ICYMI: MSNBC Mayhem, Globes Bombshell, NBCU TV Wish List
Plus: Erik Barmack on the AI robots coming to replace crews
Consider us chuffed to bits! Our first international event, The Ankler x Pure Nonfiction Documentary Spotlight with Thom Powers, made a splash in London on Nov. 22. My colleague Manori Ravindran, our London-based correspondent covering international TV for Series Business (for paid subscribers), messaged me immediately after to rave about the cream of the British doc community who came to our packed screening room at the Soho Hotel to hear from the directors of six documentary awards contenders and legend Brian Eno, socialize — and say hello to doc god Powers. Faces in the crowd included Netflix U.K. feature docs boss Kate Townsend, Your Fat Friend helmer Jeanie Finlay, and documentary branch members from Copenhagen, Berlin and Scotland. We look forward to sharing the great conversations on our event hub AnklerEnjoy in a couple of weeks.
Now, with no further ado, ICYMI:
MSNBC Mess: A Brutal Next Chapter
In Lachlan Cartwright’s latest bombshell feature from a TV news world in crisis (he earlier reported on CNN’s woes), he delivers the scoops on Rachel Maddow’s new pay-slashed contract and on-air role as “ratings Viagra”; the lineup changes that will see familiar faces come and go; the new host of the Morning Joe lead-in; the fallout from Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski’s Mar-a-Lago trip; and how Mark Lazarus, CEO of the new “SpinCo,” is spinning its strategy:
Series Business: NBCU’s TV Shopping List
In Elaine Low’s latest Fall Market Guide (for paid subscribers only), she reveals the two kinds of one-hour dramas Peacock wants now; the one specific demographic Peacock is courting; how pitching works at NBCU given its multiple distribution channels; what kind of programming NBC wants to complement its sports portfolio and the new per-episode budgets of average NBC and Peacock series:
Int’l TV’s ‘Buy, Sell or Die’ M&A Outlook
As Comcast launches the first chess move with its spinoff of its cable assets, European TV is bracing for its own inevitable M&A. Manori Ravindran breaks down whether U.S. studios will buy European TV producers; why Jeff Zucker may be the most important buyer for producers to court; and why independent TV producers may want to pivot to YouTube before it’s too late:
Rushfield’s Globes Bombshell: Attorney General is Involved
Two weeks ago, Richard Rushfield broke the news that the California Attorney General’s office had been asked by Hollywood Foreign Press Association members to reconsider Todd Boehly’s Golden Globes deal. Now he’s confirmed that AG Rob Bonta has begun to reevaluate the deal and shares the HFPA members’ detailed allegations. Plus, Richard revealed yet another Golden Globes shindig in an authoritarian locale that Jay Penske’s trades curiously decided not to cover:
Hit TV and Who the American Viewer Actually Is
In the wake of a presidential election that upended demographic assumptions, we continued re-sharing our Opportunity Audiences series and Entertainment Strategy Guy’s deep dive into the American Viewer:
Reel AI: The Wild Robots Who Could Replace Film Crews
While most of Hollywood fears AI coming for intellectual work, AI-powered robotics are advancing rapidly enough to lead Reel AI’s Erik Barmack to consider (for paid subscribers only) whether robots will replace the blue-collar workers of Hollywood, too. He shares which owner of a Hollywood studio and streamer has invested heavily in the tech; how crew robots could change production costs; and the impact they’ll have on IATSE members:
Prestige Junkie: Jesse Eisenberg and Sean Baker
Katey Rich goes deep this week with A Real Pain writer-director-star Jesse Eisenberg and Anora director Sean Baker and his production team about the making of the current best picture favorite. Plus: She has all the intel from inside the Governors Awards and around L.A. on the state of the Oscars race:
THE WAKEUP
When big news breaks like Comcast spinning off most of its cable assets and promoting Donna Langley, you need to be reading Sean McNulty to understand what it means for you and the business:
🎧 PODCASTS
THE ANKLER
MSNBC Bets on its 'Ratings Viagra' Inside the liberal net's survival plan for a Trumpian, post-spinoff world. Plus: Our exclusive on the fight for the future of the Golden Globes:
👓 THE OPTIONIST
FINAL HOUSEKEEPING!
As an Ankler subscriber, you are automatically subscribed to all of our newsletters and podcasts by default. Not interested in all of them? Customize which ones would like to receive notifications for. It’s easy to do so.
Log into your Substack account, select "Settings" from the drop-down menu.
Under Subscriptions, click on The Ankler to review the sections you'd like to subscribe to/unsubscribe from.
On the next page, click on the toggles next to each newsletter and podcast you want to receive emails for. A gray toggle indicates notifications are off; orange or green means on.
Alternatively, when you get an email newsletter, select "Unsubscribe" in the footer of the email and click on "Turn off emails" next to each section you'd like to unsubscribe from.
