Latest news with #Netflix-branded
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How New Jersey Landed Netflix
Look what's growing in the Garden State. The Hollywood Reporter was on-site Tuesday morning when Netflix broke ground on its new East Coast home, Netflix Studios Fort Monmouth in central New Jersey. (Yes, there is a central New Jersey.) The gigantic renovation project — in which Netflix will turn a long-abandoned U.S. Army base into a dozen soundstages, a backlot, state-of-the-art postproduction facilities, general office space and basically 500,000 square feet of all things Netflix — was brought to you by one thing: tax credits. More from The Hollywood Reporter Gov. Phil Murphy Pans Trump's Foreign-Film Tariffs - Even Though They Would Help New Jersey Jordan Boosts Film, TV Production Cash Rebate to Up to 45 Percent Rams Owner Plots Major TV and Film Production Facility at Hollywood Park You might want to take some notes here, California. Before a wrecking ball even thrice ceremoniously slammed into some random, already-crumbling decommissioned military building (we were provided with hard hats, thank you for your concern), and before the pork roll, egg and cheese sandwiches were handed out to guests in attendance, including The Sopranos creator David Chase, Netflix had seven productions currently filming in New Jersey. In the coming years, that number is about to be a whole lot more. Why did the world's leading streaming service bet its future on not-New York? Gov. Phil Murphy may be a bit biased, but he believes New Jersey has 'the single best film-incentive program in the entire country,' as he announced between the groundbreaking and the building-breaking. From his Netflix-branded director's chair on the same stage, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos applauded that line vigorously — and maybe a bit early. Perhaps someone peaked at the teleprompter. Sarandos' enthusiasm for the project is evident. It's also just good business. Sarandos runs a near-$500 billion publicly traded company; he didn't choose New Jersey as Netflix's home away from home just because he was born here — though he was — Sarandos chose it as a fiduciary responsibility. New Jersey's tax credits for film and TV production are indeed very good. The state offers a credit for up to 35 percent of qualified film production expenses, and up to 40 percent for digital media (like Netflix) postproduction, which Sarandos singled out as a major piece to Netflix Studios Fort Monmouth. Generous incentives have helped to make New Jersey the sixth-largest state for film and TV productions, according to an April 8 study by ProdPro. With $536 million in trailing 12-month spend, New Jersey ranks just behind Illinois ($725 million), New Mexico ($805 million), Georgia ($2.23 billion), New York ($4.07 billion) and California ($6.34 billion). Murphy told THR that the best thing about New Jersey's film tax incentive program isn't even about how much money they're willing to allocate, but rather for how long they're willing to allocate it. The New Jersey Film and Digital Media Tax Credit Program has already been extended through June 30, 2039. It's an 'explicit statement that this is not about us,' Murphy said, 'this is about generations to come.' 'And that to me is the strongest statement you could make,' he added. During his turn at the lectern, Sarandos recalled being 'in love with this idea' of Netflix Studios Fort Monmouth from 'the very first conversation' he had with Murphy, New Jersey's outgoing two-term governor. Though Murphy's presence was certainly felt at Fort Monmouth, he is not the only New Jersey politician who wooed Netflix to Monmouth County. And thank goodness, they all got a turn to make a speech on this rainy Tuesday in Eatontown. The tax credits were touted at every turn. (State Sen. Vin Gopal took a moment to point out the other good reasons to come to New Jersey, like the shore and the schools.) 'Boy, what a difference film credits can make,' Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly Craig Coughlin said. Sen. Declan O'Scanlon admitted it took him 'a while' to be in favor of the program that birthed Netflix Studios Fort Monmouth. And then O'Scanlon said the rarest words you will ever hear out of a politician's mouth: 'I was wrong.' They also each carved out a moment to let their Jersey shine through. For Coughlin, that moment was to take a shot at HBO, Netflix's chief rival in premium TV programming. 'To hell with' seeing another Boardwalk Empire, which was set in classic Atlantic City, skip New Jersey for New York. As for O'Scanlon, it was this declaration: 'We're kicking California's ass.' Welcome to New Jersey. Though it clearly isn't (and probably never will) in terms of overall spend and production, there is some truth to O'Scanlon's point. California's hubris over Los Angeles' positioning in the entertainment industry has resulted in so much production flight. Only now is its own governor, Gavin Newsom, playing catch-up on film incentives. Local governments also didn't do Hollywoodland any favors in terms of their permitting processes, which often created giant backlogs. The same problems won't exist here, Monmouth County Commissioner Director Thomas Arnone promised. 'We will make this easy for you,' he said to Sarandos. Best of The Hollywood Reporter How the Warner Brothers Got Their Film Business Started Meet the World Builders: Hollywood's Top Physical Production Executives of 2023 Men in Blazers, Hollywood's Favorite Soccer Podcast, Aims for a Global Empire Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
New York Post
14-05-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Netflix breaks ground on $900M movie studio at former NJ army base
Netflix officially broke ground this week on a sprawling new $900 million production hub in central New Jersey — with more than a third of the funding coming from tax credits provided by the Garden State. Netflix Studios Fort Monmouth will transform a long-abandoned US Army base into a 500,000-square-foot facility housing soundstages, a backlot, post-production suites and offices. The deal to build the new campus in Eatontown — marking a significant East Coast expansion for the video streaming giant — was boosted by $387 million in tax credits, according to state officials. 4 New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) is seen left with Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos on Tuesday. Getty Images for Netflix New Jersey's film and digital media tax credits offer up to 35% for production expenses and up to 40% for digital post-production — figures Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos cited as critical to the company's investment. California's status as the nation's film hub has been eroded in recent years as studios have opted to film movies in lower-tax locales such as Georgia and the United Kingdom. 'We're kicking California's ass,' New Jersey State Sen. Declan O'Scanlon told The Hollywood Reporter, underscoring the state's aggressive push to attract film and television production. O'Scanlon, a Republican who represents Monmouth County, admitted he was initially skeptical of the tax credit program. He then delivered a rare political confession: 'I was wrong.' Sarandos, speaking from a stage on the rain-soaked site, described the project as both a passion and a business decision. 4 Netflix broke ground on a new facility in Monmouth County. Getty Images for Netflix 'I was in love with this idea from the very first conversation with Gov. [Phil] Murphy,' Sarandos said. Sarandos added that the company expects 'that these studios will create thousands of jobs for New Jersey residents, billions of dollars of economic output and many cultural benefits for the region and for the state.' Though born in New Jersey, Sarandos emphasized that the decision to build in the Garden State was based on economics, not sentimentality. 4 New Jersey state officials touted tax credits and incentives offered to Netflix to entice the company to build a facility in Monmouth. Getty Images for Netflix According to an April report by ProdPro, New Jersey now ranks sixth in the US for film and TV production, with $536 million in spending over the past year, trailing only California, New York, Illinois, New Mexico, and Georgia. Murphy, who was seated in a Netflix-branded director's chair during the ceremony, called the state's film incentive program 'the single best in the entire country.' He noted that the program has already been extended through June 30, 2039. 4 The project, located in Eatontown, was made possible by tax credits as film studios like Netflix look to cut costs. REUTERS 'This is not about us,' Murphy said. 'This is about generations to come.' Netflix already has seven productions filming in New Jersey and is expected to significantly ramp up activity once the Fort Monmouth facility is complete, projected to be in 2028. Monmouth County Commissioner Director Thomas Arnone promised the company a streamlined permitting process. 'We will make this easy for you,' Arnone said, referencing the permitting gridlock that has plagued film productions in California.
Forbes
24-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
How Intelligent Agents Are Reshaping Business Strategy
Sanjay Bhatia, founder of is a seven-time AI serial entrepreneur with three exits. We've come a long way from Hollywood films portraying AI as robots taking over all electronics and turning against humans. With the major leaps we've made, especially in the last few years, AI has become a prerequisite for any business looking to gain a significant competitive advantage. Whether it's chatbots fielding customer questions at 3 a.m. or machine learning algorithms analyzing trend data and forecasting, AI is not just a shiny plot twist in an action movie. It's a practical tool in both personal and business use cases. A 2025 Ascendix report found that 82% of companies in the world are using or exploring AI. This includes 92% of Fortune 500 companies that have already adopted it, and this number will only continue to rise exponentially. One particular area where many businesses are recognizing AI's value is decision-making—especially data-driven decision-making. We live in an economy where data is the hottest commodity, and due to the sheer amount of inputs companies can harness before making any kind of decision, we must close a big efficiency gap when it comes to using the right insights to call the right shots. This is where AI agents come in: Custom AI "support" analyzes and formulates insights faster than humans, giving companies a better overview of operations, customers and market trends. It's easy to fall into the trap of picturing AI agents as lines of code that churn out numbers. In reality, they're extremely nuanced. The smartest AI agents out there use a combination of large language models with custom knowledge or databases to have consistently applicable context, seek out patterns, make intelligent decisions and continuously iterate on the quality of their output along the way. AI agents can be as invisible or visible as the use case requires them to be. For example, AI powers Netflix's entire recommendation system to make tailor-made content recommendations to users. This system, hidden behind layers of Netflix-branded UI, makes decisions on which shows to recommend based on a variety of data sources, ranging from users' own consumption habits to demographic data and industry trend reports. At the same time, an AI agent that's a chatbot as a tool is more conversational in the experience it provides—whether it's a marketing executive working on a company's budget allocation for the quarter or a venture fund looking to diversify the portfolio with more data-backed actions. The case is simple: accuracy, efficiency and speed. AI can streamline large and small decisions, noticing trends inaccessible to the naked (human) eye and making predictions in a fraction of the time. AI can also increase the speed at which actionable insights are readily available for review. Instead of monthly or quarterly manual reports, AI agents can provide near-real-time data for informing faster decisions, especially in cases of timely pivots to match the pace of the market. Accenture announced in October 2024 that "the number of companies that have fully modernized, AI-led processes [had] nearly doubled from 9% in 2023 to 16% in 2024." Specifically, these organizations have reported 2.5x higher revenue growth and 2.4x greater productivity compared to other players in their categories. These types of wins are not reserved for companies with massive budgets. We're at an inflection point where the playing field is evened out. With the pace at which organizations are adopting and embracing AI, smaller companies can also tap into building custom and use case-specific AI agents that can improve internal decision-making and deliver a better customer solution. Amazon is well-known for its dynamic pricing strategies (sometimes multiple times a day) to adjust to market demand, competitor pricing and user data signals. AI-driven dynamic pricing allows the company to adapt faster than traditional retailers, which means it can capture more sales while maintaining optimal profit margins and continue as a category leader. On the other side of the spectrum, JPMorgan Chase uses AI to analyze large volumes of transaction data, quickly flagging any unusual or suspicious activities to future-proof the organization's ability to fight fraud and deliver a better experience to their end users. Even though AI adoption is an inevitability, rolling out company-wide AI modernization initiatives isn't always going to be smooth. The biggest "make-or-break" reason isn't necessarily the tech itself; it's ultimately the decision-makers who need to opt in to start leveraging AI tools for better outcomes. Some employees will worry about job security, while others will be reluctant to trust a new system they don't fully understand. A few ways to remove friction in the rollout include: • Education: Provide training sessions, create spaces for open dialogue and show practical ways AI can reduce busywork rather than replace your team's jobs. • Starting Small: Pick a specific area (e.g., improving sales forecasts) and begin testing AI there with a controlled group of stakeholders. Track the results, share the wins and note any lessons for company-wide visibility. As teams witness improvements, they're more likely to adopt AI in other areas—as long as they don't see a threat to their job security or position. This gradual approach also allows leaders to refine how data is collected and ensure it meets the standards intelligent agents need. Whether you're a team of 10 or 10,000, the impact of AI will be equally valid. Enter the game while the playing field is level. Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
Telegraph
25-02-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Meghan tries a new recipe for success – selling biscuit and pancake ingredients
The Duchess of Sussex is planning to sell dried biscuit and crepe mixes under her new As Ever brand, The Telegraph can reveal. Meghan made the last-minute application just hours after announcing she had rebranded her lifestyle venture last week. The new trademark filing, made twice under two different As Ever fonts, is for: 'Mixes for bakery goods; cookie mixes; biscuit mixes; crepe mixes.' Meghan launched her lifestyle brand under the name American Riviera Orchard (ARO) last year, distributing 50 jars of strawberry jam to her celebrity friends. She was refused a trademark for the brand after the US Patent and Trademark Office said geographical locations could not be patented. The American Riviera is a common nickname for Santa Barbara, California, where the Sussexes live. But in a video posted on Instagram last Tuesday, the Duchess said the company had been rebranded As Ever, in partnership with Netflix. She said the new name meant she would not be confined to selling local produce, adding that it allowed her to return to her passions of 'cooking and crafting and gardening' that she had not 'been able to share with you for the past few years'. The announcement, made after the details were leaked on social media, came two weeks before the launch of With Love, Meghan, her eight-part 'at home-style' show, which will 'celebrate the joys of cooking & gardening, entertaining, and friendship'. The initial trademark application for As Ever was made in October 2022 before being sidelined in favour of ARO. However, it was revived last September, after the ARO application was rejected. Much like the original, it covers a vast range of products, from tableware and gardening tools to wine bags, bird houses, butters, jellies and chocolates. However, it features notable additions in the form of various food and drink mixes. The Duchess has applied to sell edible dried flowers in various guises, including sprinkles, which she can be seen using liberally in the trailer for her new Netflix show. She has added various forms of chocolate, cocoa powder, candy sprinkles and crystallised sugar for decoration as well as alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktail mixes. The filing also covers hospitality services 'in the nature of provision of food and drink' or 'temporary accommodation'. It is thought the Duchess will sell her products through a new As Ever website, which links to a Shopify domain. The name was created through internet giant which was also used to purchase the name on the day the Sussexes' daughter, Princess Lilibet, was born, as well as the now-defunct The Duchess may also sell products through the official Netflix merchandise shop, which sells products such as clothing, glassware and puzzles linked to its popular shows. The only Netflix-branded food previously manufactured is thought to be a Stranger Things frozen pizza, sold at Walmart in the US in 2023. Reports that Meghan's products will be sold in Netflix pop-up shops in Texas and Philadelphia have been denied. Potential 'confusion' The apparent focus on dried foodstuffs comes after an application to sell clothing under the new brand name was rejected due to potential 'confusion' with a Chinese clothing company called ASEVER. The Duchess's team had asked to use the As Ever name for aprons but agreed to remove that part of the application. The rest of the range could involve anything from gardening tools and recipe books to jewellery and stationery. The application – which has not yet been approved – also includes downloadable podcasts, audiobooks, films, newsletters or TV shows on subjects including self-care, culture, the empowerment and advancement of women and conscious living. The new brand will see the Duchess turn Hollywood housewife as she embraces 'playfulness over perfection' and promises to 'create wonder in every moment'. In the new show, which will tie in to the launch of As Ever, Meghan is filmed rustling up a variety of dishes in the kitchen while entertaining famous friends. She promises to share 'little tips and tricks' that will add sparkle to the otherwise mundane.
