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Georg Szalai

Global Business Editor

Georg Szalai joined The Hollywood Reporter in 2001 as a business reporter in New York, was named business editor in 2003 and also became New York bureau chief in 2005. He has been based in London since 2012, working with THR's global team as international business editor and, since 2023, as global business editor. Despite being THR’s resident Austrian, he has (as of mid-2023) never met Arnold Schwarzenegger. Georg has covered such major Hollywood deals as Disney's acquisition of large parts of Fox, the merger that created Warner Bros. Discovery, Comcast's takeover of Sky and various music catalog sales. He also enjoys following such entertainment business and finance topics as Netflix and the evolving streaming business, CEO pay, and earnings reports, plus has attended film festivals from Berlin and Cannes to Tokyo.

More from Georg Szalai

Bad Wolf CEO Jane Tranter on ‘Doctor Who,’ Dual Strikes and the “Pandora’s Box” of AI

Jane Tranter, the CEO and co-founder of production company Bad Wolf, knows how to get the industry buzzing with hit titles. The Wales-based production juggernaut, majority-owned by Sony, continues to go strong with the likes of epic The Winter King, based on Bernard Cornwell’s best-selling Warlord Chronicles books, and Russell T. Davies’ Doctor Who series. […]

ITV CEO on Trialing AI, the Impact of Dual Strikes and How ITVX Has “Accelerated” Her Streaming Ambitions

Carolyn McCall, CEO of ITV, has led the U.K. TV giant since 2018, driving its transformation for the digital age. Freemium streaming service ITVX launched in late 2022 with such originals as Cold War drama A Spy Among Friends, starring Damian Lewis and Guy Pearce. It has brought the company “over 2 billion streams and […]

Three Questions With All3Media CEO Jane Turton

Global production juggernaut All3Media, led by veteran CEO Jane Turton, produces 4,000 hours of content annually. It has not only made headlines with such hit productions as The Traitors, The Tourist, Life on Our Planet, Boat Story and the upcoming Squid Game: The Challenge, but also the fact that co-owners Warner Bros. Discovery and Liberty […]

Sky Studios CEO on AI “as a Real Opportunity,” Dual Strikes Impact and a “Particularly Difficult” Year

Cecile Frot-Coutaz, CEO of Sky Studios, the scripted production arm of Comcast’s European giant Sky, has been busy. The French industry leader has continued to expand her purview since taking over management of Sky Studios (Gangs of London, The Lazarus Project) in September 2021. In February, former CBS News president David Rhodes was named executive […]

Three Questions With Netflix U.K. Content VP Anne Mensah

Whether Sex Education or a doc lens on Robbie Williams or David Beckham, whether The Crown or Black Mirror — London-based TV veteran Anne Mensah, vp, U.K. content at Netflix, has kept bringing global fans the Brit hits since joining the streamer in 2018. “The future is even stronger,” the former BBC and Sky exec […]

The 35 Most Powerful Women in International Television

The writers and actors strikes in Hollywood, and the related issues of AI and the disruption of business models brought on by global streaming platforms, have dominated industry discussions this year, overshadowing debates over gender equity, diversity and inclusion. But the progress in those areas continues, noted by groups like the 50:50 Equality Project, a […]

Netflix Earnings Preview: Analysts Cut Stock Price Targets As Wall Street Resets Expectations

Netflix is expected to post strong subscriber gains when it reports its latest quarterly results on Oct. 18, but you couldn’t tell that from the stock’s performance since the global streamer’s July earnings update, when it added 5.9 million subscribers to total 238.4 million global paid memberships. That is because shares in the streaming giant, […]

Microsoft Closes $69B Acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Creating Video Game Powerhouse

Software and technology giant Microsoft has reached the end of a long and rocky road, closing its $68.7 billion acquisition of video game publisher Activision Blizzard, led by CEO Bobby Kotick, on Friday, 21 months after it had unveiled the mega-deal. Activision unveiled the close of the transaction in a regulatory filing early on Friday. […]

Warner Bros. Discovery President of Content Sales David Decker Takes on Expanded Global Role

Warner Bros. Discovery international president Gerhard Zeiler has unveiled an expanded global remit for David Decker, the conglomerate’s president of content sales as the company continues to streamline and fine-tune its organization.  “David will, besides his domestic remit, oversee global opportunities for content licensing to major platform clients, like Netflix, Amazon, Roku and Paramount who operate worldwide,” […]

Linda Yaccarino: “Proactive Efforts” Made to Moderate X Amid Extremist Group Misinformation

X Corp. CEO Linda Yaccarino has responded to a warning letter from the European Union about “violent and terrorist content” on the social media platform related to the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas’ attacks on Israel. “Everyday we’re reminded of our global responsibility to protect the public conversation by ensuring everyone has access to real-time information […]

Lasse Hallstrom to Direct Drama Series ‘The Darkness’ With Lena Olin for CBS Studios, Stampede, Truenorth

CBS Studios on Thursday unveiled new premium drama series The Darkness, a co-production from CBS Studios and Icelandic production firm Truenorth and executive producers Stampede Ventures, starring Oscar nominee Lena Olin (Enemies, A Love Story, Hunters, Chocolat, The Artist’s Wife, Hilma), which Oscar nominee Lasse Hallström (Chocolat, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Hilma) is set to direct. The […]

Béla Tarr to Receive Honorary Award From European Film Academy

Hungarian director Béla Tarr will receive the Honorary Award of the European Film Academy president and board at the 36th European Film Awards in Berlin on Dec. 9. “With this award the European Film Academy (EFA) wishes to pay special tribute to an outstanding director and a personality with a strong political voice, who is […]