☀️ 2024 Cable TV Bundle Melt Report, As FUBO Stock Plunges
A24 adds new next-gen A-list pic / 'Wheel', 'Jeopardy!' eye streaming / ESPNBET's 🧐 future
Mornin! This is Sean McNulty (connect here on LINKEDIN if ya like or email me seanmcnultynyc@gmail.com) and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on FRIDAY, February 28, 2025.
Where it’s so great to begin our last day of February in a world where both the measles and Jeffrey Epstein conspiracies (or yet again, a lack of) are dominating a news cycle. I’m sure this is definitely what most of America voted for November.
Happy, uh, 5-week mark, everyone!
AND: TARGET is adding WARBY PARKER shops in some locations according to Axios, to go along with those from folks like APPLE, LEVI’S, DISNEY and ULTA BEAUTY. So, TARGET is essentially recreating . . . the mall. Well done, TARGET.
THEN: SONY is looking to bring Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune to streaming, soliciting bids from streamers for up to 3-year deals for next-day rights to episodes according to NYT, with plans to begin with the new seasons in September.
Same-day streaming rights become avail in Sept. 2028, and the two shows produce 425 episodes a year combined.
PLUS: The LA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORP puts the full recovery from the L.A. fires at 2029 in the best-case scenario in a new report, that also puts the property damage at anywhere from $28B to $54B.
BUT: Any folks moving to Texas — the Austin market is timing out in your favor. Rents are -22% vs. 2023 highs, with numerous deals to be had due to a glut in over building and other changes in local housing policies according to Bloomberg.
OH: META is planning to launch a standalone app for its AI bot sometime in Q2 according to CNBC, to compete with the CHATGPTs of the world. It’ll also test a paid version as well.
AND: Gotta love the strong encouragement to GOOGLE’s employees working on AI from cofounder Sergey Brin to be in the office “at least every weekday.” As for your weekends, we all know being with your kids at home is overrated anyway. BTW official GOOGLE policy is 3 days a week in-office.
Sergey also figures that 60 hours a week at the office is “the sweet spot” of work time — back at ya, Sergey! See ya at the GOOGLE barista station at 7 a.m. tomorrow.
And good luck complaining to HR — GOOGLE is now offering buyouts to many employees in the People Operations group.
AH: The FAA is considering the termination of a $2.4B contract it awarded VERIZON a little over a year ago to upgrade the comms platform for air traffic controllers . . . and award it to — uh, Elon’s STARLINK! What are the odds? Probably about the same as Bezos being totally fine with the fact that WaPo is the one that broke the news.
KUDOS: To PGA golfer Jake Knapp, who shot a 59 yesterday in the first round of the Cognizant Classic, becoming only the 15th golfer ever to break 60 at a PGA event (although there was some grumbling that the grass in the rough at the course was not very difficult to manage — you know how golf folk are 😏).
That’s an average of just 3.3 strokes per hole. 🤯 Or, what it typically takes me just to get near the green. Okay fine, to the sand trap that’s near the green.
#FUNFACT: Of the 10 most valuable sports franchises in the world on Sportico’s new Top 100 list — 8 are either in the NY, L.A. or SF areas (the DALLAS COWBOYS and NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS being the outliers).
FINALLY: On a Friday, it’s always nice to shine some light on folks supporting programs to help others in the industry, and NETFLIX had a couple this week.
It’s supporting The Sarah Jones Opportunity, an annual internship and job training program dedicated to the memory of the late camera assistant Sarah Jones that provides a 12-week paid internship/camera training program in Atlanta.
The application process opens here on Monday.
It’s also supporting the INEVITABLE FOUNDATION’s Accelerate Fellowship, which gives $40k grants, industry mentorship opportunities and other benefits for disabled writers and filmmakers.
The application process is now open here.
AND: I’ll add onto that with a #goodread from the NYT about a doctor at STANFORD who received an unlikely cancer diagnosis, and the class he chose to teach while he went through treatment in the fall. Great for some perspective about how we choose to spend our time going into the weekend.
NEW ANKLER PODCAST EPISODE
OSCARS POLL
Now, the most pressing matter (btw, Sunday’s newsletter will be coming after the show. And this dinner):
🎥 THE SILVER SCREEN
