Showbiz Sandbox 542: TV Networks Are Upfront About Streaming Plans
May 25, 2021
Last week all the big television networks in the United States went through the old fashioned ritual of inviting advertisers to big presentations of their fall programming. Besides being virtual a lot has changed for the networks, including primetime scheduling, which is now an afterthought. Instead they emphasized streaming and the range of content available through numerous platforms including network, broadcast and their new subscription services.
Meanwhile, the global box office is revving its engines with “F9” opening to huge numbers internationally, pushing the “Fast & Furious” franchise over the $6 billion mark. Movie theaters in Europe are reopening just in time to show the movie.
Of course we also cover some of the week’s top entertainment headlines including why Amazon may purchase MGM, this year’s Eurovision contest and the return of music festivals.
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Showbiz Sandbox 541: AT&T Hangs Up On WarnerMedia
May 18, 2021
Not even three years after AT&T spent $85 billion to purchase Time Warner and form WarnerMedia, the telecom giant is calling it quits, agreeing to merge the content side of its business with Discovery. The deal would create a new media company positioned well to compete in the streaming market and a management team that is well versed in the entertainment business. The original acquisition of Time Warner always seemed questionable for AT&T, and ultimately left Warner Bros. in a bit of a mess.
Meanwhile, some music streaming services are adding hi-def audio to their offerings and, perhaps more importantly, not increasing the cost to subscribers. Since most new music can be found on all the streaming platforms, will high quality audio become a differentiator that attracts new customers or causes them to switch providers?
Of course we also cover some of the week’s top entertainment headlines including why Ellen DeGeneres is leaving her daytime television show, Disney’s new theatrical release strategy and this year’s entrants into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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Showbiz Sandbox 521: Words In Bubbles – Behind the Scenes of the Comic Book Industry
December 16, 2020
Everyone in the entertainment industry has suffered the disruption caused by the COVID pandemic, including those who create and publish independent comic books. Kyle Higgins knows a thing or two about that. He’s known for his work on the Batman franchise for DC and the Power Rangers franchise for Boom Studios, not to mention his own ground-breaking work on originals like C.O.W.L.
We talk to Higgins about his latest creation, “Radiant Black” as well as the challenges of creating comics during a pandemic. He gives us a unique peak into the world of conceiving, creating and publishing independent comic books.
Of course we also cover some of the week’s top entertainment headlines including the fallout from Warner Bros. sending all their movies to HBO Max, all the big announcements from Disney’s investor day and the latest additions to the National Film Registry.
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Showbiz Sandbox 520: Writing Hollywood’s Obituary… Again
December 8, 2020
The film industry is facing an existential crisis due to the COVID pandemic; film productions are struggling to continue, cinema chains have become burdened with debt and studios are sending their blockbuster releases directly to streaming services. In fact, last week Warner Bros. announced that its entire 2021 slate of movies would be released both in theatres and on their streaming service HBO Max, at least in the United States.
Brooks Barnes, a reporter for the New York Times, recently wrote a feature story detailing the death of Hollywood…again. Literally the headline used the word obituary. Barnes joins us to discuss the unprecedented challenges and disruption the industry is facing and helps us understand their overall ramifications.
Of course we also cover some of the week’s top entertainment headlines including why Disney is putting the Fox film library back in its vault, Bob Dylan sells the publishing rights to all of his songs and an all-Spanish album tops the Billboard charts for the first time in its 64 year history.
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Showbiz Sandbox 439: Fox Suffers “Bones” Shaking Legal Defeat
March 4, 2019
Fox lost a blockbuster lawsuit to the stars and creative talent behind their smash television series “Bones.” An independent arbitrator used scathing language to describe 21st Century Fox executives, calling them out for lying, cheating and “reprehensible” studio fraud.
Though Fox says the will appeal the ruling, it could have a big impact on sweetheart deals between studios, their own networks, their own cable channels and their own streamers. There’s no bones about it.
Meanwhile book publishers and the National Writers Union, along with many others, are decrying the practice of Controlled Digital Lending, or CDL. As publishers restrict e-book access and raise their prices, libraries that own a physical copy of a book are making a digital PDF available for loans to patrons. When a digital PDF is borrowed, the physical copy is removed from circulation until the digital copy is returned. So what’s the problem?
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including why a hologram of Amy Winehouse will not be going on tour, why the movie theater chain Cineworld dumped BAFTA and box office in China is down 5% this year despite rosier forecasts.
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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 416: Superheroes Have Never Been More Popular, Just Not In Comic Books
July 16, 2018
Meanwhile the Emmy nominations were announced last week and despite expanding their Best Drama and Best Comedy categories to eight nominees, there were still complaints about shows being left off the list. Welcome to Peak TV! With 400 shows to choose from, there’s no way to please everyone.
Subscription movie ticket service MoviePass has instituted its peak pricing policy which seems to apply to the first weekend of any movie, no matter how popular. And we’ll give you a first hand account of what happens when the company thinks you’re breaking their terms of service.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including how Drake has claimed seven of the top 10 singles on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, why Scarlett Johansson won’t be playing a transgender person in a new movie and plans for “Downtown Abbey” movie have officially been announced.
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Showbiz Sandbox 415: Along With Box Office, Movie Star Salaries Are On The Rise In China
July 9, 2018
We’ve been told for years now that the theatrical box office in China will ultimately surpass that of North America, probably by 2017… or 2018, or definitely by 2020. But higher grosses have pushed the salaries for the country’s most sought after movie stars to astronomical proportions, something frowned upon in China. In fact, the Chinese government has now stepped in with a new set of regulations capping the salaries paid to talent on movies and television shows and have begun to scrutinize contracts more closely.
On the other hand, The Grammys have decided bigger is better. The Grammys are following the lead of most major awards and expanding its top categories. Instead of announcing the Best Five Album Of The Year nominees, they’ll be announcing eight. The same goes for Best Record and Best Song and Best New Artist. All other categories remain the same.
Meanwhile the group that votes on each year’s most coveted movie awards just got a little bigger. The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences invited a record 928 people to their club with half the invites going to women and 38% to people of color.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including how Spotify hopes to earn revenue by selling movie tickets, credible rumors about new “Star Trek” series and MoviePass officially adopts surge pricing.
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Showbiz Sandbox 413: Let the Media Merger Mania Commence
June 18, 2018
In one of the most significant antitrust cases in decades, last week a federal judge cleared the way for AT&T to complete its acquisition of Time Warner, ruling that the Department of Justice failed to make a convincing argument the deal would be bad for consumers. The decision opens the door for what many believe will be a wave of corporate mergers as existing media outfits look to thwart off threats from tech giants entering the space such as Amazon, Apple and Netflix.
Evidence of this was apparent within days as Comcast made an official all-cash offer to acquire a majority of Twentieth Century Fox’s assets. The Fox board will meet this week to decide who will wind up acquiring them; Disney or Comcast.
We follow up the Tony Awards to applaud its big winner “The Band’s Visit,” celebrating the success of indie producers on a Great White Way dominated more and more by corporations. We also shoot down the idea that winning the Tony for Best Musical isn’t a boost at the box office.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including how Bryan Singer will wind up with director’s credit on the Queen biopic from which he was fired, Oprah Winfrey signs a deal with Apple and why a tax scandal in China over a major star’s salary has the industry on edge.
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Showbiz Sandbox 403: Justice Department Makes Its Case Against AT&T-Time Warner Merger
March 12, 2018
As the Department of Justice prepares for its antitrust trial to prevent the merger of AT&T and Time Warner, they are submitted a brief to the court claiming the outcome of the case shape how video-content is delivered in the United States for years to come. They believe the merger will stifle competition, prevent competitors from entering the market and ultimately disadvantage consumers. If the government succeeds in court, could they go after Comcast NBCUniversal next?
Meanwhile, even though the Academy Awards were last week, Academy Award preferential balloting, there is still some debate over the preferential balloting system used to select Best Picture. Does the method lead to a consensus choice rather than the film most people voted for in the first place? Certainly, complaints about Best Picture winners are not new, nor is preferential balloting, which was first used at the Oscars n 1934.
The Fox television network plans on cutting advertising on its primetime lineup down to two minutes per hour by 2020. This comes as NBC and CBS recently announced similar ad-limiting initiatives. Why are TV networks suddenly so keen to dump their lucrative advertising and how will they make up that lost revenue?
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including how “Hamilton” has conquered the West End in London, e-sports turns into a billion dollar business and Facebook will broadcast Major League Baseball games this season.
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