☀️First-Look Deal Market Keeps Heating Up
AMAZON-NETFLIX face-off in ad pricing war / ATOMIC BLUM strikes again / College sports gets more ridiculous
Mornin! This is Sean McNulty (connect here on LINKED-IN if ya like) and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on FRIDAY, June 14, 2024.
Where belt tightening isn’t just happening in Hollywood, folks — it’s getting real in the financial industry too . . . as WELLS FARGO fired over 12 people in its wealth & investment-management group, accusing them of simulating “keyboard activity creating impression of active work.”
I’m guessing that when the execs discovered the behavior, they felt very much like my sister when she asks me what exactly I do each day, and I tell her it’s mostly looking for gifs.
BUT: ABC is also feeling the pain this month — nothing like having both the NBA Finals and NHL Stanley Cup this month . . . and having both series go 3 games to zero, with all of it perhaps over by tomorrow night (the NBA is up next tonight for game 4 on ABC).
ALTHOUGH: Good news for anyone with ready-to-go programming sitting around! ABC will likely now have quite a few primetime slots to fill next week. 😳
AND: After the numerous stories and chatter about what Utah will call their new NHL team (coming over from the noted ice hockey hub that is Phoenix, AZ), the Utah organization has simply gone with the Utah Hockey Club for this upcoming season . . . punting the mascot / name decision to the 2025-26 season. I mean, you know how long legal can take to get back to you. 🙄
THEN: The latest “No, that’s not a joke” development in “college” sports comes from the Power 5 4 conference the BIG 12, which is in talks with ALLSTATE to insert the company’s name into the name of the conference, for $30M to $50M a year . . . which would be split amongst the BIG 12’s uh, 16 member schools.
Welcome to the (potentially) “ALLSTATE 12 Conference” folks! A conference which may also may soon be owned by private equity to the tune of up to 20%, putting a $5B valuation on the BIG 12. Remember, this is an organization dedicated to “amateur” sports . . . that does not pay its athletes. And it’s nowhere near the top 2 conferences in the Power 4 (SEC and BIG TEN).
This all somehow keeps getting more pathetic.
PLUS: As had been rumored . . . Conor McGregor is out of the UFC 303 event in Vegas on June 29 due to an injury.
THE FUTURE: A new study in May of about 1,000 teachers and K-12 and college students indicated that nearly 50% of them are using CHATGPT at least once a week, with about 12% of teachers and K-12 students using it almost every day. Granted, not a huge study . . . but 😳.
OH GREAT: MICROSOFT said it will now make security #Job1. In 2024. I’m all for making pivots later in life, but this a bit like realizing in your late 40s that you really shoulda changed your shoulder-length haircut in your 30s when your hair started thinning. Okay fine, late 20s 🙋♂️ #BadLook
Then again, when 60,000 State Department emails were stolen in a China-related attack due to flaws in your software, despite a whistleblower’s prior warning about the vulnerability (that you ignored for 💰 reasons), you are where you are.
You know it’s really bad when a U.S. Government committee tells you that your security culture “requires an overhaul.”
MICROSOFT will now tie 1/3 of the bonuses for its 14 “highest-paid” execs 🤑 to their success in improving cybersecurity. Don’t worry, I’m sure the other 2/3 is still tied to #MakeThatMoneyYo.
But don’t worry Hollywood, I’m sure MICROSOFT will really be “on it” with the safety and legality of its AI products.
VOTE EARLY, VOTE OFTEN: Happy Emmy nominee voting season! Thanks to the strikes, the series submission volume for the Drama, Comedy and Limited Series categories fell around 33% this year.
AND: Here are your Tribeca Fest winners.
SPEAKING OF — A THANKS: Really great to see David Chase and (most of) the cast of The Sopranos reunited last night for the 25th anniversary of the debut of the series, for a screening of the upcoming HBO doc Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos as part of the TRIBECA FESTIVAL.
WAKEUP BOX OFFICE POLL RESULTS
Lotta folks thinking this one hits the target — I’m once again gonna put on my optimist hat and go with the $90M+ crowd. See ya Sunday!
NEW ANKLER PODCAST EPISODE!
Wherein Richard and I try to explain to Elaine that time when beverage companies were the equivalent of #BigTech in Hollywood, in the context of the week that was at PARAMOUNT . . . and Elaine gives us the low down from Banff this week, as we compare what execs and attendees were telling her with the deal activity here in Hollywood over the past 2 months or so, and more.
APPLE here 👇, SPOTIFY here, or just search “The Ankler” on your pod listening platform of choice.
IN TODAY’S EDITION
AMAZON’s flip of the PRIME VIDEO ad switch in late January is now hitting NETFLIX’s ad-tier strategy . . . and pricing. Welcome to the real TV business!
The Q2 talent deal flurry continues yet again to finish out the week — clearly this business has returned.
Plenty of new TV and movie project news, casting and cancellations, oh my, and a look at what’s on the docket for weekend viewing, a very busy day in new trailers and more.
