Film and TV Briefing: Friday 13 June 2025
Welcome to this week’s round-up of news, commentary and industry announcements that you may have missed from the past week.
If you are looking for advice in relation to any of the issues mentioned, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
In the news
Warner Bros. Discovery to split into two: Streaming & Studios, and Global Networks (The Hollywood Reporter)
Netflix co-CEO discusses strategy, US tariffs, UK levy, UGC and more (The Hollywood Reporter)
Disney unlikely to exit TV channel business, says CEO (The Hollywood Reporter)
‘Lilo & Stitch’ retains top spot at UK box office for third consecutive weekend (Variety)
‘How to Train Your Dragon’ to make $75m at US box office in opening weekend (Variety)
Features and commentary
Trump trade war may mean more Hollywood co-productions (The Hollywood Reporter)
Warner Bros. Discovery split: what’s next? (Variety)
Pay TV falls to 1987 levels in what may be “long-imagined bottom” according to analyst (Deadline)
Industry announcements
Netflix to invest €1bn in Spanish originals by 2029 (Deadline)
Tim Cook outlines Apple’s vision for movies and TV (Variety)
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO explains decision to split company (The Hollywood Reporter)
BFI report labels AI trained on copyrighted materials a “direct threat” to UK screen sector (The Guardian)
ScreenSkills announces next phase for Training Passport following successful pilot (PACT)
Resources
Official launch of ‘Skills England’ sets out assessment of skills needs in creative sector (ScreenSkills)
Consultation update on media restrictions on “less healthy” food and drink adverts (ASA)
Legal updates
Disney and Universal sue AI company Midjourney over copyright infringement (The Hollywood Reporter)
Harvey Weinstein convicted of one count of sexual assault in New York retrial (Variety)
Court throws out Justin Baldoni’s $400m defamation case against Blake Lively (Variety)
Baldoni to continue legal proceedings against Blake Lively after defamation suit dismissed (Variety)
Ofcom opens nine new investigations under Online Safety Act (Ofcom)
CIISA calls on Channel 4 to launch independent investigation into confidentiality clauses (Deadline)
