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Movie enterprise reporter and Extensive Shot founder Ryan Faughnder is imminently happening paternity depart, so veteran media reporter Meg James is on the controls this week.
Watch out for issues that breathe fireplace.HBO on Sunday night time launched “Home of the Dragon,” the long-awaited prequel to its medieval fantasy extravaganza “Recreation of Thrones.” That collection, recognized in media circles as “GoT,” was a showpiece of HBO’s audaciousness through the Time Warner Inc. period. Manufacturing and advertising and marketing budgets have been epic! HBO’s events have been excessive!
However the authentic collection delivered on the hype, presenting fictional Westeros, with its fire-breathing dragons, as a feast for the eyes together with heart-pounding story-lines that introduced in additional followers because the present went deeper into its eight-season run — a rarity in tv.
“Recreation of Thrones” debuted in 2011 — two years earlier than the streaming revolution started. It was a juggernaut lengthy earlier than Time Warner was bought to AT&T, which shrank the corporate and shifted its priorities to streaming with the debut of HBO Max. Then got here Discovery, which with chief government David Zaslav wolfed up WarnerMedia final spring.
No spoilers right here for “Home of the Dragon,” besides to say the Iron Throne is greater and extra menacing-looking than in “GoT.”
This defies the physics of legacy media, through which issues are inclined to get smaller.
Like HBO itself. Final week, HBO and HBO Max laid off about 70 folks, or 14% of its employees, one other wave within the painful contraction underway at Warner Bros. Discovery because it struggles to persuade Wall Road that the smaller Discovery’s takeover of the corporate, which added to the mountain of debt, pays dividends long run.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s inventory is down 50% because the deal closed in April, which little doubt provides Zaslav heartburn. (Warner Bros. Discovery shares closed Monday at $12.71, down 7.4%, as the general inventory market plunged).
So a giant hit couldn’t come at a greater time for the CEO and his empire, and “Home of the Dragon” is perhaps simply that. The premiere of “Home of the Dragon” drew almost 10 million viewers throughout linear and HBO Max platforms within the U.S. Sunday night time, the biggest viewers for any new authentic collection within the historical past of HBO.
On Friday, Zaslav took the weird step of seemingly declaring the present a success earlier than it even launched. In an e mail to employees, Zaslav thanked HBO and HBO Max content material chief Casey Bloys and different prime HBO executives who “have shepherded what appears to be like to be the following massive cultural second.”
Wall Road, are you listening?
“I had an opportunity to look at the premiere in Los Angeles with Casey and the staff and was blown away by the standard of the manufacturing, richness of the story, and energy of the motion,” Zaslav wrote within the e mail that touted the advertising and marketing marketing campaign, which he referred to as the “largest advertising and marketing marketing campaign in HBO’s historical past — we reached almost 130 million folks within the U.S. alone.”
“Home of the Dragon” delivered. It launched with a roar and a gripping plot, apparently inflicting HBO Max to crash through the premiere.
However Zaslav’s e mail didn’t point out current layoffs or controversies, together with Warner Bros.’ cancelation of the almost accomplished $90-million HBO Max film “Batgirl” — a transfer that troubled some filmmakers. The movie featured a Latina within the main position. Zaslav’s observe didn’t point out different downsizing, together with how the corporate bought the majority of th stake within the youth oriented CW community earlier within the week.
As a substitute, Zaslav underscored his structural technique: “We're dedicated to constructing one staff with one mission.”
That mission is difficult by the fatigue of a battle-weary workforce, who've lived by two years of the pandemic and 5 years of company upheaval. Some fear that their heads can also roll — very similar to the poor souls who confronted Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) in “Home of the Dragon.”
The corporate faces elevated competitors from deep-pocketed rivals. In lower than two weeks, Amazon Prime Video launches its Lord of the Rings epic , “The Rings of Energy.” Advertisements for that collection have swarmed Twitter. In collaboration with film chain Cinemark, Amazon is making the primary two episodes accessible to followers in theaters Aug. 31 — two days earlier than the collection debuts.
Zaslav’s e mail hinted at an upcoming compelled marriage (though not particularly one within the HBO present). The corporate is working to mix its two streaming providers, HBO Max and Discovery+, merging collectively such reveals as “90 Day Fiancé,” “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives,” and “Renovation Island” on the identical service as“Euphoria,” “Succession” and “Home of the Dragon.”
On the very least, there could possibly be some fascinating cross-promotions with George R.R. Martin-esque takes on Discovery reveals, together with “Chopped,” “Cutthroat Kitchen,” “Bare and Afraid” and “Dude, You’re Screwed.”
Trojans, Bruins assist tip the scales
Final week, venerable broadcasters CBS, Fox and NBC teamed as much as seize TV rights to Huge Ten convention school soccer video games, asserting a record-shattering $1.2-billion-a-year pact that may have been unthinkable only a few years in the past.
Boosted by the deliberate swap of UCLA and USC from the Pac-12 to the Huge Ten convention in 2024, the Midwestern powerhouse league quickly will probably be a a coast-to-coast draw. The broadcasters agreed to pay greater than double the prevailing price ticket for the video games, a reported $430 million a 12 months. The networks plan to divvy up the contests so every has a strong Saturday draw.
As CBS’ sports activities chief Sean McManus advised The Instances’ Sam Farmer: “The convention is extra precious with USC and UCLA in it.”
However there’s much more right here past the addition of the L.A. schools. Broadcasters desperately want sports activities to please viewers and advertisers, and audiences for cable shops, together with the powerhouse ESPN, have been on the decline. The deal comes throughout troubled instances for media firms. ESPN gave up precious rights to the convention, as a substitute specializing in the Southeastern Convention.
Programming prices are rising however executives know that sports activities will proceed to ship. There’s additionally the much less distinguished however simply as vital lure. Legacy firms like NBCUniversal, Fox and CBS mum or dad Paramount International depend on the large checks they obtain from the cable and satellite tv for pc TV firms, which pay the networks for the rights to distribute TV station indicators. These so-called retransmission charges have helped broadcasters preserve their monetary footing. Additionally, these broadcasters didn’t need to fumble the ball to interloper tech firms like Amazon or Apple.
Stuff we wrote
— Security troubles for live performance promoter Stay Nation. The stabbing demise of South L.A. rapper Drakeo the Ruler was simply the most recent in a collection of high-profile acts of violence which have shadowed the live performance enterprise, and the world’s largest promotion firm, for years. Music author August Brown stories, in a subscriber unique, that after the lethal Astroworld disaster in Texas and Drakeo’s stabbing in Los Angeles, Stay Nation faces mounting questions over live performance security. Drakeo’s brother advised Brown that their crew felt uneasy with the lax safety. They didn’t see any safety cameras or legislation enforcement backstage.
— Palisades Media’s household plan. Wendy Lee broke one other unique on the troubles at Palisades Media Group, the Santa Monica company that positioned adverts for Netflix, amongst others, earlier than abruptly closing this summer time. For almost twenty years, the 2 stepsons of CEO Roger Schaffner have been employed there. The issue: Managers mentioned they didn't really carry out their duties and barely confirmed up for work.
— Brian Stelter is out at CNN. New CNN chief Chris Licht‘s first main transfer was to cancel one in all CNN’s longest-running applications, “Dependable Sources,” and toss out the anchor, Brian Stelter, who was most intently related together with his predecessor, Jeff Zucker, Stephen Battaglio wrote. Stelter bid adieu Sunday, the ultimate episode of the present.
— Discuss a drought.A field workplace lull has put main monetary strain on among the largest cinema chains, Ryan Faughnder wrote. A number of components, together with COVID-19-driven manufacturing delays, a bottleneck at visible results corporations and the steering of extra movies to streaming providers as a substitute of theaters is placing monetary strain on longtime business companions.
— Britain increase. Manufacturing is as soon as once more having fun with a surge in exercise within the U.Okay., with file ranges of filming. Anousha Sakoui stories from London concerning the increase — and the burnout.
— From El Monte to the chief suite.Cris Abrego is one in all few Latino governments within the prime government ranks of Hollywood as chairman of the Americas for Banijay, the fact TV juggernaut. I traced Abrego’s journey from his highschool east of Los Angeles, and the story really begins earlier than Cris was even born — through the Chicano motion of the late Sixties. The story is also accessible in Spanish.
Variety of the week
Nielsen reported that, for the primary time, viewership of streaming providers topped that of cable TV channels in July.
Ryan Faughnder wrote about this symbolic milestone within the business. Conventional tv, nonetheless, nonetheless generates probably the most viewing should you mix the chances for broadcast networks and cable channels (greater than 55% of viewing), which Nielsen stories as separate classes. Streaming notched a file 34.8% of complete TV consumption final month, whereas cable accounted for 34.4%. Broadcast tv grabbed 21.6%.
Catch-up studying...
— The Instances’ Meredith Blake appears to be like at how “The Home of the Dragon” premiere episode feels significantly related within the post-Roe vs. Wade world.
— Wall Road Journal’s Joe Flint appears to be like on the age-old debate: Ought to Disney eliminate ESPN, in gentle of an activist investor’s calls to pare property?
— James Hibberd explores the combat for eyeballs among the many fantasy juggernauts. Which will probably be a much bigger hit: HBO’s “Home of the Dragon” or Amazon Prime Video’s “Lord of the Rings” franchise?
Hollywood manufacturing
Shoot days within the Los Angeles space have been down 11% final week, in contrast with the identical time period in 2021.
Lastly ... Ode to the WB, UPN and CW
It’s too quickly to understand how dramatically the CW will change below Nexstar’s tenure. As my colleague Steve Battaglio wrote, Nexstar is anticipated to slowly shift the main target from reveals that enchantment to younger viewers to ones that is perhaps extra suitable to an older-skewing viewers. Nexstar depends on its native newscasts, like these produced by its L.A. station, KTLA-TV Channel 5, for income.
The CW wasn’t worthwhile, which is a part of the rationale it was being bought. Its worth to the homeowners was as a “studio play,” permitting the Warner Bros. and CBS tv studios to make use of extra writers, actors and create reveals that may reside on past their community life (together with on Netflix).
Let’s not overlook the massive accomplishments of two generations of youth-oriented networks. CW was the amalgamation, in 2006, of two opponents WB, owned by Warner Bros; and UPN, initially owned by Viacom, then CBS. The smaller networks punched above their weight class, delivering reveals that struck the cultural zeitgeist and launched the profession of many stars and present runners.
WB spawned “Dawson’s Creek,” “seventh Heaven,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” (which moved to UPN), “Gilmore Women,” “Smallville,” and “Everwood.” UPN was daring in its day: “America’s Subsequent High Mannequin,” “Girlfriends,” “Everyone Hates Chris” and “Veronica Mars.” And naturally the CW confirmed its moxie with “Gossip Woman,” “The Vampire Diaries,” “Jane the Virgin” and “Riverdale,” which is about to launch its seventh and ultimate season.
Another click on! Please observe me on Twitter: @MegJamesLAT
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