Recent articles
September 2, 2026
Studio71 Alum Joseph Marchese Joins Bent Pixels as Head of Creator Strategy and Business
Joseph Marchese has joined creator network Bent Pixels as executive VP of creator strategy and business as the firm revs up its portfolio of support services offered to attention-economy clients. M...
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September 1, 2026
Owner of L.A. Rams and Denver Nuggets Buys Los Angeles Angels Baseball Team
Kroenke Sports and Entertainment has acquired a majority stake in the Los Angeles Angels, adding a Major League Baseball franchise to a list of sports assets that includes the Los Angeles Rams, Den...
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August 31, 2026
Michael Strahan Looks Back at How America Healed After 9/11 With ABC News’ ‘United We Stand’ Special
Michael Strahan was a little more than halfway through his NFL career when 9/11 happened. The defensive end spent all 15 seasons of his pro football career with the New York Giants. One ominous mom...
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August 31, 2026
Digital Brand Architects Signs Lifestyle Creators Shannon Hart and Mya’Danielle Smith
Digital Brand Architects has signed prominent lifestyle creators Shannon Hart and Mya’Danielle Smith as part of its ongoing effort to partner with female entrepreneurs who have influential voices a...
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August 28, 2026
LISTEN: Holywater Tech Chief Bogdan Nesvit on the Explosive Growth of Microdramas: ‘Studios and Creators are Knocking on Our Doors’
On today’s episode of Variety‘s “Strictly Business,” Bogdan Nesvit, co-CEO and co-founder of Holywater Tech, details the explosive growth of the company’s My Drama and My Muse apps, and he details ...
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August 24, 2026
Guillermo del Toro, James Gunn, ‘Beyond the Spider-Verse’ Directors Set for Crunchyroll’s Inaugural Anime Future Forum
Anime giant Crunchyroll plans to dissect the growing business of anime with its first-ever thought leadership summit to be held as a precursor to New York Comic Con in October. The Crunchyroll Anim...
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August 21, 2026
Vertical Media on Track to Generate $150 Billion in 2026 as the Booming Sector Fights Crowded Content Field and High Subscriber Acquisition Costs
There’s no doubt that 2026 will go down as a milestone year for the growth in popularity of vertical media content in the U.S. The sector is booming but still incredibly diffuse. That will change a...
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August 21, 2026
LISTEN: Amazon Courts Creators to Build Businesses and Scale the Attention Economy for Brands
On today’s episode of Variety‘s “Strictly Business” podcast, Matt Sandler and Angie More of Amazon explain how the digital behemoth is diving in to the creator economy to build business and bring s...
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August 20, 2026
Brand Marketing Veteran Justin Breton Joins Gap to Drive Original Content
Walmart marketing alum Justin Breton has joined Gap Inc. to drive original content across a range of genres and platforms to support the apparel giant’s “Fashiontainment” business initiative. Start...
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August 19, 2026
LISTEN: How ‘Dateline’ Became a Content Dynamo for NBC News
On today’s episode of “Daily Variety” podcast, “Dateline” executive producers Liz Cole and Paul Ryan detail how the venerable newsmagazine became a digital content dynamo for NBC News. Cole, senior...
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August 19, 2026
Odyssey Entertainment Group Launches Original Content Division to Collaborate With Creators
Nashville-based Odyssey Entertainment Group has launched a division designed to partner with creators to develop content under a model designed to allow them to own the underlying intellectual prop...
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August 19, 2026
Producers Scout for K-pop Talent With U.S. Appeal During KCON Fan Festival in Los Angeles
In a makeshift audition booth assembled in a far corner on the ground floor of the Los Angeles Convention Center, a steady stream of K-pop lovers took their shot this past weekend. As part of the a...
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August 18, 2026
‘Heroes’ Creator Tim Kring Pays Tribute to Hayden Panettiere as a ‘Singularly Talented Actor’ With a ‘Deep Understanding of Human Nature’
Hayden Panettiere was a seasoned professional by the time she auditioned for “Heroes” at the age of 16. But unlike many actors who start working as kids, Hayden had no sense of jaded child actor qu...
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August 18, 2026
Jeanie Buss Seeks to Contest Sale of Los Angeles Lakers to Bob Iger and Josh Kushner: Report
Jeanie Buss, the Los Angeles Lakers owner who has been the face of the team since the death of her father Jerry Buss in 2013, is reportedly contesting the plan approved by her siblings to sell the ...
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August 18, 2026
LISTEN: How Chris Carter Got a Second Shot at ‘The X-Files: I Want to Believe’ Film
On today’s episode of “Daily Variety” podcast, “The X-Files” creator Chris Carter explains to Variety’s Michael Schneider how he got the chance to do a director’s cut of his 2008 “The X-Files: I Wa...
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August 15, 2026
Disney Leaders Talk Streaming Strategy and Growth Drivers: Sports, Local Language, Vertical Media and Emerging Formats
Amid a torrent of fan-friendly news about Disney projects across the media spectrum, Disney leadership took time on the first day of the three-day D23 fan fest weekend in Anaheim for panels that of...
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August 15, 2026
Darren Walker Opens His Home to Friends and Anonymous Content Emmy Nominees in Celebration of ‘Joy, Reflection, Delight and Awe’
Darren Walker may be new to Los Angeles as he takes the helm of Anonymous Content as president and CEO, but he’s had long relationships with key players in town for years, given his distinguished c...
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August 14, 2026
Digital Brand Architects Acquires Creator Management Firm V1sion Ventures
Digital Brand Architects has snapped up creator management firm V1sion Ventures, which represents a range of digital stars including Keith Lee, Leigh Soriano, Joy Burnett, Chelsea Jordan, Rachel Wi...
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August 14, 2026
LISTEN: Retired Athletes Blake Griffin and Ryan Kalil Return to Sports as Team Owners and TV Producers in YouTube Docuseries ‘We Are Osos’
Never tell Ryan Kalil or Blake Griffin to stay in their lanes. Since moving on from their playing days in the NFL and NBA to running the production company Mortal Media, they’re about to add a few ...
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August 11, 2026
‘The Chosen’ Star Jonathan Roumie to Voice Banijay Live’s ‘Luminiscence’ Experience at St. Patrick’s Cathedral
Banijay is expanding its “Luminiscence” immersive experience franchise in the U.S. with an installation at New York’s iconic St. Patrick’s Cathedral that opens Oct. 1. To take viewers through the e...
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August 10, 2026
LISTEN: Summer Box Office Will Surpass the $4 Billion Benchmark
On today’s episode, in our Box Office segment, Variety’s Rebecca Rubin reports that the good news keeps on coming for the movie biz as “Spider Man: Brand New Day” soars in weekend two and “The Odys...
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August 7, 2026
LISTEN: NBCUniversal Media Group Chief Matt Strauss on Growing Peacock, Testing Membership Rewards and Becoming a Daily Habit With Users
On today’s episode of Variety‘s “Strictly Business” podcast, Matt Strauss, chairman of NBCUniversal Media Group, expands on the evolution of the Peacock streamer and his view of the “the great re-b...
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August 6, 2026
LISTEN: Fear, Loathing and Endless Potential: AI4 Conference Takes Stock of Transformative Technologies
On today’s episode of “Daily Variety” podcast, Variety’s Corbin Bolies reports from Las Vegas where he is covering the AI4 conference with a slew of top leaders and true believers. The excitement a...
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August 6, 2026
FCC Eliminates TV Station Ownership Cap in Win for Nexstar and Other Big Broadcasters
The FCC has formally moved to eliminate the longstanding national limit on the number of TV stations that a single entity can own on a 2-1 vote that is likely to draw legal challenges. FCC chief Br...
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August 5, 2026
Disney Looking to Launch Free Streaming Channels as CEO Josh D’Amaro Doubles Down on the Streaming Biz
Disney is looking to join the free streaming channel boom as newly named CEO Josh D’Amaro doubles down on streaming as one of two key pillars to drive future growth. During Disney’s quarterly earni...
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August 5, 2026
ESPN Taps Creators to Help Promote the NFL Season and its First Super Bowl Telecast
ESPN has lined up its fourth annual “Creator Network” of digital stars who will fan out across the country to promote the 2026 NFL season that is set to culminate with the Super Bowl airing on ESPN...
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August 4, 2026
LISTEN: National Comedy Center’s Journey Gunderson on Preserving Humor as History
On today’s episode of “Daily Variety” podcast, Journey Gunderson, executive director of the National Comedy Center in Jamestown, N.Y., explains why it’s important to have an institution devoted to ...
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August 4, 2026
Hearst Clinches Deal to Buy Out A+E Global Media Stake From Disney
Hearst has set a deal to acquire Disney’s 50% stake in A+E Global Media, the parent company of Lifetime, History Channel, A&E Network and other assets in a deal that calls for Hearst to pay Dis...
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August 3, 2026
TKO Raises Investor Guidance Again as UFC and WWE Flex Muscle With Fans and Marketers
TKO posted another strong quarter fueled by strong demand from fans and marketers for UFC and WWE events. The parent company of the two leagues surpassed the Street’s expectations on revenue and ad...
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July 31, 2026
LISTEN: Music Fans Shrug Off Ticket Price Hikes to Keep Summer Concert Business Humming
The global live music business is chugging along through its busy summer season as strong as ever, defying even what has long been its biggest challenge: ticket-price sensitivity. Consumers consist...
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