The Island of Misfit Toys: Movie Studios Cast Off TV Assets

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It's Tuesday, June 10th. Here's what's happening.

🍿 The Big Picture

The big movie studios are spinning off their once coveted legacy TV assets, as they try to unlock value for their shareholders. Warner Bros. Discovery is now spinning off their network business (after spending years struggling to merge them all together), Comcast is planning to shed their cable assets (now named Versant) and Lionsgate recently split off the Starz channel into its own company. The idea of course is to streamline the creative film/tv units, aiming for high growth, while relegating the legacy TV networks to their own island of misfit toys. Apparently no one wants a Charlie in the Box.

🎥 Extra Coverage

Paramount is cutting 3.5% of its workforce today as it continues to prep for a possible merger with Skydance. (CNBC)

Under the radar, vertical dramas (phone-based, episodic films) have become one of the next hot things. Vertical drama director Yun Xie might just be "The 21st Century Roger Corman". (IndieWire)

Disney is buying the remainder of Hulu in a final payoff of $439 million to Comcast. (Hollywood Reporter)

Here is a list of the worst movies of the year (so far), according to Letterboxd users. And yes, Snow White is on there. (ScreenCrush)

Michael Burns, the Vice Chairman of Lionsgate, appeared on CNBC yesterday, discussing the spinoff of Starz, the box office for Ballerina, and the library that the studio has built, predicting consolidation in the legacy networks. (CNBC)

🎙️ Now Hear This

Warner Bros. Discovery Is Splitting Up. What's Next?
Matt Belloni and Lucas Shaw break down the breakup. Another great The Town Podcast. (The Town)

📈 MNP Stock Index

Market Close: Tuesday, June 10th, 2025
Total Value: $108,357.80
Today's Change: $1,654.07 (1.55%)
Total Gain/Loss (Since 05/12/25): $8,357.78 (8.36%)

Enormous day for the MNP Index, as we ended up 1.55% on the session. The always volatile Starz shot up 11.49% and apparently the Street now likes the WBD spinoff idea (who knew?). The stock closed up 5.19%.

Disclaimer: The MovieNewsPro Stock Index is a virtual index - there are no actual funds invested. Sector index total value dollar amounts are based on an initial hypothetical investment of $100,000 on May 12th, 2025. We are not licensed investment advisors and our information should not be used as investment advice. Invest wisely.

🏆 Film Festivals

Tribeca Film Festival, US - June 4-15
Lighthouse International Film Festival, US - June 4-8
Sydney Film Festival, Australia - June 4-15
Guadalajara International Film Festival, Mexico - June 6-14
Annecy International Animation Film Festival and Market, France - June 8-14
American Black Film Festival, US - June 11-15
Provincetown International Film Festival, US - June 11-15
DC/DOX Film Festival, US - June 12-15
Monte Carlo Television Festival, Monaco - June 13-17
Transilvania International Film Festival, Romania - June 13-22
Bentonville Film Festival, US - June 16-22
CineEurope, Spain - June 16-19

📺 Watch This Tonight

Thelma (2024)
Directed by Josh Margolin
One of our favorite indie films from 2024. Funny, thought provoking and yes, touching.

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Disclaimer/Transparency
MovieNewsPro is a film industry news monitoring service. All stories have been previously reported elsewhere and are not exclusive stories to MNP. All information is believed to be accurate at the time of reporting. MovieNewsPro uses a full array of technology to gather information, including machine learning, automation and artificial intelligence throughout its business monitoring, editing and reporting process.