☀️WB Punts 'Horizon 2,' NBA Deals Near Finish Line
SONY sets Zoe Kravitz for new pic / MAX series come to HBO / CAA TV giant exits
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, July 11, 2024.
Where uh, I guess this is one way to express to the press what the PARAMOUNT deal really means?
PLUS: President Biden will hit NBC on Monday night at 9 p.m. for a sit-down with Lester Holt, as his #ImStillWithIt! campaign continues.
THEN: Here are the full tentative IATSE deals being sent to membership, awaiting ratification.
HUH: First mass layoffs, now price hikes — gaming biz we’re flattered! MICROSOFT’s X-BOX is raising the monthly price for its GAME PASS service from $17 a month to $20. Keep us posted when you have your #Barbenheimer.
ET TU, COSTCO?: Prices are going up $5 a year for regular members and $10 for premium members as of September 1. Your turn NETFLIX!
ALTHOUGH: Inflation ticked down just a wee bit, with the CPI -0.1% in June to 3% vs. prices a year ago, according to new numbers released this morning. Although keep in mind, that’s still significantly above from the Fed’s 2% goal, which is taking a long time to get down to.
KUDOS: To John Mulaney and Olivia Munn, who made it street legal this week and put a ring on it in a ceremony in NY.
OH: Yeah that thing about AI likely hitting the advertising business before movies & TV shows keeps continuing — meet LinkedIn’s new Accelerate AI campaign tool, which can now build your whole campaign for you on the platform in 5 minutes just from one person just entering the URL that you want to drive people to. #SummerInternJob
HMM: Gen Alpha already has a population problem! At least in major cities — the change in the “under 5-years-old” demo since 2020 🤯 (note that this is more because families are increasingly leaving cities, not necessarily because the birth rate has changed that much):
Los Angeles: -14%
Chicago: -15%
NYC: -18%
RIP: REDBOX kiosks . . . it’s been real 😥. Parent company CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL officially called it a Chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy, and about 1,000 folks are out of a job. Turns out buying REDBOX for $375M two years ago wasn’t the golden ticket it appeared to be. 🤷♂️
WAKEUP BOX OFFICE POLL
APPLE is back on deck, again with SONY, which previously delivered APPLE’s best result at the global box office in Napoleon — industry tracking has Fly Me to the Moon around $12M, where is it tracking with y’all?
THANKS!: To NYU for the opportunity to come speak to a summer session media class yesterday — I’m told it’s the good kind of summer school — and also hear what’s on the minds of the next generation of the business (I’m the one on the lower left who . . . looks like everyone’s dad is visiting class).
Oh, and good news PARAMOUNT & UNI - #Glicked has already reached their radar. See you in November.
I always really enjoy opportunities to speak with college or grad students looking to enter our fine business — so if you are one, or teach some in the greater NYC area (or L.A. if I’m in town), drop a note anytime (seanmcnultynyc@gmail.com) or here on LinkedIn of course.
IN THIS EDITION
The gears of Hollywood keep moving with plenty of new casting and TV deals to go around — as WBD accelerates previously MAX-intended series airing on linear HBO tactic, starting this fall.
As the NBA media rights deal saga finally inches toward a conclusion — some thoughts to keep in mind about the audience assumptions being made that are underpinning the financials here that . . . don’t have the best recent track record.
📽 THE SILVER SCREEN
