Seth Rogen's 'An American Pickle' will bow on HBO Max in August. By Dade Hayes May 13, 2020 | When Disney and Apple undercut Netflix, pricing their new streaming services in the single-digit dollars per month, they shook up the market and reset consumer expectations. HBO Max, which WarnerMedia will launch on May 27, is playing the opposite end of the market. It will retail...
By Tara Lachapelle May 2, 2020 | As Hollywood sets sit empty because of the Covid-19 pandemic, streaming-video apps that were just getting off the ground are now running out of fresh movies and TV episodes. But this is only a hiccup compared to the vexing problem that awaits the industry when it finally emerges from the crisis. Is it possible to make money in the...
By Dade Hayes May 6, 2020 | Stay-at-home orders due to COVID-19 drove digital home entertainment sales to an all-time record level in March, according to the Digital Entertainment Group, a trade consortium. Total spending on digital transactions, including electronic sell-through and video on demand, reached $596 million, up 48% over March 2019. Theatrical films rose 57% in EST and 67% on VOD during the month. Read more...
By Erich Schwartzel April 30, 2020 |The shutdown of Hollywood is disrupting the Disney+ pipeline. Walt Disney Co. ’s flagship streaming service is getting a big boost from subscribers stuck at home because of widespread stay-at-home orders, but several of the biggest releases headed to the platform have had production halted amid the novel coronavirus outbreak. To keep subscribers hooked, Disney has moved...
April 30, 2020 | Sergei Kuharsky, EVP Franchise & Digital Enterprise , BBC Studios – Americas and a Board Director for DEG, opened DEG's Innovation in the Cloud Expo by sharing his perspective on the importance of the cloud to entertainment production and distribution. Cloud levels the playing field for companies of different sizes, it enables cost efficiency and it...
By Erich Schwartzel April 28, 2020 | LOS ANGELES—Last month, as the nation’s movie theaters were days from closing down, executives at Comcast Corp. ’s Universal Pictures moved on a decision that would soon pay off handsomely. A massive marketing campaign was already under way for the studio’s April 10 release, “Trolls World Tour,” an animated sequel to the 2016 hit. The studio decided not...
By Todd Spangler April 24, 2020 | The COVID-19 pandemic could be a major inflection point that changes consumer behaviors for years. Over the past month and a half, streaming to the TV viewing has more than doubled in the U.S. — and with the current stay-at-home lifestyle, more Americans say they expect to keep watching more TV and streaming services after the coronavirus crisis...
By David Sims April 22, 2020 | The global economy is plummeting in response to the coronavirus. Whole industries are frozen, and businesses such as movie theaters are facing months of lost revenue. But at least one company is thriving in a time when people are being urged to stay home: Netflix. Yesterday, the streaming service announced a staggering rise in subscriptions during the first quarter of...
By Lucas Shaw and Gerry Smith April 21, 2020 | AT&T Inc. has set a launch date of May 27 for its HBO Max service, marking the third major streaming rollout in less than two months as media giants try to capitalize on booming demand for video. HBO Max will debut in the U.S. before rolling out to Europe and Latin America in...
By Natalie Jarvey April 20, 2020 | The deal will allow the NBCUniversal-owned movie ticketing company to bolster its 4-year-old digital movie marketplace, FandangoNow. NBCUniversal-owned movie ticketing company Fandango has agreed to buy streaming video service Vudu from Walmart. The deal will allow Fandango to bolster its 4-year-old digital movie marketplace, FandangoNow. Terms of the deal, which is expected to close in the...
