Strictly Business

On today’s “Strictly Business Daily,” Variety’s Matt Donnelly, Gene Maddaus and Todd Spangler break down the news of Paramount’s settlement of the antitrust lawsuit filed by California and 11 other states. The agreement puts Paramount on a glide path to close its hard-fought acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition by October.

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On today’s episode, host Cynthia Littleton and Corbin Bolies, Variety's AI beat reporter, talk about where the AI conversation is going in Hollywood after a day of discussions at Variety’s annual Entertainment and Technology Summit, held Sept. 17 in Beverly Hills. Nancy Hall, U.S. CEO of WPP Media, and Tom McKenna, global head of media, operations and business development for Audible, explain how they work together to position the subscription audio platform in key pop culture circles.

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On today’s special episode, recorded Sept. 7 at the Lumiere Summit in Saint Paul de Vence, France, luminaries from the entertainment industry -- including George Clooney, Donna Langley, Thierry Frémaux, Michael Barker, Lynette Howell Taylor, Maxime Saada, Michael O’Leary and more -- discuss the central themes of the gathering, hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.

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On today’s “Strictly Business Daily,” Maria Taylor, host of NBC’s “Football Night in America” talks about how she’s adjusted to big increase in her on-air duties with NBC’s addition of NBA and WNBA packages. Taylor also discusses her prep for the start of NFL season and what she’s looking forward to at the LA 28 Summer Games.

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On today's episode,Variety's Gene Maddaus interviews Rob Bonta, California's crusading Attorney General who is doggedly pursuing the antitrust case to block the Paramount Skydance-Warner Bros. Discovery merger. Bonta details his background growing up in a family of social justice activists, attending Yale on a soccer scholarship and other formative experiences that shaped his worldview. "I believe in justice. I believe in following the rules," Bonta says.

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On today’s episode, Bogdan Nesvit, co-CEO and co-founder of Holywater Tech, walks through the explosive growth of the company’s My Drama and My Muse apps and details what he sees as the key to making vertical media more mainstream. “Studios and creators are knocking on our doors right now,” Nesvit says.

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On today's episode, host Cynthia Littleton,Variety's co-Editor in Chief, brings the curtain down on the "Daily Variety" podcast after 13 months and more than 200 episodes. Starting Sept. 8, this show will be rebranded "Strictly Business Daily" and feature a stronger emphasis on business analysis, data and insights. We'll also go deep on emerging markets, including the creator economy, vertical media and AI.

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On today's episode,Variety's Michael Schneider speaks with the pillars of "Big Brother" as the U.S. rendition of the franchise hits its milestone 1,000th episode. Chen Moonves remembers the first time she saw herself referred to as the "Chen Bot." And showrunners Allison Grodner and Rich Meehan reflect on the "crazy social experiment" that has become a hallmark of CBS' summer schedule.

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On today’s episode, host Cynthia Littleton details the plan to streamline Variety’s business podcast offerings under the “Strictly Business” brand. And we pay tribute to a titan of music and pop culture, Dolly Parton, and to Shelley Fabares, the “Coach” and “Donna Reed Show” star who helped define the image of young America in the late 1950s and ‘60s.

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On today's episode, Matt Sandler, Amazon's general manager of creator services, and Angie More, Amazon's head of creator ad partnerships, explain why Amazon is making a push into the creator economy and how they're working with some of the boldest names in the sector. The goal is to use the digital behemoth's considerable resources to build businesses that last and to scale creator content ad buying options for the largest marketers. "We're not looking to buy a show," Sandler says. "For us it's about, what business do you want to build?"

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