This week is going to be a bloodbath for media & entertainment companies.

Per Mediaite:

> Mediaite understands that today the layoffs mostly focus on paid contributors. It’s been known around the network that Licht is more interested in subject-specific experts less than broad generalists, which will be reflected in today’s cuts. Tomorrow, salaried employees will be told and some relatively visible names from behind the scenes are expected to hear bad news also.

Amazon closed its acquisition of MGM in March.

> Seems odd this isn't on Prime if MGM+ is a thing.

Yeah, MGM+, formerly known as Epix, should have been part of Prime, not a separate service. This comes off as double dipping.

> MGM+, the premium cable network and streamer currently known as Epix, has landed domestic rights to Damian Lewis drama 'A Spy Among Friends' after the series was to have aired as a Spectrum original.

> The six-episode series that reunites the Billions star with his former Homeland exec producer Alexander Cary was among the programs that were left without a home after Charter shut down its Spectrum Originals banner following the departure of exec Katherine Pope.

> Created by Cary, Spy is based on the New York Times best-selling book by Ben Macintyre. The series, produced by Sony and BritBox parent ITV Studios and Veritas Entertainment Group, revolves around the defection of a British intelligence officer and KGB double agent (Guy Pearce, who replaced Dominic West, who was originally in talks for the part) and his relationship with an MI6 friend and colleague (Lewis). The role marks Lewis’ follow-up to Showtime’s Billions. Cary, Patrick Spence, Nick Murphy, Chrissy Skinns, Bob Bookman, Alan Gasmer, Peter Jaysen and Lewis exec produce.

> The series was originally supposed debut this fall first domestically on Spectrum Originals and then to stream on ITVX (which includes the former BritBox). It will launch first on ITVX starting Dec. 8 and then at a date to be determined on MGM+ in 2023.

He was a member of Disney's board and the largest shareholder as well.

I think that Maura has created a multi-layer simulation system.

Given that the father’s world is not affected by the 1899 simulation shutdown/loops/virus, that he retains his memories & more importantly control the 1899 simulation, I think that points out to a second and higher level in the program.

Don’t think he was in the same simulation level. He was aware of the 1899 simulation, can monitor the people on the ship, control their environment & stay out of the endless loops that 1899 people went through.

Bog Iger was a close friend to the late Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs, he spoke a few times in the past about Disney/Apple merging.

Bob Iger says Apple & Disney would have merged if Steve Jobs was alive - Dec 21, 2021

> In an interview with CNBC on Tuesday, Iger noted that Jobs was passionate about "everything that Disney did." He said the late Apple co-founder and CEO always appreciate combining "great technology" with "great creativity."

> "The intersection — one side liberal arts, one side technology," Iger said. "That's what made his heart sing."

> Iger continued, adding that Disney's content would have been a natural fit for the way that Apple was changing how it delivers content to users.

> "I'm pretty convinced we would have had that discussion," Iger said. "I think we would have gotten there."

> This is not the first time that Iger has brought up the potential of an Apple-Disney merger if Jobs had lived. In his 2019 memoir, Iger said that he believed "if Steve were still alive, we would have combined our companies, or at least discussed the possibility very seriously."

> The 71-year old executive also said that the hiring freeze his pink slipped predecessor Bob Chapek announced on November 11 is still in place. Offering his perspective from being outside the company the past year after decades at Disney, Iger told staffers additionally that rumors of a merger or deal with Apple were just that – rumors. The man who bought Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm and Fox for Disney during his last stint as CEO also noted that the House of Mouse wasn’t looking to make anymore big ticket acquisitions any time soon.

> Coming just over a week after Iger was returned to his perch at the House of Mouse and Chapek was unceremoniously shown the door, the once and current CEO’s attempt to rally the Disney troops comes at a precarious time for the media giant. On one hand, Disney has the top movie in the world with Black Panther sequel Wakanda Forever. However, this past weekend also saw the company take a more than $100 million thump with the box office crash and burn of animated feature Strange World. In that context, the December 16 release of James Cameron’s much anticipated Avatar: The Way of Water poses potentially more big screen success and financial stress for the studio.

> Quickly purging the upper ranks of Disney of the short-lived Chapek’s top lieutenants in the hours after being renamed CEO unexpectedly on November 20, the notoriously successor-uncongenial Iger also has a 24 month deadline to leave the company in stable hands – an effort that floundered from almost the get-go with Chapek.

> Somewhat anti-climatic, according to one source, the 40-minute town hall today found Iger sidestepping Florida’s discrimatory “Don’t Say Gay” law that tripped up a flip-flopping Chapek earlier this year. Essentially, noting you can’t please all the people all the time, Iger said the matter shouldn’t be a political issues, we hear.

Given that they revealed the nature of the simulation so quickly, I’m thinking maybe the 2099 reality is another level of the simulation program, a bit like ‘The Thirteenth Floor’ movie.

Level 1: The ship in 1899.

Level 2: The father in the monitoring room/ the black pyramid landscape.

Level 3: The spaceship in 2099.

Netflix's ‘1899’ was first announced in 2018, whereas Yellowstone's first Spin-off '1883' was announced three years later in 2021.

> France’s 2-1 victory in the World Cup group stage over Denmark on Saturday evening drew an average 11.6 million viewers to TF1 from the 5PM hour local time. This is second best audience score of the year for all programs and across all channels in the Hexagon. Upon entering the tournament last week, Les Bleus set a record for viewership in 2022, and since June 2021.

> Viewing figures peaked on TF1 at 14.6 million for the France/Denmark face-off on Saturday with a 63% share, which is significantly higher than Tuesday’s 48.1% share when France beat Australia.