By Danielle Broadway
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Golden Globe Awards were sold on Monday to a new owner that will shut down the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), the voting group that faced controversy over ethical lapses and a lack of diversity.
Eldridge Industries purchased the Golden Globe assets with Dick Clark Productions (DCP), which will continue to manage the awards telecast and focus on expanding the Globes' viewership around the world, a press release said. DCP is co-owned by Eldridge and Penske Media.
The sale comes after the HFPA struggled to repair its reputation after a Hollywood backlash over its ethics and lack of diversity, which led U.S. television network NBC to drop the Golden Globes ceremony in 2022.
A Los Angeles Times investigation in 2021 revealed the organization had no Black journalists in its ranks. Some members were accused of making sexist and racist remarks and soliciting favors from celebrities and movie studios.
The HFPA responded by expanding and diversifying its membership and instituted new ethics policies.
Eldridge Industries Chairman Todd Boehly aims to reshape the HFPA, a nonprofit organization of international entertainment reporters, into hired workers in a for-profit venture. All of the 310 current voters will be eligible to cast ballots for the next ceremony in January 2024, a spokesperson said.
"Today marks a significant milestone in the evolution of the Golden Globes,” Boehly said in a statement.
NBC aired the Globes again in 2023. No network has yet signed up to run the 2024 ceremony.
Financial terms of the deal, which was approved by California's attorney general, were not disclosed.