Call My Agent: Hollywood’s Data Wants a Deal
The Ankler outlines how Hollywood’s vast content libraries, long scraped by AI developers, are now being packaged by emerging data brokers who sell ethically sourced, rights‑cleared training datasets. Recent lawsuits—Disney and NBCUniversal against Midjourney, and OpenAI’s Sora controversy—highlight studios’ concerns over unlicensed use of their IP. Data brokers are positioning themselves as new agents, negotiating licensing deals that could generate eight‑figure revenues and reshape how AI models are trained. The piece argues that this shift creates a fresh bargaining arena between studios and tech firms, forcing a re‑evaluation of fair‑use defenses and pricing standards.
Microdramas: Writers’ AI Canary in the Coal Mine
Microdramas—minute‑long, vertical series—are emerging as Hollywood’s first AI‑driven content lab. Amazon MGM’s AI Creators Fund announced three AI‑powered animated shows, but faced backlash when creator Jorge Gutierrez quit. Executives at Disney, Netflix, NBCUniversal and others are watching the format’s rapid, low‑cost...
The ‘Pitt’ Effect: A Scramble to Get Shows Back on Air Faster
The article examines a growing industry push—dubbed the “Pitt Effect”—to shorten the gap between seasons of streaming originals by treating them like broadcast series. Platforms such as Netflix, Amazon, and HBO are issuing early renewals for shows like *Little House...
Tax Incentive Showdown: The Global Money War Heats Up
The blog outlines how film and TV producers are increasingly chasing tax rebates abroad as U.S. states struggle to compete. Marvel’s relocation to Pinewood Studios exemplifies a broader shift toward Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, where rebates can reach $40‑$60 million...
TV in 3: Shonda’s Disney-Netflix Throuple — And Why Everyone Wins
Shonda Rhimes has signed a new overall deal with Disney while maintaining a collaborative relationship with Netflix, creating a three‑way partnership that benefits all parties. Disney gains access to Rhimes’ proven franchise‑building expertise, and Netflix leverages her revived “Little House on...
Ryan Reynolds & Rob Mac Bought a Team. And a Town to Root For
In 2021, actor Ryan Reynolds and entrepreneur Rob McElhenney bought England's fifth‑tier Wrexham A.F.C. for £1 (about $1.40) plus a pledged £2 million ($2.8 million) investment. Their ownership sparked the Emmy‑winning docuseries "Welcome to Wrexham," which has driven a tourism boom, adding...
James Harden, Carmelo Anthony & the AI-Powered Hollywood Pivot
James Harden released an AI‑generated, anime‑style short film on Instagram, reaching his 11.9 million followers and sparking intense fan debate. The clip was produced in under a week using AI‑native workflows, demonstrating how athletes can create high‑impact entertainment without traditional studio...
Star Wars’ Disney+ Hangover: A Fight to Make the Galaxy Feel Big Again
Disney is releasing its first original Star Wars theatrical film in seven years, *The Mandalorian and Grogu*, a spin‑off of the hit Disney+ series. Analysts expect a domestic opening well below the $250 million benchmark set by *The Rise of Skywalker*...
Adam Driver Deflects Dunham, Markiplier Mobbed
Hollywood star Adam Driver attended the Cannes press conference for James Gray’s *Paper Tiger*, deflecting Lena Dunham’s memoir jokes and sparking early Oscar buzz. Meanwhile, YouTube creator Markiplier (Mark Fischbach) was mobbed at the festival’s inaugural Creator Economy Summit after...
Stars, Dealmakers & CEOs: The Ankler at NAB Show
At the NAB Show in Las Vegas, The Ankler convened a star‑studded panel featuring former White House press secretary Jen Psaki, journalist Ari Melber, JPMorgan’s Fred Turpin, creator Markiplier and CEOs from Funko, MoviePass and AI‑focused studios. Discussions highlighted a $180 billion...
TV in 3: Friedlander’s Amazon Goals Revealed; TV Studio Scorecard
Peter Friedlander, newly appointed head of Amazon Prime Video TV, delivered his first upfront presentation on May 11, outlining the streaming giant’s strategic priorities. He spotlighted the upcoming "Barbershop" series as a cornerstone of Amazon’s original scripted slate and signaled...
Upfronts Winners & Losers: Scripted TV Gets Sacked
The annual Upfronts week revealed a clear hierarchy: live sports secured the bulk of advertising commitments while scripted series struggled to attract spend. Streamers such as Netflix and Amazon pushed deeper into the ad‑sales arena, signaling a new competitive dynamic...
Cannes Remix: New Buyers, Mubi Mystery & Indie Film’s Math Reset
The Cannes Marché du Film is kicking off with unexpected buyer turnout, even as geopolitical tensions loom. Industry insiders highlight a surge of optimism fueled by recent blockbuster successes like The Super Mario Galaxy Movie and Project Hail Mary. U.S....
TV Shocker: Broadcast Is Growing Again — and the Numbers Prove It
Broadcast television is seeing a modest rebound, with the four major networks ordering 57 scripted originals this season, up from 49 last year. While still far below the 92 series produced in 2019, the increase includes seven more half‑hour comedies...
TV in 3: Sneaky Strategies Behind ‘The Bear’ Bonus, HBO ‘Harry Potter’ Plan
Lesley Goldberg’s column spotlights three distinct TV strategies: Fox is reviving a faith‑based series as part of a broader push to capture a niche audience, HBO is locking in a multi‑year deal to extend the Harry Potter franchise on its...
🎧 Disney’s Super App Era Arrives. What Does It Mean?
Disney’s earnings call revealed a strategic push toward a "super app" that bundles Disney+, ESPN+, Hulu, park ticketing, merchandise and gaming into a single platform. New CEO Josh D’Amaro emphasized data‑driven personalization and cross‑selling to deepen subscriber engagement. The move...
Netflix, Obamas & the Death of Vanity Deals — Yes, Writers Win
In 2018 the Obamas launched Higher Ground with an exclusive Netflix overall deal, but the streaming giant has now reduced it to a first‑look arrangement, allowing the company to shop projects elsewhere. Similar downgrades have hit Prince Harry and Meghan’s...
USC to NYU: AI’s Stealth Film School Takeover Has Begun
Elite film schools from USC to NYU are embedding AI tools into grants, curricula, and creative workflows through partnerships with Adobe, Google and Runway. The Academy’s new Oscars rules now demand human‑authored screenplays and human‑performed acting, tightening the line between...
Tom Quinn to Diego Luna: The Ankler’s ‘Croisette Conversations’ Debuts at Cannes With Brand Innovators
The Ankler, in partnership with Brand Innovators, launched “Ankler Live: Croisette Conversations” at the Armani Caffè during the 79th Cannes Film Festival (May 15-17). The series gathered film talent such as Diego Luna and Ira Sachs alongside industry executives like...
Why Gen Z Ignored ‘Devil Wears Prada 2’
Disney’s *The Devil Wears Prada 2* opened to a $234 million worldwide haul, marking a strong box‑office debut. Yet the audience skewed heavily older, with women comprising 76 % of ticket‑buyers and only 12 % of the crowd under 25, while men under...
Kimmel Fights. Tech Bros Bow Before The King
Last week Disney’s ABC network faced renewed political pressure after President Trump labeled the network “Fake News” and demanded host Jimmy Kimmel be fired. Despite a looming FCC review of ABC’s broadcast licenses, Disney chose to keep Kimmel on the...
TV in 3: The Messy Truth Behind Amazon’s ‘Apprentice’ Fantasy
Amazon’s executives have floated reviving "The Apprentice" with Donald Trump Jr. as host, leveraging its $8.45 billion MGM acquisition. The proposal reflects a broader push to turn MGM’s film library into premium TV content for Prime Video. Meanwhile, Disney sidestepped political...
Not Just Directors: Women Are Losing Ground Across Hollywood
The number of women or nonbinary directors on IMDb Pro’s top‑100 list fell from 20 in 2023 to 14 in 2024 and just 11 in 2025, marking a clear regression. ReFrame’s 2025 report recorded the fewest gender‑balanced productions in six...
YouTube Series Are Hijacking Reality TV. Studios Want In
French YouTuber Squeezie and producer Théodore Bonnet created the high‑budget reality series *Stop the Train* for roughly $1 million, amassing 15 million views since its September launch. Banijay, the global powerhouse behind *Survivor* and *MasterChef*, has secured worldwide distribution rights, marking one...
Scandal, Loyalty & ‘Summer House’: Frances Berwick’s Bravo Playbook
Frances Berwick, now chairman of Bravo and Peacock unscripted, has turned the network into a growth engine despite a shrinking unscripted market. Over the last six months Bravo’s shows lifted their monthly reach on Peacock by 45%, with flagship series...
The Case Against Paramount-WBD Keeps Getting Louder
The Ankler’s latest column highlights a growing chorus of industry voices opposing the Paramount‑Warner Bros. Discovery merger. While the deal appears to be moving forward, critics argue it could exacerbate concentration, limit creative competition, and hurt independent producers. The author...
Our Next Chapter
The Ankler has migrated from Substack to its own website, powered by the Passport subscription platform jointly developed by Automattic and Ben Thompson. The move follows four years of steady growth, with a 13% year‑over‑year subscriber increase and profitability since...
Wasserman Deal: Final Bidders, Front-Runners Emerge
Casey Wasserman’s entertainment and sports conglomerate, known as The Team, is now the focus of a high‑stakes sale after an initial $4 billion asking price was trimmed to roughly $3 billion. The portfolio spans talent representation in sports, Hollywood, music, media, brand...
Cracking Apple TV: The Shows It Wants Now
Apple TV’s acquisition strategy is now laser‑focused on premium, populist content that features recognizable movie or TV stars, a shift driven by the post‑WGA‑deal environment where buyers only green‑light projects with clear production paths. The streamer celebrated a record Emmy...
☀️ COMCAST’s Tricky Sports Play: Boost Revenue, Hurt Profits in Q1
Comcast’s Q1 2026 earnings showed a revenue lift from its aggressive sports‑rights strategy, but profit margins slipped as costs outpaced earnings. The company’s broadband segment recorded modest subscriber growth, helped by bundled wireless offerings, while its streaming service Peacock added...
CinemaCon’s Quiet Wars: Fewer Movies, Bigger Screens — and TikTok in Charge
CinemaCon highlighted a post‑pandemic theater landscape defined by fewer releases, larger premium formats, and TikTok‑driven demand. Ticket sales remain about 20% below pre‑COVID levels, but studios are betting on blockbuster franchises and extended theatrical windows to revive revenues. New technologies...
Courtney Kemp’s New Showrunner Math: Budget, Franchise, Repeat
Courtney Kemp, the creator of Starz’s multi‑billion‑hour *Power* franchise, is debuting a new crime drama, *Nemesis*, on Netflix. She says studios now ask creators to prove a show’s budget, franchise potential, and global scalability before greenlighting. The shift reflects a...
The Gulf Buys Big Into Paramount. What It Wants in Return
Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE’s sovereign wealth funds are committing roughly $24 billion to Paramount Skydance’s $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, pushing the combined foreign stake in the merged entity to about 21.6 percent—near the FCC’s 25 percent cap. The deal would place two...
Grok, Kling, Runway: AI Video’s Future Has Hollywood on the Outside Looking In
The AI video market has fractured after OpenAI shut down its Sora platform, leaving no single dominant player. Grok now captures the most traffic on social feeds, Runway is gaining traction in professional editing suites, and Kling is automating short‑form...
🎧 Power, Delusion & Matthew Macfadyen’s Post-‘Succession’ Bet
Matthew Macfadyen, fresh off two Emmy‑winning seasons of Succession, confronts the post‑show slump by starring as Charles Guiteau in Netflix’s limited series Death by Lightning. The four‑episode drama, filmed in Budapest to stand in for 1880s America, offers a self‑contained...
The Mid-Career Reset: Two Top Execs Ditch Hollywood’s Playbook — and Find the Fun Again
Former Showtime president Jana Winograde and ex‑Warner Bros. Television chief Susan Rovner have left legacy studios to launch aTwist, a micro‑drama vertical‑series app slated for a late‑2024 debut. Backed by former WME chair Lloyd Braun, the platform blends subscription, ad‑supported...
A24 Making TV Rivals Miserable; Tax Incentive State Guide; New Jobs Pivot Emerges
A24 is intensifying its push into television, a move that is forcing traditional broadcast and streaming rivals to reevaluate their content strategies. At the same time, a newly released guide ranks U.S. states by the generosity of their film‑and‑TV tax...
The Live Nation Verdict Won’t Fix Tickets. It Should Rattle Hollywood
A federal jury ruled that Live Nation functioned as a monopoly in the concert and ticketing markets, marking a rare antitrust victory for state regulators. While the decision could force a Ticketmaster spin‑off, the core drivers of high prices—limited supply...
CinemaCon Confidential: The Good, The Bad & The Buttons
The author reflects on CinemaCon 2026, marking his tenth consecutive visit to the Las Vegas trade show. He describes the event as a "Truman Show" where journalists, exhibitors and executives recycle the same conversations year after year. A minor controversy dubbed...
The NATPE-Realscreen Collapse and Where to Go Sell Your Show Now
The long‑standing NATPE and Realscreen conferences have been shuttered after Brunico Communications pulled the plug on its U.S. events portfolio, effectively ending a 28‑year unscripted market hub. The closures reflect shrinking buyer budgets, cable‑ad revenue decline, and industry consolidation that...
Warner Bros.’ Jeff Goldstein on the Big Tom Cruise Bet: ‘We Landed the Plane’
Warner Bros. president Jeff Goldstein used CinemaCon to showcase the studio’s ambitious release slate through 2028, highlighting Tom Cruise and Alejandro González Iñárritu’s upcoming comedy *Digger*. He stressed that despite speculation about a possible sale to Paramount, Warner remains focused...
🎧 The Merger Drama That Won’t Stay in Vegas
Warner Bros. announced a blockbuster slate through 2028 at CinemaCon, but its pending sale to Paramount was conspicuously omitted, fueling speculation. The omission sparked a heated debate on the convention floor, dubbed “pin‑gate,” as industry insiders dissected the merger’s fallout....
A24’s Speed, Spend & Bidding Wars Reshape TV — Forcing Rivals to Pay Up
A24 has transformed from an indie film label into a dominant TV studio by pairing lightning‑fast dealmaking with deep pockets from a $3.5 billion Thrive Capital valuation. The company can move from script concept to contract in a single week, as...
Tax Incentive Showdown: Where the Money Is State-by-State
The Ankler maps the evolving U.S. film‑and‑TV tax‑incentive landscape, highlighting a fierce state‑by‑state bidding war for productions. California doubled its annual incentive budget to $750 million, yet producers still complain about narrow application windows and the exclusion of above‑the‑line talent. Meanwhile,...
🎧 Jean Smart’s Perfect Exit (Again)
Jean Smart announces her departure from the Netflix comedy *Hacks* after its fifth season, mirroring her earlier exit from *Designing Women* after a similar five‑year run. She cites personal milestones—including motherhood, the loss of her husband, and a recent triple‑bypass...
‘Reggie Dinkins’ & Erika Alexander Lead TV’s 22-Minute Comedy Reset
“The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins” premiered on NBC after an NFL playoff, delivering the most‑watched comedy debut of the 2025‑26 season. The 10‑episode, 22‑minute sitcom reunites 1990s star Erika Alexander, who returns as Monica, a business manager navigating...
Fandom Vs. Hollywood; ‘Love Story’ Sparks ‘George’ Backlash; Podcast Land Grab
The piece explores the growing clash between fan communities and Hollywood, using the recent backlash over a new "Love Story" adaptation that invoked the name George as a case study. It highlights how studios are scrambling to win over passionate...
🎧 The WGA’s Surprise Deal — SAG and DGA, You’re Up
The Writers Guild of America reached a tentative agreement with the major studios, injecting $321 million into its health plan while raising deductibles and premiums. The contract shifts from the traditional three‑year cycle to a four‑year bargaining period and includes modest...
Kalshi, Versant, NYT, WSJ: Top Media Execs Join Ankler X NAB Show
The Ankler × NAB Show will convene top media executives in Las Vegas from April 19‑21, 2026, under the theme “AI as Creator: Who Owns the Future of Hollywood?”. The three‑day forum will feature leaders from Kalshi, Versant, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal discussing...
The WGA Had Three Years to Think About AI. They Didn’t
The Writers Guild of America (WGA) unveiled a new contract that, despite three years of opportunity, contains no concrete provisions governing the use of artificial intelligence in screenwriting. Instead, the agreement relies on a task‑force report and vague language, leaving...