Streaming As New Focus

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www.deadline.com/2019/01/cbs-films-folded-into-cbs-entertainment-group-1202534009/

CBS Films To Become Part Of CBS Entertainment Group, With Streaming As New Focus

EXCLUSIVE: CBS Films will become part of the CBS Entertainment Group, sources said. There will be some layoffs as a result, as the label focus on streaming-centric content. This has been in discussion stage for awhile, a result of the shifting dynamics of the independent arthouse space, and trying to survive when you are not making tent poles.

CBS Films launched in 2007 and in recent years its biggest films get released through Lionsgate, which today also consolidated and is losing some staffers. CBS Films has in release the Julian Schnabel-directed Eternity’s Gate, which has put Willem Dafoe in the Best Actor awards mix. The film is currently in art house release and has passed the $2 million gross mark. We will see how all this plays out. The label could be a strong provider of content for CBS All Access, which has been gaining traction with Star Trek Discovery, with several spinoffs coming.

This also becomes an interesting wrinkle in the ongoing speculation that Viacom and CBS will be rejoined after all these years. Deadline revealed this week that the CBS board was putting the brakes on finding a new CEO because merger talks between the company and Viacom are back on the agenda.

I’ve just gotten a statement from the CBS Corporation:

“As part of our ongoing optimization of CBS operations, CBS Films will be folded into the larger CBS Entertainment Group over the course of 2019. This will allow the company to further focus its entertainment resources on its television, digital and streaming businesses. Prior to shifting its focus to streaming-centered content, the division will continue to execute their distribution and marketing strategies in support of forthcoming releases Five Feet Apart, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Pavarotti, and Lexi. We are grateful for the continued leadership of Terry Press and the passionate efforts of everyone at CBS Films.”

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www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cbs-films-folded-cbs-entertainment-group-1175613


CBS Films Being Folded Into CBS Entertainment Group
4:59 PM PST 1/11/2019 by Mia Galuppo


CBS Films is still committed to theatrical release for upcoming titles like 'Five Feet Apart' and 'Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.'
Over the course of 2019, CBS Films is being folded into CBS Entertainment Group, shifting its focus towards creating content for the company's streaming platforms.

The company is committed to the theatrical release of four upcoming titles: Five Feet Apart, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Pavarotti and Lexi. (Five Feet Apart, Scary Stories and Lexi will be distributed through the company’s partnership with Lionsgate.)

Layoffs are expected at CBS Films, which employs roughly 40 people, and will begin in mid-March. CBS Films president Terry Press is expected to continue to lead the division.

CBS Films will pivot toward developing, producing an acquiring projects for CBS' digital platforms, which will likely include the company's current streaming platform CBS All Access, the home to series offering like The Good Fight and Jordan Peele's upcoming Twilight Zone reboot.

The move comes as dramas and genre offerings like romantic comedies are being backed by Netflix and Amazon, and studios have begun to move their mid-budget offerings to individual streaming services, like Disney+, pushing theatrical releases for their big-budget superhero movies and tentpole franchises.

CBS Films's recent release include Hell or High Water, the Helen Mirren-fronted horror film Winchester and, most recently, the Vincent van Gogh biopic At Eternity’s Gate, which earned star Willem Dafoe a Golden Globe nomination.

Read the full statement from the CBS Corporation below.

As part of our ongoing optimization of CBS operations, CBS Films will be folded into the larger CBS Entertainment Group over the course of 2019. This will allow the company to further focus its entertainment resources on its television, digital and streaming businesses. Prior to shifting its focus to streaming-centered content, the division will continue to execute their distribution and marketing strategies in support of forthcoming releases “Five Feet Apart,” “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark,” “Pavarotti,” and “Lexi.” We are grateful for the continued leadership of Terry Press and the passionate efforts of everyone at CBS Films.