Showbiz Sandbox 643: Linear Television Viewership Sinks to New Lows
January 3, 2024
Two annual ratings roundups of television viewing in the United States show that audiences for traditional broadcast and linear cable are in serious decline. The list of the 100 most watched broadcast episodes is mostly sports. And the top ranked channels reveal cable isn’t even really trying to program their networks anymore.
Meanwhile, the domestic box office managed to surpass $9 billion for the first time since the COVID pandemic, with Universal Pictures taking over for Disney as the top earner.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including Gérard Depardieu stirs up more controversy, Taylor Swift sets more sales chart records and Paramount Global is looking for a buyer.
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Warner Bros Titles Deliver $700M Worldwide In December As ‘Wonka’ Nears $400M & ‘Aquaman 2’ Tops $260M; Universal & Paramount Pics Hit Milestones During Holidays
https://deadline.com/2023/12/wonka-aquaman-2-warner-bros-global-international-box-office-milestones-1235683983/
Box Office: ‘Wonka’ Leads New Year’s Waltz as ‘Aquaman 2’ Continues to Sink
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/wonka-box-office-aquaman-new-years-1235776921/
2023 Box Office: Domestic Revenue Clears $9B in Post-Pandemic First (Thanks, Barbenheimer)
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/barbenheimer-box-office-2023-revenue-bonanza-1235777081/
Universal Overtakes Disney as Highest-Grossing Studio at 2023 Box Office
https://variety.com/2024/film/box-office/universal-overtakes-disney-highest-grossing-studio-box-office-1235859823/
Why Hollywood’s China Syndrome Is Both Meltdown and Opportunity
https://variety.com/2023/film/news/hollywood-china-meltdown-opportunity-1235848495/
Paula Abdul Is Suing Nigel Lythgoe for Sexual Assault
https://www.vulture.com/2024/01/paula-abdul-sues-nigel-lythgoe-sexual-assault.html
56 French Stars Defend actor Gerard Depardieu Despite Sexual Misconduct Allegations
https://apnews.com/article/france-gerard-depardieu-stars-sexual-misconduct-women-c4c91653dedc35be2a7b3d1892e9c6bc
The Times Sues OpenAI and Microsoft Over A.I. Use of Copyrighted Work
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/27/business/media/new-york-times-open-ai-microsoft-lawsuit.html
The New York Times Brings Receipts in Lawsuit Against OpenAI
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/new-york-times-brings-receipts-copyright-lawsuit-openai-1235775781/
Taylor Swift Has the Top Four on the Album Sales Chart for the First Time
https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/taylor-swift-top-four-album-sales-chart-first-time-1235573476/
Taylor Swift’s ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’ Tops Billboard 200 for Fifth Week
https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/taylor-swift-1989-taylors-version-number-one-fifth-week-billboard-200-chart-1235574098/
Mickey Mouse Is Now in the Public Domain After 95 Years of Disney Copyright
https://time.com/6551496/mickey-mouse-public-domain-steamboat-willie/
Psst. Turns Out 80% of Books Published in 1924-1963 Are Secretly in the Public Domain
https://lithub.com/psst-turns-out-80-of-books-published-in-1924-1963-are-secretly-in-the-public-domain/
Scoop: Warner Bros. Discovery in Talks to Merge with Paramount Global
https://www.axios.com/2023/12/20/warner-bros-paramount-merger-discovery-streaming
The 100 Most-Watched Telecasts of 2023: NFL, Oscars, Gordon Ramsay, ‘NCIS’ and a Single ‘Yellowstone’ Episode
https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/most-watched-shows-2023-ncis-oscars-blue-bloods-super-bowl-yellowstone-1235854795/
Most-Watched Television Networks: Ranking 2023’s Winners and Losers
https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/most-watched-channels-2023-tv-network-ratings-1235850482/
Tom Smothers, Comic Half of the Smothers Brothers, Dies at 86
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/27/arts/television/tom-smothers-dead.html
Mbongeni Ngema Dies: ‘Sarafina!’ Creator & ‘The Lion King’ Vocal Arranger Killed In Car Crash
https://deadline.com/2023/12/mbongeni-ngema-dead-sarafina-creator-car-crash-1235682622/
Maurice Hines Dies: Tap Dancing Star Of Stage, TV, Film Was 80
https://deadline.com/2023/12/maurice-hines-dies-tap-dancing-star-stage-tv-film-was-80-obituary-1235683668/
Tom Wilkinson, Star of ‘The Full Monty’ and ‘Michael Clayton,’ Has Died
https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/30/entertainment/tom-wilkinson-death/index.html
‘Parasite’ Actor Lee Sun-kyun Found Dead Amid Drug Probe
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/parasite-actor-lee-sun-kyun-dead-1235769471/
Jim Ladd, Disc Jockey Who Was a Fixture of L.A. Rock Radio in the 1970s, Dies at 75
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2023-12-18/jim-ladd-dj-los-angeles-rock-radio-klos-kmet-sirius-xm-dies
MGMT’s “Mother Nature.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDzIO5ahGE8
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