw it on the big screen at the newly renovated Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles, a century-old movie palace Netflix had just restored. Carmona, a Los Angeles native and music industry manager, experienced the two-hour thriller as part of a sold-out crowd enjoying the communal magic of cinema inside the splendor of a Hollywood landmark.

“I love that they preserved its history without going over the top. It still feels like old Hollywood, but with a fresh polish,” Carmon told Observer. “To me, that balance is the most ‘Netflix’ thing about it—modern but mindful of story and legacy.”

The irony is hard to miss. For more than a decade, Netflix has trained its subscribers to stay home and binge—disrupting the theatrical model and hastening the decline of physical media. Now the streamer is moving in the opposite direction, opening and operating physical spaces of its own. And the effort goes well beyond a single historic theatre. From theme restaurants to massive “experience centers” planned for later this year, Netflix is looking to become part of its subscribers’ offline lives, too.

Netflix expands into the real world

Beyond the Egyptian, Netflix also operates the refurbished Paris Theatre in New York, the last remaining single-screen theater in Manhattan. These venues give the streamer a place to host premieres, program prestige screenings and stage awards-qualifying runs.

The Egyptian, which first opened in 1922 at the height of the silent film era, is steeped in Hollywood history. It earned its place in film lore as the site of the industry’s first movie premiere: Robin Hood, starring Douglas Fairbanks. In New York, the Paris Theatre had been a cultural fixture for more than 70 years before closing in 2019; Netflix reopened the 500-plus-seat venue in August 2021.

But Netflix’s ambitions extend far beyond cinema. In February, it launched Netflix Bites, a brightly designed, Netflix-themed restaurant inside the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. There, fans can order Bridgerton–inspired tea service or take on a Squid Game food challenge involving a spin wheel that decides which sauce accompanies their chicken. Neon wall signs greet patrons with messages like “Are You Still Hungry?” (a play on the streamer’s familiar “Are you still watching?” prompt), while the menu features tongue-in-cheek items like a Stranger Things jalapeño-and-pineapple pan pizza and a three-tier “Regency Tea” complete with scones, sandwiches and pastries.

To stir early buzz, Netflix flew in influencers like Karissa Dumbacher, whose KarissaEats YouTube channel has 4.3 million subscribers. “The restaurant was so cute, especially if you’re a fan of these shows. I would definitely recommend it for a cute dinner spot,” she said in a video review. But reaction since has been mixed: one Facebook reviewer dismissed the food as “mediocre, nothing out of the ordinary,” while a Reddit commenter said, “The entrance was BY FAR the coolest part. Food was meh quality for strip price.”

Later this year, Netflix plans to open two 100,000-square-foot “Netflix House” entertainment complexes in Dallas and Philadelphia, with immersive sets from Stranger Things and One Piece, themed games and exclusive merchandise. A third Netflix House is slated for the Las Vegas Strip in 2027. In a nod to its DVD-by-mail days, visitors will enter each venue through a giant red envelope.

“This is fandom coming to life, where you can actually step inside the worlds you’ve been watching and loving for years—whether going on an epic adventure with the Straw Hats, taking a journey into Hawkins, Indiana, or grabbing a cocktail inspired by your latest obsession,” Netflix CMO Marian Lee said in a statement.

Mirroring the Disney model

Developments like these push Netflix closer to the Disney playbook—mining intellectual property for experiences, merchandise and events that monetize fan passion far beyond the screen. A trip to Netflix House isn’t just about tickets or food; it’s about buying into a community that algorithms alone can’t create.

Still, the offline pivot comes with risk. Operating venues is costly and complex. Theaters need programming that consistently fills seats, and experience centers must reinvent themselves to keep visitors returning. And, unlike streaming, these ventures are tied to geography—success in Dallas or Las Vegas doesn’t automatically translate worldwide.

What’s clear is that this is more than a branding stunt. Netflix’s real-world experiments arrive at a moment of intense competition, as Wall Street presses for clarity on the company’s next act. These spaces offer new revenue streams and deeper fan engagement—high-margin extensions of hit IP that let audiences “live” a Netflix story instead of simply watch it.

The Disney comparison is telling. While a Disney World trip may be a once-a-year event, Netflix wants its theaters, restaurants and entertainment centers to invite repeat visits. And if it feels like a stretch to suggest Netflix is eyeing the Magic Kingdom’s crown, consider this:

KPop Demon Hunters, the K-pop–themed animated musical that debuted on Netflix in June, has already become the streamer’s second most-watched original movie ever. By contrast, Pixar’s Elio, which hit theaters the same month, opened to just $20.8 million domestically—the lowest debut in Pixar’s history. KPop Demon Hunters is even being floated as a Best Animated Feature contender, an Oscar Disney hasn’t won in three years. Netflix, in other words, is challenging Disney on multiple fronts.

Bottom line: the company that once taught us to stay home is now inviting subscribers out into a world of its own—one where you might start with an episode of Wednesday and end with a themed dinner, a piece of merch, and a photo under a marquee Netflix helped light up again.

One of the most consequential Paramount+ dramas right now isn’t one you can stream—it’s unfolding behind the scenes, with Cindy Holland in the starring role. The former Netflix original content chief helped transform her former employer into a prestige powerhouse with hits like Mindhunter and The Crown. Now, after her abrupt 2020 ouster following an 18-year tenure, she’s making a high-profile return to streaming as head of Paramount’s direct-to-consumer division. Her comeback comes at a pivotal moment: Paramount’s merger with Skydance has just closed; the streamer faces deep cost cuts and a creative reboot; and Hollywood is watching closely to see if Holland can pull off her magic again—this time at a smaller, scrappier platform.

The $8 billion Paramount–Skydance merger ended the Redstone family’s long-running control of the media giant. And the new Paramount will be relauched around Skydance CEO David Ellison’s tech-forward vision—one that includes A.I.-assisted production and a rebooted Paramount+. In a mission statement shared Thursday, Ellison emphasized plans to scale up both Paramount+ and Pluto TV—a free, ad-supported service with hundreds of live channels— into “powerful, profitable global players.”

Paramount is betting that a trusted creative force like Holland can revive its struggling streamer while navigating the impact of roughly $2 billion in budget cuts. Whether she can replicate her Netflix-era success remains one of the biggest questions looming over the company’s future.

Based on her track record alone, hiring Holland was a coup that could pay big dividends for Paramount. She was the Netflix executive who recognized the potential of prestige originals long before it was standard for streamers to build deep libraries of their own. At Netflix, she also signed Shonda Rhimes to a $100 million deal that produced Bridgerton and oversaw a slate of originals that not only made Netflix a household name but also reshaped the way Hollywood does business.

Journalist Gina Keating, whose book Netflixed: The Epic Battle for America’s Eyeballs tells the story of Netflix’s rise to streaming dominance, says Holland was central to shaping Netflix’s early reputation as a cutting-edge, creator-friendly studio. “She presided over content creation at a crucial time for Netflix. Her choices of character-driven shows like House of Cards, Orange Is the New Black, and Narcos showed that Netflix was aiming for something different—richer and riskier storylines than most studios would attempt in those days,” Keating told Observer. 

With nearly 78 million subscribers and a library anchored in CBS staples plus more than half a dozen Taylor Sheridan–created dramas, Paramount+ is still something of an underdog in a crowded streaming market. Holland’s arrival signals ambitions to aim higher toward the kind of prestige programming she once championed at Netflix.

Even before her official appointment, Holland was already shaping Paramount’s direction. In addition consulting Skydance during its takeover, she had reportedly influenced renewal decisions on shows like Showtime’s Yellowjackets, per The Ankler. Her current mission is to balance proven hits with riskier originals, giving Paramount+ the creative identity it has long lacked.

To vault Paramount+ into the top tier of streamers, Holland will have to navigate lean budgets, battle rivals with deeper pockets, and win over an audience far harder to impress than in her early Netflix days. Achieving that would mark a shift in the platform’s ambitions, from playing it safe with familiar franchises to swinging for the fences in search of the next cultural phenomenon, not just the next Yellowstone spinoff.

Paramount+ at a glance

• Launched: March 4, 2021 (rebranded from CBS All Access)
• Parent company: Paramount, now a Skydance Corporation
• Subscribers: around 78 million (as of mid-2025)
• Original hits: 1923, Tulsa King, Halo, Special Ops: Lioness
• Sister service: Pluto TV (free, ad-supported, 250+ live channels)

The Walt Disney Company has just fired off a streaming triple play, revamping Hulu, ESPN and its broader subscriber strategy—all in a bold move to future-proof its digital empire. In a major update to its streaming roadmap, the company announced three big changes in its quarterly earnings report yesterday (Aug. 6): the standalone Hulu app in the U.S. is being retired; ESPN’s long-anticipated standalone streaming service is finally launching; and Disney will stop reporting subscriber numbers for Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ on a quarterly basis—mirroring Netflix’s recent decision to do the same.

The message from Bob Iger & Co. couldn’t be clearer: the rules of the streaming game have changed. And just like that, Disney is starting to look less like a legacy media giant and more like a serious contender to Netflix’s streaming dominance. “We were losing a billion dollars a quarter on that business not long ago,” Disney CFO Hugh Johnston told CNBC’s Squawk Box yesterday. “We now really have a solid foundation.”

In June, Disney completed its acquisition of NBCUniversal’s remaining stake in Hulu. As a result, the standalone Hulu app will officially be retired in the U.S. in 2026, with Hulu and Disney+ fully merged into a single platform.

That shift aligns with a larger global rebranding effort. Until now, Hulu content was only available in the U.S., while Disney+ subscribers abroad accessed similar titles through the “Star” tile within the app. The problem? The Star hub also included content unavailable to U.S. viewers, creating a fragmented experience. To unify things, beginning this fall Hulu will replace the Star branding on the international Disney+ app. This change will establish Hulu as Disney’s single global general entertainment brand.

But this isn’t just about simplifying tech; it’s about improving user engagement. As Puck’s Julia Alexander, who previously worked at Parrot Analytics, pointed out on X that Disney+ and Hulu’s separate libraries weren’t compelling enough to keep users coming back to both apps, and a unified platform could change that.

Standalone subscriptions for Disney+ and Hulu will still be offered, though Disney hasn’t yet clarified how they’ll work going forward. The company has also entered a joint venture with Fubo to combine their live TV streaming offerings, including Hulu + Live TV.

Another major streaming move is ESPN. On Aug. 21, the long-awaited standalone ESPN streaming service will debut, offering one of the most robust digital sports packages for cord-cutters. The new ESPN app will launch with two subscription tiers, including a $29.99/month plan that provides access to all ESPN linear channels and ESPN+. The platform will also feature live stats, real-time betting integrations, multiview options and a personalized SportsCenter feed (essentially a digital sports arena)—just in time for the NFL, college football, the US Open and global soccer season.

To drive early adoption, Disney is bundling ESPN, Disney+ and Hulu for $29.99/month during the app’s first year.

In yet another strategic pivot, Disney announced it will stop reporting subscriber numbers for Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ starting in this fall. “Subscriber numbers have become less meaningful to evaluating the performance of our businesses,” Iger and Johnston said in prepared remarks. Instead, Disney will emphasize engagement and profitability as its core metrics.

Apple’s Hollywood ambitions have been under the microscope since the company entered the streaming wars in November 2019, promising a premium experience centered on a curated slate of original content instead of the sprawling libraries offered by rivals like Netflix. The results so far have been mixed: Apple TV+ has garnered critical acclaim but trails competitors in subscribers, while reportedly racking up annual losses exceeding $1 billion. In 2025, however, the narrative around Apple TV+ and its original film slate may finally be shifting—for the better.

This summer, Apple Original Films landed its first bona fide blockbuster. F1, the high-octane racing drama starring Brad Pitt, roared into theaters with a $55.6 million domestic debut and $144 million globally, exceeding expectations and delivering Apple its biggest theatrical opening yet. On the streaming side, Apple TV+ is also gaining momentum. Season 2 of the dystopian workplace drama Severance just earned 27 Emmy nominations, the most of any series this year.

Several of the platform’s most popular series are returning soon. The fifth season of Slow Horses, the Gary Oldman-led spy drama, premieres Sept. 24. Production is also underway on a fourth season of the fan-favorite sports comedy Ted Lasso. Among this year’s major new entries is Pluribus, a sci-fi drama from Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan, debuting Nov. 7.

“We studied it for years before we decided to do (Apple TV+),” Apple CEO Tim Cook recently told Variety. In the interview, he pushed back on the notion that Apple launched its streamer simply to bolster its ecosystem. “I know there’s a lot of different views out there about why we’re into it,” Cook explained. “We’re into it to tell great stories, and we want it to be a great business as well. That’s why we’re into it, just plain and simple.”

Six years in, Apple TV+ remains a boutique player in a market dominated by Netflix and Disney+. Apple doesn’t disclose subscriber counts, but estimates put its global paid base around 45 million—well behind Netflix’s 300 million-plus. Still, unlike Netflix, Apple doesn’t need streaming to be a profit engine, even if its sky-high spending has raised eyebrows.

This approach is deliberate, according to Cristofer Hamilton, an industry insight manager at Parrot Analytics. “These recent wins, from the box office success of F1 to the awards recognition for Severance, reinforce its identity as a prestige-first platform,” he said. Parrot data consistently shows that Apple’s top titles have strong demand per capita, though the platform’s overall reach still lags behind Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

Hamilton noted that Severance’s first season brought in more than $200 million in estimated global streaming revenue, showing that Apple’s prestige-focused model can deliver financially, too.

With its immense resources, Apple has more room than most to define success on its own terms. “Apple TV+ (and also Prime Video) have more freedom to define what sustainability means for them than a company like Netflix whose core business is streaming and will have to think about content investments in a more traditional ROI [return on investment] way,” Hamilton said.

That freedom allows Apple to keep investing in high-end, auteur-driven projects even if they don’t make waves in subscriber counts. The company can afford to take creative risks that reinforce its brand, and it’s showing no signs of slowing down. After all, a $1 billion annual loss is a drop in the sea of Apple’s $391 billion annual revenue. In other words, Apple can afford to play the long game in Hollywood—until it decides it no longer wants to.

Netflix posted strong second-quarter earnings today (July 17), with revenue jumping 16 percent year-over-year to $11 billion and profit surging 45 percent to $3.1 billion. The streaming giant credited the surge to recent subscription price hikes, a booming ad business and a global lineup of hit content.

Netflix attributed the growth to three main factors: increased subscribers (though it no longer discloses exact figures), higher prices in key markets like the U.S., and a sharp rise in advertising revenue. Together, these drivers helped the company surpass Wall Street expectations and raise its full-year revenue forecast to a range of $44.8 billion to $45.2 billion.

Netflix no longer regularly shares subscriber numbers that once dominated earnings calls. Instead, it emphasizes engagement metrics like viewing time. Among the standout performers of the quarter was the third season of Squid Game (released in the last week of June), which racked up 122 million views in just a few weeks, making it the sixth most-watched season of any Netflix title to date.

In the U.S., audiences boosted viewership for Ginny & Georgia Season 3 (53 million views) and Tina Fey’s new comedy The Four Seasons (40 million views) during the quarter. One of the quarter’s biggest surprises came from KPop Demon Hunters, an animated K-pop action film that drew 80 million global views and spawned a record-breaking soundtrack, surpassing benchmarks previously set by BTS and Blackpink.

The company also racked up 120 Emmy nominations this quarter, underscoring its continued dominance in prestige television.

Big content spending ahead

Looking ahead, Netflix plans to double down on original content and live events in the second half of 2025. Its upcoming slate includes Wednesday Season 2, the series finale of Stranger Things, Alice in Borderland Season 3 and film sequels like Happy Gilmore 2 and Troll 2.

On the live front, Netflix will stream the highly anticipated boxing match between Canelo Álvarez and Terence Crawford on September 13. It also plans to make sports history with its first-ever NFL Christmas Day doubleheader this holiday season.

The packed release schedule comes with a cost. Despite the strong financial results, Netflix shares dipped slightly in after-hours trading after the company warned that operating margins will likely shrink in the second half of the year due to increased marketing costs tied to its blockbuster lineup.

Even so, Netflix expects a record-setting second half of 2025, noting that viewers streamed 95 billion hours of content in the first half. Netflix ended 2024 with more than 300 million subscribers, a number likely to grow if current trends continue.