Diddy Looking to Nab Majority Stake in BET as Paramount Global Puts Network Up for Potential Sale

Jon Burlingame The newly created Pacific Jazz Orchestra made its first public appearance on Saturday at Hollywood’s United Recording studio, making what may be the final recording in that legendary Sunset Blvd. room where so many great tunes originated over the past 65 years. That likelihood lent a bittersweet tone to an otherwise joyous occasion. Artistic director Chris Walden conducted a half-hour of music with the 40-piece orchestra and announced plans for its initial 2023-24 season before a crowd of Oscar, Grammy and Emmy winners that included Diane Warren, David Foster, Katharine McPhee, Charles Fox and Mark Isham. “It’s not a symphony orchestra, but it’s also not just a big band,” Walden told Variety in an interview before the show. “It’s a hybrid ensemble with instrumentation that allows us to explore the boundaries of jazz and create collaborations with a wide range of guest artists.”

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” towered over box office charts with $377 million in global ticket sales, taking the title for the biggest worldwide debut of the year from “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” ($225.3 million). The animated movie — a collaboration between Illumination, Nintendo and Universal — crushed already-high expectations, igniting to $173 million internationally and $204 million in its first five days at the domestic box office. “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” opened in 70 overseas territories, including Mexico ($27.4 million to start), the U.K. and Ireland ($19.6 million to start), Germany ($14 million to start) and China ($12 million to start).

Shaughna Phillips has candidly discussed being a new mum as she shared a glimpse into her motherhood journey on Instagram. Sharing a photo to her Instagram Story of her mum cuddling newborn daughter Lucia, the former Love Island star, 28, wrote: "I can't wait to talk to you all about my birth story. I had a wild ride lol.

Princess Charlotte proved that she's always there for her younger brother as she kept a sweet eye on Prince Louis as he attended his first Easter Sunday service.The seven year old looked adorable as she walked from Windsor Castle to St George's Chapel on Sunday morning alongside her parents Prince William and Kate Middleton and brothers Prince George, 9 and Prince Louis, 4. The Easter Sunday service was held at the 15th-century chapel in Berkshire and was the first time the youngest child of the Prince and Princess of Wales was in attendance, while Charlotte made her debut last year.

They can “bearly wait” to meet their little one! Daniella Karagach and Pasha Pashkov celebrated their first child’s arrival with a festive baby shower on Saturday, April 8.

Putting his health first. Tiger Woods is sitting out the rest of the 2023 Masters tournament following an injury.

Hurts have announced a number of dates for this summer, which are due to take place at various European festivals.Having previously shared in December that they would be playing Finland this summer, the band announced further dates in Germany and Latvia on their social media in the new year.Now, they have added that they’ll be headlining Song Festival Grounds in Tallinn, Estonia in July.Sharing the news on Instagram, Hurts singer Theo Hutchcraft wrote: “Getting so excited for these shows and seeing you all again!”Tickets for all the dates, which you can see below, are available now and can be found here.A post shared by Theo Hutchcraft (@theohurts)Hurts’ last album ‘Faith’ was released in 2020, and included the singles ‘Somebody’, ‘Voices’, ‘Suffer’ and ‘Redemption’.In a three-star review, NME wrote: “‘Faith’ has much to offer for fans seeking comfort in the idiosyncrasies of Hurts’ grand noir-pop, and also ushers in new musical kinks and tricks.“It hasn’t completely reinvented the wheel for Hurts, nor has it allowed them to rest on old habits. Instead, it presents them at their most open – and in age of isolation, there’s much to admire in that.”Last year, Hutchcraft paid tribute to Louis Tomlinson after the former One Direction member’s new album ‘Faith In The Future’ hit Number One in the UK Album Charts.Hutchcraft co-wrote three of the tracks on Tomlinson’s second album, including his recent single ‘Silver Tongues’.

Sleepy, small, and surprising are the words you would use to describe Waddington.

Chloe Lattanzi has shared a moving tribute to her late mother Olivia Newton-John.  In an Instagram post on Sunday, the 37-year-old actress and singer shared an image of her hand in front of a number of framed photos of her mum.  'I can't explain the waves.

The Premier League are considering ditching Sky Sports and BT Sport to screen top-flight games on their own platform.

Coronation Street star Alex Bain has split from his fiancée Mollie Lockwood just six months after announcing he'd proposed to her, according to reports. The actor, 21, who plays Simon Barlow in the ITV soap, and his fiancée Mollie, 19, have reportedly called time on their romance after over three years of dating.

his toned physique in raunchy photos and in post from September 2014 said he was “doing a little camming tonight,” adding he would “put on a good show” for anyone who would pay to access his footage.Michaels left Florida around 2016 or 2017 for the New York City modeling scene, around which time he also adopted his current name.A former girlfriend who asked not to be identified said she only knew Michaels to date women. The ex said Michaels was the type to always jump head-first into any adventure, and wasn’t shocked by news of his nuptials.“I wouldn’t be surprised.

Molly Shannon is back on the Studio 8H stage!

New parents Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury are not only celebrating their baby daughter Bambi's first Easter, the loved-up pair are also marking a special anniversary. The couple, who met in 2019 on the ITV2 dating show Love Island, welcomed their first child on January 23.

Gogglebox cast member Sophie Sandiford shared a glam video of her and a friend dolled up as they headed out for a night on the town on Saturday night. The TV star and her friend smiled for the short video, which was originally posted by her friend before Sophie went on to share it to her own Instagram.

Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu is reportedly "furious" with boyfriend Davide Sanclimenti after allegedly finding messages on his mobile phone from two models.The Love Island winners, who won the ITV2 dating show in 2022, are said to have gotten into an argument after Ekin-Su, 28, was left "really upset" having found the messages on Davide's phone. Davide, 28, allegedly met up with the Instagram influencers in Manchester before then exchanging messages with them. Ekin-Su reportedly found the messages after returning from a work trip to Belfast earlier this week and then messaged one of the girls herself in a bid to find out what had been going on.

Loose Women’s Ruth Langsford showed off her birthday surprise for her son Jack’s girlfriend on her 21st birthday on her Instagram.The TV presenter went all out, dressing her home for the milestone birthday in a heartwarming gesture to Jack’s girlfriend as she filmed the details of the table set-up. With pink and silver themed decorations including balloons and confetti scattered across the table, fresh flowers in vases, candles, themed plates, and even a badge for the 21 year old, Ruth made sure her son’s partner felt like part of the family as they celebrated the special day.

The members of pop group Girls Aloud leaned on one another following the death of Sarah Harding, close friend and former band member Kimberley Walsh has revealed.The English-Irish pop group was formed back in 2002 while on the ITV talent show Popstars: The Rivals, with the band being comprised of Kimberley, Sarah, Nadine Coyle, Nicola Roberts and Cheryl Tweedy.Their first single, Sound of the Underground, cemented their place on the charts, and over the course of their seven years together, they were named the United Kingdom's biggest-selling girl group of the 21st century, with over 4.3 million singles sales and 4 million albums sold in the UK alone.The band split in 2013 and went their separate ways, with each of the women releasing solo work. Sarah died in 2021 at the age of 39 after revealing she had breast cancer which had spread to other parts of her body.

Kate Middleton is notoriously considerate when it comes to royal protocols, and often follows the family’s strict rules when it comes to fashion, beauty, and etiquette. However, eagle-eyed fans noticed something unusual about the Princess of Wales’ attire as she arrived at St.

Andy Cohen is responding to some backlash.

Molly Shannon returned to host this weekend’s edition of “Saturday Night Live”, on which she was a member of the cast from 1995 until 2001.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Wahoo! “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” racked up a blockbuster $146 million in its opening weekend and powered to $204.6 million in its first five days of release, squashing expectations and steamrolling the competition at the domestic box office. The animated movie, a collaboration between Illumination, Nintendo and Universal, has landed a number of records, thanks to positive word-of-mouth, nostalgia for the popular video game, and a huge turnout from family audiences. It currently stands as the biggest opening weekend of the year (overtaking “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” with $106 million), as well as the second-best debut ever for an animated title (surpassing 2016’s “Finding Dory” with $135.1 million). It’s also the highest-grossing debut for Illumination, beating 2015’s “Minions” with $115.7 million.

The British royal family is celebrating Easter.

Janice Dickinson is opening up about an experience she had while going on a dinner date.

Disney is making a big announcement about Indiana Jones.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel kicks off its final season with the first three episodes on Friday. Without giving away too much, let's just say you will most definitely be surprised.

, , and attended a service at St. George's Chapel in Windsor, alongside their parents, Kate Middleton and Prince William, as well as the rest of the royal family. The Wales family wore outfits in shades of cheery blues for the occasion. chose a bold coat dress by Catherine Walker, whereas and eldest son George opted for traditional suits.

More to come…

Since becoming dads, the Jonas Brothers revealed they have maintained one "unspoken rule" in this new chapter of life: no parenting advice from one another.  "We really don't give each other advice about family. It's kind of like an unspoken rule.

A Lanarkshire funeral directors ensured a cracking time for sweet-toothed kids this Easter.

Diddy has reportedly teased that he wants to purchase BET, after commenting on the network and how he thinks it should be Black-owned.According to Variety, BET Media Group’s parent company, Paramount Global, wants to unload brands such as BET, BET+, BET Studios, and even VH1.A source, who is allegedly someone close to Diddy — real name Sean Combs — said the mogul is “exploring the opportunity to purchase BET as a part of his strategy to build a Black-owned global media powerhouse.”Combs’ recent Instagram post suggested that these claims can be true. He posted a video explaining the power of media and why Black people need a specific network by @earnyourlesuire.A post shared by LOVE (@diddy)“Media is the most powerful industry in the world but it’s the industry where we have the least amount of ownership, influence and control!” he wrote. “It’s time for @BET to be Black-owned again so we have the power to tell our own stories, control our own narrative! This is not about me it’s about WE!!!!”The caption concluded with Combs stating that he’s “building a team of leaders” to “pursue ownership in BET”.

Sean “Diddy” Combs on Wednesday bolstered recently media reports that his is kicking the tires of BET Networks, which is in the early stages of being shopped by parent Paramount Global.

BET, joining fellow media moguls Tyler Perry and Byron Allen as they vie to purchase a majority stake of BET Media Group amid reports that owner Paramount Global is exploring a sale of the asset, Variety has confirmed. Run by CEO Scott Mills, BET Media Group includes BET, BET+, VH1 (which was moved under the group in a restructuring at Paramount last November) and BET’s production arm, BET Studios. A source close to Combs tells Variety that the global music icon and record executive turned multi-industry entrepreneur is “exploring the opportunity to purchase BET as a part of his strategy to build a Black-owned global media powerhouse.”

reported on Friday. The company was founded in 2021 by Travis Montaque, Richelieu Dennis and Bonin Bough and recently put in a bid of $400 million for Vice Media.

Lashan Browning and her Antoinette Media banner is going further into business with Paramount.

Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish decided to, in his words, “cross the line” and address a recent bid the company received for Showtime.