☀️ PAR Cutting '24 TV Spend, Sets Plan for U.S. Streaming Profit
NETFLIX gets new Films head / AMC Theaters still can't find a profit / APPLE TV+ continues Sci-fi bent
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, Feb. 29, 2024.
Where if you thought your company’s T&E and benefits policies have deteriorated — sounds like things aren’t so rosy in the “pinnacle of success” world of the NFL either.
Yes, turns out there are cheapo “efficiency-minded” NFL leaders out there just as there are in Hollywood, as the NFL PLAYERS ASSOCIATION (their union) released its annual player satisfaction survey, and while some teams scored very high (MIAMI 9.9/10!), others . . . not so much.
TAMPA BAY was near the bottom due to the team policy of younger players and non-starters having to share hotel rooms for road games (or cough up $1,750 to the team 😳).
The LA CHARGERS offer child daycare . . . at a location other than where the team practices, and uh, ya gotta pay for it.
And KANSAS CITY of all teams, which has won 3 Super Bowls in 5 years, promised a locker-room renovation after its Super Bowl win last year . . . and only added new chairs. Uh, Swifties, do your thing 💪.
The Athletic has you covered on the full report cards here.
AND: Timberlake has a new song with NSYNC on the new album (arriving March 15).
GREAT: Elon is saying his updated version of the TESLA Roadster coming in late 2025 will be able to go from 0-60 in one second, which should really make streets safer for us all. #Progress!
PLUS: Add ELECTRONIC ARTS to the list of video game companies making austerity cuts in 2024, with 670 folks soon to be out of a job (about 5 percent of the staff). They’re also cutting back on game development efforts. . . so I guess our businesses really have more in common than we thought.
OH: Do not ask Time owner (and SALESFORCE founder) Marc Benioff about all the land he’s been buying in Hawaii under anonymous LLC’s . . . as this NPR reporter discovered 😬.
WELL: So much for everyone prioritizing IRL experiences and travel in our post-pandemic era . . . EXPEDIA is laying off about 1,500 folks due to decreased travel demand.
A REST IN PEACE: Goes out to legendary comedian Richard Lewis, who died at the age of 76 on Tuesday of a heart attack, with some nice tributes here from Larry David, Jamie Lee Curtis and others.
WAKEUP BOX OFFICE POLL
Dune Part 2 is looking at a cool $80M this weekend . . . or $65M if you’re WB . . . or $90M for those feeling lucky. So. A dart board — take your shot.
IN THIS EDITION
PARAMOUNT had a strike-afflicted Q4 with another huge streaming loss, and advertising was as bad as we probably all were thinking… but, it is hitting some important turning points, especially in regards to shift from a linear business to a streaming one, with some promising projections for 2024.
Make no mistake — PAR is making significant spending cuts/pullbacks to get there (and you already know about the layoffs), but taking a look under the numbers hood yields some key findings that indicate where their strategy is paying off, and where it still needs to find some solves.
ALSO:
NETFLIX has a new film head, a busy day in TV projects (both casting and new series announcements), plus what the AMC THEATERS Q4 numbers indicate about the health of the movie business (and where the U.S. screen count is headed), and much more!
💻 THE MEDIA BIZ
#medianerd🤓’s final big one! (for Q1)
PARAMOUNT’s Q4 is uh, not great… but 2024 is showing signs of promise
So, the bigger picture thing here to keep in mind about PAR’s Q4 is that it was arguably the company hit hardest by the strikes from an output POV.