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ESPN’s new streaming service and app, which launched today, features a TikTok-style vertical video feed packed with clips from shows, game highlights, and user-generated content from its growing roster of in-house creators. The Big Picture: Every social platform has a vertical feed, but ESPN’s marks one of the first times an entertainment company has jumped […]
Indie entertainment studio Cineverse is teaming up with Banyan Ventures to form MicroCo — America’s answer to the rising mini-drama boom. The Little Picture: Mini-dramas — low-budget, bite-sized soap operas that have exploded among Gen Zers and middle-aged women — are wildly popular across Asia, especially in China. Cineverse, Banyan, and their roster of seasoned […]
YouTube is making a long-shot overture to the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to host the Academy Awards. The Big Picture: YouTube consistently ranks as the most-watched streaming platform on American TVs, according to Nielsen. It’s also been expanding into live events, most notably with its successful run of NFL Sunday Ticket. […]
Paramount has struck a $7.7 billion media rights deal with TKO Group to exhibit all UFC events in the US on Paramount+ starting next year. The Big Picture: The UFC deal (which beat out Netflix, Amazon, and YouTube) comes just a week after David Ellison’s Skydance officially took control of Paramount, demonstrating the new leadership’s […]
The cost of subscriptions keeps rising, so Americans are joining family plans with friends, acquaintances, and even strangers to stay on budget. The Big Picture: The average American adult is staying single longer, has a 20% chance of still being on their parents’ phone bill, and pays for five premium subscription services each month — […]
The Savannah Bananas — a barnstorming exhibition team that plays their own version of baseball called “Banana Ball” — are racking up ticket sales, virality, and influence. The Big Swing: In an era of shrinking attention spans, America’s favorite pastime has been pressured to… well… pick up the pace. It’s hard not to imagine that […]
Disney is wrestling with how to best integrate AI into their studio operations, having started and then abandoned some generative-AI experiments for upcoming blockbusters due to concerns about potential backlash. The Big Picture: AI is slowly entering the Hollywood studio ecosystem — especially after Lionsgate and A24 struck wide-ranging deals with startup Runway AI. For […]
All of Hollywood is watching Paramount’s The Naked Gun — only the second big-screen comedy to hit theaters this year, and easily the one carrying the highest expectations — to see if it can revive the genre after a decade-long drought. The Big Picture: Comedies used to be a mainstay on the big screen but […]
As IMAX becomes one of the biggest draws for moviegoers, there appears to be a whisper campaign for major theater chains to band together to put more marketing muscle behind their own premium-large format (PLF) offerings. The Big Picture: IMAX has been on a tear this year, posting a record-best quarter for ticket sales, lifting the box-office grosses […]
Amazon has invested an undisclosed amount in Fable Studio’s AI-powered streaming service, Showrunner, which allows people to generate their own shows or remix licensed content to make their own episodes. The Big Picture: There’s a heated debate over how AI-generated movies and shows will (or should be allowed to) revolutionize the entertainment industry, with issues […]