☀️ DISNEY launches new HULU Movie & Series distro experiments
SEARCHLIGHT sets Kate McKinnon for drama / OSCARS see big uptick in piracy / Matt & Ben set 3rd ARTISTS EQUITY pic
Mornin! This is Sean McNulty (connect with me on LinkedIn here if ya like), and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on TUESDAY March 21, 2023.
Where the Women’s MARCH MADNESS tournament is having just as fun and chaotic of a year as the Men’s tourney… as #9 seed MIAMI beat #1 seed INDIANA last night, which makes the first Women’s tourney since 2009 where a #1 seed failed to make the Sweet Sixteen since 2009 (actually two #1 seeds have already been knocked out this year in both the Men’s and Women’s tournaments).
It also means MIAMI knocked out INDIANA in both the men’s and women’s tournament this year.
I’ve not been able to find anything on the TV audience #s for the Women’s tourney opening weekend on ESPN & ABC… so if any readers at those companies have data to share - please be in touch! (seanmcnultynyc@gmail.com or on LinkedIn here).
PLUS: While Ted Lasso may take a larger share of the TV viewing conversation as the Spring goes on here… according to The Athletic - perhaps not so much in the UK (which - if you think about how a show about a UK soccer coach coming to the US to lead an NFL team would be received here… yeah that kinda tracks).
ALTHOUGH: It also may be partly due to distribution. According to the UK’s TV data source BARB (kinda the NIELSEN of the UK. ish.), APPLE TV+ only has 1.7 Million subscribers there, vs. over 17 Million for NETFLIX, and over 13 Million for AMAZON PRIME VIDEO in the UK.
AND: NETFLIX, DISNEY+ and AMAZON top all UK Streaming viewing by far as of December 2022 (and in that order, with NETFLIX having a huge lead over the other 2).
BUT IN THE US: According to SAMBA TV numbers, viewing of the first Ted Lasso Season 3 episode in its first 4 days in the US is +59% vs. the first ep for Season 2, at 870k (note: SAMBA doesn’t track mobile viewing).
IN TODAY’S EDITION:
DISNEY sets a couple of tests late Spring/early Summer to see how HULU content does on other platforms in the DISNEY universe.
Matt & Ben’s ARTISTS EQUITY sets their 3rd pic, now shooting.
The OSCARS gave a huge boost to Everything Everywhere… in pirated streams, plus the show itself got quite a boost in black market viewing.
A longtime top MARVEL exec suddenly departs.
NETFLIX keeps pouring the gas on their video game division growth as AMAZON keeps laying off people, and more.
OH: And sports-focused virtual Cable TV bundle FUBO TV will now just be FUBO. It’s cleaner. Although it still lost $152 Million in Q4 on 1.4 Million paying subs.
📽 THE SILVER SCREEN
