Week in Review

Personnel

  • WarnerMedia Chief Executive John Stankey has been promoted to president and chief operating officer of AT&T Inc., the company announced, marking him as the successor to Chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson. The promotion, effective Oct. 1, comes as AT&T also tapped Jeff McElfresh to replace John Donovan as head of AT&T Communications. 
  • Viacom Inc. and CBS Corp. have set up an Integration Management Office to ensure that the newly formed ViacomCBS will operate smoothly from the onset, according to an internal memo to employees from Viacom CEO Bob Bakish, who will lead the merged company. Viacom’s chief transformation officer, Jose Tolosa, and Gautam Ranji, CBS executive vice president of strategic planning and development, will oversee the integration process, with Bain & Co. tapped as a merger consultant, the memo said.
  • Netflix Inc. is looking to increase its staff across the globe, according to an analysis of the company’s recent LinkedIn Corp. job listings, concentrating its efforts in California – either at its Los Gatos headquarters or its Hollywood home base – and in the Netherlands. The streaming service posted more than 90 job openings worldwide during the last week of August, with roughly 25 percent of the jobs at the management level.
  • Quibi news content chief Janice Min, who has been working on news programming for the upcoming streaming service, has left the company after growing frustrated with founder Jeffrey Katzenberg’s management style and experiencing “personality conflicts” with executive Diane Nelson, according to sources. The company thanked Min in a statement, saying it wishes “her well as she embarks on her next chapter.” 

Film

  • This year’s summer box office, the period from the first weekend in May through Labor Day, was down 2 percent year over year, expected to come in around $4.32 billion, according to Comscore data, with yearly ticket revenue down 6.3 percent. Other businesses such as theme parks, Broadway shows and baseball games have seen a decline in attendance, which experts attribute to the number of affordable home entertainment options and “greater caution by consumers.” 
  • After spending $47 million on films at this year’s Sundance Film Festival that resulted in low box office returns, Amazon Studios’ co-head of movies, Matt Newman, said that success for the company’s films is more than box office performance, with theatrical releases serving as “one path” for marketing ahead of each film’s streaming release. The studio will continue with this model through awards season, with expected contenders “The Report” and “The Aeronauts” receiving limited theatrical runs before premiering on Amazon Prime Video.
  • Sony Pictures Chairman and Chief Executive Tony Vinciquerra said that “for the moment the door is closed” on the possibility of Spider-Man returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Vinciquerra said that Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige is “stretched incredibly thin” after regaining the rights to additional Marvel characters, and added that Sony is already working on projects connected to Spider-Man, including a sequel to “Venom,” a film featuring the character Morbius and multiple Spider-Man television projects. 

Streaming services 

  • John Stankey is considering charging $14.99 a month for WarnerMedia’s upcoming HBO Max streaming service, according to people with knowledge of the WarnerMedia head’s discussions. Sources say that the price – which is currently what the company charges for HBO – has been set low in an effort to attract subscribers, but would likely be increased over time. 
  • YouTube will invest $100 million in original children’s content for YouTube and YouTube Kids over the next three years to address creator concerns regarding changes required by the Federal Trade Commission privacy settlement. The company added that it is “rethinking” how the platform interacts with children and families.

What’s Ahead

  • The Toronto International Film Festival will run through Sept. 15. “Knives Out,” “Hustlers,” “The Goldfinch,” “Jojo Rabbit” and “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” are some of the films that will have their world premiere at the festival. Select television shows, including HBO’s “Mrs. Fletcher” and Facebook Watch’s “Limetown” will also have their world premieres at the festival. 
  • Cynopsis’ That Big TV Conference will be held in New York City on Monday and Tuesday, with over 100 speakers including WarnerMedia’s senior VP of entertainment content partnerships Jennifer Cohen and Comedy Central’s VP of content strategy, marketing and business development, Gerald Biart. 
  • The IAB Newfronts West will be held in Hollywood on Wednesday and Thursday. Jamie Lee Curtis and Rainn Wilson are among the speakers.
  • This year’s Tribeca TV Festival begins Thursday and runs through the 15th. It will feature the world premiere of the Apple TV original series “Dickinson” and a conversation with the executive producers of the show “Friends,” celebrating its 25th anniversary. 
  • The 71st Primetime Emmy Awards will be held on Sunday, Sept. 22 at 8 p.m. EST. 
  • The Atlantic Festival will be held in Washington D.C. Sept. 24-26. Speakers include YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, Snap Inc. co-founder and CEO Evan Spiegel and Franklin Leonard, founder of The Black List. 

Events Calendar (All Times Local)

09/08/2019
2019 Toronto International Film Festival
09/09/2019
Cynopsis Presents: That Big TV Conference
Code Commerce
2019 Toronto International Film Festival
09/10/2019
Cynopsis Presents: That Big TV Conference
Code Commerce
2019 Toronto International Film Festival
09/11/2019
IAB NewFronts West
2019 Toronto International Film Festival
Bank of America Merrill Lynch 2019 Media, Communications & Entertainment Conference
View full calendar

Understanding Gen Z: The Definitive Guide to the Next Generation

Based on nearly 1,000 survey interviews with 18-21 year-olds, Morning Consult’s ‘Understanding Gen Z’ report digs into the values, habits, aspirations, politics, and concerns that are shaping Gen Z adults and the ways they differ from the generations that came before them.

Download the full report →

Morning Consult Entertainment Top Reads

Morning Consult