Showbiz Sandbox 417: On-Demand Surpasses Live TV Viewing

It seems as if we’ve been talking for a decade or more about how television viewing patterns are shifting. Audiences have eschewed live broadcasts for on-demand programming and in the United Kingdom, more households now subscribe to streaming services than traditional pay TV. Maybe that’s why niche sports like arm wrestling, archery and bull riding are all conducting their own streaming experiments.

In China, parents are requesting the government set up a ratings system for movies so they know what releases are appropriate for their children. Meanwhile, a new report claims of the 271 local movies released in China this year only 12 have made a profit.

And in the United Kingdom book sales were up last year which is good news for publishers. Unfortunately, authors didn’t see much in the way of a bump in pay. In fact, as the publishing industry’s profits rise, author’s incomes have declined to record lows.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including why Hollywood is so stressed out lately, the “Rugrats” movie and why Disney fired the director of their “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Disruption, Consolidation, Uncertainty: Welcome to Hollywood’s Age of Anxiety
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/welcome-hollywoods-new-age-anxiety-1127792

The “Tough Year” Ahead: Why Top Hollywood Execs Are So Spooked
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/tough-year-why-top-hollywood-execs-are-spooked-1127794

Comcast Ends Pursuit of Fox, Bidding War With Disney
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/comcast-ends-pursuit-fox-bidding-war-disney-1127251

comScore Announces Official Worldwide Box Office Results for Weekend of July 22, 2018
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/comscore-announces-official-worldwide-box-office-results-for-weekend-of-july-22-2018-300684586.html

Premiere Urges Price Cuts for Cancer Drugs Amid Hit Film’s Success
http://chinafilminsider.com/premiere-urges-price-cuts-for-cancer-drugs-amid-hit-films-success/

Chinese Parents Call for Film Rating System
http://chinafilminsider.com/headlines-from-china-success-of-dying-to-survive-unveils-market-potential-for-movies-based-on-actual-events/

China Pulls Local Version of ‘Saturday Night Live’
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/china-pulls-local-version-saturday-night-live-1127983

Live From Beijing: A Disappearing ‘Saturday Night Live’
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/17/world/asia/china-saturday-night-live.html

Rugrats’ Revived at Viacom With New Nickelodeon Series, Feature Film
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/rugrats-revived-at-viacom-new-nickelodeon-series-feature-film-1127473

‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ Inclusive Reboot in the Works With Joss Whedon
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/buffy-vampire-slayer-reboot-inclusive-take-joss-whedon-works-1128888

Jennifer Hudson, Taylor Swift, James Corden, Ian McKellen Cast in Movie Version of ‘Cats’
https://variety.com/2018/film/global/jennifer-hudson-taylor-swift-james-corden-cats-movie-andrew-lloyd-webber-1202879375-1202879375/

Mary B by Katherine J. Chen
http://bookfilter.com/2018/02/08/mary-b-a-novel/

U.K. Reports 2017 As Record Year for Publishing
https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/international/international-book-news/article/77533-u-k-reports-2017-as-record-year-for-publishing.html

Book sales boom but authors report shrinking incomes
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jul/19/book-sales-skyrocket-but-authors-report-shrinking-incomes

Paramount TV President Amy Powell Fired Over Inappropriate Comments
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/paramount-tv-president-amy-powell-fired-inappropriate-comments-1128620

James Gunn Fired From ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’
https://variety.com/2018/film/news/james-gunn-fired-from-guardians-of-the-galaxy-vol-3-1202879817/

Selma Blair Urges Disney’s Marvel to Rehire James Gunn: “This Man Is One of the Good Ones”
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/selma-blair-urges-disneys-marvel-rehire-james-gunn-1129152

Broadway’s ‘Chicago’ Producers Speak Out On Cast Member’s Suicide
https://pagesix.com/2018/07/10/chicago-producers-speak-out-on-cast-members-suicide/

Actors’ Equity Hires Its Own Lawyer to Investigate ‘Chicago’ Harassment
https://broadway.news/2018/07/17/actors-equity-hires-its-own-lawyer-to-investigate-chicago-harassment/

Inside ‘Chicago’ Actor’s Final Rehearsal Before Suicide
https://nypost.com/2018/07/19/inside-chicago-actors-final-rehearsal-before-suicide/

SAG-AFTRA Passes TV Animation Strike Authorization for SVOD Fight
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sag-aftra-passes-tv-animation-strike-authorization-svod-fight-1128315

On the Ground at Comic-Con: Inside the Activation Hits (and Misses)
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/jack-ryan-walking-dead-san-diego-comic-con-activation-hits-misses-1128727

Diana Rigg to Exit Broadway Revival of My Fair Lady
https://www.broadway.com/buzz/192824/diana-rigg-to-exit-broadway-revival-of-my-fair-lady/

‘Dreamgirls’ Posts Broadway Casting Notice
https://broadway.news/2018/07/18/dreamgirls-posts-broadway-casting-notice/

Lin-Manuel Miranda to Make Directorial Debut With ‘Tick, Tick…Boom!’
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/lin-manuel-miranda-direct-tick-tickboom-1128412

Awards Landscape Rocked as Netflix Poaches Leading Strategist Lisa Taback (Exclusive)
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/netflix-poaches-leading-awards-strategist-lisa-taback-1123895

Roy Orbison Hologram Tour Sets North American Dates
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/roy-orbison-hologram-tour-sets-north-american-dates-694945/

A Show About Indigenous Canadians Has a Glaring Omission: Indigenous Canadian Actors
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/16/theater/robert-lepage-kanata-indigenous.html

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai Has “Serious Concerns” About Sinclair-Tribune Merger
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/fcc-commissioner-ajit-pai-sinclair-tribune-merger-1127292

Sinclair Revises Divestiture Plan to Save Tribune Merger, Denies Misleading FCC
https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/sinclair-tribune-merger-divestiture-plan-1202876611/

Amazon Orders Sci-Fi Series ‘Tales From the Loop’
https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/amazon-tales-from-the-loop-1202875431/

Drake’s ‘Scorpion’ Spends Third Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart, Wiz Khalifa Bows at No. 2
https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8466468/drake-scorpion-third-week-no-1-billboard-200

Live TV No Longer the First Viewing Choice for Consumers
https://www.rapidtvnews.com/2018071652806/live-tv-no-longer-the-first-viewing-choice-for-consumers.html

Streaming Services Surpass Pay-TV in UK for First Time
https://www.rapidtvnews.com/2018071852841/streaming-services-surpass-pay-tv-in-uk-subs-for-first-time.html

The Era of Streaming Niche Sports Dawns
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/17/sports/streaming-sports.html

Shinobu Hashimoto, Screenwriter on Kurosawa’s ‘The Seven Samurai’ and ‘Rashomon,’ Dies at 100
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/shinobu-hashimoto-dead-screenwriter-seven-samurai-rashomon-was-100-1128623