Showbiz Sandbox 598: Streaming Growth Goes International

It’s no secret that streaming services have been affecting every part of the entertainment business in one way or another, from movies and television to music sales and book publishing. After the latest round of earnings announcements from major media conglomerates a few realities become clear; producing original content for direct-to-consumer streaming offerings is costing a fortune and any significant subscriber growth is going to come from overseas territories.

Meanwhile, Taylor Swift’s latest album, “Midnights” might be topping the sales and Billboard charts, however it won’t be eligible for a Grammy in 2023 because it was released after September 30th of this year. The same goes for Bruce Springsteen, Charlie Puth, Gorillaz, Red Hot Chili Peppers, 1975, Carly Rae Jepsen, Arctic Monkeys and Smashing Pumpkins. On the other hand, Silk Sonic have decided not to have their debut album compete for an Album of the Year Grammy.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including why K-Pop phenoms BTS are headed to the army, how the performing rights organization BMI is becoming a for-profit entity and embattled actor Kevin Spacey is found not liable in a sex abuse lawsuit.

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Showbiz Sandbox 438: The Oscars Play It By The Book

In a year when diversity took center stage at the Oscars, with people of color and women taking home some of the major prizes, the Academy awarded Best Picture to “Green Book,” a film partially about race relations that has been faulted by some as being whitewashed. Anne Thompson, Indiewire’s Editor-at-Large, attended the Oscar ceremony and joins us to discuss all the winners, including how “Green Book” managed to overcome a number of obstacles to walk off with the top award.

Though “Roma” was a frontrunner throughout the Oscar race, and wound up winning three awards including Best Director for Alfonso Cuaron, it didn’t win Best Picture to the relief of some in the industry who did not want to reward a film which shunned a traditional theatrical release. The film caused quite a stir when it took home the top BAFTA award earlier in the month.

Meanwhile, in China, the Lunar New Year box office was extraordinary but it came at a price: record grosses and record ticket prices were matched with record piracy.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including the layoffs at Activision Blizzard, why Celine Dion parted ways with her long-time agent and millions attend a virtual concert on the video game Fortnite.

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Showbiz Sandbox 423: After New Allegations Time Was Up For Les Moonves at CBS

When CBS head Les Moonves was accused of sexual misconduct this past summer his firing seemed inevitable. Instead he over the weekend after six additional women came forward with allegations dating back decades. Now the question is not how much severance Moonves will get but how much money can CBS pay him to go away and avoid a drawn-out lawsuit without angering activists .

Ultimately Moonves may have lost the battle but won the war. His stepping aside allowed for the settlement of an ownership lawsuit which prevents National Amusements, the network’s parent company, from trying to merge CBS and Viacom for at least two years.

Meanwhile Netflix scored big at the Venice Film Festival when their movie “Roma” picked up the Golden Lion, the festival’s top prize. Director Alfonso Cuarón’s film seems like just the type the Academy might fall for come Oscar time, but first it has to find a movie theater willing to show it.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including why there won’t be a Best Popular Film category at next year’s Oscars, a new “Law & Order” series and all the history made at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards.

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Showbiz Sandbox 419: Best Popular Film Oscars Category Proves To Be Rather Unpopular

It may come as a surprise after the #MeToo movement but it isn’t often Hollywood unites to agree on an issue. Last week when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences revealed they would be adding a Best Popular film category to the Oscars the response was universal and swift; everyone hates the idea. In a train wreck of an announcement about proposed changes to the awards show, the Academy appeared to cede control to the network broadcasting the ceremony.

Speaking of changes, the moviegoing subscription service MoviePass doesn’t let a week go by without instituting a new set of rules for its customers. First they were going to raise prices and limit attendance to new releases. Before they could roll those changes out, MoviePass altered its policy once again, keeping the price at $10 per month, but limiting the number of movies that can be seen to just three.

Meanwhile, music fans appear to be spending more money on music than ever before. At least according to a new report from Citigroup which says the industry is now pulling in a combined $43 billion in the United States, of which $5 billion goes to artists. Naturally, arguments over the accuracy and validity of the report are sure to follow.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including more on Jeffrey Katzenberg’s New TV venture, the dispute over star salaries on the latest “Star Trek” and Lady Gaga heads to Las Vegas. Read more

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Showbiz Sandbox 418: Fighting For Control of His Company, CBS Head Les Moonves Is Now Fighting to Keep His Job

The challenge for CBS of fending off an unwanted merger with its parent company, Viacom, was made all the more difficult last week when the New Yorker published a story in which the broadcaster’s longtime CEO, Les Moonves, was accused of sexual misconduct by six women. The company now has to determine how to handle the allegations not only of Moonves, an influential executive who is credited with CBS’s success, but also the claim that a culture of sexual harassment exists throughout the organization.

Speaking of companies that are having chaotic weeks, MoviePass seems to be on the brink of collapse (i.e. bankruptcy). Apparently they ran out of money, borrowed $5 million to keep the lights on, changed their rules again and decided pretty much no one gets to see “Mission Impossible”.

The turmoil for some entertainment and tech companies extends beyond their own walls all the way to Wall Street where stock prices have become volatile and seem to defy any sense of logic. Shares of companies with solid profits have plumeted, while at the same time the prices for those losing money, like Spotify, have risen.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including producer Kenya Barris’ nine-figure deal with Netflix, Jeffrey Katzenberg raises $1 billion for a new entertainment venture and “Hamilton” may soon be headed into movie theaters, but not how you might expect.

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Showbiz Sandbox 410: In a Global Landscape the Cannes Film Festival Remains as Relevant as Ever

Despite all the griping over the lack of glitz and glamour, or at the very least big movie stars, at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, the event lived up to its reputation for programming some of the most artistic movies currently being made around the world. When the Palm d’Or was handed out over the weekend it went to Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda for his touching family drama “Shoplifters.” Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman” won the Grand Jury Prize and the Lebanese filmmaker Nadine Labaki was awarded the Jury Prize for her movie “Capernaum,” about a scrappy young boy dealing with the hardships of life ont he street in Beirut.

China too is becoming more diverse when it comes to the movies it is allowing in multiplexes. While Hollywood was quick to dominate the market with big blockbusters, Chinese distributors showed up in Cannes to acquire mid-budget titles from around the world.

Meanwhile, the mounting number of mergers and acquisitions of global media companies have begun to cause a chain reaction where each deal may affect the next. The latest merger has caused CBS to sue its parent company to prevent a merger with Viacom.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including a movie deal for a Lin Manuel Miranda musical, YouTube tweaks its music subscription service and Congress looks to extend copyright protections.

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Showbiz Sandbox 368: Virtual Reality is a Big Winner at the Cannes Film Festival

This year’s Cannes Film Festival came to an end over the weekend with the Palm d’Or being awarded to “The Square”, a comedy with socio-political overtones directed by Sweden’s Ruben Östlund. Sofia Coppola won the award for Best Director for “The Beguiled”, only the second time in the festival’s 70-year-history the prize went to a woman.

Though critics found the films selected by Cannes programmers to be underwhelming this year, there was unanimous praise for a virtual reality project created by director Alejandro González Iñárritu which was installed at the festival. We’ll take you inside the unique VR experience and tell you why the fuss being made over it is legitimate.

Meanwhile, this year’s upfronts were held over the past two weeks giving us a pretty good picture about the state of modern television. Here’s the question, if we are presently in the era of peak TV, how come all the new shows networks are trotting out seem so boring.

Of course, we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including the controversy over a women-only screening of “Wonder Woman,” Katy Perry signs on to judge the “American Idol” reboot and Steven Soderbergh returns to the directing movies… as we predicted.

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Showbiz Sandbox 304: The Music of 2015 Was Good, Not Great

Sal Nunziato, former co-owner of the shuttered record store NYCD, is now a musician and popular music blogger. He joins us to weigh in on his favorite albums of 2015 and unlike Rolling Stone magazine, Adele’s latest release didn’t make Sal’s list. Who better to get a state of the industry report on the music business?

The end-of-year awards season continued to kick into high gear as the Golden Globes announced their nominees. The SAG Awards may matter more however, since some of the guild’s members actually vote for the Oscars. Even after these nominations the Oscar race continues to be wide open.

With “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” opening this week it’s impossible to avoid news about the eagerly anticipated sequel. Disney’s secrecy over the project reached new heights when the studio held its press junket without first showing the film to the media.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including Melissa McCarthy’s sitcom is canceled, “Dirty Dancing” is being adapted into a television musical and Apple presses pause on its plans to offer a live streaming television service.

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Showbiz Sandbox 249: Why Film Festivals Are More Important Than Ever

Anne Thompson, an editor at Thompson on Hollywood and Indiewire, just spent the past two weeks at the Telluride and Toronto Film Festivals before she heads off to the New York Film Festival. Thompson takes us through some of the noteworthy films we’ll be seeing in coming months and discuss the important role festivals play in creating buzz before a movie’s commercial release.

The competition for landing premieres of noteworthy titles has become so fierce that Toronto switched up its programming this year to give less prominence to any film screening a week earlier at Telluride. One aspect of each festival which is unlikely to change is their reputation for selecting films that go on to win Best Picture Oscars.

While fall festivals might be the talk of the film industry, television executives have been preoccupied with their over-the-top strategies. As audiences switch to OTT offerings from Amazon to Roku, networks are experimenting with direct-to-consumer offerings while contending with increasingly meaningless overnight ratings.

Of course, we also cover the week’s top entertainment news stories including opting-out of a free U2 album, Microsoft picks up “Minecraft” and Netflix’s invasion of Europe.

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