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Element Pictures Names Former Sky and HBO Publicist Chris Duggan as First Head of Communications and Marketing (EXCLUSIVE)
Element Pictures has appointed Chris Duggan, formerly a senior publicist at Sky and HBO Max, as its first head of communications and marketing. The new role formalises the Irish film and television producer’s in-house approach to promoting projects and corporate communications as it expands its slate during its 25th year. Duggan will report to co-chief…
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Michael Jackson Boosts Sony Music Sales By 22% Amid Quiet Quarter For Movie Studio
Sony Music Entertainment’s sales rose sharply in the quarter ending June, helped by renewed demand for Michael Jackson’s catalogue following the release of the Lionsgate biopic *Michael*. The result contrasts with a comparatively quiet period for Sony Pictures’ cinema releases in North America, although the film division still increased operating income. Sony Music sales climbed…
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BP to sell North Sea business; AI companies lead record surge on Korea’s stock market – business live
BP has put its North Sea oil business up for sale as it reviews its portfolio and seeks to redirect investment towards projects with higher returns. The move comes amid a political dispute over whether the UK should permit further North Sea extraction, making the sale significant for energy security, jobs and the future of…
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Singapore’s Wave Films Taps Former Cambodian Broadcasting Chief Dave Ulmer To Drive U.S. Expansion
Singapore-based Wave Films has appointed former Cambodian Broadcasting Service chief executive Dave Ulmer as an executive producer in Los Angeles, aiming to expand its work with North American producers. The move is intended to make Southeast Asia’s production facilities, crews, locations and incentives more accessible to US and international projects through a single regional partner.…
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ITV brings forward £100m buyback ahead of Sky sale
ITV has launched a £100 million share buyback, bringing forward part of the cash return expected from its planned £1.6 billion sale of its Media & Entertainment division to Sky. The move accompanies ITV’s first results since the deal was agreed and is intended to provide an earlier benefit for shareholders, while ITV Studios is…
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HSBC to pull out of Australian retail banking market
HSBC will exit Australian retail banking, closing all 19 branches over the next 18 months and selling its mortgage and personal-loan portfolio to Blackstone. The move ends the London-based bank’s decades-long consumer presence in Australia, reflecting the difficulty foreign banks face competing in a market dominated by major local lenders. The sale, subject to regulatory…
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Three things we learned about AI from Big Tech earnings
Big Tech’s latest earnings reports showed that Microsoft, Meta, Google, Apple and Amazon remain committed to vast artificial-intelligence investment, despite growing investor concern about returns. The results matter because shareholders are increasingly demanding evidence that spending on chips, data centres and staff will produce reliable revenue, rather than accepting long-term promises. Consumer AI chatbots such…
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Amazon’s Q2 was great, but the earnings release is packed with baloney
Amazon reported strong second-quarter results, but the article argues that its earnings release uses overly flattering wording and selective presentation. It focuses particularly on Amazon Web Services (AWS), where headline claims about products, AI growth and profitability may be technically defensible yet risk giving investors an exaggerated impression of progress. The author says AWS described…
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Banijay Americas CEO Ben Samek to Oversee Merged Banijay/All3Media Operations in the U.S.
Ben Samek, chief executive of Banijay Americas, will oversee the combined Banijay and All3Media business in the United States following their $8 billion merger. The appointment puts an experienced executive in charge of integrating the companies’ US operations as the newly formed Banijay Entertainment seeks to strengthen its position as the world’s largest independent production…
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Reddit’s CEO sure seems frustrated with Google’s AI overviews
Reddit chief executive Steve Huffman has criticised Google’s AI Overviews, saying users want to visit Reddit itself rather than read summaries of its content. His comments matter because Reddit says search traffic has declined, adding to wider publisher concerns that AI-generated answers reduce clicks to original sources. Huffman said traditional search results had created significant…