Showbiz Sandbox 629: Disney vs. Charter Feud Could Finally Unbundle Cable
September 5, 2023
Carriage disputes between cable companies and media companies are nothing new. They happen regularly around big events like the Super Bowl, FIFA World Cup or the Oscars. However this time Charter Communications, the second largest cable operator in the United States, has pulled all of Disney’s 19 networks from its service, refusing to pay the higher licensing fees, arguing that the bundled pay television business model no longer works. Settling the disagreement could significantly alter the future of the television landscape.
Meanwhile, Taylor Swift has conquered the album charts and football stadiums and now she’s going to conquer movie theaters. And with summer box office hitting $4 billion, Swift’s concert film comes at the perfect time, at least for those in North America.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including the Hollywood Reporter gets another editor-in-chief, more details about Kevin Costner’s departure from “Yellowstone” and Michael Mann brings his “Ferrari” to the Venice Film Festival.
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Showbiz Sandbox 620: This Year’s Tony Awards Were Unscripted, Yet Predictable
June 14, 2023
This 76th annual Tony Awards ceremony was held last weekend honoring the best and brightest Broadway productions from the past year. Although there was no script for host Ariana DeBose to work due to the writer’s strike. But while the telecast may have been refreshingly unscripted, the winners were fairly predictable with “Kimberly Akimbo” winning Best Musical, Tom Stoppard’s “Leopoldstadt” taking home Best Play and “Parade” picking up the Best Musical Revival trophies. The only question now is which shows will turn their Tony wins into box office gold.
Speaking of labor relations in Hollywood, the DGA released some more info on its proposed deal with producers and the reviews are decidedly mixed, especially for helmers who also write. Meanwhile SAG-AFTRA members made it loud and clear that they are ready to strike as well.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including the PGA’s controversial move to merge with a competitive golf league, CNN axes its CEO and network shows continue to sink in TV ratings.
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Showbiz Sandbox 616: Movie Theaters Celebrate Recovery at CinemaCon
May 2, 2023
Movie theater operators from around the world gathered in Las Vegas last week for CinemaCon. Though the last two pandemic suppressed editions of the conference were filled with artificial optimism about the business, this year’s event showcased an industry that had survived and is indeed thriving thanks to a robust release schedule with plenty of new films to show.
Meanwhile, the cable news landscape was shaken up last week when Fox News fired its highest rated personality Tucker Carlson and CNN parted ways with longtime host Don Lemon. This came only one week after Fox News paid out $787 million to settle a defamation lawsuit.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including why Disney is suing the state of Florida, what caused the head of the BBC to step down and Netflix announced the end of its original DVD rental business.
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Showbiz Sandbox 608: The Television Landscape Is Changing FAST
February 22, 2023
Major television networks, cable channels and even streamers are all reeling from all of the changes the industry has been undergoing recently. New shows are being canceled before they air. Others disappear after only a single season with all their episodes yanked from streaming libraries. Ratings for linear and cable are way down causing every stakeholder to earn less money from advertising and carriage fees.
All of this has caused the industry to get super excited by FAST – Free Ad Supported TV. These are streaming platforms built around existing properties like “Westworld” or original series like “Die Hart” which can be watched on-demand, only with ads peppered in. Annoying perhaps if you subscribe to HBO Max and expected to be able to binge shows that are no longer available on the platform.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including why Roald Dahl’s books are being updated, box office in India rebounds nicely in 2022 and the big winners at this year’s BAFTAs.
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Showbiz Sandbox 594: Fall Film Festivals Set The Stage For Awards Season
September 20, 2022
The annual film festivals in Venice, Telluride and Toronto overlap not only in their timing but often in their official selections and this year was no exception. As usual, titles that begin their festival tour as anticipated awards season contenders sometimes wind up as afterthoughts while unexpected discoveries gain wide recognition. The movie that took home the top prize in Toronto comes from a distinguished filmmaker who might be headed for a close encounter with an Oscar come Academy Awards time.
Speaking of filmmakers, and despite widespread reports to the contrary, Woody Allen says he’s not retiring after his next film, which is being shot in Paris entirely in French. He just said he was thinking of not making movies since most of them go straight to streaming services these days, which for a filmmaker, is kind of like… you know, retiring.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including how the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences plans to get its act together, big changes at CNN and The Phantom of the Opera winds up its historic Broadway run.
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Showbiz Sandbox 593: This Year’s Emmy Awards Turns Into A Rerun
September 16, 2022
The 74th Annual Prime Time Emmy Awards were held this week and they managed to honor most of the winners from last year’s ceremony. The same shows, and at times the same actors, continue to top most of the big categories. This begs the perennial question, what is the actual purpose of the Emmy Awards?
Meanwhile, the world’s second largest movie theater chain officially filed for bankruptcy. We discuss what this will mean not only for Cineworld, but also whether the move will affect the industry-at-large.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including how “CoComelon” is creating video games for toddlers, the Sundance Film Festival names a new head director and a Bollywood movie tops the worldwide box office.
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Showbiz Sandbox 590: New Warner Bros. Discovery Strategy Is A Little Batty
August 9, 2022
The newly merged Warner Bros. Discovery held its first earnings call last week making so many headlines it was all anyone in the entertainment industry could talk about. The company has a ton of debt, but a plan to get into better financial shape; stop producing expensive scripted shows, shelve pricey projects and layoff thousands of employees. Most controversially the media giant decided to completely abandon the nearly finished DC movie, “Batgirl.”
Speaking of comic book movies, the Wall Street Journal believes Disney’s Marvel titles are in a bit of a slump. Their movies are grossing less, getting worse reviews are not a big deal on social media. Do people even like superhero movies anymore?
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including the story behind all those expensive Springsteen tickets, why Beyonce is changing the lyrics to one of her recent songs and why “To Kill A Mockingbird” is leaving Broadway.
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Showbiz Sandbox 575: Should Movie Theaters Charge More For Blockbusters?
March 8, 2022
The opening weekend of “The Batman” was the anticipated blockbuster everyone was expecting, though an ongoing pandemic and a political crisis in Europe softened its global take. AMC Theatres on the other hand saw an opportunity to raise ticket prices, but only for the latest entrant to the Batman franchise. Is this a strategy that was a long time coming or one that will keep casual moviegoers at home.
Meanwhile, the cultural boycott of Russia over its invasion of Ukraine has escalated over the past week with film festivals banning Russian delegations, movie studios pausing new releases and Netflix halting its streaming service in the country.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including video game publisher Epic gets into the music business, Amazon closes its physical bookstores and the big winners at this year’s Spirit Awards.
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Showbiz Sandbox 573: Paramount Takes A Global Approach to Streaming
February 21, 2022
During its most recent earnings call ViacomCBS outlined how they plan on reorganizing the media giant to compete with streaming leaders such as Netflix. First they are bringing content from all of their current services into Paramount+ and retaining the rights to popular programming such as “South Park.” They announced a glut of new projects including a new “Star Trek” movie and to hammer the point home changed the company name to Paramount Global. Wall Street immediately responded by selling off shares.
Meanwhile, the Academy Awards announced their COVID health and safety guidelines for this year’s Oscars ceremony. Masks and proof of vaccine will be required, depending on who you are, where you’re sitting and whether you’re appearing on the telecast. Everyone seems to agree, the rules are confusing and don’t seem to make much sense.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including how actor Tom Holland is ruling the box office in two different movies, more leadership shakeups at CNN and Netflix strikes a deal with comedian Dave Chappelle.
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Showbiz Sandbox 571: Want Ratings? Get Joe Rogan To Host The Oscars!
February 9, 2022
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences brought an end to the endless speculation of countless awards pundits by announcing this year’s Oscars nominations. Now we’ll all have to deal with the griping about who was snubbed along with seven weeks of incessant reports about which Best Picture nominee is gaining momentum with Oscar voters.
Perhaps we should thank the Oscars for stealing the headlines from comedian Joe Rogan whose podcast has caused no end of controversy and grief for Spotify, its exclusive distributor. The only good news out of the Rogan mess is that it’s finally brought the band Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young back together, at least in regards to their desire to remove their music from the streaming service.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including how a Disney soundtrack is dominating the music charts, viewership of the Winter Olympics plummets and the head of CNN is suddenly ousted.
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