☀️ WBD, SONY Signal That Buying Is Back
Will Smith leaves next film / The DISNEY-DIRECTV silver lining / NETFLIX + new Vince Vaughn comedy
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, September 5, 2024.
Where . . . are you ready for some football! NBC certainly seems quite thirsty, as it essentially pulled a programming move from ESPN2 last night and put on an hour of pre-season NFL pundit talk during the heart of primetime at 9 p.m. Way to play it cool, NBC. 🙄
This is of course different from the other 80 minutes of pre-game show that’ll air tonight, before the big RAVENS vs. CHIEFS kickoff finally takes place at 8:20 p.m.
Now, let’s all hope no QBs get hurt in the first five minutes of their first game this year 🙏, making all of that expert analysis even more of a waste of time than it already was.
AND: For those reading from north of the border 🇨🇦, enjoy the TIFF festivities kicking off today . . . and I hope the NFL game is also readily televised in many public watering holes in Toronto tonight.
ALTHOUGH: Here’s an idea — instead of watching hours of useless pre-game chatter, the Paralympics enter their final days this weekend (and finish up on Sunday). If you’re getting, or already have, PEACOCK for the NFL game tomorrow night — these competitions have been pretty amazing to watch, highly recommend flipping over to the Gold Zone area on PEACOCK.
THEN: Sign #32 that Corporate America is out of ideas — DOLLAR TREE is attempting to trade up! Yes, it seems weak demand from its lower-income customer base this summer 👀 has given it inspiration to . . . stock more expensive items? 🤷♂️I mean, hey, if you’ve already “stooped” to shopping at WALMART, what’s another tick down your retail shopper image chart?
PLUS: Hey good news, the FYRE FESTIVAL guy is gonna try it again. Don’t worry, he came up with the FYRE FEST II plan during one of his stints in solitary confinement during his 4-year prison stint, so I’m sure it’s rock solid.
OH: The PGA & LIV are finally gonna amp up their ⛳️ rivalry . . . uh, despite of course that “pending” merger deal (how’s that goin’ fellas, 15+ months since it was announced?) — PGA golfers Rory McIlroy & Scottie Scheffler will face off against LIV golfers Brooks Koepka & Bryson DeChambeau on TNT in a primetime event in December.
TODAY IN MEDIA CONFERENCES
CITI TMT Conference (link to listen in each participant’s name, times in ET):
8:20a: Jason Armstrong, Comcast CFO (replay should be at that link, or avail here)
BOFA Media Conference (link to listen in each participant’s name, times in ET):
1:10p: Donna Langley, NBCU CCO
WAKEUP BOX OFFICE POLL
Okay, we’re back! Beetlejuice 2 is tracking at $100M+. 🤯 Not bad for a pic that opened to $8M in April 1988. WB is conservatively putting it at $80M+, so — let’s humor that to . . . a small degree, and go with some unusual numbers for an unusual character.
A NOTE OF STANDOFF OPTIMISM
Just a calming thought about the DISNEY vs. DIRECTV standoff . . . an event in the fine 35+ year tradition of Hollywood studio vs. TV provider showdowns where the only loser is the consumer: This will essentially be the last one!
Not that these affiliate renewal deal blackouts won’t happen again 😂, but the consumer collateral damage of this “tradition” will be over, since as of next year consumers will easily have another way to watch whatever they are missing:
There will be no more major sports offerings that folks can’t specifically pay a (somewhat) reasonable price to stream elsewhere once ESPN D2C launches (the only other current option being of course paying an additional $70+ to subscribe to another streaming bundle like YOUTUBE TV or $80+ for FUBO, HULU+LIVE TV etc.).
SIDEBAR: I’m sure $43 a month VENU, which would have featured all of the currently blacked-out content is really loving that court injunction even more so right now.
As for scripted & unscripted series — good luck finding a show on linear TV that isn’t available to stream the next day.
Yes, I know some satellite TV folks are still beyond the reach of streaming-quality broadband — but obviously this is a very small number, and I’m gonna guess they’re not exactly hardcore sports fans.
Or if they are . . . they’re already missing TNF 🏈 each week, and will miss a couple of nights of NBA as of next year on PEACOCK & AMAZON each week too, so — it is what it is.
So, who says I can’t find a silver lining? Make it a standoff to remember DISNEY and DIRECTV! One we can tell our grandkids about someday . . .
FWIW: A family member of mine who has had DIRECTV forever told me that they switched to VERIZON FIOS today.
📽 THE SILVER SCREEN
