APPLE TV enters Sports streaming biz with MLB
ZUCKER sets đ°đ°CNN exit agreement / PARAMOUNT folds PLAYERS pic division / HULU orders Patinkin detective show
Mornin! This is Sean McNulty and hereâs the Hollywood + Media news to know on WEDNESDAY March 9, 2022.
Where itâll be a #dontsaygay olâ time at the DISNEY Annual Company meeting this afternoon⌠with all eyes on what CEO Bob Chapek says to the troops and investors about the companyâs essentially non-response to FLORIDAâs âDonât Say Gayâ law that passed the State Senate and went to the Governorâs desk yesterday for signature.
ALSO: Jeff Zucker & WARNER MEDIA have come to an exit agreement - no exact terms released (other than an agreement not to sue), but the payout is said to be in the Tens of Millions. And a lifetime guarantee for that discounted $3 a month rate for CNN+.
AND: Author Cormack McCarthy (âNo Country for Old Menâ, âThe Roadâ) is dropping 2 books this Fall, one in Oct and a prequel to that book in Nov.
đ˝ THE SILVER SCREEN
Florence Pugh may join âDune: Part 2â to play âPrincess Irulanâ
WellâŚpending a final script⌠and whether or not she gets the role in the MADONNA biopic thatâs in the works at UNI thatâll also shoot this year. /THR
PARAMOUNT folds its (mostly) lower budget film division PARAMOUNT PLAYERS
Projects will now just fall under the overall PARAMOUNT PICURES purview #alliterationBonus. PLAYERS head Jeremy Kramer is leaving the company. /Deadline
ALSO IN MOVIES
APPLE TV+ will debut Dakota Johnson SUNDANCE winner âCha Cha Real Smoothâ on June 17âŚ. the same day FOCUS set for their SUNDANCE pickup âBrian and Charlesâ. /Deadline
HOLLYWOOD BUSINESS AFFAIRS
Former MGM head Jonathan Glickman forms PANORAMIC MEDIA production co. UTA & SPYGLASS are 2 primary investors. Separately, Glickman is currently in production on âCreed IIIâ and the Addams Family series âWednesdayâ at NETFLIX. /THR
WME not holding OSCARS party this year, will donate money to UKRAINE support instead. /Deadline
WMEâs VP of Comms Brandon Shaw joins HULU as VP of Publicity. /THR
đş THE TV SET
HULU orders âCareer Opportunities in Murder and Mayhemâ mystery drama series with Mandy Patinkin
10 episodes, called âKnives Outâ-esque: a detective and his protege must solve a murder on a Mediterranean yacht filled with rich folks. /Variety
PEACOCK adds Nick Offerman to âThe Resortâ limited series from âPalm Springsâ writer
William Jackson Harper and Cristin Milioti already set as the leads in the time-spanning comedic thriller about a teacher couple who get caught up in a 15 year-old mystery in the Mayan Riviera.
Sam Esmail (âMr Robotâ) directing, currently shooting. /Deadline
AMC casts Giancarlo Esposito as lead for new series âThe Driverâ
Heâll play a cabbie who becomes the chauffeur for âa New Orleans-based Zimbabwean gangsterâ who exploits undocumented immigrants.
6 episode order. Based on a BBC miniseries. /THR
ALSO IN TV
NETFLIX orders 4th and final season of âNever Have I Everâ. Season 3 will drop this Summer. /Deadline
IMDBTVJA renews âJustice Judyâ for a season 2. And yes I threw an extra two letters in there to help them complete the full eyechart. Seriously - how long can a name rebrand take? Season 1 finishes up April 15. /Deadline
đť THE MEDIA BIZ
APPLE TV+ is getting into the Sports biz - makes big MLB deal for weekly doubleheader
Get ready for âFriday Night Baseballâ in the US, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Japan, Mexico, Puerto Rico, South Korea, and the UK as soon as⌠well, thereâs a season to be had.
Will be free to stream for an initial undisclosed period.
HOWEVER: No word how long the deal is, a price, or if there will be ads⌠(and if so - who would sell them đ¤).
No local market blackouts, and a live pre & post-game show too. Plus a nightly MLB highlights show all season long on the service⌠giving Cable companies further reason to question why theyâre paying MLB to carry the MLB NETWORK. /Apple
PARAMOUNT+ shifts to a new movie every other week strategy
Previously had announced a new movie every week approach, but apparently movies are pretty expensive. /Deadline
4.7 Million households cut the cord in 2021
At least according to research firm Leichtman Research Group. But hey it least it wasnât the 5.1 Million who dropped their Cable TV subscription in 2020⌠đŹ.
Basically re-re-reconfirms that companies reliant on Cable company affiliate fees & advertising for their core revenues are not exactly in a growth business #AMC #Paramount #Discovery. /NextTV
DIRECTV lost 400k subscribers in Q4, now estimated to be down to 14.6 Million subscribers (incl DirecTV Stream, and AT&T U-Verse).
ALSO IN MEDIA
NETFLIX CFO says ânever say neverâ in regards to some sort of Ad-supported version of NETLFLIX someday. Kinda falls in the Lloyd Christmas âso youâre sayin thereâs a chanceâŚâ category, but still a slight shift from the flat No Way Jose (paraphrasing) given by company principals in the past to the question. But the CFO did specify itâs ânot in our plans right now.â /Deadline
UTA launching Podcast analytics division AUDIO IQ, meant to give clients & agents a leg up in negotiating deals. /THR
AMAZONâs âlive radioâ app AMP has launched for iOS, though there is a waiting list for some reason đ¤ˇââď¸. Itâs basically their CLUBHOUSE ripoff, with the exception that theyâve licensed millions of songs so you can also DJ essentially your own radio station, as well as âtake callersâ / do live Talk radio like CLUBHOUSE. Theyâre also paying celebs to do live shows there in the near future. /Amazon
MARCH MADNESS Ad inventory is sold out, earliest in recent tourney history, and setting a new record. Obviously up significantly from 2021. Field of 64 kicks off next Thurs. /Deadline
đŚ STOCK NOTES:
ENDEAVOR +5% ($26.61) but basically a quiet day overall.
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đŠâđť NEW TO WATCH:
PARAMOUNT+ âScreamâ is now avail to watch⌠2 months post-theatrical release - STREAM HERE
CBS âSurvivorâ - New season at 8p
FOX âThe Masked Singerâ - Season premiere 8p, followed by âDomino Mastersâ at 9p
FREEFORM âGood Troubleâ - Season 4 at 10p
NETFLIX âThe Andy Warhol Diariesâ docuseries - STREAM HERE
đĽ TRAILER HOUSE
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đ§ PLAYING ME OFF
New KANE BROWN âLeave You Aloneâ
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-SEAN MCNULTY
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