THE LATEST ARTICLES
HOLLYWOOD
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July 31, 2022
Zaz’s Tween Gamble
As he recontorts the content strategy (and budget) of Warner Bros. Discovery, David Zaslav is making a bet that technology has forever changed the way kids consume content, particularly live-action fare.
HOLLYWOOD
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July 28, 2022
The Summer Box Office Wars Come to Streaming
At last, the streaming industry has matured to the state where it has multiple viable contenders, the best content on the market, and intense summer season face-offs can make-or-break a parentco’s quarter.
HOLLYWOOD
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July 24, 2022
Netflix’s Animated Double-Down
Out with the Ryan Murphy deals, and in with the modest-sized bets on cheaper, “stickier” animation and anime fare.
HOLLYWOOD
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July 21, 2022
Netflix’s Domestic Crisis
For years, Netflix projected it could acquire 90 million subscribers in the U.S.—and that international growth would follow a familiar hockey-stick path. But subscriber losses in its most mature, valuable market also foreshadow future impediments to Netflix’s TAM: What happens when the competition heats up there, too?
HOLLYWOOD
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May 30, 2022
Can ‘Stranger Things’ Save Netflix From Its New Self?
The global phenomenon, back after a three-year break, offers the embattled streamer an opportunity to change its narrative with a hybrid-binge drop strategy calculated to lure back subscribers and reduce churn.
HOLLYWOOD
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April 14, 2022
Dear Zaz, Read This Before the “Synergies” Start…
The streaming wars are, simply put, a race to own the best content and have the strongest pipes to distribute it (along with all the financial engineering and tax avoidance befitting a media behemoth, naturally). Here are my four predictions for how David Zaslav can take Warner Bros. Discovery from No. 3 to No. 2—or even higher.
HOLLYWOOD
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March 10, 2022
How ‘South Park’ Became the Envy of Streaming
These days, most new shows don’t make it past three seasons. But a long-running cartoon that has a fortified fan base, the promise of daily engagement, and guaranteed new episodes is perhaps the most valuable asset in media.
HOLLYWOOD
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February 13, 2022
Why Disney+ Leaped as Netflix Stumbled
The Netflix doom-and-gloom narrative is likely shortsighted and apocryphal. But Disney’s recent streaming rejuvenation suggests some key factors that will dictate the winners and losers in this evolving streaming arms race.
HOLLYWOOD
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January 23, 2022
HBO Max: The New Number 2?
When it first launched, HBO Max suffered from bad tech, a mid-market brand, and executive upheaval. But in the span of several months, it has transformed itself from a second-tier player into a credible Netflix challenger for streaming dollars.
HOLLYWOOD
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January 19, 2022
Will Biden Crush the Microsoft-Activision Deal?
Gaming, like the entertainment-media-tech industry, is experiencing a wave of M&A action. Depending on how the D.O.J. and the F.T.C. respond, we’re likely to see much more of it.