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Over the past several months, Netflix film chief Scott Stuber — the former Universal executive whom Netflix CEO Reed Hastings and chief content officer Ted Sarandos brought aboard in spring 2017 — logged numerous calls to major theater chains in the U.S. and overseas. The question: Would they put Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma and other awards contenders in theaters if Netflix withheld them from the service for a couple of weeks? Insiders say Stuber’s entreaty was, essentially, “We heard you. Filmmakers want to be in theaters. What will it take to get there?” His plea was rebuffed. Netflix is pushing ahead regardless, and in a surprising nod to the importance of the cinematic experience after years of accusing theater owners of stifling innovation, the streamer will give Roma and two other…
TV HBO Standoff What’s at stake in AT&T’s fight with Dish p. 20 Deals Rhapsody Effect More movies based on music in the works p. 28 Jeff Bezos By splitting Amazon’s second headquarters between New York’s Queens and Arlington, Virginia, the savvy CEO aims to score rich tax incentives from both cities. Sophie Turner Laing The Endemol Shine Group chief calls off its planned sale, leaving the TV production powerhouse co-owned by Fox on uncertain terrain. Rami Malek The Bohemian Rhapsody star can exhale thanks to a $51.1 million domestic opening and Oscar buzz for his performance after enduring the chaos and firing of director Bryan Singer. Bob Kushell The co-showrunner of CBS midseason comedy Fam is fired for what an insider calls “inappropriate language,” a sign of zero tolerance…
PINOCCHIO Guillermo del Toro, Alfonso Cuaron’s close friend, is set to direct a stop motion adaptation of the classic story as his follow-up to his best-picture winner The Shape of Water. THE IRISHMAN Martin Scorsese’s mob boss drama cost upwards of $150 million to make and features Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, Bobby Cannavale and Ray Romano. SIX UNDERGROUND Michael Bay’s high-concept actioner, produced with Skydance Media, will cost between $150 million and $170 million to make and will star Ryan Reynolds. TRIPLE FRONTIER Ben Affleck and Oscar Isaac lead the cast of this international thriller that’s executive produced by Oscar winner Kathryn Bigelow and directed by J.C. Chandor.…
HBO went dark Nov. 1 for Dish TV’s 10.6 million satellite and streaming subscribers after the two companies failed to extend a carriage deal. While impasses in licensing negotiations are nothing new in the TV industry, this situation marks the first time in history that HBO has disappeared from a distribution service, mere months after AT&T closed its $81 billion Time Warner megadeal. Here are five questions arising from the standoff. 1. DID THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT BOTCH THE AT&T MERGER TRIAL? The U.S. government attempted to stop the merger between AT&T and Time Warner (now WarnerMedia, led by CEO John Stankey) on the theory it would harm competition. But when the trial came, the Justice Department backed away from alleging that AT&T would deprive a distributor like Dish access to…
A mid the rise of streaming, the narrative among TV executives has been, “Viewers are still watching, just on their own time.” Yet over the first month of the 2018-19 season, delayed viewing as measured by Nielsen has fallen off a little compared to the prior season. Last season, as many as 18 shows increased their adults 18-49 rating by at least a point over seven days. But through four weeks of the 2018-19 season, only 11 broadcast series are doing so (along with basic cable’s The Walking Dead, American Horror Story: Apocalypse and Mayans M.C.). This suggests that viewers in the key ad demo are using DVRs and on-demand ever so slightly less than they did last season. The top 50 shows (as measured by seven-day increases) grow by…
Star Trek Discovery was an international sensation,” CBS chief content officer David Nevins told Wall Street analysts Nov. 1, promising more iterations of the franchise. But viewers won’t see them on the nation’s top broadcast network. The shows are all set for CBS All Access, the net’s $5.99-a-month streaming service. That the popular franchise will grow exclusively on All Access — which is aiming to compete with Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu and new services to come from Disney and WarnerMedia — is a testament to how important the effort is to CBS. Joe Ianniello, hosting his first earnings call since his promotion to interim CEO, gave digital initiatives much of the credit for CBS posting its best third quarter in history in terms of revenue and earnings per share. Analyst…
