News

[Warning: The following contains Major spoilers for Westworld Season 4, Episode 3 “Annees Folles.”] Bernard’s (Jeremy Wright) back! After spending years in the Sublime — where he meets his old friend and star of one of Westworld’s greatest episodes, Akechata (Zahn McClarnon) — he returns to the post-apocalyptic present with knowledge of the future… and, specifically, the one future that’ll prevent mankind’s extinction. You might say he’s seen 14 million outcomes, and he needs to make sure the one that happens is the one where The Avengers win. That sort of thing. He also knows that to save the world he’ll have to die, which is a bummer. Here’s how it happens. HBO Timeline #1: Bernard, Stubbs & New Friends After awakening from the Sublime, Bernard reunites with Stubbs (Luke Hemsworth), who continues to be a delight in his “tired of all this and absolutely done with everything” attitude. One thing leads to another, and Bernard...

Nicky Morgan takes over from Jeremy Wright.

The creative industries have offered initial reaction to the appointment of Nicky Morgan as the UK’s new secretary for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Dcms in new prime minister Boris Johnson’s inaugural cabinet.

Morgan replaces Jeremy Wright. She was formerly secretary for education.

Immediate reactions from UK bodies noted that while the country’s creative industries continue to experience a boom, the prospect of a no-deal Brexit was a threat to their future success.

Caroline Julian, director of policy and programmes at UK body the Creative Industries Federation, highlighted the importance of the role,...

Companies in the UK screen industries had argued the existing nationwide levy was unworkable.

The UK government has approved a new-look pilot apprenticeship model for the UK’s screen industries that will take the form of an apprentice training agency (Ata) and provide an alternative to the nationwide apprenticeship levy.

The aim is for around 25 apprentices to be employed by the agency and placed on multiple placements during a 12-month programme. Details are still being ironed out, including who it will be run by, with a launch planned for either later this year or early in 2020.

The new initiative, originally created by ScreenSkills,...

Britain’s Channel 4 will set up a new national headquarters in the northern English city of Leeds and new creative hubs in Bristol and Glasgow. The British pubcaster has been weighing where to relocate, having committed to increasing its out-of-London operations. It has said it will spend more than $300 million more on shows that come from outside of the British capital by 2023.

Numerous U.K. cities vied to be Channel 4’s new home outside of London. Cardiff, the Welsh capital, and the English cities of Liverpool and Manchester were among those shortlisted to have missed out.

The broadcaster unveiled the Leeds move on Wednesday. CEO Alex Mahon said the efforts to expand the Channel 4 footprint and programming lineup are “the biggest and most exciting change in the organization’s 36-year history.”

The move will create 3,000 production jobs outside of London. Once up and running, the new Leeds, Bristol, and...

Comcast said Tuesday that it now owns more than 75% of Sky having acquired shares and closed a deal for Fox’s 39.1% stake in the pay-tv giant. The process of delisting Sky from the London Stock Exchange will now get underway and is set to be completed by Nov. 7.

“We are pleased today to be the majority owner of Sky,” Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts said in a statement. “Led by Jeremy Darroch and his superb team – now together with Comcast – our combined global leadership in technology and content paves the way for us to accelerate investment and growth in Sky’s brand and premier platforms.”

In the same week that U.K. culture secretary Jeremy Wright underlined his expectations regarding the Sky News channel after the change of ownership – “I’ve left them in no doubt at all about the importance of editorial independence and Sky News,” he said – Roberts addressed the issue.

A U.K. court has dismissed a legal challenge to British media regulator Ofcom’s ruling that 21st Century Fox would be a fit and proper owner of Sky. It removes a potential hurdle for Fox’s attempted takeover of the European pay-tv giant just as Fox and new owner Disney mull whether to counter Comcast’s leading bid.

British activist group Avaaz, which has vociferously and consistently opposed the Fox bid, mounted the legal challenge, contending that Ofcom had not properly scrutinized the company’s attempt to buy the 61% of Sky it does not already own. But Justice Michael Supperstone disagreed, and dismissed Avaaz’s challenge last Friday. If he had found in Avaaz’s favor, Ofcom could have been forced to carry out parts of its evaluation of the takeover attempt again.

Fox’s bid has been beset by regulatory issues as British regulators and lawmakers weighed whether it passed muster.

We possibly spoke too soon. The battle between 21st Century Fox and Comcast for ownership of Sky could have hit a bump in the road as a result of Boris Johnson’s resignation as UK Foreign Secretary.

Culture Secretary Matt Hancock, who has overseen the takeover from a political level, has been named Health Secretary in Theresa May’s government. He replaces Jeremy Hunt, who was named Foreign Secretary after Johnson resigned over the Pm’s Brexit strategy earlier today.

Hancock was thought to be on the brink of finally giving Rupert Murdoch’s group the ultimate greenlight to buy the 61% of the European pay-tv firm...