Warner Bros Deal Shows Hollywood Still Highly Valued
"I am sorry… the sky is not falling on Hollywood. Some things are changing forever. Some things are cyclical. It doesn’t really matter whether media or Wall Street analysts get it. The industry rolls on. The acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery is outrageously expensive, suggesting that these assets are still highly valued. The “indie” business… another conversation." THB #821: When Whine Goes Skunk, by @DavidPoland https://t.co/oDX7Y1fSWU
Ye's $33M LA Shows Boost by Spotify, Live Nation
Ye sold $33M worth of tickets across two nights in LA, including one of the highest-grossing nights in music history. Perhaps more significant: Spotify playlisted a song from his new album and Live Nation is partners with the promoter for his...
Saudi-Backed Funding Boosts Paramount's Warner Bid
Gulf sovereign capital speeds media consolidation. ~$24bn Saudi-led backing lowers financing risk for Paramount’s $81bn Warner bid. Risks: regs, execution, leverage. Trade: buy Paramount. 🔍 — Viktor Kopylov, PhD, CFA More insights: t.me/si14Kopylov
2026 Q1 Box Office Beats 2023, Best Post‑COVID Start
🧵Hey Hollywood: I’m not trying to harsh your doom and gloom – I, too, enjoy feeling sorry for myself — but I do want to point out that all may not be lost. * Q1 box office 2026 has surpassed 2023 to...
Cut Corporate Sponsors, Accelerate Music Industry Change
This is the real way to make change in the music industry because these institutions can't do anything without their sponsors 👌👌 Once the big corporate money is out, change starts happening much quicker...
CBS News Finally Funds Murrow Sponsorship After Calls
CBS News finally ponies up for Edward R. Murrow sponsorship after The Media Mix calls. https://t.co/V9ofIFPZUY
Long‑time Netflix Premium Users Owed €500 Refund
It must be nice to live where there's a rule of law. "A Premium subscriber who has paid for Netflix continuously from 2017 to the present day is entitled to a refund of about 500 euros, while a Standard subscriber is...
Advanced Live Class Helps Creators Master Brand Deal Process
Thinking about doing a more advanced 2-3 week live class for creators that have 2-5 inbounds per week from brands. Covering how to assess quality of lead, budget, get brand on a call, put proposal/pricing together after call. Would...
A24 Scores Third‑Best Opening with Youth‑Centric Romance
The Zendaya and Robert Pattinson-led original nabbed A24’s third-best opening weekend, signaling that the "indie studio for cool kids” is now also the place for buzzy, of-the-moment, youth-skewing romantic comedies and dramas... (Weekend box office punditry for THE DRAMA) https://open.substack.com/pub/scottmendelson/p/zendaya-movie-star-box-office-a24-the-drama-dune-odyssey-robert-pattinson/
SES Eyes Cross‑unit Content Bundles for Evolving Passenger Experience
Multi-orbit satellite operator SES is exploring cross-unit content bundles between its media and aero or cruise businesses, as the passenger experience evolves. https://t.co/jmm0rS22Cy #PaxEx
Super Mario Galaxy Film Nets $372.5M Worldwide Opening
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has earned $372.5 million in its global debut from 80 markets around the world. https://t.co/WciCxsgIrk
Warner Bros. Horror Flop Loses $20M Budget Fast
WB’s newest misfire at US #BoxOffice, R-rated action horror #TheyWillKillYou starring #ZazieBeetz is closely following #TheBride’s footsteps, after grossing disastrous 1.9M on 2nd 3-day weekend, a harsh -61.3% drop from an already low opening (vs #TheBride’s 2.1M, -70.4%) It hits a...
White House Critiques Remain Routine Amid Ellison Ownership
“While White House attacks are ‘the same old, same old,’ there’s ‘an added big asterisk,’ one CNN staff member said, referring to the uncertainty of Ellison’s approaching ownership.” https://t.co/YJOQ2Yentz
Snapchat's AI Clips Turn Photos Into Paid Video Content
Snapchat launched AI Clips in Lens Studio for Lens+ subscribers, turning single photos into five-second videos, with eligible creators able to earn through Lens+ Payouts. 🤖 It gives creators a faster path to video content while building an incentive structure around...
Creators Should Sell Tools, Not Just Chase Gold
The creator economy is the new gold rush But most creators will fail Because their focused on mining the gold And not selling the tools and equipment to make mining faster and easier
The Drama Aims to Match $28M Budget on Opening
#TheDrama targets $14.4M domestic debut with an additional $13.6M overseas for $28M global opening against $28M budget One of A24’s biggest wide debuts ever https://t.co/IGvvJrQYxo
Trump’s CNN Attacks Echo as Paramount Takeover Looms
Donald Trump’s attacks on CNN have taken on new meaning with David Ellison’s Paramount ready to take over. @liamjscott and I spoke to CNN staffers who detailed fresh anxieties about potential job cuts, mismanagement, and deference to Trump. https://t.co/YJOQ2Yentz
Build a $100k Solo Business with Six Simple Steps
The journey of a $100k solo creator: 1. Find niche with active demand 2. Craft an offer that satisfies it 3. Content to funnel demand 4. Redirect to your email 5. Make offers daily 6. Learn & scale In that order.
Quick Collabs Streamline Creator Campaigns with Flat‑Fee Simplicity
LTK announced Quick Collabs, letting creators opt into flat-fee, pay-per-post campaigns that brands can set up in minutes. It reduces the back-and-forth of standard creator campaigns, giving brands a faster path to content and creators a simpler way to pick...
Pepsi Pulls UK Festival Sponsorship After PM Condemns Kanye
Pepsi Cancels Sponsorship of U.K. Festival Where Kanye West Is Set to Headline, Hours After Prime Minister Decries ‘His Previous Celebration of Nazism’ https://t.co/mrA6T9ynqG via @variety
Private Sector Needed to Save Indy TV, Avoid Bankruptcy
If people won’t let the private sector make adjustments to the local TV station business, it’s a guarantee that a bankruptcy judge will in due course. New @wrtv owner DuJuan McCoy deserves time to make the necessary adjustments. Investigative reporter...
Most Artists Chase Sync Deals without Researching Libraries
Sync Licensing Fact A lot of artists and producers say they’re looking for an 'in'... Very few are actually researching music libraries, what they place and following submission guidelines.
Zend
Online discourse aside, moviegoers are RSVPing "Yes" to Zendaya and Robert Pattinson's comedy as Amazon's sci-fi epic continues pulling "aspirational for anyone not named Nolan or Coogler" grosses. (Friday box office punditry for THE DRAMA) https://open.substack.com/pub/scottmendelson/p/box-office-the-drama-nabs-awesome/
Streaming Reach Matches TV, Audience Grows Faster Than Subscriptions
The traditional reach-versus-revenue trade-off between 📺 linear TV and 📲 OTT streaming may only apply to broadcast television anymore: As linear cable/satellite TV shrinks and streaming expands, their reach expectations have largely converged for the most-scaled pure-play streamers. Especially with Prime...
Meta Tests Instagram Plus as Subscription Trend Grows
Meta starts testing a premium subscription on Instagram -> Meta is testing an Instagram Plus subscription in a few countries, offering features including anonymous Story viewing and extended 48-hour Story durations "Snapchat and X have proven that there is a market for...
Get Canadian Airplay: PR Support for Independent Artists
If you're an independent artist trying to get your music heard in Canada, I can help. Traditional PR, radio pitching, press outreach — all of it. Let's talk. Eric@ThatEricAlper.com
Super Mario Galaxy Leads Good Friday Box Office
Top Films on Good Friday - FRI APR 3: $48.3M - #SuperMarioGalaxy $10.4M - #ProjectHailMary $6.4M - #TheDrama $2.1M - #Hoppers $850k - #RemindersOfHim
Sports Media Shake‑up: Robo Umpires, WSJ Critique, Upcoming ParaB
The Varsity * Robo umps are here. * Wapo hires some sports reporters. * Rupert's WSJ swipes at NFL's antitrust exemption. * Don't expect a lot of changes at NFL Network. * Passan: WBC shouldn't be more than every three years. Plus, I sat down with...
The Drama Opens Strong, Outpacing Challengers' Debut
Strong $6.4M Good Friday opening day for original film #TheDrama incl pre-shows. Basically even with Zendaya's Challengers which bowed to $6.3M in APR 2024 (on regular FRI). Fans liking what they see. RT aud score ticked up to 83% now, CinemaScore...
Snapchat's Total Snap Takeovers Let Brands Own Every Tab
Snapchat introduced Total Snap Takeovers, letting brands run ads across all major tabs, including Map, Chat, Camera, Stories, and Spotlight, in a single buy. With 97% of users visiting multiple tabs per session, it's a format designed around actual user...
The Drama Pulls $6.4M Friday, Eyeing $15M Weekend
#TheDrama raises $6.4M Friday, weekend in $15M range Will be one of A24’s largest wide openings ever https://t.co/xZR8mDCIaN
Few Theaters Worth Rebuilding Amid Poor ROI
What percent of movie theaters if they burned down would be rebuilt today? How many are making a return on investment that makes sense versus high sunk capital costs?
TikTok Rebrands as Full‑Funnel Shopping Destination
TikTok launched a new brand campaign, "Watch it. Love it. Want it.," positioning the app as a full-funnel commerce platform where discovery and purchase happen in the same moment. It is a more ambitious swing than its previous "Don't Make Ads,...
Post 5+ Times Weekly, Grow 3× Faster
Creators who post 5+ times a week on Threads grow 3x faster than those who post once. That's not opinion. That's from our February report analyzing 255 creators and 27M views. Consistency wins. Every time. We built BlackTwist to make that easier. Schedule...
Substack May Force Follows, Eroding Creator Audience Ownership
"I wouldn't be surprised at all, if in the future, Substack forces a follow button on the main landing page to Substacks... eventually they'll just want people to follow. You'll still have your Stripe details, but you won't own your...
Ozempic Launches Mac‑vs‑PC Style Ad with Long, Hodgman
Ozempic appears to have hired Justin Long and John Hodgman for an ad campaign that tries to evoke the old Apple Mac vs. PC ads.... https://t.co/iTmputOvQk
OpenAI's TBPN Acquisition: Risky Hail Mary with Flawed Logic
My Inside Orchard essay this week is about OpenAI buying TBPN. I discuss two reasons OpenAI is buying the media company and the holes in OpenAI’s logic. It’s a Hail Mary pass with low odds of succeeding as planned.
Fox, Sinclair Slam NFL Antitrust Exemption for Streamers
An NFL Partner 👇 Fox, Sinclair Decry NFL Antitrust Exemption as Sop to Streamers https://t.co/ORRVrmc6xZ via @sportico @crupicrupicrupi
Mario Galaxy and Bros Open Nearly Even; Galaxy Drops More
WED and THU start for Super Mario Galaxy vs Super Mario Bros: Galaxy | $34.5M | $24.6M | -29% | $59.1M Bros. | $31.7M | $26.6M | -16% | $58.3M Larger THU drop for Galaxy, to be expected for a sequel. 2-day #boxoffice...
Netflix Introduces AI-Powered Video Editing Tool
Netflix - yes Netflix - jumps on the AI bandwagon with video editor https://t.co/Hw7dJeymBT https://t.co/OxGqjfHPaA
OpenAI's Media Takeover Signals AI-Driven News Era
10 months ago, I predicted OpenAI would buy media companies. This week they did. 58K subscribers. Nine figures. Under their political strategy team. Without original journalism, AI is a snake eating its own tail. This is the new model. TBPN is the opening...
Brand Partnerships Deliver Higher Margins Than Talent Commissions
Talent agencies get commissions from representing entertainers, but higher margin deals come from brand partnerships.
Distribution Beats Quality: Why Reach Trumps Content
The distribution mindset shift @MediaKing built a $50M media company from South Dakota with 19 employees. His biggest lesson from the early blogging days: "There were plenty of great blogs that didn't get read and plenty of average ones that did." Distribution wins...
Infrastructure Giants Buying Storytellers Repeat Past Failure
OpenAI (infrastructure) bought TBPN (storytellers) for low hundreds of millions. The founders gave up ad sales and editorial independence. I watched Viacom make this exact bet with XFire in 2006. The storytellers could not run the infrastructure business. Deja Vu...
Disney+ Greenlights Animorphs Series with Coogler’s Proximity
‘Animorphs’ TV Series in Development at Disney+, Ryan Coogler’s Proximity Media to Produce (EXCLUSIVE) https://t.co/cxKS8d6H8x via @variety
Big Media Deals Reveal Hidden Undervalued Gems
the 9-figure acquisitions of The Free Press and TBPN tell you that: - yes, most media properties are overvalued and sinking - but also, some are way way undervalued bullish on the next gen
Holiday Box Office May Be Too Crowded for Three Blockbusters
Is there enough room on the December holiday box office corridor to support #AvengersDoomsday, #DunePart3 and #Jumanji3? Early tracking reveals some surprising dynamics at play. https://t.co/qP2egtR6qU
Streaming's Financial Bubble Predicts AI Labor Debates
I remember during the strikes where actors and writers wanted more money, I pointed out that streaming was in a bubble and was already unsustainable without raising costs by paying the talent more. People were really upset with me for not...
BritBox Success Reshapes Global British TV Strategy
BritBox CEO on How Success for BBC Studios’ U.S. Streamer Is Impacting Global British TV Strategy https://t.co/c96KZwHUp6 via @variety
Tech and Finance Moguls Rush Back Into Media
Sam Altman buying TBPN, Larry Ellison bankrolling deals for CNN and CBS News, Jamie Dimon toying with launching a news outlet because "media’s the great influencer." The titans of industry want to be in the media biz again https://t.co/raamH7VAdM