☀️WBD Just Keeps Shrinking Despite Streaming Gains
AMC THEATRES loss grows in Q1 / PEACOCK + Poehler / CBS sets fall plans
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, May 8, 2025.
Where first — going into this week, who had the KNICKS and PACERS both being up 2-0 after their initial road games against the CELTICS and CAVS? (Note for Janice — that’s two of the top NBA teams this season.)
TNT is going out with a bang this year, for sure.
Secondly — good news! You may not need an iPhone by 2035 on your trip to DISNEY Abu Dhabi. 🙌 And that’s not me saying that, but rather APPLE’s own SVP of Services Eddy Cue in testimony during the GOOGLE antitrust case:
“You may not need an iPhone 10 years from now as crazy as it sounds.”
I’ll let Eddy and Tim worry about that one — iPhones are roughly 50% of APPLE’s total revenue — so APPLE TV+, you have 10 years to start making $45B of revenue a quarter, bud.
Eddy also shared that GOOGLE searches fell in April, the first time search volume has frozen month-over-month in the 22-year history of that relationship, and he basically asserted that AI will take over the online search business . . . sending GOOGLE’s stock -8% yesterday.
But uh, he also said that he’s very much in favor of keeping GOOGLE as the default search for SAFARI!
ALSO: The Globes is adding a Best Podcast Award, so the HFPA can finally fulfill its dream of seating Joe Rogan and Megyn Kelly next to Tom Hanks for 3 hours.
6 nominees will be drawn from the “25 most listened-to podcasts,” just to insure it’s all about quality like the rest of the awards.
But who are we kidding, Jason, Will & Sean — it’s probably best to clear your schedules on Jan. 11 now.
OH: 70% of all NETFLIX viewing still happens on TVs per the NYT, which also apparently got animations for the new NETFLIX UI yesterday if you need more on that coming refresh. NETFLIX, don’t be so stingy with the goods!
THUS: MAX goes from top to left side with its navigation bar in its 2025 redesign . . . NETFLIX goes from left side to top. It’s a wild world out there, folks.
SO: The new Republican plan to offset the additional money given to America’s rich folk (and others, but significantly rich folk) through keeping the Trump tax cuts? Sell federal land. I mean, we can always just take buy it back, right?
THEN: OAN will make its feed available to VOICE OF AMERICA and other U.S.-funded international broadcast TV and radio outlets, free of news charge.
WBD Just Keeps Getting Smaller
So, as WBD somehow declined to talk about how it was actually ahead of DISNEY in having Middle East 💰 build the company a theme park in Abu Dhabi — let’s start on the top level here today.
Especially since WBD execs largely spoke for 50 minutes on an earnings call about storytelling approaches and franchises vs. ya know, numbers. Eh, Wall Street hates those anyway.
There were no prepared remarks from the CFO, nor a walk-thru of the Q1 numbers and particular drivers for each business line.
Also Zaz teased a LOTR movie announcement, so here ya go.
The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum will hit theaters Dec. 17, 2027
ALSO: NLC will have a new Evil Dead pic on July 24, 2026 (co-financed by SONY).
AND ONCE AGAIN: The #TrumpTariffs on movies wasn’t mentioned, nor asked about by Wall Street.
It’s almost like the President of the United States’ un-detailed policy social media posts aren’t taken seriously! But that can’t be.
Thus, I think it’s helpful to zoom out and take a look at the WBD revenue picture in the 4 years since the WB and the D had their #meetcute at Zaz’s townhouse downtown in the Village, and let the numbers tell us the story of what’s going on at this company over time.
Although to start — WBD actually matched DISNEY in one key metric worth noting . . .