☀️ JLo's Streaming star is minted at NETFLIX, as ABC goes script-less this Fall
SONY PICS shuffles Summer 2023 lineup / Brian Roberts hints at HULU deal, Broadband growth / WWE-UFC gets a name
Mornin! This is Sean McNulty (connect with me on LinkedIn here if ya like), and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on WEDNESDAY May 17, 2023.
Where I felt a little in adequate at the ESPN DISNEY Upfronts yesterday as I’m not about to, or have not recently had a baby (seriously, 4 different presentations involved folks who were pregnant or just had a baby).
But thanks to DISNEY for inviting me to my first Upfront yesterday - I think I fit in well no?
CMA AWARDS: Peyton Manning and Luke Bryan will host the CMA Awards in November.
SAG AWARDS: Will be live-streamed on NETFLIX on Sat Feb 24, the day before the INDEPENDENT SPIRIT Awards, and 2 weeks before the OSCARS.
AS EXPECTED: That “28 year-old laser entrepreneur buys Forbes” story from earlier this week isn’t exactly as it seems - Sara Fischer at Axios did a great job 👏 breaking down the numbers here, and showing how it’s really just a front for some foreign players to buy it and avoid attention.
The laser guy is only putting in $10 Million of his own money into the $656 Million deal.
UPFRONTS: WBD in the AM at Hulu Theater, NETFLIX from home at 5p (what should I make for Ted? 😬), and YOUTUBE at Lincoln Center at 7p
ALSO: Today at the MOFFETT NATHANSON Conference:
10a Christine McCarthy, DISNEY - listen here
11a Lachlan Murdoch, FOX - listen here
2p Perry Sook, NEXSTAR - listen here
3p Dennis Matthew, ALTICE - listen here
IN TODAY’S EDITION:
DISNEY pretty much gives ABC the same treatment Jimmy Kimmel gives Matt Damon at the end of each show at the Upfronts yesterday, as ESPN/Sports & ABC News take center stage… with HULU/FX, MARVEL and STAR WARS taking the scripted spotlight. A look at the script-less Fall ABC Broadcast sched.
JLo is NETFLIX’s new movie star, as GenX actors from the late 2000s Theatrical marquee increasingly top the Streaming Movie marquee in the 2020s. A look inside the latest NETFLIX data.
SONY makes adjustments to their Summer Theatrical release schedule.
COMCAST CEO Brian Roberts confirms Iger’s sentiment that HULU will likely stay at DISNEY, shares what he sees as the key to turning the Broadband business back to growth.
Brian also used a very troublesome word for Studios to describe how the leader of the country’s #1 Cable TV bundle provider views the business upon which Studios rely for large chunks of their Revenue.
Corrections: The BILLS play the LA CHARGERS not the RAMS on the Dec 23 PEACOCK-exclusive game, thanks to the reader who sent along the clarification!
Also CAA’s Prez is Jim Burtson (not Burton), my apologies for the error (he’ll be at MOFFETT NATHANSON tomorrow).
🪧 STRIKE UPDATES
The TONYS will be on CBS… but unscripted (🤷♂️) with Ariana DeBose still hosting, but - I guess just wingin’ it? Eh I’d totally watch that. So more details again TBA. /THR
Daytime EMMYS are postponed from June 16 to… TBA. /THR
The WGA is putting their total rate-increase ask from the 8 primary AMPTP members combined at $343 Million a year. Or basically the fees for 3 WILDCARD NFL game Streaming rights.
Note: This is all WGA-computed math, and supposedly incorporates all of their asks… without breaking it down as to how much each element of their proposals would cost the AMPTP members..
The WGA asks also includes the minimum writing staff quota thing, which raises a lot of questions in my mind personally about how one puts a figure on that… so take it as you will.
📽 THE SILVER SCREEN
