Tag: Entertainment-Variety

One of the marquee panels at Mip London drew a full house as executives revealed that microdrama platforms are devoting as much as 90% of their budgets to marketing rather than production, underscoring how the fast-growing short-form storytelling sector is evolving into a user-acquisition business that increasingly resembles mobile gaming.

“Ninety percent of the budget goes to marketing,” said Timothy Oh, general manager of COL Group International, describing how companies test thousands of trailer variations across social platforms to drive downloads.

Oh said the economics of the sector closely mirror gaming models, where success depends primarily on acquiring and retaining users rather than on production scale. “Promoting short drama is the same as promoting any games,” he said, noting that teams continuously experiment with large volumes of advertising clips to optimize performance.

Anatolii Kasianov, co-founder and co-CEO of Holywater, said acquisition costs can reach $20 to $30 per install, forcing companies to rely heavily on data analytics and artificial intelligence to manage spending efficiently. “You need to be extremely efficient,” he said, explaining that AI tools are used to automate trailer creation and analyze marketing performance.

The discussion, part of the “MicroDrama 2026: The Global Breakout” session, focused on the business mechanics behind the rapidly expanding format of one- to two-minute narrative episodes designed primarily for mobile viewing.

Maria Rua Aguete, head of media and entertainment at Omdia, said the format’s growth is tied to broader shifts in viewing behavior. “Seventy-five percent of video consumption takes place on a smartphone,” she said, adding that even older audiences are increasingly watching video on mobile devices.

She also noted that monetization relies heavily on microtransactions, with viewers often discovering microdramas through free clips on social media before paying incremental fees to unlock episodes.

Executives said these payment structures further reinforce parallels with gaming economics, where revenue is driven by frequent small payments rather than traditional subscription models.

At the same time, panelists said the sector is evolving beyond its early focus on low-cost romance content and is beginning to attract higher-profile creative partnerships.

Alex Montalvo, co-founder and chief content officer of GammaTime, said platforms are expanding into genres such as thrillers and true crime while collaborating with established creators and adapting premium intellectual property. “This really is just the beginning of what is possible in this medium,” he said.

As competition intensifies globally, executives said the next phase of growth will depend on balancing aggressive user acquisition strategies with broader content ambitions.

“Don’t shun the format, embrace it,” Montalvo said.

Warner Bros. Discovery reported record-breaking streaming performance for the Milano-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games, with the company posting triple-digit growth across its HBO Max and Discovery+ platforms compared to the Beijing 2022 Games.

The return of the Olympic Winter Games to Europe, combined with what the company described as a highly innovative streaming experience, drove significant growth in viewership and engagement across WBD’s services.

Total hours viewed on its streaming services grew 103% versus Beijing 2022, with three times as many subscribers (234% growth) tuning in via HBO Max and Discovery+. The milestone came quickly – total subscribers streaming Milano-Cortina content surpassed the entirety of Beijing 2022’s streaming audience within just the first three days of full competition (Feb. 6-8).

Social video views on Eurosport’s European accounts and TNT Sports’ U.K. and Ireland accounts exceeded 4 billion, representing a 580% jump versus Beijing 2022.

“The success we witnessed in the opening days has translated into an outstanding Olympic Winter Games for Warner Bros. Discovery with substantial streaming viewership and engagement growth in addition to highly robust linear audiences,” said Andrew Georgiou, president and managing director of WBD Sports Europe.

A feature of this cycle was Olympics Multiview, a new offering that allowed streaming subscribers to watch up to four events simultaneously on a single screen with their choice of audio commentary. Roughly a third of users – 32% – made use of the feature. Viewers could also set personalized watch lists, receive gold medal alerts, track live action via timeline markers, and select from up to 21 commentary languages.

The platforms carried all 246 live sessions across the 19-day competition window, which peaked at 11 concurrent events and featured 116 medal contests with 2,900 athletes competing. Triple-digit streaming growth was recorded individually in France, Germany and Italy on HBO Max, as well as in the U.K. on Discovery+.

“Watching the Olympic Games on HBO Max and Discovery+ clearly resonated with audiences in the U.K. and Europe with three times as many people choosing to stream the Games with us compared to Beijing 2022,” Georgiou said. “Viewers being able to curate their own Olympics, selecting from all 116 live events and using innovative features such as our one-screen Multiview, drove significant increases in time spent by fans watching on our streaming services.”

Linear performance also held strong, with WBD’s Eurosport (Europe) and TNT Sports (U.K. and Ireland) channels posting a 3% increase in total viewers versus Beijing 2022 – a reversal of the broader decline in linear TV consumption seen over the same period. Total linear hours viewed climbed 51% versus the prior Winter Games. Country-level linear gains on Eurosport included France (+47% hours viewed), Germany (+50%) and Poland (+32%), while TNT Sports in the U.K. and Ireland climbed 60% in hours viewed.

Georgiou added: “This Olympics has set an incredibly strong foundation as we look to Los Angeles 2028 and the Olympic Winter Games returning to Europe again for French Alps 2030.”

Generative-AI company Suno has named former Merlin CEO Jeremy Sirota as its chief commercial officer, it announced Monday morning. In the role, Sirota will lead Suno’s commercial strategy, music industry relationships, platform partnerships, and enterprise solutions and will report directly to CEO Mikey Shulman.

During his six years as CEO of Merlin, the digital music licensing partner for independent music labels and distributors, Sirota scaled annual revenue from $900 million to $1.8 billion while rebuilding its technology infrastructure and expanding its data and licensing capabilities. He led licensing agreements with major technology platforms including Apple, Deezer, Meta, Spotify, Twitch and YouTube among others. He also negotiated Merlin’s early AI partnerships.

Prior to Merlin, Sirota held business development, strategy and operational roles at Meta on the music team, was a senior record executive at Warner Music Group, and served as a technology lawyer at Morrison Foerster, where he did licensing work for entertainment companies and advised on intellectual property matters.

“Jeremy is a rare leader who has spent his career working to improve every side of the music business – for fans, artists, music rightsholders, and platforms,” said Shulman, co-founder and CEO of Suno. “What truly sets him apart is his ability to build what doesn’t yet exist, finding opportunity where others see obstacles and bringing all sides with him. That mindset will help craft a better future of music for all, and I couldn’t be more excited to have him join Suno.”

Suno recently announced a partnership with Warner Music Group and last fall, it launched what it claims is the the first generative audio workstation, Suno Studio, which blends pro-grade multi-track editing with AI stem generation.

+ Sony Music Publishing has promoted Greg Prata to chief financial officer, effective March 31. He will continue to be based out of the company’s New York office and will report to SMP chairman & CEO Jon Platt.

In his new role, Prata will oversee all aspects of Sony Music Publishing’s financial operations globally, including reporting, accounting, budget, administration and IT. He succeeds Tom Kelly, who recently announced his upcoming retirement from his position as CFO, after a 35-year career.

Platt said, “Greg has been a trusted leader on our team, and I’m pleased to see him step into the CFO role as we advance our next stage of growth. At the same time, we thank Tom for his remarkable tenure. His leadership has helped drive our success and set a high bar for excellence that Greg will continue to build upon.”

Prata joined Sony in 2012 as senior VP of financial planning & analysis, following his time at EMI. In 2019, he was promoted to executive VP of finance & corporate strategy. Prior to his roles at Sony Music Publishing and EMI, Prata spent over a decade in private equity and investment banking.

+ Patron Saints of Music, the custom music house behind Bravo’s “Below Deck” and others, has named Allie Moskovits head of sync & business development. In this newly created role, Moskovits will lead sync strategy for Patron Saints’ expanding catalog to drive business across TV, film, advertising, gaming, and emerging media. She will also focus on developing new artists and songs to diversify the catalog and expand the company’s footprint beyond unscripted television.

+ Culture Wave, a Los Angeles–based, “rock-forward” artist management company operating in partnership with Red Light Management, has expanded in several areas.

Artist managers Ryan Cunningham and Mike Bingham of Polarizer Management have joined Culture Wave, bringing their rosters into the company’s management division. Cunningham represents the Armed, Prostitute, Trauma Ray, Patrick Shiroishi, Truck Violence, Jodi, while Bingham joins with Trauma Ray, Spiritual Cramp and Agriculture. Cunningham will remain in his role at Biz 3 Publicity where he’s been a publicist for 12 years.

The company also announces the promotion of Rachel Hacken to artist manager, transitioning from day-to-day support for Jason Mageau’s roster. Hacken now manages Kittie, Gore., Thousand Below, and Holy Wars; as well as:

Alana Lopez joins as touring & logistics manager, supporting Jason Mageau’s roster and Culture Wave artists; Madison Stern joins as day-to-day manager for Andrew Jarrin; Ana Garcia joins as digital marketing coordinator; Erin Carignan joins as day-to-day manager for Ryan Cunningham; Joey Mullen joins as co-manager for the band Agriculture with Bingham.

Delroy Lindo spoke to Vanity Fair at one of the 2026 BAFTA after parties and said that he and “Sinners” co-star Michael B. Jordan “did what we had to do” when the N-word was shouted out as they were presenting the award for best visual effects to “Avatar: Fire and Ash.” Lindo added that he wished “someone from BAFTA spoke to us afterwards.”

Variety has reached out to BAFTA for comment.

The slur was shouted by John Davidson, who is diagnosed with Tourette syndrome. Davidson attended the BAFTAs as the subject of the nominated biopic “I Swear.” The film’s leading star, Robert Aramayo, won the best actor prize during for playing Davidson, whose condition causes him to produce involuntary vocal tics.

As reported by Variety: “A number of outbursts from Davidson could be heard throughout the BAFTA ceremony, including ‘shut the fuck up’ being shouted during an introductory speech from BAFTA chair Sara Putt and ‘fuck you’ when the directors of ‘Boong,’ which won the BAFTA for best children’s and family film, accepted their award.”

Sources told Variety after the ceremony that floor managers warned guests and attendees sitting around Davidson of his condition, without specifying what kinds of outbursts they might hear. According to multiple sources, none of the nominees or attendees were contacted by BAFTA or BBC ahead of the show with any such warnings.

BAFTAs host Alan Cumming thanked the audience during the ceremony for their understanding after Davidson had several outbursts, including shouting the N-word.

“You may have noticed some strong language in the background. This can be part of how Tourette’s syndrome shows up for some people as the film explores that experience,” Cumming said. “Thanks for your understanding and helping create a respectful space for everyone.”

The host added later on during the ceremony: “Tourette’s Syndrome is a disability and the tics you’ve heard tonight are involuntary, which means the person who has Tourette’s Syndrome has no control over their language. We apologize if you are offended tonight.”

The BAFTAs came under even more scrutiny after the tape-delayed broadcast aired later that night on the BBC with Davidson’s use of the N-word still audible. The BBC then apologized for not editing out the racial slur and removed it from from the version of the BAFTAs streaming on iPlayer.

After pulling the BAFTA Film Awards from iPlayer early Monday afternoon, a BBC spokesperson said: “Some viewers may have heard strong and offensive language during the BAFTA Film Awards. This arose from involuntary verbal tics associated with Tourette syndrome, and as explained during the ceremony it was not intentional. We apologize that this was not edited out prior to broadcast and it will now be removed from the version on BBC iPlayer.”

“Wednesday” Season 3 is officially in production, with the show bringing in four new additions to its cast.

Chris Sarandon (“Dog Day Afternoon,” “The Princess Bride”), Noah Taylor (“Peaky Blinders,” “Game Of Thrones”), Oscar Morgan (“A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” “Gotham Knights”), and Kennedy Moyer (“Task,” “Roofman”) are all set to appear in the hit show’s third season. The new castings come just after it was reported that Winona Ryder would be guest starring in Season 3, while it was previously reported that Eva Green would play Morticia Addams’ sister.

Taylor previously worked with “Wednesday” director and executive producer Tim Burton on the film “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” while Sarandon voiced Jack Skellington in Burton’s “A Nightmare Before Christmas.”

“It’s our dark delight to fling open Nevermore Academy’s gates once more as we begin production on Season Three,” series creators and showrunners Al Gough & Miles Millar said. “We thank our invincible cast and crew for their continued commitment to doom and gloom. To the fans, we appreciate your patience and ravenous online commentary – your twisted theories have inspired nightmares. This season we welcome new students, new teachers, and excavate some long-rotting Addams Family secrets. Don’t say you weren’t warned.”

As with past seasons, the third is being shot in Dublin, Ireland. Jenna Ortega will return in the role of Wednesday Addams, who viewers last saw riding off with her Uncle Fester (Fred Armisen) to attempt to rescue her friend and roommate Enid (Emma Myers) from being trapped as an alpha werewolf.

“I’m so excited to be back for Season 3 and it’s great to be reunited with all of the original cast,” Burton said. “The addition of some dear friends and past collaborators of mine – Winona, Eva, Chris, Noah…makes this season extra special. I feel very lucky.”

Aside from Ortega, Myers, and Armisen, the cast of “Wednesday” includes: Hunter Doohan, Joy Sunday, Moosa Mostafa, Georgie Farmer, Isaac Ordonez, Billie Piper, Luyanda Unati Lewis-Nyawo, Victor Dorobantu, Evie Templeton, with Luis Guzmán, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Joanna Lumley.

The show is based on characters created by Charles Addams. Gough, Millar, and Burton are all executive producers. MGM Television is the studio.

“Wednesday” Season 2 was released in two parts in August and September 2025. Like the first season, the second went on to become a massive hit for Netflix, where it currently ranks as the streamer’s fifth most-watched English language season of TV ever. Season 1 is the most-watched season ever.