Streaming advertising

Fox has officially sold out all of its advertising inventory for Super Bowl LVII , with peak prices surpassing $7 million for a 30-second spot. Sunday’s game in Arizona between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles will cap a year of stellar ratings for the NFL during the regular season and the playoffs. Fox had signaled before the start of the season last September that it had already had takers for 95% of Super Bowl spots, an unusually fast start for the sales process even by the standards of the most-watched TV broadcast of the year. Select ads commanded more than $7 million for 30 seconds of airtime, but on average pricing came in at between $6 million and $7 million for 30 seconds, according to Fox Sports EVP of Ad Sales Mark Evans. The official sellout came during the week of January 23, he said. As to why it took four-plus months to get all the way to a sellout, Evans said a few advertisers went through shakeups — case in point, cryptocurrency and … [Read more...] about Fox Sells Out Super Bowl Ad Inventory, With Some 30-Second Spots Fetching Upwards Of $7 Million

It was a weird night for the 2016 Grammy Awards , marked by a series of setbacks that, while not derailing the telecast, certainly kept people talking as much about the glitches as the musical performances. But the evening’s signature moment went off without a hitch as Lady Gaga delivered a tribute to rock legend David Bowie a month and a half after he lost his battle with cancer at 69 . Watch the whole thing below. The performance, a collaboration with Chic’s Nile Rodgers (who had worked with Bowie), was a multimedia extravaganza made in partnership with Intel that saw multiple costume changes set to a medley of songs from Bowie’s long career. Computer graphics, holograms, live video processing and the like factored large in the performance, which featured Gaga renditions of Bowie hits “Space Oddity,” “Changes,” “Ziggy Stardust,” “Suffragette City,” “Rebel Rebel,” “Let’s Dance” and “Heroes”. Lady Gaga wasn’t the scene stealer though. That honor goes to Kendrick … [Read more...] about Lady Gaga’s Bowie Tribute Rocks Grammys Amid Cancellations & Tech Issues

The Motion Picture Association is upgrading a platform and services that assess content security safeguards of producers and their suppliers. The Trusted Partner Network , in which members’ content security is measured against a set of best practices, will now include software and cloud security assessments, adding to those of physical locations and home workplaces. The intent of the Trusted Partner Network , being relaunched as the TPN+ platform, is to have a set of standards for vendors as a way to prevent instances like the pre-release leaks of footage from major blockbusters. The new platform is designed to help members manage and communicate their content security status, including with non-TPN security certificates such as ISO and Soc2, along with conforming to a set of updated MPA best practices. The Trusted Partner Network includes smaller firms and large pre- and post-production companies, as well as content owners. The MPA launched the Alliance for … [Read more...] about MPA Upgrades Trusted Partner Network To Boost Security In Studio Supply Chains

Great Expectations , Steven Knight ’s anticipated return to the world of Charles Dickens, has debuted its first teaser trailer (check it out above). The FX / BBC adaptation stars Olivia Colman as Miss Havisham and Fionn Whitehead as Pip along with Tom Sweet as the young Pip. In the brief look at the upcoming limited series, Miss Havisham meets young Pip when he arrives at Satis House for the first time, as she ominously grins, “What a prized creature we have fished from the river.” The limited series is due to air in the spring on BBC One and iPlayer and will stream on Hulu in the U.S. Internationally, it will be available to stream on Star+ in Latin America and on Disney+ under the Star banner at a later date. Great Expectations is the coming-of-age story of Pip, an orphan who yearns for a greater lot in life until a twist of fate introduces him to the mysterious and eccentric Miss Havisham and Estella (Shalom Brune-Franklin), showing him a dark world of … [Read more...] about ‘Great Expectations’ Teaser: Olivia Colman’s Miss Havisham Meets Young Pip In Steven Knight’s Dickens Adaptation

The furor over a Chinese spy balloon that flew over U.S. airspace has further chilled D.C.-Beijing tensions, but the entertainment industry already has been swept up in the heightened atmosphere of American hawkishness. Hollywood studios and producers are poised to get a new level of scrutiny over their dealings with China — reflecting a bipartisan hardline toward Beijing and escalating concerns over its influence. A little publicized provision of a recently passed defense bill restricts the U.S. government from spending funds on movies that, to gain entry into the Chinese marketplace, are altered in the face of Chinese government dictates. The provision in the National Defense Authorization Act , approved in a bipartisan vote of Congress and signed by President Joe Biden in December, is the latest example of an increased focus on China’s role, not just in the entertainment industry but also in sports and social media. While Republicans have led attacks on … [Read more...] about Hollywood’s China Predicament: New Law Restricts U.S. Cooperation On Projects Modified To Appease Beijing

Chris Spadaccini has been named Chief Marketing Officer for The CW Network, where he will oversee the network’s broadcast and digital marketing divisions. “It is very rare that any company gets to add someone of Chris Spadaccini’s stature to its team,” commented Brad Schwartz, President of Entertainment for The CW Network. “When it comes to marketers who have built and defined legendary brands for decades and created passionate emotional attachment between content and audiences, Chris is a true pioneer and the best in the business. As the broadcast and digital landscape changes at a rapid pace, we are building a dream team with the excitement and experience needed to drive The CW forward. I just wish he could have brought ‘The White Lotus’ with him.” Previously, Spadaccini as the Chief Marketing Officer for Warner Media Entertainment. He was responsible for marketing HBO, TBS, TNT, truTV, and all aspects of brand and content marketing for HBO Max, the company’s … [Read more...] about Former Warner Media Exec Chris Spadaccini Joins CW As Chief Marketing Officer

After weeks of seeing his private life flooded into the public, Jeff Bezos went online today to accuse Donald Trump’s pals at the National Enquirer of attempting to strong arm him with intimate photos, texts and an intent to ruin him with Amazon shareholders. “Any personal embarrassment AMI could cause me takes a back seat because there’s a much more important matter involved here,” the world’s richest man and owner of the Washington Post wrote, regarding National Enquirer parent company American Media’s desire to shut down the investigation Bezos has started of how information about his marriage and other personal affairs became public knowledge. “If in my position I can’t stand up to this kind of extortion, how many people can? (On that point, numerous people have contacted our investigation team about their similar experiences with AMI, and how they needed to capitulate because, for example, their livelihoods were at stake),” the Amazon founder wrote. … [Read more...] about Jeff Bezos Rips National Enquirer With “Extortion” Claims, Defends WaPo

David Pecker , the longtime publisher of the tabloid National Enquirer , is leaving the role as part of a deal unveiled Friday in which the paper’s parent company American Media LLC said it was merging with Accelerate , a national wholesale distribution company. Pecker, the longtime, often controversial president and CEO of Enquirer parent American Media, will become an executive adviser to the new combined company, which will be known as A360. Chris Scardino, previously EVP and Group Publisher and an 18-year veteran of American Media, becomes president. “This is a transformative event that significantly reshapes Accelerate and American Media into a new type of media and marketing company with an unprecedented reach all the way to the sales floor,” Accelerate CEO David Parry said in a release announcing the news. This move comes over a year after it was announced the scandal hobbled Enquirer was to be sold to a new company headed by Hudson News boss James Cohen … [Read more...] about David Pecker Out Atop National Enquirer Owner American Media After Merger

Chris McCarthy has been speaking about a franchise strategy for Showtime since he took over the network a couple of months ago. That strategy will include expanding successful series with multiple spinoffs in the mold of the Yellowstone universe as the premium cable network starts its integration with Paramount+ and getting a new moniker , Paramount+ with Showtime. Deadline has been hearing for awhile about potential Billions offshoots from series co-creators Brian Koppelman and David Levien. Showtime would not confirm the plan but McCarthy did it in an interview with WSJ , revealing that the four projects in the works are spinoffs set in Miami, the self-proclaimed crypto capital, and London, the world’s financial hub, as well as offshoots Millions , about up-and-coming financiers, and Trillions, a soap about the ultra rich. (You can find more details about all four Billions series in development at the bottom of the story.) McCarthy also confirmed that … [Read more...] about ‘Billions’ Spinoffs In Works At Showtime; ’Dexter’ Prequel Confirmed

EXCLUSIVE : Over the last year, director and VFX artist Kane Parsons has shot his YouTube following into the stratosphere with the viral success of his mysterious short, “ The Backrooms (Found Footage).” It’s the first in a series of found-footage horror videos which have thus far garnered nearly 100 million views and will now be adapted for the big screen by A24 , Atomic Monster , Chernin Entertainment and 21 Laps. Parsons — who’s just 17 years old — will direct from a script by Roberto Patino ( DMZ ). He’ll just have to wait till his summer vacation. Details as to the plot of the sci-fi horror feature are under wraps. But in the ’90s-set original short (which you can view below), a young filmmaker’s fall into another dimension leaves him wandering through an unsettlingly yellow, empty and labyrinthine office space, which may or may not be home to otherworldly beings. The film’s title and setting draw inspiration from the imagery of a creepypasta (or internet urban … [Read more...] about ‘The Backrooms’ Horror Film Based On Viral Shorts By 17-Year-Old Kane Parsons In Works At A24, Atomic Monster, Chernin & 21 Laps