Behind the Scenes with Stubhub and J Lo

J. LO TO RECEIVE PALM SPRINGS SPOTLIGHT AWARD: Jennifer Lopez will receive the Spotlight Award from the 31^st annual Palm Springs International Film Festival for her role in Hustlers. The award will be presented at the annual gala on Thursday, January 2^nd. “Jennifer Lopez is a star in every sense of the word, and you will experience this in her latest film Hustlers. Starting with her show-stopping entrance Jennifer brings to life the character of Ramona, an exotic dancer, who leads a group of dancer friends to steal money from their clients,” said Festival Chairman Harold Matzner. “For this full-force yet grounded performance, deserving of awards consideration, we are thrilled to present Jennifer Lopez with this year’s Spotlight Award.”

VIACOM AND CBS TO CLOSE DEAL: After years of delays, Viacom and CBS appear ready to merge. The companies plan to close the all-stock transaction after close of trading on December 4^th. The next day, the entity will be known as ViacomCBS.

STARZ TO LAUNCH STREAMING IN 20 MARKETS: Lionsgate‘s Starz will roll out its StarzPlay app in 20 new countries after its launch in the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Mexico and Brazil. “Starz has experienced great success with the Starz app domestically, remaining ahead of the streaming curve with more than 5.6 million OTT customers to date, and that number continues to climb,” said Starz CEO Jeffrey Hirsch on Monday. “Expanding our direct-to-consumer product into the global arena with the launch of the StarzPlay app gives subscribers seamless entry to our platform and premium content on their device of choice, while also providing us with access to key consumer data insights as we continue to position ourselves for success in the evolving content ecosystem.”

STUBHUB SOLD FOR $4B: eBay has sold StubHub to Viagogo for $4.05 billion in cash. The uniting of the two massive ticket-resale providers makes perfect sense, Viagogo’s founder and CEO Eric Baker said in a statement. “It has long been my wish to unite the two companies,” Baker said in a statement. “Buyers will have a wider choice of tickets, and sellers will have a wider network of buyers. Bringing these two companies together creates a win-win for fans – more choice and better pricing.”