If you’re in Vegas today, look for some familiar Ankler faces. Tonight, Janice Min, MS NOW’s Ari Melber and NAB EVP Karen Chupka host a private dinner for top speakers and guests amid our all-star roster of programming Sunday-Tuesday in NAB Show’s Business of Media and Entertainment Theater. Check out Melber, Jen Psaki, Markiplier, JB Smoove, Funko CEO Josh Simon, showrunner Eric Robles, Rideback and Spuree co-CEO Michael LeFaso, MicroCo CEO Jana Winograde and chief creative officer Susan Rovner and more top execs and creatives onstage, interviewed by Janice, Natalie Jarvey, Elaine Low, Lachlan Cartwright and Erik Barmack. Stop by our stage if you’re here!
Meanwhile, an earlier shift of Team Ankler-in-Vegas currently is heading home from CinemaCon. Sean McNulty covered presentations from Sony, Warners, Uni and Paramount, Matthew Frank will share his impressions in an upcoming Crowd Pleaser, and our Richard Rushfield became the cause célèbre inside Caesars over what Page Six deemed “pin-gate.” (You can read about it here and here too.) All’s well that ends well: Richard broke his silence on the kerfuffle on Friday — and delivered his takeaways from the big show and the studio subtext behind all the razzle-dazzle.
Now, ICYMI, even more stories that had the industry buzzing — and subscribing:
Hit of the Week
↑ Lesley Goldberg topped Ankler charts this week with a banger about A24 TV. With new money, fast deals and creator-friendly terms, the studio is becoming a favorite among agents — and a headache for everyone else.
Dealmakers
↑ Be sure to bookmark Ashley Cullins’ state-by-state breakdown of new tax incentives as the U.S. floods the market with fresh deals in its fight to keep production from going overseas.
Like & Subscribe: Creator Middle Class Rises
↑ Over at Ankler Media’s creator economy newsletter, Like & Subscribe, Natalie took a look at a new tier of talent — white-collar workers, founders and side-hustlers with real expertise and modest followings, building lucrative businesses that don’t rely on being MrBeast.
Series Business
↑ Thousands of huge names signed an open letter protesting the Paramount-Warners merger — dividing talent, agencies and studios. Lesley reports on the strong reaction inside the two studios and how relationships across town are being put to the test.
Elaine Low lays out the good, bad and inconclusive of the WGA’s four-year collective bargaining agreement — and why Arrowverse creator Marc Guggenheim and more are questioning it.
With two of TV’s top markets now shuttered, Manori Ravindran surveys the wreckage, the rival cashing in and where IRL buyers and producers are heading next.
Live Nation: A Warning to Hollywood
↑ Last week, a jury found that Live Nation, owner of Ticketmaster, operates a monopoly. Glenn Peoples and Robert Levine lay out why Hollywood — where studios control both content and distribution and just keep raising prices — should take careful note.
Prestige Junkie
↑ Katey Rich chats with The Pitt star Sepideh Moafi about her character’s twisty end-of-season fate, and asks Jean Smart about the end of her legendary Hacks run. Plus, The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins’ Erika Alexander on returning to her sitcom roots:
The Wakeup
Friday → ☀️Ellison’s PAR 🎥 Pitch In Vegas, DIS ‘Star Wars’ / ‘Avengers’ Pitch
Thursday → ☀️ UNI Drops ‘Odyssey’ Hammer, AMAZON Brings Tonnage To Vegas
Wednesday → ☀️ WB AT CINEMACON: Reading the Tea Leaves Into 2027/28
Tuesday → ☀️SONY’s Rothman Blasts ‘Ad Crack,’ Bets on Zuck, Spidey, Jumanji
Sunday → ☀️ ‘Mario’ Weaker In Wknd 2, ‘Tuscany’ Comes Up Short
Podcasts
Ankler Agenda
Elaine, Sean and Natalie on the biggest takeaways from CinemaCon. Plus, the trio is joined by John August to go inside the guild’s surprisingly swift deal with the studios:
Shows
Rushfield Lunch
In the midst of his jam-packed presentation, Warner Bros. president of global distribution Jeff Goldstein tells Richard about the state of distro, landing that Tom Cruise film and what he thinks about the upcoming potential merger with Paramount:
CinemaCon Postgame
After the dust settled, Richard, Sean and Matthew convened to break down the winners and losers:
The Optionist by Andy Lewis
↑ IP Picks🔎: Weed Growers’ ‘Yellowstone’ & Victorian ‘Ocean’s 8’
