UPDATED with content spend stats from annual report: Giant Amazon said its total expenses for video and music came to $16.6 billion last year, up from $13 billion in 2021. Video and music expense includes licensing and production costs associated with content offered within Amazon Prime memberships, and costs associated with digital subscriptions and sold or rented content, according to the company’s latest annual report that followed fourth quarter financials yesterday. On an earnings call Thursday, CFO Brian Olsavsky noted that Amazon spent $7 billion on originals, live sports and licensed content in 2022, up from $5 billion the year before. It’s unclear if those figures include all worldwide video content, which is increasingly central to Amazon’s strategy in driving membership for Prime, the biggest loyalty program in the world and the beating heart of the company. Amazon (which acquired MGM last year for $8.5 billion in cash) carefully evaluates its return on … [Read more...] about Amazon Praises Video As Key Driver Of Prime; 2022 Content Spend, Including Music, Hit $16.6 Billion
Season 1 stranger things
Thanks, ‘Night Court’! How Multi-Cams Are Having A Moment … Again
Leave it to a sitcom vet like Melissa Rauch to remind the industry that everything old can be new again. After persuading Warner Bros. TV to dust off the Night Court IP and revive it for NBC, multi-cams are suddenly hot again, with every broadcast network — and even a few streamers like Netflix (home to new hit That ’90s Show , which just got renewed ) are putting studio audience comedies in development. While no one is straight-up abandoning single-cams — the success of CBS’ Ghosts and ABC’s Abbott Elementary have certainly made sure of that — there’s no beating the cost-effectiveness of one of TV’s most tried and true genres. “Everybody had a hunch they should probably be doing more of them,” says one high-powered comedy agent. “Night Court is a good sign there is an appetite for that. Everything I’m hearing out of CBS, for example, is that they have pretty hard caps they are trying to hit on these multi-camera shows. The Conners is an exception because … [Read more...] about Thanks, ‘Night Court’! How Multi-Cams Are Having A Moment … Again
Saquon Barkley Drilled In Face During Pro Bowl Dodgeball Game
Courtesy of NFL Saquon Barkley can pull off nasty juke moves against linebackers on the football field, but when it comes to dodgeball and Demario Davis ... ehhh, not so much. The New York Giants star proved he ain't exactly elite at the children's game during the 2023 Epic Pro Bowl Dodgeball tournament ... taking a huge shot right to the face!! Here's what happened ... Barkley and Davis, a New Orleans Saints linebacker, were the only ones left in the NFC offense vs. NFC defense competition on Thursday in Las Vegas -- and had to take each other out in a one-on-one showdown to win it all. Barkley showed off some impressive defensive moves by bobbing and weaving at first ... but that ended quickly after Davis threw a heater right at the guy's face. Waiting for your permission to load the Instagram Media. To his credit, Saquon shook it off -- and it actually helped his NFC team win ... because headshots aren't allowed, and Davis was DQ'ed for it. "Got … [Read more...] about Saquon Barkley Drilled In Face During Pro Bowl Dodgeball Game