Showbiz Sandbox 378: ESPN Goes Looking For Some Fights
August 28, 2017
In the midst of a blockbuster boxing match viewed around the world between welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. and MMA champion Conor McGregor, ESPN announces they spent a small fortune to secure the worldwide rights to future bouts. The network plans on providing access to the fights on their recently announced streaming service, with ESPN even getting a potential piece of any fights that go the pay-per-view route.
The Mayweather vs. McGregor match was faulted for causing the North American box office to dip to it’s lowest level in 16 years this past weekend. In fact, box office receipts which will not surpass $4 billion for the first time since 2006 thanks to an attendance decrease of 25%. Maybe MoviePass, a subscription moviegoing service, will help fill cinemas now that they’ve lowered their price to $10 per month.
Meanwhile “Handbook for Mortals” took the young adult book genre by storm over the last week, and not in a good way. The debut novel topped the New York Times bestseller list for that genre its first week out without anyone ever having heard of the book or its unknown author. Controversy ensued.
Of course, we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including why the issue of on-set safety has gotten a lot of attention after Tom Cruise got injured making the next Mission: Impossible movie, the big editorial changes at the Los Angeles Times and how “The Walking Dead” has inspired another lawsuit.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Showbiz Sandbox 377: Disney Breaks Up With Netflix To Launch Solo Streaming Service
August 14, 2017
After years of licensing their movies to Netflix, Disney announced last week that it will be launching their own streaming service when their current deal expires. Then in a true reordering of the media landscape, Disney also revealed it will be creating a standalone subscription streaming service for ESPN. Realistically though Disney might be one of the few entertainment companies that could successfully pull off direct-to-consumer strategy on such a grand scale.
Perhaps Disney felt threatened by content distributors like Netflix and felt compelled to make a move. After all, just days after making their announcement Netflix said it had lured producer Shonda Rhimes away from Disney’s ABC Studios to make original programming for its own service. Netflix also stole hitmaker Chuck Lorre away from CBS and cut a deal with the Coen Brothers to make one of their next projects.
Meanwhile, there’s lots of drama on Broadway, literally and figuratively. Everyone is talking about the collapse of the musical “Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812,” which has charges of racism, unprofessionalism and bad management swirling around it. Now the show is closing long before its $12 million budget was recouped.
Of course, we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including how Warner Music Group posted big revenue gains thanks to streaming, Bruce Springsteen heads to Broadway and the emergence of a new Chinese media magnate.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Showbiz Sandbox 376: Cord Cutters Are Using An Old Hack To Watch Television – It’s Called An Antenna
August 7, 2017
As the Federal Communications Commission seeks to further deregulate cable television companies and do away with net neutrality, consolidation within the industry has caused rates to increase dramatically. We’ll explain how more and more people are growing fed up with high cable bills and what they’re doing about it. Some millennials have even discovered an amazing hack to get the broadcast networks for free! And it’s totally legal!
We’ll also tell you about how some big name players are getting fed up with Hollywood’s opaque accounting system. Sylvester Stallone is suing Warner Bros. over profit participation for his 1990s hit movie Demolition Man while filmmaker Steven Soderbergh is taking the distribution of his latest movie into his own hands.
In China, “Wolf Warrior 2” has earned nearly half a billion dollars at the global box office and looks set to become the country’s highest grossing movie ever. Meanwhile, Wonder Woman is still playing strong in theatres around the world and may surpass “Spider-Man” to claim the crown as the biggest comic book movie debut in history.
Of course, we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including why legendary TV producer Norman Lear is boycotting the Kennedy Center Honors reception, when Bette Midler is leaving “Hello Dolly” and why Netflix acquired a comic book company.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
