Film Production
Universal Pictures establishes family home entertainment label
MUMBAI: In a restructuring move that is designed to complement Universal Pictures’ existing operations and continued organic growth, the company is dedicating new efforts in the family arena.
A Universal Studios Home Entertainment Family Productions (USHEFP) unit has been established.
The new unit’s day-to-day operations will be overseen by family entertainment veteran Glenn Ross, who has been appointed to serve as the unit’s GM/ executive VP. USHEFP will develop, produce, and acquire live-action and animated family productions directly for the home entertainment market, as well as television. Universal has stated that this move clearly underscores its commitment to expand its reach in the made-for-DVD arena.
All Universal production entities developing and producing family-oriented product for the home entertainment and television sectors will now fall under the USHEFP banner, including the Universal Cartoon Studios, which will report directly to Glenn Ross. Also, as a part of the restructuring, London-based Universal Pictures Visual Programming President Hugh Rees-Parnall will now report to Universal Pictures International president Pete Smith.
Universal Pictures chairman Stacey Snider said, “As the home entertainment business continues its exponential growth, we feel now more than ever the time is right to capitalize on the tremendous demand for superior family-friendly content made specifically for DVD consumers. We have had tremendous success in the made-for-DVD arena to date and we are confident that by dedicating even greater attention to this platform, we will deliver exceptional entertainment that will appeal to the broadest range of audiences.”
Ross says, “I am excited to have the opportunity to work with the extensive assets and talents available at Universal Studios. As the family entertainment business continues to grow, the engine for continued growth will be the ability of our industry to identify new and creative programming to fuel demand. Universal Studios Home Entertainment Family Productions is
committed to creating and acquiring compelling and innovative films that will position us as a leader in this category.”
Film Production
Disney to cut 1,000 jobs under new chief executive
The entertainment giant’s freshly installed boss inherits a restructuring already in motion, with marketing and corporate roles bearing the brunt
CALIFORNIA: Walt Disney is preparing to slash up to 1,000 jobs in the coming weeks, the Wall Street Journal reported, as the entertainment giant’s freshly installed chief executive moves swiftly to trim fat and tighten the ship.
The cuts, less than 1 per cent of Disney’s global workforce of 231,000, will fall hardest on marketing and corporate roles. The planning, notably, began before D’Amaro formally took the top job in March, suggesting the new boss inherited a restructuring already in motion rather than one of his own making.
Driving the push is Asad Ayaz, Disney’s newly appointed chief marketing officer, who in January assumed command of a unified, company-wide marketing operation spanning film, television and streaming. His consolidation drive has been given a suitably cinematic internal name: Project Imagine.
The move is modest by Disney’s recent standards. Between 2023 and 2025, under former chief executive Bob Iger, the company eliminated roughly 8,000 positions across several brutal rounds of cuts, saving $7.5 billion, comfortably exceeding its own targets. As recently as June 2025, several hundred more jobs were axed across Disney Entertainment, hitting film and television marketing, publicity, casting, development and corporate finance.
Disney’s structural headaches are well-documented: shrinking streaming margins, a weakened box office, and fierce competition from Amazon and YouTube gnawing at its flanks. The company is merging its Disney+ and Hulu teams into a single app, has brought in consultants from Bain & Co to guide its broader cost strategy, and is betting heavily on digital growth.
The wider entertainment industry offers little comfort. Sony Pictures, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery have all taken the knife to their workforces in recent years, and further cuts loom if Paramount’s acquisition of Warner goes through.
For D’Amaro, the message is clear: there will be no honeymoon period. The magic kingdom still has some cost-cutting spells left to cast.
