All Access

Media Deals

Media Deals Alerts

Alert

Standard

Media Deals Thought Bubble

Thought Bubble

mustard

BFD Expert Voices - Media Deals

BFD Expert Voices

topics

politics-policy

epstein-files

donald-trump

2026-midterm-elections

immigration

behind-the-curtain

race-and-equity

technology

privacy-tech-regulation

automation-and-ai

tiktok-news

big-tech

social-media

cybersecurity

economy

social-security

inflation

tariffs

federal-reserve

jobs

transportation

business

stock-market-news

retail-news

crypto

media

elon-musk

dealmaking

health

rfk-jr

drug-prices

axios-explains-abortion

public-health

world

israel

axios-explains-ukraine

iran

russia

china

energy-climate

nuclear-energy

climate-energy-policy

climate-change

extreme-weather

alternative-energy

electric-vehicles

science

emerging-tech

biomedicine

newsletters

pittsburgh

atlanta

san-diego

charlotte

boulder

washington-dc

kansas-city

dallas

denver

detroit

des-moines

austin

boston

chicago

cleveland

columbus

houston

indianapolis

miami

nashville

new-orleans

nw-arkansas

philadelphia

phoenix

portland

richmond

salt-lake-city

san-antonio

san-francisco

seattle

tampa-bay

twin-cities

raleigh

huntsville

colorado-springs

axios-local

axios-pro

axios-live

the-axios-show

Artificial intelligence is quickly gaining a foothold in Hollywood and is primed to be one of the hottest investment areas over the next few years, Tim writes.

Why it matters: New forms of generative AI — it's not just ChatGPT — could reshape how the entertainment industry does business.

"I think there'll be billions of dollars in venture capital investments in this space in the next couple of years," says Brahm Klar, partner at Toronto-based VC firm Round13.

The big picture: The content explosion and high-quality demands put on VFX artists in the streaming era have created bottlenecks that can't be solved by manpower alone. AI has the potential to simplify and shorten a long process for digital artists.

"It's like 85% of all productions that require this work," says Matt Panousis, COO of Toronto-based VFX firm Monsters Aliens Robots Zombies (MARZ), which will license out its Vanity AI tool to studios this year.  

MARZ has done work for numerous Marvel Studios series, including "Ms. Marvel," and most recently created Thing in Netflix's "Wednesday" series.

Panousis adds that visual tools like Midjourney and Dall-E have helped their artists with concepts. "I know I need a monster in another world. Let me just see what Midjourney gives me."

Of note: For Disney+'s "Obi-Wan Kenobi" series, James Earl Jones' famous Darth Vader voice was re-created using AI by Ukrainian startup Respeecher.

What's next: The possibilities go far beyond just improving VFX workflow.

"Can estates be creating new music in the form of deceased artists?" says Michael Blank, head of consumer investing at CAA. "If you use the training data of Hans Zimmer or John Williams, or any of these people, can they be scoring films forever?"

However, Axios' Ashley Gold reports, there remains little to no government oversight when it comes to AI. That is beginning to worry some lawmakers.

The bottom line: "I do believe that AI and generative AI is going to be transformative to the entertainment industry. There are going to be good, responsible, ethical use cases of it, and then there are not. ... It's important that the people come together as a collective to make sure that things are being done the right way," Blank says.

1 big thing: Investors eye AI as Hollywood's next gold rush

Illustration of a director's chair with the word "director" spelled partially using binary.

The development of de-aging and deepfake technology has led to a slow drip of investments over the past year. 

MARZ, which uses AI for its de-aging and other special effects work, raised $6.5 million in 2021.

London-based Metaphysic, an AI startup that gained notoriety for its Tom Cruise deepfakes, raised $7.5 million in funding last January. 

One of the largest investments in this space came last month, when CAA, via its Connect Ventures fund with NEA, invested $20 million in Deep Voodoo, the AI startup from "South Park" creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker. 

2. Deepfake tech state of play

Illustration of a white board with a tactical diagram using letters spelling out "State of Play."

The News Movement, a video news startup with offices in London and New York, has acquired The Recount for an undisclosed amount of equity.

Why it's the BFD: The deal expands the acquirer's presence in the U.S. and rescues The Recount, which had laid off a large portion of its staff last year and was prepared to shutter, Kerry writes.

"We are completely aligned on purpose," says William Lewis, CEO of The News Movement, "to help try to combat this pernicious misinformation crisis that is so blighting U.S. democracy and other democracies around the world."

Catch up quick: The News Movement was founded in 2020 by Lewis, who was formerly CEO of Dow Jones, former BBC News editorial director Kamal Ahmed and other former Dow Jones executives. 

The startup launched in the U.S. in October with Jessica Coen, formerly chief content officer of Morning Brew, as its U.S. executive editor.

It has raised $15 million from friends, family, private offices and some strategic investors, including British media company National World. 

Details: Lewis says that in addition to the shared purpose, he was interested in acquiring The Recount due to the caliber of its staff, its specialization and expertise in political news and its significant social media reach. 

The Recount will remain a separate brand. Eight people, including editor-in-chief Slade Sohmer, will join The News Movement, which currently has 52 staffers.

The Recount had raised more than $31 million but struggled to find a profitable business model. It raised $18 million in a Series B funding round led by Foundry Group in 2021 and raised $13 million in a Series A round led by Union Square Ventures in 2020.

The News Movement's revenue model includes a content studio business, making social video ads for other companies. It has a deal with The Associated Press, which includes sharing offices in exchange for running its TikTok account, and has a commercial partnership with French media outlet Brut. 

What's next: The News Movement has considered raising more funding. "We don't need to," Lewis says. "But I've been in the game for 30-odd years, and I've never seen growth opportunity like this."

Social video startup The News Movement acquires The Recount

3. The BFD: The Recount's new owner

Illustration of a hand with a megaphone coming out from a mobile phone screen.  

Volition Capital, a Boston-based growth equity firm, raised $675m for its fifth fund. https://axios.link/3XP0oTR

Radical Ventures, a Toronto-based VC firm focused on AI startups, secured $325m for a $550m-targeted second fund. It also named Dominic Barton (ex-McKinsey) and Aaron Rosenberg as partners. https://axios.link/3kRHvky

Convergence Partners raised $296m for a private equity fund focused on tech companies in sub-Saharan Africa. https://axios.link/3XMTmPp

Vue International, the London-based cinema operator, completed its recapitalization process, securing $92m of additional liquidity. https://axios.link/406zacV

4. Deal flow

ABC News will part ways with "GMA3" anchors Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes. https://axios.link/3kWALly

Archewell, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's production company, named Serena Regan as head of podcasts. https://axios.link/3HGvOpJ

Muse Entertainment, the Canadian production and distribution company, appointed Aren Prupas as president and CEO. https://axios.link/3HbtUMc

Salesforce named three new directors, as it seeks to defend itself from activist investor Elliott Management: Mason Morfit (CEO of ValueAct Capital), Arnold Donald (ex-CEO of Carnival Corp.) and Sachin Mehra (CFO of Mastercard). https://axios.link/3jlLvsZ

5. Movin' on up (or out)

Dungeons & Dragons publisher abandons controversial license changes (Axios)

"A proposed change to the license — including a controversial profit-sharing structure and requirements to register all creations — leaked via a Jan. 5 Gizmodo report and led to outrage in the D&D community," Stephen Totilo writes.

NBCU Chief Jeff Shell says Comcast open to "bolt-on" deals, cites DreamWorks Animation acquisition, Blumhouse venture (Deadline)

"The execs were asked about M&A on a post-earnings conference call, with particular reference to World Wrestling Entertainment," Jill Goldsmith writes. "Shell didn't address WWE but said the conglom led by Brian Roberts would be opportunistic."

As Dawn Ostroff exits, Spotify rethinks rich talent deals (THR)

"The former Spotify exec says there's a sense internally that 'people have really lost faith in this idea of picking winners' when it comes to investing in and developing original programming that doesn't necessarily have A-list talent attached but is still more expensive to produce than a weekly talk show," J. Clara Chan reports.

6. Channel surfing

Illustration of a remote control in the shape of a surfboard leaning against a VW bus.

🐦 Situational awareness: Fidelity again marked down the value of its Twitter stock, representing more than a 60% decline between the end of October and year-end, Dan Primack reports. 

@tim_bays: "You People" on Netflix. It should be a crime to make a movie this unfunny with this cast. 

@kerrymflynn: "The Last of Us" on HBO Max. Glad I caught up this weekend so I could experience the latest episode. Give Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett all of the awards!

✏️ Thanks to George Moriarty for editing and Jay Bennett for copy editing this newsletter.

Thank you for reading Axios Pro Media Deals! Please ask your friends, colleagues and de-aging specialists to sign up.

January 30, 2023

1 big thing: Investors eye AI as Hollywood's next gold rush