Showbiz Sandbox 204: The Argument Over Broadcast Retransmission Consent Fees
September 9, 2013
After a programming blackout that lasted more than month Time Warner Cable came to an agreement with CBS over retransmission consent fees. Unless the 20-year-old retransmission consent legislation is revised or updated, the number of network blackouts will continue to increase. Unfortunately the real losers in all such disputes are consumers.
The Time Warner Cable-CBS deal was reached just as the new television season is about to begin. We’ll review some new series that have potential and are worth catching, as well as a few you might want to avoid.
Meanwhile, the book publishing industry was in the news last week with Amazon announcing plans to bundle e-books with the sale of traditional print copies, and a new startup hoping you’ll stop buying books altogether and simply rent them.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including declining attendance on Broadway over the summer, Bruno Mars heads to the Super Bowl and a major personnel change at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
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Showbiz Sandbox 135: Is The SAG-AFTRA Merger Good For Hollywood?
February 6, 2012
After years of humoring the idea it looks as if two of Hollywood’s largest labor unions may actually merge. Detailing the history of SAG and AFTRA, Jonathan Handel, a contributing editor at The Hollywood Reporter and an entertainment attorney, explains the reasons behind why the unions might want to merge and what it all means for the entertainment industry.
The telecast of Super Bowl XLVI proved to be another ratings winner and as in previous years, is expected to be the most watched show of the year, if not all-time. Were audiences tuning in for the game or to watch Madonna’s extravagant half-time show?
Despite gaining a million subscribers last year the minuscule royalties paid by Spotify to independent musicians barely budged at all. Some industry veterans have grown weary of subscription music services and are advising they be used for promotional purposes only.
We also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including a new CEO at Sony, why you won’t see Bon Iver perform at the Grammys and how Facebook might turn U2’s Bono into a billionaire.
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