Strictly Business

By VarietyTV & Film Business

Strictly Business episodes

August 07 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," Matt Strauss, chairman of NBCUniversal Media Group, details the evolution of the Peacock streamer and his view of the "the great re-bundling" that is underway for streaming media.
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29 min
August 06 Daily Variety -- Fear, Loathing and Endless Potential: AI4 Conference Takes Stock of Transformative Technologies
On today’s episode, 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 around generative AI is still as hot as the temperature in Sin City, but the polarizing effect of the technology is evident as well, Bolies reports.
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15 min
August 05 Daily Variety – It’s Tick-Tock Time for Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery Merger as Judge Sets March Trial Date
On today’s episode,Variety's Todd Spangler offers an update on where things stand for Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger process now that a judge has set a March trial start date for the antitrust case brought by 12 state attorneys general and the Writers Guild of America. “I think he feels like he’s been misunderstood,” Spangler says of Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison.
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18 min
August 04 Daily Variety -- National Comedy Center's Journey Gunderson on Preserving Humor as History
On today’s episode, Journey Gunderson, executive director of the National Comedy Center in Jamestown, N.Y. – Lucille Ball’s hometown -- explains why it’s important to have an institution devoted to the study of comedy. Jamestown will be abuzz with laughs as the center hosts the annual Lucille Ball Comedy Festival Aug. 7-9 headlined by Jerry Seinfeld, Bert Kreischer and Seth Meyers.
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20 min
August 03 Daily Variety – It’s a Brand New Day for the Box Office Thanks to ‘Spider-Man’ and ‘The Odyssey’
On today’s episode, Variety’s box office expert Rebecca Rubin breaks down an astounding weekend at global turnstiles with the debut of Sony Pictures’ “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” and weekend three of Universal Pictures’ “The Odyssey.”
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16 min
July 31 Music Fans Shrug Off Ticket Price Hikes to Keep Summer Concert Business Humming
The global live music business is enjoying a busy summer touring season, defying ticket-price sensitivity concerns. Andrew Wallenstein, chief insights officer at Luminate, discusses the company's new "Live Music 2026" special report with its author, Luminate analyst Robert Steiner.
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30 min
July 24 Daily Variety -- California Film Commissioner Colleen Bell Talks State Tax Incentive Battles, Hollywood’s Future and More
On today’s episode, Colleen Bell, director of the California State Film Commission, discusses her wins in her role as the Golden State’s film chief and the hurdles that remain to restore a high volume of TV and film lensing activity in Hollywood's backyard. Bell says the past few years have been a “seminal moment” for the entertainment industry in California. “People want to shoot their projects here. Public policy needs to evolve to meet the moment,” she says.
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15 min
July 24 Madison Wells Balances Art, Commerce and Audience Demands to Back Movies, TV Shows, Live Events
On today’s episode, Madison Wells chief Gigi Pritzker and newly appointed president and chief content officer Dan Steinman discuss how the well-positioned indie navigates the ups and downs of a transforming marketplace. “We have to be smarter,” Pritzker says. “Even inexpensive movies are expensive,” says Steinman.
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19 min
July 23 Daily Variety -- Cover Story: Travis Scott Ascends to Culture Moguldom Through Music, Movies, Retail, Business and More
On today’s episode, in our Cover Story segment, Variety’s Angelique Jackson details the time she spent with multihyphenate superstar Travis Scott, who comes off a record-setting music tour with a high-profile role in the movie of the moment, Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey.”
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21 min
July 22 Daily Variety -- Reba McEntire Revels in 50 Years of Making Music and Season 3 of NBC’s ‘Happy’s Place’
On today's episode, country music superstar Reba McEntire discusses celebrating her golden anniversary in music with a series of EP releases that pair a newly recorded song with several vintage tunes. McEntire also weighs in on how she’s navigated a turbulent TV marketplace to get her NBC comedy “Happy’s Place” to a third season.
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13 min