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INSIDERS POINT TO ABSORPTION OF HBO MAX AS KEY ISSUE |
Paramount’s pending $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery is expected to create complications for its SkyShowtime partnership with Comcast, Deadline revealed this morning.
Industry sources said Paramount’s proposed ownership of HBO Max will likely put the David Ellison-run company in breach of its joint venture agreement for SkyShowtime. The streaming service, which launched in 2022, is available in 22 European markets and has racked up more than 9 million subscribers, per insiders.
Paramount+ is in seven European markets, but has no overlap with SkyShowtime. In fact, Paramount+ withdrew from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland in 2022 to make way for SkyShowtime. Comcast has not rolled out Peacock internationally, with Co-CEO Mike Cavanagh confirming last month that it would remain U.S.-focused. SkyShowtime is not available in the UK, the home of Comcast-owned Sky.
The dynamic of the 50-50 joint venture would change dramatically, however, with the absorption by Paramount of HBO Max, which has just completed a long-planned global rollout. HBO Max operates in 21 of SkyShowtime’s 22 markets, including key territories such as Spain and the Nordics. Ellison has signaled that he intends to combine Paramount+ and HBO Max. “That would go against the whole joint venture thing,” said a well-placed person.
SkyShowtime declined to comment. Paramount declined to comment on “speculation” regarding SkyShowtime. Comcast did not respond to a request for comment. >>>Mood At Recent Offsite
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Deadline Exclusives & Originals
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Twilight Enters Its Twilight - The long-gestating "final chapter" of George A. Romero’s classic zombie saga Twilight of the Dead has found its lead in Kate Beckinsale. Beckinsale takes over from Milla Jovovich and additional casting is in process. >>>Buy-in From Romero Estate
'Michael' Vs 'Prada' Again - This weekend's box office sees Devil Wears Prada 2 and Michael respectively looking at third and fourth weekends that are north of $20M. New Line’s Mortal Kombat 2 may decline around 60% to about $15M. Mandalorian and Grogu arrives over Memorial Day weekend, hoping to make a difference. >>>Holdovers Doing Heavy Lifting
'Magic Faraway' Hit - Literary adaptations in cinema are all the rage right now so enter The Magic Faraway Tree. The Enid Blyton adaptation is skirting $20M at the UK box office and has also struck a chord in Australia. >>>Global Breakout
Looking To June - Early-look box office analysis finds the first weekend in June set to see two event films duke it out in Paramount/Miramax’s reboot of the Wayans brothers’ Scary Movie and Amazon MGM Studios’ Travis Knight-directed Masters of the Universe, starring Nicholas Galitzine as He-Man. As our summer curtain raiser noted, for the most part each weekend this summer is relying on one studio tentpole film. >>>Franchises Head-To-Head
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Gavin Newsom Beats The Drum For Nationwide Entertainment Industry Incentives |
Gavin Newsom has been called everything under the California sun by friends and foes alike, but there is one moniker the two-term Golden State governor embraces, thanks to Donald Trump: disruptor.
Despite some of Trump’s worst hits, California’s almost always camera-ready leading man isn’t seemingly apprehensive about flipping the script to where he and the POTUS appear to have a common goal and can work together to support the entertainment business.
The governor talked politics, entertainment and incentives for our Disruptors Magazine. >>>The Deadline Interview
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QUOTABLE
"We were very similar in a lot of ways" - Riley Keough on playing Barry Keoghan's sister in 'Butterfly Jam'
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Brian Tyree Henry and Sebastian Koch have been cast in The Batman Part II. Sebastian Stan and Scarlett Johansson have had their roles confirmed.
Jodie Comer has been tapped as the lead of The Chain, HBO's upcoming limited series from Damon Lindelof and Media Res.
Exclusive
Writer-director mishka has assembled an ensemble cast for debut feature My Boyfriend Is A Demon including Mattias Ferrell (A Very Jonas Christmas Movie), Bailey Sloan (Ragamuffin) and Jack Champion (Avatar).
Exclusive
Stranger Things star Dacre Montgomery has signed on for an undisclosed role in John Wick spinoff Caine, directed by and starring martial arts legend Donnie Yen as the blind assassin.
Exclusive
Britt Lower (Severance), Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (Sentimental Value), and Selton Mello (I’m Still Here) are set to star in Michael Almereyda’s upcoming feature Zero K.
CoComelon: The Movie has assembled splashy voice cast including SZA (One of Them Days), Ike Barinholtz (The Studio), Nicholas Hoult (Superman), SNL’s Sarah Sherman and Ego Nwodim.
Exclusive
Mitchell Slaggert (Landman, The Sex Lives of College Girls) is set for a major recurring hearthrob role on the upcoming eighth season of Netflix's Virgin River.
Exclusive
Chris Rock has joined Paul Rudd in the voice cast of Goodnight, Lamby, the live-action-animation hybrid short film from artist and filmmaker Dustin Yellin.
Exclusive
Jordan Fisher is set to star in and produce I Won’t Dance, a YA sports rom-com marking the feature directorial debut of Christine Lakin.
Exclusive
Gangster-turned-actor Richie Stephens is re-teaming with Taylor Sheridan after landing a role in Season 4 of Tulsa King.
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MORE NEWS
🍽️ Unfolding in the shadow of Paramount's $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, this year's lunch at the Food Network Kitchen after WBD upfront pitch to advertisers was described thusly by one waggish staffer: “Welcome to the Last Supper."
📺 Reality star Spencer Pratt has signed up for an unscripted series following his bid to be the 44th Mayor of Los Angeles. Deadline can confirm that production has already started with initial footage in the can.
Exclusive
💎 Family adventure The Emperor’s Stone, starring Colin Morgan (Merlin), Antonia Desplat (Plaine Orientale) and Luke Treadaway (Clash of the Titans), has begun production in Italy and France. In the series, an ex-treasure-hunter and descendent of a famous pirate uncovers a lost diary that could lead to the mysterious and powerful Emperor’s Stone.
🤖 Iconic British sci-fi series Doctor Who has found a U.S. home at AMC+. From next month, the streamer will take all 13 regenerated seasons of Doctor Who, coming a year after Disney ended its co-pro deal with the BBC.
🫧 Speaking at the BBC Comedy Festival in Liverpool, UK, the co-creators of Black Ops said "things are bubbling" with a U.S. version of their hit BBC comedy-thriller, as they revealed their dream American leads.
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OBITUARIES
🕯️ Claudine Longet, the French-American chanteuse who was the wife of singing star Andy Williams, has died. She was 84. 🕯️Clarence Carter, the blind Southern soul star who scored two Top 10 hits in the late 1960s and early 1970s, died May 14 following diagnosis of Stage 4 prostate cancer and a battle with pneumonia and sepsis. 🕯️2026 Deaths Photo Gallery
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ON THE RADAR
Fri – Dutton Ranch premieres on Paramount+
Sat -- Rousey-Carano MMA bout; Crew Call Live @ Netflix; Eurovision Song Contest
Sun – ACM Awards; Writers @ Netflix
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Flip For It - Dara representing Bulgaria performs during the semi-final of the 70th Eurovision Song Contest on Thursday in Vienna.
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