Todd Boehly, owner, and chairman of Chelsea FC, has bought the Golden Globes for an undisclosed fee through his holding company, Eldridge Industries.
The deal for the award ceremony’s assets was in partnership with Dick Clark Productions (DCP), a subsidiary of media conglomerate Penske Media.
Money from the deal will go to the Golden Globes Foundation, which has already spent over US$55mln supporting charitable causes.
Under the new plans, the film awards will now operate as a for-profit company.
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), an organisation of non-US entertainment journalists that created the Golden Globes around 80 years ago, will shut down.
Members of the former association will be offered US$75,000-a-year roles at the new Golden Globe company to watch films and TV, vote on nominees, and write articles for the award show’s website.
HFPA suffered a media backlash recently, with the revelation that it had no black members leading to NBC, the show’s broadcaster, cancelling its screening of the 2022 ceremony.
Other criticism points to reports that in the 90s and early 2000s, disgraced producer, Harvey Weinstein, would offer favours and presents for the HFPA in return for nominations at the awards.
The award ceremony did return to NBC this year but only for a one-year deal.
Eldridge and DCP, which have produced the show for multiple decades, are currently exploring other options for broadcasting the show including via a streaming service.
Boehly said in a statement: “Today marks a significant milestone in the evolution of the Golden Globes.
“My partners at DCP and I are grateful to [the HFPA president] … for trusting new ownership with a new direction for the Globes.”