☀️NETFLIX adds the NFL to its budding Sports series partnership roster
CHINA Covid hurts IMAX, but bullish on 2023 / WGA & Studios 6-week deal clock / ALTICE cord cutting continues
Mornin! This is Sean McNulty (connect with me on LinkedIn here if ya like), and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on THURSDAY February 23, 2023.
Where SPOTIFY is adding an AI “DJ” option who will segue between music it selects based on your playlists & preferences, by seemingly ad-libbing fun facts about artists (and perhaps concert announcements where you could buy tickets via SPOTIFY?)… and 🤞 for the occasional prank call bit.
Although I just hope DJ AI speaks to me in English, as SPOTIFY advertising still thinks I’m a native Spanish speaker for about 25% of the Ads they serve me.
Bonus points if it can do it in the style of Molly Shannon from the SNL NPR sketches 👏. (Details on how to bring DJ AI to life is in the link).
AND: The WGA & The AMPTP (‘the Studios’) have set a Monday March 20 start date for negotiations… giving about a 40-day clock before a potential strike date.
ALSO: Nipsey Hussle’s killer got 60 years to life yesterday.
PLUS: SZA is dropping a new version of her hit album SOS with 10 new “bonus songs”. That headline again, SZA is dropping a new album.
OH: If you walked out of the theater after Everything Everywhere saying “Ah is there any way I could get that Auditor of the Year butt plug award for my mantle??” - Good news!
A24 and The Daniels are auctioning off the props and wardrobe items from the film (yes including the Hot Dog Hands) starting today at 9a PST, to support 3 non-profit organizations. Go to A24auctions.com to get in on the action.
Yesterday’s Wakeup META POLL:
95% of you joined me in not paying META about $150 a year to be ‘Verified’.
88% of you took the “under” on whether META Verified will hit 12 Million paying subs by end of 2023, something I also seconded on CNBC. Though I think they may get close if they can match SNAP’s % of user base who pays for SNAP+ (granted… at 1/3 the price of META Verified.
IN TODAY’S EDITION:
IMAX indicates it’ll be back to pre-pandemic 💰 business in 2023.
Sunday’s TV Premieres, XFL & NBA All-Star audience significantly underwhelm.
ALTICE has a down quarter across the board, including ongoing cord-cutting bundle losses… as they continue to bank on Fiber cables to be their growth engine in the later part of the 2020s. A look at the Q4 numbers.
NPR enacts layoffs as Sponsor money dries up.
NETFLIX sets NFL docuseries deal as their PGA Series charts in its debut week. Will an NFL series fly globally?
NETFLIX has also been reducing price in many territories according to a WSJ report.
Busy day in the Trailer House including a couple of great new spots from A24 and HULU, and more.
📽 THE SILVER SCREEN
