Moonbug Entertainment, the kids media company behind Netflix’s massively popular “CoComelon” series, appointed Courtney Holt its new managing director for the Americas. Holt takes over the position from Andy Yeatman, who is departing Moonbug for an unspecified new gig.
Holt, a digital media veteran who has worked at Spotify and Disney, joined Moonbug earlier this year as the company’s first global head of music and strategic audio initiatives, areas he will continue to oversee in his newly expanded role.
As Moonbug’s head of the Americas, Holt will oversee the company’s originals strategy, leading the creative and commercial teams in North America that create and distribute film and TV content through a network of global partners. Holt reports to René Rechtman, founder and CEO of Moonbug.
“As a parent, I’m inspired by Moonbug’s ability to craft CoComelon, Blippi and other shows with creativity and care,...
Holt, a digital media veteran who has worked at Spotify and Disney, joined Moonbug earlier this year as the company’s first global head of music and strategic audio initiatives, areas he will continue to oversee in his newly expanded role.
As Moonbug’s head of the Americas, Holt will oversee the company’s originals strategy, leading the creative and commercial teams in North America that create and distribute film and TV content through a network of global partners. Holt reports to René Rechtman, founder and CEO of Moonbug.
“As a parent, I’m inspired by Moonbug’s ability to craft CoComelon, Blippi and other shows with creativity and care,...
- 5/31/2024
- by Todd Spangler
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: The Paley Center for Media has appointed four new trustees to its board and added some high profile executives to its L.A. contingent on the West Coast.
Kristin Dolan, CEO of AMC Networks, Omar Abbosh, CEO of Pearson, Brad Karp, chair of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, and Dennis Mathew, chairman-ceo of Altice USA are new to the board of trustees of the nonprofit programmer and think tank that explores all things media.
The Los Angeles Board of Governors is also expanding with Jesse Collins, founder and CEO of Jesse Collins Entertainment; Sharb Farjami, North America CEO of GroupM; Daryl Lee, Global CEO of McCann Worldgroup; Christian Muirhead, co-chairman of WME; and Ben Samek, CEO of Banijay America. They join Bela Bajaria, Jennifer Salke, Kevin Beggs, Greg Berlanti, Frances Berwick, Casey Bloys, Robert A. Boyd II, Campbell Brown, Brian Robbins, George Cheeks, Agnes Chu, Channing Dungey, Michael Kassan,...
Kristin Dolan, CEO of AMC Networks, Omar Abbosh, CEO of Pearson, Brad Karp, chair of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, and Dennis Mathew, chairman-ceo of Altice USA are new to the board of trustees of the nonprofit programmer and think tank that explores all things media.
The Los Angeles Board of Governors is also expanding with Jesse Collins, founder and CEO of Jesse Collins Entertainment; Sharb Farjami, North America CEO of GroupM; Daryl Lee, Global CEO of McCann Worldgroup; Christian Muirhead, co-chairman of WME; and Ben Samek, CEO of Banijay America. They join Bela Bajaria, Jennifer Salke, Kevin Beggs, Greg Berlanti, Frances Berwick, Casey Bloys, Robert A. Boyd II, Campbell Brown, Brian Robbins, George Cheeks, Agnes Chu, Channing Dungey, Michael Kassan,...
- 5/29/2024
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Moonbug Entertainment is making a move into the consumer products space with the hire of Ashley Maidy.
The Riot Games industry veteran has joined the CoComelon company as Managing Director of Consumer Products. In the role, she’ll be responsible for expanding the Candle Media-owned company’s Cp business, connecting licensing and retail partners to its brands.
She’ll also lead the consumer products team, developing strategies for Moonbug’s kids brands, which has developed huge online followings while branching out on to services such as Netflix.
Maidy will report to Moonbug founder and CEO Rene Rechtman.
A former studio exec, she was previously Global Head of Consumer Products at Riot Games, the company behind League of Legends, Valorant and Emmy winner Arcane. Before that, she spent nine years at Activision Blizzard, leading licensing and partnerships for the Call of Duty, Skylanders and Candy Crush brands.
At Fox...
The Riot Games industry veteran has joined the CoComelon company as Managing Director of Consumer Products. In the role, she’ll be responsible for expanding the Candle Media-owned company’s Cp business, connecting licensing and retail partners to its brands.
She’ll also lead the consumer products team, developing strategies for Moonbug’s kids brands, which has developed huge online followings while branching out on to services such as Netflix.
Maidy will report to Moonbug founder and CEO Rene Rechtman.
A former studio exec, she was previously Global Head of Consumer Products at Riot Games, the company behind League of Legends, Valorant and Emmy winner Arcane. Before that, she spent nine years at Activision Blizzard, leading licensing and partnerships for the Call of Duty, Skylanders and Candy Crush brands.
At Fox...
- 5/13/2024
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Aaron LeBerge. (Courtesy photo)
Penn Entertainment has hired a former streaming executive away from the Walt Disney Company to serve as its new chief technology officer.
Aaron LeBerge spent more than two decades at Disney, where he most-recently served in the role of President and Chief Technology Officer for Disney Entertainment and ESPN.
At Penn, LeBerge will be responsible for overseeing the technical aspects of the company’s entertainment, casino gambling and sports betting businesses. He starts in the role in early July, subject to certain regulatory approvals, the company said in a statement.
“We are thrilled to have someone of Aaron’s caliber join our Penn executive team,” Jay Snowden, the President and CEO of Penn Entertainment, said on Monday. “Having overseen a global organization of thousands of engineers, product developers, designers, technologists, and data scientists that created some of the largest scale and most successful media properties in the world,...
Penn Entertainment has hired a former streaming executive away from the Walt Disney Company to serve as its new chief technology officer.
Aaron LeBerge spent more than two decades at Disney, where he most-recently served in the role of President and Chief Technology Officer for Disney Entertainment and ESPN.
At Penn, LeBerge will be responsible for overseeing the technical aspects of the company’s entertainment, casino gambling and sports betting businesses. He starts in the role in early July, subject to certain regulatory approvals, the company said in a statement.
“We are thrilled to have someone of Aaron’s caliber join our Penn executive team,” Jay Snowden, the President and CEO of Penn Entertainment, said on Monday. “Having overseen a global organization of thousands of engineers, product developers, designers, technologists, and data scientists that created some of the largest scale and most successful media properties in the world,...
- 4/22/2024
- by Matthew Keys
- The Desk
The minutes are ticking down to the close of Disney’s bitter proxy fight with Nelson Peltz, whose attempt to scale the board is a direct challenge to CEO Bob Iger.
Barring any hanging chads, results from voting for members of the board of directors will be revealed Wednesday at the company’s annual shareholder meeting at 1 p.m. Et / 10 a.m. Pt. (Polls officially close at 11:59 p.m. Et tonight.) Iger fought, and authorized the spending of $40 million, to quash the interloper activist investor, but win or lose, he invited the fight by botching succession.
Fumbled regime change became Peltz’s rallying cry, far more compelling that his thoughts on strategy. It’s the reason the race was so hard-fought. Iss, the most influential proxy advisory service, dealt perhaps the biggest blow to the company by backing Peltz in a move reminiscent of its withholding votes from then-ceo...
Barring any hanging chads, results from voting for members of the board of directors will be revealed Wednesday at the company’s annual shareholder meeting at 1 p.m. Et / 10 a.m. Pt. (Polls officially close at 11:59 p.m. Et tonight.) Iger fought, and authorized the spending of $40 million, to quash the interloper activist investor, but win or lose, he invited the fight by botching succession.
Fumbled regime change became Peltz’s rallying cry, far more compelling that his thoughts on strategy. It’s the reason the race was so hard-fought. Iss, the most influential proxy advisory service, dealt perhaps the biggest blow to the company by backing Peltz in a move reminiscent of its withholding votes from then-ceo...
- 4/3/2024
- by Dade Hayes, Jill Goldsmith and Dominic Patten
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Moonbug Entertainment, the owner of the lucrative CoComelon franchise, is plotting European expansion and has launched its first channel for older children.
The Candle Media-owned outfit has kickstarted a Blippi & Friends 24/7 linear channel in the Mena region. The new network is the first 24/7 linear offering to be named after the Blippi IP and will feature a number of spin-offs targeted at 4-8 year olds as opposed to Moonbug’s pre-school heartland. These include Meekah and the feature-length special Big Dino Adventure, while Blippi – an educational human with a distinctive bow tie who has various cartoon friends – will feature in numerous interstitials.
Nicolas Eglau, who runs Emea, Apac and global distribution for Moonbug, said the channel was inspired by the huge success of slightly older-skewing versions of CoComelon that have performed well on Netflix recently.
“We wanted to do something new and innovative and just thought we should name...
The Candle Media-owned outfit has kickstarted a Blippi & Friends 24/7 linear channel in the Mena region. The new network is the first 24/7 linear offering to be named after the Blippi IP and will feature a number of spin-offs targeted at 4-8 year olds as opposed to Moonbug’s pre-school heartland. These include Meekah and the feature-length special Big Dino Adventure, while Blippi – an educational human with a distinctive bow tie who has various cartoon friends – will feature in numerous interstitials.
Nicolas Eglau, who runs Emea, Apac and global distribution for Moonbug, said the channel was inspired by the huge success of slightly older-skewing versions of CoComelon that have performed well on Netflix recently.
“We wanted to do something new and innovative and just thought we should name...
- 3/26/2024
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: CoComelon owner Moonbug Entertainment is looking to emerging production studio VaynerWatt for its next kids and family franchise.
The companies have struck a strategic partnership deal and will work together to create a 2D-animated series for kids aged 6-11 called VeeFriends, which is based on Vaynerchuk’s existing kids franchise of the same name. It will launch on YouTube in September, with Candle Media-owned Moonbug and VaynerWatt both attached.
VaynerWatt co-founder Gary Vaynerchuk created VeeFriends, which is billed as a “contemporary entertainment company” focused on collectibles, events, games and technology based around characters who aim to make soft skills cool.
The series will be set in the VeeFriends universe, which features a collection of larger-than-life VeeFriends characters such as Gratitude Gorilla, Quick Quail and Clever Crocodile who will compete in the VeeDome, the “ultimate over-the-top challenge arena, to battle out the biggest issues facing tweendom today.” Every character...
The companies have struck a strategic partnership deal and will work together to create a 2D-animated series for kids aged 6-11 called VeeFriends, which is based on Vaynerchuk’s existing kids franchise of the same name. It will launch on YouTube in September, with Candle Media-owned Moonbug and VaynerWatt both attached.
VaynerWatt co-founder Gary Vaynerchuk created VeeFriends, which is billed as a “contemporary entertainment company” focused on collectibles, events, games and technology based around characters who aim to make soft skills cool.
The series will be set in the VeeFriends universe, which features a collection of larger-than-life VeeFriends characters such as Gratitude Gorilla, Quick Quail and Clever Crocodile who will compete in the VeeDome, the “ultimate over-the-top challenge arena, to battle out the biggest issues facing tweendom today.” Every character...
- 3/11/2024
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Moonbug Entertainment, the CoComelon producer owned by Candle Media, has appointed Courtney Holt as the company’s first Global Head of Music and Strategic Audio Initiatives.
Holt will oversee Moonbug’s music label via alliances with partners and strengthened ties with established and emerging artists. He will also be responsible for the international expansion of the audio division and global music operations including further developing Moonbug’s music commercial and creative partnerships and exploring emerging audio-based initiatives.
In his most recent career chapter, Holt was a senior exec at Spotify but left the company in 2022 as it was beginning a pullback from podcasting and implementing staff and cost reductions.
Moonbug was acquired by Candle, which is led by former Disney execs Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs and backed by private equity giant Blackstone, for $3 billion in 2021. The UK-based company is aiming to establish a globally music brand in the children’s entertainment sector.
Holt will oversee Moonbug’s music label via alliances with partners and strengthened ties with established and emerging artists. He will also be responsible for the international expansion of the audio division and global music operations including further developing Moonbug’s music commercial and creative partnerships and exploring emerging audio-based initiatives.
In his most recent career chapter, Holt was a senior exec at Spotify but left the company in 2022 as it was beginning a pullback from podcasting and implementing staff and cost reductions.
Moonbug was acquired by Candle, which is led by former Disney execs Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs and backed by private equity giant Blackstone, for $3 billion in 2021. The UK-based company is aiming to establish a globally music brand in the children’s entertainment sector.
- 2/21/2024
- by Dade Hayes
- Deadline Film + TV
It has been two years since Jeff Zucker resigned from the top job at CNN over a consensual relationship with a network executive. Since then, he’s headed up RedBird Imi, a joint venture between Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital and Imi, an investment fund backed by the UAE. With a massive private equity war chest behind him, Zucker, 58, has been relentlessly hunting for deals. In a little over a year, he has invested in TV studio and motion picture company Media Res and news site Front Office Sports and just made an audacious bid to buy the U.K.’s Telegraph, provoking an outcry from journalists and politicians. On Feb. 17, Zucker’s firm bought powerhouse producer All3Media (which backed 1917, Fleabag, Squid Game: The Challenge, The Tinder Swindler and Penny Dreadful, among many other movies, docs and shows) for $1.45 billion. The mogul spoke to The Hollywood Reporter shortly after.
What...
What...
- 2/21/2024
- by Lachlan Cartwright
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Disney has taken another big step toward realigning its India strategy. The company has signed a non-binding term sheet with Reliance Industries that would see the two merge their Indian operations, the completion of which would create one of India’s biggest entertainment empires. The news was first reported by The Economic Times.
Under the terms, Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance group would own 51% of the merged entity through a combination of shares and cash. Disney would hold the remaining 49% of shares.
The term sheet was finalized at a meeting last week in London that saw Bob Iger advisor Kevin Mayer representing Disney and Ambani advisor Manoj Modi there for Reliance. According to the Economic Times, the duo has been working for months on terms.
The merger deal is expected to be completed by February, even though Reliance is said to be hoping to wrap it up in late January.
Under the terms, Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance group would own 51% of the merged entity through a combination of shares and cash. Disney would hold the remaining 49% of shares.
The term sheet was finalized at a meeting last week in London that saw Bob Iger advisor Kevin Mayer representing Disney and Ambani advisor Manoj Modi there for Reliance. According to the Economic Times, the duo has been working for months on terms.
The merger deal is expected to be completed by February, even though Reliance is said to be hoping to wrap it up in late January.
- 12/26/2023
- by Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
The Walt Disney Co. is about to add someone who knows a thing or two about CEO succession to its board of directors.
James Gorman, who will step aside as CEO of Morgan Stanley at the end of this year after overseeing what is widely regarded as a carefully-planned succession process at the investment bank, will officially join Disney’s board in February.
And he says he intends to be involved in Disney’s succession planning, finding a suitable person to follow Bob Iger. In an exit interview with CNBC Thursday, Gorman said that he will be joining Disney’s special succession committee when he officially joins the board next year.
“This has been, the sorts of things I’ve done in this job is strategic transformation. Obviously [I’ve] dealt with shareholders at many levels, including activists. Succession talent building,” Gorman said. “So, some of the challenges that I have, I hope,...
James Gorman, who will step aside as CEO of Morgan Stanley at the end of this year after overseeing what is widely regarded as a carefully-planned succession process at the investment bank, will officially join Disney’s board in February.
And he says he intends to be involved in Disney’s succession planning, finding a suitable person to follow Bob Iger. In an exit interview with CNBC Thursday, Gorman said that he will be joining Disney’s special succession committee when he officially joins the board next year.
“This has been, the sorts of things I’ve done in this job is strategic transformation. Obviously [I’ve] dealt with shareholders at many levels, including activists. Succession talent building,” Gorman said. “So, some of the challenges that I have, I hope,...
- 12/21/2023
- by Alex Weprin
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Simon & Schuster, which Paramount Global recently sold to investment giant Kkr, has set a new board that include former top Disney exec Kareem Daniel and former TikTok COO V Pappas “as “it embarks on its journey as an independent standalone publisher,” said CEO Jonathan Karp.
Veteran publishing executive and investor Richard Sarnoff, chairman of media within Kkr’s Americas private equity business, will serve as board chairman. Other directors include Kkr executives Ted Oberwager and Chresten Knaff, and Madeline McIntosh, the former CEO of Penguin Random House U.S.
Daniel was exited from Disney after 18 years at the media giant along with his mentor at the company, former CEO Bob Chapek. He headed an unpopular Chapek-created division called Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution that was Bob Iger dismantled when he returned to the company in November of last year. Daniel, who had previously served at Disney’s consumer products,...
Veteran publishing executive and investor Richard Sarnoff, chairman of media within Kkr’s Americas private equity business, will serve as board chairman. Other directors include Kkr executives Ted Oberwager and Chresten Knaff, and Madeline McIntosh, the former CEO of Penguin Random House U.S.
Daniel was exited from Disney after 18 years at the media giant along with his mentor at the company, former CEO Bob Chapek. He headed an unpopular Chapek-created division called Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution that was Bob Iger dismantled when he returned to the company in November of last year. Daniel, who had previously served at Disney’s consumer products,...
- 12/7/2023
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Moonbug Entertainment, the kids’ entertainment powerhouse behind the hit “CoComelon” franchise, is bringing on board its first chief marketing officer: Peter Stone, a nine-year veteran of Netflix.
In the new role, Stone will be responsible for Moonbug’s global marketing strategy, as well as the evolution and growth of its brands. He will be based in Moonbug’s London office and starts Dec. 6, reporting to co-founder and CEO René Rechtman.
Stone joins Moonbug as the company says its brands “continue to see significant expansion.” Among recent developments, it called out Blippi’s debut on Roblox, “Morphle” soon launching on Disney+ and Disney Junior, and the new CoComelon show “CoComelon Lane” launching exclusively on Netflix.
Moonbug is part of Candle Media, the next-gen rollup play headed by ex-Disney execs Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs, backed by private-equity firm Blackstone Group. Candle acquired Moonbug in 2021 in a deal worth about $3 billion.
Stone,...
In the new role, Stone will be responsible for Moonbug’s global marketing strategy, as well as the evolution and growth of its brands. He will be based in Moonbug’s London office and starts Dec. 6, reporting to co-founder and CEO René Rechtman.
Stone joins Moonbug as the company says its brands “continue to see significant expansion.” Among recent developments, it called out Blippi’s debut on Roblox, “Morphle” soon launching on Disney+ and Disney Junior, and the new CoComelon show “CoComelon Lane” launching exclusively on Netflix.
Moonbug is part of Candle Media, the next-gen rollup play headed by ex-Disney execs Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs, backed by private-equity firm Blackstone Group. Candle acquired Moonbug in 2021 in a deal worth about $3 billion.
Stone,...
- 11/30/2023
- by Todd Spangler
- Variety Film + TV
Banijay is pushing into the sports game, while CEO Marco Bassetti has criticized private equity firms for “raising expectation into the market.”
Bassetti announced at Content London this afternoon that the Big Brother powerhouse will broaden efforts in sports partnerships, content investments and M&a. It will focus on docs, digital and “sportainment” via the Banijay Sports division, while not venturing into broadcast and streaming rights.
Bassetti pointed to the likes of Netflix, Amazon and Apple TV+’s recent move into sports shows. “They don’t just want [sports] matches they need to do more,” he added. “Leagues and tournaments need a lot of content but we are also thinking about the guys who buy the shows.”
Bassetti said the move represents his desire to transform Banijay from production companies to a “media powerhouse” and the “biggest European studio.”
“That means we have to diversify but also expand our business,” he added.
Bassetti announced at Content London this afternoon that the Big Brother powerhouse will broaden efforts in sports partnerships, content investments and M&a. It will focus on docs, digital and “sportainment” via the Banijay Sports division, while not venturing into broadcast and streaming rights.
Bassetti pointed to the likes of Netflix, Amazon and Apple TV+’s recent move into sports shows. “They don’t just want [sports] matches they need to do more,” he added. “Leagues and tournaments need a lot of content but we are also thinking about the guys who buy the shows.”
Bassetti said the move represents his desire to transform Banijay from production companies to a “media powerhouse” and the “biggest European studio.”
“That means we have to diversify but also expand our business,” he added.
- 11/28/2023
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Former Disney executive and Candle Media co-ceo Kevin Mayer says ensuring that ESPN is well positioned for the future is Bob Iger’s “first priority.”
“He has ideas to fix it and to strengthen it and to change its business model over time,” Mayer said during Yahoo Finance’s Invest conference on Tuesday.
In July, Iger told CNBC that he was searching for strategic partners who could help with content or distribution for an eventual launch of a fully direct-to-consumer version of the network. Potential partners that have reportedly been floated include tech and telecommunications giants like Amazon, Apple or Verizon as well as sports leagues themselves such as the NFL, NBA or MLB.
“We want to have content partners who can really strengthen our hand and allow us to create multiple tiers of offerings,” Mayer said. “And we want to have distribution partners, so you think digital, you think telcos,...
“He has ideas to fix it and to strengthen it and to change its business model over time,” Mayer said during Yahoo Finance’s Invest conference on Tuesday.
In July, Iger told CNBC that he was searching for strategic partners who could help with content or distribution for an eventual launch of a fully direct-to-consumer version of the network. Potential partners that have reportedly been floated include tech and telecommunications giants like Amazon, Apple or Verizon as well as sports leagues themselves such as the NFL, NBA or MLB.
“We want to have content partners who can really strengthen our hand and allow us to create multiple tiers of offerings,” Mayer said. “And we want to have distribution partners, so you think digital, you think telcos,...
- 11/7/2023
- by Lucas Manfredi
- The Wrap
Streaming’s challenging economics will make industry consolidation “inevitable,” in the view of Candle Media Co-CEO Kevin Mayer, but Big Tech and Hollywood are likely to remain in separate camps.
Mayer shared his outlook in an appearance at the Yahoo Finance Invest conference in New York. Most of the 15-minute sit-down focused on the Walt Disney Co., where Mayer was a longtime senior exec and now serves as an advisor to CEO Bob Iger. “Bob has his hands full,” Mayer said of the myriad issues facing Disney, from activist investors to restless shareholders to various moving strategic parts. The 72-year-old top exec is “very capable and multifaceted. He has a lot of range, so he can handle it. … You have to be disciplined, and Bob’s always been very strategic.”
As to Disney’s lagging stock price, Mayer said the market is “reacting to uncertainty” about the future of Hulu,...
Mayer shared his outlook in an appearance at the Yahoo Finance Invest conference in New York. Most of the 15-minute sit-down focused on the Walt Disney Co., where Mayer was a longtime senior exec and now serves as an advisor to CEO Bob Iger. “Bob has his hands full,” Mayer said of the myriad issues facing Disney, from activist investors to restless shareholders to various moving strategic parts. The 72-year-old top exec is “very capable and multifaceted. He has a lot of range, so he can handle it. … You have to be disciplined, and Bob’s always been very strategic.”
As to Disney’s lagging stock price, Mayer said the market is “reacting to uncertainty” about the future of Hulu,...
- 11/7/2023
- by Dade Hayes
- Deadline Film + TV
After arriving on the digital media scene in 2021, Candle Media made a splash by spending billions to acquire big-name media properties. That shopping spree has allowed Candle to assemble a strong portfolio, but the company’s bottom line may not meet expectations in 2023. According to a report from Bloomberg, Candle could miss earnings targets by 50% thanks to unforeseen slowdowns that have affected the company’s biggest subsidiaries.
The report indicated that Candle’s yearly profit will end up somewhere between $140 million and $170 million. That would be short of previous predictions, including a $330 million estimate and a more conservative figure supplied by Blackstone. The banking firm has supplied Candle with a ten-digit investment to support its acquisitions.
Candle’s two biggest properties are largely responsible for its financial shortcomings, according to Bloomberg. One of the company’s first acquisitions, Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine, is projected to deliver just 10% of its expected yearly earnings.
The report indicated that Candle’s yearly profit will end up somewhere between $140 million and $170 million. That would be short of previous predictions, including a $330 million estimate and a more conservative figure supplied by Blackstone. The banking firm has supplied Candle with a ten-digit investment to support its acquisitions.
Candle’s two biggest properties are largely responsible for its financial shortcomings, according to Bloomberg. One of the company’s first acquisitions, Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine, is projected to deliver just 10% of its expected yearly earnings.
- 10/6/2023
- by Sam Gutelle
- Tubefilter.com
Earnings at Candle Media, the Blackstone-backed company founded by former Disney executives Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs, could come in about 50% below what its acquired companies had forecasted for 2023, according to Bloomberg.
The outlet, which cited sources familiar with the matter, said the shortfall stems from Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine and “Cocomelon” owner Moonbug Entertainment. Mayer and Staggs reportedly blamed a decline in advertising at YouTube, the Hollywood strikes and a spending pullback in the entertainment industry.
According to Bloomberg, Candle is expected to post a profit of around $140 million to $170 million, with Hello Sunshine expected to account for just 10% of projected earnings and Moonbug expected to account for about 30%. That’s below an earlier estimate of $330 million. Moonbug is reportedly expected to generate about $150 million in profit this year, while Hello Sunshine is on track for less than $10 million.
A spokesperson for Blackstone told TheWrap that the...
The outlet, which cited sources familiar with the matter, said the shortfall stems from Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine and “Cocomelon” owner Moonbug Entertainment. Mayer and Staggs reportedly blamed a decline in advertising at YouTube, the Hollywood strikes and a spending pullback in the entertainment industry.
According to Bloomberg, Candle is expected to post a profit of around $140 million to $170 million, with Hello Sunshine expected to account for just 10% of projected earnings and Moonbug expected to account for about 30%. That’s below an earlier estimate of $330 million. Moonbug is reportedly expected to generate about $150 million in profit this year, while Hello Sunshine is on track for less than $10 million.
A spokesperson for Blackstone told TheWrap that the...
- 10/6/2023
- by Lucas Manfredi
- The Wrap
Media entrepreneur Byron Allen, one of many parties interested in acquiring ABC and other linear TV assets from Disney, said he has “access to plenty of capital,” and Disney’s internal deliberations are the main factor preventing a formal sale process from starting.
“Capital’s not an issue,” he said of securing financial backing for his $10 billion bid. “I have access to plenty of capital. … There’s trillions of dollars out there looking for a safe place to invest and get it back with a return.”
Allen provided the update during a sit-down at the Code Conference with CNBC correspondent Julia Boorstin. When she asked Allen if he had a specific plan for how the bid would be financed, he replied, “Oh, absolutely,” without going into any details.
Earlier this month, word emerged that local TV giant Nexstar Media Group had held talks with Disney about ABC and the company’s eight owned local stations.
“Capital’s not an issue,” he said of securing financial backing for his $10 billion bid. “I have access to plenty of capital. … There’s trillions of dollars out there looking for a safe place to invest and get it back with a return.”
Allen provided the update during a sit-down at the Code Conference with CNBC correspondent Julia Boorstin. When she asked Allen if he had a specific plan for how the bid would be financed, he replied, “Oh, absolutely,” without going into any details.
Earlier this month, word emerged that local TV giant Nexstar Media Group had held talks with Disney about ABC and the company’s eight owned local stations.
- 9/27/2023
- by Dade Hayes
- Deadline Film + TV
The Walt Disney Co. said in a statement Thursday that it is “open to considering a variety of strategic options for our linear businesses,” but shot down a report that it was in active discussions to sell its ABC broadcast network and stations.
“At this time The Walt Disney Company has made no decision with respect to the divestiture of ABC or any other property and any report to that effect is unfounded,” the statement continued.
The statement followed a Bloomberg report that said Disney had held “initial” talks about a sale of ABC and its local stations to Nexstar, the local TV giant and owner of The CW network.
The Bloomberg story and subsequent Disney pushback came after Tom Carter, a former Nexstar executive and current adviser to the company, told a Bank of America conference Wednesday that should Disney’s ABC stations become available, Nexstar would be able...
“At this time The Walt Disney Company has made no decision with respect to the divestiture of ABC or any other property and any report to that effect is unfounded,” the statement continued.
The statement followed a Bloomberg report that said Disney had held “initial” talks about a sale of ABC and its local stations to Nexstar, the local TV giant and owner of The CW network.
The Bloomberg story and subsequent Disney pushback came after Tom Carter, a former Nexstar executive and current adviser to the company, told a Bank of America conference Wednesday that should Disney’s ABC stations become available, Nexstar would be able...
- 9/14/2023
- by Alex Weprin
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Despite much speculation on Wall Street and in the media that Apple should buy Disney, one analyst believes that there’s a simpler solution that could benefit both parties: a strategic partnership or acquisition of ESPN.
In a research note to clients on Wednesday, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said that an ESPN deal would be a “no brainer.”
“We believe Apple would be much more interested in the ESPN asset than Disney overall as Cupertino is focused on a number of other key strategic initiatives with an acquisition of the Mouse not making a ton of sense in our view,” Ives wrote. “That said, acquiring ESPN ($50 billion+ price tag likely) would make a ton of strategic sense, gain valuable sports content, major TV rights across each of the major professional and college sports packages, and change the cross-sell opportunities and attractiveness of Apple TV looking ahead while putting Apple on the sports map globally speaking.
In a research note to clients on Wednesday, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said that an ESPN deal would be a “no brainer.”
“We believe Apple would be much more interested in the ESPN asset than Disney overall as Cupertino is focused on a number of other key strategic initiatives with an acquisition of the Mouse not making a ton of sense in our view,” Ives wrote. “That said, acquiring ESPN ($50 billion+ price tag likely) would make a ton of strategic sense, gain valuable sports content, major TV rights across each of the major professional and college sports packages, and change the cross-sell opportunities and attractiveness of Apple TV looking ahead while putting Apple on the sports map globally speaking.
- 8/17/2023
- by Lucas Manfredi
- The Wrap
Media Partners Asia has announced the full line-up of speakers for its Apos Summit in Bali, which includes Canal+ Group’s Asia Pacific chief Manuel Rougeron, Bodhi Tree Systems director Uday Shankar and Amazon Prime Video head of international Kelly Day.
Canal+ Group recently acquired a 26% stake in Asian regional streamer Viu, which will also be present at the Asia-focused media, tech, telecoms and streaming conference, with Viu CEO Janice Lee among the confirmed speakers.
The heavy duty roster also includes Warner Bros Discovery CEO and president, Global Streaming, Jb Perrette; Paramount president & CEO, International, Pam Kaufman; Netflix Japan vice president of content Kaata Sakatomo; BBC Studios’ SVP & Gm Phil Hardman; Candle Media co-ceo and founder Kevin Mayer; Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany; Nine Entertainment CEO Mike Sneesby; and Saugata Mukherjee, head of content at Indian streamer SonyLIV.
Leading figures from the tech world include Animoca Brands executive chairman Yat Siu...
Canal+ Group recently acquired a 26% stake in Asian regional streamer Viu, which will also be present at the Asia-focused media, tech, telecoms and streaming conference, with Viu CEO Janice Lee among the confirmed speakers.
The heavy duty roster also includes Warner Bros Discovery CEO and president, Global Streaming, Jb Perrette; Paramount president & CEO, International, Pam Kaufman; Netflix Japan vice president of content Kaata Sakatomo; BBC Studios’ SVP & Gm Phil Hardman; Candle Media co-ceo and founder Kevin Mayer; Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany; Nine Entertainment CEO Mike Sneesby; and Saugata Mukherjee, head of content at Indian streamer SonyLIV.
Leading figures from the tech world include Animoca Brands executive chairman Yat Siu...
- 8/17/2023
- by Liz Shackleton
- Deadline Film + TV
Activist investor Nelson Peltz has increased his stake in the Walt Disney Company after dropping a proxy fight against the entertainment giant earlier this year.
According to a 13F filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Peltz’s firm Trian Partners held 6.42 million Disney shares valued at $573.6 million as of the second quarter of 2023, up from 5.92 million shares in Q1.
A spokesperson for Trian did not immediately return TheWrap’s request for comment.
Peltz and Trian ended the proxy battle against Disney in February after the company announced it would be restructuring its business and launching an effort to reduce costs by approximately $5.5 billion, including $3 billion on the content side and another $2.5 billion in non-content spending. That effort has included layoffs of 7,000 employees and content write-offs.
“We made important management changes and efficiency improvement to create a more cost effective, coordinated and streamline approach to our operations. We...
According to a 13F filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Peltz’s firm Trian Partners held 6.42 million Disney shares valued at $573.6 million as of the second quarter of 2023, up from 5.92 million shares in Q1.
A spokesperson for Trian did not immediately return TheWrap’s request for comment.
Peltz and Trian ended the proxy battle against Disney in February after the company announced it would be restructuring its business and launching an effort to reduce costs by approximately $5.5 billion, including $3 billion on the content side and another $2.5 billion in non-content spending. That effort has included layoffs of 7,000 employees and content write-offs.
“We made important management changes and efficiency improvement to create a more cost effective, coordinated and streamline approach to our operations. We...
- 8/15/2023
- by Lucas Manfredi
- The Wrap
Disney CEO Bob Iger shook up the entertainment industry and Wall Street last month when he declared to CNBC at Sun Valley that linear television may be non-core and that he’s looking for partners for ESPN as the company pivots to streaming.
He’s still all in on filmed entertainment, television content studios and theme parks. But Disney could look very different when Iger exits at the end of his contract in 2026 — if he’s found a successor by then. The CEO recently extended his contract and said today that’s because there’s much work to be done to transform the company.
Linear television, from ABC to FX, Freeform and National Geographic, broadly remains highly profitable for Disney today, he acknolwdged on a conference call after quaterly earnings. But “the trends being fueled by cord cutting are unmistakable. And, as I have stated before, we are thinking expansively...
He’s still all in on filmed entertainment, television content studios and theme parks. But Disney could look very different when Iger exits at the end of his contract in 2026 — if he’s found a successor by then. The CEO recently extended his contract and said today that’s because there’s much work to be done to transform the company.
Linear television, from ABC to FX, Freeform and National Geographic, broadly remains highly profitable for Disney today, he acknolwdged on a conference call after quaterly earnings. But “the trends being fueled by cord cutting are unmistakable. And, as I have stated before, we are thinking expansively...
- 8/10/2023
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Disney CEO Bob Iger closed out the entertainment giant’s third-quarter earnings call on Wednesday by addressing chatter on Wall Street that the entertainment giant could be sold to a larger tech company.
“I just am not going to speculate about the potential for Disney to be acquired by any company, whether they’re a technology company or not,” Iger told analysts. “Obviously anyone who wanted to speculate about such things would have to immediately consider the global regulatory environment. I’ll say no more than that. It’s just, it’s not something that we obsess about.”
Apple has been viewed as a leading potential suitor for Disney, a scenario Iger called “pure speculation” during an employee town hall in November.
“Even though [Disney] has a market cap of $182 billion, we believe this is too small to win the streaming wars as a standalone company,” Needham & Company analyst Laura Martin...
“I just am not going to speculate about the potential for Disney to be acquired by any company, whether they’re a technology company or not,” Iger told analysts. “Obviously anyone who wanted to speculate about such things would have to immediately consider the global regulatory environment. I’ll say no more than that. It’s just, it’s not something that we obsess about.”
Apple has been viewed as a leading potential suitor for Disney, a scenario Iger called “pure speculation” during an employee town hall in November.
“Even though [Disney] has a market cap of $182 billion, we believe this is too small to win the streaming wars as a standalone company,” Needham & Company analyst Laura Martin...
- 8/9/2023
- by Lucas Manfredi
- The Wrap
“It is my fervent hope that we quickly find solutions to the issues that have kept us apart these past few months,” Bob Iger said Wednesday on Disney’s Q3 earnings call about the Writers Guild and SAG-AFTRA strike. “And I am personally committed to working to achieve this result.”
The words and tone of the CEO’s words represent a drastic shift from what he said dismissively about the WGA strike and the then-looming actors strike just a month ago.
Of course, in the midst of the company’s 100th anniversary, today earnings results and call come on the same day that the scribes’ 2023 strike surpasses the 100 days that the 2007-2008 strike lasted and heads into almost uncharted territory. At 153 days, the 1988 writers’ strike remains the longest labor action in the WGA’s history, for the time being.
“Nothing is more important to this company than its relationships...
The words and tone of the CEO’s words represent a drastic shift from what he said dismissively about the WGA strike and the then-looming actors strike just a month ago.
Of course, in the midst of the company’s 100th anniversary, today earnings results and call come on the same day that the scribes’ 2023 strike surpasses the 100 days that the 2007-2008 strike lasted and heads into almost uncharted territory. At 153 days, the 1988 writers’ strike remains the longest labor action in the WGA’s history, for the time being.
“Nothing is more important to this company than its relationships...
- 8/9/2023
- by Dominic Patten
- Deadline Film + TV
A few weeks before Bob Iger sat down for that CNBC interview in which he said Disney’s linear TV networks, like ABC and FX, “may not be core” to the company’s business, a veteran Hollywood executive mused to The Hollywood Reporter on the possibility of a deal that would rock the industry: Apple buying Disney. It’s an idea that keeps being discussed, even though many top executives have scoffed at it and many still do. Apple doesn’t want to buy a studio, they say, and there’s no way the feds would allow a huge deal like that to go through.
But this observer wasn’t so quick to rule it out. “I don’t think [Apple] would buy the company as it presently exists,” he said. “But if you see Bob start to divest things … that feels like he’s prepping for a sale. And there...
But this observer wasn’t so quick to rule it out. “I don’t think [Apple] would buy the company as it presently exists,” he said. “But if you see Bob start to divest things … that feels like he’s prepping for a sale. And there...
- 8/9/2023
- by Kim Masters and Alex Weprin
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
From Hollywood to Wall Street, all eyes in the media and entertainment industry will be trained on Disney Wednesday as it announces its latest quarterly earnings. And question No. 1 from analysts to CEO Bob Iger should be his thinking about M&a.
Those questions should take on more urgency now that Iger has retained former top lieutenants Kevin Mayer and partner Tom Staggs — currently running Candle Media as co-CEOs — in a “consulting capacity” to help decide ESPN’s fate. This intriguing development followed Iger’s recent uncharacteristically frank and gloomy comments that pointed to the notion of Disney shedding some of the assets it built up under his first run as CEO.
Apple is still the most obvious potential buyer for a slimmed-down Disney, as I recently noted. But Mayer and Staggs’ reentry to the Magic Kingdom could make Disney the happiest place on Earth again for them, as well as shareholders.
Those questions should take on more urgency now that Iger has retained former top lieutenants Kevin Mayer and partner Tom Staggs — currently running Candle Media as co-CEOs — in a “consulting capacity” to help decide ESPN’s fate. This intriguing development followed Iger’s recent uncharacteristically frank and gloomy comments that pointed to the notion of Disney shedding some of the assets it built up under his first run as CEO.
Apple is still the most obvious potential buyer for a slimmed-down Disney, as I recently noted. But Mayer and Staggs’ reentry to the Magic Kingdom could make Disney the happiest place on Earth again for them, as well as shareholders.
- 8/8/2023
- by Peter Csathy
- The Wrap
Bob Iger bought himself time by extending his contract through 2026. But the Disney CEO still has a lot to juggle when he addresses Wall Street on Wednesday.
Normally a punctilious diplomat, Iger sent a shockwave through his company and the industry when he all but put Disney’s broadcast and cable networks up for sale by telling CNBC they “may not be core.” He’s on the hunt for strategic partners to take ESPN fully direct-to-consumer. And there’s still the Hulu deal he has to clinch with Comcast.
It all adds up to a heady moment and a heavy burden for the two-time CEO. On his first stint, he reshaped Disney by adding to it with acquisitions: Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, Fox. Now he may have to subtract. The hard choices may end up being which ball to drop.
Challenges abound outside of these strategic dilemmas. Investors have raised concerns...
Normally a punctilious diplomat, Iger sent a shockwave through his company and the industry when he all but put Disney’s broadcast and cable networks up for sale by telling CNBC they “may not be core.” He’s on the hunt for strategic partners to take ESPN fully direct-to-consumer. And there’s still the Hulu deal he has to clinch with Comcast.
It all adds up to a heady moment and a heavy burden for the two-time CEO. On his first stint, he reshaped Disney by adding to it with acquisitions: Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, Fox. Now he may have to subtract. The hard choices may end up being which ball to drop.
Challenges abound outside of these strategic dilemmas. Investors have raised concerns...
- 8/8/2023
- by Lucas Manfredi
- The Wrap
MIPCOM Keynote Speaker
Gerhard Zeiler, president of international at Warner Bros. Discovery, will give the opening keynote at the 39th edition of TV market Mipcom, which runs Oct. 16-19 in Cannes.
Zeiler is expected to share insight into Wbd’s transformation post-merger as well as lay out the company’s worldwide content and streaming strategy.
Zeiler’s responsibilities for Wbd span strategic oversight of brands and joint responsibility for direct-to-consumer activity (including streaming service Max) across more than 220 markets. He is also responsible for local theatrical production, acquisitions, and country and region-specific networks and businesses in Latin America, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific.
Zeiler said: “Our industry is facing heightened disruption and undergoing a process of transformation. These are times of change but it’s also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to architect the media ecosystem for the next generation. I’m looking forward to speaking at Mipcom about...
Gerhard Zeiler, president of international at Warner Bros. Discovery, will give the opening keynote at the 39th edition of TV market Mipcom, which runs Oct. 16-19 in Cannes.
Zeiler is expected to share insight into Wbd’s transformation post-merger as well as lay out the company’s worldwide content and streaming strategy.
Zeiler’s responsibilities for Wbd span strategic oversight of brands and joint responsibility for direct-to-consumer activity (including streaming service Max) across more than 220 markets. He is also responsible for local theatrical production, acquisitions, and country and region-specific networks and businesses in Latin America, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific.
Zeiler said: “Our industry is facing heightened disruption and undergoing a process of transformation. These are times of change but it’s also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to architect the media ecosystem for the next generation. I’m looking forward to speaking at Mipcom about...
- 8/4/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
S&P today affirmed its A- investment grade credit rating for Disney after CEO Bob Iger, in a recent interview with CNBC, injected a big dose of uncertainty into what the company may look like going forward.
Iger said he and the board are considering a number of strategic options for ESPN and linear television, “Some of these options could change Disney’s business mix over the longer term.” the the giant ratings agency said in a note Tuesday. Iger recently brought on former top Disney executives Tom Staggs and Kevin Mayer to consult on options for ESPN. The two are founders and co-CEOs of Candle Media.
S&P also affirmed its “positive” outlook, anticipating the media giant will continue to reduce leverage this year and next. “The outlook is positive, reflecting our expectations that leverage could decline…depending on how the Hulu put-call is resolved and how its direct-to-consumer (Dtc) segment performs.
Iger said he and the board are considering a number of strategic options for ESPN and linear television, “Some of these options could change Disney’s business mix over the longer term.” the the giant ratings agency said in a note Tuesday. Iger recently brought on former top Disney executives Tom Staggs and Kevin Mayer to consult on options for ESPN. The two are founders and co-CEOs of Candle Media.
S&P also affirmed its “positive” outlook, anticipating the media giant will continue to reduce leverage this year and next. “The outlook is positive, reflecting our expectations that leverage could decline…depending on how the Hulu put-call is resolved and how its direct-to-consumer (Dtc) segment performs.
- 8/1/2023
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Tom Staggs and Kevin Mayer, two former high-ranking Disney execs, are working for the Mouse House again — in a consulting capacity.
The duo, who are the co-CEOs of media-rollup play Candle Media, have been retained by Disney to help analyze and develop strategic options for ESPN, according to two sources familiar with the arrangement. Staggs, formerly Disney’s chief operating officer, and Mayer, previously chairman of Disney’s Direct-to-Consumer and International and briefly CEO of TikTok, will work with Jimmy Pitaro, chairman, ESPN and Sports Content, on developing a plan for what Disney will do with ESPN going forward. Sources noted that Staggs and Mayer will retain their roles at Candle Media.
The news comes on the heels of Disney CEO Bob Iger’s comments in a July 13 CNBC interview that the company was looking for a strategic partner for ESPN. Subsequently CNBC reported that Disney has had talks with the NFL,...
The duo, who are the co-CEOs of media-rollup play Candle Media, have been retained by Disney to help analyze and develop strategic options for ESPN, according to two sources familiar with the arrangement. Staggs, formerly Disney’s chief operating officer, and Mayer, previously chairman of Disney’s Direct-to-Consumer and International and briefly CEO of TikTok, will work with Jimmy Pitaro, chairman, ESPN and Sports Content, on developing a plan for what Disney will do with ESPN going forward. Sources noted that Staggs and Mayer will retain their roles at Candle Media.
The news comes on the heels of Disney CEO Bob Iger’s comments in a July 13 CNBC interview that the company was looking for a strategic partner for ESPN. Subsequently CNBC reported that Disney has had talks with the NFL,...
- 7/31/2023
- by Todd Spangler
- Variety Film + TV
Disney CEO Bob Iger is bringing aboard former top studio execs Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs to help advise on a possible sale of linear TV assets beyond ESPN, including the ABC broadcast network and the FX cable channel, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
Mayer and Staggs, who founded Candle Media in 2021, offered no direct comment on any renewed ties with Disney. But it’s understood that they have been tapped separately and as consultants to work alongside Iger, ESPN chief Jimmy Pitaro and other Disney TV execs to figure out the studio’s legacy TV business amid a rapid shift to streaming platforms.
Their deliberations follow Iger musing during a recent CNBC interview about Disney’s future in streaming as linear TV assets struggle amid headwinds from a soft advertising market and a consumer shift away from traditional cable TV packages.
Of Disney’s linear TV networks, Iger ventured,...
Mayer and Staggs, who founded Candle Media in 2021, offered no direct comment on any renewed ties with Disney. But it’s understood that they have been tapped separately and as consultants to work alongside Iger, ESPN chief Jimmy Pitaro and other Disney TV execs to figure out the studio’s legacy TV business amid a rapid shift to streaming platforms.
Their deliberations follow Iger musing during a recent CNBC interview about Disney’s future in streaming as linear TV assets struggle amid headwinds from a soft advertising market and a consumer shift away from traditional cable TV packages.
Of Disney’s linear TV networks, Iger ventured,...
- 7/31/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Prince Andrew’s secrets are set to be uncovered, again, this time on A&e.
The network is launching Secrets of Prince Andrew, from Fulwell 73’s Bitachon365 and Candle Media, on August 21.
The documentary special will explore the British Royals’ scandal-plagued life, including the disastrous BBC Newsnight interview in November 2019 that shook the monarchy to its core.
It is the latest U.S. documentary about Prince Andrew, after Peacock launched Banished last year. Netflix is also dramatizing the story for a movie with Gillian Anderson.
That car-crash interview, which forensically examined the Duke’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and his paramour Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of child sex trafficking and other offenses.
During the interview the Prince said that he regretted continuing to associate with Epstein after the financier pled guilty to soliciting underage sex in 2008. However, the fact that he offered no apology to Epstein’s victims caused uproar and global headlines.
The network is launching Secrets of Prince Andrew, from Fulwell 73’s Bitachon365 and Candle Media, on August 21.
The documentary special will explore the British Royals’ scandal-plagued life, including the disastrous BBC Newsnight interview in November 2019 that shook the monarchy to its core.
It is the latest U.S. documentary about Prince Andrew, after Peacock launched Banished last year. Netflix is also dramatizing the story for a movie with Gillian Anderson.
That car-crash interview, which forensically examined the Duke’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and his paramour Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted of child sex trafficking and other offenses.
During the interview the Prince said that he regretted continuing to associate with Epstein after the financier pled guilty to soliciting underage sex in 2008. However, the fact that he offered no apology to Epstein’s victims caused uproar and global headlines.
- 7/31/2023
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Bob Iger, with pressure mounting on multiple fronts, has turned to former top Disney executives Tom Staggs and Kevin Mayer, hiring them as consultants to the media giant as it defines its strategy.
The two will take a hard look at ESPN, said a person familiar with the situation. Given their years of experience both in and outside of Disney, it seems likely they’d weigh in across other areas of the company, as well.
The two are now co-CEOs of Candle Media, a company they founded in 2021 with backing from the Blackstone Group.
A Candle spokesperson declined comment. A Disney rep wasn’t immediately available.
The news comes after Iger dropped a bombshell interview with CNBC where, among other things, he said linear television “may not be core” to Disney’s business. Speaking on the sidelines of the Sun Valley conference, he told the network that Disney is looking...
The two will take a hard look at ESPN, said a person familiar with the situation. Given their years of experience both in and outside of Disney, it seems likely they’d weigh in across other areas of the company, as well.
The two are now co-CEOs of Candle Media, a company they founded in 2021 with backing from the Blackstone Group.
A Candle spokesperson declined comment. A Disney rep wasn’t immediately available.
The news comes after Iger dropped a bombshell interview with CNBC where, among other things, he said linear television “may not be core” to Disney’s business. Speaking on the sidelines of the Sun Valley conference, he told the network that Disney is looking...
- 7/31/2023
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs are being tapped to consult with Disney CEO Bob Iger, ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro and others about the future of the entertainment giant’s linear properties as they relate to the company’s streaming strategy, an individual with knowledge told TheWrap.
Staggs, who previously served as Disney’s chief financial officer and chief operating officer, departed the company in 2016 and went on to found Candle Media in 2021, which has a number of brands including Moonbug Entertainment and Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine.
Mayer, who was the architect of Disney’s streaming strategy, left to run TikTok in 2020 and joined Candle Media in 2022 as Staggs’ co-ceo. For years, Mayer served as Iger’s top strategic M&a partner, helping steer the acquisitions of Marvel, Pixar, Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox.
Disney and Candle Media didn’t immediately return TheWrap’s request for comment. Puck first reported the news.
Staggs, who previously served as Disney’s chief financial officer and chief operating officer, departed the company in 2016 and went on to found Candle Media in 2021, which has a number of brands including Moonbug Entertainment and Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine.
Mayer, who was the architect of Disney’s streaming strategy, left to run TikTok in 2020 and joined Candle Media in 2022 as Staggs’ co-ceo. For years, Mayer served as Iger’s top strategic M&a partner, helping steer the acquisitions of Marvel, Pixar, Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox.
Disney and Candle Media didn’t immediately return TheWrap’s request for comment. Puck first reported the news.
- 7/31/2023
- by Lucas Manfredi
- The Wrap
Move comes amid course-correction as company faces financial headwinds.
Disney has extended CEO Bob Iger’s contract by two years ending December 21 2026 to ensure “continuity of leadership during the Company’s ongoing transformation”.
While many in Hollywood had expected Iger to extend his tenure – as happened before when he was CEO from 2005-2020 – the move also indicates the board is not confident there are battle-ready successors on the near horizon.
The announcement comes seven months after Iger’s shock return and the ouster of Bob Chapek. Since then Iger has restructured Disney and implemented a plan to lay off 7,000 staffer...
Disney has extended CEO Bob Iger’s contract by two years ending December 21 2026 to ensure “continuity of leadership during the Company’s ongoing transformation”.
While many in Hollywood had expected Iger to extend his tenure – as happened before when he was CEO from 2005-2020 – the move also indicates the board is not confident there are battle-ready successors on the near horizon.
The announcement comes seven months after Iger’s shock return and the ouster of Bob Chapek. Since then Iger has restructured Disney and implemented a plan to lay off 7,000 staffer...
- 7/12/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Exclusive: Candle Media’s Exile Content Studio is partnering with acclaimed Colombian journalist Daniel Coronell and director Gaz Alazraki (Father Of The Bride) to produce a scripted feature about the incredible recent news story of the four children, including a baby, that survived a plane crash and 40 days in the Amazon Rainforest before being rescued by Colombian special forces.
A story this remarkable was unlikely to go unnoticed by the industry for long, but this is a quick turnaround even for Hollywood.
Earlier this month, world media was captivated by the story of the four children – Lesly, 13; Soleiny, 9; Tien Noriel, 4; and Cristin, 1 – who were found alive in the Amazon after a rescue operation that searched more than 1,600 miles of dense forest.
The children survived the plane crash that killed their mother, the pilot and the only other adult on board, and then got through the dense jungle, alive with jaguars,...
A story this remarkable was unlikely to go unnoticed by the industry for long, but this is a quick turnaround even for Hollywood.
Earlier this month, world media was captivated by the story of the four children – Lesly, 13; Soleiny, 9; Tien Noriel, 4; and Cristin, 1 – who were found alive in the Amazon after a rescue operation that searched more than 1,600 miles of dense forest.
The children survived the plane crash that killed their mother, the pilot and the only other adult on board, and then got through the dense jungle, alive with jaguars,...
- 6/27/2023
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
V Pappas is leaving TikTok.
They’ve been with the platform for the most tumultuous five years of its existence, having joined in 2018 as its general manager of U.S. operations.
They rose to interim CEO from August 2020, when former CEO Kevin Mayer quit, to May 2021, when current chief Shou Zi Chew was appointed. Since 2021, they’ve been TikTok’s global chief operating officer.
“I took a gamble on what was then a completely unknown company and product and followed my intuition, really my passion, to build a place for people to come together around shared moments of joy and creativity, and to foster a place that is inclusive and open to all,” Pappas wrote in a memo to TikTok employees this morning (which they later posted publicly on Twitter). “Five years later, we have grown to a global team of thousands of people and I believe we have achieved...
They’ve been with the platform for the most tumultuous five years of its existence, having joined in 2018 as its general manager of U.S. operations.
They rose to interim CEO from August 2020, when former CEO Kevin Mayer quit, to May 2021, when current chief Shou Zi Chew was appointed. Since 2021, they’ve been TikTok’s global chief operating officer.
“I took a gamble on what was then a completely unknown company and product and followed my intuition, really my passion, to build a place for people to come together around shared moments of joy and creativity, and to foster a place that is inclusive and open to all,” Pappas wrote in a memo to TikTok employees this morning (which they later posted publicly on Twitter). “Five years later, we have grown to a global team of thousands of people and I believe we have achieved...
- 6/22/2023
- by James Hale
- Tubefilter.com
In TikTok Executive Overhaul, Disney Vet Zenia Mucha Joins As Chief Brand And Communications Officer
TikTok is overhauling its executive ranks, with Chief Operating Officer V Pappas leaving the company and longtime Disney communications chief Zenia Mucha joining in a newly created role.
Mucha, who has done consulting work for TikTok and other companies since leaving her Disney post in early 2022, will take the title of Chief Brand and Communications Officer. Adam Presser, current TikTok Chief of Staff, will become TikTok’s Head of Operations.
CEO Shou Chew laid out the changes at TikTok in a memo to employees (read it below).
Installing Mucha is a key step as the company looks to counter growing criticism on many fronts due to its parent company’s roots in China and claims that it serves up inappropriate content to children and lets objectionable videos circulate. In a 20-year career at Disney, Mucha was a key member of Bob Iger’s executive team as the media company pulled...
Mucha, who has done consulting work for TikTok and other companies since leaving her Disney post in early 2022, will take the title of Chief Brand and Communications Officer. Adam Presser, current TikTok Chief of Staff, will become TikTok’s Head of Operations.
CEO Shou Chew laid out the changes at TikTok in a memo to employees (read it below).
Installing Mucha is a key step as the company looks to counter growing criticism on many fronts due to its parent company’s roots in China and claims that it serves up inappropriate content to children and lets objectionable videos circulate. In a 20-year career at Disney, Mucha was a key member of Bob Iger’s executive team as the media company pulled...
- 6/22/2023
- by Dade Hayes
- Deadline Film + TV
Candle Media and TikTok have announced a partnership that will span multiple brands and formats. Candle, which has put together a lineup of prominent media properties, will team with TikTok to co-develop premium programming and branded content.
The new projects will expand Candle’s existing presence on TikTok. The deep-pocketed firm, led by former Disney execs Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs, has used its acquisitions to reach approximately 600 million followers across all social platforms. Some of its properties, such as the political brand Attn and Latin American media outlet Exile Content, have made inroads with TikTok’s growing audience.
Candle’s deal with TikTok will give advertisers direct access to those properties. The media company is joining the TikTok Pulse Premiere program, which the ByteDance-owned app announced during its most recent NewFronts presentation. Through Pulse Premiere, brands will be able to buy space next to videos from Attn, Exile Content,...
The new projects will expand Candle’s existing presence on TikTok. The deep-pocketed firm, led by former Disney execs Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs, has used its acquisitions to reach approximately 600 million followers across all social platforms. Some of its properties, such as the political brand Attn and Latin American media outlet Exile Content, have made inroads with TikTok’s growing audience.
Candle’s deal with TikTok will give advertisers direct access to those properties. The media company is joining the TikTok Pulse Premiere program, which the ByteDance-owned app announced during its most recent NewFronts presentation. Through Pulse Premiere, brands will be able to buy space next to videos from Attn, Exile Content,...
- 6/20/2023
- by Sam Gutelle
- Tubefilter.com
Kevin Mayer is getting back in business with TikTok.
The former TikTok CEO and top Disney executive now runs the content company Candle Media. On Tuesday, Candle said that it would be striking a “broad strategic partnership” with TikTok, one that will see it co-developing premium content with the video platform, with branded content and advertising sales as part of the deal.
The TikTok-Candle deal was announced at the Cannes Lions advertising festival.
Mayer, of course, served as the CEO of TikTok in 2020, leaving in August as the Trump administration threatened to ban the app in the U.S. Mayer left a top job at Disney to take the TikTok CEO role (he had been in contention to succeed Bob Iger as CEO, though Bob Chapek ended up getting the job).
Mayer and another former top Disney exec, Tom Staggs, founded Candle Media in 2021. Their first major acquisition was Hello Sunshine,...
The former TikTok CEO and top Disney executive now runs the content company Candle Media. On Tuesday, Candle said that it would be striking a “broad strategic partnership” with TikTok, one that will see it co-developing premium content with the video platform, with branded content and advertising sales as part of the deal.
The TikTok-Candle deal was announced at the Cannes Lions advertising festival.
Mayer, of course, served as the CEO of TikTok in 2020, leaving in August as the Trump administration threatened to ban the app in the U.S. Mayer left a top job at Disney to take the TikTok CEO role (he had been in contention to succeed Bob Iger as CEO, though Bob Chapek ended up getting the job).
Mayer and another former top Disney exec, Tom Staggs, founded Candle Media in 2021. Their first major acquisition was Hello Sunshine,...
- 6/20/2023
- by Alex Weprin
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs’ Candle Media has struck a partnership with TikTok, with an initial focus on Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine to uncover underrepresented independent authors and literary material from the #BookTok community.
Unveiled today at Cannes Lions, TikTok said it will “leverage Candle Media’s storytelling capabilities across its business units to launch new and inspiring premium content and branded entertainment.”
That will begin with the Candle-owned Hello Sunshine element of the partnership, as the pair mine TikTok for authors to support the development of premium film, TV and premium audio projects, thereby “elevating and amplifying underrepresented storytellers and bringing their stories to life,” Oscar-winner Witherspoon said.
#BookTok is one of the most prominent communities on TikTok and the Chinese-owned social platform will also sponsor the next chapter of Hello Sunshine’s LitUp Writer Fellowship program, giving underrepresented female storytellers funding, mentorship, and marketing.
Candle Media, which...
Unveiled today at Cannes Lions, TikTok said it will “leverage Candle Media’s storytelling capabilities across its business units to launch new and inspiring premium content and branded entertainment.”
That will begin with the Candle-owned Hello Sunshine element of the partnership, as the pair mine TikTok for authors to support the development of premium film, TV and premium audio projects, thereby “elevating and amplifying underrepresented storytellers and bringing their stories to life,” Oscar-winner Witherspoon said.
#BookTok is one of the most prominent communities on TikTok and the Chinese-owned social platform will also sponsor the next chapter of Hello Sunshine’s LitUp Writer Fellowship program, giving underrepresented female storytellers funding, mentorship, and marketing.
Candle Media, which...
- 6/20/2023
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Earnings calls, those ritualized quarterly opportunities for public companies to convey the state of their financial affairs to Wall Street analysts and investors at large, are two-handed affairs for the Walt Disney Co.
Unlike other media companies, which stack their calls with three or more execs weighing in on various aspects of the business, Disney’s have featured only the CEO and the CFO for more than a decade. That focused approach has helped enlarge the profile of Christine McCarthy, who was promoted to CFO in 2015. The well-respected finance exec has articulated the strategy behind the company’s many strategic moves, including massive M&a bets, preparations for the launch of Disney+, dramatic adjustments during Covid and, most recently, sizable cost cuts and layoffs as well as the removal of streaming programming from Disney+ and Hulu.
In August, when Disney next reports earnings, the duo act will see its first change in many years,...
Unlike other media companies, which stack their calls with three or more execs weighing in on various aspects of the business, Disney’s have featured only the CEO and the CFO for more than a decade. That focused approach has helped enlarge the profile of Christine McCarthy, who was promoted to CFO in 2015. The well-respected finance exec has articulated the strategy behind the company’s many strategic moves, including massive M&a bets, preparations for the launch of Disney+, dramatic adjustments during Covid and, most recently, sizable cost cuts and layoffs as well as the removal of streaming programming from Disney+ and Hulu.
In August, when Disney next reports earnings, the duo act will see its first change in many years,...
- 6/16/2023
- by Dade Hayes
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs’ Candle Media has hired a UK development boss for its fledgling True Stories label.
The label, which was launched earlier this year by former ABC News chief James Goldston, has snapped up Surviving 9/11 (pictured) exec Miranda Peters from Top Hat Productions.
Miranda Peters
Peters, whose past credit list also includes the BBC’s Exposed: The Church’s Darkest Secret and Paramount+’s The Box, started this month to oversee UK development and joins the likes of VP Development Steven Baker and around half a dozen other employees based in the UK and U.S. More hires are imminent and greenlights are close, Deadline understands.
Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs’ Candle launched True Stories in February and unveiled big-hitter Goldston as President. The indie is forging both scripted and unscripted content for domestic and global buyers, which “tell the world’s greatest non-fiction stories through a cinematic lens.
The label, which was launched earlier this year by former ABC News chief James Goldston, has snapped up Surviving 9/11 (pictured) exec Miranda Peters from Top Hat Productions.
Miranda Peters
Peters, whose past credit list also includes the BBC’s Exposed: The Church’s Darkest Secret and Paramount+’s The Box, started this month to oversee UK development and joins the likes of VP Development Steven Baker and around half a dozen other employees based in the UK and U.S. More hires are imminent and greenlights are close, Deadline understands.
Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs’ Candle launched True Stories in February and unveiled big-hitter Goldston as President. The indie is forging both scripted and unscripted content for domestic and global buyers, which “tell the world’s greatest non-fiction stories through a cinematic lens.
- 6/13/2023
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
Amid the pending fate of its co-parent company Vice Media Group, Vice TV is focusing on its latest season of “Dark Side of the Ring,” and Vice Studios-produced projects recently launched on other platforms, including “American Gladiators” on ESPN, “Bama Rush” at Max, and “100 Days to Indy” at the CW network.
It’s also looking to the future, ordering second seasons of “Dark Side of Comedy” and “Sex Before the Internet” and greenlighting new series “Dark Side of the 2000s” for its own cable channel, in addition to moving Vice web series “One Star Reviews” to linear.
As Vice’s president of global TV, Morgan Hertzan, put it, the Vice TV network — which is part owned by A+E Networks — is “very, very busy” right now.
“The parts of the business that I oversee are doing really well,” Hertzan told Variety. “And I have to say, our partners through...
It’s also looking to the future, ordering second seasons of “Dark Side of Comedy” and “Sex Before the Internet” and greenlighting new series “Dark Side of the 2000s” for its own cable channel, in addition to moving Vice web series “One Star Reviews” to linear.
As Vice’s president of global TV, Morgan Hertzan, put it, the Vice TV network — which is part owned by A+E Networks — is “very, very busy” right now.
“The parts of the business that I oversee are doing really well,” Hertzan told Variety. “And I have to say, our partners through...
- 6/12/2023
- by Jennifer Maas
- Variety Film + TV
Zooey Deschanel isn’t here to fearmonger about food.
Instead, the former New Girl star is on a quest to find answers to common questions in the kitchen to help viewers better understand the food system and make informed buying decisions at the grocery store. Beginning Tuesday, all six episodes of her new educational series, What Am I Eating?, are available to stream on Max, the rebranded streaming service from Warner Bros. Discovery. Episode topics include subjects like fats, fruits, grains, greens and chocolate and feature Deschanel — along with a group of correspondents — traveling to local farms and speaking with experts to find the truth behind food myths and commonly held perceptions, such as whether buying organic is always necessary or if plant-based milk is healthier than cow’s milk.
“A lot of people get scared of things because they hear something’s so bad,” Deschanel tells The Hollywood Reporter.
Instead, the former New Girl star is on a quest to find answers to common questions in the kitchen to help viewers better understand the food system and make informed buying decisions at the grocery store. Beginning Tuesday, all six episodes of her new educational series, What Am I Eating?, are available to stream on Max, the rebranded streaming service from Warner Bros. Discovery. Episode topics include subjects like fats, fruits, grains, greens and chocolate and feature Deschanel — along with a group of correspondents — traveling to local farms and speaking with experts to find the truth behind food myths and commonly held perceptions, such as whether buying organic is always necessary or if plant-based milk is healthier than cow’s milk.
“A lot of people get scared of things because they hear something’s so bad,” Deschanel tells The Hollywood Reporter.
- 5/23/2023
- by J. Clara Chan
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
CoComelon‘s big-screen debut is reportedly in the works. According to Bloomberg, the popular kid-friendly brand has linked up with Universal to develop a feature film that would appeal to preschool-age viewers around the world.
Bloomberg‘s report cites “people familiar with the matter,” who revealed that the proposed film is currently in development. Since the project could still fall apart, the sources chose to remain anonymous. The project would aim to hit theaters and would be born out of a partnership between DreamWorks Animation (a Universal subsidiary) and CoComelon owner Moonbug Entertainment.
A CoComelon movie would theoretically star the brand’s on-screen characters, who appeared before their young fans during the first leg of a sweeping U.S. tour. An animated film led by those personalities would have blockbuster potential, since the source material routinely ranks as the most-watched YouTube channel in the world.
If CoComelon does make it into theaters,...
Bloomberg‘s report cites “people familiar with the matter,” who revealed that the proposed film is currently in development. Since the project could still fall apart, the sources chose to remain anonymous. The project would aim to hit theaters and would be born out of a partnership between DreamWorks Animation (a Universal subsidiary) and CoComelon owner Moonbug Entertainment.
A CoComelon movie would theoretically star the brand’s on-screen characters, who appeared before their young fans during the first leg of a sweeping U.S. tour. An animated film led by those personalities would have blockbuster potential, since the source material routinely ranks as the most-watched YouTube channel in the world.
If CoComelon does make it into theaters,...
- 4/24/2023
- by Sam Gutelle
- Tubefilter.com
“Floyd,” an original action feature centered around a Latino veteran described as “John Wick” meets “The Big Lebowski,” is currently in development.
Erik Olsen is writing the script and will produce the project with Navid Mcllhargey. Story Kitchen, a media company focused on world-building and untapped intellectual property rights, is on board to produce the project with Exile Content Studio.
The Los Angeles-set story will follow a former marine given the nickname Floyd by his corps. Marine vet William Brownlee will serve as a co-producer and consultant.
“From apprenticing for Erik and Navid 16-plus years ago at Silver Pictures/Dark Castle to becoming their creative partner, ‘Floyd’ is a dream come true,” said Mike Goldberg, co-founder of Story Kitchen. He is joined in the venture by prolific screenwriter and partner Derek Kolstad, creator of the “John Wick” franchise, and Dmitri M. Johnson, the film and TV producer who secured adaptive...
Erik Olsen is writing the script and will produce the project with Navid Mcllhargey. Story Kitchen, a media company focused on world-building and untapped intellectual property rights, is on board to produce the project with Exile Content Studio.
The Los Angeles-set story will follow a former marine given the nickname Floyd by his corps. Marine vet William Brownlee will serve as a co-producer and consultant.
“From apprenticing for Erik and Navid 16-plus years ago at Silver Pictures/Dark Castle to becoming their creative partner, ‘Floyd’ is a dream come true,” said Mike Goldberg, co-founder of Story Kitchen. He is joined in the venture by prolific screenwriter and partner Derek Kolstad, creator of the “John Wick” franchise, and Dmitri M. Johnson, the film and TV producer who secured adaptive...
- 4/17/2023
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
Former ABC News president James Goldston is joining Candle Media, founded and led by ex-Disney execs Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs, to head a new division focused on TV shows and movies based on true stories.
Goldston will serve as president of the new division, which will produce scripted and nonscripted features and series “inspired by true stories,” according to Candle.
Goldston spent 18 years at ABC News, including seven years as president, before exiting in 2021. After leaving ABC News, he founded Aquitania Films, creating documentary series for the U.S., U.K. and global market. With his move to Candle Media, Aquitania’s development slate will join Goldston and his team at Candle. Last year, the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol tapped Goldston to produce the hearings in Washington, D.C.
“Kevin and Tom have built a best-in-class team of storytellers at Candle Media,...
Goldston will serve as president of the new division, which will produce scripted and nonscripted features and series “inspired by true stories,” according to Candle.
Goldston spent 18 years at ABC News, including seven years as president, before exiting in 2021. After leaving ABC News, he founded Aquitania Films, creating documentary series for the U.S., U.K. and global market. With his move to Candle Media, Aquitania’s development slate will join Goldston and his team at Candle. Last year, the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol tapped Goldston to produce the hearings in Washington, D.C.
“Kevin and Tom have built a best-in-class team of storytellers at Candle Media,...
- 2/21/2023
- by Todd Spangler
- Variety Film + TV
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