President Donald Trump delivered remarks for about an hour at the dinner party David Ellison hosted in Washington, D.C., on Thursday evening “honoring” Trump — and intended to celebrate the First Amendment, sources told Variety. Ellison organized the event in Trump’s honor (as well as to recognize CBS News’ White House reporters) as his Paramount […]

Paramount Skydance chairman and CEO David Ellison, who is in the midst of trying close a massive deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, had a pay package worth $63.2 million last year — mostly in stock that vests over five years. Jeff Shell, who resigned as Paramount’s president earlier this month to “focus” on a […]

Comcast gave Brian Roberts a pay raise last year — but not nearly as much as his recently promoted co-CEO, Mike Cavanagh. Roberts, chairman and co-CEO of the media and cable conglomerate, had compensation worth $35.15 million in 2025, up 4% from the year prior, according to a Comcast SEC filing Friday. Cavanagh, who was […]

YouTube has pulled down two channels operated by Braden Peters, the “looskmaxxing” streamer who is known online as Clavicular. In November 2025, YouTube had terminated Clavicular’s original channel for facilitating access to websites that violate the platform’s Illegal or regulated goods or services policies, according to a YouTube spokesperson. YouTube’s terms of service prohibit creators […]

Ari Emanuel, executive chairman and CEO of TKO Group — parent company of WWE, UFC and other businesses — had a compensation package worth $67.36 million last year, according to a regulatory filing. In 2025, Emanuel’s compensation from TKO included a base salary of $3 million, an $11.88 million cash bonus, $44 million in stock […]

Now that it doesn’t have to pay for Warner Bros., Netflix is using its capital to buy back more shares: The streaming giant said its board authorized a buyback of an additional $25 billion of the company’s stock. On April 22, Netflix’s board of directors authorized the repurchase of an additional $25 billion of common […]

Google and YouTube sell billions in advertising every month. But now they’re partnering with SiriusXM to handle a specific bucket of inventory: audio ads that run against YouTube content like podcasts, talk shows and music. SiriusXM struck a deal with Google making SiriusXM Media, the group that represents SiriusXM, Pandora and the company’s network of […]

President Donald Trump praised Tim Cook, who’s stepping down as Apple’s CEO later this year, as “an incredible guy!!!” who had “an AMAZING career.” Trump also said the tech exec once called him during his first term in office to ask for help on an unspecified matter — and Trump said his reaction was that […]

L.A.-based start-up Fixated has acquired creator media company Studio71, combining their respective talent representation, production, distribution, monetization capabilities and more under one roof. According to Fixated, the deal marks a major step in its strategy in its strategy to become a one-stop shop for “the next generation of creator-led media businesses.” Together, Fixated and Studio71 […]

Tim Cook is set to exit as Apple’s CEO after 15 years. John Ternus, senior VP of hardware engineering, will become Apple’s next chief executive officer, the company announced. Cook will become executive chairman of Apple’s board of directors and Ternus will become its next CEO effective Sept. 1, 2026. The transition, which was approved […]

Satire site the Onion says that it has — after 17 months legal wrangling — successfully landed a deal allowing it take over Infowars, the right-wing conspiracy-fueled site run by Alex Jones. Ben Collins, CEO of the Onion, confirmed to Variety details of the company’s new plan to assume control of Infowars under a deal […]

Kash Patel, the director of the FBI, filed a lawsuit against the Atlantic over a story alleging that he “has alarmed colleagues with episodes of excessive drinking and unexplained absences.” Patel’s suit seeks $250 million in damages. In a statement Monday, the Atlantic said: “We stand by our reporting on Kash Patel, and we will […]