MIKE ON KCRW: Murdoch Drama, Game of Thrones Drama and Netflix Drama

On this Monday's edition of The Business, Kim Masters and I bantered about several topics including:

- In a much-admired smooth plan of succession, Rupert Murdoch will pass control of his media empire on to his two sons.
- Netflix is paying $30 million for the new Brad Pitt movie War Machine. While the streaming outlet has invested in original movies before, this move represents their largest payment and serious move towards making prestigious, potentially award-worthy films.
- Disney is out about $140 million after director Brad Bird had a rare flop with Tomorrowland. It's a loss Disney can certainly afford, but some movie-lovers are worried this misstep will move them away from "original" movies and make them depend even more on reliable franchises.

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On last Thursday's Hollywood Breakdown, Kim Masters and I talked all about the Rupert Murdoch succession plan at 21st Century Fox:

The Murdochs are showing the world how to set up a succession plan. In what seems like a seamless transition, Rupert Murdoch has said he will hand the reins of 21st Century Fox to his son James. Both James and Murdoch's other son Lachlan have long worked in their father's businesses. And while James Murdoch's career may have been marred at one point by the phone hacking scandal in Britain, he's now become a seasoned and respected media executive. In other news with the reorganization, Chase Carey will step down from his role as CEO at Fox and work as an adviser to the company.

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On Monday's Press Play with Madeleine Brand, Slate's June Thomas and I discussed:

For those of you still smarting from the Game of Thrones finale last night, perhaps the new season of Orange Is the New Black will work as a salve? We talk about how HBO’s historical fiction/fantasy series ended its latest round of episodes, and more in our weekly television segment.

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KCRW's THE SPIN-OFF: July Post-TCA Edition (Listen Now!)

KCRW's monthly TV podcast The Spin-Off is back for our July edition! This month, Joe and I welcome guest Diane Gordon (who took the pic above) to chat about the hot TV topics of the month. The highlights:

The summer session of the 2014 Television Critics Association press tour has just wrapped up. Some of the big announcements to come out of the event? South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone inked a deal with Hulu, and the FX show Fargo will get a second season. But two women really stole the show: Cristela Alonzo of ABC’s Cristela and Gina Rodrigues from CW’s Jane the Virgin both captivated audiences with personal stories of their showbiz journeys. Plus, Amazon presents some big, dramatic original programming plans, whereas Microsoft calls it quits in that department.

Emmy nominations have been announced, and after the initial reactions to snubs and scores, many are still puzzled by how a show like Nurse Jackie ends up in the comedy category or how True Detective is NOT a miniseries.

Kevin Reilly left Fox Broadcasting at the end of May, and the company has finally announced their new leadership plan. Dana Walden and Gary Newman, CEOs of 20th Century Fox TV will also now head Fox Broadcasting, bringing the studio the network under the same leadership umbrella.

End of show Downloads:

Joe: Sunday nights have become a delight thanks to John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight.

Diane: Hulu’s Hotwives of Orlando is a pitch-perfect parody of Bravo’s Real Housewives.

Mike: Time Warner rebuffs an offer from Rupert Murdoch, but Fox’s purchase of the coveted media conglomerate seems inevitable.

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MIKE ON RADIO: Talking Rupert Murdoch on "The Business" and the TCA Press Tour on "Press Play"

On last week's episode of KCRW's The Business, Kim Masters and I once again discussed the top entertainment news stories of the week:

- Time Warner rebuffs Murdoch’s $80 billion offer...for now
- Restructuring at Fox post-Kevin Reilly
- Microsoft gives up on original programming

Listen below!



MEANWHILE, I was also on Press Play with Madeleine Brand last Monday discussing the headlines coming out of the Television Critics Association Press Tour, with an emphasis on Fox's new series "Utopia":

This fall, a new civilization will be born. And cameras will be rolling the whole time. The Fox network’s newest reality TV show is called “Utopia”, and the network says it’s a social experiment. We talk about that, plus the latest news coming out of the Television Critics Association press event.

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MIKE ON RADIO: Bantering About the Murdoch Family, CinemaCon and Disney's Maker Purchase on KCRW's "The Business"

Kim Masters was back on this week's edition of KCRW's "The Business," but her banter buddy John Horn was out, so I'm once again bacl this week to chat about the week's entertainment news. Here's what we touched on:

- News out of CinemaCon, the annual trade show for theater owners, is that global box office is strong except among the youth in the US.

- More Murdoch family drama and news of a succession plan to run the various companies of News Corp.

- Disney news: Anne Sweeney has been replaced by Ben Sherwood to run ABC and the other Disney-owned TV channels. What will his news background bring to the job?

- Disney plans to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to buy the online studio Maker Studios.

Listen today at 2:30 p.m. (PT) on KCRW 89.9, or listen now below!