In a major boon to Los Angeles area cord cutters, Spectrum SportsNet and the Los Angeles Lakers today announced the launch of what’s being called Spectrum SportsNet+, a direct-to-consumer streaming subscription service that will deliver a 24/7 feed of Spectrum SportsNet programming, including live Lakers…

EXCLUSIVE: SAG-AFTRA and the studios don’t have a deal, but they are planning on talking more. Any agreement between SAG-AFTRA and the studios to end the 106-day strike by the 160,000-strong guild looks almost certain to not be coming tonight, though the two sides are still in deliberations right…

UPDATED with latest additions: SAG-AFTRA, which launched a strike against Hollywood studios on July 14, launched its interim agreements program that allows independent productions with no direct ties to members of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers to continue filming. The guild…

NBCUniversal veteran Sumithra Barry is leaving the company after almost two decades. For the past three years, she served as SVP, Content and Consumer Insights, Entertainment Networks at NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. Barry's departure is part of a round of layoffs within the NBCUniversal…

Taylor Swift, whose ultra-lucrative Eras Tour is still going, has officially become a billionaire. According to a new analysis by Bloomberg News, the 33-year-old pop superstar now has a net worth of $1.1 billion. The tour is a major component of her fortune, with about $700 million in ticket sales…

Former ESPN President John Skipper, who led the effort to secure the current NBA rights deal, says incumbents Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery have no choice but to re-up with the league. “These are existential rights for ESPN,” he said during an episode of Pablo Torre Finds Out, a podcast…

EXCLUSIVE: Former Rock the Bells and Paramount exec Rich Morris has been tapped for the newly created role of Senior Vice President of Content & Brands at Composition Media, the animation studio led by Hair Love producer Carl Reed. Morris will be responsible for spearheading licensing and…

In the 26th episode of Deadline Strike Talk — which for below the liners signifies half a year without a paycheck that hasn’t come from Uber fares or waiting tables — host Billy Ray hits on a zeitgeist theme that gets voiced a lot by people who just feel that the business isn’t as remotely as exciting or…

EXCLUSIVE: Public Relations and marketing vet Melissa Sun has joined Rosenfield Media Group (RMG PR) as SVP, Purpose. The addition of Purpose joins RMG PR's existing divisions that focus on Entertainment, Business, Sports and Live Events. Sun counts close to two decades of experience in agency…

Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN), who represents a suburban Minneapolis congressional district, launched a challenge to President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination. His announcement has been expected for weeks, as Phillips, 54, warns that Biden’s age and low approval mean that he very likely may lose…

Ron Nyswaner, the executive producer and writer of the Showtime limited series Fellow Travelers, says that he feared there were three strikes against getting it made: “It’s period, it’s political and it’s gay.” At a recent Washington, D.C. screening, though, he summed up some of the initial reaction…

Charter CEO Chris Winfrey acknowledged the company’s Disney carriage fight contributed to a loss of 320,000 video customers during the third quarter, but said the deal that resulted from the dispute represents “a significant step forward for the video ecosystem.” Speaking during the company’s…