☀️ APPLE TV+ Gets Into David O. Russell Business
NETFLIX adds World Cup to sports boom / SOHO HOUSE gets buyout offer / NBA Cup ratings plummet
Mornin! This is Sean McNulty (connect here on LINKED-IN if ya like or email me seanmcnultynyc@gmail.com) and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on FRIDAY, December 20, 2024.
Where it’s good news all around for the Hollywood social set this morning!
First off, who says L.A. power-lunching has taken a hit? DARDEN RESTAURANTS is now the best performer on the S&P thanks to the Q4 performance at OLIVE GARDEN and LONGHORN STEAKHOUSE locations — nice work talent agencies! #WhatAmericaEats
But in a more realistic portrayal of time usage for the readership of this newsletter — SOHO HOUSE got a buyout bid led by Hollywood’s favorite billionaire Ron Burkle and his YUCAIPA COMPANIES at an . . . 83% premium over its current stock price (uh, just how far behind is Ron on his membership dues? 😳).
ALSO: Add yet one more sports doc project at NETFLIX to the list this week — as it announced a John Elway doc is coming from SKYDANCE SPORTS, which is also doing the NETFLIX Rafa Nadal docuseries. SKYDANCE also just did whatever you want to call that Aaron Rodgers NETFLIX project. OMAHA and NFL FILMS are also producing the Elway doc.
BREAKING: NETFLIX also just picked up the U.S. rights to the women’s World Cup for 2027 and 2031 (more on this below in the SPORTS MEDIA section) — something I had mentioned as a distinct possibility / definite opportunity for the company just yesterday.
So along those lines — I also predict that NETFLIX will be sending me a check for $100,000 next week with “Thanks for almost ruining the soccer thing — Merry 🤬 Christmas” in the notes section. I’ll keep you posted.
THEN: Colleges are the new newspapers for rich folk — first Larry Ellison’s wife took an active role in UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN football recruiting (with Larry Ellison’s money). Now seemingly on the West Coast — NIKE founder Phil Knight is bankrolling a lot of the current “boosterism 🤑” at the UNIVERSITY OF OREGON. But hey, when you’ve already given $2B to the school over 4 decades — what’s a few extra bucks?
AND 👂: Just a note for any folks who either have hearing aids or live with folks who do — AMAZON introduced a “Dual Audio” function in a new line of FIRE TV’s that allows you to “split the audio feed,” so to speak, so that a signal is sent to the hearing aid as well as through the television speakers for everyone else.
PLUS: Enjoy your CFP vs. NFL showdown tomorrow all day long. Given that the first 2 CFP games are on TNT (and MAX) — think the NFL should do okay with its 2 games airing against them on broadcast TV.
OR: You can of course stream some Beast Games competition from the Nevada desert on AMAZON, who gave some nice promo time in the TNF game last night, including a live remote shot with the man himself (captured in Mr. Beast’s IG stories here).
WELL: Some people say that private equity folks don’t have a sense of humor . . . and BLACKSTONE’s holiday video this year certainly backs up that assessment. Somehow there were no jokes about employing minors at slaughterhouses it controls or coming in last on a private equity labor standards scorecard — but this is certainly being shared around Wall Street today.
WAKEUP BOX OFFICE POLL RESULTS
Lotta Sonic bulls out there — I’ll join the fun with the 53% crowd, especially as I predicted this would be the #3 movie at the box office this holiday season behind Moana and Wicked.
NEW ANKLER PODCAST EPISODE
Dive into two parts of the week that was in the industry:
Lachlan Cartwright joins to dive into the background to his big scoops this week in the news media business at ABC NEWS, MSNBC and more (plus of course the media holiday party circuit).
Nicole LaPorte joins to talk about what’s driving the boom in the feature spec market we’ve been seeing (and you’ve been reading about here in The Wakeup) for the past 3-4 months.
📺 THE SILVER SCREEN
