Category: media

What does the merger of the WB and UPN channels into CW mean to the TV landscape? “This move makes a lot of business sense, and television was built on selling soap, so you couldn’t call it unexpected. The merger of two small networks into one small network (with a new name: the CW), may turn out to be that rarest of true cliches: a win-win. Not only for the bean counters, but for the viewers. Neither UPN or the WB is profitable.”

What’s next for the post-Miramax Weinsteins? Their first films after leaving Disney don’t suggest any great feats of derring do. “The Weinstein brothers’ success has been as much about branding as about discovering good films. The Weinsteins may have seen the artistry behind “Pulp Fiction” and “The Piano,” but the company’s reputation for daring and for aggressive Oscar campaigns with budgets bigger than some movies’ are about savvy marketing and public relations.”

“Let’s say Disney continues to muddle along under [Disney CEO Robert] Iger as it did in the late Eisner years. Shareholders and observers will begin to note that having Iger run the company while Steve Jobs sits on the board is like having Michael Jordan (the basketball player) on the bench while Will Perdue is tossing up bricks. One of the biggest issues Disney faces is how to cope with the digitalization of the media. No one has done a better job than Jobs in helping established companies and industries cash in digitalization. So, there is little doubt Jobs will be a goad to Iger.”

Why is there no Academy Award for stunt performers? Stunts, after all, are integral to many movies, and when so many Oscars are handed out, shouldn’t there at least be one to recognize stunt work?

Audiences are not buying tickets for a movie about Canada’s most famous serial killer. “Critical reaction has been almost uniformly negative toward the 104-minute feature, which was made in California in 2004 for an estimated $6-million (U.S.).”

Are podcasts a threat to radio or a potential cash cow? “The BBC has been experimenting with podcasting since 2004 and says demand has grown. In May 2005 it made 20 programmes available for download and is extending the trial into this year “in order to gain a better understanding of listeners’ preferences.”

“The Motion Picture Assn. of America, the leader in the global fight against movie piracy, is being accused of unlawfully making a bootleg copy of a documentary that takes a critical look at the MPAA’s film ratings system.”

Disney has made a deal to buy animation powerhouse Pixar “in a $7.4-billion deal that will make Pixar CEO Steve Jobs the entertainment company’s single-largest shareholder.”

The WB and UPN TV networks are shutting down this fall. In their place, a new channel – CW – aimed at “young ethnic” audiences will be launched. “By shutting down the two small networks that jousted over the same pool of 18- to 34-year-old viewers and joining forces to capture that audience, the companies are essentially bowing to the reality of an increasingly competitive marketplace, executives acknowledged.”

“In the complex and sometimes querulous dynamic between media and technology companies, such a move would no doubt raise questions about the ripples those ties can be expected to cause. For example, would Mr. Jobs view Disney as the preferred content supplier for future generations of Apple iPods and other hardware that distribute and play media products like songs and TV shows? And would Disney’s media rivals be less inclined to do business with Apple as it introduced new services because they would be abetting a competitor?”