Showbiz Sandbox 398: Streaming Services Crowd The Field During Super Bowl
February 5, 2018
The ratings for this year’s Super Bowl may have declined 7% and we might know why. After all, there were ads for Hulu, Netflix movies like “The Cloverfield Paradox,” Amazon Prime’s Jack Ryan series and even a few movies that might appear in theatres later this year. Oh, there was also a pretty good football game that came down to the last play.
The big game usually puts a damper on the box office in North America, but it certainly doesn’t help when new releases can’t hold their own against titles that opened in December. Even so, international grosses are where all the action is these days and over the past week a Bollywood title managed to beat out the latest “Maze Runner” installment in China. We’ll explain why.
Meanwhile, the Oscar race is coming into sharper focus now that the Director’s Guild has handed out their top awards to “The Shape of Water” and “Get Out”. It’s important to remember however, that the preferential ballot has managed to upend the Best Picture category recently.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including why there is a petition for RIAA president Neil Portnow to resign, compact discs are slowly disappearing from retail outlets and Netflix may team up with Luc Besson.
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Showbiz Sandbox 210: Record Labels Look To YouTube As The New Radio
October 21, 2013
Instead of promoting new releases through traditional avenues such as radio and television, record labels are beginning to rely on YouTube as the most effective method for reaching younger audiences. As Dawn C. Chmielewski, an entertainment writer for the Los Angeles Times explains, its not just musicians that are getting a boost from this new practice, but also some of the self-made tastemakers who have become YouTube stars.
Television networks are also beginning to love technology, specifically DVRs. Though the industry has long despised the timeshifting devices which allow viewers to skip commercials, executives are once again discovering how they can significantly boost ratings.
Meanwhile, more details are emerging about why the film adaptation of “Fifty Shades of Grey” lost its male lead. Beyond being uncomfortable with his new found stardom, Charlie Hunnam was also pushing for script revisions according to some reports.
Of course, we also cover the week’s top entertainment news stories including why the creators of “South Park” missed the deadline for their latest episode, “The Lion King” becomes Broadway’s first billion dollar production and the hit television series “Glee” announces its final season.
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