☀️PAR CEOs: More Cuts, New Vision as Ellison Looms
NETFLIX '23 sports doc streaming chart / Ad Biz ranks streamers / Streaming service price hike day
Mornin! This is Sean McNulty (connect with me on LinkedIn here if ya like), and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on TUESDAY, June 4, 2024.
Where it’s funny — I didn’t see “Price Hike Day” on my calendar this morning . . . but clearly the streaming business did, indicating another impeccable read of the pulse of the American consumer through a lens of impeccable, well, greed 🤑.
So, welcome to $17 a month MAX! (or $21 if that’s how you roll on the bougie tier). That’s a $1 price increase for both tiers come your July bill (it's now in effect for new subs who sign up in June).
Annual MAX ad-free is also now +$20 to $170 a year, but uh . . . hey, the MAX ad tier is staying at $10 a month.
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!: SPOTIFY is raising prices again. It’s the second price hike in a year — who do they think they are, DISNEY?
Come July, SPOTIFY will now cost $12 a month (+$1), the “Duo”/2 account plan is $17 (+$2) and the family plan is $20 a month (+$3). So, now who looks smarter for continuing to just buy his music on iTunes? #thisguy🙋♂️
FROM SPOTIFY: “We are updating our Premium prices so that we can keep innovating in changing market conditions. These updates will help us continue delivering value to fans.”
So cute how they call their shareholders “fans.”
SPOT stock was +5% yesterday on the news.
AND — MORE ADS!: INSTA is testing unskippable ads in your feed, in yet the next chapter of your carefree, ad-free days of the 2010s simply being a brief sojourn from the decades-long advertiser-driven media society we all live in.
SURE WHY NOT: Porn is now officially allowed on X — aha! Now watch those ad dollars really start to pour in . . . 🤑.
Adult content was never banned, and there are plenty of active users posting videos in porn-centric communities on the platform — Elon’s just made it all street legal according to platform guidelines (as long as it’s labeled as such/NSFW).
AND: Just a small follow up re: that gif of Caitlin Clark getting knocked down by Chennedy Carter in Sunday’s game — the foul was upgraded to a Flagrant-1 foul by the WNBA. No fines were issued, except for Carter’s CHICAGO SKY teammate (and Clark’s NCAA foe), Amber Reese, who was fined for subsequently bailing on the post-game press conference.
OH: Shari Redstone/NATIONAL AMUSEMENTS is asking for SKYDANCE (aka Larry Ellison) to pick up her legal tab if shareholders sue over the ‘getting shorted on stock valuations’ thing as part of the deal she cut. Somehow, it’s currently a sticking point in final deal negotiations.
Today I break down the latest from the PAR annual meeting notes this morning (more spending
cutssavings anyone? And cancel your summer vacation plans, licensing group).I also break down the shift that’s taken place with this new SKYDANCE deal offer — this isn’t just a tweak or “revision” to note.
A THANK YOU: To HBO for the invite to check out the GOT: HOTD season 2 premiere in NYC last night. Great to see the show on a big screen, and also catch up with a bunch of my former HBO coworkers, who knew me when my gif game was in its formative years.
HANG WITH THE ANKLER!: Come join for a new event gathering together a wide variety of folks from the documentary community this Sunday at the NeueHouse Hollywood. Click on the image to RSVP.
THE THORNTON MELLON AWARD: Finally, a big ⛳️👏 goes out to uh . . . this guy 👇, aka Paul Emerson, who was attending the PGA’s Canadian Open in the crowd this weekend . . . and ended up filling in as golfer C.T. Pan’s caddie when he suffered an injury.
📽 THE SILVER SCREEN
