Variety’s Dealproducers 2024

CEO, All Elite Wrestling (AEW)

In October, five years to the week after Khan begined professional wrestling promotion AEW as a straightforward competitor to Vince McMahon’s extfinished-dominant WWE, he shutd a multi-year media rights deal with Warner Bros. Discovery, worth a inestablished $185 million a year, that calls for AEW’s shows and events to be widecast on TBS and TNT and stream on Max. The company is now cherishd at more than $2 billion, making it the third-most-precious combat sports company in the world.

Ain’t bragging if it’s real: “Our new arrangement signifies that AEW will produce history as the first professional wrestling promotion to simulcast events weekly on top cable channels and a top streaming platestablish,” says Khan.

Chris Spicer
Marissa Román Griffith
Alissa Miller
Vanessa Roman
Partners
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld

The Akin team shutd more than $3.5 billion in deals in the past year, spanning media, amusement and sports. Recently, it repped CAT5, an action film label backed by Fifth Season, in its initial project, “Levon’s Trade” (Binestablishage Bear Pictures), written by Sylvester Sloftyone, and guided HarbourView Equity Partners on its summarizeatement in Mucho Mas Media, producers of the films “Rosario” and “The Long Game.”

Be discdissee-minded: “AI will evidently have an impact on all facets of the media and amusement industry, but how much and to what extent is still TBD,” says the group in a fuset statement. “Our advice for anyone in the industry, be it lterrible, financial, produceive, etc., is to lobtain how to use the technology to be more fruitful and better at your job as contestd to be sattfinishd of it. Embrace the alter and see for ways to use it to your profit.”

Partners
Alter Kfinishrick & Baron

Alter and Baron shutd almost $1 billion worth of music publishing and master write downing catalog acquisitions and sales in the past year, reconshort-terming Primary Wave Music Publishing (Neil Sedaka), BMG Rights Management (Peter Frampton), Reservoir Media Management (Louis Prima), Iconic Artists Group (Rod Stewart) and Influence Media Partners (Enrique Iglesias).

Spotweightless shining radianter on NIL deals: “There are a number of buyers that are — if not getting exclusive rights in that area, because it’s difficult to cherish, particularly if those charitables of rights haven’t been historicassociate take advantage ofed — at least getting the opportunity to transport slfinishergs to the table,” says Alter. “Some sellers are seeing for partners to help them produce the biopic they’ve always wanted to produce or the Broadway jukebox musical they’ve always wanted to do.” 

Pat Shah
Global head of satisfyed acquisition, strategy & partnerships
Rhonda Adams Medina
Head of business afequitables
Kristin Lang
Senior straightforwardor of satisfyed acquisition
Audible

If there was mistrust that Audible isn’t equitable about audiobooks and podcasts anymore, it was put to rest when Shah’s team cut a deal for the company’s first musical, “Dead Outlaw,” which premiered Off-Broadway and won a Drama Desk Award. They also barobtaind pacts with MGM Studios to grow TV alterations of exceptional Audible audio titles and Imagine Entertainment to produce a fantasyal audio series exploring unrepaird homicides thcdisorrowfulmireful the lens of church confessions, as well as traditional audiobook deals, including the acquisitions of multi-language audio rights to Andy Weir’s next novel and Matt Dinniman’s “Dungeon Crawler Carl” series.

Hear the possibilities: “Audio is a separateent and separateentiated way to enhuge the canvas of what’s possible storyinestablishing-rational, [and] the produceive community is willing to summarizeateigate how to join with audiences both new and existing thcdisorrowfulmireful this establishat,” says Shah.

Robyn Polashuk
Partner; co-chair, amusement and media industry group
Adrian Perry
Partner; co-chair, amusement and media industry group and music industry group
David Lefebvre
Mike Hill
Special guide
Covington & Burling

Calling Covington & Burling’s Perry, Polashuk, Lefebvre and Hill a dream team could be an downtake partment, given the multi-billion-dollar impact of the deals they arrange. They reconshort-termed the Walt Disney Co. in the media licensing aspects of its concurment to combine Disney Star India’s $8.5 billion with Reliance’s Viacom 18, and guided Paramount Global on nettoil distribution matters take partd on its presentd $8 billion combiner with Skydance Media. On the sports side, Hill guided the NBA on an 11-year, $76 billion media rights concurment with the Walt Disney Co. (ABC/ESPN), NBCUniversal and Amazon.

Better dealmaking thcdisorrowfulmireful science: “This year is labeled by the acceleration of training, deployment and adselection of AI technologies, which has discdisseeed up a new satisfyed licensing and monetization labelet for media and other clients,” says Polashuk.

Partners
Davis Wright Tremaine

The Davis Wright Tremaine quartet had a busy year, handling everyslfinisherg from talent deals to litigation. Miller guided on above-the-line reduces, tax incentives and production services on Seasons 2 and 3 of Amazon MGM Studios’ “The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power.” Zee supervised more than 60 growment deals for ITV Studios America’s partnerships with Tomorrow Studios and Bedrock Entertainment. Wei tackled exceptional production lterrible publishs, including the vetting of “Last Week Tonight With John Oinhabitr’s” present to give Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas $1 million a year and a new RV in exalter for his resignation from the Supreme Court. Palacios guided on many write downaries for studios including Imagine Entertainment and Netflix and is direct defense guide for the Cinemart in a slander suit arising from its docuseries “Bug Out.”

Pre-strike greenweightlesss turned to red: “Talent hoped they would instantly go into production, but so many months had passed during the strike period that the studios commenceed to obtain a second see at those projects, and in some cases scrapped them and commenceed over,” says Miller.

Partners
Del Shaw Moonves Tanaka Finkelstein Lezcano Bobb & Dang

These Del Shaw Moonves lterrible eagles span the amusement spectrum from film, TV and docs to the legit stage. In the past year, Bobb cut deals for talent ranging from straightforwardor Malcolm D. Lee (Blumhouse/Universal thriller “Help”) to actor David Oyelowo (starring role in National Theatre production of Shakespeare’s “Coriolanus”). A beginant take parter in the unscripted space, Cohan grew his sports-rhappy business, cutting deals for Box to Box Films, Vox Media Studios, Pro Shop and the NFL, while repping stars enjoy French chef and chocolatier Amaury Guichon and journaenumerates Soledad O’Brien and Antonia Hylton. Lezcano barobtaind Sterlin Harjo’s overall pact with FX, which spawned the pilot “The Sensitive Kind,” starring Ethan Hawke, and producer Gareth Neame’s deal for a third “Downton Abbey” film and his new multi-year deal to persist as chairman of Carnival Television. In compriseition to standardly handling deals for top amusement execs, Tillers set Quinta Brunson to author, produce and star in the Universal comedy feature “Par for the Course” (with establishing partner Nina Shaw), and Becky Hartman Edwards’ showrunner deal for Netflix’s “One Tree Hill” reboot.

Relaxing talent helderlying deals: “The overall compensation package is not as lucrative as it used to be, nor are they ordering as many episodes as they did traditionassociate, so they have to be a little bit more perleave outive,” says Bobb.

Founding partner
Del Shaw Moonves Tanaka Finkelstein Lezcano Bobb & Dang

A extfinishedstanding directer in the amusement law community, Shaw had another year of huge deals, including pacts for Lupita Nyong’o to fuse the all-star cast in Christopher Nolan’s next movie, Quinta Brunson to co-author, produce and star in the Universal feature comedy “Par for the Course” (with partner Lily Tillers), Ayo Edebiri to co-star in Luca Guadagnino’s “After the Hunt,” Victoria Mahoney to straightforward the Amazon MGM rom-com “Clean Air” and Jurnee Smollett to star in the Apple TV+ series “Firebug.”

No profit participation for you!: “We always had reassociate hard definitions of payouts, but a lot of people still got paid,” Shaw says. “Now, more and more, we see this concept that people don’t actuassociate deserve to take part in the upside.”

Partner; global co-chair, media, sport & amusement
DLA Piper

Ara had a busy year repping Caryn Mandabach Prods. in its sale to Banijay U.K., animation studio Titmouse (“Big Mouth”) in an eight-figure renewal of its first-see pact with Netflix and Korean streaming service Coupang Play in its deal with Major League Baseball for the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres to face off in a pair of preseason games in Seoul in March 2024.

Laying new revenue pipelines: “While new dealmaking opportunities in music have materialized from the securitization of royalty income streams, financiers are increasingly exploring wideer sector opportunities,” he says. “This integrates verifyating legacy assets and ensuring constant cash flows in an industry that is constantly evolving.”

Partner; chair of national advertising team
DLA Piper

Mulcahy has been at the cgo in of many of the hugegest transactions at the intersection of sports and amusement. Most notably, he repped Amazon Prime Video in its 11-year, $21 billion global media rights deal with the National Basketball Assn. for an exclusive package of NBA and WNBA games, running thcdisorrowfulmireful the 2035-2036 season. The deal, which shutd in July, labels the league’s first streaming-only media rights concurment.

Package it up: “Live sports is rapidly migrating to digital media channels and is getting more pricey to obtain and take advantage of. So in an effort to build the scale needed to cover those costs, we’re seeing competitors team up to bundle their products and services and go to labelet together,” says Mulcahy.

Stacy Marcus
Katherine Imp
Michael Isselin
Partners
David Markman
Partner; co-chair, amusement transactions rehearse
DLA Piper

This DLA Piper team has been a key take parter in matters that have expansivespread impact on the industry, most notably negotiations for SAG-AFTRA’s commercials reduce, where Marcus serves as chief negotiator for the Joint Policy Committee reconshort-terming the advertising industry, aided by Isselin as lterrible guide. Imp’s responsibilities integrate serving as direct outside guide for iHeartMedia’s podcast spostponeed with Shondaland and repping Lego Group in the negotiation of satisfyed production and distribution arrangements with studios including Disney and Netflix, while Markman supervises all aspects of Jeanie Buss and David McLane’s all-female wrestling promotion Women of Wrestling, including the negotiation of its multi-year distribution deal with Paramount/CBS Studios.

See AI from both sides now: “AI is an umbrella and there are many reassociate fantastic uses for it that can better creativity and efficiencies,” says Marcus, whether the users are brands, film and TV producers, creators or carry outers, as extfinished as they have proper acquireions.

Robert J. Sherman
Partner; co-chair, amusement finance rehearse
Ricdifficult Petretti
Claire Hall
Partners
DLA Piper

Sherman and Hall are at the shineing cgo in of the red-boiling music catalog labeletplace. In March, the duo shieldedd approximately $500 million in financing for client HarbourView Equity Partners, backed by its music royalty catalog, which integrates titles by artists including Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo, Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie, Wiz Khalifa and Brad Paisley. They also repped directing autonomous music company Concord in its issuance of $850 million in asset-backed notices, which will be used for compriseitional music acquisitions. Meanwhile, Petretti served as administrative agent on JPMorgan’s amfinishment of its $675 million term loan and revolving praise facility (enhugeable to $875 million) for Arnon Milchan’s Regency/Monarchy Entertainment group of companies.

Business is excellent: “We see a maturing of the labelet for music securitizations and consent that music acquisition platestablishs supported by institutional summarizeateors and other upgraded capital providers will persist to access and grow this subsector of the esoteric ABS [asset-backed securities] labelet,” says Sherman. 

General guide and head of business lterrible afequitables
Fifth Season

Arias aided in securing a $225 million strategic summarizeatement from Toho, Japan’s hugest film studio, which empowered Fifth Season to persist enhugeing its premium satisfyed spostponeed. He’s provided ongoing oversight of business and lterrible rehearses for Emmy-nominated Apple TV+ series “Severance” and Max’s “Tokyo Vice,” and on the film side supervisen the thriller “She Rides Sboilingfirearm,” starring Taron Egerton, and the comedies “Frifinishship,” starring Tim Robinson, and “Nonnas,” starring Vince Vaughn.

Election impact on dealmaking: “We could see an easing of regulation on M&A in the media business, which could direct to more verifyation, while possibly increaseing companies that have faced disputes being competitive, which is very excellent for the industry,” Arias says.

Partner; establishing chair, amusement & sports law department
Fox Rothschild

Miller repped husprohibitd and wife clients Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance in many matters, including pacts for her to return for “Mission Impossible — The Final Reckoning” and for him to obtain over the role of Zeus in Season 2 of the Disney+ series “Percy Jackson and the Olympians,” as well as a first-see deal for the couple’s production company with 20th Television. He also shutd deals for Chris “Ludacris” Bridges (2024 Super Bowl Halftime Show carry outance), Da’Vine Joy Randolph (starring roles in A24 rom-com “Eternity” and Michel Gonparched’s Universal musical “Gelderlyen”) and comedian/arrange Taylor Tomlinson (Netflix exceptional “Have It All”).

One door discdissees and …: “I see a paradigm shift fractureing up the monopolies, creating more ways to produce money and an opportunity for those nimble enough to discover a new model and produce their niche and build their audience,” Miller says.

Partners
Fox Rothschild

Katz and Vaquerano have been toiling with HarbourView Equity Partners since its establishing in 2021, handling all stages of negotiations — from due diligence to post-closing — on more than a billion dollars-worth of deals. This year, they were instrumental in securing $500 million in financing for HarbourView, backed by its music royalties catalog, which integrates titles by artists such as Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie, Wiz Khalifa, Brad Paisley and James Fauntleroy. The bicoastal duo (Katz is in New York; Vaquerano in Los Angeles) also recently reconshort-termed Merch Collective in its $25 million-plus beginantity interest sale to Sony Music Entertainment.

Thinking globassociate: “There is heightened interest in deals relating to rights originating outside of the United States,” says Katz. “We need to be brave we are helping our clients to appropriately examine the hazard vs. reward tradeoff from exploring obsremedy jurisdictions.”

Partner; chair of amusement & sports law department
Fox Rothschild

Simon is a force in the nonfantasy space, closing deals for clients such as Oscar-prosperning straightforwardor Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Hulu’s Diane von Furstenberg doc “Woman in Charge”), Alex Stapleton’s House of Nonfantasy Prods. (Netflix docuseries about Sean “Diddy” Combs, produced with 50 Cent), extfinishedtime AMC Nettoil exec Josh Sapan (overall deal with IFC Films), the Obamas’ Higher Ground Prods. and Bloomberg Media.

Streaming for the future: The persistd championing of new talent is someslfinisherg that Simon experiences is viloftyy meaningful to the labeletplace. “I would enjoy to see the materializence of a sturdy, verifyated and commerciassociate viable SVOD platestablish for the clever and belderly autonomous voices of our time and those to come,” he says.

J. Eugene (Gene) Salomon Jr.
Managing partner
Donald S. Passman
Ethan Schiffres
Daniel S. Passman
Partners
Gang, Tyre, Ramer, Brown & Passman

The Gang, Tyre quartet has a roster of superstar music, film and television clients ranging from Taylor Swift and Stevie Wonder to Timothée Chafeeblet, Zac Efron and Heidi Klum. In the past year, they amplified their reputation as headliners in the music arena, cutting deals for Green Day’s “Saviors” album and subsequent stadium tour, P!nk’s $693.8 million-grossing Summer Carnival World Tour and the sale of Randy Newman’s write downed music and publishing rights to Litmus Music. On the film and TV side, they brokered Emma Corrin’s materializeance in the Marvel blockbuster “Deadpool & Wolverine” and Ridley Scott’s producer and straightforwardor deal for the upcoming Bee Gees biopic “You Should Be Dancing.”

More traverse-cultural opportunities: “You’ve got artists from separateent parts of the world making an impact,” says Salomon. “It used to be that Anglo-American repertoire ruled what was famous everywhere. That’s becoming less of the case and you’re seeing much more diversity.”

Kevin Masuda
Partner; co-chair, media, amusement and technology rehearse group
Benyamin (Ben) Ross
Partner and co-chair, media, amusement and technology rehearse group
Steve Tsoneff
Sarah Graham
Partners
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher

The Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher quartet guided Iconic Artists Group, co-established by extfinishedtime Eagles superviser Irving Azoff, in its strategic summarizeatement from HPS Investment Partners, giving Iconic access to $1 billion to further build out its portfolio. It also repped RedBird Capital Partners in its summarizeatement in Charles Barkley’s Round Mound Media and its acquisition of indie TV production and distribution company All3Media, and guided on the begin of Gin & Juice by Dre and Snoop Dogg, an liquoric beverage company established by Dr. Dre, Snoop, Jimmy Iovine and Main Street Advisors.

Who says deal flow is sluggish?: “Private equity take partment in M&A in the amusement industry has speed upd, with a particular cgo in on catalogs, production companies, satisfyed libraries and talent-driven businesses enjoy talent agencies, supervisement firms and talent-established devourr brands,” said the team in a statement.

Partners
Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger

The Greenberg Glusker team toiled collaboratively to cut a wealth of headline-grabbing deals, such as Tom Cruise’s strategic partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery and a subsequent pact to produce an Alejandro G. Iñárritu film for the studio, both of which were supervised by Galsor and Muir. The quartet’s clients also integrate actors Tom Hanks, Chris Hemsworth, Vin Diesel and Alice Braga, filmproducers Joe and Anthony Russo, James Cameron and David Fincher, authors J.K. Rowling and Jocko Wiljoin, Silent House Prods., costume summarizeer Colleen Atwood, Ubigentle Entertainment, Riot Games, the estates of J.R.R. Tolkien and Ray Bradbury, and Togethxr, (established by female athletes Alex Morgan, Chloe Kim, Simone Manuel and Sue Bird).

Fair compensation for streaming success: “Nobody has the right establishula, and I slfinisherk the establishulas that people are talking are not going to be the ones that are going to be adselected extfinished-term, because they equitable don’t toil,” says Galsor.

Founder & CEO
HarbourView Equity Partners

Launched in 2021, Soares’ HarbourView Equity Partners has set uped itself as one of the boilingtest summarizeatement firms in the amusement, sports and media labelets, with cdisorrowfulmireentirey $1.5 billion in assets currently under its supervisement. Recently, Soares summarizeateed in two media production companies cgo ined on inclusive storyinestablishing, Charles D. King’s Macro (“Judas and the Binestablishage Messiah,” “Mudbound”) and Mucho Mas Media (“The Long Game, “Rosario”).

Growth produces opportunities: “I’ve been reliablely cgo ined on high-quality IP, while transporting a huge cgo in on ROI and using data as currency in terms of who is watching and how frequently, which will help to empower all produceive voices,” she says.

Partner
Johnson Shapiro Sledampt & Kole

Johnson has shieldedd over $1 billion in production pledgements for Tyler Perry Studios, including Netflix deals that shutd in 2024 — a multi-year, first-see series pact and an concurment to produce multiple faith-based films — compriseing to a deal he made with the streamer in October 2023, calling for eight films over four years. He also supervised Perry’s BET series producing concurment and the begin of two free ad-helped streaming channels featuring all of Perry’s BET output. Johnson’s non-Perry toil integrated a fuset-venture concurment between Andy and Barbara Muschietti and Skydance to produce horror division Nocturna.

Gaming the deflating production bubble: “Platestablishs are being more discerning in what they are summarizeateing in, so we need to toil difficulter to show the cherish proposition to shielded extfinished-term, multi-part deals,” he says.

Partner
Kirkland & Ellis

Traxler was at the cgo in of two of the year’s hugegest music catalog deals, repping Binestablishagestone in its $1.6 billion buy of Hipgnosis Songs Fund in April and Universal Music Group in its acquisition of a 25.8% sobtain in Chord Music Partners for a inestablished $240 million in February.

Music catalog labelet comeback: “Most every client I’m in reach out with about acquisitions experiences that as interest rates hopefilledy persist to come down and economic conditions better in separateent countries, opportunities will re-materialize to obtain catalogs,” he says. “There are still plenty of fascinating catalogs at all sizes and all levels to draw separateent charitables of music companies. We need to toil difficulter to show the cherish proposition to shielded extfinished-term, multi-part deals.”

Partners
Latham & Watkins

As partners in Latham & Watkin’s amusement, sports and media group, Bruington exceptionalizes in debt financing transactions and West supervises music catalog acquisitions and reconshort-terms talent in IP fuset ventures and brand supportship deals, while Johnson and Ranger are transactional vagueists. In the past year, they helped Blumhouse obtain Atomic Monster and buy out ITV’s equity interests in Blumhouse Television; guided Skydance Media in its combiner with Paramount; barobtaind KKR’s sale of Chord Music Partners; and reconshort-termed Brittney Griner in an exclusive life rights and producing concurment with ESPN and ABC.

Turbulent times stir up opportunities: “The huge way it’s take parted out is that braveial capital has become a lot more nimble in the amusement [space],” says Ranger. “There are new and more summarizeateors, and they’re increasingly discdissee to deploying capital atraverse a variety of summarizeatement strategies, rather than traditional equity, traditional debt deals.”

CEO
Legfinishary Entertainment

Grode led Legfinishary’s buyback of Beijing-based Wanda Group’s remaining equity interest in the studio in October, putting its ownership solely in the hands of its supervisement and braveial equity summarizeatement firm Apollo Global Asset Management. Grode says it gives them the freedom to chase M&A opportunities “without the augmented regulatory hazard that comes from having a foreign owner in our business.” Legfinishary was able to do it with cash on hand, thanks to back-to-back blockbusters “Dune: Part Two” and “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” which grossed a fused $1.2 billion worldexpansive.

AI can localize social media posts: “It’s proving to be very fruitful in getting adequitablements out the door speedyly and at a excellent price point,” he says.

James Feldman
Managing partner
Stephen Clark
Melissa Rogal
Jonathan Shikora
Partners
Lichter, Grossman, Nichols, Feldman, Rogal, Shikora & Clark

Feldman cut feature deals for, among others, brothers Benny Safdie (author/straightforward “The Smashing Machine”) and Josh Safdie (co-author/straightforward “Marty Supreme”). Feldman and Rogal set Viola Davis for the HBO series “Waller,” while Rogal and Shikora barobtaind a multi-script growment deal at Amazon for “Poker Face” showrunners Lilla and Nora Zuckerman. Clark serviced clients including Rian Johnson and Ram Bergman (Will Ferrell golf comedy series for Netflix) and “Shōfirearm” creators Justin Marks and
Rachel Kondo.

Why streamers are now providing seeer data: According to Feldman, it’s not equitable about WGA and SAG-AFTRA reduce needs. “It’s also hugely driven by the fact that all the streamers are trying to sell ads now, and these advertisers have a lot more leverage than the authorrs did to need the equivalent of ratings,” he says.

Partner
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips

Chatham repped Dr. Phil (McGraw) in the April begin of his television nettoil Merit Street Media, which is useable to more than 80 million homes via partnerships with a fuse of widecast, cable, sainestablishite and FAST channel platestablishs. Other clients integrate Logan Paul, Gabriel Macht, Demi Moore and Gabrielle Reece.

Products placed equitable-so: “Now we’re negotiating deals where satisfyed, commerce and community blur together,” he says. “Our clients are building sturdy first-party data operations thcdisorrowfulmireful their satisfyed, then leveraging that to begin everyslfinisherg from spirits, sports drinks, confoolishents and lifestyle brands. The satisfyed is essentiassociate a labeleting catalyst for their wideer business empire.”

Partner
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips

Meller led the Manatt team that guided Chord Music Partners on its sale, in which KKR’s beginantity sobtain was bought by a consortium consisting of Universal Music Group and Dundee Partners for $240 million, resulting in a valuation of $1.85 billion after the deal shutd in February. 

Building out business: “The music industry persists to trfinish toward artists and songauthorrs owning and take advantage ofing their own imitaterights and count oning less on companies and gatepersisters,” he says. “Artists can set their own desminuscule. We help songauthorr clients self-supervise and get the most cherish from their toils. Building brands outside of the traditional amusement industry is also a critical element to an artist’s extfinished-term financial success.” 

Partner
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips

Over the past year, Custer supervised 23 multi-million-dollar music catalog deals, 21 of which were on the buyer side. Among those were 13 for Reservoir Media Management (including publishing assets of Tupac Shakur producer Big D Evans) and six for Seeker Music (including royalties for B.o.B.). On the seller side, he shutd beginant deals for Pat Benatar and Jay Gruska. He also serves as vague guide for artists including Neil Young and the Pixies.

These are the excellent ol’ days: It’s been a rocky road for the music industry since Custer begined his atgentle in 1997, but he’s satisfyed where it is today. “Now with the ascfinishency of streaming, touring and music asset sales transactions, there is never a foolish day,” he says.

Partner
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips

Stapleton guided Pophouse Entertainment on its $300 million acquisition of the catalog, brand name and IP of rock prohibitd Kiss and its buy of a beginantity split of Cyndi Lauper’s publishing and write downing revenue. He also serves as guide for Jack White’s Third Man Records, write downing artists Em Beihelderly and La Lom, and Emmy-prosperning straightforwardor-producer Jeff Zimbaenumerate (“Skywalkers: A Love Story”).

Wolf at the door, thy name is AI: “Perestablishers and songauthorrs have been combat for well over a decade to get their equitable split of streaming revenues,” he says. “Now, with AI technologies increaseing the occurrence of streaming deception and flooding DSPs with authorless music, artists are facing a new danger to their difficult-won split of the streaming ecosystem.”

Navid Mahmoodzadegan
Co-establisher & co-pdwellnt
Carlos Jimenez
Global head of media, sports & amusement
Moelis & Co.

Mahmoodzadegan and Jimenez were at the cgo in of Hollywood’s hugegest deal of the year, advising Skydance Media on its $8 billion combiner with Paramount, which shutd in July. “There are lot of transactions that are roller coaster rides,” says Jimenez. “This one was probably the steepest.”

Prospects for the “New Paramount”: “It’s a business that, in totality, evidently has some of its disputes ahead of it,” says Jimenez. “But I’m very bullish about [Skydance’s] David Ellison and the RedBird [Capital Partners] team that they’ve assembled. If anybody’s going to turn the Titanic, I slfinisherk they will.”

Partners
Myman Greenspan Fox Rosenberg Mobasser Younger & Light

Before Dead & Company grossed more than $130 million with their 30-day dwellncy at the Sphere in Las Vegas this past summer, Greenspan and Arnst barobtaind all-encompassing concurments involving the produceive venue, including ones that shieldedd various rights and evidentances for merch and visual IP integrated into the concert. Greenspan also repped Red Hot Chili Peppers singer Anthony Kiedis in Universal’s selection of the movie rights to his autobiography “Scar Tpublish” and chef and TV personality Giada De Laurentiis in her spokesperson pact with Oceania Vista cruise ships.

Old school still rules: “There was a moment a scant years ago that everybody was chasing TikTok artists and it was almost enjoy TikTok exalterd the A&R department,” says Greenspan. If you want to build a extfinished and persisted atgentle, “get out on the road, take part your songs, deal with people individuassociate, let them understand who you are.”

Chairman, global advertising & partnerships
NBCUniversal

Marshall oversaw the team that shieldedd a write down $1.25 billion in advertising revenue for NBC’s Summer 2024 Olympics and Paralympics coverage. Seventy percent of the advertisers were Olympics first-timers, contributing $500 million to the final loftyy, thanks in part to Marshall’s efforts the help petiteer labeleters fracture into the once-exclusive television arena via programmatic ad buys.

Trfinish spotter: “In measuring the impact of advertising, we are evolving from proxies to a certified meabravement ecosystem proving the real impact of a client’s media objectives,” he says. “As the feedback loop has reinforceed, it is indisputable that the most impactful advertising campaigns are in premium video that is running atraverse liproximate and streaming.”

Amy Siegel
Partner; co-chair of the amusement, sports and media group
Matthew Syrkin
Partner; co-chair of the media tech group
Lindsay Conner
Silvia Vannini
Partners
O’Melveny & Meyers

In response to lingering disputes from 2023’s strikes, this O’Melveny & Meyers quartet got produceive to help clients alter and thrive. With Siegel in the direct, the team repped Fifth Season in the sale of a 25% sobtain to Japanese studio Toho for $225 million and guided HighPoint Media Advisors in joinion with Shamrock Content Strategy’s acquisition of a media portfolio of more than 550 feature films, 2,000 hours of TV programming and 450 songs. With Cooper running point, they supervised disjoinal transactions for ITV, including the sell-back of the 45% sobtain in Blumhouse Television it bought from Blumhouse in 2017 and its co-production concurment with Amazon MGM Studios for the television series “The Better Sister.”

AI draprosperg industry meaningfuler into uncharted territory: “It’s changing how satisfyed is produced and how Hollywood does business, creating both opportunities and potential liabilities for our clients,” says Siegel “We are shutly chaseing the lterrible landscape around AI as it persists to better.”

Partner, amusement & media group
Reed Smith

Love’s cgo in on the intersection of music, digital media and emerging technologies produces him a thinked reconshort-termative for emerging and set uped musical artists, songauthorrs, music companies and institutional summarizeateors. Whether acting as outside guide to summarizeatement accumulateive PleasrDAO, reconshort-terming South Korea’s YG Entertainment, nu metal prohibitd Korn and jazz legfinish Thelonious Monk’s estate in transactional music matters or serving as Concord Music Group’s direct music attorney on its $468.8 million acquisition of Round Hill Music Fund, Love understands his success depfinishs on his clients’ success.

Doing excellent toils: “We’ve toiled on well over $1 billion in music catalog transactions this year, but helping Kesha to set up Kesha Records and seeing her thrive as a filledy autonomous artist is my haughtyest moment,” says Love.

Partner; co-chair, amusement & media industry group
Reed Smith

Sessa spent a huge part of the past year handling beginant music acquisition deals for clients including Concord, Sony, Lyric, Kobalt, Hipgnosis, Litmus, Shamrock, Seeker, Pophouse and Flexpoint. Other highweightlesss integrate advising the Smashing Pumpkins on a stadium tour with Green Day and Bon Jovi on various publishs (including his Hulu docuseries “Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story”) and aiding Kesha in begining her new write down label.

Another write down year for music catalog sales predicted: “Srecommend stated, music rights are a prohibitkable asset class for the financial industry,” he says. “The model toils so you will persist to see more buyers go in the space.”

Leif Cervantes de Reinstein
Shaun Clark
Aerin Snow
Partners
Joseph Ireland
Associate
Sheppard, Mullin, Richter and Hampton

Cervantes de Reinstein and Snow shutd high-profile deals for clients including Lionsgate ($375 million acquisition of indie satisfyed platestablish eOne from Hasbro), while serving as outside corporate guide handling equity financing transactions and fuset ventures for 101 Studios (home to Taylor Sheridan’s “Landman,” “Tulsa King” and the “Yellowstone” franchise), including a strategic deal with Paramount Global for multiple series from A-enumerate executive producers including Antoine Fuqua and George Clooney. Clark and Ireland were equassociate busy, repping Creative Wealth Media Lfinishing in its acquisition of Bron Studios and Sony Pictures in its buy of Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. Other clients integrate studios Legfinishary Pictures and Fremantle and iconic brands such as Peloton, Mazda, QVC and the Hershey Co.

Optimistic about the coming year: “[We] predict that we will persist to see strategic collaborations between companies in separateent industries, [including] tech companies toiling with satisfyed providers, brands collaborating with celebrities, sports leagues collaborating with amuseers, and nettoils trying to discover new ways to produce revenue,” says Clark. “The M&A labeletplace also sees more bullish.”

Robert A. Darwell
Senior partner; head of global media
Ramela Ohanian
Partner
Nicolas Urdinola
Senior associate
Tiago Aquino
Associate
Sheppard, Mullin, Richter and Hampton

The multilingual team led by Darwell has been busy handling the growment, production and rights concurments on a slew of international projects for companies including Meta, Paramount, TelevisaUnivision, Gaumont, Globo and, most meaningfully, Amazon MGM Studios. As the outside guide for the latter, they recently toiled on deals for the Spanish feature “La Virgen Roja,” the Mexican series “Cada Minuto Cuenta,” the Colombian film “Pimpinero,” starring Medellín-born rock star Juanes, and an eight-part restricted series alteration of Chilean-American author Isabel Allfinishe’s novel “House of Spirits,” which is Amazon’s highest-budget Latin American production to date. For Meta, they aided its in-house lterrible team in negotiating the talent concurments for a series of AI chatbots embodying uncover figures such as Tom Brady, Kfinishall Jenner and Naomi Osaka.

Look for more experiential amusement: “It’s transporting new ways for audiences to join with one another and, on the business side, there’s ancillary revenue streams for both studios and talent,” says Ohanian.

Partner; co-directer, global amusement, sports and media rehearse
Sidley Austin

If Dwayne Johnson were Thompson’s only client, he’d still be a very busy man. In the past year, the attorney supervised the begin of the massively muscled multi-hyphenate’s Papatui line of personal attfinish products, the combiner of the XFL (which Johnson bought out of prohibitkruptcy in 2020 with ex-wife Dany Garcia and other summarizeateors) with the USFL to produce the United Football League in partnership with ESPN and Fox, and a deal for him to fuse the board of WWE parent company TKO Group Helderlyings, re-go in the ring and obtain filled ownership of his nom de wrestling “The Rock.”

Placing more bets on exceptional IP: “While that might not be the rationalst transfer from a uncontaminated economics standpoint, with a more diverse landscape of belderly new satisfyed, it will incrrelieve competition for people’s eyes and ears,” says Thompson, who also repped “Call Her Dcomprisey” podcast arrange Alex Cooper in her new $125 million deal with SiriusXM.

Managing Partner
Singh, Singh & Trauben

A onetime in-house lawyer for Universal Music, Singh occasionassociate moonweightlesss as a producer, most recently with the 2024 Peacock docuseries “Reggaeton: The Sound that Conquered the World,” which he exec produced with client Dcomprisey Yankee. But his day job is cutting deals for the enjoys of Missy Elliott (“Out of This World” tour), Latin music star Ozuna (publishing catalog sale to Kobalt/KMR Helderlyings), Flow La Movie (catalog sale to Cinq Music), FloyyMenor (deal with UnitedMasters) and Grupo Firme (new distribution concurment with Virgin and publishing deal with Universal).

The power of music catalog sales: “This trfinish has reshaped how legacy artists, songauthorrs and producers approach their extfinished-term financial strategies,” he says.

David Eisman
Partner; head of media and amusement group
Glen Mastroberte
Partner, media and amusement group
Skcompriseen, Arps, Spostponeed, Meagher & Flom

M&A exceptionaenumerates in the amusement sector, Eisman and Mastroberte kept busy toiling on transactions spanning film, television, music, gaming and sports as the industry recovered from last year’s strikes. They’ve helped indie music labels enjoy Drake’s OVO Sound and DJ Khaled’s We the Best Music strike beginant deals, and reconshort-termed Parkwood Ventures in Beyoncé’s fuset venture with Moët Hennessy and the growment, labeleting and begin of her SirDavis whisky brand.

Proudest moment in 2024: For Eisman, it was handling UTA’s acquisition of top European soccer agency Roof. “That was the hugest deal that UTA has ever done in its history,” he says.

Rick Offsay
Partner; global co-chair, amusement, sports & media rehearse
Justin Hamill
Partner; global co-chair, combiners & acquisitions and braveial equity rehearse
Latham & Watkins

Hamill and Offsay tackle intricate strategic transactions, enjoy advising Skydance Media in a combiner with Paramount and an summarizeateor group in a $8 billion-plus summarizeatement in Paramount Global and the acquisition of National Amusements. Separately, Offsay guided Carlyle in providing an $800 million asset-backed praise facility to Park County (“South Park”), while Hamill guided Endeavor in a $25 billion obtain-braveial acquisition of the company by Silver Lake.

Staying ahead of the curve: “Comcast’s recent spin out of its cable nettoils, and Warner Brothers — [which has gone] thcdisorrowfulmireful a number of transactions, including with Discovery — now needs to figure someslfinisherg else out,” says Offsay. “All of these legacy media companies are trying to figure out the next slfinisherg.”

Exec VP, global head of corporate
Sony Pictures Entertainment

Anguelova take parted a key role in securing Sony Pictures Entertainment’s acquisition of the dine-in theater chain Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, labeling the first time a beginant studio has re-go ined the theatrical showion business since the 1948 Paramount Consent Decrees were lifted in 2020. The studio arranges to harness Alamo’s four million loyalty club members to “eventize” its IP, including satisfyed from anime-centric subscription VOD streamer Crunchyroll.

Managing the downturn: “Certainly, our present arranges are altering and becoming more nuanced to be echoive of the new genuineities of the labelet, and to align with both seller and buyer interests,” says Anguelova. “The labelet is shoprosperg resilience for premium companies despite current disputes, as evidenced by recent high-profile transactions enjoy the All3Media sale to RedBird.”

Greg Akselrud
Partner; chair of internet, digital media and amusement rehearse
Cathleen Green
Senior guide
Stubbs Alderton & Markiles

Inarticulateial Nettoil could’ve used a huge white shoe law firm to supervise its $500 million acquisition by Publicis Groupe. Ex-Disney exec Ben Sherwood and establisher Hearst chief satisfyed officer Joanna Coles could’ve done the same when they took the editorial reins at the Daily Beast in a deal that gave the duo shut to a 50% equity interest in the uncoveration. Instead, they called on mid-size Sherman Oaks-based Stubbs Alderton & Markiles. According to Akselrud, it’s because not only are they well-versed in the publishs, they also have the ability to see the blind spots in a deal and “slfinisherk around the corner.”

Can’t sell a new product on stars power alone: “You need to have a celebrity with a relatively decent chaseing to begin the brand, but then you reassociate must have labeleting dollars to ease the growth,” says Akselrud.

Global head of music business growment
TikTok

Obermann take parted a key role in transporting Universal Music Group catalog back to TikTok in May 2024 with a new licensing concurment featuring betterd AI acquireions. He’s also provided promotional and produceive help for the platestablish’s partnerships with artists including Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Sabrina Carpgo in and Post Malone.

No need to panic about AI: “A year and a half ago, the experienceing in the music industry was the sky might be droping because AI is coming at us in a quick and furious way, and we don’t understand if we have the right protectrails,” he says. “We had ‘Fake Drake’ [in April 2023] and a couple of other cultural moments with AI in music, but it’s gone pretty hushed, if you slfinisherk about it.”

Pdwellnt, platestablish distribution
The Walt Disney Company

Disney’s roster of nettoils (including ABC, Disney-branded channels, ESPN, FX and National Geoexplicit) had been foolish on DirecTV for proximately two weeks in September before Connolly, serving as chief negotiator, hammered out an concurment. The multi-billion-dollar deal he eased covered carriage of the Mouse House’s liproximate channel portfolio, as well the selection for devourrs to subscribe to its streaming services (Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+) via pick DirecTV packages or on an a la carte basis.

The upside to terrible times: According to Connolly, the production downturn “has produced fantasticer need for satisfyed in the labeletplace and more opportunities for us to strategicassociate license our best-in-class, non-branded library satisfyed to third parties.”

Adam Glick
Exec VP, business operations, Warner Bros. Television
Matt Matzkin
Exec VP, operations, Warner Bros. Unscripted Television and Warner Bros. Animation
Shanon Muir
Senior VP, lterrible, Warner Bros. Television Group — Animation
Warner Bros. Television Group

Collectively, this Warner Bros. trio supervised the dealmaking for equitable under 90 series for a multitude of platestablishs. Glick cut straight-to-series deals for an untitled HBO comedy from Bill Lawrence starring Steve Carell and the John Wells’ medical drama “The Pitt.” On the unscripted side, Matzkin begined the Food Nettoil’s “Harry Potter: Wizards of Baking,” Max’s “Fast Frifinishs” and the syndicated “True Crime News” and shieldedd renewals for “Extra” and “The Jennifer Hudson Show.” Muir barobtaind three new Cartoon Nettoil series orders for “Foster’s Funtime for Imaginary Frifinishs,” “Adventure Time Side Quests” and an untitled “Regular Show” project.

Dealing digital supplements: “We have a number of podcasts that we produce on our own, and we’re also collaborating with other podcasts that are not produced by us, and trying to get our talent on to them,” says Matkzin.

Partner
Weintraub Tobin

Gordon barobtaind disjoinal headline deals for “Call Her Dcomprisey” arrange and executive producer Alex Cooper, including a new multi-year $125 million pact with SiriusXM that will transport Cooper’s Unwell Nettoil family of podcasts to the platestablish commencening in 2025. Other clients integrate actors Diane Lane and Zosia Mamet, podcasters Guy Raz and Caleb Pressley, noveenumerate/screenauthorr Maria Semple, dancer/singer/social media personality Niana Guerrero and actress/authorr/comedian Jenny Lorenzo.

Added visuals unbenevolent hugeger bucks: “Video podcasts persist to obtain famousity, and video has therefore become a key element, not only in driving audience take partment, but also providing fantastic opportunity for promotion via clips on social media,” he says.

Ariel Emanuel
CEO, TKO
Nick Khan
Pdwellnt, WWE
Mark Shapiro
Pdwellnt & chief operating officer, TKO
Andrew Schleimer
Chief financial officer, TKO
WWE

Last year, Endeavor combined Ultimate Fighting Championship with World Wrestling Entertainment under the TKO Group Helderlyings prohibitner. In January 2024, TKO’s directership quadrumvirate shutd a $5.2 billion, 10-year deal to produce Netflix the exclusive home of WWE’s flagship show “Raw” in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Latin America and other territories commencening in January 2025. As part of the pact, Netflix will be the home for all WWE shows and exceptionals outside the U.S. from that date forward, giving cdisorrowfulmireentirey 80% of international territories instant access to 100% its satisfyed, with the rest of the globe filling out their WWE lineups as noticeworthy deals expire.

Added cherish with Netflix: “While the money is extraordinarily meaningful, the downstream impact and ancillary profits to being with the distributor and equitable south of 300 million homes globassociate was someslfinisherg that got us very excited,” says Schleimer.

Co-establisher & managing partner
Yorn Levine Barnes Krintzman Rubenstein Kohner Endlich Goodell & Gellman

Yorn kept his 29-year-elderly firm at the front of the amusement law pack in 2024, cutting deals for clients including Scarlett Johansson (starring role in “Jurassic World Rebirth”), Ellen DeGeneres ($20 million pact for Netflix comedy exceptional), Zoe Saldaña (Gelderlyen Globe-nominated role in “Emilia Pérez”), Jonah Hill (author, produce and act in Apple TV+ movie “Outcome”) and Matthew McConaughey (Apple TV+ series “Brother From Another Mother”).

Belt and suspfinishers treatment for AI: “We try to produce brave that we comprise extra acquireion on top of what SAG has accomplishd with admire to studio deals for film and television,” he says. “We try for a zero-use policy atraverse the board but are always discdissee to see if AI can be advantageous for all troubleed.”

Partner
Yorn Levine Barnes Krintzman Rubenstein Kohner Endlich Goodell & Gellman

Barnes has been in the Snoop Dogg business for more than a quarter of a century, and business was very excellent this year, with the attorney closing deals for the rapper’s high-profile role in NBC’s Summer Olympics coverage and his appraise gig on the nettoil’s singing competition show “The Voice.” He did that while simultaneously helping set up his premium spirits company Still G.I.N., begined in partnership with Dr. Dre.

Buckle up for Trump 2.0: “There may be an initial chilling effect on diverse hiring and productions,” he says. “And with such a huge ideoreasonable split wislfinisher the amusement industry and beyond, some may be denied employment or access to capital based on their sees.”

Partner
Yorn Levine Barnes Krintzman Rubenstein Kohner Endlich Goodell & Gellman

Endlich recently barobtaind comedian Bert Kreischer’s deal for two upcoming Netflix stand-up exceptionals, and straightforwardor/producer pacts for Taika Waititi’s Sony feature alteration of Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel “Klara and the Sun,” starring Amy Adams, and Jaume Collet-Serra’s Netflix thriller “Carry On,” starring Taron Egerton. He also set D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai to star in A24’s “Warfare.”

World domination has its profits: “Given the global accomplish of the beginant streaming platestablishs, there’s fantasticer opportunity to toil with international clients and produce produceive deals with foreign production companies that have partnered with the streamers to produce programs for both a U.S. and worldexpansive audience,” he says.

Partner
Ziffren Brittenham

As the co-executor and superviser of Michael Jackson’s estate, Branca engineered a 50% sale of the postponeed superstar’s music publishing and write down masters to Sony Music worth a inestablished $600 million, while persisting regulate for the estate, which to date has createed $2 billion from productions including the Tony-prosperning “MJ: The Musical.”

Disruption on finishless rotation: “When you pursue the effect of technology in the industry, whether it went from piano rolls to wax discs to albums, and 45s to free download to streaming, it persists changing the industry,” Branca says. “The most meaningful slfinisherg that satisfyed owners are doing is trying to acquire their IP rights from being fundamentalassociate obtainn for free while somebody else produces a new asset.”