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L.A. Mayoral Candidate Nithya Raman Says Legality of Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger “Should Be Decided in Court”
Los Angeles mayoral candidate Nithya Raman has restated her view that the legality of the proposed $111 billion Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery merger should be settled in court, backing California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s antitrust lawsuit to block the deal. Her comments came the same day Mayor Karen Bass, her rival in November’s general election, called…
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‘We Don’t Need to Aggressively Sell the Console’: Sony CEO Says Timing of Memory Crisis Is ‘Lucky’ for PS5
Sony CEO Hiroki Totoki has said that the global memory chip shortage, which has driven up component costs across the hardware industry, has arrived at a fortunate moment for the PS5. Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, he explained that because the console is in the latter half of its lifecycle, Sony no longer needs…
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Oh deer! Stag gets leaves entangled in its antlers
A photograph capturing a stag with leaves caught in its antlers has been published, offering a light-hearted wildlife image typical of seasonal nature photography features. The picture shows the animal appearing dishevelled after apparently rubbing or thrashing its antlers through undergrowth, likely during rutting season when stags mark territory and shed velvet by scraping their…
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Spotify expands its share buyback program by $1.5B, raising total authorization to around $2.2B
Spotify has expanded its share buyback programme by $1.5 billion, lifting its total repurchase authorisation to roughly $2.223 billion. The move, approved by Spotify’s Board of Directors and confirmed in a press release on Thursday, comes as the streaming giant reported strong quarterly growth and follows a wider trend of music industry players returning capital…
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The Enhanced Games — tech’s steroid extravaganza — didn’t pay off, as company posts $60 million loss
The Enhanced Games, a controversial sports event allowing athletes to compete while using performance-enhancing drugs normally banned in professional sport, has proved a commercial failure as well as a competitive one. Its organiser, Enhanced Group, has reported a net loss of nearly $62 million for the second quarter, largely attributable to hosting the games in…
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TV Vet Chuck Saftler to Depart Disney and FX After Nearly 33 Years
Chuck Saftler, a veteran Disney and FX executive credited with helping build FX into a major cable network, is stepping down after nearly 33 years with the company. Saftler joined in 1993 ahead of FX’s June 1994 launch and most recently served as head of acquisitions for Disney’s ABC, Freeform, FX and Nat Geo networks,…
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Capitol Music Group CEO Tom March on the ‘Incredible’ Sienna Spiro, Breaking Sam Fender in the U.S. & More
Capitol Music Group chairman/CEO Tom March discusses a strong run of form for the label in an interview, highlighting rising British singer-songwriter Sienna Spiro and his history with Sam Fender, whom he signed while at Polydor in the UK. The interview matters as it offers insight into how one of the major label groups under…
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Bass urges settlement over Paramount-Warner Bros. merger lawsuit
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called on California attorney general Rob Bonta and Paramount to urgently settle the 12-state antitrust lawsuit blocking Paramount’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, insisting at a Thursday press conference that she was “not taking sides” but acting to protect union jobs and keep the entertainment industry in Los Angeles. The…
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Neutrogena apologises after Hayden Panettiere’s death and postpartum claims
Neutrogena has apologised following the death of actor Hayden Panettiere, who was the skincare brand’s spokesperson and ambassador for nearly a decade. The apology came after Panettiere’s death sparked widespread online backlash and boycott calls against the company, stemming from her own account that Neutrogena had tried to end their partnership after she spoke publicly…
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The ParaBros Backlash: Threats To Leave L.A. & An AG Who Won’t Back Down Divide Hollywood
Paramount Skydance’s proposed £1.4 billion (roughly $1.88 billion) acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery has plunged Hollywood into turmoil after CEO David Ellison threatened to relocate his Los Angeles-based company to Tennessee, Texas or Georgia unless California settles an antitrust lawsuit brought by a coalition of state attorneys general. The threat, alongside the prospect of both…