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.

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