Media Monday, Cathie Wood’s Hangover, Pellicano’s Return

Welcome back to The Daily Courant, your afternoon guide to the latest news from Puck.

Today, Julia Alexander cogently unveils how Netflix’s latest M&A strategery may foreshadow a slimmer, “stickier” path out of subscriber fatigue and back into Wall Street’s good graces.

Plus, below the fold: Bill Cohan explains why the market correction won’t be over until Cathie Wood sings. Eriq Gardner reports on the return of Anthony Pellicano, the infamous secret-keeper to the stars. And Jon Kelly joins Teddy Schleifer for a spirited conversation about Ari Emanuel’s abs and Elon Musk’s litigation endgame.

Demand for animated content has grown consistently over the last several years, making up just over 7 percent of the total global demand share for content in 2020, according to research firm Parrot Analytics, where I work as director of strategy. On top of that, demand for adult-oriented animation and adult-oriented anime has consistently grown, with a projected global market share of $43.73 billion by 2028, according to global marketing research firm Brand Essence.

Netflix, of course, has largely been acquisitive-shy in the past, preferring instead to build from within. (The exceptions have generally coalesced around its nascent gaming strategy.) But its purchase of Animal Logic, and the simultaneous restructuring of its animation film executive team, foreshadows an intriguing recommitment to a division that the company once touted as core to its central offering. Nintendo, meanwhile, like so many of its gaming competitors, is exploring new linear pathways to broaden its sizable audience. There’s already a Super Mario movie in the works from Universal’s Illumination Pictures...