Showbiz Sandbox 342: Box Office Growth in China Begins to Fizzle

October 31, 2016

Hollywood has been talking up China’s explosive box office growth for years and the country is forecast to surpass North America as the largest movie market in the world as early as next year. However, the growth in China is slowing with ticket sales down 10% this year from last year’s figures. Ryan Faughnder, a staff writer with the Los Angeles Times, stops by to explain some of the reasons for the decline and what it means for major studios.

Faughnder also gives us the lowdown on how some studios, specifically Lionsgate, are turning to YouTube stars in search of their next big hit. Warner Bros. and Disney have similar efforts underway, though none have found the secret to success in transforming online talent into mainstream stars.

Meanwhile politicians and investment analysts have publicly expressed their concern over AT&T’s acquisition of TimeWarner. Some have gone so far as to say the deal can lead to “a whole bunch of different horribles for consumers”. For their part, AT&T is trying to assuage fears by moving head with its virtual cable plan.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including why the creator of “Mad Men” signed with Amazon for his next series, why viewership of two popular sports has decreased significantly and how the pop group ABBA is reuniting for a live performance… sort of.

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Showbiz Sandbox 332: How Cable Companies Will Profit From Cord-Cutting After All

August 22, 2016

We keep hearing that cord-cutting is going to destroy the U.S. cable industry. But SNL Kagan analyst Ian Olgeirson says the economic outlook for the business over the next decade is actually quite solid. Olgeirson joins us to explain how cable companies are turning cord-cutters into more profitable cord-swappers and what that means for their long-term health.

Meanwhile, for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio you didn’t need to have a cable subscription since so much of the action was streamed live online. In fact, while television viewership may not have reached the levels some networks around the world had hoped, a record number of hours were streamed over the Internet from this year’s games.

We also launch a new segment that tells you the one new book worth reading out of the thousands that are published each week, as listed on BookFilter, a book lover’s best friend.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including the dispute over Tom Cruise’s salary for “Mission: Impossible 6”, the power struggle at Viacom nears a resolution and Barbara Streisand tells Apple’s Siri how to pronounce her name properly.

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