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Profitability in fiscal Q2 would be a nice surprise!
If we can believe the numbers.

And, am i mis-remebering things or does that sound a bit like one of the tings that got Bob 2.0 in trouble, pushing streaming costs off to linear? JK, I'm sure Bob 3.0 will do it right.
 
If we can believe the numbers.

And, am i mis-remebering things or does that sound a bit like one of the tings that got Bob 2.0 in trouble, pushing streaming costs off to linear? JK, I'm sure Bob 3.0 will do it right.
There is no Bob 3.0. Iger's return is basically Bob 1.0 Redux.
 
https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/most-watched-channels-2023-tv-network-ratings-1235850482/

Dec 28, 2023 9:00am PST

Most-Watched Television Networks: Ranking 2023’s Winners and Losers
Complete Broadcast, Cable and Pay TV Ratings Ranker for 2023 in Total Viewers and Adults 18-49

by Michael Schneider

There are several popular social media accounts that graph weekly cable network schedules, and it’s always stunning to see how many schedulers have just given up. Nearly every cable network, large and small, now mostly program marathons of their most popular shows.

You know about “Ridiculousness” on MTV, of course. But did you know how much time Disney Channel runs “Big City Greens,” Nick Jr. airs “Paw Patrol,” Adult Swim telecasts “Bob’s Burgers” and “American Dad,” and Nick at Nite runs “Friends”? A lot.

As basic cable gets zombified, the double-digit declines continue. Live sports, of course, is saving the broadcast networks and some cable networks still in that game. And then there’s the interesting case of the diginets, which have managed to keep their declines small as they program a wider range of nostalgia fare to aging adults. And the networks with a very loyal, specialized audience — bravo, Bravo — experienced the smallest declines this year.

Overall, NBC once again led the year in total viewers (and like last year, just narrowly over CBS) with 4.54 million viewers, while the Super Bowl helped give Fox the lead in adults 18-49 (with a nice 10% year-to-year bump).

Tomorrow, Variety will share the ranker of this year’s most-watched primetime telecasts. Spoiler alert, it’s nearly all football. It’s what keeps linear alive! But here, Variety recounts which networks were up and mostly, who was down in 2023.

WINNERS

Reelzchannel: “On Patrol: Live” has been the gift that keeps giving for tiny, mostly forgotten cabler Reelzchannel. Since picking up the series, which was essentially a revival of A&E’s canceled “Live PD,” Reelzchannel has seen its average ratings shoot up dramatically. (That, of course, is a sign of how low a base the network was before Dan Abrams & co. joined its primetime lineup.) In 2023, Reelzchannel shot up 34% in total viewers — the most of any network in the top 50. But a hefty caveat: A+E Networks has been given the go-ahead to continue its quest to seek claims of copyright and trademark infringement against Reelzchannel and producer Big Fish.

Grit: The fastest growing broadcast TV network of 2023 is a channel that airs western movies and TV shows (“Death Valley Days,” “The Lone Ranger”) — mostly from 60 years ago, or even older. That indeed is the recipe for success in the dwindling world of linear TV: Appeal to the aging audience still watching linear TV. It’s been a successful formula for cabler INSP, which saw its audience slip this year (perhaps because of that growing competish in the westerns space) but was still a top 20 network. This year, Grit leaped over the CW to become the ninth most-watched broadcast net.

MSNBC, Newsmax, Newsnation: Everyone to their corners. While CNN and Fox News both registered 20% declines this year, somehow MSNBC defied the odds and saw a slight 2% uptick. Newsmax, which continues to go full-conspiracy and ultra right-wing, is feeling the divisive benefits of stoking that fear and rage with a hefty 22% jump. Newsnation, which has also added more opinion to its mix, is up and even heftier 73% (although from a smaller base). Expect all the news networks to see big jumps in 2024, as the Potential Final Year of Democracy should prove that what’s tragic for the country will be excellent for the ratings.

LOSERS

HBO and its linear premium cable counterparts: The pay TV channels have been at the forefront of sending viewers to their streaming counterparts, and that has given them some of the biggest declines of any channels this year. That starts with HBO, down a tremendous 34% among viewers, with Showtime down 25% and Starz down 31%. Starz Encore and Cinemax weren’t even measured this year.
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Kids TV: Sorry for being a broken record, but the collapse of the linear kids TV network business has been stunning in this streaming age. In 2014, the first year we started this report, Disney Channel was a top 10 network, with nearly 2 million viewers. In 2023, Disney Channel is ranked No. 80, with 132,000 viewers. Nickelodeon (-34%), Disney Channel (-26%), Disney Junior (-27%), Nick Jr. (-34%), Cartoon Network (-19%) all know that kids aren’t watching linear TV, and they’re certainly not watching linear TV in primetime. Somehow, Teen Nick saw a bit of a boost this year, which is interesting since that channel almost exclusively only runs “Henry Danger” on weekdays and “iCarly” on weekends. And that’s pretty much it.

Paramount Network: No “Yellowstone,” no numbers. Last year, the power of “Yellowstone” gave Paramount Network an incredible boost – the network was the only major cabler to see gains thanks to the huge success of that show. But in 2023, only one episode of “Yellowstone” aired — on Jan. 1. Without its signature hit, Paramount slipped 30%, putting it back below rivals FX and AMC. (Which also experienced yet another year of double-digit dips.)

Below are the primetime rankers for broadcast, cable and premium cable networks in 2023, among total viewers (as well as the top 50 list in adults 18-49). Most Nielsen-rated networks can be found here, with the exception of a few channels that are not ad-supported. Networks no longer included in this year’s tally — because they either shut down or no longer rated — include Olympic Channel, Fuse, NBC Sports Network, Black News Channel, G4 and Pursuit Channel.
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[For historical record, here are previous year-end network rankers: 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015.]

THE MOST-WATCHED NETWORKS OF 2023 (BY TOTAL VIEWERS)​

RankNETWORKVIEWERS (000)% CHANGE
1.NBC4,537-12%
2.CBS4,508-12%
3.ABC3,888+1%
4.Fox3,353+4%
5.Fox News1,899-20%
6.ESPN1,705-9%
7.Univision1,265-4%
8.MSNBC1,220+2%
9.Ion997-3%
10.HGTV 943-13%
11.TNT938-3%
12.Hallmark Channel929-10%
13.Telemundo859-8%
14.TBS786-10%
15.History775-7%
16.TLC749-23%
17.INSP709-9%
18.Discovery Channel702-14%
19.USA Network688-7%
20.Food Network672-14%
21.Me TV631-8%
22.CNN 591-20%
23.Bravo571-4%
24.Investigation Discovery546-4%
25.Grit513+18%
26.TV Land467-10%
27.Hallmark Movie & Mysteries454-8%
28.The CW453-21%
29.Lifetime 443-25%
30.A&E432-15%
31.FX 389-16%
32.Unimás372-24%
33.AMC 369-21%
WE TV369-14%
35.Paramount Network346-30%
36.Game Show Network 340-6%
37.Reelzchannel337+34%
38.BET 335-7%
39.ESPN 2323-4%
40.Oxygen 312-7%
41.Fox Sports 1308+13%
42.Nat Geo301-15%
43.Syfy285-21%
44.MTV256-11%
45.Freeform254-16%
46.Bounce TV2530%
47.Nick at Nite245-13%
48.Comedy Central233-12%
49.Family Entertainment TV231-4%
50.Travel226-33%
51.Newsmax225+22%
52.Animal Planet217-24%
Adult Swim217-11%
54.SundanceTV206-13%
55.FXX204-17%
E!204-12%
57.NFL Network197-5%
58. Cozi196-3%
59.LMN191-19%
60.Nickelodeon190-34%
Start TV190-8%
62.Motor Trend184-14%
63.BBC America179-6%
64.IFC177-21%
65.Court TV Mystery174-6%
66.Magnolia Network170-16%
67.CMT169-22%
Heroes and Icons169-2%
69.HBO166-34%
HLN166-21%
71.CNBC163-17%
72.Nat Geo Wild158-13%
73.VH1154-36%
74.Laff151+3%
75.OWN147-31%
76. Cartoon Network146-19%
77.Great American Family139+76%
78.Science Channel134-27%
79.Disney Junior133-27%
80.Disney Channel 132-26%
81.Defy TV130+34%
82.Up 124+6%
83.Pop121-5%
84.TruTV120-18%
85.Weather Channel119-26%
86.Antenna TV114-1%
87.Nick Jr.112-34%
88.TUDN111-18%
89.Newsnation109+73%
90.Charge!102+28
91.Comet101+2%
92.Fox Business Network91+44%
Get TV91n/a
94.TV One87-16%
Smithsonian87-11%
MLB Network87-9%
97.NBA TV 85-6%
98.Cooking Channel84-14%
Golf84-11%
100.Hallmark Drama82-9%
101.Estrella TV81-24%
102.Ovation Network79+44%
103.Catchy Comedy69n/a
Showtime69-25%
105.FX Movie Channel68-15%
106. FYI64-26%
Big Ten Network64-15%
108.Viceland61-14%
109.Nicktoons58-11%
110.Starz57-31%
111.Court TV56-3%
112.Tennis Network55+10%
113. RFD-TV54+8%
114.Dabl53-10%
115.Teen Nick51+19%
116. Telexitos49-13%
117. American Heroes48-13%
MTV248-13%
119.Universo45-21%
120.ESPN U44-10%
True Real 44+2%
122. Boomerang41-21%
Destination America41-21%
BET Her41-7%
Fox Deportes410%
126.Story Television40-2%
127.Galavision36-56%
128.AXS TV35-17%
Logo35-15%
130.Discovery En Español33-48%
131.Disney XD32-40%
132.Azteca31-34%
133. TBD TV30-3%
134.Discovery Family Channel28-26%
135.The Cowboy Channel26+8%
136.Outdoor Channel22-27%
137.Universal Kids21-9%
138.Discovery Life Channel20-29%
ESPN Deportes20-26%
Fox Sports 220+5%
141.Cleo TV15+15%
142.Discovery Familia13-35%
Baby First TV13-28%
Justice Central13+18%
145.Nat Geo Mundo11-35%
146.Accuweather10+11%
147.CNN En Español8-47%
148.Galanovelas7-50%
Sportsman Channel7-50%
Comedy TV7+75%
151.NBCLX5+25%
152.BEIN Sport Español3-25%
BEIN Sport30%
Hogar De HGTV2n/a
Source: Nielsen, NPM (12/26/2022-12/3/2023, Live+7 and 12/4/2023-12/17/2023, Live+SD vs. 12/27/2021-12/4/2022, Live+7 and 12/5/2022-12/18/2022, Live+SD) Mon-Sat 8pm-11pm/Sun 7pm-11pm, ad-supported and premium pay networks. Nat Geo Mundo based on NPM-H. Excluded are Amazon and Amazon Spanish as these two networks only have programming on Thursday nights. Ranked by 2023 Year-To-Date.


THE 50 TOP-RATED NETWORKS OF 2023 (BY ADULTS 18-49)​

RankNETWORK18-49 VIEWERS (000)% CHANGE
1.Fox994+10%
2.NBC931-21%
3.ABC798-8%
4.CBS676-17%
5.ESPN654-7%
6.Univision440-16%
7.TNT386+1%
8.Telemundo296-12%
9.TBS251-16%
10.USA 2230%
11.Bravo206-11%
12.TLC198-25%
13.Food Network156-24%
14.Discovery Network149-23%
15.Ion146-18%
16.Fox News141-35%
17. HGTV136-28%
18.Unimás133-33%
FX133-22%
20.Comedy Central132-14%
21.Adult Swim127-7%
22.A&E 122-18%
MTV122-16%
24.Hallmark Channel120-14%
25.FXX115-17%
26.History111-22%
27.ESPN 2109-1%
28.Investigation Discovery107-16%
29.Freeform106-22%
30.Nick at Nite105-14%
31.BET97-15%
Fox Sports 197+23%
33.AMC95-29%
34.CNN91-28%
35.The CW 90-30%
36. Paramount Network 79-37%
37.Syfy78-24%
38.MSNBC77-9%
39.Nickelodeon75-27%
Reelzchannel75+25%
41.Lifetime74-38%
42.WE TV72-20%
43.TV Land69-17%
44.E!68-21%
45.VH165-41%
46.NFL Network61-5%
47.Cartoon Network60-21%
48. TruTV58-24%
49.TUDN53-23%
Oxygen53-9%
Source: Nielsen, NPM (12/26/2022-12/3/2023, Live+7 and 12/4/2023-12/17/2023, Live+SD vs. 12/27/2021-12/4/2022, Live+7 and 12/5/2022-12/18/2022, Live+SD) Mon-Sat 8pm-11pm/Sun 7pm-11pm, ad-supported and premium pay networks. Nat Geo Mundo based on NPM-H. Excluded are Amazon and Amazon Spanish as these two networks only have programming on Thursday nights. Ranked by 2023 Year-To-Date.
 

If we can believe the numbers.

And, am i mis-remebering things or does that sound a bit like one of the tings that got Bob 2.0 in trouble, pushing streaming costs off to linear? JK, I'm sure Bob 3.0 will do it right.
Sorry, I got caught up in the irrational exuberance of streaming possibly showing a profit. Good thing I'm not the interim CFO! :rotfl2:
 
Disney has 4 of the top ten film franchises per Fandom:

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/12/30/disney-star-wars-2023-top-film-franchise.html


How Disney made Star Wars the top film franchise of 2023 without a theatrical release​


Sarah Whitten

The Force remains strong with the Star Wars franchise.
Despite not releasing a theatrical film since 2019, Star Wars has been named the top film franchise of 2023 by Fandom, the world’s largest platform for entertainment fans.
The top title for Star Wars comes as Disney has been strategically rebuilding the franchise, stalling its cinema presence in favor of long-form television content on its streaming platform Disney+ as well as alternative storytelling through video games, comic books, novels, virtual reality and even a short-lived hotel experience in Florida.
“The Star Wars brand has no peer when it comes to the unprecedented goodwill, cultural ubiquity, character mythology and sheer revenue-generating power achieved across most every vertical in the entertainment ecosystem,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.
Fandom’s top 10 film franchises of 2023

  1. Star Wars
  2. Disney
  3. Harry Potter
  4. The Marvel Cinematic Universe
  5. The DC Extended Universe
  6. The Hunger Games
  7. Jurassic Park
  8. Dune
  9. James Bond
  10. Avatar
Source: Fandom
Fandom’s scoring is based on five metrics: how many content pages the franchise has on Fandom’s site; ratings from critics and fans; how often the franchise is represented in the real world through conventions and fan events; cultural relevance to those who are not core to the fan base; and the amount of new content from the franchise to sustain interest.
Star Wars’ No.1 ranking suggests that Disney’s revitalization of the brand, which took a hit in the wake of a sequel trilogy for the films, is working. Disney appears at No. 2 on the list, representing its animated films, and its Marvel and Avatar franchises also make the cut.
Disney’s success with Star Wars can also offer a blueprint to other film franchises that are in the process or restarting or evolving — namely Marvel and Warner Bros. Discovery’s Harry Potter and DC Studios.

A short time ago, in your local movie theater​

After buying Lucasfilm in 2012, Disney went straight to work, cooking up new theatrical content from the Star Wars brand. “The Force Awakens” arrived in theaters in 2015 and instantly recaptured fan interest worldwide. The film snapped up more than $2 billion globally and became the basis for billion-dollar theme park expansions at both Disneyland and Disney World.
However, it quickly became clear that Disney didn’t have a singular plan when it set out to make its new trilogy of Star Wars films. The narrative thread that was supposed to link the trilogy together was improvised and resulted in three films that aren’t cohesive and riddled with plot holes.
Each movie seems to be a total departure from the previous one. If 2015′s “The Force Awakens” was criticized for being too much of a mirror of the original trilogy, 2017′s “The Last Jedi” was criticized for doing the exact opposite. “The Rise of Skywalker” in 2019 undid major story lines from its predecessor and sidelined major characters. Emperor Palpatine, who was killed by Darth Vader in 1983′s “Return of the Jedi,” returned — somehow.
In between each film in the sequel trilogy, Disney released a film that harkened back to an important plot point from past Star Wars films. “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” which followed the rebels who stole the Death Star plans given to Princess Leia in the original “Star Wars,” was generally well-received across the board when it hit theaters in 2018, but two years later, “Solo,” which centered on Han Solo’s origin, fell flat with critics and many in the fan community.
“At the time, Disney’s strategy was to essentially release one new Star Wars film theatrically each year,” said Peter Csathy, founder and chair of advisory firm Creative Media. “But each year brought diminishing box office returns.”
A new generation of Star Wars films at the global box office

  • “The Force Awakens” (2015) — $2.07 billion
  • “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” (2016) — $1.05 billion
  • “The Last Jedi” (2017) — $1.33 billion
  • “Solo: A Star Wars Story” (2018) — $393.1 million
  • “The Rise of Skywalker” (2019) — $1.077 billion
Source: Comscore
While “Solo” was the only true box office flop, Disney decided to suspend its theatrical Star Wars releases and regroup. It was already seeing success from the first season of TV spinoff “The Mandalorian,” which launched in late 2019. The series was proof that Star Wars can strike a balance between nostalgia and innovation — and that the franchise didn’t need to be in theaters to thrive.
“The Mouse House pivoted to a strategy of scarcity for the big screen, while fleshing out the characters and storylines on TV and introducing them — and the entire Star Wars universe — to new generations with new viewing habits, essentially going where the audience was going,” Csathy said. “This, in turn, builds anticipation and buzz for future main marquee events at a theater near you.”

Rebuilding an empire​

Disney isn’t set to release another Star Wars film in cinemas until 2026. But, in crafting its televised Star Wars content, it is rebuilding goodwill within its established community and drawing in new fans.
Overall, the live-action Star Wars series — “The Mandalorian,” “The Book of Boba Fett,” “Andor,” “Kenobi” and “Ahsoka” — have been well-received by critics and fans alike.
While these stories explore past Star Wars tales, either harkening back to characters seen in past installments or exploring a piece of the Star Wars timeline, and are unlikely to connect to future theatrical entrants, they provide moviegoers with a sense of cohesion and quality.

In animation, Disney released a final season in the “Clone Wars” saga, where fan-favorite Ahsoka Tano debuted, and continued following a number of clone troopers from this era in “The Bad Batch.” Additionally, through streaming, Disney has given audiences several different ways to watch Star Wars stories.
There’s “Tales of the Jedi,” which explored the backstories of Ahsoka and Count Dooku; “Young Jedi Adventures,” which caters to a preschool demographic; and “Visions,” a collection of animated shorts from different genres and featuring different levels of maturity.
In establishing such variety, Disney is entertaining its existing fanbase and offering olive branches to newcomers of all ages.
“I think that creators in these worlds have to find ways to build them and expand the audiences while making sure that it doesn’t skew too much from what the core fans love about it,” said Stephanie Fried, chief marketing officer at Fandom.
Another key for Disney has been parsing these series out slowly over the course of several years.
“A critical takeaway is that franchise theatrical releases need room to breathe,” said Csathy. “We are seeing diminishing returns by the rapid release schedule of the past several years, and now there is a broad realization that anticipation needs to build for box office dynamite to ignite.” That, and the fact that none of these shows are required viewing for future Star Wars projects.
Diego Luna as Cassian Andor and Alan Tudyk as K-2SO in “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.”
Disney | Lucasfilm
Disney found itself in a tough spot with its Marvel Cinematic Universe because it began introducing key characters in its Marvel streaming shows before they appeared in theatrical projects. This required fans to catch up on hours of television content to understand what was happening on the big screen.
While some viewers might want to catch up on episodes of “Clone Wars” before diving into “Ahsoka,” for example, audiences could in many cases tune into these shows without having to do any homework.

The learning curve​

The lessons Disney has learned in revitalizing Star Wars are some that it could apply to another struggling franchise, Marvel, and that Warner Bros. Discovery’s DC and Harry Potter universes may take to heart as they embark on their own refreshes.
At Marvel, life after “Avengers: Endgame” has been riddled with inconsistency and uncertainty. That has taken a toll on box office returns. “The Marvels” posted the worst opening of a MCU film ever in November, leaving the industry and audiences questioning how Disney can save its own superheroes.
Even Disney CEO Bob Iger has been publicly critical of the studio, saying on several occasions that Disney needs to be more selective about which Marvel superheroes get sequel films and when to bring in fresh stories, especially after Disney packed its streaming service with nearly a dozen new shows in just three years.
Add to that the recent firing of Jonathan Majors, who was supposed to be the franchise’s next big villain Kang, after he was convicted of misdemeanor assault and harassment in mid-December. Disney now has to make a choice: Recast the role of Kang or completely alter its plans for the MCU.
Rival DC Studios, with a similarly fervent fan base and similar challenges, appears to be headed in the right direction, tapping James Gunn (“Guardians of the Galaxy” and “The Suicide Squad”) and long-time DC film producer Peter Safran as co-heads of the studio in late 2022.
The pair has since developed a 10-year plan to reinvigorate its franchises across TV and film, including fresh spins on Superman and Batman.
The story is much the same at Warner Bros.′ Harry Potter franchise. After the wild success of the eight Harry Potter films, Warner Bros. tapped author J.K. Rowling to develop a five-film series based on “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” a supplementary informational book about the different creatures in the Harry Potter universe.
While the first film performed well at the box office, generating more than $800 million globally, the rest of the franchise saw diminishing returns and critical reception faltered.
Warner Bros. is due to release fourth and fifth installments of the series, though it has provided few specifics. It also intends to remake the original Harry Potter novels into a 10-season television series for the company’s streaming platform Max, expected in 2025 or 2026.
Star Wars, meanwhile, is set to release two films in 2026 — one in May and one in December — seven years after the last Star Wars film arrived in cinemas.
 
https://deadline.com/2023/12/box-office-2023-marketshare-new-years-weekend-1235683633/

2023 US Box Office Crossing $9 Billion, Led By Universal; ‘Wonka’ Tops New Year’s Weekend With $31M+ – Sunday Update
By Anthony D'Alessandro
Editorial Director/Box Office Editor
December 31, 2023 - 8:51am PST

SUNDAY AM WRITETHRU: Refresh for updates and chart….Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, and he’s delivering the motion picture industry a $9 billion-plus year at the domestic box office, a feat many thought was unimaginable with the lack of a mega-tentpole over the holiday, coupled by a Q4 impacted by the double strikes. These numbers were compiled from Comscore data and Deadline calculations.

But it was a diversified crop of family and adult films over the holidays which got us there, including the Warner Bros.’ trifecta of Wonka (which is leading the 4-day New Year’s Box Office with $31.8M), Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (4-day $26.3M), and The Color Purple ($17.7M 4-day), as well as adult movies like The Boys in the Boat ($11.6M 4-day) and even YA romantic comedy, Anyone But You ($10.56M 4-day). As we told you a few days ago, 2024 is bound to shed about $1 billion for an $8 billion take due to a lower inventory of wide releases and Q1 sans several tentpoles.

We’ll have more granular details on the major studios throughout the long weekend. But hands down, without any question, Universal is winning the domestic box office with $1.93 billion by EOD Sunday, +18% from 2022, off such hits as Super Mario Bros ($574.9M, 2nd highest-grossing film of the year), Oppenheimer ($326M), Fast X ($150.1M) and Five Nights at Freddy’s ($137.2M). In a slot that typically belongs to Disney, it’s the first time since 2015 that Universal has led the domestic box office.

Speaking of Disney, when the dust settles by the end of this weekend, they’ll be second with $1.89 billion, including monies from 20th Century Studios and Searchlight (-2% from 2022). Yes, as was over-reported, it was a tough year for Disney with waning ticket sales for Marvel movies like Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania ($214.5M) and the lowest grossing title in Disney’s MCU, The Marvels, at $84.4M (however, not the lowest for Marvel, let’s not forget Marvel/20th’s Elektra with $24.4M) as well as Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny at $174.4M charting as the lowest grossing in the franchise of all-time. Quality over quantity is the mantra for the Mouse House moving forward per Disney Boss Bob Iger.

Warner Bros. is third with $1.4 billion (+50% from 2022). The Burbank, CA lot delivered $277M stateside, $700M across its trifecta over the holidays. Exhibition is thankful, and I understand Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav was also a champ about putting three movies in theaters over Christmas and New Year’s. Despite the remainder of the Zack Snyder-born DC universe crashing this year between The Flash (largely due to the tabloid hijinks of star Ezra Miller), Shazam: Fury of the Gods and Aquaman 2, Warner’s count includes, of course, its highest grossing movie ever —Barbie ($636.2M) which reps almost half of their box office 2024.
 
the spread between the three studios is relatively narrow, especially between disney and universal....

shows where the new normal may be, and that its time to go back to singles and doubles over make or break pictures...
 
the spread between the three studios is relatively narrow, especially between disney and universal....

shows where the new normal may be, and that its time to go back to singles and doubles over make or break pictures...
Singles and doubles as in lower-budgeted films?
 
Singles and doubles as in lower-budgeted films?
"Singles and Doubles" was a term popularized by former DIS CEO Michael Eisner and Studios CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg. This Katzenberg memo talks about it.

https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/the-katzenberg-memo-part-1-d8a642a0c88a

Simply put, low budget films that make a profit most every time, vs big budget/high risk movies.

Here's the complete memo. It appears to be very timely for the situation our company finds itself in today.

https://sriramk.com/memos/katzenberg.pdf

Ecclesiastes 1:9 - The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
https://www.bible.com/bible/1/ECC.1.9.KJV
 
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/com...-more-of-their-streaming-services/ar-AA1mlC5C

Americans Are Canceling More of Their Streaming Services
Hulu, Netflix and other streamers are turning to bundles, discounts and ad-supported plans as customer defections rise
By Sarah Krouse
Updated Jan. 2, 2024 12:42 pm ET

It’s getting a lot harder for streaming services to hold on to their customers.

Crystal Revis, a mother of six in Lynn Haven, Fla., recently canceled her subscriptions to Disney+ and Paramount+, among others, because of their swelling price tags and the rising cost of living. She is also considering canceling Netflix, home to shows such as “The Crown” and films including “Leave the World Behind.”

Revis is among the consumers nationwide paring their streaming bills and getting more strategic about when they turn services on and off. Customer defections across premium streaming services rose to 6.3% in November, from 5.1% a year earlier.

About one-quarter of U.S. subscribers to major streaming services—a group that includes Apple TV+, Discovery+, Disney+, Hulu, Max, Netflix, Paramount+, Peacock and Starz—have canceled at least three of them over the past two years, according to November data from subscription-analytics provider Antenna. Two years ago, that number stood at 15%, a sign that streaming users are becoming increasingly fickle.

“With the streaming services increasing their rates like they are, it’s, like, ‘OK, do I pay for the cable?’” Revis, who is in her 40s, said of deciding what home entertainment to select.

Under pressure to improve profitability and avoid having to reacquire users, streamers are trying a range of tactics to retain customers, from launching lower-cost ad-supported tiers of service, to teaming up with rivals on bundled deals and providing discounts or free months of service.

Revis planned to cancel Hulu, home to shows such as “Faraway Downs” and “Only Murders in the Building,” but decided to keep it because the service offered her six months of its ad-supported service for $2.99 a month, less than half of its typical $7.99-a-month price.

Beni Goldenberg, 48 years old, has downgraded some services to control costs. In 2023, he switched from a $22.99-a-month premium Netflix plan to its $15.49-a-month standard plan, limiting the number of devices that can watch the service at the same time and lowering the viewing resolution. Netflix has long had the lowest rate of customer defections among major streamers.

Goldenberg also cancels sports add-ons to his YouTube TV subscription when events are over.

“I’m focusing on the ones that me and my family watch the most,” said the father of two in North Texas, who typically watches movies and TV shows on Disney+ with his family on Friday nights.

Some customers who turn off a service return to it later, according to Antenna.

One in four people who cancel a premium streaming service typically resubscribes to that service within four months, and one in three does so within seven months. Half do so within two years.

“Retention doesn’t just mean holding on to a new subscriber the first time they get them. It’s about managing a relationship over a true customer lifetime,” said Jonathan Carson, co-founder and chief executive of Antenna. Antenna compiles data from third-party services that collect information from consumers, with their consent, such as online purchases, bills and banking records.

Among the U.S. customers who joined Disney+ for the first time in November or converted from a trial, nearly 60% opted for the ad-supported tier. That figure was bolstered by Black Friday promotion and is up from 25% in December 2022, when the ad tier was launched.

More than one-third of new U.S. Netflix customers in November opted for the ad tier, compared with 11% a year earlier, when the ad-supported version was introduced. Streamers say ad-supported plans are a win-win for them and price-sensitive customers, bringing in revenue from monthly subscriptions as well as ad sales.

Some rivals have begun bundling their ad-supported tiers of service, offering a discounted rate in the hopes that customers see value in the offering and stick around longer. Verizon in early December began offering some of its customers a bundle that includes the ad-supported tiers of Netflix and Max for about $10 a month, instead of about $17.

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has said bundling is an important part of the business’s future and can provide a good customer experience. Disney has said customers are less likely to cancel its streaming service when they pay for its bundle of Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu.

Brendan Byrne, a 40-year-old father of four in the Boston area, pays for streaming services including Netflix, the Disney bundle, Amazon Prime Video and Paramount+, in addition to cable, but is starting to question the value of some of those subscriptions.

After the 2023 Hollywood writers and actors strikes, “the lack of content is evident across all of these streaming things right now,” he said.

“We’ll cut back on a few of them,” Byrne said. “We’re just not using them.”

—Nate Rattner contributed to this article.

Write to Sarah Krouse at sarah.krouse@wsj.com
 
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/m...box-office-disney-cedes-universal-1235777567/

2023 Box Office: Disney Cedes Global Marketshare Crown to Universal After Years of Domination

Universal's releases generated an estimated $4.91 billion in movie ticket sales at the global box office, compared to $4.82 billion for Disney.

by Pamela McClintock
January 2, 2024 - 1:00pm PST

Universal‘s film empire is taking a major bow after placing No. 1 in marketshare at the 2023 global box office, a feat no studio has been able to pull off since Disney rose to dominance in 2016.

The 24 movies released by Universal generated an estimated $4.91 billion in worldwide ticket sales, compared to an estimated $4.83 billion from the 17 titles released by Disney in what made for a relatively close race both in North America and at the foreign box office. Even a week ago, no one in Hollywood was sure Universal would prevail, especially overseas.

Universal’s total haul included $1.94 billion in domestic revenue, while Disney’s domestic tally was $1.9 billion. Internationally, Universal prevailed with $2.97 billion. Disney’s offshore revenue was $2.92 billion.

The transfer of power is a big win for Donna Langley, who is chairman of NBCUniversal Studio Group and chief content officer. She is known for her close ties to top filmmakers, and had the necessary skills and standing to lure Christopher Nolan into the Universal fold when he grew upset with Warner Bros. after it announced plans to release its 2021 slate day-and-date on streaming.

Nolan’s R-rated Oppenheimer led Universal’s top-grossing films of 2023 with an astonishing $952 million in global ticket sales, a record sum for a biographical drama and Nolan’s best showing outside of his two Dark Knight movies, not adjusted for inflation.

“Universal seems to have found the perfect balance of franchise films, animation, horror and everything in between — and these assets are given every possible advantage with a pitch perfect strategy that combines great filmmaker relationships, fantastic marketing and a rock solid distribution plan,” says Comscore chief box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian.

Universal’s slate includes titles from Universal Pictures proper, specialty division Focus Features, Illumination and DreamWorks Animation. Illumination is home of Super Mario, which earned $1.36 billion globally (it ranked No. 2 for the year behind Warners’ Barbie). The film shattered numerous records, including becoming the No. 2 animated film of all time behind Disney’s Frozen. And 2023’s Fast X delivered $704.9 million in box office grosses to give Universal three of the five top-grossing films of the year globally.

Langley, who also keeps Blumhouse CEO Jason Blum close, has always insisted on a diverse slate of films in addition to franchise fare. Blumhouse’s Five Nights at Freddy‘s scared up $290.9 million against a mere $20 million budget.

“In 2023, Universal once again found success at the box office with our eclectic slate of films. Our slate featured blockbusters like Christopher Nolan’s epic Oppenheimer and Illumination’s record-breaking The Super Mario Bros. Movie, horror hits including Blumhouse’s breakout hit M3GAN, comedies, dramas, and family films from two of the biggest names in animation, Illumination and DreamWorks Animation,” Jim Orr, Universal Pictures president of domestic distribution, said in a statement.

From 2016 to 2022, Disney placed first in global marketshare (it lost the domestic race to Sony in 2020, the year of the COVID-19 box office collapse). Universal hasn’t ranked No. 1 on a worldwide basis since 2015, when the studio’s revenue reached a then-record $6.9 billion.

Ceding the crown to Universal caps an especially difficult year for Disney, one in which Marvel Studios and the company’s animation studios stumbled badly. In recent weeks as The Marvels and Wish collapsed in their box office runs, Disney CEO Bob Iger didn’t try to gloss over the missteps. “We lost focus,” the exec declared on a Nov.8 earnings call, where he promised investors that the company is putting effort into quality versus quantity.

If there’s any solace, it’s that the marketshare contest wasn’t a rout, and that Disney — like Universal — was far ahead of the other major studios. And it has ranked as one of the top two studios for the past nine years, including seven at No. 1.

Other highlights: Disney released four of the top 10-grossing films globally in 2023, the most of any studio; Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (one of the few superhero titles to work), The Little Mermaid, Elemental and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Domestically, Disney claimed three of the top 10 films, likewise the most of any studio; Guardians, Little Mermaid and Quantumania.

Warner Bros. — home of Barbie, the year’s top earner with $1.44 billion in worldwide ticket sales — was No. 3 in global marketshare with $3.84 billion, including $1.43 billion domestically and $2.4 billion overseas.

Sony came in No. 4 with $2.09 billion globally, including an early domestic estimate of $1.01 billion and $1.08 overseas.

Paramount’s global revenue came in at $2.03 billion in 2023, including $842 million domestically and $1.18 billion offshore.

Elsewhere, Lionsgate had a notable milestone to celebrate in that its movies generated north of $1 billion in global ticket sales for the first time in five years thanks to the successful runs of John Wick: Chapter 4, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and the latest Saw franchise, among other titles. John Wick was a standout in particular, earning $440.1 million worldwide and north of $187 million domestically, the ninth-best showing of the year.

Jan. 2, 1:20 p.m. PST: Updated with Sony, Paramount and Lionsgate marketshare estimates.
 
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/b...nt-board-members-proxy-battle-1235778191/amp/

Disney Strikes Pact With Activist Investor ValueAct, Securing Its Support for Slate of Board Members​


"We could not be more excited to partner with Bob and the board to help create long-term sustainable shareholder value," says the firm amid Disney's proxy battle with Nelson Peltz and his firm Trian Partners.

Georg Szalai
JANUARY 3, 2024 3:18AM PST

The Walt Disney Co. and activist investor ValueAct Capital Management have entered into a “confidentiality agreement that enables the company to provide information to the investment firm and consult with ValueAct on strategic matters, including through meetings with the Disney board and management,” the Hollywood giant said on Wednesday.

As part of the announcement of the arrangement, ValueAct also confirmed that it would support the Disney slate of nominees for the company’s board of directors at Disney’s upcoming annual shareholder meeting. The news comes amid Disney’s proxy battle with Nelson Peltz and his firm Trian Partners.

It lauded ValueAct for its “extensive experience investing in media and technology companies navigating significant business transformations, including Spotify, The New York Times, 21st Century Fox, Nintendo, Microsoft, Adobe and Salesforce.”

Said Disney CEO Bob Iger: “ValueAct Capital has a track record of collaboration and cooperation with the companies it invests in, and its co-CEO Mason Morfit has been very constructive in the conversations we’ve had over the past year. We welcome their input as long-term shareholders.”

Morfit szid: “Disney is the world’s leading entertainment company. It has the best intellectual property, sports brand and parks & experiences assets in the industry. As legacy technologies transition to digital platforms, we believe Disney can lead the media industry forward. We could not be more excited to partner with Bob and the board to help create long-term sustainable shareholder value.”
 
https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/th...onsultation-during-companys-transformation-2/

The Walt Disney Company and ValueAct Capital Enter Into Information-Sharing Arrangement to Facilitate Strategic Consultation During Company’s Transformation​

Investment Firm Will Support the Disney Board’s Slate of Director Nominees at 2024 Annual Meeting
The Walt Disney Company and ValueAct Capital Management, L.P. have entered into a confidentiality agreement that enables the company to provide information to the investment firm and consult with ValueAct on strategic matters, including through meetings with the Disney Board and management.
ValueAct has extensive experience investing in media and technology companies navigating significant business transformations, including Spotify, The New York Times, 21st Century Fox, Nintendo, Microsoft, Adobe and Salesforce.
“ValueAct Capital has a track record of collaboration and cooperation with the companies it invests in, and its Co-CEO Mason Morfit has been very constructive in the conversations we’ve had over the past year. We welcome their input as long-term shareholders,” said Robert A. Iger, Disney’s Chief Executive Officer.
“Disney is the world’s leading entertainment company. It has the best intellectual property, sports brand and parks & experiences assets in the industry. As legacy technologies transition to digital platforms, we believe Disney can lead the media industry forward. We could not be more excited to partner with Bob and the Board to help create long-term sustainable shareholder value,” said Mason Morfit, ValueAct Capital Co-CEO and Chief Investment Officer.
ValueAct has confirmed it will support the Disney Board of Directors’ recommended slate of nominees for election to the Board at the 2024 Annual Meeting.
 
Hopefully this is good news for stock value.
Would like to know more about ValueActCapital…

Also interesting to follow the release on big screen of Disneys 3 Pandemic Covid Movies at Disney Springs AMC Theatre.
Soul January 12
Red February 5
Luca
 
More woke stupidity from Disney handing Star Wars over to a Pakistani-Canadian feminist who loves "making men uncomfortable". Get ready for more galactic bombs at the box office for Disney. I knew Iger was lying last month when he said "We have to entertain first. It's not about messages." At this point, they are just gaslighting stockholders about their true mission.

'Star Wars' Director's Comment About Men Sparks Calls to Boycott
 
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More woke stupidity from Disney handing Star Wars over to a Pakistani-Canadian feminist who loves "making men uncomfortable". Get ready for more galactic bombs at the box office for Disney. I knew Iger was lying last month when he said "We have to entertain first. It's not about messages." At this point, they are just gaslighting stockholders about their true mission.

'Star Wars' Director's Comment About Men Sparks Calls to Boycott
must be so hard to go through life suffering from such a rampant case of male fragility....


"We know close to nothing about the Rey movie, but Obaid-Chinoy briefly spoke about it to CNN where she said:


"We're in 2024. It's about time we have a woman shape a story in a galaxy far, far away."


"This, naturally, has upset the type of “Rey is a Mary Sue” crowd from the sequel trilogy, with many of them misreading the quote as “there have never been women doing anything in Star Wars,” listing off many female characters from Rey herself to Leia, Ahsoka and others.

Of course, she’s talking about being the first female director of a Star Wars movie. Episodes of some of the Star Wars shows have been directed by women like Bryce Dallas Howard and Deborah Chow. Chow was also the showrunner and director of every episode of the Obi-Wan Kenobi series. And of course Kathleen Kennedy has been steering Star Wars as a whole for a long while now. But yes, it’s significant that Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is the first woman directing a full Star Wars theatrical release…ever."


https://www.forbes.com/sites/paulta...is-causing-outrage-of-course/?sh=36e93b296103
 
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Another tempest in a teacup.
it was to be expected. At this point it is like a bad script of silly faux outrage. Rey is a triggering character for a lot of folks... and then to double down with a woman director who is excited for the job... naturally going to ruffle some fragile feathers
 
it was to be expected. At this point it is like a bad script of silly faux outrage. Rey is a triggering character for a lot of folks... and then to double down with a woman director who is excited for the job... naturally going to ruffle some fragile feathers

How dare they hire someone who's experience and worldview is different from my own? I'm sure that makes her terrible at her job, despite the fact that I don't know how to direct movies. Only people like me truly understand Star Wars and can respect George's vision.

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