Showbiz Sandbox 620: This Year’s Tony Awards Were Unscripted, Yet Predictable

June 14, 2023

This 76th annual Tony Awards ceremony was held last weekend honoring the best and brightest Broadway productions from the past year. Although there was no script for host Ariana DeBose to work due to the writer’s strike. But while the telecast may have been refreshingly unscripted, the winners were fairly predictable with “Kimberly Akimbo” winning Best Musical, Tom Stoppard’s “Leopoldstadt” taking home Best Play and “Parade” picking up the Best Musical Revival trophies. The only question now is which shows will turn their Tony wins into box office gold.

Speaking of labor relations in Hollywood, the DGA released some more info on its proposed deal with producers and the reviews are decidedly mixed, especially for helmers who also write. Meanwhile SAG-AFTRA members made it loud and clear that they are ready to strike as well.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including the PGA’s controversial move to merge with a competitive golf league, CNN axes its CEO and network shows continue to sink in TV ratings.

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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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