Showbiz Sandbox 647: Disney Teams Up For Sports Streaming Service
February 13, 2024
Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox are teaming up to deliver a new subscription streaming service that will combine all of their sports programming on a non-exclusive basis. It will have 14 channels including ESPN, ABC, FS1, Fox, TNT and TBS. The surprise announcement has generated more questions than answers, especially over whether any antitrust laws are being broken.
Meanwhile, awards season chugs along with the Directors Guild of America handing out its top prize to Christopher Nolan for “Oppenheimer.” Plus, the Oscars add a new category for casting directors.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including why Universal Music pulled all of its music from TikTok, Disney invests in “Fortnite” developer Epic Games and Paramount starts pulling content off its streaming service.
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Showbiz Sandbox 591: Live Sports Becomes the Costliest Battle of the Streaming Wars
August 30, 2022
There is no better evidence that the streaming wars are still in full swing than the news that streaming services are accounting for more viewing than cable television for the first time in history. As streaming media companies fight for market share, they have turned to live sports as a means of driving subscriber growth. However, vying with traditional networks for broadcast rights has driven the cost of live sports to record setting levels.
While there might be an audience for live sports, new data shows attendance has fallen by as much as 50% for live performances such as Broadway, opera and classical music concerts. Pop concert tours, on the other hand, have never been more successful, or more expensive.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including the reason some movie stars are ditching social media for their own sanity, the second largest movie theater chain in the world may file for bankruptcy and why Mariah Carey should not become the Queen of Christmas.
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Showbiz Sandbox 583: The Long and Winding Road to Box Office Recovery
May 10, 2022
With each new superhero blockbuster that hits multiplexes it is clear that big well-done movies can score big at the box office. However it is a huge mistake to treat every new release as the barometer of whether cinema is back. Especially when smaller films like “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and family movies like “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” are proving just as successful in getting post-pandemic audiences back into theaters.
Meanwhile, record labels and streaming services have been fighting with music publishers over mechanical royalties for years now.
However, in a tentative deal on actual music sales, the mechanical royalty will rise more than 30% from 9.1 cents per track to 12 cents. Moving forward, the royalty will be pegged to inflation.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including this year’s Tony Nominations, Dave Chappelle gets attacked on stage during a performance and a new class of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees.
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Showbiz Sandbox 513: How Can Movie Theaters Survive Without Movies?
October 6, 2020
Studios are pushing movie releases into 2021, with the latest James Bond thriller abandoning it’s scheduled November date in cinemas. Now major theater chains are shutting their doors once again. We’re joined by Patrick von Sychowski, the editor of Celluloid Junkie, to help us break down the present and predict the future of the cinema industry.
Meanwhile in China, movie theaters are not only open, they are bringing in big audiences who are off work during the country’s Golden Week. More than two films earned over $100 million at the Chinese box office this past week, proving cinemas can reboot after a coronavirus shutdown.
Of course we also cover some of the week’s top entertainment headlines including new charges against disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, some good news for junior players at United Talent Agency and some bad news for 28,000 former Disney employees.
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Showbiz Sandbox 493: Rebooting Film and TV Production Won’t Be Easy
May 12, 2020
When most of the global entertainment industry shut down in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it wasn’t just movie theaters, concert halls and amusement parks that were affected. The sudden lockdown forced film and television productions of all kinds to be suspended, no matter what stage they were in. What has yet to be determined is how to start filming new shows and movies while keeping cast and crew safe.
Questions remain over everything from how to shoot love scenes moving forward, whether cast and crew should sequester themselves during production to how often everyone on set should be tested to how meal breaks should be handled. There are concerns over every aspect of a production, including craft services.
Of course we also cover some of the week’s top entertainment headlines including an increase in cord-cutting among cable subscribers, why a major Hollywood talent agency is struggling to survive the industry’s lockdown and how the Fox network is making their upcoming television season coronavirus-proof.
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Showbiz Sandbox 477: The Recording Academy Upstages Itself During Grammy Week
January 21, 2020
Even before this year’s Grammys are handed out next Sunday the Recording Academy is making headlines, not necessarily in a good way. In a controversial move, the organization put its CEO Deborah Dugan on administrative leave after less than six months on the job, citing reports of alleged misconduct. However, this came after Dugan sent a memo to the academy’s board highlighting voting irregularities, financial mismanagement, exorbitant legal bills as well as conflicts of interest with the organization’s board members, executive committee and outside lawyers.
It will take some time to sort out what is actually going on within the Recording Academy’s executive ranks, though we should know who takes home the Album of the Year Grammy by next week. If the academy plays it safe, it just might be Vampire Weekend, but we think Lizzo should be a frontrunner.
Meanwhile, Chinese New Year is upon us, the biggest movie-going week in the Middle Kingdom. As usual the country has blacked out Hollywood film releases to help bolster attendance of homegrown movies. Yet this may not even be necessary since lately domestic titles are doing better than imported content.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, Netflix plans to spend billions on content and why we might be headed for another writers strike.
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Showbiz Sandbox 462: Netflix and Amazon Take Advantage of Fall Film Festivals
September 16, 2019
Though the Cannes Film Festival avoids programming movies from streamers like Netflix and Amazon, internationally renowned festivals in Venice, Telluride, Toronto and New York embrace them. And no wonder. As Anne Thompson of Indiewire tells us, the streamers used the fall film festival circuit to premiere some of the year’s most award-worthy movies.
Just back from Toronto and Telluride (and on her way to the New York Film Festival), Thompson fills us in on what new releases movie lovers should look forward to as we kick off awards season. She explains how making a big splash at such festivals can turn a middling movie into a hit collecting both big box office and plenty of kudos. Yes, we’re looking at you, Hustlers.
Meanwhile, with the imminent launch of their own streaming service, Disney wants to rewrite the rules — or at least the contracts — on how the profits from hit television shows gets shared, or as the company would prefer it, not shared. If successful, other networks and studios are sure to follow Disney’s lead.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including why YouTube is revamping its music charts, Apple announcing the price for its streaming service and “Saturday Night Live” stumbling in a casting move.
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Showbiz Sandbox 456: The TV Shows That Will Benefit Most From An Emmy Nomination
July 22, 2019
Television audiences have become so fragmented these days that almost every show can benefit from Emmy Awards attention. Sure, you think everyone knows about shows like “Stranger Things” and “The Handmaid’s Tale” We ask which series might get a needed ratings boost from being in this year’s Emmys race.
HBO took home the most Emmy nominations helped by “Game of Thrones” which set a record earning 32 nods, the most ever for a single show. However, with “GoT” and “Veep” in their final seasons is HBO’s award enjoying a swan song over its Emmy dominance?
Meanwhile, Disney’s latest live-action adaptation opened internationally to $531 million on its way to what is likely another billion dollar gross for the studio. In fact, Disney may have five billion dollar movies this year alone.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including the headlines from Comic-Con, Netflix subscribership drops and why you may not be able to find that hot new album at your local record store.
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Showbiz Sandbox 447: The Madness of Media Moguls Making Mega-Millions
May 6, 2019
While the exorbitant salaries of the entertainment industry’s top executives are not a new phenomenon, the subject cropped up again recently after a relative of Walt Disney objected to the $65 million paycheck Disney CEO Robert Iger earned last year. That amounts to 1,424 times more than the average salary of a Disney employee. We debate whether Hollywood moguls should be earning hundreds of times more than their employees and why their compensation is so high in the first place.
On Broadway, Tony nominations were announced last week and they pack more drama and excitement than the creatively weak season that just ended. We’ll take a look and predict which shows will benefit the most from awards and the chance to perform live on TV.
Meanwhile, “Avengers: Endgame” continues to dominate the worldwide box office, earning $2 billion in just 11 days, faster than any film in history. That said, we wonder why Hollywood studios neglect to mention that their tentpole movies often begin showing on Thursdays.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including big changes at CBS News, YouTube scores some Major League Baseball games and why the London production of “Les Miserables” is getting a makeover
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Showbiz Sandbox 442: Apple Finally Unveils Their Content Plans
March 26, 2019
After years of anticipation and endless speculation, the technology giant Apple finally announced its plans for its video streaming service. Not only will Apple TV now be available on all smart televisions and integrate with existing cable providers, it will offer a la carte over the top services. What’s more, Apple revealed a slate of six homegrown series marking its first foray into original content.
Apple is not starting small either, launching their service with shows from some of the biggest names in Hollywood, including Steven Spielberg, J.J. Abrams, Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon, to name just a few. The only thing they didn’t make public about Apple TV+ is its subscription price.
And while new digital streaming platforms are all the rage, there is still plenty of money to be earned at the theatrical box office. Official numbers for 2018 have now been finalized, with North American box office rising 7%, helping boost worldwide receipts 2% to over $41 billion.
Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including the contentious talks between the WGA and talent agencies over packaging fees, Disney officially acquires Fox and the Library of Congress adds 25 new sound recordings to the National Recording Registry.
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