Showbiz Sandbox 645: Amazon Prime Video Set To Dominate Advertising Market
January 16, 2024
Unlike most major streaming services, which allow new subscribers to choose between a more expensive ad-free plan and a cheaper ad-supported tier, Amazon has taken an opt-out approach with Prime. When Prime Video begins streaming ads in late-January one of the biggest streaming services in the world with at least 150 million subscribers, will immediately become a major player in television advertising. Especially since most of its customers will decide not to pay extra to avoid ads.
Meanwhile the Emmys got slotted into January due to last year’s actors and writers strikes forcing the awards ceremony to compete with football playoffs and presidential election campaigns. Will anyone be paying attention to see who wins prizes for television series that aired two years ago? Or with guild awards nominations piling in has everyone already moved onto the Oscars.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including the deal Tom Cruise landed to make movies at Warner Bros., Harry Potter’s best selling video game and another former cable news anchor launches a program on X (née Twitter).
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Showbiz Sandbox 594: Fall Film Festivals Set The Stage For Awards Season
September 20, 2022
The annual film festivals in Venice, Telluride and Toronto overlap not only in their timing but often in their official selections and this year was no exception. As usual, titles that begin their festival tour as anticipated awards season contenders sometimes wind up as afterthoughts while unexpected discoveries gain wide recognition. The movie that took home the top prize in Toronto comes from a distinguished filmmaker who might be headed for a close encounter with an Oscar come Academy Awards time.
Speaking of filmmakers, and despite widespread reports to the contrary, Woody Allen says he’s not retiring after his next film, which is being shot in Paris entirely in French. He just said he was thinking of not making movies since most of them go straight to streaming services these days, which for a filmmaker, is kind of like… you know, retiring.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including how the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences plans to get its act together, big changes at CNN and The Phantom of the Opera winds up its historic Broadway run.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Showbiz Sandbox 580: Warner Bros. Enters Its Discovery Phase
April 12, 2022
Last week Discovery closed its $43 billion deal to acquire WarnerMedia from telecom giant AT&T. Discovery topper David Zaslav immediately installed his own executive team to run Warner Bros. Discovery forcing the existing management team to head for the door. We discuss the fallout from the merger and the what the future may look like for the combined company.
One of the exiting executives was WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar whose infamous Project Popcorn opened all 18 Warner Bros. theatrical releases throughout 2021 day-and-date with HBO Max. Kilar claims the controversial distribution strategy was a success, but if that’s true, then why did Warner Bros. discontinue it?
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including the big winners at the Olivier Awards, “Dancing with the Stars” moves to Disney+ and members of the original Grateful Dead rock band will stop touring after five decades.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Showbiz Sandbox 571: Want Ratings? Get Joe Rogan To Host The Oscars!
February 9, 2022
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences brought an end to the endless speculation of countless awards pundits by announcing this year’s Oscars nominations. Now we’ll all have to deal with the griping about who was snubbed along with seven weeks of incessant reports about which Best Picture nominee is gaining momentum with Oscar voters.
Perhaps we should thank the Oscars for stealing the headlines from comedian Joe Rogan whose podcast has caused no end of controversy and grief for Spotify, its exclusive distributor. The only good news out of the Rogan mess is that it’s finally brought the band Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young back together, at least in regards to their desire to remove their music from the streaming service.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including how a Disney soundtrack is dominating the music charts, viewership of the Winter Olympics plummets and the head of CNN is suddenly ousted.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Showbiz Sandbox 548: The Cannes Film Festival in the Age of COVID
July 13, 2021
After COVID canceled the festival in 2020, the Cannes Film Festival is going ahead this year, albeit two months later than usual. Still, it’s remarkable that organizers were able to pull off the world’s largest film festival amid these uncertain times. We’ll tell you about all the COVID protocols at this year’s festival, not to mention all the movies, filmmakers and celebrities that made their way to the French Riviera.
Meanwhile, Disney announced that its new film Black Widow made $60 million in its opening weekend… not at the box office, but rather in homes. Subscribers of Disney+ could pay $30 to watch Scarlett Johannson save the day, rather than head to the movie theater. Is this a win for Disney? A loss for cinema? Or is it too soon to draw any conclusions from these COVID crazy times?
Of course we also cover some of the week’s top entertainment headlines including an increase in comic book sales, David Geffen helps the Yale drama school goes tuition free and Universal Pictures gives Peacock a boost.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Showbiz Sandbox 510: Studios Play Hide and Seek With Box Office Data
September 15, 2020
Now that new movies are once again playing in reopened cinemas, studios are reluctant to report their pandemic crippled grosses lest their films be deemed publicly as financial flops. At least two studios are delaying box office reports of their latest releases in what many industry insiders fear is a new trend. Is it appropriate for distributors to break with a decades old tradition of reporting weekend grosses in the midst of COVID-19 or do they have the right to keep box office on their titles confidential?
Meanwhile, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced a new diversity initiative for the Oscars. Now for a film to be eligible for the Best Picture category it has to meet at least two of four diversity requirements. It’s a thoughtful move, even if almost every film made in the last ten years can easily meet the new requirements
Of course we also cover some of the week’s top entertainment headlines including why Disney’s “Mulan” is stirring up unwanted controversy, a major talent agency finally agrees to the Writers Guild code of conduct and sales of vinyl records surpass compact discs for the first time in over 30 years.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Showbiz Sandbox 453: The Biggest Disaster in the History of the Music Industry
July 2, 2019
When a fire ripped through Universal Studios in Los Angeles back in 2008 it was initially feared that all of the historic films and music locked away in the vaults that burned were lost forever. At the time Universal reported that, quite miraculously, very little damage had occurred and that few, if any, of the master recordings in the vaults were damaged.
However, in an in-depth investigative piece The New York Times reports that the fire actually wiped out hundreds of thousands of invaluable masters of legendary recording artists such as Louis Armstrong, Chuck Berry, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Elton John, Nirvana and possibly hundreds of others. Universal Music Group continues to insist the loss is overstated, but artists are clamoring for more information and the first class action lawsuit has already been filed.
Meanwhile talks between the Writers Guild of America and the Association of Talent Agents over packaging fees and affiliate productions have stalled and now lawsuits have started to fly.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including which Broadway shows got a post-Tony Awards bump in grosses, J.J. Abrams lands at WarnerMedia and Celine Dion is leaving Las Vegas.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Showbiz Sandbox 445: Is Netflix Leaving Money On The Table?
April 22, 2019
There is no arguing that Netflix is doing quite well these days. Even the announcement of heavyweight competition from the likes of Disney and Apple hasn’t affected its stock price nor, more importantly, hampered its subscriber growth. The company added 10 million new subscribers in the first quarter of 2019 alone.
Even so, Netflix may want to rethink their approach to how they monetize their television shows. While their big hits such as “House of Cards” may not be appropriate or too exclusive to syndicate on traditional linear networks, others such as “One Day At A Time” may be a missed opportunity for the streamer to do what it’s never done before: seek more outside revenue.
Meanwhile, this year’s Cannes Film Festival lineup features longtime favorites like Ken Loach and Pedro Almodovar, new favorites like Xavier Dolan and more female filmmakers than in the past. Just don’t look for any movies from Netflix.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including the continuing dispute between the WGA and talent agents, MoviePass loses 90% of its 3 million subscribers and director Roman Polanski wants back into the Academy.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Showbiz Sandbox 423: After New Allegations Time Was Up For Les Moonves at CBS
September 10, 2018
When CBS head Les Moonves was accused of sexual misconduct this past summer his firing seemed inevitable. Instead he over the weekend after six additional women came forward with allegations dating back decades. Now the question is not how much severance Moonves will get but how much money can CBS pay him to go away and avoid a drawn-out lawsuit without angering activists .
Ultimately Moonves may have lost the battle but won the war. His stepping aside allowed for the settlement of an ownership lawsuit which prevents National Amusements, the network’s parent company, from trying to merge CBS and Viacom for at least two years.
Meanwhile Netflix scored big at the Venice Film Festival when their movie “Roma” picked up the Golden Lion, the festival’s top prize. Director Alfonso Cuarón’s film seems like just the type the Academy might fall for come Oscar time, but first it has to find a movie theater willing to show it.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including why there won’t be a Best Popular Film category at next year’s Oscars, a new “Law & Order” series and all the history made at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Showbiz Sandbox 419: Best Popular Film Oscars Category Proves To Be Rather Unpopular
August 13, 2018
It may come as a surprise after the #MeToo movement but it isn’t often Hollywood unites to agree on an issue. Last week when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences revealed they would be adding a Best Popular film category to the Oscars the response was universal and swift; everyone hates the idea. In a train wreck of an announcement about proposed changes to the awards show, the Academy appeared to cede control to the network broadcasting the ceremony.
Speaking of changes, the moviegoing subscription service MoviePass doesn’t let a week go by without instituting a new set of rules for its customers. First they were going to raise prices and limit attendance to new releases. Before they could roll those changes out, MoviePass altered its policy once again, keeping the price at $10 per month, but limiting the number of movies that can be seen to just three.
Meanwhile, music fans appear to be spending more money on music than ever before. At least according to a new report from Citigroup which says the industry is now pulling in a combined $43 billion in the United States, of which $5 billion goes to artists. Naturally, arguments over the accuracy and validity of the report are sure to follow.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including more on Jeffrey Katzenberg’s New TV venture, the dispute over star salaries on the latest “Star Trek” and Lady Gaga heads to Las Vegas. Read more
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
