☀️ PAR 💰 Fears Resurface, as Streaming JV Talk Enters Picture
LEGENDARY, Villeneuve set nuclear war pic / Streaming Q1 Ad spend drops / Entertainment jobs take March hit
Mornin! This is Sean McNulty (connect here on LINKED-IN if ya like) and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on FRIDAY, April 5, 2024.
Where who’s ready for Final Four weekend!? 🙋♂️ The women play tonight at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m on ESPN — but um, seriously no simulcast on ABC to broaden the audience?
I mean, I’m sure the 2-hour 20/20 you have on the ABC schedule at 9 p.m. against the IOWA vs. UCONN game is great, but hey . . . if ABC added 33% on top of ESPN’s Monday Night Football numbers YoY in 2023 — imagine the potential! (Note: The Championship game is simulcast on ABC on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m.).
Oh right — the guys are playing too, tomorrow starting at 6 p.m. on TBS.
Although the real winner may be IOWA coach Lisa Bluder, who got a $300k bonus and $150k raise next season (along with a two-year contract extension) for making the Final Four again. #LetItRain🤑
AND: APPLE is not immune to job cuts, announcing that 614 employees across its California offices are about to be laid off. Its Q1 earnings call is in about a month on May 2.
TODAY IN FRESH IDEAS FROM 20 YEARS AGO: First a new Matrix pic at WB, and now AMAZON MGM is developing a Legally Blonde TV series, with HELLO SUNSHINE producing. Elle, you remember Neo of course. Neo, this is Elle.
TODAY IN OUR OVERLORDS IN 10 YEARS (aka AI):
WME set another deal with an AI-tracking company called LOTI, whose software flags unauthorized internet content that includes clients’ likenesses/deepfakes etc.
WME also set a deal with VERMILLIO back in January, whose Trace ID software also tracks unauthorized usage and generative AI videos using anything from a client’s image, voice, text or creative in general.
WME’s Head of Digital Strategies, Chris Jacquemin, is the exec heading up these increased efforts up to protect WME clients.
YOUTUBE head Neal Mohan said that if OPEN AI’s Sora (or any AI for that matter) uses YOUTUBE videos — it’s violating the platform’s terms of service.
Recall, OPENAI’s CTO told the WSJ last month that she has no idea if it is using YOUTUBE as a source to “learn.”
Hey wait — doesn’t YT’s parent company have some AI ambitions 🤷♂️? Mohan said that “some portion of that YouTube corpus maybe being used” to train GOOGLE’s Gemini . . . but that uh, yes of course it’s being done “in concert with whatever the terms of service or the contract that that creator has signed.” Eh, I’m sure this will all work out fine.
AND: Just a rec to check out Peter Kiefer’s new piece on the “E/acc” movement in Silicon Valley that . . . should probably be on your radar, as AI increasingly enters Hollywood’s radar.
AND: Even if AI isn’t taking your job today — it looks like it doesn’t need the help 😬. Included in this morning’s March jobs report, where unemployment actually went down a smidge to 3.8%, and hiring was a pretty robust 303k jobs (so . . . yeah, have fun with that Fed interest rate cut crowd):
Broadcasting and content provider jobs fell by 2,300, to 341,500.
Movies and sound recording jobs fell by 2,600, to 438,400.
BUT: If you’re up for some old fashioned live music 🎤 using real instruments 🎸 and people 🤠 — look no further than CBS! Which let’s face it, will probably be the last bastion of such things in the end.
The CMT Awards are this Sunday night at 8 p.m. with performances from Jelly Roll, Kelsea Ballerini (who’s also hosting), Keith Urban, Lainey Wilson, Old Dominion and many more.
HUH: Rebel Wilson reveals in her new book that she was paid $3,500 for Bridesmaids (and got 6 job offers within 2 weeks of the film’s release).
WAKEUP BOX-OFFICE POLL RESULTS
This is totally just based on a gut feeling, but I’m joining the Monkey Man crowd.
NEW ANKLER PODCAST EPISODE
OH!: Come hang with Tom Hiddleston and The Ankler x Backstage next Friday in LA! I’ll somehow have to get by with just images of those dreamy eyes here in NYC 😢.
AH!: Just one last, frankly blatant plea to take a few seconds to vote for The Ankler with our Webbys nomination in the Email Newsletters category!
AND: Still one more day to vote in the Sweet Sixteen round of The Ankler’s Players Tournament: Iger vs. Langley . . . Reed & Ted vs. Ari . . . Ovitz vs. Lansing and more — so many key matchups!
🎥 THE SILVER SCREEN
