Streaming the young rock

EXCLUSIVE : Arthouse streamer and distributor Mubi has traditionally been shy about revealing performance numbers for its movies, but today we can reveal that BAFTA and Oscar hopeful Aftersun has become the company’s most streamed release globally. We’re told the Paul Mescal -starrer has now far surpassed Mubi’s previous best-performers including Portrait Of A Lady On Fire , The Worst Person In The World , Drive My Car , Decision To Leave , Shiva Baby and Titane , some of which were released during the pandemic, a boom time for streamer engagement. The film started streaming in the UK, Ireland, Italy, Latin America and a handful of other markets on January 6, 2023, and has also become the top-viewed film all time in these individual territories. It will join the platform in Germany, Austria and Spain in March, and later in France. Writer-director Charlotte Wells’ acclaimed debut has also blazed a trail for Mubi at the theatrical box office, becoming … [Read more...] about ‘Aftersun’ Becomes Mubi’s Most Streamed Movie Ever & Crosses Box Office Milestones

Warner Bros Discovery has ditched plans for a 100% merger of streaming services HBO Max and Discovery+ and will continue offering the latter as a stand-alone product. Insiders confirmed the strategic shift with Deadline after it was initially reported by The Wall Street Journal . The WSJ cited unidentified people familiar with the decision, saying they felt Discovery+ subscribers could balk at paying a higher price for a combined service. HBO Max costs $16 a month, or $10 with ads, compared with $7 and $5 for the respective equivalents of Discovery+. Over the past several months, WBD execs have talked of combining the two into a single offering. HBO Max has already been featuring Discovery titles more prominently of late, even though the ultimate fit between prestige HBO fare and Discovery mainstays like 90-Day Fiancé has been questioned both inside and outside of the company. The plan now is to continue to have Discovery+ in the market even as a newly … [Read more...] about Warner Bros Discovery Abandons Plan To Shut Down Discovery+ As Stand-Alone Service As It Moves Ahead With HBO Max Merger

Netflix is rolling out paid password sharing in Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain as the company looks to reap revenue from a practice it long encouraged customers to engage in at no charge. A blog post confirmed the rollout and said it would expand in the coming months. The announcement followed some online unrest earlier in the week when a company web page pertaining to tests of the password plan in Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru went live in other countries. (A trial of the new setup launched in those countries last year.) The bulletin ricocheted around online, causing anxiety over its apparent requirement for users to specify a “primary location” for a given household’s accounts. Backlash centered on the notion of having to verify WiFi information on a regular basis. “We know there’s been a lot of confusion about sharing Netflix,” the company acknowledged in a tweet. “A Netflix account is intended for one household,” it continued, adding that the aim is to “give you … [Read more...] about Netflix Expands Paid Password Sharing To Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain

At its third annual developer conference on Wednesday, NBCUniversal introduced a range of new products and capabilities aimed at enhancing the media company’s appeal to advertisers. Among them: a new “content quality index” partnership with MarketCast; an expansion of in-scene advertising capabilities; and the certification of 29 new measurement partners. The One23 event in New York is named after NBCU’s One Platform, which unifies the company’s many advertising venues, across streaming , digital, social and linear TV. This year’s confab features appearances by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and NBC late-night host Jimmy Fallon. With an emphasis on technology, it is designed to complement the annual NewFronts and upfronts presentations by NBCU to advertisers in May. (Disney has added a similar event in the first quarter of recent years.) A press release issued at the start of the conference highlighted 18 initiatives across areas like measurement, data, innovation, … [Read more...] about NBCUniversal Unveils Advertising Initiatives Including ‘Content Quality Index’, 29 New Measurement Partners, Expanded “In-Scene” Push

UPDATED with closing stock price: Disney stock closed at $86.75 a share, down more than 13% as investors punished the company for its disappointing quarterly earnings report and weak earnings forecast. The single-day plunge was the biggest for Disney shares since the onset of Covid in the U.S. in March 2020, when it also fell 13%. The shares have fallen more than 43% in 2022 to date, compared with a drop of less than 10% for the Dow Jones Industrial Average. PREVIOUS: Disney stock has fallen more than 11% today on double its normal trading volume, as investors recalibrate their expectations in light of a shaky quarterly earnings report. At $88.53, Disney shares were at their lowest point since they dipped into the $80s for a couple of trading days during Covid lockdowns in March 2020. Prior to that, the last time the stock closed at or below $86.75 was in 2015. Bears seized on the company’s much-lower-than-expected profit forecast as well as a significant … [Read more...] about Disney Stock Plunges 13% To New Multi-Year Low On Earnings Miss, Weak Profit Outlook – Update

In both a noble gesture toward exhibition after the studio’s Project Popcorn, and in a means to monetize downstream revenues, Warner Bros is taking what was a HBO Max movie, Steven Soderbergh’s Magic Mike’s Last Dance , and putting into 1,500 theatrical locations this weekend. That’s with a thrifty marketing spend. It’s the second movie after New Line’s House Party ($8.8M) for which Warners has reverse-engineered a streaming release for the big screen. Meanwhile, Paramount is building off the heat of James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water with a 25th anniversary 3D reissue of the filmmaker’s Oscar-winning 1997 smash Titanic . There are arguments to be made that either could notch No. 1: Titanic apparently is tracking better than the fall re-issue of Avatar ($10.5M opening) with a shot at double-digit millions in 2,400 theaters and the Channing Tatum-Salma Hayek Pinault threequel also having a potential $10M debut with the chance for more heading into … [Read more...] about ‘Magic Mike’s Last Dance’ & ‘Titanic’ Reissue Having Super Bowl Dance-Off At Box Office – Preview

The BFI today announced that it will hand out $16m (£14m) of National Lottery ‘good cause’ funding over three years to enhance film education for 5-18 year-olds across the UK. The cash award will be given to two UK-wide partners to deliver three targeted initiatives: BFI National Lottery Teaching with Film, BFI National Lottery Young Creatives, and BFI National Lottery Careers and Progression. Into Film, receiving $15m (£12.4m) over three years will work across all three programs, and National Saturday Club will receive $1.8 (£1.5m) for the same period to collaborate with Into Film to deliver Young Creatives. The BFI has said the $6m (£5m) award for Teaching with Film will result in a change of strategic focus for Into Film, the film education charity, seeing it prioritize introducing film education as a learning tool to be utilized across the entire school curriculum. Meanwhile, the $7m (£6m) Careers and Progression program will aim to provide and bolster the access … [Read more...] about BFI Sets $16m Cash Award To Fund New UK-Wide Film Education Strategy

Prime Video is restructuring its international business along regional lines in EMEA, APAC and the Americas. Kelly Day , VP of Amazon ’s Prime Video, has rejigged the Bosch and The Boys streamer with expanded roles for Barry Furlong and Gaurav Gandhi. Furlong, currently VP of Prime Video Europe, is adding all Africa and Middle East businesses to his role and will lead EMEA. Gandi takes on a new role as lead for the APAC region, adding Japan and South East Asia to his current role overseeing India. Sushant Sreeram, Director – SVOD Business, will become Prime Video Country Director for India to replace Gandhi. Kari Roe remains in charge of the Americas (Brazil, Mexico, Latin America and Canada), Australia and New Zealand. Director of International Expansion, Josh McIvor, who has overseen Prime Video’s expansion in Africa and South East Asia, will continue to own “priority international Prime Video initiatives that sit outside a regional remit.” The changes … [Read more...] about Amazon’s Kelly Day Restructures Prime Video International

Fox Corp. matched Wall Street expectations for its fiscal second quarter, powered by NFL football in the U.S. and football at the World Cup. The company reported total revenue in the quarter ending December 31 of $4.61 billion, up 4% from the year-earlier period, and earnings of 48 cents a share. Affiliate fee revenues rose 1% thanks to 6% growth at the Television unit. Ad revenue climbed 4%, no mean feat in a tough economic climate, mostly due to the World Cup in Qatar and strong NFL results at Fox Sports. Other boosts came from political spending at the company’s local stations and growth for streaming service Tubi. The category of “other revenue” increased 13%, which the company said was primarily due to the December acquisition of Mar Vista Entertainment and higher Fox Nation subscription revenue. Fox has not disclosed subscriber numbers for Fox Nation, which launched in 2018. It is the first quarterly report for Fox since the company and its corporate sibling, … [Read more...] about Fox Corp. Ad Revenue Climbs 4% In A Tough Quarter, Boosted By NFL And World Cup

Paramount and Prime Video have struck a Star Trek deal for the former’s international streamer outside Canada. Previous seasons of Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Lower Decks will feature on the streamer later this month, while the third and final season of Picard will premiere day and date with the U.S. in Latin America on February 16 and in the UK, Australia, Italy, France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland on February 17. South Korea will premiere at a later date. In addition to airing on Paramount+ , Picard will also stream on Prime Video outside of the U.S. and Canada, while in Canada it is available on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel and streams on Crave. The move is a major coup for Paramount+, which is in the process of building up its streamer outside of the U.S. Star Trek: Picard features Patrick Stewart reprizing his iconic role as Jean-Luc Picard, which he played for seven seasons on The Next Generation . LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, … [Read more...] about Paramount+ & Prime Video Strike International ‘Star Trek’ Deal