All stories by Todd Spangler on BroadwayStars

Sunday, May 5, 2019

YouTube Now Has 2 Billion Monthly Users, Who Watch 250 Million Hours on TV Screens Daily by Todd Spangler

Has YouTube become the new center of gravity for primetime? That’s the narrative it wants Madison Avenue to believe — especially as it relates to coveted younger demos. The Google-owned …

SOURCE: Variety at 09:52AM
Friday, May 3, 2019

Bill and Chelsea Clinton Launch Podcast About Their Foundation by Todd Spangler

President Bill Clinton and Chelsea Clinton are jumping on the podcasting bandwagon. The former U.S. president and his daughter, who is vice chair of the Clinton Foundation, launched a new po…

SOURCE: Variety at 08:45AM

Ellen Digital Greenlights Lea Michele and Jay Shetty Projects, Renews Ashley Graham and Kristen Bell Shows by Todd Spangler

Ellen DeGeneres’ Ellen Digital Network is bringing Lea Michele and viral star Jay Shetty into its programming lineup — doubling down on comedic and uplifting content keying off the popul…

SOURCE: Variety at 08:45AM
Friday, April 12, 2019

Scott Rogowsky Exits as HQ Trivia Host After Landing Gig at John Skipper-Led DAZN by Todd Spangler

Sorry, HQties: Scott Rogowsky has left the HQ Trivia app and isn’t coming back. For over a year and a half, Rogowsky was the regular host of HQ Trivia’s live mobile trivia games that dol…

SOURCE: Variety at 04:16PM
Thursday, April 11, 2019

Disney+ to Launch in November, Priced at $6.99 Monthly by Todd Spangler

Disney+ will launch in the U.S. on Nov. 12, 2019, and will be priced at $6.99 per month, the company announced. The subscription VOD service represents Disney’s next major foray into the v…

SOURCE: Variety at 07:59PM
Wednesday, March 13, 2019

Natalie Portman Launches Her First Online Acting Course by Todd Spangler

Oscar-winning actress Natalie Portman, star of films including “Black Swan” and “Jackie,” is launching her first-ever online class. In the class, priced at $90 for unlimited access, …

SOURCE: Variety at 07:00AM
Wednesday, February 27, 2019

‘Captain Marvel’ Crowdfunding Campaign to Hold Free Theater Screenings for Girls Tops $60,000 by Todd Spangler

A crowdfunding effort to pay for free theater screenings of “Captain Marvel” for girls and young women has now raised more than $60,000, three times its original goal. Donors to cause �…

SOURCE: Variety at 10:57AM
Saturday, December 1, 2018

Ariana Grande’s ‘Thank U, Next’ Video Breaks YouTube Record for Most Views in 24 Hours by Todd Spangler

Ariana Grande’s “Thank U, Next” video is a bona fide overnight sensation: It has smashed YouTube’s all-time record for most views in the first 24 hours of release. Th…

SOURCE: Variety at 12:38PM
Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Ariana Grande Concert Tour Documentary Series Launch Set on YouTube Premium by Todd Spangler

A behind-the-scenes look at Ariana Grande’s Dangerous Woman Tour is coming to the YouTube Premium subscription service. The four-part “Ariana Grande: Dangerous Woman Diaries̶…

SOURCE: Variety at 11:34AM
Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Disney’s Glendale Games Studio Transfers to Jam City, Which Plans to Create Game for ‘Frozen 2’ by Todd Spangler

Disney entered into a deal with mobile-games studio Jam City to develop titles based on Pixar and Walt Disney Animation franchises — including one tied to next year’s “Froz…

SOURCE: Variety at 06:00AM
Wednesday, August 22, 2018

Ariana Grande Using Snapchat to Launch ‘Sweetener’ Merchandise via a Shoppable Selfie Lens by Todd Spangler

Ariana Grande is revealing new merchandise tied to her new album, “Sweetener,” exclusively on Snapchat with a custom selfie Lens — which also will let fans purchase the pro…

SOURCE: Variety at 09:25PM
Thursday, July 19, 2018

Marc Hustvedt, Ex-CEO of Above Average, Joins Fine Brothers Entertainment (EXCLUSIVE) by Todd Spangler

Internet-video veteran Marc Hustvedt is leaving Above Average, the digital comedy brand formed by Lorne Michaels’ Broadway Video, to join Fine Brothers Entertainment as CEO. Fine Broth…

SOURCE: Variety at 11:00AM
Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Atom Tickets Inks Landmark Theatres Pact for Online Movie Ticketing by Todd Spangler

Atom Tickets is expanding its online-ticketing network to include Landmark Theatres, allowing the studio-backed startup to sell tickets for the indie-film exhibitor’s 53 theaters with …

SOURCE: Variety at 09:00AM
Thursday, April 5, 2018

‘Harry Potter’ Game Launch Date Set With Maggie Smith, Other Actors Lending Their Voices by Todd Spangler

Dame Maggie Smith and other actors from Warner Bros.’ Harry Potter films will be giving voice to characters in the new “Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery” role-playing game, w…

SOURCE: Variety at 08:55AM
Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Disney Reorganizes Divisions, Creates Dedicated Direct-to-Consumer Streaming Unit by Todd Spangler

Disney announced a reorganization of the company into four segments, which will include a newly created direct-to-consumer division to house the conglomerate’s portfolio of streaming s…

SOURCE: Variety at 01:05PM
Tuesday, March 6, 2018

HQ Trivia Banks $15 Million in Venture Funding to Fuel Mobile Game That Pays Real Prize Money by Todd Spangler

HQ Trivia’s founders now have more money to throw into building what has become a viral hit — their live-streaming game-show app played by millions of people, vying to win actual…

SOURCE: Variety at 03:53PM

Funny Or Die to Retire Decade-Old Website, Will Migrate to Vox Media’s Platform by Todd Spangler

Funny Or Die is putting its aging web platform out to pasture. Starting this summer, the digital comedy outfit will move FunnyOrDie.com over to Vox Media’s platform — and under t…

SOURCE: Variety at 10:00AM
Thursday, March 1, 2018

Hulu Buys Madison Square Garden Theater Naming Rights by Todd Spangler

Hulu is slapping its name all over a landmark New York City venue: The subscription-streaming service has inked a multiyear marketing pact with the Madison Square Garden Co., which includes …

SOURCE: Variety at 10:15AM
Thursday, February 8, 2018

Disney Inks Mobile-Game Deal With ‘Kim Kardashian: Hollywood’ Developer by Todd Spangler

Characters from Disney and Pixar’s film franchises will be coming to a new mobile game, under a deal struck with games developer and publisher Glu Mobile. Glu Mobile announced a pact w…

SOURCE: Variety at 10:53AM
Monday, January 22, 2018

Netflix Took $39 Million Write-Down for ‘Unreleased Content’ — Was It Related to Kevin Spacey Scandal? by Todd Spangler

Netflix, in announcing its fourth-quarter 2017 earnings with record subscriber additions, said it had taken a $39 million write-down related to content “we’ve decided not to mov…

SOURCE: Variety at 05:45PM
Thursday, January 18, 2018

Above Average Steers Focus to Original Comedy Series for TV, Digital Services by Todd Spangler

Above Average started life in 2012 as the digital-comedy arm of Lorne Michaels’ Broadway Video, the company best known for producing “Saturday Night Live.” Now, Above Avera…

SOURCE: Variety at 05:12PM

Four Disney-Managed YouTube Stars Launch Twitch Channels by Todd Spangler

Twitch will get exclusive content from four of Disney’s biggest YouTube content-creator partners — Markiplier, Jacksepticeye, LuzuGames and Strawburry17 — under a multiyear…

SOURCE: Variety at 12:00PM
Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Disney-ABC TV Chief Ben Sherwood Touts Iger’s Streaming Strategy at CES by Todd Spangler

Ben Sherwood, president of Disney-ABC Television Group, said that his division will be the largest contributor to Disney’s planned 2019 internet-video subscription service — and …

SOURCE: Variety at 02:24PM
Monday, January 8, 2018

Alex Hofmann, Musical.ly’s President of North America, Exits After Bytedance Acquisition by Todd Spangler

Alex Hofmann, after three years at Musical.ly as president of North America, is departing the social-video app company after it was acquired by Chinese tech giant Bytedance. Hofmann’s …

SOURCE: Variety at 12:54PM
Tuesday, December 19, 2017

Musical.ly Establishes $50 Million Creator Fund by Todd Spangler

Musical.ly, maker of a short-form video app popular among teens, announced that it is investing up to $50 million in a fund to support its users (or “Musers,” as it calls them). …

SOURCE: Variety at 11:52AM
Friday, December 15, 2017

Disney Will Get More Vice After Acquiring 21st Century Fox’s $70 Million Stake by Todd Spangler

Disney will be adding a little more Vice into its life. The media conglomerate will obtain 21st Century Fox’s $70 million stake in Vice Media under the mammoth asset deal Disney and Fo…

SOURCE: Variety at 11:26AM
Thursday, December 14, 2017

Wall Street Cheers Disney-Fox Deal as Media Stocks Get Lift From M&A News by Todd Spangler

Shares of both Disney and 21st Century Fox rose Thursday after they announced their deal for Disney to acquire major assets of Fox, an event that pushed other media stocks up as well. 21st C…

SOURCE: Variety at 04:16PM

Disney-Fox Deal: Media Stocks Rise After Megadeal Announcement by Todd Spangler

Media investors reacted Thursday to the blockbuster Disney-21st Century Fox deal, with stocks of several big media companies ticking up in early trading as Wall Street processed the implicat…

SOURCE: Variety at 09:37AM
Wednesday, December 13, 2017

Redbox Launches Digital Movie and TV Service, Without Disney Titles by Todd Spangler

Redbox is finally opening a bridge to an online digital-entertainment future. The company, known for its nationwide network of DVD-rental kiosks, publicly launched Redbox On Demand on Wedne…

SOURCE: Variety at 04:00PM
Monday, December 4, 2017

‘House of Cards’ Sixth and Final Season Shooting to Resume in Early 2018, Without Kevin Spacey by Todd Spangler

Netflix has reached an agreement to resume production on “House of Cards” season 6 — the show’s final season — in early 2018, according to chief content officer…

SOURCE: Variety at 12:24PM
Friday, December 1, 2017

Disney Sues to Block Redbox’s Digital Movie Sales by Todd Spangler

Disney has filed a lawsuit seeking to stop Redbox from selling digital codes for purchasing Disney movies to download or stream. In October, Redbox launched a service offering “digital…

SOURCE: Variety at 11:18AM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards