☀️ Biggest 2026 Streaming Movies Outside NETFLIX

Mornin! This is Sean McNulty (connect with me on LINKEDIN here if ya like or email me at seanmcnultynyc@gmail.com), and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on Friday, August 14, 2026.

Where it’s time to pull the Gen X 🙄 card on a Friday morning — Gen Z, we need to talk.

The UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN’s College of Literature, Science and the Arts is shifting all first-semester classes to pass/fail for all incoming freshmen this year, and the classes will not figure into your GPA over your relaxing stay at the university.

Yes, no more grades for Dylan and Emma as they “Go Blue!” in Ann Arbor this fall in that liberal arts-focused college at the uni, with the goal of creating more time for partying helping the frosh “start strong and curb the mental health crisis unfolding among college-aged individuals,” according to the college university. Plus it’s a great source of material for your friends in the business school to dunk on you about.

So, yes, let’s save that feeling of increased stress for when they try and find a job 4 years later, only now with less life experience in how to handle it. Good call.

I mean, mom & dad — you wanted grades to come with the $85k tab you’re paying out-of-state for your kid attending the school? That’ll cost extra.

Either way, it looks like yet another hit against the AI bot business!

I❤️NYC: For my city folks, CBS Sunday Morning and the 92Y are launching a series of interview events, starting with Sylvester Stallone on stage with Tracy Smith on Sept. 28. Tix on sale here.

YES: With another $21.6M stock sale this week, Zaz has now cashed out $195M of WBD stock since March at its PSKY deal-inflated price of roughly $27 a share (give or take), although that’s below the $31 a share price that PSKY is paying shareholders if/when the deal closes . . . so Zaz is seemingly / curiously leaving some money on the table. Can’t wait to see what NBA team he buys!

WELL: We can now remove “beverages” from Alex Cooper’s UNWELL remit — the company is shutting down its UNWELL line of beverages launched last year in partnership with NESTLÉ, as creator “revenue diversification” always has its challenges.

PLUS: ABC and NBC will air 11 more NBA games this season vs. last (+14% YoY) to hit 90 games total.

YEAH: Just some perspective on the LAKERS sale this week — there are only 6 sports franchises outside of the NFL that are worth more than the least-valuable NFL team (the BENGALS at $7.4B) according to Sportico: LAKERS, KNICKS, WARRIORS, DODGERS, YANKEES and REAL MADRID.

• The average NFL team is worth $9.34B — yes, that includes the JETS, why do you ask? Actually, they’re the 5th most valuable NFL franchise, according to Sportico. 😂

ALSO: The discovery phase of the WARNAMOUNT trial will be from Aug. 17 through Jan. 8.

• PSKY also sent a note out to employees to cool it on the CLAUDE AI #tokenmaxxing and, uh, be a bit more judicious with AI bot use.

THEN: NETFLIX has closed 2 more of its gaming studios: L.A.’s NIGHT SCHOOL, acquired in 2021, and Helsinki’s MOON LOOT, launched in 2022.

SO: California actually signed off on one big merger this week — CHARTER & COX is now street legal in the eyes of the state, so the deal should close this month.

BUT: Washington is the latest state to put at least a temporary kibosh on KALSHI operating (most of) its markets because it isn’t licensed for sports betting in the state, joining Nevada, Minnesota and New York in efforts to restrict the app.

• JP MORGAN CHASE also told POLYMARKET to find a new banker.

OH: Enjoy gas prices still being over $4 at this point in summer for the first time . . . ever.

• WELL: At least Trump’s Iran war and tariff policies (and subsequent court defeats) haven’t also put the U.S. federal government deficit for FY26 already above the FY25 level . . . with 2 more months to go in FY26. Ah, we can make back $1.8T in no time!

• ALTHOUGH: The U.S. just sold new debt in the form of 30-year bonds at the highest interest rate since, uh, 2001, and 10-year bonds at the highest rates since 2007 (those were followed by good years for the stock market, right?).

AND: This was an intriguing WSJ read about a battlefield simulation held in Germany with American troops fighting against an adversary using Ukrainian drone tactics. It did not go well for the troops.

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🎥 The Silver Screen

Top Non-NETFLIX Movies on Streaming in H1 2026

Yeah, NETFLIX kinda ruined the NIELSEN Top 20 H1 2026 Movies-on-streaming list, since it had 9 of the Top 10 non-kids movies.

So, I thought it would be worthwhile to see what the list looked like if we . . . uh, asked NETFLIX to sit things out.

The results are quite revealing about the power of:

• Streaming scale vs. the power of a theatrical box office hit to drive streaming viewership.
• Having a popular Oscar contender available on streaming during the lead-up to the event.