Showbiz Sandbox 643: Linear Television Viewership Sinks to New Lows

January 3, 2024

Two annual ratings roundups of television viewing in the United States show that audiences for traditional broadcast and linear cable are in serious decline. The list of the 100 most watched broadcast episodes is mostly sports. And the top ranked channels reveal cable isn’t even really trying to program their networks anymore.

Meanwhile, the domestic box office managed to surpass $9 billion for the first time since the COVID pandemic, with Universal Pictures taking over for Disney as the top earner.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including Gérard Depardieu stirs up more controversy, Taylor Swift sets more sales chart records and Paramount Global is looking for a buyer.

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Showbiz Sandbox 615: Warner Bros. Takes Streaming to the Max

April 18, 2023

Warner Bros. Discovery had long promised to merge its two major streaming services HBO Max and Discovery+ into a single, combined offering. This past week the media giant unveiled the name of the new service to the public; Max. Despite having decades of positive brand recognition, HBO will be dropped from the name. The company also announced a ton of new content for the service including a Harry Potter television series.

Meanwhile, the Writers Guild of America has authorized a strike against studios, networks and streamers. Producers believe that a strike is now inevitable after the writers’ current contract ends in May.

​​Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including the latest additions to the Library of Congress National Registry of Recordings, Latin music becomes a $1 billion industry and a proposal for new safety guidelines for film and TV productions.

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Showbiz Sandbox 422: Hollywood Ponders Second Chances In #MeToo Era

September 4, 2018

Nearly a year after Hollywood was rocked by a wave of sexual misconduct allegations some of those who have been accused of, and in some cases admitted to, transgressions are looking to make a comeback. This is forcing the industry to figure out if and when certain entertainers and executives deserve a second chance. There are no rules about how to handle #MeToo redemption.

Take the case of comedian Louis C.K. whose career imploded after admitting to years of sexual misconduct last November. When he turned up for an unannounced 15-minute set at the Comedy Cellar in New York last week, the response to his first public appearance was a standing ovation from those in attendance, but protest from others who think it’s too soon for C.K. to be making a return.

Meanwhile, after one of the worst summer box office seasons in over a decade in 2017, this summer’s receipts saw an uptick in North America of 14%. China too has seen its box office increase 16% since the beginning of the year. Unfortunately for Hollywood imports actually dropped by 18%.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including how Johnny Depp’s lawsuit against his former lawyer could end the practice of oral contracts throughout the industry, Lana Del Rey pulls out of a concert in Israel and the emergence of 8K televisions.

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Showbiz Sandbox 176: Hollywood Unchained – 2012 Sets Another Box Office Record

January 7, 2013

Once again Hollywood raked in record earnings at the North American box office in 2012, though this time it wasn’t because of increased ticket prices.  In fact, both revenue and attendance were up nearly 6% during the year as 1.36 billion tickets were sold to set a new annual box office record of $10.8 billion.

Internationally box office receipts were off slightly.  After a string of years with record grosses, Hollywood movies raked in $13.5 billion outside North America.  The new year is looking up as well since nine films pegged as Oscar contenders are all still raking in big grosses.

The music business didn’t have such good news.  Album sales during 2012 declined 4.4% in the United States where Adele spent a second year at the top of the heap.  What’s noteworthy is that digital downloads outpaced physical album sales for the first time according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Of course, we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including the sale of Al Gore’s cable network, the rising ratings for Big Bang Theory and why YouTube is deleting views for music videos.

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