DIS Shareholders and Stock Info ONLY
- Thread starter hhisc16
- Start date
Suger Mag
MamaBear
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2008
- Messages
- 2,549
yes... but it is like looking in the tissue or the toilet after doing your business... you know you shouldn't, but there is a gross fascination value....
Or Dr Pimple Popper....
Brian Noble
Gratefully in Recovery
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2004
- Messages
- 18,066
I have a fair number of people on this board on Ignore, and a handful of threads (love the thread-ignore feature!)
But, if everyone who would challenge toxic/noxious behavior just ignores it, that behavior continues and influences those who do read it. So, I will from time to time re-engage with an ignored poster who I know is toxic. But I only do that when I have the emotional equilibrium to do so.
But, if everyone who would challenge toxic/noxious behavior just ignores it, that behavior continues and influences those who do read it. So, I will from time to time re-engage with an ignored poster who I know is toxic. But I only do that when I have the emotional equilibrium to do so.
- Joined
- Apr 29, 2004
- Messages
- 38,131
Of course there is also the report feature
Brian Noble
Gratefully in Recovery
- Joined
- Mar 23, 2004
- Messages
- 18,066
Let's just say that experience has taught me not to depend on the board's moderation policies.
wabbott
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2021
- Messages
- 6,449
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/oth...rom-videogames-in-potential-pivot/ar-AA1mvnmq
The Wall Street Journal
Netflix Eyes Ways to Make Money From Videogames in Potential Pivot
Story by Jessica Toonkel
Jan. 5, 2024 5:30 am EST
Netflix has said it plans to be in gaming for years to come. Now the company is trying to figure out how to make money from it, a potential shift in strategy for the streamer.
Executives at the streaming giant have had discussions in recent months about how to generate revenue from its games, according to people familiar with the discussions.
Netflix games are currently free for all subscribers, part of a strategy to keep users coming back to the streaming service when their favorite shows are between seasons as well as to attract new fans.
Some of the ideas that have been discussed include in-app purchases, charging for more sophisticated games it is developing or giving subscribers to its newer ad-supported tier access to games with ads in them, the people said.
Such moves would mark a pivot for Netflix, which has resisted putting ads or in-app purchases in its games.
“We want to have a differentiated gaming experience, and part of that is giving game creators the ability to think about building games purely from the perspective of player enjoyment and not having to worry about other forms of monetization, whether it be ads or in-game payment,” Netflix Co-Chief Executive Greg Peters told investors in April.
Netflix encourages open debate internally on its strategy, which is a key pillar of its culture, and such discussions don’t mean the company will decide to monetize games.
The discussions are the latest example of how the streamer constantly reassesses the balance between customer experience and the need to make money. Netflix previously resisted such moves as cracking down on password sharing and launching an ad-based tier of its service because it worried about the consumer experience, before reversing course on both fronts in the past couple of years.
The number of users downloading Netflix games is growing, but it remains small. As of October, fewer than 1% of Netflix’s global subscribers were playing its games daily, Apptopia estimates.
Netflix has been clear that its gaming strategy, which began in 2021 and so far consists of mobile games that subscribers can download free, is a long-term bet.
Netflix has bought a handful of small gaming studios over the past few years and has started to create more games focused on its own shows and movies. Its most popular original game, “Too Hot to Handle: Love is a Game,” launched in December 2022. The game, which is tied to Netflix’s “Too Hot to Handle” reality show, has been downloaded seven million times, according to Sensor Tower.
The streamer also licenses popular games like “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas,” which drove 11% of Netflix’s game downloads in 2023, according to Sensor Tower.
Analysts have estimated that Netflix has spent about $1 billion on buying gaming studios and building the business. The company spends about $17 billion a year on its shows and movies.
Overall, Netflix games were downloaded 81.2 million times globally last year, a nearly threefold increase from the 28.7 million downloads it had in 2022, according to Sensor Tower. That latest total is a fraction of the hundreds of millions of downloads for game companies such as Roblox and Activision, the publisher of the megahit “Candy Crush Saga.”
Netflix’s gaming budget is expected to increase as the streamer is pushing into making console-quality games. The company has posted jobs for dozens of game executives, including a director to oversee its first big-budget game. Such “triple-A games” can cost hundreds of millions of dollars to make.
That push is why Netflix has discussed possibly charging for those kinds of games, some of the people said.
Some Netflix executives and investors have questioned the strategy of the division. At a Netflix leadership meeting in 2022, an analyst from Capital Group, which holds a large stake in the streamer, questioned the value of the game push and expressed concerns it was taking resources away from programming, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Write to Jessica Toonkel at jessica.toonkel@wsj.com
The Wall Street Journal
Netflix Eyes Ways to Make Money From Videogames in Potential Pivot
Story by Jessica Toonkel
Jan. 5, 2024 5:30 am EST
Netflix has said it plans to be in gaming for years to come. Now the company is trying to figure out how to make money from it, a potential shift in strategy for the streamer.
Executives at the streaming giant have had discussions in recent months about how to generate revenue from its games, according to people familiar with the discussions.
Netflix games are currently free for all subscribers, part of a strategy to keep users coming back to the streaming service when their favorite shows are between seasons as well as to attract new fans.
Some of the ideas that have been discussed include in-app purchases, charging for more sophisticated games it is developing or giving subscribers to its newer ad-supported tier access to games with ads in them, the people said.
Such moves would mark a pivot for Netflix, which has resisted putting ads or in-app purchases in its games.
“We want to have a differentiated gaming experience, and part of that is giving game creators the ability to think about building games purely from the perspective of player enjoyment and not having to worry about other forms of monetization, whether it be ads or in-game payment,” Netflix Co-Chief Executive Greg Peters told investors in April.
Netflix encourages open debate internally on its strategy, which is a key pillar of its culture, and such discussions don’t mean the company will decide to monetize games.
The discussions are the latest example of how the streamer constantly reassesses the balance between customer experience and the need to make money. Netflix previously resisted such moves as cracking down on password sharing and launching an ad-based tier of its service because it worried about the consumer experience, before reversing course on both fronts in the past couple of years.
The number of users downloading Netflix games is growing, but it remains small. As of October, fewer than 1% of Netflix’s global subscribers were playing its games daily, Apptopia estimates.
Netflix has been clear that its gaming strategy, which began in 2021 and so far consists of mobile games that subscribers can download free, is a long-term bet.
Netflix has bought a handful of small gaming studios over the past few years and has started to create more games focused on its own shows and movies. Its most popular original game, “Too Hot to Handle: Love is a Game,” launched in December 2022. The game, which is tied to Netflix’s “Too Hot to Handle” reality show, has been downloaded seven million times, according to Sensor Tower.
The streamer also licenses popular games like “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas,” which drove 11% of Netflix’s game downloads in 2023, according to Sensor Tower.
Analysts have estimated that Netflix has spent about $1 billion on buying gaming studios and building the business. The company spends about $17 billion a year on its shows and movies.
Overall, Netflix games were downloaded 81.2 million times globally last year, a nearly threefold increase from the 28.7 million downloads it had in 2022, according to Sensor Tower. That latest total is a fraction of the hundreds of millions of downloads for game companies such as Roblox and Activision, the publisher of the megahit “Candy Crush Saga.”
Netflix’s gaming budget is expected to increase as the streamer is pushing into making console-quality games. The company has posted jobs for dozens of game executives, including a director to oversee its first big-budget game. Such “triple-A games” can cost hundreds of millions of dollars to make.
That push is why Netflix has discussed possibly charging for those kinds of games, some of the people said.
Some Netflix executives and investors have questioned the strategy of the division. At a Netflix leadership meeting in 2022, an analyst from Capital Group, which holds a large stake in the streamer, questioned the value of the game push and expressed concerns it was taking resources away from programming, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Write to Jessica Toonkel at jessica.toonkel@wsj.com
wabbott
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2021
- Messages
- 6,449
https://www.thewrap.com/disney-nelson-peltz-proxy-battle-explained/
The Disney-Nelson Peltz Proxy Battle, Explained
The activist investor is pushing for two board seats at the House of Mouse to try to boost transparency, focus and accountability
by Lucas Manfredi - January 5, 2024 @ 6:15 AM PST
Activist investor and Trian Fund Management founder Nelson Peltz’s proxy fight with Disney is heating up as the House of Mouse has sought reinforcements from shareholders ValueAct Capital and Blackwells Capital.
According to Disney’s latest proxy statement, Thursday marked the deadline for any shareholder who wanted a board nomination or other business considered at the company’s 2024 annual meeting, which is expected to take place in the spring.
Expect a feisty one. TheWrap broke down the corporate intrigue and its major players.
What’s a proxy fight?
A proxy fight is when shareholders join forces to try to pressure a company’s management or board of directors to make changes using rules of corporate governance. That pressure is normally applied by gathering enough shareholder proxy votes to win a vote for corporate level change. A proxy fight strategy is also common in hostile corporate takeovers.
Prior to going the route of a proxy fight, shareholders could appeal to a company’s board directly to express their dissatisfaction with a specific decision by management.
Disney extended an offer for Trian to meet with its board but informed the firm that it was turning down its request for board representation, including for Peltz.
What does Trian want?
Trian, which launched its first proxy fight against Disney last January, is pushing for changes at Disney, including a plan for future leadership.
Peltz wants Disney’s board to develop a succession plan for CEO Bob Iger, who returned to the company as chief executive in 2022 after previously serving in the post for 15 years and retired in 2026. The investor also wants Disney to align compensation with performance, cut more costs and reinstate Disney’s dividend by fiscal year 2025.
Last February, Peltz dropped his proxy fight after Disney announced a plan to cut $5.5 billion in costs, which have included 7,000 layoffs, the removal of select content from its streaming services and a diminished content output. Iger raised that target by another $2 billion to $7.5 billion during Disney’s fourth quarter earnings call in November.
Peltz and Trian argue that Disney has “woefully underperformed its peers and its potential” and that its turnaround “does not appear to be materializing.” They cite tens of billions of dollars in lost shareholder value, a meaningful drop in consensus earnings-per-share estimates for fiscal years 2024 and 2025 and studio content that “continues to disappoint consumers, slowing the speed of the flywheel and threatening future earnings growth.” More generally, Trian said that Disney “appears no closer to adequately addressing the compensation misalignment, governance, and succession issues that have plagued the Company for decades.”
The root cause of Disney’s underperformance, Trian added, “is a Board that is too closely connected to a long-tenured CEO and too disconnected from shareholders’ interests,” and that “lacks objectivity as well as focus, alignment, and accountability.”
Disney stock, which hit a 52-week low of $78.73 per share in October, has rebounded $90.56 per share as of Thursday’s close, but remains off the stock’s 52 week high of $118.18 per share.
Disney stock, which hit a 52-week low of $78.73 per share in October, has rebounded $90.56 per share as of Thursday’s close, but remains off the stock’s 52 week high of $118.18 per share. The company’s market capitalization currently sits at $165.75 billion, about half its $328.02 billion market cap at the end of 2020.
How is Nelson Peltz trying to gain more influence?
Trian and Peltz have an approximately $3 billion ownership stake in Disney. Much of that influence comes in the form of shares from former Marvel Entertainment chairman Ike Perlmutter.
According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the firm raised its Disney stake to 7.3 million shares during the third quarter of 2023, from 6.42 million shares during the second quarter. The filing also disclosed another 25.57 million Disney shares listed as an “other investment discretion.” Disney has a total of 1.83 billion shares outstanding.
In October, Perlmutter, who aided Peltz in his first proxy fight and was let go by Disney as part of cost cuts in March, granted sole voting power over his shares in the company to Trian and Peltz, calling them a “constructive voice for Disney’s shareholders” that can help leadership “better navigate the company’s challenges and opportunities.” He cited their “strong operating and strategic capabilities.”
In a statement to TheWrap at the time, Perlmutter said that “as someone with a large economic interest in Disney’s success, I can no longer watch the business underachieve its great potential.”
Perlmutter, who acquired Disney stock in 2009 following the Marvel acquisition, said he has not sold any shares and has added to his holdings over the years.
“Increasing the value of my Disney holdings will also result in increasing the amount that my wife and I will be able to provide to the leading hospitals, medical research institutions and other charities to which we plan to leave the vast majority of our wealth,” he added.
Enter Jay Rasulo
Trian has enlisted the help of former Disney chief financial officer Jay Rasulo, who along with Peltz has been nominated for a seat on the company’s board. Rasulo, who was once seen as a potential heir apparent to Iger and was ultimately passed over for the chief operating officer role, spent three decades at Disney, serving as president of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts from 2002 to 2005, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Worldwide from 2005 to 2009 and senior executive vice president and CFO from 2010 to 2015.
“The Disney I know and love has lost its way,” Rasulo said in a statement. “As independent voices in the boardroom, Nelson and I are confident that the combination of my decades of experience at Disney, Nelson’s significant boardroom skills and history of driving positive strategic change, and our combined consumer brands expertise and financial acumen, will be additive to the Disney Board.”
In addition to Perlmutter and Rasulo, Peltz has gained an ally in Ancora Holdings. The investment firm, which has approximately $8.7 billion in assets under management, owned more than 60,000 Disney shares as of September, according to FactSet.
“We believe Disney is saying the right things about restructuring and transforming the enterprise. Nonetheless, the addition of a shareholder representative or investor-designated directors to the board can help ensure that these efforts are carried out in the most effective way,” Ancora Holdings Group Chairman and CEO Frederick DiSanto and Ancora Alternatives President James Chadwick wrote in a letter to Disney in December. The executives encouraged Disney’s board to “pursue a viable compromise” with Trian and Peltz.
What is Disney doing to respond?
Since February, Disney has taken on many strategic initiatives in an effort to address Peltz and Trian’s concerns.
In addition to cost-cutting efforts, Disney is currently on the hunt for strategic partners to help turn ESPN into a fully-direct-to-consumer offering, targeting a 2025 launch. The company has also launched a beta version of a combined Disney+ and Hulu app, which will officially roll out in March, and said it will invest $60 billion in Disney’s theme parks over the next decade. And Disney has reportedly signed a nonbinding term sheet to sell a majority stake in its India operations to billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries.
Separately, the company declared a cash dividend of 30 cents per share for the second half of fiscal year 2023, which will be payable on Jan. 10 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on Dec. 11. The payout marks the first since the dividend was halted in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Disney has also been making changes related to its corporate governance. The entertainment giant recently amended its bylaws to increase transparency around business proposals and director nominations from shareholders. It expects to file preliminary materials for the 2024 annual shareholders meeting with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which will include the Disney board’s recommended slate of director nominees.
In November, Disney’s board of directors appointed two new members: Morgan Stanley chairman and CEO James Gorman and Sir Jeremy Darroch, a veteran media executive and former group chief executive of Sky. Darroch’s appointment is effective Jan. 9 and Gorman’s is effective Feb. 5. The appointments will temporarily increase the board from 11 members to 13. Disney board member Francis A. deSouza will not stand for reelection.
Iger, who has extended his contract through the end of 2026, has also said he will “definitely step down” at the end of that term, with a “robust” process currently underway to find a successor.
The company has also tapped former PepsiCo chief financial officer Hugh Johnston as its new CFO, replacing Christine McCarthy who stepped down to take family medical leave in June. Johnston, who had served as Pepsi’s CFO since 2010, was a key player in the snack and beverage maker avoiding a potential proxy fight with Peltz and Trian, when the activist investor called on the company in 2013 to either merge with its rival Mondelez or split into two businesses. In 2015, Pepsi added former Heinz CEO and Trian adviser Bill Johnson to its board. Trian sold its position in Pepsi the following year.
Elsewhere, ValueAct Capital, led by Mason Morfit, entered into a confidentiality agreement with Disney on Wednesday that will allow the firm to consult on strategic matters, including through meetings with the board of directors and management. ValueAct, which has not disclosed the size of its stake in the entertainment giant, reportedly began building it during the Writers’ Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
The firm, which has experience investing in media and technology companies navigating significant business transformations — including at Spotify, The New York Times, 21st Century Fox, Nintendo, Microsoft, Adobe and Salesforce — also said it would support the Disney board’s recommended slate of nominees for election at its 2024 annual meeting.
Blackwells Capital, which has publicly thrown its support behind Disney’s turnaround efforts and previously called on Peltz to end his “ego-driven” proxy battle, has also nominated former Warner Bros. and NBCUniversal executive Jessica Schell, Tribeca Film Festival co-founder Craig Hatkoff and TaskRabbit founder Leah Solivan for election to Disney’s board. The firm owns approximately $5 billion worth of Disney stock.
“We call on Mr. Peltz to end his peacocking so that Disney can focus on its bright future, and not be dragged backward in time,” Blackwells chief investment officer Jason Aintabi said in a statement. “Disney’s current leadership is invaluable to its shareholders, and our three exceptional candidates are being nominated along with a business proposal specifying that any incumbent director outvoted by Blackwells’ nominees be immediately added back to the Board following the 2024 Annual Meeting. This campaign provides shareholders a necessary alternative to what would otherwise be a solipsistic sideshow.”
Disney’s governance and nominating committee, which evaluates director nominations, has said it would review Blackwells and Trian’s nominees and provide a recommendation to the board as a part of its governance process.
Could Peltz and Trian win?
Peltz and Trian will likely have an uphill battle to winning board seats given that the majority of proxy fights are unsuccessful.
Time will ultimately tell if Disney shareholders vote to reject Peltz and Rasulo at the annual meeting or decide to bring them on board as the company navigates a difficult environment plagued by a declining linear business, an unprofitable streaming segment and struggles at the box office.
Peltz, 80, currently serves as the non-executive chairman of The Wendy’s Company and a director of Unilever PLC and Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. Other companies where he has previously served as a board member include Janus Henderson Group plc, Invesco Ltd., Procter & Gamble, Sysco Corporation, Legg Mason, Inc. and Mondelez International.
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, CEO of the Chief Executive Leadership Institute at the Yale School of Management and a longtime critic of Peltz, told TheWrap in November that Iger’s turnaround effort has not been given enough time.
“A turnaround CEO needs two to two-and-a-half years to complete the job and a distraction in the middle of it is just a time-consuming diversion,” Sonnenfeld said.
A January 2023 analysis conducted by Sonnenfeld and CELI research director Steven Tian previously found that more than half of the companies Peltz and his firm targeted underperformed the S&P 500, in both share price and total shareholder returns, while he was on their boards. Sonnenfeld and Tian also pointed out that Peltz has been downsizing after shuttering a fund in the United Kingdom following a campaign from activist investors.
“Where’s the track record to say that he adds value?” Sonnenfeld said. “He adds distraction like a dripping faucet.”
The Disney-Nelson Peltz Proxy Battle, Explained
The activist investor is pushing for two board seats at the House of Mouse to try to boost transparency, focus and accountability
by Lucas Manfredi - January 5, 2024 @ 6:15 AM PST
Activist investor and Trian Fund Management founder Nelson Peltz’s proxy fight with Disney is heating up as the House of Mouse has sought reinforcements from shareholders ValueAct Capital and Blackwells Capital.
According to Disney’s latest proxy statement, Thursday marked the deadline for any shareholder who wanted a board nomination or other business considered at the company’s 2024 annual meeting, which is expected to take place in the spring.
Expect a feisty one. TheWrap broke down the corporate intrigue and its major players.
What’s a proxy fight?
A proxy fight is when shareholders join forces to try to pressure a company’s management or board of directors to make changes using rules of corporate governance. That pressure is normally applied by gathering enough shareholder proxy votes to win a vote for corporate level change. A proxy fight strategy is also common in hostile corporate takeovers.
Prior to going the route of a proxy fight, shareholders could appeal to a company’s board directly to express their dissatisfaction with a specific decision by management.
Disney extended an offer for Trian to meet with its board but informed the firm that it was turning down its request for board representation, including for Peltz.
What does Trian want?
Trian, which launched its first proxy fight against Disney last January, is pushing for changes at Disney, including a plan for future leadership.
Peltz wants Disney’s board to develop a succession plan for CEO Bob Iger, who returned to the company as chief executive in 2022 after previously serving in the post for 15 years and retired in 2026. The investor also wants Disney to align compensation with performance, cut more costs and reinstate Disney’s dividend by fiscal year 2025.
Last February, Peltz dropped his proxy fight after Disney announced a plan to cut $5.5 billion in costs, which have included 7,000 layoffs, the removal of select content from its streaming services and a diminished content output. Iger raised that target by another $2 billion to $7.5 billion during Disney’s fourth quarter earnings call in November.
Peltz and Trian argue that Disney has “woefully underperformed its peers and its potential” and that its turnaround “does not appear to be materializing.” They cite tens of billions of dollars in lost shareholder value, a meaningful drop in consensus earnings-per-share estimates for fiscal years 2024 and 2025 and studio content that “continues to disappoint consumers, slowing the speed of the flywheel and threatening future earnings growth.” More generally, Trian said that Disney “appears no closer to adequately addressing the compensation misalignment, governance, and succession issues that have plagued the Company for decades.”
The root cause of Disney’s underperformance, Trian added, “is a Board that is too closely connected to a long-tenured CEO and too disconnected from shareholders’ interests,” and that “lacks objectivity as well as focus, alignment, and accountability.”
Disney stock, which hit a 52-week low of $78.73 per share in October, has rebounded $90.56 per share as of Thursday’s close, but remains off the stock’s 52 week high of $118.18 per share.
Disney stock, which hit a 52-week low of $78.73 per share in October, has rebounded $90.56 per share as of Thursday’s close, but remains off the stock’s 52 week high of $118.18 per share. The company’s market capitalization currently sits at $165.75 billion, about half its $328.02 billion market cap at the end of 2020.
How is Nelson Peltz trying to gain more influence?
Trian and Peltz have an approximately $3 billion ownership stake in Disney. Much of that influence comes in the form of shares from former Marvel Entertainment chairman Ike Perlmutter.
According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the firm raised its Disney stake to 7.3 million shares during the third quarter of 2023, from 6.42 million shares during the second quarter. The filing also disclosed another 25.57 million Disney shares listed as an “other investment discretion.” Disney has a total of 1.83 billion shares outstanding.
In October, Perlmutter, who aided Peltz in his first proxy fight and was let go by Disney as part of cost cuts in March, granted sole voting power over his shares in the company to Trian and Peltz, calling them a “constructive voice for Disney’s shareholders” that can help leadership “better navigate the company’s challenges and opportunities.” He cited their “strong operating and strategic capabilities.”
In a statement to TheWrap at the time, Perlmutter said that “as someone with a large economic interest in Disney’s success, I can no longer watch the business underachieve its great potential.”
Perlmutter, who acquired Disney stock in 2009 following the Marvel acquisition, said he has not sold any shares and has added to his holdings over the years.
“Increasing the value of my Disney holdings will also result in increasing the amount that my wife and I will be able to provide to the leading hospitals, medical research institutions and other charities to which we plan to leave the vast majority of our wealth,” he added.
Enter Jay Rasulo
Trian has enlisted the help of former Disney chief financial officer Jay Rasulo, who along with Peltz has been nominated for a seat on the company’s board. Rasulo, who was once seen as a potential heir apparent to Iger and was ultimately passed over for the chief operating officer role, spent three decades at Disney, serving as president of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts from 2002 to 2005, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Worldwide from 2005 to 2009 and senior executive vice president and CFO from 2010 to 2015.
“The Disney I know and love has lost its way,” Rasulo said in a statement. “As independent voices in the boardroom, Nelson and I are confident that the combination of my decades of experience at Disney, Nelson’s significant boardroom skills and history of driving positive strategic change, and our combined consumer brands expertise and financial acumen, will be additive to the Disney Board.”
In addition to Perlmutter and Rasulo, Peltz has gained an ally in Ancora Holdings. The investment firm, which has approximately $8.7 billion in assets under management, owned more than 60,000 Disney shares as of September, according to FactSet.
“We believe Disney is saying the right things about restructuring and transforming the enterprise. Nonetheless, the addition of a shareholder representative or investor-designated directors to the board can help ensure that these efforts are carried out in the most effective way,” Ancora Holdings Group Chairman and CEO Frederick DiSanto and Ancora Alternatives President James Chadwick wrote in a letter to Disney in December. The executives encouraged Disney’s board to “pursue a viable compromise” with Trian and Peltz.
What is Disney doing to respond?
Since February, Disney has taken on many strategic initiatives in an effort to address Peltz and Trian’s concerns.
In addition to cost-cutting efforts, Disney is currently on the hunt for strategic partners to help turn ESPN into a fully-direct-to-consumer offering, targeting a 2025 launch. The company has also launched a beta version of a combined Disney+ and Hulu app, which will officially roll out in March, and said it will invest $60 billion in Disney’s theme parks over the next decade. And Disney has reportedly signed a nonbinding term sheet to sell a majority stake in its India operations to billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries.
Separately, the company declared a cash dividend of 30 cents per share for the second half of fiscal year 2023, which will be payable on Jan. 10 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on Dec. 11. The payout marks the first since the dividend was halted in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Disney has also been making changes related to its corporate governance. The entertainment giant recently amended its bylaws to increase transparency around business proposals and director nominations from shareholders. It expects to file preliminary materials for the 2024 annual shareholders meeting with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which will include the Disney board’s recommended slate of director nominees.
In November, Disney’s board of directors appointed two new members: Morgan Stanley chairman and CEO James Gorman and Sir Jeremy Darroch, a veteran media executive and former group chief executive of Sky. Darroch’s appointment is effective Jan. 9 and Gorman’s is effective Feb. 5. The appointments will temporarily increase the board from 11 members to 13. Disney board member Francis A. deSouza will not stand for reelection.
Iger, who has extended his contract through the end of 2026, has also said he will “definitely step down” at the end of that term, with a “robust” process currently underway to find a successor.
The company has also tapped former PepsiCo chief financial officer Hugh Johnston as its new CFO, replacing Christine McCarthy who stepped down to take family medical leave in June. Johnston, who had served as Pepsi’s CFO since 2010, was a key player in the snack and beverage maker avoiding a potential proxy fight with Peltz and Trian, when the activist investor called on the company in 2013 to either merge with its rival Mondelez or split into two businesses. In 2015, Pepsi added former Heinz CEO and Trian adviser Bill Johnson to its board. Trian sold its position in Pepsi the following year.
Elsewhere, ValueAct Capital, led by Mason Morfit, entered into a confidentiality agreement with Disney on Wednesday that will allow the firm to consult on strategic matters, including through meetings with the board of directors and management. ValueAct, which has not disclosed the size of its stake in the entertainment giant, reportedly began building it during the Writers’ Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
The firm, which has experience investing in media and technology companies navigating significant business transformations — including at Spotify, The New York Times, 21st Century Fox, Nintendo, Microsoft, Adobe and Salesforce — also said it would support the Disney board’s recommended slate of nominees for election at its 2024 annual meeting.
Blackwells Capital, which has publicly thrown its support behind Disney’s turnaround efforts and previously called on Peltz to end his “ego-driven” proxy battle, has also nominated former Warner Bros. and NBCUniversal executive Jessica Schell, Tribeca Film Festival co-founder Craig Hatkoff and TaskRabbit founder Leah Solivan for election to Disney’s board. The firm owns approximately $5 billion worth of Disney stock.
“We call on Mr. Peltz to end his peacocking so that Disney can focus on its bright future, and not be dragged backward in time,” Blackwells chief investment officer Jason Aintabi said in a statement. “Disney’s current leadership is invaluable to its shareholders, and our three exceptional candidates are being nominated along with a business proposal specifying that any incumbent director outvoted by Blackwells’ nominees be immediately added back to the Board following the 2024 Annual Meeting. This campaign provides shareholders a necessary alternative to what would otherwise be a solipsistic sideshow.”
Disney’s governance and nominating committee, which evaluates director nominations, has said it would review Blackwells and Trian’s nominees and provide a recommendation to the board as a part of its governance process.
Could Peltz and Trian win?
Peltz and Trian will likely have an uphill battle to winning board seats given that the majority of proxy fights are unsuccessful.
Time will ultimately tell if Disney shareholders vote to reject Peltz and Rasulo at the annual meeting or decide to bring them on board as the company navigates a difficult environment plagued by a declining linear business, an unprofitable streaming segment and struggles at the box office.
Peltz, 80, currently serves as the non-executive chairman of The Wendy’s Company and a director of Unilever PLC and Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. Other companies where he has previously served as a board member include Janus Henderson Group plc, Invesco Ltd., Procter & Gamble, Sysco Corporation, Legg Mason, Inc. and Mondelez International.
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, CEO of the Chief Executive Leadership Institute at the Yale School of Management and a longtime critic of Peltz, told TheWrap in November that Iger’s turnaround effort has not been given enough time.
“A turnaround CEO needs two to two-and-a-half years to complete the job and a distraction in the middle of it is just a time-consuming diversion,” Sonnenfeld said.
A January 2023 analysis conducted by Sonnenfeld and CELI research director Steven Tian previously found that more than half of the companies Peltz and his firm targeted underperformed the S&P 500, in both share price and total shareholder returns, while he was on their boards. Sonnenfeld and Tian also pointed out that Peltz has been downsizing after shuttering a fund in the United Kingdom following a campaign from activist investors.
“Where’s the track record to say that he adds value?” Sonnenfeld said. “He adds distraction like a dripping faucet.”
wabbott
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2021
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https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/m...-domestic-revenue-global-forecast-1235778767/
Box Office: Existential Crisis Ahead As Hollywood Rethinks What Makes a Hit
Domestic revenue was able to clear $9 billion in 2023, the best showing of the post-pandemic era. But that’s the glass half-full view: “We can’t just keep cranking out the same old franchise fare.”
January 5, 2024 - 5:05am PST
by Pamela McClintock
One out of every five moviegoers has vanished since the pandemic, according to research compiled by one Hollywood studio. Whether they’ll ever return to see a film on the big screen is anyone’s guess — and, if they do, when.
It’s an alarming stat that offers some explanation as to why the box office turned on its head in 2023, leaving the film industry bewildered and befuddled. Superhero fare — the genre that helped prop up the business for well over a decade — no longer got a free pass as megabudget pics bombed, including The Flash and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, both from DC, and Marvel Studios’ The Marvels.
“Audiences’ tastes are changing, and it feels like they want more challenging fare,” says chief Comscore box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian.
The existential crisis settled in for the long term when a pair of fresh, original summer movies — Barbie and Oppenheimer — outwitted everyone and transformed into the cultural phenomenon known as Barbenheimer. While Barbie is based on known IP, there were no guarantees that filmmaker Greta Gerwig’s fresh and irreverent take would work. Barbie is the first female-led, live-action movie to top the yearly global and domestic box office chart in modern times, with more than $1.44 billion in worldwide ticket sales, while Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer ranks third on the year’s top global earners with $952 million, a record for a biopic. The two movies made up nearly 10 percent of all domestic ticket sales, and nearly 29 percent of the top 10 grossing films, according to Comscore.
Around the same time as Barbenheimer, the conservative-skewing movie Sound of Freedom took off at the box office with virtually no warning and did more business domestically — $184.2 million — than tried-and-true franchise installments Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny ($174.5 million) and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One ($172 million). And in mid-October, Taylor Swift became another box office unicorn when her concert pic, The Eras Tour, grossed $179.6 million domestically and $250.3 million globally against a minuscule $15 million budget. Moreover, she bypassed Hollywood studios and instead asked AMC Theatres to distribute the film.
The family marketplace also remained incredibly fragile post-pandemic, particularly for original animated fare, such as Disney’s Wish or Illumination/Universal’s Migration. The Super Mario Bros. Movie, another Illumination/Universal title that’s based on the beloved video game, was a major exception to the animation downturn. Superhero fatigue and animation woes leave a void that no one is quite sure how to fill.
“Everything is so lopsided,” says Wall Street analyst Rich Greenfield of LightShed Ventures. “The number of big-budget movies in 2023 that didn’t make money felt like an all-time high. Consumer interest in moviegoing has been permanently altered. The question is, can theaters survive another horrific year?”
Notes a top studio executive: “We are definitely going through an evolution, and we can’t just keep cranking out the same old franchise fare. We have to do better. The ways we did things for decades don’t work anymore; now you have to hit the bull’s-eye or get close to it. And a lot of that has to do with the abundance of streaming product. When there’s a multitude of options for audiences to watch at home, there had better be a special reason to go to the theater.”
Some Wall Street analysts are confident the box office can weather the year’s changes, as well as a potentially tough 2024 with a lean release calendar because of strike-related delays. “We do believe the industry can overcome its near-term hurdles and should be well positioned for improved results in 2025-26,” says Eric Handler of Roth MKM Partners.
Observers also note that domestic revenue was ultimately able to cross $9 billion in 2023 for the first time since the pandemic thanks to a diverse Christmas menu and better-than-expected performances from films including The Color Purple, Wonka and The Boys in the Boat. The tally isn’t entirely official yet, but Comscore is estimating a domestic haul of $9.05 billion, a 21 percent gain over 2022. However, that’s still down roughly 21 percent from 2019, the last year before the pandemic.
“The sure bets are no longer sure bets,” says Dergarabedian. “We’re living in a parallel universe.”
Box Office: Existential Crisis Ahead As Hollywood Rethinks What Makes a Hit
Domestic revenue was able to clear $9 billion in 2023, the best showing of the post-pandemic era. But that’s the glass half-full view: “We can’t just keep cranking out the same old franchise fare.”
January 5, 2024 - 5:05am PST
by Pamela McClintock
One out of every five moviegoers has vanished since the pandemic, according to research compiled by one Hollywood studio. Whether they’ll ever return to see a film on the big screen is anyone’s guess — and, if they do, when.
It’s an alarming stat that offers some explanation as to why the box office turned on its head in 2023, leaving the film industry bewildered and befuddled. Superhero fare — the genre that helped prop up the business for well over a decade — no longer got a free pass as megabudget pics bombed, including The Flash and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, both from DC, and Marvel Studios’ The Marvels.
“Audiences’ tastes are changing, and it feels like they want more challenging fare,” says chief Comscore box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian.
The existential crisis settled in for the long term when a pair of fresh, original summer movies — Barbie and Oppenheimer — outwitted everyone and transformed into the cultural phenomenon known as Barbenheimer. While Barbie is based on known IP, there were no guarantees that filmmaker Greta Gerwig’s fresh and irreverent take would work. Barbie is the first female-led, live-action movie to top the yearly global and domestic box office chart in modern times, with more than $1.44 billion in worldwide ticket sales, while Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer ranks third on the year’s top global earners with $952 million, a record for a biopic. The two movies made up nearly 10 percent of all domestic ticket sales, and nearly 29 percent of the top 10 grossing films, according to Comscore.
Around the same time as Barbenheimer, the conservative-skewing movie Sound of Freedom took off at the box office with virtually no warning and did more business domestically — $184.2 million — than tried-and-true franchise installments Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny ($174.5 million) and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One ($172 million). And in mid-October, Taylor Swift became another box office unicorn when her concert pic, The Eras Tour, grossed $179.6 million domestically and $250.3 million globally against a minuscule $15 million budget. Moreover, she bypassed Hollywood studios and instead asked AMC Theatres to distribute the film.
The family marketplace also remained incredibly fragile post-pandemic, particularly for original animated fare, such as Disney’s Wish or Illumination/Universal’s Migration. The Super Mario Bros. Movie, another Illumination/Universal title that’s based on the beloved video game, was a major exception to the animation downturn. Superhero fatigue and animation woes leave a void that no one is quite sure how to fill.
“Everything is so lopsided,” says Wall Street analyst Rich Greenfield of LightShed Ventures. “The number of big-budget movies in 2023 that didn’t make money felt like an all-time high. Consumer interest in moviegoing has been permanently altered. The question is, can theaters survive another horrific year?”
Notes a top studio executive: “We are definitely going through an evolution, and we can’t just keep cranking out the same old franchise fare. We have to do better. The ways we did things for decades don’t work anymore; now you have to hit the bull’s-eye or get close to it. And a lot of that has to do with the abundance of streaming product. When there’s a multitude of options for audiences to watch at home, there had better be a special reason to go to the theater.”
Some Wall Street analysts are confident the box office can weather the year’s changes, as well as a potentially tough 2024 with a lean release calendar because of strike-related delays. “We do believe the industry can overcome its near-term hurdles and should be well positioned for improved results in 2025-26,” says Eric Handler of Roth MKM Partners.
Observers also note that domestic revenue was ultimately able to cross $9 billion in 2023 for the first time since the pandemic thanks to a diverse Christmas menu and better-than-expected performances from films including The Color Purple, Wonka and The Boys in the Boat. The tally isn’t entirely official yet, but Comscore is estimating a domestic haul of $9.05 billion, a 21 percent gain over 2022. However, that’s still down roughly 21 percent from 2019, the last year before the pandemic.
“The sure bets are no longer sure bets,” says Dergarabedian. “We’re living in a parallel universe.”
wabbott
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2021
- Messages
- 6,449
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-2024-could-be-the-year-of-media-dealmaking-125059041.html
Why 2024 could be the year of media dealmaking
Alexandra Canal - Senior Reporter
Mon, January 8, 2024 at 12:03 PM CST
Wall Street is ready for the next big media merger.
As companies in the space face challenges such as cord cutting, a tough ad environment, and more pressure to turn profits, many are reevaluating their portfolios. That means a breakup— or outright sale — of one or more of America's biggest media names could be in the cards next year, analysts say.
"We believe the media industry is inching closer to the tipping point for another wave of consolidation," Bank of America analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich wrote in a recent note.
She explained the secular declines of linear television subscribers coupled with challenges in achieving profits in the streaming business add to the narrative that "consolidation is a matter of 'when' not 'if.'"
That "when" may be sooner rather than later, with Axios reporting late last month that Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) CEO David Zaslav and Paramount Global (PARA) CEO Bob Bakish met in New York City to discuss a possible merger.
Both companies declined to comment on the report, although Paramount appears to have become the industry's No. 1 pick for structural changes ahead.
Paramount deal could set off frenzy
Last month, multiple outlets reported that Shari Redstone was considering selling her family's controlling stake in Paramount. Redstone is president of her family's holding company, National Amusements (NAI), which controls the company through its Class A shares. Private investment firm RedBird Capital has been reported as a potential buyer, along with Skydance Media CEO David Ellison.
Paramount has long been viewed as a potential acquisition target due to its small size relative to competitors. The company boasts a current market cap of just around $10 billion, compared to Disney's (DIS) $170 billion and Netflix's (NFLX) roughly $210 billion.
Analysts have said a Paramount deal could set off an M&A frenzy.
In addition to Paramount, Bank of America's Reif Ehrlich said Warner Bros. Discovery and NBCUniversal (CMCSA) are also "likely to be impacted [by consolidation] over the next 18 to 24 months." As the Axios report suggested, it's possible two of those three players could merge.
Individual assets are also reportedly in play. Bloomberg reported Paramount is once again in talks to sell BET Media Group — this time to its CEO Scott Mills and former Blackstone executive Chinh Chu, who now runs private investment firm CC Capital Partners. A price of just under $2 billion is under discussion, according to the report.
Meanwhile, Disney CEO Bob Iger said last summer the company would take an "expansive" look at the entertainment giant's traditional TV assets, signaling they could potentially be sold.
The company's TV portfolio includes broadcast network ABC and cable channels FX, Freeform, and National Geographic.
He eventually reversed course, clarifying at last month's DealBook summit that linear TV assets "are not for sale." Still, the company is "constantly evaluating" their fit within the overall business, he said.
Separately, Altice USA (ATUS) sold its news arm Cheddar News to media company Archetype, which is owned by private equity firm Regent. Altice had acquired Cheddar for $200 million in 2019. Terms of the Archetype deal were not disclosed.
"Handicapping the precise timing of any transformational deal is difficult," Reif Ehrlich said. "However, we believe the challenging backdrop creates ripe conditions for consolidation."
Media challenges likely to spur deal activity
2023 represented a year of change for the industry after rising costs and debt-ridden balance sheets weighed on the sector in 2022 — and wiped off more than $500 billion in market capitalization.
In response, media giants enacted mass layoffs and slashed billions of dollars' worth of costs. They rolled out ad-supported tiers, bundled their offerings, and raised the monthly prices of their respective subscription plans.
But all of that wasn't enough to satisfy investors. Valuation levels remain depressed. And streaming profitability still has a long way to go, with virtually all media companies (with the exception of Netflix) losing money on that business.
Bart Spiegel, partner of global entertainment & media deals at PwC, said those challenges are exactly why companies will begin to explore possible deals.
"We're seeing a lot of companies focus on divestitures," he told Yahoo Finance, explaining that the high interest rate environment, coupled with various regulatory hurdles, are forcing more companies to assess their existing portfolios — and position non-core assets for sale.
"A lot of these companies are engaging us because they see opportunities in 2024," he said, noting private equity funds are sitting on more than $1 trillion in dry powder, or cash reserves. "We're seeing a lot of capital sitting on the sidelines, people are preparing their businesses for sale, and, in some areas, there's a lot of interest in activity."
PwC said demand for live sports, including sports-adjacent industries like sports gambling, will likely drive future M&A activity. Gaming, which companies like Netflix have recently doubled down on, should serve as another catalyst.
Deal volumes and values in the media and telecommunications sector continued to slow in 2023 — falling even further from last year's declines, according to PwC's biannual US deals outlook.
Over the past 12 months ending in November, there have been 2,028 media and telecom deals — a 22% year-over-year decrease — with announced deal value totaling $95 billion, a 63% dip versus 2022.
Spiegel warned a comeback could be slow. Interest rates remain high while regulatory approval hurdles will likely weigh on potential deals. Uncertainty surrounding the 2024 election cycle could also be a headwind.
Still, he predicted the second half of 2024 should be a "welcome opportunity for the deals market to turn around" — especially after the conclusion of both the writers and actors strikes earlier this fall.
"Now you've got some level of transparency and predictability," Spiegel said of the strikes.
Alexandra Canal is a Senior Reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @allie_canal, LinkedIn, and email her at alexandra.canal@yahoofinance.com.
Why 2024 could be the year of media dealmaking
Alexandra Canal - Senior Reporter
Mon, January 8, 2024 at 12:03 PM CST
Wall Street is ready for the next big media merger.
As companies in the space face challenges such as cord cutting, a tough ad environment, and more pressure to turn profits, many are reevaluating their portfolios. That means a breakup— or outright sale — of one or more of America's biggest media names could be in the cards next year, analysts say.
"We believe the media industry is inching closer to the tipping point for another wave of consolidation," Bank of America analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich wrote in a recent note.
She explained the secular declines of linear television subscribers coupled with challenges in achieving profits in the streaming business add to the narrative that "consolidation is a matter of 'when' not 'if.'"
That "when" may be sooner rather than later, with Axios reporting late last month that Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) CEO David Zaslav and Paramount Global (PARA) CEO Bob Bakish met in New York City to discuss a possible merger.
Both companies declined to comment on the report, although Paramount appears to have become the industry's No. 1 pick for structural changes ahead.
Paramount deal could set off frenzy
Last month, multiple outlets reported that Shari Redstone was considering selling her family's controlling stake in Paramount. Redstone is president of her family's holding company, National Amusements (NAI), which controls the company through its Class A shares. Private investment firm RedBird Capital has been reported as a potential buyer, along with Skydance Media CEO David Ellison.
Paramount has long been viewed as a potential acquisition target due to its small size relative to competitors. The company boasts a current market cap of just around $10 billion, compared to Disney's (DIS) $170 billion and Netflix's (NFLX) roughly $210 billion.
Analysts have said a Paramount deal could set off an M&A frenzy.
In addition to Paramount, Bank of America's Reif Ehrlich said Warner Bros. Discovery and NBCUniversal (CMCSA) are also "likely to be impacted [by consolidation] over the next 18 to 24 months." As the Axios report suggested, it's possible two of those three players could merge.
Individual assets are also reportedly in play. Bloomberg reported Paramount is once again in talks to sell BET Media Group — this time to its CEO Scott Mills and former Blackstone executive Chinh Chu, who now runs private investment firm CC Capital Partners. A price of just under $2 billion is under discussion, according to the report.
Meanwhile, Disney CEO Bob Iger said last summer the company would take an "expansive" look at the entertainment giant's traditional TV assets, signaling they could potentially be sold.
The company's TV portfolio includes broadcast network ABC and cable channels FX, Freeform, and National Geographic.
He eventually reversed course, clarifying at last month's DealBook summit that linear TV assets "are not for sale." Still, the company is "constantly evaluating" their fit within the overall business, he said.
Separately, Altice USA (ATUS) sold its news arm Cheddar News to media company Archetype, which is owned by private equity firm Regent. Altice had acquired Cheddar for $200 million in 2019. Terms of the Archetype deal were not disclosed.
"Handicapping the precise timing of any transformational deal is difficult," Reif Ehrlich said. "However, we believe the challenging backdrop creates ripe conditions for consolidation."
Media challenges likely to spur deal activity
2023 represented a year of change for the industry after rising costs and debt-ridden balance sheets weighed on the sector in 2022 — and wiped off more than $500 billion in market capitalization.
In response, media giants enacted mass layoffs and slashed billions of dollars' worth of costs. They rolled out ad-supported tiers, bundled their offerings, and raised the monthly prices of their respective subscription plans.
But all of that wasn't enough to satisfy investors. Valuation levels remain depressed. And streaming profitability still has a long way to go, with virtually all media companies (with the exception of Netflix) losing money on that business.
Bart Spiegel, partner of global entertainment & media deals at PwC, said those challenges are exactly why companies will begin to explore possible deals.
"We're seeing a lot of companies focus on divestitures," he told Yahoo Finance, explaining that the high interest rate environment, coupled with various regulatory hurdles, are forcing more companies to assess their existing portfolios — and position non-core assets for sale.
"A lot of these companies are engaging us because they see opportunities in 2024," he said, noting private equity funds are sitting on more than $1 trillion in dry powder, or cash reserves. "We're seeing a lot of capital sitting on the sidelines, people are preparing their businesses for sale, and, in some areas, there's a lot of interest in activity."
PwC said demand for live sports, including sports-adjacent industries like sports gambling, will likely drive future M&A activity. Gaming, which companies like Netflix have recently doubled down on, should serve as another catalyst.
Deal volumes and values in the media and telecommunications sector continued to slow in 2023 — falling even further from last year's declines, according to PwC's biannual US deals outlook.
Over the past 12 months ending in November, there have been 2,028 media and telecom deals — a 22% year-over-year decrease — with announced deal value totaling $95 billion, a 63% dip versus 2022.
Spiegel warned a comeback could be slow. Interest rates remain high while regulatory approval hurdles will likely weigh on potential deals. Uncertainty surrounding the 2024 election cycle could also be a headwind.
Still, he predicted the second half of 2024 should be a "welcome opportunity for the deals market to turn around" — especially after the conclusion of both the writers and actors strikes earlier this fall.
"Now you've got some level of transparency and predictability," Spiegel said of the strikes.
Alexandra Canal is a Senior Reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @allie_canal, LinkedIn, and email her at alexandra.canal@yahoofinance.com.
2023 down about 5% lines up with the slight decline in attendance mentioned in the last earnings call and 2024 is looking up a bit...as Orange County goes, so goes WDW?
https://www.clickorlando.com/news/l...mber-7th-year-over-year-decrease-in-8-months/
Christie Zizo
ORLANDO, Fla. – Tourist development tax collections for Orange County fell again in November year-over-year, marking the seventh decrease in revenue in the last eight months, according to the Orange County comptroller and Visit Orlando.
The county collected $29,685,100 in tourist taxes in November, a decrease of 4% compared to November 2022.
Collections in November were slightly higher than they were in October 2023, by $285,000.
Between April and November 2023, every month saw a decrease in TDT collections compared to 2022 except one — September, which was up by 0.8%.
Comptroller Phil Diamond said that for the fiscal year to date, collections were down by $3.2 million, or 5.2%.
Metro Orlando hotel occupancy was also down compared to 2022, at 69.8%, and the average daily rate for Orlando hotels was $180.44, down 4.2% year-over-year.
“2022 was an extraordinary year for Central Florida tourism after the pandemic,” Diamond told News 6. “There was extraordinary demand to travel, and much of this came to Orange County. After that record year, it’s just not surprising that there would be a decline in Orange County tourism.”
Meanwhile, Visit Orlando, the convention and visitors bureau for Orange County, says room night bookings for 2024 are pacing higher than last year at 5%, and advance airline ticket sales into Orlando were also up in the first quarter of 2024 at 10%.
Tourism development taxes are charged on bookings of hotels and other lodgings. The county adds the 6% tax onto lodging bills.
By state law, tourism development tax funds must be used toward the promotion of tourism for a county and on tourism-related facilities, such as the Orange County Convention Center.
The collections report for December will be released in February.
https://www.clickorlando.com/news/l...mber-7th-year-over-year-decrease-in-8-months/
Orange County tourist tax collections fell in November, 7th year-over-year decrease in 8 months
Christie Zizo
Collections down 5.2% in the fiscal year to date
ORLANDO, Fla. – Tourist development tax collections for Orange County fell again in November year-over-year, marking the seventh decrease in revenue in the last eight months, according to the Orange County comptroller and Visit Orlando.
The county collected $29,685,100 in tourist taxes in November, a decrease of 4% compared to November 2022.
Collections in November were slightly higher than they were in October 2023, by $285,000.
Between April and November 2023, every month saw a decrease in TDT collections compared to 2022 except one — September, which was up by 0.8%.
Comptroller Phil Diamond said that for the fiscal year to date, collections were down by $3.2 million, or 5.2%.
Metro Orlando hotel occupancy was also down compared to 2022, at 69.8%, and the average daily rate for Orlando hotels was $180.44, down 4.2% year-over-year.
“2022 was an extraordinary year for Central Florida tourism after the pandemic,” Diamond told News 6. “There was extraordinary demand to travel, and much of this came to Orange County. After that record year, it’s just not surprising that there would be a decline in Orange County tourism.”
Meanwhile, Visit Orlando, the convention and visitors bureau for Orange County, says room night bookings for 2024 are pacing higher than last year at 5%, and advance airline ticket sales into Orlando were also up in the first quarter of 2024 at 10%.
Tourism development taxes are charged on bookings of hotels and other lodgings. The county adds the 6% tax onto lodging bills.
By state law, tourism development tax funds must be used toward the promotion of tourism for a county and on tourism-related facilities, such as the Orange County Convention Center.
The collections report for December will be released in February.
wabbott
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2021
- Messages
- 6,449
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/netflix-nflx-cuts-over-100-151700520.html
Netflix (NFLX) Cuts Over 100 Shows to Reduce Programming Costs
Zacks Equity Research
Tue, Jan 9, 2024, 9:17 AM CST
Netflix NFLX is keeping no stone unturned to boost its expansion strategies by reducing its output while growing its sales. As part of this strategy, Netflix recently announced cutting more than 100 shows.
This comes after two strikes by writers and actors shut down production across the United States in 2023, and as a result, Netflix released 16% fewer original programs than in 2022. The decline in the company’s total output started in early 2022 and has been declining ever since.
As part of its goal to reduce programming, the company intends to release fewer shows in the future. The company plans to minimize output while increasing sales. Netflix aims to produce 25 to 30 better films per year, instead of about 50 it was making before.
Recently, Netflix canceled several original shows like Sex Education, Firefly Lane, Sex/Life, Human Resources, Welcome to Eden, Shadow and Bone, Dead End: Paranormal Park, Bling Empire, and Bling Empire: New York.
Previously, Netflix has cut some workers and slowed budget growth, but the programming cost cut comes after its competitors began to cut shows, fire employees, and boost sales as part of their expansion strategies.
With these efforts, Netflix strives to provide viewers with a variety of premium content in the near term.
Netflix’s Growing Efforts to Fend Off Competition in The Near Term
This current Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company is riding on an expanding customer base and a strong portfolio of content, which is expected to drive top-line growth in the near term. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
In the past three months, Disney’s shares have returned 29.9% compared with the Zacks Consumer Discretionary 8.7% rise. The growth can be attributed to its growing customer base. Netflix has recently added more than 16 million customers and has planned to add more in the upcoming months.
Netflix has also benefited from its crackdown on password sharing and the launch of a lower-cost, advertising-supported tier.
Netflix holds a better position in the market in the streaming market with a huge subscriber base compared with industry participants like Disney DIS, Warner Bros. Discovery WBD, Comcast’s CMCSA and Paramount. The companies are adopting measures to decrease their cost of production and programming in an effort to drive top-line growth in the near term.
Disney has recently cut more than 50 TV shows and movies like Willow, Big Shot, Pistol, Little Demon, and more from its streaming platforms, Disney+ and Hulu, as part of its cost-cutting measures. It has also fired thousands of employees and reduced its budget by billions.
WBD has also cut shows like Infinity Train, Scoob 2, Westworld, Minx, Batgirl, and more as part of recovering tax write-offs.
To reduce costs, Comcast’s NBCUniversal has recently removed shows like Daily Pop and Nightly Pop and has also laid off around 50 employees across its three divisions, Peacock marketing, NBCUniversal Entertainment, and ad sales.
Netflix intends to bring up more strategies that curtail its costs and, at the same time, benefit its users. Recently, it has been planning to reward binge-watchers with ad-free episodes to boost user retention. Users who view three episodes in a row will receive one ad-free episode.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Netflix’s revenues for fiscal 2023 is pegged at $33.60 billion, indicating growth of 6.29% year over year.
The consensus mark for earnings has increased by a penny over the past 30 days to $2.19 per share.
Netflix (NFLX) Cuts Over 100 Shows to Reduce Programming Costs
Zacks Equity Research
Tue, Jan 9, 2024, 9:17 AM CST
Netflix NFLX is keeping no stone unturned to boost its expansion strategies by reducing its output while growing its sales. As part of this strategy, Netflix recently announced cutting more than 100 shows.
This comes after two strikes by writers and actors shut down production across the United States in 2023, and as a result, Netflix released 16% fewer original programs than in 2022. The decline in the company’s total output started in early 2022 and has been declining ever since.
As part of its goal to reduce programming, the company intends to release fewer shows in the future. The company plans to minimize output while increasing sales. Netflix aims to produce 25 to 30 better films per year, instead of about 50 it was making before.
Recently, Netflix canceled several original shows like Sex Education, Firefly Lane, Sex/Life, Human Resources, Welcome to Eden, Shadow and Bone, Dead End: Paranormal Park, Bling Empire, and Bling Empire: New York.
Previously, Netflix has cut some workers and slowed budget growth, but the programming cost cut comes after its competitors began to cut shows, fire employees, and boost sales as part of their expansion strategies.
With these efforts, Netflix strives to provide viewers with a variety of premium content in the near term.
Netflix, Inc. Price and Consensus
Netflix’s Growing Efforts to Fend Off Competition in The Near Term
This current Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company is riding on an expanding customer base and a strong portfolio of content, which is expected to drive top-line growth in the near term. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
In the past three months, Disney’s shares have returned 29.9% compared with the Zacks Consumer Discretionary 8.7% rise. The growth can be attributed to its growing customer base. Netflix has recently added more than 16 million customers and has planned to add more in the upcoming months.
Netflix has also benefited from its crackdown on password sharing and the launch of a lower-cost, advertising-supported tier.
Netflix holds a better position in the market in the streaming market with a huge subscriber base compared with industry participants like Disney DIS, Warner Bros. Discovery WBD, Comcast’s CMCSA and Paramount. The companies are adopting measures to decrease their cost of production and programming in an effort to drive top-line growth in the near term.
Disney has recently cut more than 50 TV shows and movies like Willow, Big Shot, Pistol, Little Demon, and more from its streaming platforms, Disney+ and Hulu, as part of its cost-cutting measures. It has also fired thousands of employees and reduced its budget by billions.
WBD has also cut shows like Infinity Train, Scoob 2, Westworld, Minx, Batgirl, and more as part of recovering tax write-offs.
To reduce costs, Comcast’s NBCUniversal has recently removed shows like Daily Pop and Nightly Pop and has also laid off around 50 employees across its three divisions, Peacock marketing, NBCUniversal Entertainment, and ad sales.
Netflix intends to bring up more strategies that curtail its costs and, at the same time, benefit its users. Recently, it has been planning to reward binge-watchers with ad-free episodes to boost user retention. Users who view three episodes in a row will receive one ad-free episode.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Netflix’s revenues for fiscal 2023 is pegged at $33.60 billion, indicating growth of 6.29% year over year.
The consensus mark for earnings has increased by a penny over the past 30 days to $2.19 per share.
wabbott
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2021
- Messages
- 6,449
This is a bit off topic, but I couldn't find another thread where this would fit well. It is a business related story, though.
https://variety.com/2024/film/news/tom-cruise-warner-bros-deal-new-movies-1235866282/
Jan 9, 2024 - 10:00am PST
Tom Cruise Signs Deal With Warner Bros. to Develop and Produce Original and Franchise Films
by Brent Lang
Tom Cruise has his next mission.
The ageless action star signed a new deal to develop and produce theatrical films with Warner Bros. Discovery. These movies will be a mix of original productions and franchise fare and will star Cruise, the company said in a release touting the deal. As part of what is being billed as a new “strategic partnership,” Cruise and his production company will have offices on the Warner Bros. Discovery lot in Burbank.
It’s a coup for Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy, who took over as co-chairs and CEOs of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group in 2022, and who have been working to reinvigorate the studio, as well as for David Zaslav, the man who hired them. The deal with Cruise, who has projects at rival studios like Universal and Paramount, isn’t exclusive, nor is it a traditional first-look pact. The actor can make movies at other companies, but the hope is that he will be able to generate the kind of globally appealing blockbusters that could spawn sequels and enhance Warner Bros.’ bottom line.
Cruise has worked at Warner Bros. in the past, but it has been a decade since he appeared in the studio’s “Edge of Tomorrow.” He’s also popped up in such Warner Bros. releases as “Magnolia,” “Rock of Ages,” “Interview With the Vampire” and “Eyes Wide Shut,” an arduous shoot that saw Cruise give up more than a year of his career for a chance to be directed by Stanley Kubrick. Warner Bros. also gave Cruise his breakout role in “Risky Business,” the teen sex comedy that saw the star memorably rock out to Bob Seger in his underwear.
“We are thrilled to be working with Tom, an absolute legend in the film industry,” said De Luca and Abdy in a statement. “Our vision, from day one, has been to rebuild this iconic studio to the heights of its glory days, and, in fact, when we first sat down with [Warner Bros. Discovery chief] David Zaslav to talk about joining the Warner Bros. Discovery team, he said to us, ‘We are on a mission to bring Warner Bros. back – we have the best resources, storytelling IP, and talent in the business – and we need to bring Tom Cruise back to Warner Bros!’ Today, that becomes a reality and we are one step closer to achieving our ambition. We couldn’t be more excited to welcome Tom back to Warner Bros. and look forward to bringing more of his genius to life on screen in the years ahead.”
“I have great respect and admiration for David, Pam, Mike, and the entire team at Warner Bros. Discovery and their commitment to movies, movie fans, and the theatrical experience,” Cruise said. “I look forward to making great movies together!”
Cruise’s upcoming films include the eighth installment of the “Mission: Impossible” franchise for Paramount, as well as an upcoming Universal action movie from “Edge of Tomorrow” director Doug Liman that will see the actor become “the first civilian to do a spacewalk” outside of the International Space Station. He most recently appeared in “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One,” which was a box office disappointment, as well as 2022’s “Top Gun: Maverick,” which was the biggest hit of his career.
De Luca and Abdy previously ran MGM, leaving the studio after its sale to Amazon. At Warner Bros. they have set up “Alto Knights,” a mob movie with Robert De Niro, as well as “Flowervale Street,” a thriller with Anne Hathaway.
https://variety.com/2024/film/news/tom-cruise-warner-bros-deal-new-movies-1235866282/
Jan 9, 2024 - 10:00am PST
Tom Cruise Signs Deal With Warner Bros. to Develop and Produce Original and Franchise Films
by Brent Lang
Tom Cruise has his next mission.
The ageless action star signed a new deal to develop and produce theatrical films with Warner Bros. Discovery. These movies will be a mix of original productions and franchise fare and will star Cruise, the company said in a release touting the deal. As part of what is being billed as a new “strategic partnership,” Cruise and his production company will have offices on the Warner Bros. Discovery lot in Burbank.
It’s a coup for Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy, who took over as co-chairs and CEOs of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group in 2022, and who have been working to reinvigorate the studio, as well as for David Zaslav, the man who hired them. The deal with Cruise, who has projects at rival studios like Universal and Paramount, isn’t exclusive, nor is it a traditional first-look pact. The actor can make movies at other companies, but the hope is that he will be able to generate the kind of globally appealing blockbusters that could spawn sequels and enhance Warner Bros.’ bottom line.
Cruise has worked at Warner Bros. in the past, but it has been a decade since he appeared in the studio’s “Edge of Tomorrow.” He’s also popped up in such Warner Bros. releases as “Magnolia,” “Rock of Ages,” “Interview With the Vampire” and “Eyes Wide Shut,” an arduous shoot that saw Cruise give up more than a year of his career for a chance to be directed by Stanley Kubrick. Warner Bros. also gave Cruise his breakout role in “Risky Business,” the teen sex comedy that saw the star memorably rock out to Bob Seger in his underwear.
“We are thrilled to be working with Tom, an absolute legend in the film industry,” said De Luca and Abdy in a statement. “Our vision, from day one, has been to rebuild this iconic studio to the heights of its glory days, and, in fact, when we first sat down with [Warner Bros. Discovery chief] David Zaslav to talk about joining the Warner Bros. Discovery team, he said to us, ‘We are on a mission to bring Warner Bros. back – we have the best resources, storytelling IP, and talent in the business – and we need to bring Tom Cruise back to Warner Bros!’ Today, that becomes a reality and we are one step closer to achieving our ambition. We couldn’t be more excited to welcome Tom back to Warner Bros. and look forward to bringing more of his genius to life on screen in the years ahead.”
“I have great respect and admiration for David, Pam, Mike, and the entire team at Warner Bros. Discovery and their commitment to movies, movie fans, and the theatrical experience,” Cruise said. “I look forward to making great movies together!”
Cruise’s upcoming films include the eighth installment of the “Mission: Impossible” franchise for Paramount, as well as an upcoming Universal action movie from “Edge of Tomorrow” director Doug Liman that will see the actor become “the first civilian to do a spacewalk” outside of the International Space Station. He most recently appeared in “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One,” which was a box office disappointment, as well as 2022’s “Top Gun: Maverick,” which was the biggest hit of his career.
De Luca and Abdy previously ran MGM, leaving the studio after its sale to Amazon. At Warner Bros. they have set up “Alto Knights,” a mob movie with Robert De Niro, as well as “Flowervale Street,” a thriller with Anne Hathaway.
clarker99
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5.2% reduction in collected taxes and 4.2% reduction in hotel rates. This feels like actual hotel stays were down only around 1% April to November ‘23 vs ‘22.
wabbott
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Here's a podcast with Puck host Matt Belloni and Bloomberg reporter Lucas Shaw. I'm listening to it now.
https://puck.news/podcast_episode/four-burning-hollywood-questions-to-kick-off-2024/
https://puck.news/podcast_episode/four-burning-hollywood-questions-to-kick-off-2024/
wabbott
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https://variety.com/vip/content-spending-2024-projections-top-media-tech-companies-1235863121/
January 9, 2024 - 6:00am PST
Content Spending 2024 Projections: Top Media & Tech Companies
by Tyler Aquilina
After a year marked by cost cutting and prolonged production shutdowns that reduced expenses even below expectations, content spending at the major media and tech companies is poised to rebound in 2024.
“Rebound” being a relative term, of course. Per a new forecast from Morgan Stanley, two of the legacy media studios — Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global — will not surpass their 2022 spending levels this year, while other companies will grow expenses far more slowly than pre-Great Streaming Correction rates.
Disney, for one, is putting the brakes on spending growth, curtailing the explosive outlays seen following the launch of Disney+. The Mouse House has already announced plans to cut its content spend to $25 billion for its fiscal 2024 (spanning November 2023-October 2024, which partly accounts for the discrepancy in Morgan Stanley’s calendar-year forecast), down from $27B in fiscal 2023 and about $30B in 2022.
More significantly, the dynamics of content costs are also undergoing profound changes that will truly start to manifest next year.
With the peak TV era now definitively moving into the rearview, spending on “general entertainment” series will likely remain “more flattish,” as Morgan Stanley’s estimates indicate. Instead, growth will be fueled by theatrical films and sports rights, a wise move in light of the past two years’ lessons regarding the economics of streaming.
As everyone but Netflix must now admit, direct-to-SVOD movies and star-studded scripted shows have officially failed to fuel a subscriber gold rush, as streamers had hoped. The next year will see a dramatic reorientation of content priorities as the streaming wars come to a close and as companies do their best to optimize costs while mitigating subscriber churn and still drawing in new viewers where possible.
All of this is to say content spend will indeed continue to grow, albeit at its slowest rate in recent memory. Global aggregate spending among the top media companies remained essentially flat for the first time in a decade last year, according to new data from Ampere Analysis. In 2024, that figure will increase by about 2%, with expenses projected to total $247.2 billion by Ampere’s forecast.
Meanwhile, companies will still be willing to shell out for the right programming. Exhibit A: ESPN will reportedly pay more than $900 million over eight years for 40 NCAA championships under a deal struck just last week.
But TV budgets in particular are likely going to face intense scrutiny over the next year — and, indeed, that process has already begun. Even Amazon CEO Andy Jassy was said to be “taking a hard look” at his company’s spending on series this past summer in the wake of expensive misfires such as “The Peripheral” and “Citadel.” (I also don’t see Disney spending $200 million on a Marvel limited series this year.)
Still, Hollywood’s tech players are expected to grow content spending at far and away the largest rates over the next few years — unsurprisingly, as they are unweighted by declining linear networks and severe stock-price woes. Morgan Stanley projects a whopping 23% compound annual growth rate for Apple’s content expenses between 2023 and 2026, and 14% for Amazon. Netflix, for its part, will increase spending at a CAGR of 7.6% versus a 4% average for its legacy media rivals.
This is all very much subject to change, of course. Disney originally planned to spend $33 billion on content in 2022, a ballooning figure that deflated at the drop of a hat (or, rather, a stock price). Wall Street forecasts at the start of last year failed to account for the looming writer and actor strikes that would ultimately save the studios millions in 2023 outlays.
There may yet be looming catastrophes investors can’t foresee, and it wouldn’t be entirely surprising if, for instance, CEO Jassy slashes Amazon Studios’ scripted TV output this year, cutting back on prestige and would-be blockbuster titles in favor of cheaper fare like Freevee’s “Jury Duty.”
If it seems improbable that Hollywood’s fortunes could get worse after two beyond abysmal years for the media sector, remind yourself that the secular decline of linear TV is only accelerating and the global box office is expected to drop this year thanks to strike-related delays and a constricted supply of tentpole titles. And with SVOD prices rising and content output slowing, there’s a very real possibility that consumers will start to cut back on their streaming subscriptions more aggressively.
This means that, above all this year, studios should be seriously rethinking the types of content that might excite audiences. Nobody knows anything, as the saying goes, but everyone should know by now that some new strategies are needed as Hollywood’s historic reset continues.
January 9, 2024 - 6:00am PST
Content Spending 2024 Projections: Top Media & Tech Companies
by Tyler Aquilina
After a year marked by cost cutting and prolonged production shutdowns that reduced expenses even below expectations, content spending at the major media and tech companies is poised to rebound in 2024.
“Rebound” being a relative term, of course. Per a new forecast from Morgan Stanley, two of the legacy media studios — Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global — will not surpass their 2022 spending levels this year, while other companies will grow expenses far more slowly than pre-Great Streaming Correction rates.
Disney, for one, is putting the brakes on spending growth, curtailing the explosive outlays seen following the launch of Disney+. The Mouse House has already announced plans to cut its content spend to $25 billion for its fiscal 2024 (spanning November 2023-October 2024, which partly accounts for the discrepancy in Morgan Stanley’s calendar-year forecast), down from $27B in fiscal 2023 and about $30B in 2022.
More significantly, the dynamics of content costs are also undergoing profound changes that will truly start to manifest next year.
With the peak TV era now definitively moving into the rearview, spending on “general entertainment” series will likely remain “more flattish,” as Morgan Stanley’s estimates indicate. Instead, growth will be fueled by theatrical films and sports rights, a wise move in light of the past two years’ lessons regarding the economics of streaming.
As everyone but Netflix must now admit, direct-to-SVOD movies and star-studded scripted shows have officially failed to fuel a subscriber gold rush, as streamers had hoped. The next year will see a dramatic reorientation of content priorities as the streaming wars come to a close and as companies do their best to optimize costs while mitigating subscriber churn and still drawing in new viewers where possible.
All of this is to say content spend will indeed continue to grow, albeit at its slowest rate in recent memory. Global aggregate spending among the top media companies remained essentially flat for the first time in a decade last year, according to new data from Ampere Analysis. In 2024, that figure will increase by about 2%, with expenses projected to total $247.2 billion by Ampere’s forecast.
Meanwhile, companies will still be willing to shell out for the right programming. Exhibit A: ESPN will reportedly pay more than $900 million over eight years for 40 NCAA championships under a deal struck just last week.
But TV budgets in particular are likely going to face intense scrutiny over the next year — and, indeed, that process has already begun. Even Amazon CEO Andy Jassy was said to be “taking a hard look” at his company’s spending on series this past summer in the wake of expensive misfires such as “The Peripheral” and “Citadel.” (I also don’t see Disney spending $200 million on a Marvel limited series this year.)
Still, Hollywood’s tech players are expected to grow content spending at far and away the largest rates over the next few years — unsurprisingly, as they are unweighted by declining linear networks and severe stock-price woes. Morgan Stanley projects a whopping 23% compound annual growth rate for Apple’s content expenses between 2023 and 2026, and 14% for Amazon. Netflix, for its part, will increase spending at a CAGR of 7.6% versus a 4% average for its legacy media rivals.
This is all very much subject to change, of course. Disney originally planned to spend $33 billion on content in 2022, a ballooning figure that deflated at the drop of a hat (or, rather, a stock price). Wall Street forecasts at the start of last year failed to account for the looming writer and actor strikes that would ultimately save the studios millions in 2023 outlays.
There may yet be looming catastrophes investors can’t foresee, and it wouldn’t be entirely surprising if, for instance, CEO Jassy slashes Amazon Studios’ scripted TV output this year, cutting back on prestige and would-be blockbuster titles in favor of cheaper fare like Freevee’s “Jury Duty.”
If it seems improbable that Hollywood’s fortunes could get worse after two beyond abysmal years for the media sector, remind yourself that the secular decline of linear TV is only accelerating and the global box office is expected to drop this year thanks to strike-related delays and a constricted supply of tentpole titles. And with SVOD prices rising and content output slowing, there’s a very real possibility that consumers will start to cut back on their streaming subscriptions more aggressively.
This means that, above all this year, studios should be seriously rethinking the types of content that might excite audiences. Nobody knows anything, as the saying goes, but everyone should know by now that some new strategies are needed as Hollywood’s historic reset continues.
wabbott
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2021
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- 6,449
Hmmm. Even media companies with money to burn have to be aware of cost limits.
https://deadline.com/2024/01/prime-video-amazon-studios-layoffs-mike-hopkins-1235708353/
Prime Video, Amazon Studios Layoffs To Affect “Several Hundred” Workers, SVP Mike Hopkins Tells Staff
By Dade Hayes - Business Editor @dadehayes January 10, 2024 - 6:37am PST
Prime Video and Amazon Studios will see layoffs affecting several hundred workers, according to an internal memo this morning from SVP Mike Hopkins.
In Hopkins’ memo, provided to Deadline by Amazon (read it below), he alludes to a review of the company’s business operations across all of its divisions. As a result of that process, he writes, “we’ve identified opportunities to reduce or discontinue investments in certain areas while increasing our investment and focus on content and product initiatives that deliver the most impact.”
Amazon’s $8.5 billion acquisition of MGM closed in 2022.
The parent company laid off about 25,000 workers a year ago, reversing a dramatic increase in staff borne of the onset of Covid in 2020, which caused a boom in demand for Amazon e-commerce deliveries. Amazon Studios and Prime Video last spring let go of 100 of their roughly 7,000 employees.
Operationally, Prime Video has made strides in live sports, kicking off a long-term exclusive deal for NFL Thursday Night Football last year and posting a 24% increase in viewership in its sophomore season. The telecasts draw significant ad dollars, and Prime Video is rolling out advertising more broadly starting this month, with ads appearing in scripted programming for the first time. Subscribers looking to avoid ads will need to pay $3 a month on top of their standard Prime subscription fee.
Amazon Studios has released broad-appeal films like Eddy Murphy starrer Candy Cane Lane and also gave a wide-release theatrical commitment to the Ben Affleck-directed Air. On the series front, it has scored with the likes of Reacher and The Boys, while ultra-pricey bets like The Lord of the Rings and Citadel have had more subdued runs. Free, ad-supported outlet Freevee had a breakthrough last year with Jury Duty and has a roster of other originals.
Here is the full internal memo about today’s moves:
Team,
We’ve taken significant steps towards our long-term vision of making Prime Video the first-choice entertainment destination for customers worldwide, and I’m proud of everything we’ve accomplished as a team to date. Our investments in programming, marketing, and technology have enabled us to expand our selection of blockbuster movies, hit TV series, live sports, the world’s largest TVOD catalog along with over 650 partner Channels worldwide, and AVOD services including Freevee – all available in a single destination, delighting customers around the globe. And, through our acquisition of MGM, we’ve increased our investments in theatrical films and driven growth in MGM+ and our licensing and third-party production businesses.
Yet, at the same time, our industry continues to evolve quickly and it’s important that we prioritize our investments for the long-term success of our business, while relentlessly focusing on what we know matters most to our customers. Throughout the past year, we’ve looked at nearly every aspect of our business with an eye towards improving our ability to deliver even more breakthrough movies, TV shows, and live sports in a personalized, easy to use entertainment experience for our global customers. As a result, we’ve identified opportunities to reduce or discontinue investments in certain areas while increasing our investment and focus on content and product initiatives that deliver the most impact. As a result of these decisions, we will be eliminating several hundred roles across the Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios organization.
Today, we will begin to reach out to colleagues who are impacted by these role reductions. Notifications will be sent out shortly, and we expect all notifications in the Americas to be completed this morning (Pacific time), and most other regions by the end of the week. We are following local processes, which may include time for consultation with employee representative bodies, possibly resulting in longer timelines to communicate in some countries.
This is a difficult decision to make and one that my leadership team and I do not take lightly. It is hard to say goodbye to talented Amazonians who’ve made meaningful contributions on behalf of our customers, team and business. Thank you for your dedication and work. To help with the transition, we are providing packages that include a separation payment, transitional benefits as applicable by country, and external job placement support.
Our prioritization of initiatives that we know will move the needle, along with our continued investments in programming, marketing and product, positions our business for an even stronger future. Prime Video is one of the most popular benefits for Prime members, and one of most widely used entertainment destinations in the world. I’m proud of the work you do every day on behalf of our customers, and I’m looking forward to continuing to build our business for the future.
-Mike
https://deadline.com/2024/01/prime-video-amazon-studios-layoffs-mike-hopkins-1235708353/
Prime Video, Amazon Studios Layoffs To Affect “Several Hundred” Workers, SVP Mike Hopkins Tells Staff
By Dade Hayes - Business Editor @dadehayes January 10, 2024 - 6:37am PST
Prime Video and Amazon Studios will see layoffs affecting several hundred workers, according to an internal memo this morning from SVP Mike Hopkins.
In Hopkins’ memo, provided to Deadline by Amazon (read it below), he alludes to a review of the company’s business operations across all of its divisions. As a result of that process, he writes, “we’ve identified opportunities to reduce or discontinue investments in certain areas while increasing our investment and focus on content and product initiatives that deliver the most impact.”
Amazon’s $8.5 billion acquisition of MGM closed in 2022.
The parent company laid off about 25,000 workers a year ago, reversing a dramatic increase in staff borne of the onset of Covid in 2020, which caused a boom in demand for Amazon e-commerce deliveries. Amazon Studios and Prime Video last spring let go of 100 of their roughly 7,000 employees.
Operationally, Prime Video has made strides in live sports, kicking off a long-term exclusive deal for NFL Thursday Night Football last year and posting a 24% increase in viewership in its sophomore season. The telecasts draw significant ad dollars, and Prime Video is rolling out advertising more broadly starting this month, with ads appearing in scripted programming for the first time. Subscribers looking to avoid ads will need to pay $3 a month on top of their standard Prime subscription fee.
Amazon Studios has released broad-appeal films like Eddy Murphy starrer Candy Cane Lane and also gave a wide-release theatrical commitment to the Ben Affleck-directed Air. On the series front, it has scored with the likes of Reacher and The Boys, while ultra-pricey bets like The Lord of the Rings and Citadel have had more subdued runs. Free, ad-supported outlet Freevee had a breakthrough last year with Jury Duty and has a roster of other originals.
Here is the full internal memo about today’s moves:
Team,
We’ve taken significant steps towards our long-term vision of making Prime Video the first-choice entertainment destination for customers worldwide, and I’m proud of everything we’ve accomplished as a team to date. Our investments in programming, marketing, and technology have enabled us to expand our selection of blockbuster movies, hit TV series, live sports, the world’s largest TVOD catalog along with over 650 partner Channels worldwide, and AVOD services including Freevee – all available in a single destination, delighting customers around the globe. And, through our acquisition of MGM, we’ve increased our investments in theatrical films and driven growth in MGM+ and our licensing and third-party production businesses.
Yet, at the same time, our industry continues to evolve quickly and it’s important that we prioritize our investments for the long-term success of our business, while relentlessly focusing on what we know matters most to our customers. Throughout the past year, we’ve looked at nearly every aspect of our business with an eye towards improving our ability to deliver even more breakthrough movies, TV shows, and live sports in a personalized, easy to use entertainment experience for our global customers. As a result, we’ve identified opportunities to reduce or discontinue investments in certain areas while increasing our investment and focus on content and product initiatives that deliver the most impact. As a result of these decisions, we will be eliminating several hundred roles across the Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios organization.
Today, we will begin to reach out to colleagues who are impacted by these role reductions. Notifications will be sent out shortly, and we expect all notifications in the Americas to be completed this morning (Pacific time), and most other regions by the end of the week. We are following local processes, which may include time for consultation with employee representative bodies, possibly resulting in longer timelines to communicate in some countries.
This is a difficult decision to make and one that my leadership team and I do not take lightly. It is hard to say goodbye to talented Amazonians who’ve made meaningful contributions on behalf of our customers, team and business. Thank you for your dedication and work. To help with the transition, we are providing packages that include a separation payment, transitional benefits as applicable by country, and external job placement support.
Our prioritization of initiatives that we know will move the needle, along with our continued investments in programming, marketing and product, positions our business for an even stronger future. Prime Video is one of the most popular benefits for Prime members, and one of most widely used entertainment destinations in the world. I’m proud of the work you do every day on behalf of our customers, and I’m looking forward to continuing to build our business for the future.
-Mike
wabbott
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- Aug 4, 2021
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https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/amazon-pay-tv-bundle-1235783792/
Amazon Is About to Eat the TV Universe
On Jan. 29, Prime Video will make its ad tier the default for its tens of millions of subscribers, a move that could unravel how advertisers deal with TV broadcasters and scare off rivals with its massive scale.
January 10, 2024
by Alex Weprin
Mark your calendar: On Jan. 29, Amazon will unleash what one top advertising executive calls a “tornado” that will “upend” the streaming video landscape. The company will flip a switch and turn on ads for all of its Prime Video viewers. Users will have the option to pay $3 a month to remove the ads, but as the executive quips: “Almost no one will do that, are you kidding me?”
After all, people are paying Amazon for the fast shipping. Reacher and Thursday Night Football are thrown in for free. It’s a move that has marketers salivating and a few legacy media executives anxiously waiting to see what happens.
The move will instantly turn Amazon into a streaming-ad juggernaut, and the largest ad-supported subscription streaming platform in the marketplace with tens of millions of users, leapfrogging the likes of Netflix in the process.
Amazon, run by Andy Jassy, has always been coy about just how many Prime subscribers it has (the last official number, in 2021, was “more than 200 million”), but no one disputes that its reach is almost unrivaled. Consumer Intelligence Research Partners estimates that there are about 168 million Prime subs in the U.S. alone, as of 2023.
If just half those subs watch Prime Video content, it would be comparable to Netflix’s penetration in the U.S. (77 million) and significantly more subs than the likes of Hulu, Peacock or Paramount+.
Data from Nielsen reinforces that: While Netflix and YouTube take up the lion’s share of viewing time, Prime Video is extremely competitive. The latest Nielsen Gauge reported that 3.4 percent of TV viewing in November was Prime Video, compared to 2.7 percent for Hulu, 7.4 percent for Netflix and 9 percent for YouTube.
The Gauge certainly suggests that if Hulu has just shy of 50 million subscribers, as Disney has reported, then Amazon is at least in the same ballpark in terms of Prime subs that watch video content.
Most Netflix users, however, are not subscribing to the ad tier (the company said in November it had only 15 million “active users” of the tier), while some Hulu subcribers also opt out of ads.
That scale, in both subscriber reach and real viewership, has analysts thinking that Amazon will be able to quickly scoop up billions of ad dollars. Bank of America’s Justin Post estimated in a Jan. 3 note that the company will ultimately generate $3 billion in new ad revenue from the switch, and nearly $5 billion when accounting for users who opt to pay not to see ads. LightShed’s Rich Greenfield estimates that the company will hit $2 billion in ad revenue this year. Both analysts assume that the overwhelming majority of users will opt not to pay extra to remove the ads.
It’s that instant scale that has marketers excited and competitors concerned. Prime Video with ads will be premium video, including dramas, comedies and library fare, as well as live sports like NFL and NASCAR — the content and reach of TV, with the targetability of a tech company. It’s a sweeping change for the platform. (And, in turn, division leader Mike Hopkins sent a Jan. 10 memo to staff stating that Prime Video and MGM Studios “identified opportunities to reduce or discontinue investments in certain areas while increasing our investment and focus on content,” resulting in the losses of hundreds of jobs.)
Kevin Krim, CEO of the ad measurement firm EDO, estimates that Amazon could see a CPM (the cost per thousand consumers who see an ad) of about $50, below what Netflix sought when it got into advertising a little over a year ago, but still “a big premium to linear TV.”
And advertising is also a zero-sum game. While ad spend has grown over time as the economy has expanded, when a marketer or agency decides to commit budget to a new player, it is usually at the expense of someone else.
This time around, a likely victim is linear TV, with S&P Global’s Naveen Sarma writing Jan. 3 that “we believe advertisers have permanently left legacy platforms, including national TV.”
One high-level TV ad executive says they are beginning to plan out 2024 with an expectation that some of their inventory will be poached by Amazon.
Indeed, declining audiences in linear TV have been a concern of ad executives for years, which is why every legacy media company has invested so heavily in streaming video — and why many of those legacy companies are all in on ad-supported streaming, supplementing them with their strongest linear assets, be they broadcast networks or the increasingly small number of scaled cable channels.
“Yes, linear is declining. Not all linear is declining equally,” Disney ad sales chief Rita Ferro said during an interview on LinkedIn on Jan. 4. “And I do foresee a shift in how we use that — I call it real estate space, if you will — on our broadcast network. What is the right content for the right experience at the right time across all those platforms? And I do foresee that that will drive growth.”
The investment in streaming video by legacy companies (think Paramount+, Peacock, Max, Hulu and Disney+) should help to offset the decline in linear (Disney+ and Peacock, for example, are seeing robust ad growth), but multiple sources say that Amazon’s foray into the space complicates things.
The one big advantage that these companies have over the likes of Amazon and Netflix is their experience selling ads. For big-budgeted marketers, big media is a familiar, tested partner.
“We’ve had a couple-year head start,” NBCUniversal ad sales chairman Mark Marshall says, noting that Peacock launched with an ad tier. “We’re not trying to retrofit our platform into supporting advertising. I think we’ve built it from within for advertisers, so I think we already have a strategic feel of what it should be.”
TV will not be the only loser, of course. Krim notes that “anything that’s not video is competing with video… I think the net losers here are actually going to be anything that’s not video-first, which includes a bunch of regular social media text ads or non-video ads.”
But it’s also worth noting just how different Amazon’s approach is to getting into ads. Disney+, Netflix, Paramount+ and Max all launched their ad tiers as cheaper alternatives to their core ad-free offerings. And while there have been price hikes that could gently nudge consumers to those ad tiers, none of those services have automatically switched users over. A majority of Hulu’s users are on its ad tier, but it launched in 2010, years before most of its competitors existed in any form.
Executives at multiple companies have said that they make more per subscriber on their ad tiers than on their ad-free tiers, with the ad dollars more than making up for the lower sub fees.
But while other services have tried to entice viewers into trying their ad tiers, Amazon is ripping off the Band-Aid, betting that few users will care. And if it works, a top holding company exec predicts that others will follow.
Streaming video has been competitive for years, but it is entering a new era where the revenue needs to justify the costs. If Netflix was the lodestar for the first round of the streaming wars, YouTube appears to be the target for round two.
In its latest quarter, YouTube had just under $8 billion in advertising revenue, putting it on track for about $30 billion in ad revenue in 2023. That’s just advertising revenue, and does not include subscription fees for services like YouTube TV or YouTube Premium.
It’s an enormous number, one that has to have major appeal for the likes of Disney, Netflix and, yes, Amazon. If the past few years were about seeking subscriber scale, the next five may be defined by who can build the biggest streaming ad business. And Amazon is about to speed past some of its rivals and eat linear TV in the process.
What About Amazon’s Other Streamer?
Amid Amazon’s streaming ad power play, there is one big quirk: It already has an ad-supported streaming service. The Lauren Anderson-run Freevee (formerly called IMDb TV) has been programming library fare and a handful of original shows since 2019. And just in the past year it has even had some breakout hits, including Jury Duty, Primo, High School and Judy Justice.
If Prime Video is adding ads, what will it mean for the company’s other ad-supported streaming service — one that, as it happens, was a focal point of its upfront presentation last May?
Sources say it will be business as usual at the platform, which is free and open to non-Prime members. Some executives from Freevee’s tech side have been brought over to help with the launch of the ad tier on Prime Video and are either pulling double duty for the two platforms or have moved to the flagship service exclusively to help get its ad platform up and running as quickly as possible.
Just as Paramount puts library content on Pluto TV to help drive subs to Paramount+, and just as Warner Bros. Discovery has become keen on licensing some library content (including HBO shows) to some FAST platforms, Amazon seems intrigued by the two-pronged strategy as well.
Execs within Amazon, sources say, are pleased with Freevee’s growth and are keen on keeping the free streamer, which they see as an on-ramp of sorts to Prime Video after the ad-supported audience was exposed to programming like Reacher and helped grow viewership for its second season on the subscription service.
Freevee’s programming team, sources say, has already lined up slates of originals for this year and next and is discussing plans for 2026. — A.W. and Lesley Goldberg
Amazon Is About to Eat the TV Universe
On Jan. 29, Prime Video will make its ad tier the default for its tens of millions of subscribers, a move that could unravel how advertisers deal with TV broadcasters and scare off rivals with its massive scale.
January 10, 2024
by Alex Weprin
Mark your calendar: On Jan. 29, Amazon will unleash what one top advertising executive calls a “tornado” that will “upend” the streaming video landscape. The company will flip a switch and turn on ads for all of its Prime Video viewers. Users will have the option to pay $3 a month to remove the ads, but as the executive quips: “Almost no one will do that, are you kidding me?”
After all, people are paying Amazon for the fast shipping. Reacher and Thursday Night Football are thrown in for free. It’s a move that has marketers salivating and a few legacy media executives anxiously waiting to see what happens.
The move will instantly turn Amazon into a streaming-ad juggernaut, and the largest ad-supported subscription streaming platform in the marketplace with tens of millions of users, leapfrogging the likes of Netflix in the process.
Amazon, run by Andy Jassy, has always been coy about just how many Prime subscribers it has (the last official number, in 2021, was “more than 200 million”), but no one disputes that its reach is almost unrivaled. Consumer Intelligence Research Partners estimates that there are about 168 million Prime subs in the U.S. alone, as of 2023.
If just half those subs watch Prime Video content, it would be comparable to Netflix’s penetration in the U.S. (77 million) and significantly more subs than the likes of Hulu, Peacock or Paramount+.
Data from Nielsen reinforces that: While Netflix and YouTube take up the lion’s share of viewing time, Prime Video is extremely competitive. The latest Nielsen Gauge reported that 3.4 percent of TV viewing in November was Prime Video, compared to 2.7 percent for Hulu, 7.4 percent for Netflix and 9 percent for YouTube.
The Gauge certainly suggests that if Hulu has just shy of 50 million subscribers, as Disney has reported, then Amazon is at least in the same ballpark in terms of Prime subs that watch video content.
Most Netflix users, however, are not subscribing to the ad tier (the company said in November it had only 15 million “active users” of the tier), while some Hulu subcribers also opt out of ads.
That scale, in both subscriber reach and real viewership, has analysts thinking that Amazon will be able to quickly scoop up billions of ad dollars. Bank of America’s Justin Post estimated in a Jan. 3 note that the company will ultimately generate $3 billion in new ad revenue from the switch, and nearly $5 billion when accounting for users who opt to pay not to see ads. LightShed’s Rich Greenfield estimates that the company will hit $2 billion in ad revenue this year. Both analysts assume that the overwhelming majority of users will opt not to pay extra to remove the ads.
It’s that instant scale that has marketers excited and competitors concerned. Prime Video with ads will be premium video, including dramas, comedies and library fare, as well as live sports like NFL and NASCAR — the content and reach of TV, with the targetability of a tech company. It’s a sweeping change for the platform. (And, in turn, division leader Mike Hopkins sent a Jan. 10 memo to staff stating that Prime Video and MGM Studios “identified opportunities to reduce or discontinue investments in certain areas while increasing our investment and focus on content,” resulting in the losses of hundreds of jobs.)
Kevin Krim, CEO of the ad measurement firm EDO, estimates that Amazon could see a CPM (the cost per thousand consumers who see an ad) of about $50, below what Netflix sought when it got into advertising a little over a year ago, but still “a big premium to linear TV.”
And advertising is also a zero-sum game. While ad spend has grown over time as the economy has expanded, when a marketer or agency decides to commit budget to a new player, it is usually at the expense of someone else.
This time around, a likely victim is linear TV, with S&P Global’s Naveen Sarma writing Jan. 3 that “we believe advertisers have permanently left legacy platforms, including national TV.”
One high-level TV ad executive says they are beginning to plan out 2024 with an expectation that some of their inventory will be poached by Amazon.
Indeed, declining audiences in linear TV have been a concern of ad executives for years, which is why every legacy media company has invested so heavily in streaming video — and why many of those legacy companies are all in on ad-supported streaming, supplementing them with their strongest linear assets, be they broadcast networks or the increasingly small number of scaled cable channels.
“Yes, linear is declining. Not all linear is declining equally,” Disney ad sales chief Rita Ferro said during an interview on LinkedIn on Jan. 4. “And I do foresee a shift in how we use that — I call it real estate space, if you will — on our broadcast network. What is the right content for the right experience at the right time across all those platforms? And I do foresee that that will drive growth.”
The investment in streaming video by legacy companies (think Paramount+, Peacock, Max, Hulu and Disney+) should help to offset the decline in linear (Disney+ and Peacock, for example, are seeing robust ad growth), but multiple sources say that Amazon’s foray into the space complicates things.
The one big advantage that these companies have over the likes of Amazon and Netflix is their experience selling ads. For big-budgeted marketers, big media is a familiar, tested partner.
“We’ve had a couple-year head start,” NBCUniversal ad sales chairman Mark Marshall says, noting that Peacock launched with an ad tier. “We’re not trying to retrofit our platform into supporting advertising. I think we’ve built it from within for advertisers, so I think we already have a strategic feel of what it should be.”
TV will not be the only loser, of course. Krim notes that “anything that’s not video is competing with video… I think the net losers here are actually going to be anything that’s not video-first, which includes a bunch of regular social media text ads or non-video ads.”
But it’s also worth noting just how different Amazon’s approach is to getting into ads. Disney+, Netflix, Paramount+ and Max all launched their ad tiers as cheaper alternatives to their core ad-free offerings. And while there have been price hikes that could gently nudge consumers to those ad tiers, none of those services have automatically switched users over. A majority of Hulu’s users are on its ad tier, but it launched in 2010, years before most of its competitors existed in any form.
Executives at multiple companies have said that they make more per subscriber on their ad tiers than on their ad-free tiers, with the ad dollars more than making up for the lower sub fees.
But while other services have tried to entice viewers into trying their ad tiers, Amazon is ripping off the Band-Aid, betting that few users will care. And if it works, a top holding company exec predicts that others will follow.
Streaming video has been competitive for years, but it is entering a new era where the revenue needs to justify the costs. If Netflix was the lodestar for the first round of the streaming wars, YouTube appears to be the target for round two.
In its latest quarter, YouTube had just under $8 billion in advertising revenue, putting it on track for about $30 billion in ad revenue in 2023. That’s just advertising revenue, and does not include subscription fees for services like YouTube TV or YouTube Premium.
It’s an enormous number, one that has to have major appeal for the likes of Disney, Netflix and, yes, Amazon. If the past few years were about seeking subscriber scale, the next five may be defined by who can build the biggest streaming ad business. And Amazon is about to speed past some of its rivals and eat linear TV in the process.
What About Amazon’s Other Streamer?
Amid Amazon’s streaming ad power play, there is one big quirk: It already has an ad-supported streaming service. The Lauren Anderson-run Freevee (formerly called IMDb TV) has been programming library fare and a handful of original shows since 2019. And just in the past year it has even had some breakout hits, including Jury Duty, Primo, High School and Judy Justice.
If Prime Video is adding ads, what will it mean for the company’s other ad-supported streaming service — one that, as it happens, was a focal point of its upfront presentation last May?
Sources say it will be business as usual at the platform, which is free and open to non-Prime members. Some executives from Freevee’s tech side have been brought over to help with the launch of the ad tier on Prime Video and are either pulling double duty for the two platforms or have moved to the flagship service exclusively to help get its ad platform up and running as quickly as possible.
Just as Paramount puts library content on Pluto TV to help drive subs to Paramount+, and just as Warner Bros. Discovery has become keen on licensing some library content (including HBO shows) to some FAST platforms, Amazon seems intrigued by the two-pronged strategy as well.
Execs within Amazon, sources say, are pleased with Freevee’s growth and are keen on keeping the free streamer, which they see as an on-ramp of sorts to Prime Video after the ad-supported audience was exposed to programming like Reacher and helped grow viewership for its second season on the subscription service.
Freevee’s programming team, sources say, has already lined up slates of originals for this year and next and is discussing plans for 2026. — A.W. and Lesley Goldberg
jade1
I spend half my money on WDW, and waste the rest.
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2001
- Messages
- 11,638
We have purchased about 10 movies on Prime. So not a huge investment but some we always wanted available.
Does anybody know if those will now have commercials, and if so will the 3$ upgrade be necessary to remove them?
Does anybody know if those will now have commercials, and if so will the 3$ upgrade be necessary to remove them?
wabbott
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2021
- Messages
- 6,449
Here's an article from last September that may answer your question.
https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/amazon-to-introduce-ads-prime-video-2024/
kilik64
Carefree, wherever we may be!
- Joined
- May 21, 2021
- Messages
- 1,381
No, will only be for prime streaming, IE videos you get as included as part of a prime sub, not anything you have actually paid for on its own.
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