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Week in Review
Streaming
- Comcast Corp. and Walt Disney Co. announced that Disney will take full operational control of Comcast’s stake in Hulu LLC, effective immediately, with Comcast able to sell the stake to Disney in 2024 for no less than $27.5 billion regardless of the contemporary value. Comcast has also decided to lower the price of NBCUniversal’s upcoming paid streaming service, which will not feature same-season shows or live linear TV viewing capabilities, from $12 to $10, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
- The CW and Netflix Inc. will not renew their output deal, with the network’s three new shows being individually shopped for streaming by the studios that produce them. Next season’s “Batwoman” is said to be reserved for WarnerMedia’s streaming service, while past CW shows such as “Riverdale” and “The Flash” will remain on Netflix.
- Apple Inc. released an update for devices that includes a new version of the TV app featuring Apple Channels, which will allow consumers to subscribe to premium cable channels such as HBO without having to purchase content through iTunes or other apps. While the service does not allow bundling of subscriptions, it does enable offline viewing and makes recommendations to customers.
- AT&T Inc. CEO Randall Stephenson said that WarnerMedia will recover licensing and media rights for its titles as it prepares to launch its streaming service, with the company confirming in a statement that it “plans to take back some owned-content previously licensed to others and instead make it available on the upcoming WarnerMedia SVOD service.” Popular sitcoms such as “Friends,” “Seinfeld” and “The Big Bang Theory” are all produced by Warner Bros. and could be removed from their current streaming homes.
- Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman’s Quibi mobile streaming service, which is expected to launch in 2020, is seeking to raise an additional $1 billion after raising that amount last year, according to four people familiar with the matter, though one source close to the company said that no final determination has been made about how much money to raise or when the process will start. Quibi previously received investments from Warner Bros, as well as tech companies and Silicon Valley firms.
- Quibi is also looking for daily content to balance out scripted and unscripted projects, four digital publishing and entertainment studio sources said. One digital publishing executive that has met with the company said that the service is looking for content that is “lower cost but at a higher frequency,” though it is unclear if any of this content has been ordered.
- Financial disclosures for Sony Corp.’s Crackle streaming service revealed that the service’s first-quarter revenue totaled roughly $11 million, with operating income coming in at $3.5 million. The disclosure – the first time this information has been released to the public – was made by Crackle’s majority owner, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, in an effort “to allow investors to understand the impact of the Crackle transaction” and highlight the potential offered by the joint venture with Sony.
Georgia governor reschedules meetings with studio executives
- Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has pushed meetings with studio executives and a Los Angeles celebratory event to the fall after signing a fetal heartbeat abortion ban into law, which resulted in some actors and production companies calling for an industry boycott of Georgia. According to an insider, Kemp will instead tour production facilities in Georgia to show his commitment to the entertainment industry.
More layoffs hit Disney
Kevin Reilly extends contract with WarnerMedia
- Kevin Reilly has extended his contract with WarnerMedia through 2022, where he will now oversee truTV in addition to his role as president of TNT and TBS and chief content officer for the company’s upcoming streaming service. In his time with the networks, Reilly has launched “Full Frontal With Samantha Bee” as well as comedies and dramas such as “Search Party” and “The Alienist.”
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What’s Ahead
- The Cannes Film Festival will run through Friday.
- This week boasts a pair of Times Talks, with Seth Meyers taking the stage on Monday and Olivia Wilde, along with Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever, will discuss the new film “Booksmart” on Wednesday.
- The Wall Street Journal’s Future of Everything Festival gets underway on Monday and runs through Thursday. Covering topics including culture, tech and money, Trevor Noah of “The Daily Show” will discuss the future of late night comedy, while Olivia Wilde will be on hand to promote “Booksmart.”
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Events Calendar (All Times Local)
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Morning Consult Entertainment Top Reads
1) 49% of Young Viewers Would Cancel Netflix if It Loses ‘Office,’ ‘Friends,’ Disney, Marvel
Sarah Shevenock, Morning Consult
2) Live From New York! It’s the White, Male Face of Hollywood
Sarah Shevenock, Morning Consult
3) NBC Shares 2019-2020 Schedule
Michael Malone, Broadcasting & Cable
4) Nearly Half of TV Viewers Browse Online While Watching Their Favorite Movies and Shows
Blake Droesch, eMarketer
5) How Ugly Will It Get for STX Entertainment?
Matt Donnelly, Variety
6) Sex Trafficking Mars the Mystique of Cannes Film Festival: “This Crime Is Significantly Underreported”
Tatiana Siegel, The Hollywood Reporter
7) ABC has no plans to recast Constance Wu on ‘Fresh Off the Boat’
Meredith Blake, Los Angeles Times
8) Streaming Service Quibi Seeks Up to $1 Billion in New Funding
Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel, The Information
9) The Big Bang Theory’s long reign, explained
Todd VanDerWerff, Vox
10) “Game Of Thrones” Is Ending. HBO Hopes “Watchmen” Can Replace It
Adam Epstein, Quartz
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