The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, HFPA, voted on Thursday to accept a proposal by interim chief executive Todd Boehly, the new owner of Chelsea Football Club, that would transform the group of international journalists from a not-for-profit association into a for-profit company. The operation turns the Association of Foreign Journalists in Hollywood into a private entity, which administers the golden globes awards while maintaining the entity’s philanthropic programs as a charitable association.
“This is a historic moment for the HFPA and the Golden Globes,” Helen Hoehne, president of the HFPA, said in a statement. «We have taken a decisive step to transform ourselves and adapt to the new, increasingly competitive economic landscape that awards ceremonies and the journalistic market have become. We will continue with our purpose to increase the diversity of the group in all areas and maintain our charitable efforts.”
Boehly, president of private equity firm Eldridge Industries, the parent company of Globes production company Dick Clark Productions (now called MRC Live & Alternative), presented his plan to HFPA members in April. Under his proposal, Eldridge would form a new company to acquire the assets of the Golden Globes on the basis of an “independent third party valuation firm”. The approval of the partners is now pending from the Los Angeles Attorney General who is in charge of approving the financial operation.
According to the HFPA, Eldridge will create a new private company that will own all the intellectual property rights to the Golden Globes and will be empowered to oversee the professionalization and modernization of the Golden Globe Awards. “The transition will include the development of the staff of an executive team that will lead the new organization,” Hoehne explained in his statement. As part of the transition, the group added more voters to the Golden Globes “to increase the size and diversity of voters available for the annual awards,” the group said.
Also according to the HFPA, “Boehly was not part of the review, recommendation, or approval process. In recent months, the HFPA’s financial adviser, Houlihan Lokey, has submitted several proposals from various companies and investment groups. Each proposal was reviewed and scrutinized by the HFPA Committee, along with its legal counsel, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP.”
The Committee has been comprised of the three independent outside members of the HFPA board: Sharlette Hambrick, Jeff Harris, and Dr. Joanna Massey. “This review process was comprehensive, deliberate and thoughtful to ensure fairness and accuracy,” Hoehne said. “According to our statutes, the decision ultimately fell to our members, who voted on the proposal. As we look forward to celebrating our 80th anniversary in January 2023, we are incredibly excited about this new era for our Association.”
The HFPA’s move comes after more than a year of turmoil for this nearly 80-year-old media organization that has thrived for the past 25 years on lucrative fees earned from selling the Golden Globes rights to NBCUniversal and other partners. Yet no confirmation if the Globes will return to broadcast on NBC in 2023, but the new ownership structure is likely to be a stepping stone to making this happen.
According to Variety, the HFPA would have met with major studios earlier this summer to present the list of changes the organization has made for the last year and a half. The HFPA has inducted 21 new members this year (nearly half of whom were women and most of whom were people of color), as well as DEI training, a new chief diversity officer, new advisors and independent consultants, with new policies on gifts, travel and conflict of interest that are now established in its reformed statutes.
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