☀️ ROKU Losses Continue, As Key Ad Market Shifts Begin
Cast shifts at HBO, CBS / 'Sinners' gets more IMAX / FUBO's unfavorable forecast
Mornin! This is Sean McNulty (connect here on LINKEDIN if ya like or email me seanmcnultynyc@gmail.com) and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on FRIDAY, May 2, 2025.
Where de minimis tax exemption, it’s been real. Yes, all goods from China under $800 in value will now be subject to large tariffs as of today thanks to Trump’s policy changes (can’t wait to see how he puts it on Biden once folks start complaining later this month) . . . so I hope you got all of your TIKTOK buying done, America!
Always nice when the summer movie season and U.S. economic pain at retail begin on the same day.
AND: A 25-year-old named Ryan Kramer from Santa Clarita was charged and pled guilty to 2 felony counts in the 1TB DISNEY hack last summer, including SLACK convos. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 5 years in federal prison.
SORRY: Grand Theft Auto fans — gonna have to wait another 6 months or so for part 6. It was scheduled to be released by ROCKSTAR at the end of the year — but now has a Memorial Day weekend 2026 release date (May 26, 2026).
PLUS: The U.S. added 177k jobs in April, above the 135k number that was projected (can’t these people get anything right? 🙄), with the unemployment rate staying at 4.2%. So yeah — not sure that Q2 interest rate cut is coming, fellas.
THEN: Trump signed a new EO (as I’m pretty sure he does every day given his total so far) pulling federal funding for PBS and NPR as part of his proposed budget.
About 16% of PBS’s budget comes from federal funding, but NPR is only at about 1%.
AH: Ireland fined TIKTOK $600M for not guaranteeing that user data sent to China was protected from government surveillance. Eh, ya know . . . I’m sure it’s fine. 😉
2024 PAYDAYS🤑:
AMC NETWORKS CEO Kristin Dolan: $8.7M (down from $14.6M in ’23, mostly due to a decrease in stock grants)
Entertainment Prez Dan McDermott: $4.1M (up from $3.9M)
CFO Patrick O’Connell: $3.3M (up from $2.2M)
AMC NETWORKS stock was roughly -50% in 2024.
ROKU CEO Anthony Wood: $27.7M (up from $20.2M)
CFO Dan Jedda: $3.3M (down heavily from $18M in ’23 due to stock grants when he joined the company that year that vest over 4 years)
ROKU stock was roughly -18% in 2024.
AMC THEATRES CEO Adam Aron: $11.3M (down from $25.3M in ’23, and $23.7M in ’22)
CFO Sean Goodman: $4.8M (down from $6.8M)
AMC stock was roughly -33% in 2024.
Congrats everyone for well-deserved comp for delivering such great ROI value to your shareholders in 2024!
BUT: At least none of those CEOs were directing millions of dollars of company business to someone he has been in a romantic relationship with, just 4 months into joining the company as CEO. Have fun with that new CEO search, KOHL’S board.
ALTHOUGH: Share grants are only worth something if you sell ’em — and Bezos is about to sell a bunch of AMAZON in case you’re in the market! The company disclosed that Jeff is planning to sell up to $5B worth of AMZN shares. Miami real estate, amirite?
WAKEUP POLL
I’ve cast my lot in with the $75M to $80M crowd on Thunderbolts* this weekend.
NEW ANKLER PODCAST EPISODE
FINALLY:
The Ankler’s Janice Min and Katey Rich are doing some events with NETFLIX talent as part of its FYSEE: LA showcase later this month. You can RSVP here!
IN THIS EDITION
ROKU echoed ad buying shift sentiments voiced by SPOTIFY and NETFLIX to an extent already this earnings season — not necessarily in terms of revenue, but in how the ad buying marketplace operates.
Shifts that could have significant ramifications for Hollywood and the creative community, continuing trends that anecdotally we’ve already started to hear, post-strikes.
So, let’s take a dive into what’s afoot, and why this year’s Upfronts activity will require an particularly close look.
🎥 THE SILVER SCREEN
