Showbiz Sandbox 592: Why Is HBO Max Dumping Content?
September 7, 2022
At a time when streaming services are hoarding content in an attempt to attract subscribers and capture market share, Warner Bros. Discovery has taken the opposite approach with HBO Max; they are removing shows from their platform. Now comes reports that pulling shows from its library can save the company around $100 million annually. We explain where those savings might come from.
Certainly HBO Max won’t be dropping “House of Dragons,” one of three big fantasy shows to premiere over the last month. Is that too many shows with dragons and elves for audiences to watch at one time, or has each found significant viewership?
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including the new agreement between streamers and music publishers, who killed the queen of crime novelists and the absurdity of nonstop reports about standing ovations at film festivals.
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Showbiz Sandbox 529: Hollywood Grapples With Cancel Culture
February 16, 2021
Whether it’s sexual misconduct, misogynistic behavior or social media missteps, the careers of numerous entertainment industry figures have recently been upended after allegations of their moral misbehavior surfaced. The repercussions are impacting every part of the industry, from the upper echelons of the French film industry to the rose ceremony on “The Bachelor.” Agencies, studios and record companies are now left to decide whether to jettison stars that have become tainted.
Meanwhile, one year after China closed movie theaters to contend with a growing coronavirus epidemic, the country is showing the world how to revive the cinema business. Apparently all it takes is a few blockbusters to get audiences back into the very theaters many had predicted would never reopen.
Of course we also cover some of the week’s top entertainment headlines including how the cast of the “Umbrella Academy” got a raise, Disney continues to add subscribers to its streaming service and why Dave Chapelle’s old show is back on Netflix.
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Showbiz Sandbox 516: What Went Wrong With Quibi
October 27, 2020
Quibi, the bite-sized content platform founded by media mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg and business leader Meg Whitman, has been mocked since it was first announced. Now after six months and $2 billion, Quibi is kaput. Unable to find an audience, and despite a fruitless attempt to find a buyer, Quibi is officially shutting down.
The company insists people were gunning for them from the start, but the simple truth is that Quibi always seemed like a solution in search of a problem. Besides, however good the content may have been, it was going to be very hard to convince people to plunk down $5 a month just to watch random videos while commuting.
Of course we also cover some of the week’s top entertainment headlines including Netflix misses its third quarter subscriber goal, television ratings for live sports events plummets and box office continues to soar in China and Japan.
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Showbiz Sandbox 479: Are Streamers Ruining Sundance?
February 2, 2020
About every five years a new group of deep-pocketed players shows up at the Sundance Film Festival and spends a small fortune acquiring a handful of films causing fear that the industry has been forever changed. This year, some of the world’s largest media and tech companies have invaded Park City, Utah and are picking up movies for amounts far in excess of what makes fiscal sense or what theatrical distributors are willing to pay.
Such companies don’t have to worry about box office results because they are more concerned with a different metric; the number of subscribers they can attract to their streaming service. Now some industry veterans are worried about whether indie distributors will be able to stay afloat with the leftover titles the streaming giants don’t gobble up.
Meanwhile, in China the film industry is down for the count with cinemas shuttered for the second week in a row due to the rapid spread of a coronavirus. Flights to and from the country have been suspended, as has all film and television production. When movie theaters finally do open for business the ripple effect on the Chinese release schedule will be felt around the world as films jockey for new playdates.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including this year’s BAFTA award winners, Apple and Netflix may be chasing MGM’s film library and MoviePass officially files for bankruptcy.
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Showbiz Sandbox 431: India Is Set for A Battle Over Streaming Market Share
December 3, 2018
By 2023 the country of India is forecast to have 550 million people streaming content, earning $18 billion in video streaming alone. Of course, most of people will be watching on their mobile devices, but big players like Amazon, Disney, Netflix and Spotify don’t care, so long as they wind up with the largest piece of the Indian market. One major hurdle; India makes its own content and doesn’t need Hollywood.
That is why streaming companies have begun to produce their own India-centric shows, though that can be challenging in a country with more than 20 languages and wildly diverse cultures. Plus all the major providers have to compete with the likes of YouTube, which is by far India’s most popular streaming service thanks to its advantageous price point; free.
Meanwhile, the awards season is clearly upon us with the National Board of Review and the New York Film Critics weighing in on their favorites. Los Angeles Film Critics will be making their picks shortly and Golden Globe nominations will be announced this week.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including a lucrative new deal at Warner Bros. for director and producer Ava DuVernay, actor Hugh Jackman is planning a worldwide concert tour and the collapse of independent bookstores.
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Showbiz Sandbox 374: Streaming Services Rack Up 2017 Emmy Nominations
July 18, 2017
When this year’s primetime Emmy nominees were announced HBO still lead the way with 111 nominations, including 22 for “Westworld”, but streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon are quickly gaining ground with their own popular shows. Even Hulu managed to push their way into the Emmys for the first time with 13 nominations for “The Handmaid’s Tale”.
The only thing that remained the same about the Emmys from previous years is that some shows were nominated that shouldn’t have been, while others weren’t nominated but should have been. Don’t get us started on the TV episode that was somehow nominated for Outstanding Television Movie.
One series that wasn’t nominated for an Emmy was “Hawaii Five-O”, the hit CBS show which had two of its main actors depart after a contract dispute that became a flashpoint over the salaries and casting of minority talent.
Of course, we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including why a major Chinese entertainment company is taking a hit on the stock market after criticism from government officials, Tyler Perry signs a producing deal with Viacom and Quincy Jones sues the Michael Jackson estate over royalty payments.
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Showbiz Sandbox 359: Entertainment Workers Put Faith In More Perfect Unions
March 13, 2017
Trade unions and guilds are not a new concept in the entertainment industry, yet they seem to be making headlines lately as more niche craftspeople elect to join them or have them negotiate their contracts. Last week the largest employer of Spanish-language performers in the U.S. voted to join SAG-AFTRA and the United Scenic Artists, which represents set designers on Broadway, was able to sign its first contract with the League of Off-Broadway Theatres & Producers.
One major reason for all this recent union activity is the growing number of entertainment industry workers whose pay falls below a living wage. When the star of a hit telenovela airing on an NBCUniversal network needs to hold a second job as an Uber driver, you know there must be a problem.
Meanwhile, the influx of financing into Hollywood coming from China may be coming to an end. The Chinese government has begun to restrict the outflow of capital from the country to stem what they deem “irrational” foreign investments while at the same time stabilizing local currency. This new regulatory oversight helped kill Wanda’s $1 billion deal for Dick Clark Productions.
Of course, we also cover the week’s top entertainment news stories including how a rapper made history by knocking himself off the top of the album charts with his next release, HBO heads to Latin America with original programming and why we’ll have to wait a little longer for those “Avatar” sequels.
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Showbiz Sandbox 354: Why the Entertainment Industry Should Care About Net Neutrality
February 6, 2017
President Donald Trump’s selection of Ajit Pai to chair the Federal Communications Commission has moved quickly to rollback consumer protection regulations long thought to be settled; specifically net neutrality. Rules put in place to ensure an open internet allowing every company to compete on equal footing could get thrown out for ones that favor four telecom giants. That could mean record labels, movie studios, streaming music and video providers wind up paying much more to reach audiences.
In addition, Pai threw out proposed rules that would have allowed cable subscribers to purchase their set top boxes. Consumers in the United States presently pay $200 or more per year to rent such equipment putting $20 billion annually into the pockets of video providers. Will legislative bodies in other countries take similar stances in the wake of such F.C.C. moves?
This all comes as streaming music revenue has helped slow or reverse years of declining income sales for record companies. Nielsen music reports that streaming platforms provided 38% of total audio consumption in 2016, up from 23% in 2014. In fact, these days a glut of streaming music providers are trying just about everything to differentiate themselves in what has become a crowded marketplace.
Of course, we also cover the week’s top entertainment news stories including Disney’s $100 million anti-poaching settlement with animators, Oprah Winfrey joins “60 Minutes” and which media outlets have backed out of the annual White House Correspondents Dinner.
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Showbiz Sandbox 353: Streaming Giants Raise Ante at Sundance Film Festival
January 30, 2017
As if it wasn’t difficult enough for distributors to find a commercial title amidst the hundreds of films premiering at the Sundance Film Festival each January, video streaming companies such as Netflix and Amazon have entered the bidding causing acquisitions prices to rise for the entire market. Anne Thompson, Indiewire’s editor-at-large, has just returned from Sundance where she reports most of the films were good, though maybe not good enough to win any Oscars in 2018.
As for this year’s Oscars, the frontrunners became a little more clear with the Producers Guild and Screen Actors Guild handing out their awards over the weekend. “Hidden Figures” surprised many by taking home the SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture during a politically charged ceremony.
Speaking of industry unions, the Directors Guild of America has signed a new contract with producers that gives its members significant raises in subscription video-on-demand residuals. This is welcome news for directors who missed out on sharing in DVD and Blu-ray revenue over the past decade.
Of course, we also cover the week’s top entertainment news stories including the launch of a brand new vinyl record factory, Jeffrey Katzenberg’s new venture and streaming music company Tidal finds a new investor.
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Showbiz Sandbox 352: 2017 Academy Award Nominations Launch #OscarsSoDiverse Trend
January 24, 2017
When the 2017 Oscar nominations were announced this week the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences managed to avoid a third straight year of controversy over all-white acting nominees. Among this year’s honorees are six African American actors, setting a record for the most in a single year. Hopefully this is a sign more racially diverse films are being produced.
What the Academy did manage to overlook however, were films with huge audiences. Despite nominating nine films for Best Picture Oscars, not a single one has surpassed the $100 million mark (yet).
Meanwhile, in over in the music business, album sales have never mattered less. These days it’s all about music publishing, which can be a true goldmine. Just ask Paul McCartney who is suing Sony/ATV to regain the publishing rights to the Beatles catalogue.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including Jerry Seinfeld’s new Netflix deal, the death of 3D television and NBC renews one of its biggest hits for two more seasons.
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