☀️ PEACOCK’s Huge Price Hike — What the 💰 Math Tells Us
NETFLIX on Sports, AI, Ads and more / UA revives ‘Basic Instinct’ / CBS Cancels ‘Late Show’
Mornin! This is Sean McNulty (connect with me on LINKEDIN here if ya like or email me at seanmcnultynyc@gmail.com), and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on Friday, July 18, 2025.
Where when we hear broad talk that knowing how to use AI effectively will help those in the next generation get good jobs . . . I’ve always found that to be very broad and perhaps even wistful talk, and without specifics on the whole (admittedly, this is all very new and no one really knows yet).
However — with OPENAI releasing new features for CHATGPT users that allow you to create and edit spreadsheets and presentations quickly and do tasks involving web browsers (i.e. internet research) . . . essentially taking on GOOGLE and MICROSOFT’s tools (Sheets, Powerpoint etc.) where ya gotta do all that work uh, yourself — I could see how knowing how to use these AI tools to create reports, research and documents much faster would put a college grad closer to the top of the hiring list for an entry level white collar job.
Or, of course, I’m sure the old-fashioned way of your dad knowing someone will still work, too.
YAH: The House passed the Senate’s gutting of already-approved PBS and NPR funding last night (as well as foreign aid and health program funding) in a 216-213 vote.
SO: No Caitlin Clark for WNBA All-Star weekend due to the groin injury she suffered earlier this week. 😬
ALSO: The newly reconstituted HFPA elected Scott Orlin as its new prez.
HUH: If you enjoyed hearing any of the MLB players who were mic’d up during the All-Star game this week, they each got $15k for doing so.
HMM: I’m a little concerned the ☀️ emoji didn’t make Emojipedia’s list of the Top 10 most-used emojis in the U.S., nor did 🙄 so clearly this newsletter is not being tracked, which is so 🙄.
AND: Next season of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will be its last, and the last for 11:35 p.m. late-night TV on CBS. Let the behind-the-scenes whispers percolate.
Below is Colbert himself on the situation, with a 2-minute intro to last night’s show, addressing the cancellation that he was informed of Wednesday night by CBS execs.
No word of the new plan for 11:35 p.m., but I’m sure new management will address it . . . whenever they get the keys.
Colbert’s current contract also ends in 2026, which, by a few estimates out there on the interwebs, paid around $15M a year — so the financial reasons given by CBS are not unfounded, and to answer your next question . . . Jon Stewart’s current contract runs through the end of this year.
THEN: The pre-sale of IMAX tickets for Nolan’s The Odyssey in 26 theaters is sold out in several locations for its opening weekend, one year from now.
PLUS: Your fall ABC premiere dates are here.
REST IN PEACE: Goes out legendary industry lawyer Skip Brittenham, who died yesterday at the age of 83 after a long illness.
WAKEUP BOX OFFICE POLL
Gotta say, I was very tempted to go with the I Know What You Did Last Summer bears . . . but gonna go with the kids having some interest here in mom and dad’s nostalgia (even though they may not know this is actually a franchise extension).
IN THIS EDITION
All the #funfacts to know from inside NETFLIX’s numbers, and reading the tea leaves from the earnings call comments.
Movies are getting a new U.S. distributor from a major independent film backer.
How the NETFLIX comedy specials ranked in popularity and vs. the 2024 specials.
MATTEL and ILLUMINATION team up, SPC adds to the fall lineup, a top BROADWAY VIDEO exec sets up a new outfit and more.
🎥 THE SILVER SCREEN
