What's news: AMC says the Universal windowing deal will become the "industry standard," Paul Telegdy exits as NBCUniversal shakes up its entertainment and streaming units, Amazon's A League of Their Own reboot, Lionsgate profit rises as it plots another John Wick, Tony organizers game out what to do now, Creative Arts Emmys set for a five-day affair. Plus: Tenet secures a release date in China, and news about two dog-focused competition shows. --Alex Weprin

 The New 'Industry Standard'?

►AMC Theatres CEO Adam Aron says early PVOD will become "industry standard." Aron took a victory lap Thursday when discussing a historic agreement with Universal Pictures that shatters the traditional theatrical window and gives Universal the option of debuting a movie on premium VOD 17 days after it opens on the big screen.

--“This potential dramatic expansion of revenue should protect AMC against the cannibalization that will admittedly occur as some people shift straight to home viewing.” Aron said AMC is offering “similar arrangements” to all of its studio partners. The story.

+As expected, AMC's earnings cratered year-over-year, with the pandemic keeping most theaters closed. The extent of the COVID-19 hit taken so far by the largest U.S. cinema chain was underlined by overall revenues tumbling to $18.9 million, compared to a year-earlier $1.5 billion. Wall Street analysts forecast year-on-year revenues of $11.9 million at the end of the latest quarter. The story.

In other earnings news...

►Lionsgate swings to quarterly profit. For the first quarter, Lionsgate reported earnings of 23 cents per share, against a year-earlier loss of 25 cents per-share. That beat a Wall Street estimate for 2 cents in a per-share profit. The adjusted earnings of 39 cents per-share beat an analyst consensus of 21 cents. Fourth-quarter revenue came to $813.7 million, compared with a year-earlier $963.3 million, which beat an analyst estimate of $770.3 million in overall revenue for the latest quarter. 

--The studio's media network revenue, which mostly comprises the Starz premium cable and streaming channel, came to $367.3 million, against a year-earlier $372 million. Starz reported domestic OTT subs at 7.4 million at the end of the first quarter, up from 6.8 million last quarter. Lionsgate reported 11.4 million global streaming subscribers. The motion picture segment revenue was $280.7 million, compared to a year-ago $397.8 million due to fewer theatrical releases amid movie theater closures during the pandemic. The story.

+Some news from the analyst call: Lionsgate unveiled plans for its Keanu Reeves-starring franchise by confirming that a John Wick 5 is in the works. Studio CEO Jon Feltheimer also announced during the call that the fourth and fifth installments would shoot back-to-back. More.

+Antebellum heads straight to premium VOD. Lionsgate announced Thursday that the horror film, starring Janelle Monáe, will debut on PVOD on Sept. 17. In some select overseas markets, the pic will play in cinemas. More.

+Dish lost 96,000 subscribers: The latest quarter's figure included the loss of 40,000 net subscribers to the traditional Dish pay TV service, compared with a year-ago loss of 79,000, and the loss of approximately 56,000 net subscribers to the Sling TV streaming service, a swing from a year-ago gain of 48,000 customers. More.

+Animal Crossing drives Nintendo profits skyward. Nintendo on Thursday posted quarterly net sales of $3.4 billion ($358.1 billion yen) for the period ending June 30. Net profits for the quarter totaled 1 billion (106.4 billion yen). More.

 NBCU Shakeup

►NBCUniversal TV shake-up: NBC's Paul Telegdy out, Frances Berwick to oversee networks. Three months after shaking up his news division, CEO Jeff Shell and Mark Lazarus are making their anticipated shake-up within NBCUniversal's TV structure. The conglomerate is shifting from a vertical reporting structure to what it dubs as a horizontal one, with Frances Berwick now charged with leading a new Entertainment Business unit that gives the 30-year company exec oversight of programming strategy and content across all the TV entertainment networks.

--As part of the restructure, NBC Entertainment chairman Paul Telegdy is leaving the company. His exit arrives less than a week after NBC launched an investigation into claims that Telegdy fostered a toxic culture, claims of which were detailed in an extensive THR report. Telegdy's role will not be replaced. NBC will still continue the investigation into the culture at the network. As part of the reorganization, NBCUniversal is searching for an executive to oversee a newly launched Entertainment Programming unit. The details.

 How do you solve a problem like the Tonys?  The ceremony to celebrate the best of the 2019-2020 Broadway season was scheduled for June 7, but two months after that date, with New York's theater community in crisis, not even the nominating committee knows if it will ever happen, Scott Feinberg writes. "It is understood that there are three primary options under consideration at this time, each of which comes with pros and cons..." Here's what's being discussed.

+The Creative Arts Emmy Awards will be spread across an unprecedented five nights as the pandemic forces all Emmys-related events to take place virtually.

--Recognizing creative and technical achievements, the Creative Arts Awards will stream on Emmys.com on Monday, Sept. 14 (reality and nonfiction categories), Tuesday, Sept. 15 (variety categories), Wednesday, Sept. 16 (scripted night one) and Thursday, Sept. 17 (scripted night two), each night at 5 p.m. PT, and will resume on Saturday, Sept. 19 (a mix of awards across genres) at 5 p.m. PT on FXX. Each evening will be produced by Bob Bain Productions. The story.

 A New 'A League Of Their Own'

Amazon made some serious news during its presentations at the (virtual) Television Critics Association summer press tour...

►A League of Their Own reboot ordered to series at Amazon. Broad City's Abbi Jacobson and Will Graham created the hourlong series, which is described as a reinterpretation of the original nearly 30-year-old feature film about the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The story.

+The reboot will lean hard into sexuality and racism: In their first interview about the series, co-creators Graham and Jacobson (who also stars) reveal the ways in which they hope to build a world beyond Penny Marshall's beloved film: "This series is going to tell the story of inclusion, but it's also going to tell the story of exclusion and what happens when that magic door doesn't open for you."

--"Meeting Penny — and everyone who was involved in the movie who we've talked to — it was both scary because we love their work and what they made but then also exciting because what Penny said at end of that conversation was, 'Exploring these stories was life-changing for me and I hope it is for you, too.' It was incredible to hear from here." The interview.

+Lizzo's first-look deal: The singer, songwriter and actress has signed a first-look deal with Amazon Studios. She Zoom-bombed into the beginning of Amazon's virtual Television Critics Association session Thursday to announce the deal, under which she'll develop television projects for the company's Prime Video streaming platform. More.

+An interesting competition format: Skier Lindsey Vonn will host a canine-focused competition show on Amazon called The Pack. The skiing great and her dog, Lucy, will lead 12 teams of dogs and their humans on an adventure across multiple continents — a sort of Amazing Race, but with dogs. More.

Speaking of interesting competition formats involving dogs...

►HBO Max competition series Haute Dog wraps production amid COVID-19. The unscripted comedy show, from producers Jax Media, completed its four-week-long shoot in California with zero positive test results. The 12-episode, half-hour series features three dog groomers facing off in a full head-to-tail creative competition showcasing all manner of canine breeds. The story. 

►Bad Robot snags rights to Glennon Doyle best-seller Untamed. Bad Robot will develop the book for TV, with the author and Jessie Nelson — creator of the Bad Robot-produced Little Voice at Apple — co-writing the first episode. Warner Bros. TV, where Bad Robot is based, will produce. More.

►Trump takes action on TikTok: The President issued an executive order on Thursday evening barring transactions with ByteDance, forcing the Chinese tech firm to divest itself of its U.S. TikTok operations. The order, which is scheduled to go into effect in 45 days, gives a strict timeline for ByteDance to sell the business. The story.

+TikTok responded in a statement Friday morning: "This Executive Order risks undermining global businesses' trust in the United States' commitment to the rule of law, which has served as a magnet for investment and spurred decades of American economic growth. And it sets a dangerous precedent for the concept of free expression and open markets."

►Christopher Nolan's Tenet has secured a Sept. 4 release date in China. The Warner Bros. film is poised to become the first new Hollywood tentpole to hit the big screen as theaters reopen around the globe after being forced to shutter earlier this year due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. More.

►Fox Corp. delays return to office work for non-production staff until 2021. Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch stated on Thursday that while he hopes TV production activities will "increase substantially" in the near term, non-production employees are not expected to return to the office in 2020. "While we understand the desire to return to our pre-coronavirus 'normal' and see our friends and colleagues in person, our approach to fully reopening facilities is guided by your health and safety," Murdoch wrote in a memo to staff on Thursday. More.

 What does it cost to binge watch Friends? That might depend on what a judge says. A battle over California's net neutrality law suddenly heats up after remaining dormant for nearly two years. The story.

 Al Roker on facing racism, crying at work and overcoming mistakes: "You can come back stronger." In an interview with THR's Chris Gardner, the veteran weatherman, producer and host opens up on his creative process, lessons learned from seeing bad behavior in the workplace and the his secret passion project. The interview.

►Susan Rice's curious Netflix filing: Rice, the former Ambassador to the U.N., has been on Netflix's board of directors since Summer 2018. She is also said to be a finalist in Joe Biden's VP candidate hunt. That makes her sale this week of Netflix stock all-the-more interesting. Rice hadn't exercised or sold any of her shares until now, netting about $300,000 in the process. For all those thinking she was making the move after being offered the VP role, however: The trades were made pursuant to a trading plan filed with the SEC, meaning they were put into place weeks (or months) ago.

►TV's Top 5 podcast: During this week's podcast, hosts Daniel Fienberg and Lesley Goldberg break down a busy week of news and speak with Bill Lawrence, the showrunner behind Apple's upcoming Jason Sudeikis comedy Ted Lasso. Listen.

Revolving door: Keke Palmer is set to host the 2020 MTV VMAs... Former NBA star Baron Davis is taking a shot at kids' TV programming. Davis and his company, UWish, have teamed with former Nickelodeon head Cyma Zarghami's MiMO Studio to launch MiMO Sports... Hulu's star-laden limited series Nine Perfect Strangers has cast the final member of its set of title characters. Emmy winner Bobby Cannavale will play one of the strangers in the drama...

►TV reviews: Daniel Fienberg reviews Lovecraft Country, writing that the HBO drama is "pulp fiction by way of the 1619 Project, where America's original sin might simultaneously be slavery and a ritual blood sacrifice with the potential to open up a portal to another dimension." The review.

+And: Inkoo Kang reviews Amazon's Pan y Circo, writing that "shows like Pan y Circo depend on the suitability of the topics for group conversation and the chemistry of the guests — and unfortunately, the producers mostly flounder on both counts." The review.

►Broadcast TV ratings: The return of Big Brother to CBS scored the network's best adults 18-49 rating of the summer on Wednesday, though the show came in below last season's premiere. The numbers.

In other news...

--Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump has joined with Hideaway Entertainment and INDE Companies for Freedom Ride, a civil rights drama to shoot next year.

--Netflix has acquired the global rights to Desert Dolphin, a skateboarding-centric coming of age story set in rural India.

--A group of reality producers are trying to make their industry less white, launching a hiring and retention initiative to advance BIPOC employees in the industry.

--Twitter has started labeling the accounts of "state-affiliated media" companies and has committed itself to stop amplifying their tweets via its recommendation system, notifications and search function on its site.

--Capturing Michelle Obama, Michael Jordan and Hillary Clinton: "I had to move past my own intimidation."

--How Mark Wahlberg got McDonalds on board for McMillions doc.

--In the first trailer for I'm Thinking of Ending Things, the latest project from Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind writer Charlie Kaufman, winter is coming, and it may never end for one woman.

What else we're reading...

--"Will a comedy ever play at a movie theater again?" [Vulture]

--"Geena Davis explains how to have a film festival these days" [Vanity Fair]

--"Jack Dorsey on Twitter's mistakes" [NY Times]

--"The third-largest advertiser in the US just laid off a chunk of its consumer marketing team" [Business Insider]

--"Three Bon Appétit stars have officially exited Test Kitchen" [Grub Street]

Today's birthdays: David Duchovny, 60, Dom Capers, 70, Charlize Theron, 45, Maggie Wheeler, 59, Tobin Bell, 78.