☀️Lionsgate & AMC Show Squeeze is on for Mid-Sized Hollywood
APPLE & A24 re-team Denzel + Spike / DIS 💰 lowers EPIC GAMES valuation / NETFLIX gets Cillian Murphy pic
Mornin’! This is Sean McNulty (connect here on LINKED-IN if ya like) and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on FRIDAY Feb. 9, 2023.
Where ya gotta admire Zaz going all out to push the product! Nicely done getting the boss on the air in the KNICKS game last night, TNT broadcast team 👏 (and how about that clarity on the B/R Sports tier stream?).
YEAH: This isn’t creepy at all… NINERS head coach Kyle Shanahan has cameras and mics in every room throughout the NINERS facility, and can listen to anything at any time — plus he keeps live Zooms open so he can just speak into any room, anytime from his office 😬. So — studio legal departments, just a heads up on the incoming ‘exploratory’ calls from every studio head on this.
PLUS: The SEC collegiate athletic conference made $853 Million in its FY23, predominantly football TV rights money (and does not include additional payments for major bowl appearances), which is about to take a huge jump in FY24 with the start of its new ESPN deal.
Each SEC school received a $51 Million cut, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey got $3.6 Million, and each athlete got… a sincere thanks from management.
AND: Colin Jost will be your White House Correspondents Dinner emcee on Sat. April 27.
THEN: Two more women who dated Jonathan Majors, including a former fianceé have come forward with claims of physical and emotional abuse, according to the NY Times.
ALSO: The Oscars are adding an category for casting directors, starting in 2025 (so the 2026 show), its first new award since 2001 (Animated Feature), and ups the award count to 24.
So, 2026 AMPAS board — good luck determining if you’re gonna add it to the ABC show or not, and the 35 pieces that come out before and after that decision both deriding and applauding the decision..
OH: IOWA’s Caitlin Clark could break the all-time NCAA Women’s 🏀 scoring record this Sunday against NEBRASKA… so have a little NFL pre-game with an actual game at 1 p.m. ET on FOX.
WAKEUP FRIDAY POLL
Ok, straight up — who wins the Super Bowl on Sunday?
BTW: Bonuses for the commercial reps at the agencies! The WSJ has a good roundup of the celebrity infiltration of Super Bowl ad time here, and that it’s likely only getting worse on Sunday than this chart of previous years — gotta make up that strike-induced revenue loss somehow ya’ll!
IN THIS EDITION
LGF (with soon to be separated STARZ) and AMC report Q4 numbers that send both stocks down significantly — take a look at what’s happening in 2 small to mid-sized, U.S.-centric Hollywood businesses that were built for TV-bundle life, when that bundle’s melt has heated up considerably. Lean is the new growth.
DISNEY’s stake size in EPIC doesn’t bode well for the gaming company’s valuation.
The PGA sets player paycheck payouts from their new multi-billion outside investment.
The latest in casting and deal news at APPLE, CBS, NETFLIX, DISNEY, HULU, AMAZON and some exec moves in marketing and PR, plus a look at the new things to watch and stream this weekend as always.
NEW ANKLER PODCAST EPISODE
🎥 THE SILVER SCREEN
