Toronto hopes to become a global cultural hub by making major investments in the arts over the next ten years. The plan would increase the budget of the Toronto Arts Council by $2 million annually over the next five years; double the budgets of the local arts service organizations over the next five years; index cultural grants to inflation; and increase investments in creative industries and festivals and special events. The $35 million plan would help support the city’s 93,000 creative sector jobs and enable artists to afford living in Toronto. The plan will be voted on by the city council in November.
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DirecTV and Dish are in talks to merge. DirecTV is owned by AT&T and Dish is owned by EchoStar, and if they merge, they would become the largest pay-TV provider with nearly 20 million subscribers. Pay TV as a whole has 70 million subscribers, down from the 2015 peak of 104 million thanks to competition from streaming services such as Netflix.
Inside Out 2 had over 30 million views on its first five days on the Disney+ streaming service. That is the biggest premiere for the service since the 2021 hit Encanto. The totals are unsurprising since Inside Out 2 is now the highest-grossing animated film at the box office.
Netflix has beat Wall Street expectations and added another 5 million subscribers. Revenue for the third fiscal quarter rose 15 percent to $9.8 billion and net income rose 40 percent to $2.4 billion.
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New York Philharmonic musicians have ratified a new three-year contract. Wages will rise by 15 percent in the first year and by 7.5 percent in each of the final two years. All audition rounds will now be behind a screen and all audition and tenure voting will now be done by secret ballot. Additionally, tenure candidates will now receive additional formal feedback.
National Symphony Orchestra musicians have reached agreement on a new two-year contract after a brief strike, their first since 1978. Wages will rise four percent in each year.