Showbiz Sandbox 320: Is Comcast the New Disney?
May 2, 2016
Comcast announced last week that it would acquire Dreamworks Animation for $3.8 billion, taking another step toward transforming themselves from a cable giant into a full fledged media conglomerate. Meg James, a corporate media reporter for the Los Angeles Times, join us to discuss how, though the deal may not have been anticipated, it makes a lot of sense for both companies.
The purchase is the most recent in a string of acquisitions that have closely mirrored the strategy Disney has executed over the past decade as they gobbled up companies such as Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm. Comcast has proven quite adept at turning undervalued assets such as NBCUniversal and Universal Studios theme parks into profitable entities.
Meanwhile, as the Tony Awards season officially kicks off, Broadway is suffering from what is being referred to as The Hamilton Effect. This is a condition in which you open a musical that blends hip-hop and history in a way that not only makes the show a cultural phenomenon, but the inevitable winner of this year’s much coveted Best Musical Tony.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including the Daytime Emmy winners, why Fox is pulling out of this year’s Comic-Con convention and how French law enforcement is preparing for the Cannes Film Festival.
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Box Office: ‘The Jungle Book’ Crushes ‘Mother’s Day,’ ‘Keanu’
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/box-office-jungle-book-crushes-889160
Box Office: ‘Captain America: Civil War’ Opens to Huge $200.2M Overseas
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/box-office-captain-america-civil-889159
Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’ Expanding in Theaters Thanks to Fan Demand
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/princes-purple-rain-expanding-theaters-887775
The ‘Hamilton’ Effect: The hit re-shapes Broadway’s Tony season
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-et-cm-hamilton-effect-20160430-story.html
Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May to Launch Digital Media Platform DriveTribe
https://variety.com/2016/digital/global/jeremy-clarkson-richard-hammond-james-may-drivetribe-1201760319/
Dylan O’Brien’s Injuries Force ‘Maze Runner’ Sequel to Extend Production Shutdown
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/dylan-obriens-injuries-force-maze-888970
TCM and Criterion to Offer Streaming Service, FilmStruck
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/27/movies/tcm-and-criterion-to-offerstreaming-service-filmstruck.html
Turner to Launch Its Own Movie-Streaming Service, FilmStruck
http://techcrunch.com/2016/04/26/turner-to-launch-its-own-movie-streaming-service-filmstuck/
Cannes Faces Backlash Over Chilling Terrorist Simulation Video
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cannes-faces-backlash-chilling-terrorist-887927
BBC Weekly Global Audience Hits Record High
http://www.rapidtvnews.com/2016050142707/bbc-weekly-global-audience-hits-record-high.html
DisneyLife Taken Off Air by China Regulators
https://variety.com/2016/digital/asia/disneylife-taken-off-air-by-china-regulators-1201760719/
Alibaba-Disney Partnership Is Frozen in China
http://www.wsj.com/articles/alibaba-disney-partnership-frozen-in-china-1461645337
Daytime Emmy Awards: The Complete Winners List
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/daytime-emmy-awards-winners-list-887787/item/daytime-emmy-awards-2016-drama-887851
Billy Bush Exiting ‘Access Hollywood’ for NBC’s ‘Today’
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/billy-bush-exits-access-hollywood-888032
Hulu Is Developing a Cable-Style Online TV Service
http://www.wsj.com/articles/hulu-is-developing-a-cable-style-online-tv-service-1462150982
Leading US pay-TV Firms Maintain Grip
http://www.rapidtvnews.com/2016050242722/leading-us-pay-tv-firms-maintain-grip.html
‘Ghostbusters’ Is the Most Disliked Movie Trailer in YouTube History
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ghostbusters-is-disliked-movie-trailer-889114
Fox Movie Studio Pulls Out of Comic-Con Main Event Over Piracy Fears (Exclusive)
https://www.thewrap.com/20th-century-fox-pulls-out-of-comic-con-hall-h-presentation-exclusive/
Comcast-DreamWorks Deal Shaping Up To Be A Match Made In Hollywood Heaven
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-dreamworks-comcast-20160428-story.html
Chris Meledandri of Illumination Entertainment to oversee DreamWorks Animation
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-0429-comcast-meledandri-20160429-story.html
How Jeffrey Katzenberg Could Leave DreamWorks Animation $430 Million Richer
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/how-jeffrey-katzenberg-could-leave-888671
Comcast Ups Data-Usage Caps to 1 Terabyte, And Netflix’s CEO Applauds
http://variety.com/2016/digital/news/comcast-data-usage-cap-1-terabyte-netflix-ceo-1201762361/
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