109-600: Endeavor Group Holdings, Inc. (formerly William Morris Endeavor and WME-IMG ) is an American holding company for talent and media agencies with its primary offices in Beverly Hills , California . The company was founded in April 2009 after the merger of the William Morris Agency and Endeavor Talent Agency . Endeavor represents artists in film, television, music, theater, digital media, and publishing. It also represents
218-416: A CIA officer and was initially portrayed in the series as an old-fashioned conservative bigot but has since grown out of these traits (the show is known for its story arc elements and other distinguishing plot techniques ); Stan's paradoxically moralistic yet simultaneously inappropriate, corrupt wife, Francine ; and their two children, new-age hippie daughter Hayley and nerdy son Steve . Accompanying
327-462: A corporate group . In some jurisdictions around the world, holding companies are called parent companies , which, besides holding stock in other companies, can conduct trade and other business activities themselves. Holding companies reduce risk for the shareholders , and can permit the ownership and control of a number of different companies. The New York Times uses the term parent holding company . Holding companies can be subsidiaries in
436-488: A tiered structure . Holding companies are also created to hold assets such as intellectual property or trade secrets , that are protected from the operating company. That creates a smaller risk when it comes to litigation . In the United States, 80% of stock, in voting and value, must be owned before tax consolidation benefits such as tax-free dividends can be claimed. That is, if Company A owns 80% or more of
545-420: A "very, very simply, crudely animated film—with just enough to get the tone of the show across" to present to the executives, who loved the pilot and immediately ordered the series. In July 1998, they announced the purchase of Family Guy for a January 1999 debut. Family Guy was originally intended to be a series of shorts on MADtv , much in the same way The Simpsons had begun on The Tracey Ullman Show
654-459: A $ 100-million agreement with Fox to keep Family Guy and American Dad! until 2012. It made him the world's highest paid television writer. MacFarlane's success with Family Guy opened doors to other ventures relating to the show. On April 26, 2005, he and composer Walter Murphy created Family Guy: Live in Vegas . The soundtrack features a Broadway show tune theme, and MacFarlane voiced Stewie in
763-449: A 21st-century "super agent" by both The Wall Street Journal and The Guardian , as well as an Advertising Age "Influencer." In July 2011, the company and its foundation created Camp Summer Eagle, which provides donations and activities for schoolchildren at Foster Elementary in Compton, California . Shortly after the merger, WME helped launch the investment group Raine, which aligned
872-472: A Shadow ", " Family Guy Viewer Mail 1 ", and " North by North Quahog ", MacFarlane voices Family Guy ' s main male characters of Peter Griffin , Stewie Griffin , Brian Griffin , and Glenn Quagmire , as well as Tom Tucker, his son Jake Tucker, and other characters. Bolstered by high DVD sales and fan loyalty, Family Guy developed into a $ 1-billion franchise. On May 4, 2008, after approximately 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 years of negotiations, MacFarlane reached
981-626: A branding and marketing agency in Philadelphia for about $ 200 million in January 2018. The CEO of 160over90, John Campanella, said that Endeavor took less than two months to complete the purchase. Third Coast Content, a faith and family audiences production and publishing company, was founded in February 2018 by veteran film executive Ben Howard as CEO with Endeavor Content as an investor and as its provider of sales and advisory services. In April 2019, Droga5
1090-481: A career in animation, and began by creating flip books after his parents found a book on the subject for him. Four years later, at nine, he began publishing a weekly comic strip, Walter Crouton , for The Kent Good Times Dispatch , the local newspaper; it paid him five dollars per week. MacFarlane said in an October 2011 interview that as a child he was always "weirdly fascinated by the Communion ceremony". He created
1199-592: A day before it planned to go public, Endeavor Group announced that the IPO had been postponed in order to "evaluate the timing for the proposed offering as market conditions develop." Contributing factors were reported to be the under-performance of the recent IPO for Peloton , and an ongoing lawsuit with several former UFC fighters. On March 30, 2021, Endeavor Group announced a new planned IPO for later in 2021, with Elon Musk and Fawn Weaver nominated to join its board of directors. On April 28, 2021, Endeavor Group went public on
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#17328587394491308-502: A decade earlier. Negotiations for the show's MADtv connection fell through early on as a result of budgetary concerns. At age 24, MacFarlane was television's youngest executive producer. Family Guy first aired January 31, 1999. MacFarlane's work in animating Family Guy was influenced by Jackie Gleason and Hanna-Barbera along with examples from The Simpsons and All in the Family . In addition to writing three episodes, " Death Has
1417-453: A feature film, although "nothing's official". In September 2007, Ricky Blitt gave TV.com an interview confirming that he had already started working on the script. Then in TV Week on July 18, 2008, MacFarlane confirmed plans to produce a theatrically released Family Guy feature film sometime "within the next year". He came up with an idea for the story, "something that you could not do on
1526-557: A fish body; and Jeff Fischer , Hayley's boyfriend turned "whipped" husband, known for his infatuation with Hayley's mom, Francine. Together, the Smiths and their three housemates run what is only at a first glance the typical middle-class American lifestyle, but is anything but. MacFarlane provides the voices of Stan and Roger, basing Roger's voice on Paul Lynde (who played Uncle Arthur in Bewitched ). His sister Rachael MacFarlane provides
1635-678: A frequent critic. It organized a letter-writing campaign to remove it from Fox's lineup, and filed complaints with the Federal Communications Commission alleging that some of its episodes contained indecent content. MacFarlane has responded to the PTC's criticism by saying, among other things: "That's like getting hate mail from Hitler . They're literally terrible human beings." Family Guy has been cancelled twice, although strong fan support and DVD sales have caused Fox to reconsider. MacFarlane mentioned how these cancellations affected
1744-729: A great time. A Family Guy video game was released in 2006. Two years later, in August 2007, MacFarlane closed a digital content production deal with AdSense. He takes cast members on the road to voice characters in front of live audiences. Family Guy Live provides fans with the opportunity to hear future scripts. In mid-2007, Chicago fans had the opportunity to hear the then upcoming sixth-season premiere " Blue Harvest ". Shows have played in Montreal , New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles. On July 22, 2007, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter , MacFarlane announced that he might start work on
1853-512: A little too hard to top himself with faux-scandalous gags about race, Jews in Hollywood, and the killing of Abraham Lincoln." Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter praised MacFarlane's performance saying that he did "impressively better than one would have wagered." He also noted that he added "plenty of niceties with a little bit of the Ricky Gervais bite-the-hand-that-feeds-you thing and worked
1962-559: A live-action sitcom called Dads . The series, revolves around Eli, played by Seth Green , and Warner, played by Giovanni Ribisi , two successful guys in their 30s whose world is turned upside down when their dads move in with them. MacFarlane, Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild executive-produced the series, with Sulkin and Wild writing. In 2014, MacFarlane executive produced a two-season, 20-episode series called Blunt Talk for Starz . The series followed an English newscaster who moves to Los Angeles with his alcoholic manservant and
2071-450: A man named Glen discussing the time he matured at 32 and has him pursuing his only love after she moves in next door. Glen meets her son and both become good friends. The show ran on Fox for six episodes in Spring 2007. In August 2011, Fox ordered a 13-part updated series of Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey . MacFarlane co-produced the series with Ann Druyan and Steven Soter . The new series
2180-517: A matter of broadcast regulation . In the United States, a personal holding company is defined in section 542 of the Internal Revenue Code . A corporation is a personal holding company if both of the following requirements are met: A parent company is a company that owns enough voting power in another firm (or subsidiary ) to control management and operations by influencing or electing its board of directors . The definition of
2289-527: A minority stake in the creative agency Droga5 . The partnership combines the companies’ advertising and entertainment resources. On December 18, 2013, WME and Silver Lake announced the acquisition of IMG for $ 2.4 billion. WME 's Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell took over as co-CEOs. On January 21, 2015, it was announced that WME had acquired Global eSports Management (GEM), an international agency representing various esports and professional video game players and personalities. In April 2015, they bought
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#17328587394492398-406: A mysterious woman rides into town, she helps him find his courage. But when her outlaw husband arrives seeking revenge, the farmer must put his newfound courage to the test. The film was met with mixed to negative reviews from critics. On January 27, 2014, MacFarlane announced that he wrote a companion novel based on the film's script, which was released on March 4, 2014. An audio-book version
2507-425: A parent company differs from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, with the definition normally being defined by way of laws dealing with companies in that jurisdiction. When an existing company establishes a new company and keeps majority shares with itself, and invites other companies to buy minority shares, it is called a parent company. A parent company could simply be a company that wholly owns another company, which
2616-534: A possible second pitch for the series. Fox offered the young writer a strange deal: They gave him a budget of $ 50,000 (equivalent to $ 95,000 in 2023) to produce a pilot that could lead to a series (most episodes of animated prime-time productions cost at least $ 1 million). Recalling the experience in an interview with The New York Times , MacFarlane said: "I spent about six months with no sleep and no life, just drawing like crazy in my kitchen and doing this pilot." After six months, MacFarlane returned to Fox with
2725-406: A second season. The second season premiered on December 30, 2018, and received better reviews. The series was renewed for a third season by Fox, however the series would move over to Hulu . This season is the show's first on Hulu, after airing its previous two seasons on Fox, as well as the first to premiere since The Walt Disney Company's March 2019 acquisition of 20th Century Fox . The season
2834-469: A strategic partnership between WME and creative music agency Jingle Punks, which creates, publishes and licenses music. WME is also an investor in the e-commerce platform [OpenSky], which was named one of America's "Most Promising Companies" by Forbes . In 2013, Whitesell and Emanuel were profiled in Fast Company , highlighting the company's digital growth. On May 2, 2012, WME and Silver Lake Partners ,
2943-524: A strip with a character kneeling at the altar taking Communion and asking "Can I have fries with that?" The paper printed it and he got an "angry letter" from the local priest; it led to "sort of a little mini-controversy" in the town. MacFarlane received his high school diploma in 1991 from the Kent School. While there, he continued experimenting with animation, and his parents gave him an 8 mm camera. After graduating from high school, MacFarlane attended
3052-464: A technology-focused private equity firm based in Silicon Valley , signed an agreement for Silver Lake to acquire a 31.25% minority stake in the agency for $ 250 million. A new executive committee , consisting of Co-CEOs Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell and Silver Lake Managing Director Egon Durban, was formed to lead the company's growth strategy and investment activities. In July 2013, WME acquired
3161-465: A tending subsidiary of the purchasing company, which, in turn, becomes the parent company of the subsidiary. (A holding below 50% could be sufficient to give a parent company material influence if they are the largest individual shareholder or if they are placed in control of the running of the operation by non-operational shareholders.) In the United Kingdom, the term holding company is defined by
3270-458: Is defined by Part 1.2, Division 6, Section 46 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) , which states: A body corporate (in this section called the first body) is a subsidiary of another body corporate if, and only if: Toronto-based lawyer Michael Finley has stated, "The emerging trend that has seen international plaintiffs permitted to proceed with claims against Canadian parent companies for
3379-606: Is hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson and began airing on the channel in March 2014, with repeats airing on the National Geographic Channel on the next night. In addition to serving as one of the executive producers, MacFarlane provided voices for characters during the animated portions of the series. MacFarlane returned to executive produce and provide voices to its sequel series, Cosmos: Possible Worlds , which aired in 2020. In 2013 and 2014, MacFarlane produced one season of
Endeavor (company) - Misplaced Pages Continue
3488-453: Is sometimes done on a per- market basis. For example, in Atlanta both WNNX and later WWWQ are licensed to "WNNX LiCo, Inc." (LiCo meaning "license company"), both owned by Susquehanna Radio (which was later sold to Cumulus Media ). In determining caps to prevent excessive concentration of media ownership , all of these are attributed to the parent company, as are leased stations , as
3597-456: Is the only person to serve as roastmaster for more than one roast. In 2010, he filled this role for the roast of David Hasselhoff . The following year he was roastmaster at the roasts of Donald Trump and Charlie Sheen . On October 1, 2012, it was announced that MacFarlane would host the 85th Academy Awards on February 24, 2013. He also presented the nominees with actress Emma Stone , on January 10, 2013. In addition to hosting, MacFarlane
3706-540: Is then known as a " wholly owned subsidiary ". Seth MacFarlane Seth Woodbury MacFarlane ( / m ə k ˈ f ɑːr l ɪ n / ; born October 26, 1973) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, director, comedian, and singer. He is best known as the creator and star of the television series Family Guy (since 1999) and The Orville (2017–2022), and co-creator of the television series American Dad! (since 2005) and The Cleveland Show (2009–2013). He also co-wrote, co-produced, directed, and starred in
3815-590: The 85th Academy Awards in 2013 and was nominated for Best Original Song for " Everybody Needs a Best Friend " from Ted . MacFarlane was executive producer of the Neil deGrasse Tyson -hosted Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey , an update of the 1980s Cosmos series hosted by Carl Sagan . He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2019 and was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 2020. MacFarlane
3924-573: The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, MacFarlane and Elizabeth Gillies collaborated on a series of songs, eight in total, on a playlist entitled, Songs from Home on Spotify . MacFarlane was featured in Meghan Trainor ’s Christmas album, A Very Trainor Christmas and did a cover of " White Christmas ". The single debuted at number 24 on the Adult Contemporary chart issued dated November 14, 2020,
4033-473: The Companies Act 2006 at section 1159. It defines a holding company as a company that holds a majority of the voting rights in another company, or is a member of another company and has the right to appoint or remove a majority of its board of directors, or is a member of another company and controls alone, pursuant to an agreement with other members, a majority of the voting rights in that company. After
4142-647: The McMahon family . Vince McMahon will serve as executive chairman of the new entity, Emanuel as CEO, and Mark Shapiro as president and chief operating officer. As with Endeavor's ownership of UFC, Emanuel will not take on any creative roles, with current WWE CEO Nick Khan being named president of WWE (in a similar capacity to Dana White 's role in UFC). Emanuel said that the merger would "bring together two leading pureplay sports and entertainment companies" and provide "significant operating synergies", while McMahon stated that "given
4251-574: The NFL and NHL . Endeavor is majority owner of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) through TKO Group . In collegiate athletics Endeavor- Learfield IMG represents The American , A10 , Big 12 , Conference USA , Horizon League , MAC , MEAC , OVC , SEC and WCC . The group additionally owns a 20% stake in film and television production company Fifth Season (formerly Endeavor Content), with
4360-482: The New York Stock Exchange . Endeavor subsequently used some of the proceeds from the IPO to buy out Zuffa's other shareholders at a value of $ 1.7 billion, making Zuffa a wholly-owned subsidiary of Endeavor. On July 19, 2021, Ursula Burns joined the board of directors. On September 27, 2021, Endeavor announced that it would acquire OpenBet for $ 1.2 billion in cash and stock. In March 2022, Musk resigned from
4469-676: The Professional Bull Riders (PBR). On September 23, 2015, it was announced that WME-IMG would be partnering with Turner Broadcasting to create a televised esports league, the ELeague . On September 14, 2015, WME-IMG acquired from Donald Trump the Miss Universe Organization , which produces the Miss Universe , Miss USA and Miss Teen USA beauty pageants and related content. The organization sells television rights to
Endeavor (company) - Misplaced Pages Continue
4578-517: The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where he majored in animation. As a student, he intended to work for Disney , but changed his mind after seeing The Simpsons . During his time at RISD, he performed stand-up comedy. He also starred in many student films, meeting future Family Guy cast member Mike Henry , whose brother Patrick was MacFarlane's classmate. In his senior year, he made his thesis film, The Life of Larry , which became
4687-784: The Webby Award for Film & Video Person of the Year. MacFarlane has performed as a vocalist at the Hollywood Bowl , Carnegie Hall , and the Royal Albert Hall . He has released eight studio albums, in the vein of Frank Sinatra , with influences from jazz orchestrations , and Hollywood musicals beginning with Music Is Better Than Words in 2011. MacFarlane has received five Grammy Award nominations for his work. He has frequently collaborated with artists such as Sara Bareilles , Norah Jones , and Elizabeth Gillies on his albums. He hosted
4796-613: The financial crisis of 2007–2008 , many U.S. investment banks converted to holding companies. According to the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council 's website, JPMorgan Chase , Bank of America , Citigroup , Wells Fargo , and Goldman Sachs were the five largest bank holding companies in the finance sector, as of December 2013 , based on total assets. The Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 caused many energy companies to divest their subsidiary businesses. Between 1938 and 1958
4905-576: The Endeavor Talent Agency announced that they were forming William Morris Endeavor, or "WME". Endeavor executives Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell were widely seen as the architects of the merger and quickly became the Co-CEOs of WME. After the official announcement of the merger, nearly 100 WMA employees and former board members were let go. One of those leaving was Jim Wiatt, who came to WMA in 1999 from International Creative Management , where he
5014-651: The MMA athletes", and "five related class-action lawsuits filed against it alleging that UFC violated Section 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 by monopolizing the alleged market for elite professional MMA athletes' services". Also included in the filing was the statement that subsidiary WME Dragon Holdings LLC, which bought 49 percent of advertising agency Droga5 in 2013, agreed to sell its interest in Droga5 to Accenture Interactive for $ 233 million. On September 26, 2019,
5123-623: The Roger character and set from his birth planet—is in the works and partially written. However, at San Diego Comic-Con in 2022, Weitzman revealed plans for the film were scrapped. MacFarlane has described the initial seasons of American Dad! as being similar to All in the Family , likening title character Stan Smith 's originally bigoted persona to Archie Bunker . MacFarlane has also stated that his inspiration to create American Dad! derived from his and Weitzman's exasperation with George W. Bush 's policies as former United States President. After
5232-484: The Smith family are three additional main characters, two of which belong to non-human species: zany, shocking, blithely cruel and rascally alien Roger, who's full of disguises/alter egos and has few if any limits on his behaviors. He was rescued by Stan from Area 51 ; Klaus , the man-in-a-fish-body pet. Klaus's unenviable situation came about from the brain of an East German Olympic skier being shrunk and transplanted into
5341-455: The United Kingdom, is generally held that an organisation holding a 'controlling stake' in a company (a holding of over 51% of the stock) is in effect the de facto parent company of the firm, having overriding material influence over the held company's operations, even if no formal full takeover has been enacted. Once a full takeover or purchase is enacted, the held company is seen to have ceased to operate as an independent entity but to have become
5450-472: The WGA asserted to be an illegal conflict of interest under state and federal law. As part of agreements which would allow them to resume representing writers, the WGA called for talent agencies to reduce their interest in co-owned production companies, as they considered talent agencies owning their own production companies to be a conflict of interest. In February 2021, Endeavor agreed to a new franchising deal with
5559-555: The WGA, under which it must cease the use of packaging deals, and not hold more than a 20% stake in production companies affiliated with the agency, thus necessitating that it divest at least 80% of Endeavor Content. On June 8, 2021, Endeavor began to seek a partner for the division in compliance with the agreement, with the whole sales team returning to the company to start the process. On October 28, 2021, Endeavor started to solicit second-round bids for more than $ 750 million, with three equity firms and two strategic companies among those in
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#17328587394495668-472: The admissions office at South Kent School . She later worked in the college guidance and admissions offices at the Kent School , a selective college preparatory school , where Ronald was a teacher. As a child, MacFarlane developed an interest in illustration, and at the age of two he began drawing cartoon characters such as Fred Flintstone and Woody Woodpecker . By age five, he knew he wanted to pursue
5777-456: The album. Like his previous four albums, he recorded a majority of the songs at Abbey Road Studios . However, much of the albums post-production work was done at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic . In 2022, he released his seventh studio album, Blue Skies . In November 2023, MacFarlane released a collaborative Christmas album with Gillies titled We Wish You the Merriest . The lead single of
5886-492: The allegedly wrongful activity of their foreign subsidiaries means that the corporate veil is no longer a silver bullet to the heart of a plaintiff's case." The parent subsidiary company relationship is defined by Part 1, Section 5, Subsection 1 of the Companies Act, which states: 5.—(1) For the purposes of this Act, a corporation shall, subject to subsection (3), be deemed to be a subsidiary of another corporation, if — In
5995-483: The animated short Larry & Steve —a loose precursor of Family Guy —for What a Cartoon! . In 2008, he created the online series Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy . MacFarlane has also made guest appearances as an actor on live action shows including Gilmore Girls , Star Trek: Enterprise , The War at Home , and FlashForward . MacFarlane has won several awards for his work on Family Guy , including five Primetime Emmy Awards . In 2009, he won
6104-415: The atmosphere at Hanna-Barbera as resembling an "old-fashioned Hollywood structure, where you move from one show to another or you jump from a writing job on one show to a storyboard job on another". MacFarlane worked on three television series during his tenure at the studio: Dexter's Laboratory , Cow and Chicken , and Johnny Bravo . Working as both a writer and storyboard artist , MacFarlane spent
6213-526: The baggage of several failed marriages to host a sanctimonious talk show. In 2009, MacFarlane began work on the animated series Bordertown . The series is set in Texas and follows a border patrol agent and a Mexican immigrant, satirizing America's changing cultural landscape. It ran for 13 episodes in the first half of 2016, on Fox. MacFarlane has participated in the Comedy Central Roasts . MacFarlane
6322-469: The board. In 2019, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) filed a lawsuit against the four major Hollywood talent agencies, including WME, Creative Artists Agency (CAA), United Talent Agency (UTA) and ICM Partners , over their usage of packaging deals (under which a talent agency offers a production utilizing its represented writers, directors, and/or actors as a "package" to prospective studios), which
6431-590: The company was renamed Fifth Season ; the name stems from Eastern medicine, which recognizes the so-called "fifth season" as a celebratory time of harvest in late summer, thus representing the company's focus on global ideas and content. On October 26, 2022, JKN Global Group acquired Miss Universe Organization (MUO) from Endeavor for $ 14 million. On March 7, 2023, Endeavor acquired unscripted production company Asylum Entertainment Group . On June 2, 2023, Endeavor acquired literary agency Ross Yoon Agency. In January 2023, professional wrestling promotion WWE stated it
6540-552: The company with properties like Vice Media and Zumba Fitness . In 2010, WME partnered with RED Interactive, a digital advertising agency. Two years later, they formed an alliance with the social media management firm TheAudience, partnering with digital entrepreneur Sean Parker and executing social campaigns for properties like the Seth MacFarlane motion picture Ted and the Coachella Music Festival . 2013 brought
6649-467: The early couple of seasons however, the series discontinued using these elements of political satire and began to serve up its own brand of entertainment and humor. MacFarlane was described as having difficulty understanding the series in its early going; however, he heavily warmed up to the series after its early seasons once he felt the show truly came into its own. His fellow co-creators have sensed this through MacFarlane's greatly increased attention to
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#17328587394496758-683: The early- to late-'50s era of orchestration". The album featured duets with Norah Jones and Sara Bareilles . It was nominated in the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album and the Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical categories at the 54th Grammy Awards . It received a score of 52 out of 100 on Metacritic 's compilation of music critic reviews. In 2014, he released his second studio album and first Christmas album Holiday for Swing . It received mostly positive reviews. In 2015, his third studio album No One Ever Tells You
6867-554: The episode " He's Bla-ack! ". This is the only animated series created by MacFarlane that does not have him voicing the main character. MacFarlane did, however, play the character Tim the Bear until season 3 episode 10. Jess Harnell voiced Tim from season 3 episode 11 onwards. In 2008, MacFarlane released a series of webisodes known as Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy with its animated shorts sponsored by Burger King and released weekly. In 2016, MacFarlane began producing
6976-449: The films Ted (2012) and its sequel Ted 2 (2015), and A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014). MacFarlane is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where he studied animation. He was recruited to Hollywood as an animator and writer for Hanna-Barbera 's television series Johnny Bravo , Cow and Chicken and Dexter's Laboratory ; during this time, he created
7085-603: The following year. MacFarlane made his directorial live-action film debut with the release of Ted in 2012. He announced that he was directing it on an episode of Conan that aired on February 10, 2011. Along with directing the film, he also wrote the screenplay, served as producer, and starred as the title character. Ted tells the story of John Bennett ( Mark Wahlberg ) and his talking teddy bear (MacFarlane) who keeps John and his girlfriend Lori Collins ( Mila Kunis ) from moving on with their lives. The film received generally favorable reviews from both critics and audiences, and
7194-494: The incredible work that Ari and Endeavor have done to grow the UFC brand—nearly doubling its revenue over the past seven years—and the immense success we’ve already had in partnering with their team on a number of ventures, I believe that this is without a doubt the best outcome for our shareholders and other stakeholders." The deal is expected to be completed on September 12, 2023. WWE and the UFC will continue to run as separate divisions of
7303-481: The inspiration for Family Guy . A professor submitted his film to the animation studio Hanna-Barbera , where he was later hired. He graduated in 1995 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. MacFarlane was recruited during the senior film festival by development executive Ellen Cockrill and President Fred Seibert . He went to work at Hanna-Barbera (then Hanna-Barbera Cartoons) based on the writing content of The Life of Larry , rather than on his drawing abilities. He
7412-473: The juxtaposition rather nicely." He stirred up controversy in the form of a musical number titled "We Saw Your Boobs". On October 29, 2014, it was announced that MacFarlane would host the Breakthrough Prize ceremony. The event was held in Silicon Valley and televised on November 15, 2014, on Discovery Channel and Science , and globally on November 22, 2014, on BBC World News . He returned to host
7521-567: The largest-ever acquisition in the sports industry. On August 22, 2016, WME acquired the literary agency Rabineau Wachter Sanford & Gillett (RWSG); its co-founders, Sylvie Rabineau and Jill Holwager Gillett, head a division of WME involved in the coordination of screen adaptations of literature. WME/IMG purchased in August 2017 a majority stake in Bloom, a film finance and sales company led by Ken Kao and Alex Walton. WME-IMG reorganized in October 2017 with
7630-494: The lineup of writers: "One of the positive aspects of Family Guy constantly being pulled off [the air] is that we were always having to re staff writers." During its sixth season, episodes of Family Guy and American Dad! were delayed from regular broadcast due to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike . MacFarlane participated in the strike to support the writers, and Fox aired three Family Guy episodes without his permission. The strike ended on February 12, 2008, and
7739-792: The most time on Johnny Bravo . He found it easier to develop his own style at Johnny Bravo through the show's process of scriptwriting, which Dexter's Laboratory and Cow and Chicken did not use. As a part of the Johnny Bravo crew, he met actors and voiceover artists such as Adam West and Jack Sheldon of Schoolhouse Rock! fame. These meetings later became significant to the production and success of his Family Guy series. He also did freelance work for Walt Disney Television Animation , writing for Jungle Cubs , and for Nelvana , where he wrote for Ace Ventura: Pet Detective . Through strict observation of writing elements such as story progression, character stakes and plot points, MacFarlane found
7848-420: The newly merged company as per statements made by WWE CEO Nick Khan. Hours after the sale, law firm Ademi LLP launched an investigation into the sale, looking for "possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of law". WWE's stock price additionally decreased following the announcement of the sale. On May 16, it was reported that the new entity would operate under the name TKO Group Holdings . The merger
7957-426: The next day. On April 3, Endeavor and WWE officially announced the deal, under which WWE will merge with UFC parent company Zuffa to form a new publicly-traded company; the name of the new entity was not announced, but it was stated that it will trade under the symbol " TKO ". Endeavor will hold a 51% stake in "TKO", with WWE's shareholders having a 49% stake, marking the first time that WWE has not been controlled by
8066-571: The number of holding companies declined from 216 to 18. An energy law passed in 2005 removed the 1935 requirements, and has led to mergers and holding company formation among power marketing and power brokering companies. In US broadcasting , many major media conglomerates have purchased smaller broadcasters outright, but have not changed the broadcast licenses to reflect this, resulting in stations that are (for example) still licensed to Jacor and Citicasters , effectively making them such as subsidiary companies of their owner iHeartMedia . This
8175-586: The pageants in other countries. Financial details were not disclosed. Softbank and Fidelity Investments in early 2016 invested in WME-IMG. The company formed a joint venture in June 2016 for China with Sequoia Capital , Tencent and FountainVest Partners . On July 9, 2016, Zuffa, LLC , the parent company of Ultimate Fighting Championship , was sold to a group led by WME-IMG, its owner Silver Lake Partners , Kohlberg Kravis Roberts , and MSD Capital , for $ 4.025 billion,
8284-1075: The parent company being renamed from WME-IMG to Endeavor. Ari Emanuel became Endeavor CEO and Patrick Whitesell became Endeavor executive chairman. The general talent agency retained the WME name as the sports agency retained the IMG name. In October 2017, Endeavor Content was formed from the WME's and IMG's film financing and scripted TV sales units, WME's advisory group for film financiers and content producers and Bloom, which will continue to operate autonomously. Graham Taylor and Chris Rice were appointed as co-presidents and additional hires were Negeen Yazdi as senior vice president of film and Joe Hipps as senior vice president of television. On November 15, 2017, actor Terry Crews said on Good Morning America that Adam Venit, head of WME's motion picture department, had squeezed Crews' genitals with his hand at an industry party in February 2016. WME responded they had suspended Venit following an internal investigation, on November 27, 2017, it
8393-457: The productivity of their agents, most notably, the "Farmhouse" training program. In September 2022, Richard Weitz and Christian Muirhead were named Co-Chairmen of the agency. Endeavor grew to include several subsidiary companies and expanded divisions. Fortune named co-CEOs Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell to their 2010 "Businessperson of the Year" list, acknowledging their corporate growth strategies. Emanuel had previously been recognized as
8502-448: The project. The project was put on hold while MacFarlane worked on Ted 2 . In 2018, Fox announced that a live-action/animated film based on the series is in development. MacFarlane stepped away from the series in 2011 to work on Ted and other projects, and has only been associated with the show as a voice actor since then. Despite its popularity, Family Guy has often been criticized . The Parents Television Council has been
8611-456: The remaining 80% owned by South Korean entertainment and retail company CJ ENM . Endeavor is headed by CEO Ari Emanuel and executive chairman Patrick Whitesell . The Endeavor Talent Agency launched in 1995. By 2009, it was one of the fastest-growing Hollywood talent agencies, with The New York Times singling out its reputation for "quick thinking, ferocity and barely bridled ambition". On April 27, 2009, William Morris Agency (WMA) and
8720-404: The running. On November 19, 2021, South Korean conglomerate CJ ENM reached a deal to acquire the stake for $ 775 million. The acquisition primarily covers the company's scripted business, with Endeavor retaining its non-scripted, documentary, and film consulting businesses. The sale is CJ ENM's largest acquisition to-date. The $ 785 million purchase was completed in January 2022. In September 2022,
8829-449: The same name was dropped on the day of the announcement. He was featured on Calabria Foti's 2013 single " Let's Fall in Love ". In 2016, he recorded the song " Pure Imagination " as a duet with Barbra Streisand for her album Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway . MacFarlane sang numerous show tunes with Ariana Grande on an episode of Carpool Karaoke: The Series in 2017. During
8938-507: The sci-fi comedy-drama series The Orville , in which he also stars as Captain Edward "Ed" Mercer . MacFarlane originally wrote The Orville as a spec script , which was given a 13-episode order by Fox in May 2016, making it the first live-action television series created by MacFarlane. The series premiered on September 10, 2017. Despite the first season receiving negative reviews, it was renewed for
9047-438: The series after its early seasons. MacFarlane has also revealed he is an American Dad! fan himself. He has taken note of the positive reaction to the " Roger " character by fans via his Twitter. The show focuses on the Smith family: Stan Smith, the endangering, dog-eat-dog , rash and inconsiderate head of the household. He has an exaggeratedly large chin and masculine manner about him. As the family's breadwinner , he works as
9156-472: The series for a 15-episode 12th season . The purpose of the network relocation was originally to make room for new comedies on FOX, such as Mulaney and another animated series from Seth MacFarlane called Bordertown on Fox's now-defunct " Animation Domination " programming block. While MacFarlane does extensive voice acting work for American Dad! , he has left much of its creative direction up to Matt Weitzman and Mike Barker , feeling it helps give
9265-469: The series its own voice and identity. It was announced on November 4, 2013, that Barker would depart American Dad! after 10 seasons as producer/co- showrunner . American Dad! was first shown after Super Bowl XXXIX , debuting with the episode " Pilot ", which MacFarlane co-wrote. This February 6, 2005, series premiere was somewhat of an early sneak preview as the program did not begin airing regularly until May 1, 2005. Because of atypical scheduling of
9374-558: The series resumed airing regularly, beginning with " Back to the Woods ". MacFarlane has a second long-running, successful adult animated series in American Dad! which has been in production since early 2005. To date, it is his only animated series that has never been cancelled, though it did undergo a network relocation from Fox to TBS on October 20, 2014, following its 11th season . TBS announced on July 16, 2013, that they had picked up
9483-411: The series, MacFarlane reprises his role as Ted. Due to its prequel nature, Wahlberg and Kunis do not reprise their roles. MacFarlane co-wrote and starred in his second film, A Million Ways to Die in the West . Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild were also co-writers for the film. The film follows a cowardly sheep farmer (MacFarlane) who loses a gunfight and sees his girlfriend leave him for another man. When
9592-509: The show's first 7 episodes , American Dad! has a controversial season number discrepancy in which many are divided as to how many seasons the program has had. Beyond division between media journalists and fans, there have been conflicting reports as to what season the show is in even between American Dad! creators and the show's official website—both from its original Fox website and now from TBS website. At San Diego Comic-Con in 2013, Barker hinted that an American Dad! movie—centering on
9701-460: The show, which [to him] is the only reason to do a movie". He later went on to say he imagines the film to be "an old-style musical with dialogue" similar to The Sound of Music , saying that he would "really be trying to capture, musically, that feel". On October 13, 2011, MacFarlane confirmed that a deal for a Family Guy film had been made, and that he would write it with series co-producer Ricky Blitt. On November 30, 2012, he confirmed plans for
9810-540: The stock of Company B, Company A will not pay taxes on dividends paid by Company B to its stockholders, as the payment of dividends from B to A is essentially transferring cash within a single enterprise. Any other shareholders of Company B will pay the usual taxes on dividends, as they are legitimate and ordinary dividends to these shareholders. Sometimes, a company intended to be a pure holding company identifies itself as such by adding "Holding" or "Holdings" to its name. The parent company–subsidiary company relationship
9919-498: The track "Stewie's Sexy Party". A fan of Broadway musicals, MacFarlane comments on using musicals as a component of Family Guy : I love the lush orchestration and old-fashioned melody writing ... it just gets you excited, that kind of music", he said. "It's very optimistic. And it's fun. The one thing that's missing for me from popular music today is fun. Guys like [Bing] Crosby, or [Frank] Sinatra , or Dean Martin , or Mel Tormé [...] these are guys who sounded like they were having
10028-428: The voice of Hayley. MacFarlane developed a Family Guy spin-off called The Cleveland Show , which focuses on the character of Cleveland Brown and his family. The idea for the show originated from a suggestion by Family Guy writer and voice of Cleveland, Mike Henry. Fox ordered 22 episodes and the series first aired on September 27, 2009. The show, which was picked up to air a first season consisting of 22 episodes,
10137-527: The work for Disney was, from a writing standpoint, very valuable in preparation for his career (particularly on Ace Ventura ). He also created and wrote a short titled Zoomates for Frederator Studios ' Oh Yeah! Cartoons on Nickelodeon . Executives at the Fox Broadcasting Company saw both Larry shorts and negotiations soon began for a prime-time animated series. Although MacFarlane enjoyed working at Hanna-Barbera, he felt his real calling
10246-442: Was a box office success, opening with the highest weekend gross of all time for an original R-rated comedy. Internationally, the movie is currently the highest-grossing original R-rated comedy of all time, beating The Hangover . A sequel, Ted 2 , was released on June 26, 2015. It was announced in June 2021 that Peacock had given a straight to series order for a prequel series. In addition to serving as executive producer for
10355-548: Was acquired by Accenture . On May 24, 2019, Endeavor filed forms for an initial public offering (IPO) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that would have valued the company at $ 7.6 billion. The form detailed Endeavor's revenue was $ 3.61 billion in 2018 with a net income of $ 100.1 million after adjustments, and potential risks involved of being potentially sued “over alleged long-term neurocognitive impairment arising from concussions”, "collective bargaining to unionize
10464-502: Was also made available, narrated by Jonathan Frakes . MacFarlane wrote the book on weekends during shooting for the film, partially due to boredom. In 2010, MacFarlane signed a record deal with Universal Republic Records . He released his debut album, Music Is Better Than Words , in 2011. The album is a big band / standards album drawing on his training in and attraction to "the Great American Songbook and particularly
10573-466: Was also nominated in the Academy Award for Best Original Song category for co-writing the theme song " Everybody Needs a Best Friend " for his film Ted with Walter Murphy. Critical response to MacFarlane's performance was mixed. Columnist Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly commented "By calling constant attention to the naughty factor," MacFarlane created "an echo chamber of outrage, working
10682-400: Was announced Venit would return to work after a month's unpaid leave. On December 4, 2017, lawyers acting on behalf of Terry Crews filed suit against WME and Venit stating "It is now time to hold Venit accountable for his sexual predatory behavior and to hold WME accountable for its conduct in condoning, ratifying, and encouraging Venit's sexual predatory behavior". Endeavor acquired 160over90,
10791-429: Was announced that OpenBet and IMG Arena would be sold to OB Global Holdings, LLC for $ 450 million, in a management buyout led by Emanuel. Holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own stock of other companies to form
10900-651: Was born and raised in Kent , Connecticut. His parents, Ronald Milton MacFarlane (b. 1946) and Ann Perry (née Sager; 1947–2010), were born in Newburyport , Massachusetts. His younger sister Rachael is also a voice actress. His maternal grandfather, Arthur Sager , competed in the 1928 Summer Olympics in track and field . MacFarlane's parents met in 1970 when they lived and worked in Boston , Massachusetts, and married later that year. They moved to Kent in 1972, where Ann began working in
11009-416: Was exploring a potential sale, with Endeavor being among potential suitors. Its founder Vince McMahon had stepped down as chairman and CEO in mid-2022 amidst a misconduct investigation . Endeavor Streaming had been providing backend services for WWE's streaming platform WWE Network since 2019. On April 2, CNBC reported via sources that a deal between WWE and Endeavor was imminent and could be announced
11118-553: Was finalized on September 12, 2023. In April 2024, private equity firm Silver Lake announced a deal to take Endeavor private, offering $ 27.50 per share in cash, valuing the company at $ 13 billion. As part of the buyout, Endeavor began to divest some of its assets; in August 2024, Endeavor announced plans to put its sports betting businesses OpenBet and IMG Arena up for sale, and in October 2024, announced plans to divest IMG, PBR, and On Location Experiences to TKO Group in an all-stock deal valued at $ 3.25 billion. On November 11, 2024, it
11227-489: Was for prime-time animation, which would allow a much edgier style of humor. He first pitched Family Guy to Fox during his tenure at Hanna-Barbera. A development executive there, who was trying to get back into prime-time business, introduced MacFarlane to Leslie Kolins and Mike Darnell, heads of the alternative comedy department at Fox. After the success of King of the Hill in 1997, MacFarlane called Kolins once more to ask about
11336-423: Was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. In 2016, he was honored by Barbara Sinatra at the 28th annual Frank Sinatra Celebrity Invitational. He released his fourth studio album, In Full Swing , in 2017, again featuring songs composed by Joel McNeely . Three singles were released from it: "That Face", " Almost Like Being in Love ", and " Have You Met Miss Jones? " The album
11445-405: Was nominated for two Grammy Awards for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album and Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals . In 2019, for his fifth studio album Once in a While , MacFarlane worked with composer Andrew Cottee. In 2020, MacFarlane released his sixth studio album, Great Songs from Stage & Screen , with composer Bruce Broughton , who he works with on The Orville , to compose
11554-414: Was one of only a few people hired by the company solely based on writing talent. He worked as an animator and writer for Cartoon Network's Cartoon Cartoons series. He created a sequel to The Life of Larry entitled Larry & Steve , featuring a middle-aged character named Larry and an intellectual dog, Steve. The short was broadcast as one of Cartoon Network 's World Premiere Toons . He described
11663-507: Was originally scheduled to premiere in 2020 but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic . The third season titled as The Orville: New Horizons premiered on June 2, 2022. Due to the pandemic, an episode of third season was scrapped, which MacFarlane subsequently turned into a novel, titled The Orville: Sympathy for the Devil . MacFarlane was the executive producer of a live-action sitcom starring Rob Corddry called The Winner . The plot has
11772-497: Was picked up by Fox for a second season, consisting of 13 episodes, bringing the total number to 35 episodes. The announcement was made on May 3, 2009, before the first season even premiered. Due to strong ratings, Fox picked up the back nine episodes of season 2, making a 22-episode season and bringing the total episode count of the show to 44. The series ended on May 19, 2013, with a total of 4 seasons and 88 episodes. The character of Cleveland and his family returned to Family Guy in
11881-474: Was vice-chairman. He had joined WMA as president and co-chief executive officers, and had risen to board chairman. After the merger, WME moved its headquarters into the offices of Endeavor at 9601 Wilshire Boulevard in the heart of Beverly Hills. In 2011, Emanuel was quoted in a Financial Times profile about the company saying, "We built a culture where people are rewarded for taking risks." Emanuel and Whitesell implemented several leadership strategies to boost
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