Showbiz Sandbox 652: Comscore, Nielsen and the Battle Over TV Ratings
March 26, 2024
The way audiences watch television has changed radically over the past ten years, bet it when, where or how. Nielsen, long the king of TV ratings, is facing competition from upstarts like Comscore. With viewership on mobile and over-the-top devices not always being measured, advertisers are beginning to include social media awareness into account when determining the success of their marketing campaigns.
Meanwhile filmmaker Jonathan Glazer’s Oscar acceptance speech for the movie “Zone of Interest,” in which he referenced the ongoing conflict in Gaza and Israel, has generated a lot of debate with nearly 1,000 industry professionals signing a petition denouncing his statements.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including this year’s IRA Awards, a controversial hire at NBC News and IMAX heads to the Paris Summer Olympics.
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Showbiz Sandbox 449: Staying Up Late In Cannes
May 20, 2019
Stories about women empowerment and a growing discontent among the middle or working class have taken center stage at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. A spotlight has also been given to diversity with the 2019 program filled with titles by filmmakers from all over the world, as well as a number of women, including the first female African director. Some selections from legendary filmmakers such as Pedro Almodovar and Terrence Malick are being hailed as masterpieces, despite any dissenting minority.
Keep in mind we are only half-way through the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, which is always a marathon, more than a sprint. Attendees watch hundreds of movies across more than four different categories and, as of this year, the press no longer gets to see the films ahead of their premiere. We discuss what that means for the filmmakers and why journalists may be losing sleep over the new protocol.
Meanwhile, it seems that some talent agencies have begun to sign the Writers Guild of America’s new code of conduct contract, albeit none of them are firms that package television shows or are even in the Association of Talent Agents. Are the agencies going to crack or are writers beginning to realize that maybe agents aren’t as important as they once were.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including Disney takes full control of Hulu, the entertainment industry continues to work out how or whether to shoot their productions in Georgia and ITV cancels the Jeremy Kyle Show after one of its guests commits suicide.
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Showbiz Sandbox 199: Comic-Con and Hollywood Is A Match Made In Nerdvana
July 22, 2013
Hollywood movie studios are no stranger to Comic-Con, the world largest pop-culture convention attracting 140,000 fans to San Diego each summer. For years they have showed up with new titles hoping to drum up pre-release buzz, though at times such calculated marketing moves have backfired in spectacular fashion. Even so, Entertainment Weekly’s Geoff Boucher says audiences always welcome Hollywood back to the Con with open arms.
Boucher gives us an inside look at this year’s event, filling us in on which movies, television shows and events were huge hits (or misses) with fans. Did the announcement of a film pairing of Superman and Batman go over well with the crowd? Was everyone surprised to see a trailer for the “Veronica Mars” movie.
Last week also saw the Television Academy announce their nominations for this year’s Emmy Awards. The big news was the Netflix series “House of Cards” which earned 14 nominations and marked the first time a show will vie for an Emmy without having aired on broadcast or cable networks.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including a public spat over Spotify streaming royalty rates, Keith Olbermann’s return to ESPN and a summer of big box office flops.
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Showbiz Sandbox 125: Are Radio D.J.’s A Thing Of The Past?
November 7, 2011
Radio listenership has eroded over the past several years as consumers have adopted streaming music services such as Spotify and Pandora. To stay competitive and survive, Clear Channel, the nation’s largest radio station operator, shocked the industry this past week by firing dozens of local D.J.’s and replacing them with a national programming team. Indie-label artists and music fans are sure to suffer as radio playlists become more homogenized and less relevant.
Google has no plans to get into radio, however rumors have surfaced that they might be trying to add a cable television operation to their broadband project in Kansas. Launching and maintaining a cable television service is not exactly like running a search engine; it can be expensive, take years and ultimately lead to a lot of red ink.
Comedian Louis C.K. has shunned traditional cable altogether. He’s decided to broadcast his upcoming comedy concert directly to fans via the Internet, bypassing traditional television distribution.
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Showbiz Sandbox 103: Midnight In Cannes – This Year’s Fest Sparks Fireworks
May 16, 2011
Woody Allen’s film “Midnight In Paris” opened the 64th annual Cannes Film Festival last week, but it was Terrence Malick’s long awaited “Tree of Life” which everyone was eager to see. The film divided audiences with some booing loudly and others proclaiming it a masterpiece. We provide all the highlights from this year’s festival, including news about films and the scene along the Croisette.
Google decided not to wait around for record labels to offer them a decent license before launching their cloud music service. After watching Amazon launch their own music service, Google realized they would never get an appropriate licensing deal from the labels so took matters into their own hands.
Meanwhile, major television networks began holding their upfronts where they inform advertisers, and the world, what shows will air during the fall television season. We fill you in on who made the cut, who got cut, and why. The announcement that Ashton Kutcher will replace Charlie Sheen on “Two and a Half Men” was the biggest television news of the week.
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