• Netflix’s subscriber growth slowed in the first quarter of the year, with the streamer adding 4 million net subscribers, roughly 2 million fewer than it forecasted, while Netflix reported a quarterly profit of $1.71 billion, up from $542.2 million in the same quarter of 2020. The company, which plans to spend more than $17 billion on programming this year, said it anticipates adding more subscribers in the back half of 2021, when new episodes of popular shows, including “The Witcher” and “You,” premiere. (The Wall Street Journal) 
• Endeavor Group Holdings Inc. plans to raise about $511 million in its initial public offering, which would value the company at around $10 billion and could happen this month. The company, which is making its second attempt to go public, also plans to purchase the 49 percent of UFC it doesn’t own with money raised in a private sale, according to a prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. (Los Angeles Times)
• Producer Scott Rudin said he plans to step back from film and streaming projects after he was accused of bullying and physically abusing his employees. The duration of Rudin’s time away was not disclosed, but A24, one of his recent collaborators, will no longer work with Rudin on future projects, according to a person familiar with the company’s plans. (The Washington Post)

Tracking the Return to Normal: Entertainment
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Golden Globes: HFPA in Crisis as Famed Fixer, D&I Adviser Quit

Scott Feinberg, The Hollywood Reporter 

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s very bad year just got even worse. In the wake of a Feb. 21 Los Angeles Times article that revealed the organization behind the Golden Globe Awards currently counts zero Black people among its members, Time’s Up and more than 100 PR firms threatened to cut off the HFPA altogether unless it announced major reforms. 

English Soccer Teams Abandon Plans to Join Rebel European Super League

Patrick Frater, Variety 

Plans to launch the controversial European Super League among elite soccer teams lie in tatters after the six English clubs previously involved said that they had withdrawn. They appear to have misjudged the scale of negative reactions from government and fans.

Oscars swag returning in 2021 with $60K gift bags for celebs

Emily Smith, Page Six

The Academy Awards are back on Sunday in a downscaled capacity — but one thing doesn’t change in Hollywood — nominees are once again being showered with expensive swag.

New York Movie Theaters Demand Capacity Rise to 50% by Memorial Weekend

Jeremy Fuster, The Wrap Pro 

After months of hammering at the door and demanding that they be allowed to increase their capacity limits, cinemas in New York got news from Gov. Andrew Cuomo that COVID restrictions would be loosened from 25% audience capacity to 33% audience capacity starting April 26. But one of the state’s top theater owners and industry lobbyists says that’s not enough.

Two Hollywood Executives, Awash in Awards and Admiration, Step Aside

Brooks Barnes, The New York Times 

One of corporate Hollywood’s most enduring double acts is calling it quits. Steve Gilula and Nancy Utley, senior executives at Searchlight Pictures for 21 of its 27 years, who shaped global culture with Oscar-winning hits like “12 Years a Slave,” “Black Swan,” “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and “Slumdog Millionaire,” announced their surprise retirement on Tuesday. 

Tribeca 2021 Unveils Features Lineup: Anthony Bourdain Doc, Plus New Work from Ilana Glazer and Bing Liu

Kate Erbland, IndieWire 

The 2021 Tribeca Festival, presented by AT&T, has today unveiled its feature film lineup, including new films from Bing Liu, Ilana Glazer, Jim Cummings, Hannah Marks, Zoe Lister-Jones and Daryl Wein, Morgan Neville, Sacha Jenkins, and many more. In addition to the new selections, 53 feature films from the cancelled 2020 festival program will also be screened as part of the June event.

Inaugural Cinema Week Event To Launch Nationwide In June, In Support Of Exhibition Industry & Moviegoing Culture

Matt Grobar, Deadline Hollywood 

In June, a six-day event known as Cinema Week will launch across the U.S.

Audience Demand for Documentary Features Grows Across Platforms

Tim Dams, Variety 

Once seen as rather elitist and niche, the documentary feature market is expanding as audience demand for real life stories continues to grow.

The Oscars at L.A.’s Union Station Will Be “This Horrible Town Car Parade,” Critics Say

Kirsten Chuba, The Hollywood Reporter 

This year’s Oscars ceremony will be partially broadcast from downtown L.A.’s Union Station, expanding beyond its usual home at the Dolby Theatre during the pandemic. Questions have arisen, though, around what impact the April 25 telecast will have on the station, which serves as a major transportation hub for the city and its surrounding neighborhoods.

Why Brands Aren’t Giving Up On TV Awards Shows Just Yet

Jeanine Poggi, Ad Age 

Marketers are rooting for the Oscars to take home the golden statue on Sunday night, as they desperately try to keep a firm grip on what value still remains for live TV events.

NBCUniversal Hires Nielsen Executive to Expand Its Measurement Work

Sahil Patel, The Wall Street Journal 

Comcast Corp.’s NBCUniversal has hired an executive from measurement giant Nielsen to help steer its effort to better show marketers the effectiveness of buying TV and digital ads across its properties.

How Increased Latino Representation Benefits TV News—and Viewers

Mollie Cahillane, Adweek 

The Latino community is made up of 60 million people in the U.S. alone, and NBCUniversal’s news division is doing everything it can to reach them.

Disney Ad Sales Opens Multicultural Unit, Elevates Adam Monaco

Brian Steinberg, Variety 

Adam Monaco was elevated to executive vice president at Disney Advertising Sales, part of a series of new appointments made under the unit’s president, Rita Ferro.

Netflix Getting Into Video Games? Streamer Teases More Moves Into Billion-Dollar Business

Peter White, Deadline Hollywood 

Is Netflix making an aggressive move into the video game business? There was definitely some talk on the company’s latest earnings call to back up all of the smoke that has been rising in Hollywood.

Netflix Password-Sharing Crackdown Won’t Feel Heavy Handed, Co-CEO Says

Todd Spangler, Variety 

Netflix wants people to pay their fair share to access its streaming service. But Reed Hastings promises that any crackdown on illicit password-sharing that the company decides to launch across its global footprint won’t be done in an aggressive manner.

The Baker and the Beauty Is the Latest Linear TV Flop Turned Netflix Hit

Kelsey Sutton, Adweek 

The romantic comedy “The Baker and the Beauty,” starring Victor Rasuk and Nathalie Kelley following the whirlwind romance between a Miami baker and a supermodel, was canned at ABC last summer after just nine episodes. But since arriving on Netflix earlier this month, the show has become a bonafide hit.

Gen Z Most Likely to Pay Extra and Avoid ‘Annoying’ Streaming Ads

Mollie Cahillane, Adweek 

Generally, consumers tend to prefer to engage with content without advertisements, but some generations are more willing than others to shell out more dollars to avoid interruption.

Apple Podcasts launches in-app subscriptions

Ashley Carman, The Verge 

A monumental change is coming to Apple Podcasts’ business: the company is launching subscriptions within the Apple Podcasts app. During its spring event today, the company announced that people will be able to subscribe to content from the app for extra perks, like ad-free and bonus content, as well as early access.

Inside Byron Allen’s New ‘Super-Hyper-Local’ Free Streaming Service

Diane Haithman, The Wrap Pro 

Following the pandemic surge in paid subscribers for streaming services, media entrepreneur Byron Allen believes the time is right for Local Now, a streaming service that mixes “super-hyper-local” news with premium content — and offers it for free.

YouTube Tells Brands ‘let’s Get Seasonal’ In Newfronts Pitch

Garett Sloane, Ad Age 

In an effort to deliver more flexibility for brands who are still grappling with pandemic-related pressures, YouTube is allowing advertisers to reserve ad space on a “seasonal” basis, which is a shorter timeframe for upfront commitments. 

Hulu + Live TV to Add NFL Network and NFL RedZone For 2021 Season

Jason Gurwin, The Streamable 

Good news for football fans. Hulu announced that NFL Network will be coming to Hulu Live TV by August 1st, as part of a new multi-year agreement.

Why Amazon keeps failing at video games

Adam Epstein, Quartz

It took Amazon only five years after launching a TV studio to win its first Emmy award. But almost nine years since starting a video games division, not only is Amazon not winning any game awards, it’s also struggling to make any games at all.

Hold On Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber Is the Biggest Pop Star In the World

Lucas Shaw, Bloomberg 

Justin Bieber was about to hit the road to promote his fifth album, “Changes,” when the coronavirus canceled his tour. The new record had been a personal project, a collection of R&B songs from a Canadian heartthrob known for bubblegum pop.

Taylor Swift’s ‘Fearless (Taylor’s Version)’ Debuts Huge: What It Means for Replicating Oldies, Weaponizing Fans

Chris Willman, Variety 

What do you get when you cross a state of grace with an upraised middle finger? This is not a riddle: You get “Fearless (Taylor’s Version).”

How a pop-punk girl group became the most hated band on TikTok

Rebecca Jennings, Vox 

Last week, Tramp Stamps was a new pop-punk girl group trying to promote their single about how much it sucks to hook up with men. By Friday, the Tramp Stamps had become the internet’s main characters, and not in a good way.

Bad Bunny’s 2022 Concert Tickets Setting Records On Scalper Sites

Dave Brooks, Billboard 

Bad Bunny sold more than 600,000 tickets to his 2022 El Ultimo Tour Del Mundo in the past week, generating $64 million to $85 million in revenue, according to Billboard estimates, for a 35-date tour that is one of the fastest selling in history. But scalpers are on track to make at least that much, or even double.