Showbiz Sandbox 403: Justice Department Makes Its Case Against AT&T-Time Warner Merger

As the Department of Justice prepares for its antitrust trial to prevent the merger of AT&T and Time Warner, they are submitted a brief to the court claiming the outcome of the case shape how video-content is delivered in the United States for years to come. They believe the merger will stifle competition, prevent competitors from entering the market and ultimately disadvantage consumers. If the government succeeds in court, could they go after Comcast NBCUniversal next?

Meanwhile, even though the Academy Awards were last week, Academy Award preferential balloting, there is still some debate over the preferential balloting system used to select Best Picture. Does the method lead to a consensus choice rather than the film most people voted for in the first place? Certainly, complaints about Best Picture winners are not new, nor is preferential balloting, which was first used at the Oscars n 1934.

The Fox television network plans on cutting advertising on its primetime lineup down to two minutes per hour by 2020. This comes as NBC and CBS recently announced similar ad-limiting initiatives. Why are TV networks suddenly so keen to dump their lucrative advertising and how will they make up that lost revenue?

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including how “Hamilton” has conquered the West End in London, e-sports turns into a billion dollar business and Facebook will broadcast Major League Baseball games this season.

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Weinstein Co. Sale to Ron Burkle Investor Group Collapses
http://variety.com/2018/biz/news/weinstein-co-deal-collapses-ron-burkle-1202719365/

comScore Announces Official Worldwide Box Office Results for Weekend of March 11, 2018
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/comscore-announces-official-worldwide-box-office-results-for-weekend-of-march-11-2018-300612014.html

China Box Office: ‘Black Panther’ Roars With $67M Opening
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/china-box-office-black-panther-roars-67m-opening-1093677

Box-Office Milestone: ‘Black Panther’ Joins Billion-Dollar Club
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/box-office-milestone-black-panther-joins-billion-dollar-club-1093586

MoviePass CEO proudly says the app tracks your location before and after movies
https://techcrunch.com/2018/03/05/moviepass-ceo-proudly-says-the-app-tracks-your-location-before-and-after-movies/

UK Copy Cat of MoviePass Revealed
https://celluloidjunkie.com/2018/03/08/uk-copy-cat-moviepass-revealed/

How the Oscars Preferential Ballot Turns the Best Picture Race Into a Celebration of the ‘Least Disliked’
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-ca-mn-oscars-preferential-ballots-20180301-story.html

“The Many Saints Of Newark” at New Line
http://variety.com/2018/film/news/sopranos-movie-prequel-david-chase-1202721680/

Jon Favreau to Executive Produce, Write Live-Action ‘Star Wars’ TV Series
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/jon-favreau-executive-produce-write-live-action-star-wars-series-1093023

Fox Wants to Reduce Ad Time to Two Minutes per Hour by 2020
https://www.wsj.com/articles/fox-wants-to-reduce-ad-time-to-two-minutes-per-hour-by-2020-1520334000

The Flicker of Old Dreams by Susan Henderson – BookFilter
http://bookfilter.com/2017/06/13/the-flicker-of-old-dreams-3/

Shaya by Alon Shaya – BookFilter
http://bookfilter.com/2018/02/08/shaya/

Anatomy of a Miracle by Jonathan Miles – BookFilter
http://bookfilter.com/2016/12/25/anatomy-of-a-miracle/

Shakespeare & Co. to Open Three Stores This Year
https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/76300-shakespeare-co-to-open-three-stores-this-year.html

NPR story on Alexie’s Accusers
https://www.npr.org/2018/03/05/589909379/it-just-felt-very-wrong-sherman-alexies-accusers-go-on-the-record

Alexie Declines Literary Award; Paperback Release Postponed
https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/libraries/article/76301-alexie-declines-literary-award-paperback-release-postponed.html

‘Hamilton’ Breaks Another Record: Most Olivier Award Nominations Ever
http://variety.com/2018/legit/news/hamilton-breaks-record-most-olivier-award-nominations-1202719132/

Actors’ Equity Speaks Out Against ‘Rocktopia’ Over Pay for Chorus Members
https://broadway.news/2018/03/06/actors-equity-speaks-rocktopia-pay-chorus-members/

Scientology Poised to Launch TV Network
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/scientology-appears-poised-launch-tv-network-1093640

‘9-1-1’ Showrunner Tim Minear Signs 20th Century Fox TV Deal
http://variety.com/2018/tv/news/tim-minear-fox-1202718738/

David Byrne Apologises for Lack of Women on Album with 25 Male Contributors
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/mar/06/david-byrne-apologises-for-not-collaborating-with-women-on-album-with-25-male-contributors

Recording Academy Names Tina Tchen, Michelle Obama’s Former Chief of Staff, Head of Task Force for Inclusion
http://variety.com/2018/music/news/recording-academy-names-tina-tchen-michelle-obamas-former-chief-of-staff-head-of-task-force-for-inclusion-1202719161/

Facebook Inks 25-Game Exclusive Streaming Deal With MLB
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/facebook-inks-25-game-streaming-deal-mlb-1093309

YouTube TV Doubles Down on Controversial World Series Partnership in Expanded MLB Deal
http://www.adweek.com/tv-video/youtube-tv-doubles-down-on-controversial-world-series-partnership-in-expanded-mlb-deal/

E-Sports Is Not Just For Nerdy Guys Any More
http://brief.promaxbda.org/index.php/article/e-sports-is-not-just-for-nerdy-guys

Data Matters in E-Sports, but Metrics Remain Limited
http://brief.promaxbda.org/index.php/article/data-matters-in-e-sports-but-metrics-remain-limited

Netflix Eyeing Total of About 700 Original Series, Movies in 2018
http://variety.com/2018/digital/news/netflix-700-original-movies-series-2018-1202711940/

Obama and Netflix in Talks for Producing Deal
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/barack-obama-netflix-talks-producing-deal-1093274

Atom Tickets Raises $60 Million From Fidelity, Disney, Fox and Lionsgate
http://variety.com/2018/digital/news/atom-tickets-60-million-fidelity-disney-fox-lionsgate-1202721516/

Univision Lays Off Staffers After Scrapping IPO
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/univision-lays-staffers-scrapping-ipo-1093488

Justice Dept. Alleges AT&T, Comcast Will Together Withhold Content From Digital Rivals
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/justice-dept-alleges-at-t-comcast-will-together-withhold-content-digital-rivals-1093486

Tower Records Founder Russ Solomon Dies at 92
http://variety.com/2018/music/news/tower-records-founder-russ-solomon-dies-dead-at-92-1202718689/