THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 18 OCTOBER 16, 2019
Behind the HeadlinesThe Report
REDSTONE
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ES.story. (An ESPN source noted that
the network had reporters and
cameras in Shanghai and broad-
cast video of a Chinese worker
ripping down an NBA logo as well
as video of the Lakers arriving to
little fanfare.)
“In entertainment, these people
have to look at the bottom line,”
says Stan Rosen, a USC professor
who specializes in China’s enter-
tainment industry. “You want
to address [the human rights
abuses] in a way that keeps the
China market but doesn’t embar-
rass you so much that people say
you’re a toady or kowtowing to
China. That’s why you’re seeing
a pushback against the NBA and
Disney to a certain extent.”
Some of the official explanationsoffered by corporate giants for
their Chinese-friendly moves have
been criticized as murky. With
Bastards, sources say Apple bris-
tled at the vigilante justice tone of
the show. As for the app removal,
the tech and soon-to-be content
giant said that HKMap.Live, used
by Hong Kong protesters, had
endangered law enforcement
and residents.
The stakes continue to grow.
This year, China’s Tencent signed
a five-year, $1.5 billion deal to
continue as the NBA’s exclusive
digital partner in China. In the
case of South Park, China’s move
to scrub every clip, episode and
online discussion of the series
won’t hit Viacom’s bottom line.
But the parent company, soon
to merge with CBS, will have to
contend with any Chinese retali-
ation for its other companies like
Paramount, which fuels the coun-
try’s pipeline with such product
as the Mission: Impossible and
Transformers films. A company
like Netflix has more freedom
to antagonize China given that
its platform isn’t available in theMiddle Kingdom, thus it acquired
such incendiary documenta-
ries as 2017’s Joshua: Teenager
vs. Superpower. But it will face
a major test of China’s patience
with the upcoming Meryl Streep
starrer The Laundromat, which
depicts adherents of outlawed
spiritual practice Falun Gong
as victims of the government’s
organ harvesting program.
South Park and Laundromat
notwithstanding, the industry
likely will continue to tiptoe
around China and any other
lucrative hotspots that contrib-
ute to the bottom line of studios,
networks and streamers.“That’s
the world in which we live now.
You’re pandering to the people
that have the money and the
power,” says Joker producer Jason
Cloth of the industry’s increased
self-censorship. “There are many
films that fail in North America
but do gangbuster business in
major foreign markets. So if you
have to be cognizant of offend-
ing somebody in a major foreign
market, you’re going to stay away
from that subject matter.”in the White House recently but denies any
plan to launch a TV news network — as does a
spokesperson for Viacom — “conservative or
otherwise.” Redstone plays her personal poli-
tics close to the vest, but shortly after Trump’s
election, she told THR, “He’s always been very
good to me and a tremendous supporter of
me personally.”ViacomCBS’ chief, who has spoken with former network star Megyn Kelly, may look to rebrand an existing linear channel
with a digital component to create a conservative-leaning news network BY KIM MASTERS AND PAUL BONDShari Redstone Explores Plan to Launch Fox News Rival
I
n the midst of closing a merger between CBS
and Viacom, Shari Redstone is quietly explor-
ing a plan to launch a conservative TV outlet
meant to square off with Fox News Channel,
sources tell THR. The mogul has approached
current and former Fox News personalities about
such a plan, sources say, and has spoken with for-
mer NBC News host Megyn Kelly. A rep for Kelly
declined comment.
This Redstone plan for a new TV service also
would have a streaming component. Sources
say that streaming service Pluto, which Viacom
acquired in March for $340 million, is about to
launch an as-yet-unannounced conservative
news and opinion channel. A former CBS-Viacom
exec says Redstone has sat in on “multiple meet-
ings” about the potential venture, though this
person doesn’t think Redstone’s idea arises from
ideology. Viacom has faced headwinds in the
transforming media environment as Redstone,
65, worked to wrest control from former chairmanPhilippe Dauman and then to push through a
merger with CBS. Fox News mints money for
owner Fox Corp. and the Murdoch family, esti-
mated at north of $1 billion in profit annually.
According to insiders, Redstone could rebrand
one of the existing Viacom channels and pre-
sumably would insulate CBS News from the
new offering. Redstone sees an opening as the
audience for TV news grows older and more
conservative and President Trump and some
of his fans express disenchantment with Fox
News, which lost its top news anchor Oct. 11
when Shepard Smith announced his departure
amid conflict with some of the ratings giant’s
opinion hosts. One insider says Redstone thinks
Fox News, whose top shows are hosted by Sean
Hannity, Tu c ke r C a r l s o n and Laura Ingraham,
has “gone crazy” in the Trump era.
As the merger of Viacom and CBS awaits
regulatory approval, a Redstone spokesperson
confirms that the mogul quietly visited TrumpShari Redstone recently met with President Trump.Jam 2 (dated for July 16, 2021).
But James drew outrage when
he blasted Houston Rockets GM
Daryl Morey for tweeting his
support for Hong Kong protest-
ers, calling him “misinformed”
(Morey had deleted the tweet).
After all, James has been outspo-
ken about police brutality in the
U.S. as well as about President
Tr u m p’s so-called Muslim travel
ban (in China, more than 1 mil-
lion Uighur Muslims are said to
be held in internment camps).
Disney-owned ESPN drew further
criticism when Deadspin on Oct. 8
reported on a leaked email writ-
ten by news editor Chuck Salituro
that discouraged any political
discussion about China and Hong
Kong with regard to the MoreyA demonstra-
tor in Hong
Kong on
Oct. 15 wore a
LeBron James
jersey and
mask with
Chinese cur-
rency in front
of his face.