Category Archives: TRF235 Fall 2014

Comcast – NBCU – (broadcast)

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by Lindsay Wolfson

NBC Universal Television

30 Rockefeller Plaza

New York, New York 10112

Key Executives:

Stephen B. Burke: Chief Executive Officer

Matt Bond: Executive Vice President of Content Distribution

Cesar Conde: Executive Vice President

Robert Greenblatt: Chairman, NBC Entertainment

Patricia Fili-Krushel: Chairman: NBC Universal News Group, NBC Universal

Ted Harbert: Chairman for NBC Broadcasting

History:

The National Broadcast Company (NBC) was founded in 1926 with an original focus on National Radio Broadcasting, but then made the transformation into Television Broadcasting. [1].  Universal Studios began in 1906 when an immigrant bought a movie theater and then rapidly expanded his business, which inevitably led to the first enclosed space specifically designed for moviemaking. [2]. NBC and Universal became one unified company in May of 2004. These companies came together and created a unique product of television distribution and part of the film industry. On the broadcast side, there were two main networks, NBC and Telemundo, and along with the broadcast channels were countless cable networks. Of the NBC-U broadcast stations there are over 200 affiliates nationwide in major cities such as New York and Philadelphia. [3] Originally, General Electric and Vivendi owned this new founded conglomerate, but now the majority owner is the Comcast Corporation, which owns 51%. [4].  This change of hands occurred back in January of 2011. Since NBC original formation, this company has developed into a nationally recognized source for news, entertainment in sports in the television industry.

 

Financials:

Fiscally, Comcast Corporation is a very successful corporation that is publically traded and its individual branches such as NBC-U share in that success. This past quarter, which ended in late October, demonstrated a thriving fiscal period. On the broadcast side, revenue increased 7.7% to $1.8 billion compared to the $1.6 billion achieved in the same quarter in 2013. According to the fiscal report, due to the NBC-U Broadcast’s reliable success this monetary growth in revenue is caused by the increase from advertising revenue. There are also increases in content licensing profits and retransmission consent fees. Operating cash flow increased as well for NBC-U Broadcasting. Comparatively, to the NBC-U cable networks, there was a significantly greater amount of growth. NBC-U’s cable networks only had 0.7% grown while its broadcast has 7.7% growth. Last year’s extensive fiscal success was caused in part by the promotion from the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. [5]. Comcast’s stock has been pretty stable over the past year ranging from $57.49 to $47.74. Since 2009, there has been a steady increase in the price of stock for Comcast indicating its growing success within the industry. In terms of total revenue for the Comcast Corporation, the company had a 6.2% increase from 2012 to 2013. As the year closes, it will be interesting to see if the 2014 fiscal year will bring about the same impressive results as did 2013 for the Comcast Corporation and NBC-U. [6].

 

Fall Season:

A to Z is new romantic comedy starring Ben Feldman and Cristin Milioti.

A to Z is new romantic comedy starring Ben Feldman and Cristin Milioti.

Back in early June, NBC U released which shows were going to premiere in the Fall 2014 Season. [7]. The major staple show for the fall season was expected to be The Voice and it was utilized as a fulcrum for generating viewership on both Monday and Tuesday evenings in general for the network. NBC programmers were hopeful that the large viewership from The Voice would help the ratings for the shows that directly followed. Interestingly, although NBC-U generates extensive amounts of original content, the big draw for viewership is Sunday Night Football. This strong viewership pushed NBC-U into the top spot for broadcast this past year. Sunday Night Football even challenged the World Series this past October in questioning which would receive more viewership. [8].  There were many programs tested for this past Fall Season.

The new comedy pilots for the Fall 2014 season included Bad Judge, Marry Me, and A to Z and the new drama pilots included Constantine, State of Affairs and The Mysteries of Laura.

MV5BMjA1NjUyNDk0OV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNDM1ODM3MjE@._V1_SY317_CR1,0,214,317_AL_

The Mysteries of Laura is a new drama starring Debra Messing. Courtesy of imdb.com

MV5BMzA2MjIyNzg2OF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwOTgyMTcxMzE@._V1_SY317_CR1,0,214,317_AL_

State of Affairs is a new drama starring Katherine Heigl. Courtesy of imdb.com

 

 

 

Fall Ratings & Critical Reception:

Out of those new pilots that were slated for Fall 2014 Season, many were not picked up to continue. Comedies such as A to Z and Bad Judge will not continue further after this initial trial run, but these shows will both finish production and air the remaining product. [9].  Both shows had started decently in terms of ratings, but then they both started to collapse. For NBC’s newest dramas such as State of Affairs and Mysteries of Laura, they have had a decent start amongst the Broadcast lineup and have not been cancelled as of yet.

Information Courtesy of http://www.nbc.com

“Mysteries of Laura” has surprisingly kept its presence along with other dramas with a 1.8 rating amongst 18-49 years olds. [10]. In terms of ratings, Sunday Night Football drives up the ratings for NBC. For instance, the week ending with November 23rd, #1 Saturday Night Football generated a rating of 8.1 for 18-49 years which was far greater than the #2 Big Bang Theory which received a 4.1 for the same age demographic. This shows that across multiple genres, NBC exhibits success in primetime Broadcast Television.

 

Late Night Television Powerhouse:

After the record-breaking spring launch of NBC’s new Late Night lineup, the success of the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and The Late Show with Seth Meyers has continued its success into the Fall 2014 Season. The Tonight Show has been pretty strong against its competitors such as Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Late Show with David Letterman. The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon has received 1.18/6 rating for the 18-49 demographic which surpasses his direct timeslot competitors in the 2014 3rd Quarter. Many were fearful that Jimmy Fallon’s success was only temporary, but now after continuing on this fall season that appears not be the case. [16].

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also, this past fall has marked the 40th season for Saturday Night Live, which remains under the direction of Lorne Michaels. Overall, this season has been pretty weak in terms of ratings, but peaked when Chris Rock hosted with musical guest Prince. [11]. This show’s best rating so far received only a 2.2/10 for the key 18-49 demographic, which is not very strong at all.

Opening Sequence for Saturday Night Live’s 40th Season. http://vimeo.com/107482286

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Photo Courtesy of http://www.technobuffalo.com/2013/04/25/saturday-night-live-clips-coming-to-yahoo/ )

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Ratings:

Every year, one of the major staples for NBC Broadcast is the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, even though it is not during primetime hours. This past Thanksgiving, the parade received its 3nd largest rating in the past 13 years. The program received a 6.2/10 rating in adults 18-49 and 22.6 million viewers total. Last year’s parade though, had the 2nd largest viewership with a rating of 6.6/10 since 2004. [12].

Every year, one of the major fall staples for NBC Broadcast is the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade.

Every year, one of the major fall staples for NBC Broadcast is the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. Photo Courtesy of http://social.macys.com/parade/?cm_mmc=VanityUrl-_-parade-_-n-_-n

Looking Forward:

After receiving over 18 million viewers and 4 Emmy Nominations for the Sound of Music Live, NBC decided to proceed and create another live performance. [13] [17]. This new performance of Peter Pan will be starring Allison Williams as Peter Pan and Christopher Walken as Captain Hook.

141017_2820050_Peter_Pan_Live__December_4_on_NBC

Peter Pan Live will be airing December 4th at 8pm starring Allison Williams as Peter Pan and Christopher Walken as Captain Hook. [15].

This live performance will be taking place in a former aircraft warehouse on Long Island, New York. There is an estimated budget of $10 Million to put together this one-night only performance. [14]. The expectations of this performance are extremely high due to the viewership success of the Sound of Music Live.

 

Works Cited: 

1. Announcing the National Broadcasting Company, Inc. (1926). (n.d.). Retrieved November 19, 2014, from http://earlyradiohistory.us/1926nbc.htm

2. NBCUniversal History. (n.d.). Retrieved November 19, 2014, from http://www.nbcuni.com/corporate/about-us/history

3. NBCUniversal. (n.d.). Retrieved November 12, 2014, from http://corporate.comcast.com/our-company/businesses/nbcuniversal#accordion-1

4. Resources. (n.d.). Retrieved November 21, 2014, from http://www.cjr.org/resources/?c=comcast

5. Comcast. (2014, October 23). Retrieved November 6, 2014, from http://www.cmcsa.com/earnings.cfm

6. Comcast Corporation. (n.d.). Retrieved November 22, 2014, from http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=CMCSA

7. Kissell, R. (2014, June 2). NBC Announces Fall Premiere Dates for New, Returning Series. Retrieved December 1, 2014, from http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/nbc-announces-fall-premiere-dates-for-new-returning-series-1201207308/

8. Kissell, R. (2014, October 27). Ratings: NBC’s ‘Sunday Night Football’ Dominates World Series on Fox. Retrieved November 22, 2014, from http://variety.com/2014/data/ratings/ratings-nbcs-sunday-night-football-dominates-world-series-on-fox-1201340093/

9. Hibberd, J. (2014, October 31). NBC to cancel ‘Bad Judge,’ ‘A to Z’ with zombie twist | EW.com. Retrieved November 22, 2014, from http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/10/31/bad-judge-a-to-z/

10. Predum, L. (2014, October 28). NBC Gives ‘Mysteries of Laura’ Full Season Pickup. Retrieved November 22, 2014, from http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/mysteries-of-laura-full-season-pickup-nbc-1201341098/

11. Kissell, R. (2014, November 2). NBC’s ‘Saturday Night Live’ Hits Season Highs With Chris Rock, Prince. Retrieved November 22, 2014, from http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/nbcs-saturday-night-live-hits-season-highs-with-chris-rock-prince-1201345402/

12. Bibel, S. (2014, November 28). ‘Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade’ Garners 22.6 Million Viewers, Ranking as The Second Most-Watched Parade in 13 Years. Retrieved November 28, 2014, from http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2014/11/28/macys-thanksgiving-parade-garners-22-6-million-viewers-ranking-as-the-second-most-watched-parade-in-13-years/333311/

13. About. (n.d.). Retrieved November 22, 2014, from http://www.nbc.com/peter-pan-live/about

14. Littleton, C. (2014, November 26). NBC Hopes ‘Peter Pan Live’ Can Fly to New Heights. Retrieved November 28, 2014, from http://variety.com/2014/tv/features/peter-pan-live-nbc-new-heights-1201364850/

15. Watch Peter Pan Live! December 4 on NBC from Peter Pan LIVE! on NBC.com. (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2014, from http://www.nbc.com/peter-pan-live/video/peter-pan-live-december-4-on-nbc/2820050

16. Kissell, R. (2014, September 25). Variety. Retrieved November 29, 2014, from http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/latenight-ratings-nbcs-fallon-meyers-easy-winners-for-q3-abcs-kimmel-nightline-up-1201313970/

17. The Sound Of Music Live! (n.d.). Retrieved November 22, 2014, from http://www.nbc.com/the-sound-of-music-live

A+E Television Networks

Posted on by 
by Jordan Robinson

A&E Television Networks

AETN

Headquarters:

235 E 45th St
New York City, NY,
United States 10017

About

A&E Television Networks (AETN), LLC is an American media company that offers a variety of television channels via cable and satellite in both the U.S. and overseas. As a joint venture between Hearst Corporation and The Walt Disney Company, AETN channels include A&E, Crime and Investigation Network, fyi, History, H2, History en Español, Lifetime, LMN, Lifetime Real Women, and Military History.1 Spanning across multiple platforms, A&E Television Networks offers content in a variety of media forms including television programming, websites, music, and video content. Their principal competitors include the Discovery Channel, AMC Networks and Public Broadcasting Service.1, 2

Key Executives:

Nancy Dubuc

Nancy Dubuc

Nancy Dubuc has resided as President and CEO of A&E Television networks since June of 2013.  Under her charge, the network has seen rapid growth. In September 2014, Dubuc oversaw A+E Networks’ acquisition of a 10% stake in Vice Media. Dubuc has received multiple Emmy awards and nominations throughout her 15 year tenure at A+E Networks as network executive, programmer, and producer.  According to Dubuc, “Great content should create an experience beyond the TV, across every platform our audience uses.” As such, she has been an integral part of the company’s convergence across multiple platforms as they try to reach a wider audience. 6

Abbe Raven

Abbe Raven

Abbe Raven was appointed chairman of A&E Television Networks in June 2013.  Under her charge, A&E Networks tripled their earnings as she has overseen the company’s expanding global portfolio since April 2005.  She currently serves as vice chairman on the board of directors of the NCTA and is on the boards of the NAMIC Foundation and the CTAM Educational Foundation. She also serves as vice chairman of the advisory board of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. 7

History

Derived from humble beginnings, A&E Television Networks started out with a lone channel, A&E, which offered a mixture of cultural programming including jazz performances, symphonic concerts, celebrity interviews, classic movies and documentaries. After striking a deal with BBC in its first year, two thirds of their programming came from first rights to BBC content. By it’s third year of inception, A&E Television Networks was already receiving high acclaim as the greatest producer of quality arts and entertainment media in America. After widening their range of content in the late 1980’s and early 90’s, historical documentaries and off-network sitcoms were introduced along with higher ratings. ²

By the mid 1990’s, Biography and the History Channel have rapidly become the most respected and widely viewed of the Network’s programming.  Grossing over 35 million subscribers by 1996, the Network decided to enter into the international market to promote their programming in countries such as Brazil, Mexico, The United Kingdom, and Canada. Currently their international networks are comprised of A&E Networks UK and A&E Networks Asia, operating over 6 channels in each market in countries such as England, Norway, Sweden, India, and Malaysia. ¹

After merging with Lifetime Entertainment Networks in 2009, A&E began to revamp their channels under the guidance of A&E Networks CEO Nancy Dubuc. As a result, the Bio channel has now merged under the fyi channel, and many stagnant shows have been dropped from their line up. 6

Acquisition of Vice Media

Early this fall A+E Networks aquired 10% of Vice Media in exchange for $250 million dollars.  Similar to A&E’s objectives, the partnership and investment will fund Vice’s expansion into a wider array of global programming about news, fashion, sports, culture and more.  “They are a very powerful brand, and it cannot be underestimated their ability to reach a very hard-to-reach audience,” said Nancy Dubuc, chief executive of A&E Networks. ³

Critics’ Choice Awards

critics-choice-logo

As of September 2014, A&E Networks has formed a new partnership with the Broadcast Film Critics Association and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association to televise “The Critics’ Choice Movie Awards” and “The Critics’ Choice Television Awards” for 2015 and 2016.  The 20th annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards ceremony will be held on Thursday, January 15, 2015, and will be broadcast live on A&E from The Hollywood Palladium officially kicking off film award season. 5

Global Expansion

Currently A&E Networks are producing content specifically tailored toward different markets using the same shows but incorporating them into African, Asian, European, and Australian markets.  Shows include Pawn UK, Pawn South Africa, Aussie Pickers, Italian Pickers, and Dance Mums.  This move demonstrates their outreach to underdeveloped areas as well as areas that have never before seen such content. 9

Making HISTORY: First Ever Television + College Credit Course Now Offered

The University of Oklahoma and A+E Network’s HISTORY Channel is partnering to offer the very first TV Network-branded online course for transferable college credit.  The course is offered to students or for the lifelong learner.  The course will be instructed by award winning teacher, OU professor, and renowned historian Steve Gillon. As HISTORY Channel’s first academic course, United States, 1865 to the Present is shattering the barracade between education and entertainment.

Set to last 4 months, the interactive course will be offered during the Spring Semester, officially begining on January 12, 2015.  Offering a collaborative learning experience to a wide range of students, the program combines professionally-produced and intriguing video lectures with quizzes, tests, discussion groups and social interactions between student and professor.  The course also integrates multimedia resources from the HISTORY Channel’s website.

At a cost of $500, the value-priced course for college credit targets current college students looking to meet their graduation requirements, as well as high school students who wish to get a jumpstart on their college education. Upon successful completion of the course, students receive three transferable college credits that will apply to any regionally accredited school. 4

A New Production Deal with Producer Carlton Cuse

Carlton Cuse

Carlton Cuse

A+E Studios has signed a three-year, first-look development agreement with prolific producer, writer, and two-time Emmy winner Carlton Cuse. This partnership marks A+E Studios’ first overall production deal with a creator/writer-producer since its inception.

Currently working as a writer/producer on five active series, Cuse has been named one of today’s most prolific producers.  Currently, he works as executive producer of both “Bates Motel” and the upcoming series “The Returned” for A&E Network, in addition to “The Strain” for FX. Cuse is also in pre-production on “Colony” for USA Network.  Perhaps best known for his work on “Lost,” Cuse served as executive producer, co-showrunner, and head writer with Damon Lindelof for a total of six seasons on ABC. Having received a total of 10 Emmy nominations and 2 wins for his work, Cuse continues to amaze audiences of all ages. 8

Sources

1.) “A & E Television Networks History.” History of A & E Television Networks –  FundingUniverse. Web. 18 Nov. 2014.  <http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/a-e-television-networks-history/>.

2.) “A&E Television Networks, LLC Company Profile – Yahoo Finance.” A&E Television Networks, LLC Company Profile – Yahoo Finance. Web. 18 Nov. 2014. <http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/47/47295.html>.

3.) Steel, Emily. “Vice Lands 2nd Investment, to Fuel Expansion.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 03 Sept. 2014. Web. 19 Nov. 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/04/business/media/vice-lands-2nd-investment-to-fuel-expansion.html?_r=0>.

4.) https://historychannel.ou.edu/mkwid=sSrmg0g4I|c_pcrid_56451629358_pkw_history%20channel%20college_pmt_p&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=history%20channel%20college&utm_campaign=History+Class&paidlink=1&cmpid=PaidSearch_google_History+Class_history%20channel%20college&gclid=CMPIrY3Th8ICFcxQ7AodwjcAWw

5.)”Critics’ Choice Awards.” Critics Choice Awards Blog Posts RSS. Web. 19 Nov. 2014. <http://www.criticschoice.com/movie-awards/>. 

6.) “Nancy Dubuc.” A+E Networks – Life Is Entertaining. Web. 19 Nov. 2014. <http://www.aenetworks.com/about/executive/nancy-dubuc>.

7.) “Abbe Raven.” A+E Networks – Life Is Entertaining. Web. 19 Nov. 2014. <http://www.aenetworks.com/about/executive/abbe-raven>.

8.) “Carlton Cuse, A&E Sign First-Look Development Deal.” Variety. Web. 19 Nov. 2014. <http://variety.com/2014/tv/news/carlton-cuse-ae-sign-first-look-development-deal-1201326747/>.

9.)  “A&E TELEVISION NETWORKS, LLC.” |Company Profile|Vault.com. Web. 21 Nov. 2014. <http://www.vault.com/company-profiles/media-entertainment/ae-television-networks,-llc/company-overview.aspx>.

Image Sources:

A&E Logo:  http://www.gopusa.com/news/wp-content/blogs.dir/3/files/2013/12/ae_network.jpg

Nancy Dubuc:  http://www.disneybymark.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Nancy_Dubuc.jpg

Abbe Raven:  http://www.buffalo.edu/content/dam/www/news/imported/hires/AbbeRaven2.jpg

Carlton Cuse:  https://image-cdn.zap2it.com/images/carlton-cuse-lost-bates-motel-tca-gi.jpg

Critics’ Choice Movie Awards:  http://pmcdeadline2.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/critics-choice-movie-award__120113100547.jpg

Spotify

Posted on by 
by Helen Lu

[1] Spotify’s Logo

KEY EXECUTIVES

[2] Spotify Founders- Martin Lorentzon & Daniel Ek

[3] Jeff Levick- Chief Business Officer

 

[4] Steve Savoca- Head of Content

 

[5] Ken Parks- Chief Content Officer & Managing Director USA

SPOTIFY OVERVIEW

[6] Spotify’s sleek interface layout for their multi-platform service.

Spotify is a privately-owned, digital music streaming service that provides on-demand access to tracks. It is available on multiple platforms, including computers, mobile, tablets, and home entertainment systems. Originally founded in Sweden in 2006, Spotify launched in the United States in 2011; it is now available in 58 markets. [7]

Spotify offers listeners the free model, “made possible by ads,”  and the premium model for $9.99 monthly, which is ad-free, high-quality, and available offline. [8] With over 20 million songs, over 20,000 tracks added daily, and over 1.5 billion playlists, Spotify has accumulated 10 million active users and a total of 40 million active users. [9]

COMPETITORS

Rdio, Pandora, Rhapsody, Google Play Music, Beats, iTunes Radio, Music Unlimited, and Xbox Music are worthy contenders in this competitive space. Product reviews assess service quality with major factors include song catalog, user interface, support, and features. [10] Each racing for a market share, these top players in the market are making strategic ploys to stay afloat.

On November 12th, Youtube announced their own streaming service, Youtube Music Key for $9.99. It will be interesting to see how it will affect the music industry when it fully hits the market in 2015. [11]

[12] Spotify and The Echo Nest collaboration

In early March 2014, Spotify acquired The Echo Nest, a big data company to enhance the music discovery feature, forcing Rdio, Rhapsody, iHeartRadio, and Vevo to look elsewhere for a discovery algorithm. [13]

THE SPOTIFY STRATEGY

Spotify has successfully targeted college students, establishing a solid audience base and brand loyalty. With personal information confirming their status, Spotify offers students Spotify Premium for only $4.99. [13] 

[13] Spotify engages their target audience: college students and 18-24 year-olds.

COLLEGE CASE STUDY

Spotify’s tenacious grasp on college students’ listening is reflected in their recently released research report of the Top 40 Musical Schools in America. The findings are a close study of the musical norms in the schools.

[14] Detailed graphs document music-genre distribution and listening spikes, showing not only what students listen to but also how they listen.

The data that Spotify is able to collect can be utilized for targeted advertising and marketing campaigns today. Moreover, with such a large following of the developing youth, Spotify is not only able to make significant advancements with the invaluable information about  today, but accurate inferences about these soon-to-be adults tomorrow. [13]

#THATSONGWHEN

Spotify launched their #thatsongwhen campaign with advertising agencies Ogilvy & Mather and David to further engage their millennial base. #Thatsongwhen allows users to tie their emotional experiences to their favorite songs, to create, and to tell stories. The customization, personalization, and interactivity of a musical experience attracts and retains a young crowd. [15]

The stories are media clips that are charged with emotion, and of course, music. Don’t Go Chasing Girls is about a man’s early memory of his childhood crush that is easily triggered with TLC’s hit song, Don’t Go Chasing Waterfalls. Stories and songs are updated and posted on a live feed.

AD TAKEOVER

Spotify is introducing two new advertising options for eager advertisers:

1. The dubbed Video Takeover, only available on desktops, allows brands to takeover the screen during 15-30 second advertising breaks.

2.The dubbed Sponsor Sessions forces mobile users to view a 15-30 second video on their mobile devices in order to proceed onto 30 minutes of uninterrupted streaming. [16]

McDonald’s, Universal Pictures, and Ford are just some of the major sponsors that have opted into this advertising innovation. [17]

[18] McDonald’s format and utilization of Spotify’s advertising product – Video Takeover.

SPOTIFY PARTNERSHIPS

VODAFONE

Everything is going mobile, and music is no exception. This rapid trend of playing and streaming music from a smartphone is particularly prevalent in Australia. Due to these recent findings, Vodafone Australia has partnered with Spotify to bundle in Spotify Premium for free with their monthly plan. A Spotify Premium subscription generally costs $11.99 Australian dollars each month. The exclusive offers with Spotify vary, and are known as the Red Plans. [19]

[20] Research shows that 1.5 million Australians stream music from their mobile devices.

Vodafone believes that Spotify Premium’s features complement and maximize the use of their faster network speeds, value plans, and expanding 4G network. Both the companies and the listeners are benefitting from this collaboration as the marriage of these digital services follow consumer trends and meets consumer needs. [21]

CARPLAY

Apple Carplay is an a new feature configured in select 2014 vehicles. Spotify is on board for this innovative ride as it has updated and fixed some bugs for this new multimedia system. [22] The music player allows users to access their Spotify accounts using a compatible iPhone.  [23] With a built-in display to play music, Carplay is an exclusive and luxurious market; the Ferrari FF is one of the few select cars with Carplay. Several automobile manufacturers, however, are making an effort to include and support this system in the future.  [24]

[24] Spotify collaborates with Apple Carplay to incorporate music services in the latest car models.

UBER

Uber is a hip taxi service, and Spotify is a hip streaming service. These two successful startups partner up for a new listening experience. Passengers can link their custom playlists to Uber vehicles for a fun ride. Although this new feature has started off in ten cities, it makes a big splash in the car service industry and the music industry. This partnership allows both companies to co-promote their respective brands and to change with the times. The service is for Spotify Premium account holders. [25]

[26] Spotify and Uber modernize the standard cab-ride as they join forces to create a new listening experience.

SPOTIFY CONTROVERSY

Taylor Swift pulled her entire catalogue from Spotify’s music database as she believes that it does not fairly compensate artists. [27] As a popular musician, her bold move and her public statements rejecting the streaming business model has made headlines for weeks. Fans and critics are responding to her decision with distaste as both parties point out that there are other viable services, such as Youtube and SoundCloud, to play her music. [28] While she recently accepted the first-ever Dick Clark Award for Excellence at the 2014 American Music Awards Ceremony, she added another snide comment jabbing at Spotify and streaming services again. [29] Jason Aldean has followed Swift’s footsteps, and pulled his new album Old Boots, New Dirt from Spotify. [30]

Spotify executive, Ek, combats this frenzy and reports that artists that use Spotify to promote their music actually sell more, and that Spotify has returned over $2 billion to music industry today. Top artists like Swift are set to project over $6 million in revenue a year. [31] Despite the financial debate and moral controversy, the Spotify team still hopes for Swift to change her mind. [32]

[33] Taylor Swift is a firm believer in the value of music, and that it should not be free. Swift has pulled her music catalogue from Spotify.

It is unlikely that many artists will join Swift’s banning of the digital streaming business, as it is the digital age.  Reports confirm that streaming services grew 28% in the first half of 2014. [26] Listeners’ habits changed; artists can sink, but digital streaming services will swim.

SPOTIFY: LOOKING AHEAD

 Despite the recent controversies, Spotify has achieved success with their recent collaborations; the student discount and the partnership with Vodafone have led Spotify subscriptions to increase by 42%. [28]  Spotify Family Plan has launched with popular demand and proven financial success with previous discount deals. The plan allows subscribers to add four family members to their account for half the price. [34]

Spotify’s name is globally recognized, and Spotify’s services are well integrated into the new digital age. Its key strategies and partnerships keep it on the bleeding edge of the music industry.

 Sources

1. Spotify’s Logo, Spotifypress.com, RT:11.29.2014

2. Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon, RT: 11.29.2014

3. Jeff Levick, RT: 11.29.2014

4. Steve Savoca, Spotifypress.com, RT:11.29.2014  

5. Ken Parks, Evolver.fm, RT: 11.29.2014

6. Spotify Interface Layout,  RT: 11.29.2014

7. Spotify Business Information, investing.businessweek.com, RT: 11.29.2014

8. Spotify Official Website, spotify.com/us, RT: 11.29.2014 

9. Spotify Press Information, spotify.com/information, RT: 11.29.2014 

10. “Spotify and competitors play to their musical strengths”, usatoday.com, RT: 11.29.2014 

11. “YouTube Launching Spotify-Style Paid Music Service”, TIME, RT: 11.29.2014

12. Spotify and The Echo Nest Collaboration, RT: 11.29.2014 

13. “Will Spotify’s hat trick help it pull ahead of competition?”, Fortune, RT: 11.29.2014

14. How Students Listen, spotify.com, RT: 11.29.2014 

15. “Spotify Ties Music to Personal Stories in Its New Ads”, adweek.com, RT: 11.29.2014

16. “Spotify Unveils Video Takeover Ad Product for Free Users”, telecompaper.com, RT: 11.29.2014

17. “Spotify is bringing video ‘takeover ads’ to its free service”, theverge.com, RT: 11.29.2014

18. Spotify Video Takeover Format, spotify.com, RT: 11.29.2014  

19. “Vodafone offers postpaid customers free Spotify Premium access”, CNET, RT: 11.29.2014

20. “Spotify partners with Vodafone Australia for down under listeners”, rainnews.com, RT: 11.29.2014

21. “Vodafone Australia and Spotify join forces!”, vodafone.com, RT: 11.29.2014

22. “Spotify adds support for Apple’s CarPlay in update to iOS app”, talkingnewmedia.com, RT: 11.29.2014 

23. “Spotify Adds CarPlay Support in Latest iOS Update”, macrumors.com, RT: 11.29.2014

24. “Apple CarPlay comes to Pioneer stereos as Spotify adds support”, engadget.com, RT: 11.29.2014

25. “Tuneup, redefined: You can now Spotify your Uber ride”, CNET, RT: 11.29.2014 

26. Uber and Spotify Partnership, Uber.com, RT: 11.29.2014

27. “Taylor Swift is right about music, wrong about Spotify, says CEO Ek”, CNET, RT: 11.29.2014

28. “Why Taylor Swift Will Lose Her Battle With Spotify”, TIME, RT: 11.29.2014

29. “AMAs: Taylor Swift Continues Anti-Streaming-Service Stance in Dick Clark Award Speech”, hollywoodreporter.com, RT: 11.29.2014 

30. “Jason Aldean Agrees with Taylor Swift, WIll Remove New Album From Spotify”, musictimes.com, RT: 11.29.2014 

31. “$2 Billion and Counting”, spotify.com, RT: 11.29.2014

32. “Here’s Why Taylor Swift Pulled Her Music From Spotify”, TIME, RT: 11.29.2014

33. “Taylor Swift and the Whole Spotify Thing”, uloop.com, RT: 11.29.2014

34. “Spotify launching family plan with cheaper subscriptions for families”, theguardian.com, RT: 11.29.2014

YouTube

Image

By Sean Mowry (scmowry)

Youtube Wiki 1[1]

Youtube LLC
901 Cherry Ave
San Bruno, CA
94066
(650) 253-0000

Key Executives [2]

Larry Page CEO and Co-Founder

YouTube Larry Page

Eric E. Schmidt Executive Chairman

YouTube EricSchmidt

Susan Wojcicki Senior Vice President, YouTube

YouTube susan-wojcicki

History

In 2005 three PayPal employees, Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim, started up YouTube as a video-sharing site.  By the end of the first year, the site had 200,000 registered users and showed more than 2 million videos a day [3].  In 2006, Google bought YouTube for 1.65 billion dollars despite copyright concerns from media corporations at the time.  Google then decided to reach out and partner with the Universal Music Group, CBS Corp., Sony, and BMG Music Entertainment [4].  Now, more than 1 billion unique users visit YouTube each month and over 6 billion hours of video are watched every month on YouTube.  Each minute, 100 hours of content is uploaded to YouTube and according to Nielsen, YouTube reaches more US adults ages 18-34 than any cable network.  The website is a global powerhouse, with 80% of YouTube traffic coming from outside the US [5].

YouTube Google[18]

 Finances

Google Inc. reported consolidated revenues of $16.52 billion for the third quarter, ending September 30, which is an increase of 20% compared with the third quarter report from 2013.  $9.55 billion, or 58% of this revenue is from outside the United States.  Net income for the third quarter is $2.81 billion, which is down from $2.97 billion in 2013.  This is also lower than the second quarter net income of $3.42 billion [6].  As of 11/30/2014, Google’s stock is $541.83 [7].

YouTube Stock[19]

Subscriptions

YouTube is continuing to roll out two new subscription services this year.  The first is a wave of paid subscription channels, like those offered for free now, but without advertising.  This was launched in 2013 but the website is aggressively expanding the number of channels this year.  They now offer 238 channels, like NorthwoodsLeague, which is a summer baseball league comprised of top North American College players [8].  With more video online, and most of that online video is coming from YouTube, the website predicts that there will be a sizable share of the audience who would rather pay to watch the content than sit through advertising.  The project is a means of offering more options, and it also follows the subscription models of Netflix or Hulu, but at a more specific scale so that the site can operate effectively the same as before the rollout [9][10].

YouTube NWL[20]

The second subscription service launched this year is that of Music Key, which is a program that allows users to watch music videos without ads while also giving them the option to download the content onto their devices for offline listening and viewing.  The mobile devices will also be able to continue playing music in the background when they switch to other programs.  In addition to album tracks, Music Key offers downloads of concert recordings, remixes, unreleased rarities and cover versions recorded by others.  While YouTube hails itself as “the biggest music service on the planet” it is desperately lagging behind Spotify’s 12.5 million paying subscribers [11]. 

In July of 2014, Google also acquired Songza, a music streaming service that specializes in offering playlists made by people that are advertised for listening at any given time or during any given mood that you want.  Songza is still running as a separate service, but Google and YouTube are looking to apply the company’s expertise to their products like Google Play or Music Key [12].

In other news, YouTube now allows users to upload video in 60 frames per second, where before they were capped at 30 frames per second [13].

East Coast Presence

YouTube is a west coast, online company, but now it has recently opened up YouTube Space New York, a studio in Manhattan that is available to any channel that has more than 5,000 subscribers and is part of the Partner Program in which ads are hosted and revenue is shared.  The studios are a way of giving content creators more means of making an effective product and expanding their audience while also giving the company a footing in the diverse media landscape of New York City.  Since the studios opened in other cities like London, Los Angeles, and Tokyo two years ago, more than 30,00 people have attended 450 workshops and created 6,000 videos that were seen for 47 million hours [14][15].

YouTube spaces[21]

Another bonus to this is that it brings the company within proximity of Madison Ave, and they have been touring the studios with advertising executives to offer them an opportunity to collaborate with creators.  So a company like Maybelline could use BrandLab to host a day in which creators who focus in beauty could collaborate with them.  Many of these channels offer audiences numbers that would leave traditional players envious, but advertisers continue to put a low cost on these audiences.  The company hopes to change that mentality [14].

Competition From Facebook

YT face[22]

In early November 2014, a John Lewis Christmas Ad stormed social media.  The video was shared 200,000 times within the first 24 hours, and most of this was on Facebook.  While that might be good for the department store, Facebook stole 40% of the online audience for the video, which would have previously belonged exclusively to YouTube.  Facebook is now placing video at the heart of the company’s growth announcing this September that the platform achieved more than 1 billion views a day. Facebook is rolling out video advertising slowly, so that users can get used to the idea of having ads on their news feeds [17].

[23]

Facebook is also trying to lure content creators to the site by sharing their ad revenue in a more lucrative ratio.  While they would be developing features that are reminiscent of YouTube, they have the News Feed, which is the key to their success and something that YouTube will have to anticipate combating in the near future.  Often times Youtube channels will use Facebook to promote their videos but if they were to switch to the social media platform all together, a lot of ad revenue could be lost for YouTube, considering that they have been on top for so long, that they are struggling with loosing their audience and their bait for advertisers [16].

Sources

[1] YouTube Logo RT 30 November 2014

[2] Google Management RT 30 November 2014

[3] “Video Websites Pop Up, Invite Postings” RT 30 November 2014

[4] Google Buys YouTube RT 30 November 2014

[5] YouTube Statistics RT 30 November 2014

[6] Google Third Quarter Report 2014 RT 30 November 2014

[7] Google Second Quarter Report 2014 RT 30 November 2014

[8] YouTube Channels RT 30 November 2014

[9] “YouTube Considers Paid, Ad-Free Subscriptions” RT 30 November 2014

[10] “YouTube Is Said to Plan a Subscription Option” RT 30 November 2014

[11] “YouTube Music Key subscription service is unveiled” RT 30 November 2014

[12] “Google Buys Songza” RT 30 November 2014

[13] “YouTube Can Now Play Videos At A Buttery 60 Frames Per Second” RT 30 November 2014

[14] “YouTube Takes Manhattan” RT 30 November 2014

[15] YouTube Spaces RT 30 November 2014

[16] “Facebook Wants To Poach A Whole Bunch Of Talent From YouTube — And The Ad Money That Comes With Them” RT 30 November 2014

[17] “Facebook Is Stealing A Huge Chunk Of YouTube’s Audience” RT 30 November 2014

[18] Google Paint Logo RT 30 November 2014

[19] Google Stock Quote RT 30 November 2014

[20] Northwoods League RT 1 December 2014

[21] YouTube Spaces RT 1 December 2014

[22] Facebook RT 1 December 2014

[23] John Lewis Christmas Ad RT 1 December 2014

Netflix

Posted on by 
by Micaela Mueller
logo

Company Logo – www.netflix.com

100 Winchester Circle, Los Gatos, CA 95032
(408) 540-3700

 Executives [1]

reed hastings

Reed Hastings, Founder and CEO

david wells

David Wells, CFO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Twani Cranz, Chief Talent Officer

Twani Cranz, Chief Talent Officer

kelly bennet

Kelly Bennett, Chief Marketing Officer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About [2]

Netflix is an international public company that allows users to stream movies and television shows online with a monthly subscription. They also offer rentals by mail for an additional cost and produce their own original programming.

History

net mail 1

Courtesy of postalnews.com

Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph founded Netflix in 1997 as an online movie rental service. In 2007, Netflix introduced streaming services that allowed members to use personal computers to instantly watch movies and television shows online. In 2012, Netflix began producing original content and became the first Internet TV network to be nominated for the primetime Emmy with 31 nominations in 2013 [3]. Currently in 2014, Netflix has over 53 million members in nearly 50 countries worldwide and accounts for more than 34 percent of the peak wired download traffic in North America [4].

 Financials

Netflix is publically held. According to the company’s 2014 third quarter report, it has $1,223 billion in total revenue, a 27% increase from the same quarter of the previous year. The company reported a 20% increase in domestic revenue from the same quarter of the previous year and a 47% increase in international revenue due to their expanded global market. Netflix predicts a 6% increase in total revenue and an additional 4 million subscribers by the end of the fourth quarter, bringing their total revenue up to $1,305 billion and their global membership to 57 million. Netflix’s two major competitors are Hulu and Amazon [5].

Screen Shot 2014-11-30 at 7.38.49 PM

Courtesy of finance.yahoo.com

Over a 3-month period, Netflix’s highest share price was $484.39. However, after a massive 25% drop on October 16th, the price dropped to $361.70 and eventually reached it’s lowest share price of $346.59 on November 30th [6].

The 25% drop in share price occurred a day after Netflix reported that the company’s subscriber growth was below the original forecast. Netflix speculates that the subscriber growth was lower than anticipated as a result of the increased price for membership that was announced in May 2014 [7]. The price increased $1 from $7.99 to $8.99 monthly [8].

Recent News

International Expansion

international

Courtesy of gigaom.com

For the past couple of years, Netflix has been working to increase their international presence. Since 2012, Netflix has been available internationally in the UK, Ireland, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden and in the Netherlands since 2013. In September of 2014, Netflix announced that streaming services are now available to subscribers in Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and Luxembourg via all devices with Internet access including computers, smartphones, and video game consoles [9].

Then, in November of 2014, Netflix announced, that by March of 2015, it will expand into New Zealand and Australia [10].

Netflix and Nielsen

Since its start in 1997, the company has never released how many people watch each show on Netflix. The company claims that because their revenue comes from subscribers and not advertisers, the only number that matters is their subscriber count. The company’s decision bothers networks such as HBO, Showtime, and Starz, who also rely on subscribers and not advertisers, but who have their ratings recorded by Nielsen [11].

However, according to the Wall Street Journal, Nielsen is going to start measuring viewership for streaming services like Netflix. Starting next month, Nielsen will use already existing in-home metering devices to record Netflix viewership without the need of the company’s permission. Nielsen, however, will not be able to record viewership via mobile devices, a platform heavily used for Netflix streaming [12].

Recent Original Content

Netflix started producing original programming in 2012 with the release their first series Lilyhammer starring former Sopranos star Steven Van Zandt [13]. Since then, the company has produced a number of successes such as Orange is the New Black, winning 3 Primetime Emmy Awards [14], and House of Cards, winning 4 Primetime Emmy Awards [15].

chelsea handler 1

Courtesy of netflix.com

In addition to producing their own content, Netflix picks up dropped on-the-air television shows and continues to produce them. Arrested Development, for example, was off the air for a number of years before Netflix produced its fourth season in 2013. In August of 2014, the network confirmed that it will be producing a fifth season in the coming year [16].

On June 19, 2014, Netflix announced the company’s pairing with Chelsea Handler to produce a Netflix original comedy talk show. Handler decided to pair with Netflix in order to keep herself new and interesting. The talk show will debut in early 2016 [17]. However, on October 10th, the network premiered a stand up comedy performance from Handler’s latest comedy tour, Uganda Be Kidding Me, as her debut to Netflix [18].

 Looking Ahead

Film

crouching tiger

Courtesy of imdb.com

On September 30, 2014, Netflix announced their pairing with the Weinstein Company to release their first original movie. The movie will be a sequel to Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, a 2002 martial-arts epic movie directed by Ang Lee, also the director of Life of Pi and Brokeback Mountain [19]. The sequel will be titled Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend and will be directed by Yuen Wo-ping. It will be produced by Harvey Weinstein, Academy Award winner for The King’s Speech, Peter Berg, Emmy Award winner for Friday Night Lights, and Sarah Aubrey, producer of Lone Survivor. The film tells a martial arts story where good and evil battle for the fate of the Martial World. Major stars of the film will include Harry Shum Jr., Jason Scott Lee, Roger Yuan, and Eugenia Yuan [20]. It will be released and available to all subscribers on August 28, 2015 as well as in select global IMAX theaters [21].

Days later, on October 2nd, Netflix announced a deal they made with Adam Sandler, comedy actor and founder of Happy Madison Productions [22]. Sandler, alongside Happy Madison Productions, committed to acting and producing four films exclusively available through Netflix. The first movie could come as early as late 2015 and currently has no theatrical component [23].

Television

marcopolo

Courtesy of netflix.com

Netflix will be premiering two original programming pieces on December 12, 2014. The first is Marco Polo, a series centered on Marco Polo’s exploration during the time of the 13th century war in China and will be produced by The Weinstein Company [24].

The second is a stand-up comedy special, American Ham, with actor Nick Offerman, known for his role in NBS’s Parks and Recreation. The special will appear in the US, Canada, the UK, and Ireland [25].

The company will continue their original series in 2016 with a relationship sitcom called Love. Judd Apatow, known for producing Knocked Up and 40-Year-Old Virgin, will co-write and produce this Netflix original series [26].

grace and frankie

Courtesy of joblo.com

Another sitcom in the works is Grace and Frankie, starring Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda. The show is targeted to premier in summer 2015 [27].

 

 

Sources

[1] “Officers and Directors”, ir.netflix.com, RT: 11/29/14

[2] “Company Overview”, pr.netflix.com, RT: 11/29/14

[3] “Company Timeline”, pr.netflix.com, RT: 11/29/14

[4] “Netflix Crowned King of Streaming With More Than a Third of Peak Traffic”, Time Magazine, 5/14/14, RT: 11/29/14

[5] “Letter to Shareholders”, ir.netflix.com, 10/15/14, RT: 11/29/14

[6] “Netflix, Inc.”, Yahoo!Finance, RT: 11/30/14

[7] “Netflix Shares tank 20% on Weak Results”, CNN Money, RT: 11/29/14

[8] “A Quick Update on Our Streaming Plans and Prices”, blog.netflix.com, 5/9/14, RT: 11/29/14

[9] “Netflix Launches in Belgium and Luxembourg”, Multichannel News,9/9/14, RT: 11/29/14

[10] “Press Releases”, pr.netflix.com, 11/18/14, RT: 11/29/14

[11] “How Much Longer Can Netflix Keep Ratings a Secret?”, Forbes, 9/18/14, RT: 11/29/14

[12] “We’re Still a Long Way Away From Knowing How Many People Watch Netflix and Amazon Shows”, vulture.com, 11/20/14, RT: 11/29/14

[13] “Lilyhammer, Netflix’s First Original Show, Available to Watch Online Now”, Huffington Post, 2/6/12, RT: 11/29/14

[14] “Orange is the New Black Awards”, IMDb.com, RT: 11/29/14

[15] “House of Cards Awards”, IMDb.com, RT: 11/29/14

[16] “Will Arnett Confirms ‘Arrested Development’ Season 5 Is Happening”, Huffington Post, 8/8/14, RT: 11/29/14

[17] “Press Releases”, pr.netflix.com, 6/19/14 RT: 11/29/14

[18] “Chelsea Handler to Launch Netflix Talk Show”, CBS News, 6/19/14, RT: 11/29/14

[19] “Ang Lee”, IMDb.com, RT: 11/29/14

[20] “Press Releases”, pr.netflix.com, 9/30/14, RT: 11/29/14

[21] “Netflix to Release First Original Movie”, Time Magazine, 9/30/14, RT: 11/29/14

[22] “Adam Sandler”, IMDb.com, RT: 11/29/14

[23] “Press Releases”, pr.netflix.com, 10/2/14, RT: 11/29/14

[24] “Press Releases”, pr.netflix.com, 4/8/14, RT: 11/29/14

[25] “Netflix Sets Premiere for Nick Offerman’s ‘American Ham’ Stand-up Comedy Special”, bostonherald.com, 11/24/14, RT: 11/29/14

[26] “Netflix (NFLX) to Stream Original Content Love in 2016”, zacks.com, 9/18/14, RT: 11/29/14

[27] “Netflix Orders Comedy Series to Star Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin”, Variety 3/19/14, RT: 11/29/14

 

 

 

 

 

Hulu

Posted on by 
by Kay Tinder

OVERVIEW

Hulu Logo

Photo Courtesy of: technobuffalo.com

Hulu is a streaming video on demand (SVOD) service that allows the public to see clips, television series (scripted and reality), and movies virtually anywhere. Hulu offers free, ad-sponsored content as well as a membership package called Hulu Plus—a $7.99 monthly fee that gives a user a broader selection of content, lessens the burden of ads, and allows access to more platforms to view the content. Since the company is private, Hulu is not forced to disclose their financials. However, the company did announce that they reached $1 billion in revenue in 2013 [1].

Disney, 21st Century Fox, and Comcast’s NBCUniversal share ownership in the company that has six million subscribers and has over 100,000 episodes and 5,400 films streaming [2]. The video streaming company has added more content, strengthened ties with various networks, interacted with the community, and experimented with new advertising models in order to stay competitive with ever changing new media.

NEW CONTENT

Franco's Saturday Night

Photo Courtesy of: blog.hulu.com

James Franco released his much anticipated Saturday Night Live (SNL) documentary exclusively to Hulu’s Plus subscribers. Saturday Night started as Franco’s NYU Film School Project that gave a behind-the-scenes look at a week of SNL and the production process of a single episode [3]. Since its original film festival debuts, the documentary has received mostly positive reviews. Releasing content with such high buzz on a private service urges Hulu users to upgrade to Plus and pay a little extra to be part of the limited audience that sees exclusive content.

11/22/63

Photo Courtesy of: books.usatoday.com

Stephen King’s best-selling novel, 11/22/63, has just been ordered as a miniseries [4]. The Hulu Original will be split into nine, hour-long episodes. The drama follows Jake Epping, a high school English teacher, who travels through time to the late 50’s. His goal is to prevent the President John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Both King and J.J. Abrams (Bad Robot Productions) are working as executive producers, with Bridget Carpenter and Bryan Burk as writers [5]. This will also be the first time Warner Bros. Television (WBTV) and Hulu will collaborate on original programming [4]. Having big names on this project will certainly add hype to the new show and bring more traffic towards Hulu.

Casual is a straight-to-series, half-hour comedy series about a brother and sister, the first single and the latter newly divorced, who navigate the modern dating world while also raising a teenager under one roof. The ten episode, single-camera production is to be produced by Oscar-nominated director Jason Reitman and through Lionsgate Television [6]. Lionsgate adds to Hulu’s content connections while Reitman’s name and reputation bring in more customers.

Selfie

Photo Courtesy of: www.projectcasting.com

ABC’s show Selfie , starring John Cho, was ordered to produce 13 episodes, but the comedy was cancelled after its seventh. Hulu decided to pick up the series and promised to release the six remaining episodes once a week, similar to its original television format [7]. It’s becoming more and more common for streaming services to save shows that are cancelled from traditional cable. Often they will finish whatever content they have produced or buy the rights and continue to produce more seasons.

Around the same time FX announced they would be streaming every the Simpsons episode ever produced, Hulu released that all 17 seasons of South Park would be available on Hulu, with new episodes available the day after they air [8]. This is just one of the many series Hulu makes binge-able while also keeping it up-to-date, a service that other streaming competitors do not provide.

Big names with a reputation of consistently producing good content litter Hulu’s upcoming shows. No doubt, Hulu’s continuous name-dropping will continue to draw people to its streaming services.

VIACOM

Photo Courtesy of: tvweek.com

Photo Courtesy of: tvweek.com

Hulu has just expanded its deal with Viacom, increasing the amount and diversity of content on both Hulu and Hulu Plus. Viacom owns a diverse array of networks like Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, MTV, and TVLand. Already streaming shows like the Colbert Report, Breadwinners, and Awkward, Hulu will be adding Invader Zim, Workaholics, Spongebob Squarepants and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles—the final two being streamed in Spanish. They will also be refreshing already present content to include full past season of the Jersey Shore, Catfish, and many more [9]. This strengthened relationship could lead to more exclusive content in the future that would entice consumers to purchase Hulu Plus over other competitors.

APP UPDATES

Hulu has upgraded its free iOS  app for Hulu Plus subscribers. Three new panels have been added to the initial screen. “Home” gives a selection of the best or popular content handpicked by Hulu. “Shows you Watch” keeps track of the shows you watch and makes them easily accessible. “Navigation” provides the categorized list of all of Hulu’s content.

Hulu Plus App

Photo Courtesy of: blog.hulu.com 2

“Cast to TV” allows members to throw whatever they’re watching onto their television. Now, the new app will allow your phone to become the remote [10]. As more people turn to their phones and tablets to view content, Hulu’s refined app will serve as a plus for users.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

On October 16th, 2014, the streaming service showed its support for the LGBT community when converting its usual green accents to purple for a day.

GLADD

Photo Courtesy of: blog.hulu.com

To celebrate national #SpiritDay, Hulu highlighted LGBT-inclusive television series and films, including Ugly Betty, uncensored Sailor Moon, and Hulu Origianl East Los High—which also has an all-Latino cast. On this day, Hulu also reminded the public their partnership with GLADD, and Hulu’s ambition to have all backgrounds and cultures represented in their services [11]. Hulu is trying to show that they truly care about their audience and not just their money. They want all to feel relevant and welcome to their services.

ADVERTISING

Advertising on Hulu is affective, interactive, and integrated. Hulu has brought creative advertising techniques into their services that often leave competitors in the dust. Using choice-based ads allows the user to feel some power in what they watch and also helps advertisers target their market. Less wasted impressions means more money from advertisers, more money for Hulu, and less advertisements.

4 to 9ers

Photo Courtesy of: jinglepunks.com

Subway produced 4 to 9ers, six ten-minute episodes about high schoolers and their first part-time jobs. The main character works in a Subway and the business’s logo is in almost every frame. The integrated marketing technique was a huge hit and topped as Hulu’s most popular short-form comedy series [12]. Despite its success with unique advertising, Hulu is having some doubts.

Mike Hopkins, CEO of Hulu, is reconsidering the amount of ads shown on Hulu Plus. In December 2013, Hulu would show an average of 82.3 ads per month, versus YouTube’s 32.3 ad average per viewer [13].  Showing this amount of ads may bring in money, but is incredibly risky, especially on a service that’s paid for. If too many ads are shown, users will ditch Hulu, much like cable, and opt for a service that’s cheaper or shows fewer ads. Hulu is on the right track by constantly looking for new methods of marketing. Replacing traditional advertisements with integrated marketing, like 4 to 9ers, makes advertising seem more like content rather than harassment.

[1] http://blog.hulu.com/2013/12/18/a-strong-2013/

[2] http://variety.com/2014/digital/news/hulu-renews-viacom-deal-expanding-selection-of-nickelodeon-shows-1201341031/

[3] http://blog.hulu.com/2014/09/26/james-francos-snl-documentary-debuts-on-hulu/

[4] http://variety.com/2014/digital/news/hulu-orders-stephen-kings-112263-kennedy-assassination-thriller-series-from-j-j-abrams-1201310792/

[5] http://nypost.com/2014/09/22/stephen-kings-book-on-jfk-assassination-to-be-hulu-series/

[6] http://blog.hulu.com/2014/10/30/jason-reitmans-casual-comes-to-hulu/

[7] http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/25/showbiz/tv/selfie-hulu-episodes/

[8] http://blog.hulu.com/2014/09/26/all-seasons-of-south-park-now-on-hulu/

[9] http://www.cnet.com/news/happy-happy-joy-joy-hulu-scores-cult-toon-classics/

[10] http://blog.hulu.com/2014/10/01/introducing-the-reimagined-hulu-plus-app-for-iphone/

[11] http://blog.hulu.com/2014/10/16/hulu-goes-purple-for-spiritday/

[12] http://variety.com/2013/digital/news/subway-serves-up-second-season-of-hulus-4-to-9ers-exclusive-1200325496/

[13] http://nypost.com/2014/10/08/hulu-ceo-mulls-cutting-number-of-ads-running-on-hulu-plus/

Weinstein Company

Posted on by 
by Phoebe Steinfeld
The Weinstein Company

[1] The Weinstein Company logo

About TWC

Bob Weinstein and Harvey Weinstein, the original creators of MIRIMAX Films, which was sold to Disney in 1993, founded the Weinstein Company in 2005. TWC is an independent production and distribution known for its knack for taking home Oscars and ability to captivate audiences with offbeat, dramatic films. TWC also encompasses Dimensions Films, originally under MIRAMAX, and has recently stepped into the world of television production. [2]

Who’s Who: Key Executives

Bob Weinstein: Co-Chairman [3]

[4] Bob Weinstein

[4] Bob Weinstein

Harvey Weinstein: Co-Chairman [5]

[Harvey Weinstein]

[6] Harvey Weinstein

Dylan Sellers: President of Production

Dylan Sellers

[7] Dylan Sellers

In September it was announced that Dylan Sellers is stepping down as President of Production after three years at TWC to pursue his producing career. Sellers is responsible for such titles as award winning August: Osage County and the recent release, St. Vincent.[8]

 Stephen Bruno: President of Marketing

Stephen Bruno

[9] Stephen Bruno

Stephen Bruno has served as President of Marketing for TWC for the past three years. He has recently been offered a position by Netflix to head their marketing department. After 7 years with TWC, his contract is up at the end of the year.[10]

New Releases [11]/ Box Office Results

The Weinstein Company released 14 films to date in 2014. In the US market these films have brought in $132,955,985 so far[12], making TWC the 8th highest grossing studio with 2% market share.  TWC was ranked eighth in 2013, but they are down 2.5% market share from 2013[13]. Though the summer was a flop for films such as Begin Again[14] with Adam Levine, The Giver[15], and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For[16], TWC has five promising new titles in theaters this fall that could raise revenues and bring in awards for the studio. These titles include, The Disapearance of Eleanor Rigby, St. Vincent, Tracks, The Imitation Game and One Chance.

St. Vincent [17] 

St. Vincent Movie Poster

[18] Staring Bill Murray, Melissa McCarthy, Naomi Watts, and Chris O’Dowd, St. Vincent is the story of an unlikely friendship between two neighbors as they both struggle to find their way in the world.

The quirky comedy has already received Oscar buzz and high praise upon its debut at the Toronto Film Festival. It was released limitedly on October 10th in 4 theaters and saw $109, 878 in box office sales.Upon it’s wide release on October 24th, St. Vincent saw $7,746,596 in revenue in 2,282 theaters, ranking #6 in the box office overall that weekend. In its 9th week, St. Vincent has made $40,749,905 domestically, and $41,346,602 worldwide. Just 1.4% of revenue was seen internationally.[19] This may have to do with Netflix’s deal with TWC to release the feature film for streaming on Netflix in France the same day as the US wide release.[20] The week leading into its wide release, Variety reported that St. Vincent lead the week in TV ad sales, spending $5.1 million [21].

[22]

 

The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby [23]

The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him and Her is the classic tail of two people falling out of love.

[24]The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him and Her shows both sides of the story in this classic tale of two people falling out of love.

The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them stands completely alone from Him and Her with a fresh perspective on Conor and Eleanor's relationship

[25]The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them stands completely alone from Him and Her with a fresh perspective on Conor and Eleanor’s relationship.

The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby is The Weinstein Company’s attempt to break the traditional templates of production. The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby follows the relationship of Jessica Chastain and James McAvoy and consists of three feature length films from three different perspectives; his, her’s, theirs. Each film was created explicitly through editing, yet each film tells a completely different story and can stand on its own as a feature film. Him and Her were released on September 12th as a two part, 200 minute film, and Them was released on September 4th as a 123 minute film[26]. Though Eleanor Rigby has created quite a bit of buzz in the industry, the box office results have been anything but stellar. To date, the total revenue has been $985,007 worldwide. 59.7% of that revenue was seen domestically. Originally only in four theaters, by its 3rd week Eleanor Rigby was in 139 theaters, but is now only available in two.[27]

[28]

 

Tracks [29]

Directed by John Curran, Tracks tells the true story of Robyn Davidson, the woman who journeyed across the Australian Outback.

[30]Tracks tells the true story of Robyn Davidson, the woman who journeyed across the Australian Outback.

The Weinstein Company acquired the rights to Tracks, directed by John Curran after its premier in the Venice Film Festival. It premiered in the United States during the Telluride Film Festival and also made a favorable impression at the Toronto Film Festival[31]. Tracks was released in seven theaters on September 19th and grossed $21,544 opening weekend. After ten weeks in theaters, the film has grossed $4,878,242. Notably, only 10.5% of that revenue is from the domestic box office[32].

[33]

 

One Chance[34]

Screen Shot 2014-12-09 at 9.58.21 PM

[35]One Chance is an original biopic about singer Paul Potts

One Chance tells the story of Britain’s Got Talent’s first winner, Paul Potts. It was originally released to stream on Yahoo before debuting in theaters.[36] This was an attempt by TWC to capture more audiences as the landscape of movie viewing is vastly changing. The financials of the TWC/Yahoo deal were not released, but ads were shown throughout the online screening.Theater chains were reportedly unhappy with this deal[37]. When One Chance hit the box office on October 10th, it saw $33,405 in 43 theaters. To date, it has grossed $10,889,830 worldwide, with only 0.8% domestic sales.[38]

[39]

The Imitation Game[40]

Benedict Cumberbach stars in the biopic of Alan Turing, a brilliant mathematician condemned for his homosexuality.

[41] Benedict Cumberbatch stars in the biopic of Alan Turing, a brilliant mathematician condemned for his homosexuality.

The Imitation Game is yet another British biopic about Alan Turing, a mathematician responsible for breaking Nazi codes during WWII. The film was produced by two first timers, Nora Grossman and Ido Ostrowsky.[42] There is already much Oscar buzz surrounding this film, and it was listed as one of AFI’s top films of 2014.[43] It was released on November 18th, and has already grossed $18,676,784. However, again only a small portion of those sales were domestic (5.5%).[44]

 

[45]

Shaking Up Distribution Models/ Future of TWC

 “In today’s digital era, technology has developed and changed the landscape of how many people watch movies and TV,” -David Glasser, COO [46]

The Weinstein Company has always been known to push boundaries and play by their own rules. Due to the rapidly changing landscape of the media, TWC has  attempted to capture audiences using unique distribution models. This fall, TWC announced they would be partnering with Netflix to release Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend. The second installment of the Crouching Tiger franchise will simultaneously be released in IMAX theaters and become available to screen at home on Netflix.[47]The industry saw similar shake ups with TWC’s Yahoo release of One Chance and the Netflix release of St. Vincent in France. As platforms continue to develop and media viewing continues to change, we should expect similar distribution disturbances and innovations from The Weinstein Company.

Sources: 

1. The Weinstein Company Logo, Google Image. 12/1/14

2. About TWC, weinsteinco.com. 12/3/14

3. Bob Weinstein IMDB, IMDB. 12/3/14

4.  Bob Weinstein Photo, Google Image. 12/3/14

5. Harvey Weinstein IMDB, IMDB. 12/3/14

6. Harvey Weinstein Photo, Google Image. 12/3/14

7.“Dylan Sellers Exits”, Deadline. 10/12/14

8.“Dylan Sellers Out”, Variety. 10/12/14

9. “Next Gen: 2012”, Hollywood Reporter. 12/4/14

10. “Netflix Courts Weinstein Marketing Head”, Deadline. 12/4/14

11. Now Playing, weinsteinco.com. 12/8/14

12. Weinstein Box Office Receipts, boxofficemojo.com. 12/8/14

13. Studio Market Share, boxofficemojo.com. 12/8/14

14. Begin Again Box Office Receipts, boxofficemojo.com. 12/8/14

15. The Giver Box Office Receipts, boxofficemojo.com. 12/8/14

16. Sin City Box Office Receipts, boxofficemojo.com. 12/8/14

17. St. Vincent Movie Site, stvincentfilm.com. 12/5/14

18. St. Vincent Movie Poster, weinsteinco.com. 12/5/14

19. St. Vincent Box Office Receipts, boxofficemojo.com. 12/8/14

20. “Netflix Frane to Debut St. Vincent”, Variety.11/15/14

21.“St. Vincent Tops the Week”, Variety.10/30/14

22. St. Vincent Trailer, Youtube. 12/4/14

23. The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby Site, eleanorrigby-movie.com.12/4/14

24. Him/Her Movie Poster, Google. 12/4/14

25. Them Movie Poster, Google. 12/5/14

26. “Review: Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy Shine”, Forbes. 11/20/14

27. The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby Box Office Receipts, boxofficemojo.com. 12/8/14

28. The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby Trailer, Youtube. 12/4/14

29. Tracks Movie Site, tracks-movie.com. 12/4/14

30. Tracks Movie Poster, Google.12/4/14

31. “The Weinstein Co Acquiring Tracks”, Deadline.11/15/14

32. Tracks Box Office Receipts, boxofficemojo.com. 12/8/14

33. Tracks Trailer, Youtube. 12/4/14

34. One Chance Site, onechancemovie.net. 12/3/14

35.One Chance Movie Poster, onechancemovie.net. 12/3/14

36. “One Chance Free Streaming to Hit Yahoo,” Variety. 11/15/14

37. “Weinstein Co. Extends Free Yahoo Streaming,” Variety.11/15/14

38. One Chance Box Office Receipts, boxofficemojo.com. 12/8/14

39. One Chance Trailer, Youtube. 12/6/14

40. The Imitation Game Site, theimitationgamemovie.com. 12/6/14

41. The Imitation Game Poster, Google. 12/6/14

42. “First Time Producers”, hereandnow.wbur.org. 12/8/14

43. “AFI List of 2014’s Best”, Huffington Post. 12/9/14

44. The Imitation Game Box Office Receipts, boxofficemojo.com. 12/8/14

45. The Imitation Game Trailer, Youtube.12/9/14

46.“One Chance Free Steaming”, Variety. 12/1/14

47. “The Weinstein Company Annoys”, Indie Wire. 11/15/14

Warner Bros. Pictures

Posted on by 
by Nancy Lopez-Luna

Warner Bros. Pictures

warner_bros._pictures_intro__140102232408
Photo Courtesy of deadline.com [1]

Contact Information: [2]

4000 Warner Blvd.

Burbank, CA 91522

P: 818.954.3000

http://www.warnerbros.com/

About Warners Bros. Pictures: 

Warner Bros. Pictures is one of the six major American film studios. The company was founded on April 4, 1923 by Albert, Harry, Jack and Sam Warner. [3] Warner Bros. Pictures is an entertainment company involved in the creation, production, distribution, licensing and marketing on all their forms of entertainment. [4]  In 2008, Warner Bros. Pictures acquired New Line Cinema to maximize film performance. [5]

Warner Bros. Pictures has created blockbuster films based on books, including Harry Potter, The Hobbit, Sherlock Holmes, among others. [6] Warner Bros., with the collaboration of New Line Cinema, releases approximately 18-22 films each year. [7]

Competitors 

Warner Bros.’ competitors include: Paramount Pictures Corporation, Fox Filmed Entertainment and The Walt Disney Studios. [8]

Key Executives: 

PhotoSizedDown_Kevin_Tsujihara_2014

Kevin Tsujihara; chairman and Chief executive officer

ThomasGewecke

Thomas Gewecke; executive Vice president & CHIEF DIGITAL OFFICE

EdwardARomano

Edward a romano; executive vice president & Chief financial officer

 

Photo and info courtesy of: http://www.warnerbros.com/studio/executives [9] 

Financials: 

In 2013, Warner Bros. Pictures grossed in $5.03 billion in global box office, their most successful theatrical year in company history. That year marked the company’s first time surpassing the $5 billion mark. [10] As of September 30, 2014, Warner Bros. Pictures has grossed a revenue of $1.17 million in their recent quarter. This is a 3% increase from last year. These increases were offset by Pacific Rim, The Conjuring and We’re the Millers. Through November 2, Annabelle grossed over $230 million in worldwide box office. [11] Currently, Warner Bros. Pictures employs 9,000 people. [12]

What’s happening now? 

In 2014, Warner Bros. Pictures released a total of 18 films, with Inherent Vice being released last on December 12th. [13]

The Lego Movie

One of the movies that stayed #1 for the first half of 2014 was The Lego Movie directed by DeAlan Wilson. [14] The Lego Movie is a 3D animation film that tells the story of a construction Lego worker, Emmet. He is recruited on a quest to stop an evil tyrant from destroying the Lego universe. [15]

Photo Courtesy of rottentomatoes.com [16]

The budget set for this film was $60,000,000 million. In its opening weekend (7-9 February 2014), The Lego Movie received $69,050,279 million. In total, it grossed $252,756,197 million. [17] The Lego Movie won the kids’ feature film prize at the BAFTA Children’s Awards Sunday, fighting off competition from Maleficent, How to Train Your Dragon 2 and Frozen. [18] 

If I Stay

If I Stay recounts the story of Mia Hall after suffering a car incident that puts her in a coma. During her out-of-body experience, she has to decide if she wants to wake up and live a completely different life. During her journey she decides what she wants to do. The film is directed by R.J. Cutler and it stars Chloe Grace Moretz. [19]

Photo Courtesy of IMDb.com [20]

During its opening weekend (22-24 August, 2014), If I Stay earned $15,679,190 million. To date, it has grossed $50,474,843 million domestically. [21]

Annabelle

Annabelle reunites the filmmakers behind 2013’s hugely successful supernatural thriller The Conjuring. A couple begins to experience supernatural happenings in their house after satanic cultists invade their home. The films stars Ward Horton, Annabelle Wallis and Alfre Woodard. [22]

Photo Courtesy of IMDb.com [23]

Annabelle was big for Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema. It is the highest grossing horror movie of 2014. Directed by John R. Leonetti, Annabelle has taken over $250 million at the worldwide box office. Opening weekend (3-5 October 2014), Annabelle grossed in $37,134,255 million. [24]

Interstellar 

Interstellar is a current release from Warner Bros. Pictures. Directed by Christopher Nolan, Interstellar tells the story of a team traveling through a wormhole in an attempt to find a potential planet sustainable for habitat. This film stars Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway. [25]

Photo Courtesy of IMDb.com [26]

In its opening weekend (5-7 November 2014), Interstellar grossed in $47,510,360 million. It is 3.7 weeks in and Interstellar has grossed in $147,090,000 million domestically and $542,290,000 worldwide. [27]

Horrible Bosses 2

A sequel to Horrible Bosses, three men decide to start their own business but things don’t go as planned because of an investor, prompting the trio to pull off a misguided kidnapping scheme. Directed by Sean Anders this film stars Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day. [28]

Photo Courtesy of IMDb.com [29]

In its opening weekend (26-28 November 2014), Horrible Bosses 2 grossed in $15,700,000 million. Domestically it has gained $23,010,000 million as of November 30, 2014. Worldwide it has reached $34,710,000. This movie was one of the popular to watch over Thanksgiving weekend. [30]

In other news

Cuts 

On November 9, 2014 Warner Bros. began to cut their employees. These cuts will eliminate 1,000 jobs, or 12.5% of the studio’s staff. Warner Bros. is trying to increase their profitability in lieu of their weak domestic box office sales. These layoffs are part of Time Warner, its corporate parents, who also seek to cut costs. Despite the hit in The Lego Movie, it has suffered with movies like Edge of Tomorrow, The Judge and Blended. It is ranked third at the domestic box office, behind 20th Century Fox and Walt Disney Studios. [31] 

Royalties 

A private arbitrator has decided against the Weinstein brothers and Miramax in a dispute with Warner Bros. over royalties for the second and third Hobbit films. In 1988, Miramax agreed to sell the big-screen rights it controlled to New Line Cinema, which is now owned by Warner Bros. Warner Bros. has decided to not pay the Weinstein company royalties for the second and third installation of The Hobbit. [32] 

The Stand 

Director Josh Boone has announced that the studio has allowed him to turn Stephen’s King’s novel The Stand into a four-part franchise. Matthew McConaughey is said to take the role of villainous Randall Flagg. [33] The Stand is about one man who escapes from a biological weapon facility after a deadly virus wipes out most of the world’s population. The survivors are stuck in a predicament of what to do, facing both good and evil. [34]

What to Expect: 

Focus

Warner Bros. Picture will release its first 2015 film, February 27. Focus is based on a veteran grifter who takes in an attractive woman under his wing. After time spent together they become romantically involved. Directed by Glenn Ficarra and Josh Requa this film stars Will Smith, Margot Robbie and Rodrigo Santoro. [35]

Photo Courtesy of IMDb.com [36]

In the Heart of the Sea 

Out March 13, 2015, In the Heart of the Sea is said to be based on true events. In the winter of 1820, the New England whaling ship Essex was assaulted by a whale of mammoth size. The real-life disaster inspired Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick. But In the Heart of the Sea reveals the aftermath, as the ship’s surviving crew is pushed to their limits and forced to do the unthinkable to stay alive. [37]

Photo Courtesy of IMDb.com [38]

Directed by Ron Howard, this film stars Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphay and Charlotte Riley.

Video courtesy of youtube.com [39]

 

[1] Warner Bros. logo. Deadline. RT: 11/29/14

[2] Warner Bros. contact. warner bors. rt: 11/29/14

[3] Founded. warner bros. rt: 11/29/14

[4] What Warner Bros. does. BusinessWeek. RT: 11/29/14

[5] New Line Cinema. warner bros. rt: 11/29/14

[6] Competitors. hoovers. rt: 12/1/14

[7] Blockbuster Film Franchises. boxofficemojo. rt: 11/29/14

[8] Distribution. warner bros. rt: 11/29/14

[9] Executive Officers. warner bros. rt: 11/29/14

[10] 2013 Gross Income. variety. rt: 11/29/14

[11] 2014 3rd Quarter Income. time warner. rt: 11/29/14

[12] Employees. variety. rt: 11/29/14

[13] 2014 Films. movie insider. rt: 11/29/14

[14] Lego Movie. time warner. rt: 11/29/14

[15] About Lego Movie. imdb. rt: 11/29/14

[16] Lego Movie Image. imdb. rt: 11/29/14

[17] Lego Movie Revenue. boxofficemojo. rt: 11/29/14

[18]  Lego Movie Award. variety. rt: 11/29/14

[19] About If I Stay. imdb. RT: 11/29/14

[20] if i stay movie poster. imdb. rt: 12/1/14

[21] If I Stay Revenue. Boxofficemojo. rt: 11/29/14

[22] About Annabelle. imdb. rt: 11/29/14

[23] Annabelle movie poster. imdb. rt: 12/1/14

[24] Annabelle Revenue. boxofficemojo. rt: 11/29/14

[25] About Interstellar. imdb. 11/29/14

[26] Interstellar movie poster. imdb. rt: 12/1/14

[27] Interstellar Revenue. boxofficemojo. rt: 11/29/14

[28] About Horrible Bosses. imdb. rt: 11/29/14

[29] horrible bosses 2 movie poster. imdb. rt: 12/1/14

[30] Horrible Bosses 2 Revenue. boxofficemojo. rt: 11/30/14

[31]  Warner Bros. Cuts. ny times. rt: 11/29/14

[32]  Warner Bros. Royalties. wall street journal. rt: 11/29/14

[33] Joseph Boone. deadline. rt: 11/29/14

[34] About The Stand. stephen king. rt: 11/29/14

[35] About Focus. imdb. rt: 11/29/14

[36] focus movie poster. imdb. rt: 12/1/14

[37] About In the Heart of the Sea. imdb, rt: 11/29/14

[38] In the Heart of the Sea Image. imdb. rt: 11/29/14

[39] In the Heart of the sea trailer. youtube. rt: 11/29/14

 

Universal Pictures

Posted on by 
by John Rooney

 

Universal Pictures logo

Universal Pictures logo [17]  

Location: 100 Universal Plaza, Universal City, California 91608

Web: http://www.universalpictures.com

History

Universal Pictures, Inc. was founded in 1912 by filmmaking partners Carl Laemmle and Robert Cochrane.  As the oldest American film studio, Universal maintains its status as a powerhouse in the world of movie production and distribution. The studio is part of NBCUniversal, which is altogether owned by Comcast. [1] In its over one-hundred years of history, the studio has produced dozens of beloved classics such as Jurassic Park, E.T. and Jaws. 

Key Executives  [2]   

Donna Langley, Chairman, Universal Pictures

Donna Langley, Chairman Universal Pictures

Donna Langley, Chairman Universal Pictures [2]  

Promoted to chairman in September of 2013, Langley has the task of overseeing all film production for Universal Pictures and Focus Features.

Jeff Shell, Chairman, Universal Filmed Entertainment

Jeff Shell, Chairman, Universal Filmed Entertainment

Jeff Shell, Chairman,
Universal Filmed Entertainment [2] 

Shell took over in September of 2013.  He came from Comcast, where he previously was the head of Universal International.  He is in charge of worldwide operations for the film studio.

Ron Meyer, Vice Chairman, NBCUniversal

Ron Meyer - www.nbcumv.com

Ron Meyer – www.nbcumv.com [2]  

Also appointed in September of 2013, Meyer’s job is to oversee all operations and planning for the company from films to theme parks.

Finances

Universal finished 2013 in third place in terms of revenue, just behind Warner Brothers and Disney.  The studio also saw its largest worldwide revenue ever, $3.67 billion ($1.42 billion domestic, $2.25 billion international).  This was a considerable increase from the $3.13 billion the studio made in 2012.   Films such as Identity Thief, The Purge, and Mama helped the studio achieve such success. [3]

In 2013, Universal broke the $2 billion revenue mark in the international market for the first time ever.  Fast & Furious 6, another huge film for Universal, opened at number one in 65 international territories and gave the studio it biggest opening weekend ever.  Other films such as Despicable Me 2 and Oblivion helped throw Universal into the global spotlight. [4]

Competition

For years, some of Universal’s main competition has been other large film studios such as Disney, Warner Brothers, Fox, and CBS. [5] However, another large area of competition for Universal and other film companies is movie and TV streaming software such as Netflix and Hulu.  A consumers ability to stream content online from a subscribed service is sure to hurt DVD sales.  Additionally, online streaming companies have been making all sorts of business ventures in order to create and sell their own original content. [6] 

Recent Film Releases

Neighbors 

Good Neighboors

Neighbors [7]  

An R-rated comedy from Good Universe, Neighbors is a hilarious account of a young husband and father’s struggles to peacefully coexist with a reckless group of fraternity brothers.  The film stars Seth Rogen and Zac Efron, with Rose Byrne and Dave Franco in supporting roles.  It was directed by Nicholas Stoller, who is famous for other projects such as Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him to The Greek.  The film received positive reviews for the most part, earning a 73% from the top critics at “Rotten Tomatoes”. [7]

The movie opened on May 9, 2014.  It saw a successful first weekend with opening revenue at about $49 million.  The film raked in about $150 million domestically and $180 million internationally, with a total gross of over $286 million. [8]   

The Purge: Anarchy

the-purge

The Purge: Anarchy  [9] 

A sequel to the 2013 thriller The Purge, The Purge: Anarchy follows a group of diner employees as they fight to survive the annual “Purge”, a night where all crime is legal across America.  Written and directed by James DeMonaco, the film stars Frank Grillo, Kiele Sanchez, and Zach Gilford.  The film received mixed reviews, with critic’s complaints focused mainly on flaws in the writing. [9] 

The film was released on July 18, 2014 and saw an opening weekend revenue of nearly $30 million.  It earned nearly $72 million domestically and about $38 million internationally, for a total of almost $111 million in revenue.  In comparison to its predecessor, The Purge: Anarchy did not open as strongly, but earned about $22 million more in total revenue. [10] 

Dumb and Dumber To

Dumb-and-Dumber-To-Logo-550x185

Dumb Dumber To [11]  

The long awaited sequel to the 1994 Farrelly Brothers comedy Dumb and Dumber, Dumb and Dumber To presents the mindless antics of Harry and Lloyd once again as they set out on a mission to find Harry’s daughter.  The film stars the comedy duo of Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels and was directed by J.B. Rodgers and Bobby Farrelly.  The movie has not fared very well with critics in its first two weeks, with many saying that its brand of humor is not as fun and fresh as it used to be. [11]

 The first Dumb and Dumber was wildly successful for Universal, snagging over $247 million worldwide. It’s prequel Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd was a huge box office flop, earning just over $39 million.  Universal has commonly found success in sequels and film franchises. Dumb and Dumber To opened on November 14, 2014 in 3,154 theaters with an opening revenue of just over $36 million, giving it the #1 spot for the weekend.  Thus far the film has made $67 million in the U.S. and $20 million in the international box office, adding up for a total of almost $88 million. [12] 

What’s Next From Universal Pictures

Fifty Shades of Grey

50 shades of gay

50 Shades of Grey [13]  

Based on the wildly popular  romance novel of the same name, Fifty Shades of Grey tells the story of the masochistic relationship between a wealthy business man and one of his young female employees.  The movie stars James Dornan and Dakota Johnson and is directed by Sam Taylor-Wood. The Focus Features film has completed production, and it set to make its wide release on February 13, 2015. [13]

 

 

 

Jurassic World

Jurassic_World

Jurassic World  [14] 

Universal hopes to continue its trend of successful sequels and film franchises with Jurassic World, the fourth installment of the Jurassic Park series.  It will be starring Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard, with Colin Trevorrow as director and Steven Spielberg as executive producer.  The film has been in development since 2001, and was originally set to be called Jurassic Park IV.  Shooting began last April in locations such as Hawaii and New Orleans.  The movie is currently in post-production and editing, and is set to release on June 12, 2015. [14] 

Warcraft

 

warcraft-poster1

Warcraft Poster  [15]  

In 2016, Universal will be adapting a video game to film for the first time in its history.  Based on World of Warcraft, an immensely popular online gaming program, Warcraft is set to be an epic fantasy tale of good versus evil.  The film has been in development since 2006 and is currently in production.  British film star Toby Kebbel and Paula Patton have been casted as two of the lead roles. The movie will have its wide release on March 11, 2016. [15]  

 

 

Steve Jobs Biography Film

On November 25, 2014, Universal bought the rights from Sony Corporation to produce a biography film on Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs.  It all be based on a biography by author Walter Isaacson entitled “Steve Jobs”. [16] 

 

References

[1] http://www.history.com/news/the-renegade-roots-of-hollywood-studios

 [2] http://deadline.com/2013/09/shocker-adam-fogelson-out-in-universal-shakeup-582309/

[3]http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/studio-smackdown-2013-warner-bros-668302

 [4] http://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/109124-universal-pictures-crosses-2b-mark-at-the-overseas-box-office-for-the-first-time

[5] http://www.hoovers.com/company-information/cs/competition.Universal_Studios_Inc.7a0e7231fca927ed.html

[6] http://money.cnn.com/2011/07/08/technology/netflix_starz_contract/

[7] http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/neighbors_2014/

[8] http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=townies.htm

 [9] http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_purge_anarchy_2014/?search=the%20purge%20anarchy

[10] http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=purge2.htm

 [11] http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dumb_and_dumber_to/

 [12] http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=dumberto.htm

[13] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2322441/

[14] http://www.jurassicworld.org

[15] http://www.warcraft-themovie.com

[16] http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-25/universal-pictures-acquires-jobs-film-from-sony-corp.html

 [17] http://www.universalpictures.com

Relativity Media

Posted on by
Relativity Media Logo

Relativity Media Logo[1*]

by Jeff Spivack

HISTORY

Founded in 2004 by industry icon Ryan Kavanaugh, Relativity Media produces and distributes film, television, music, sports, and fashion globally.  The company’s diverse portfolio and nontraditional business model distinguish it amongst its competitors.  For the first five years of its existence, Relativity Media was primarily a finance and film funding company, without an actual studio or film producing division.[1]  In January of 2009, Relativity Media acquired Rogue Pictures from Universal Pictures  for $150 mil and in doing so, became a fully outfitted movie studio.  From this point on, the studio began producing its own films in its own studios, adding more films to its release schedule each successive year.[2]  In an effort to further expand their operation, in 2010 the company took over the 45-person marketing and distribution team of Starz’s Overture Films.[3]  To date, Relativity Media’s film studios have produced and distributed over 30 films.  The company has continuously grown, and has built a varied and multi-faceted business that delves into a number fringe markets, though in recent years analysts have remarked that Relativity’s performance may be slacking.  2014 marks the company’s ten year anniversary.[4]

 

 

Key Executives

Ryan+Kavanaugh+November+Man+Premieres+Hollywood+qlYI0FI9yDal

Relativity Media Founder and CEO Ryan Kavanaugh[2*]

The founder and CEO of Relativity Media, Ryan Kavanaugh, quickly and unexpectedly rose to prominence in the industry.  His first notable accomplishments came in the form of successful and original film financing arrangements which he organized for Universal, Warner Bros., Sony, and other film studios.  Early in his career, industry pundits thought he might have an early retirement given a DUI and probation violation he acquired during his initial successes, but he quickly turned things around and has been scandal free for the past few years.[5] In founding Relativity Media in 2004 with Lynwood Spinks, Kavanaugh managed his company in a way that is often compared to the analytical methods exhibited in the film “Moneyball”.[6]  Kavanaugh is often the recipient of industry awards and accolades for his original approach and unmitigated success.  In addition to his professional successes, Kavanaugh has participated in major philanthropic pursuits, founding several charitable organizations and committing large donations to charities that focus on children such as The Art Of Elysium.[7]

 

Tucker

Relativity Media President Tucker Tooley[3*]

President of Relativity Media, Tucker Tooley, joined the staff in 2007 as the President of Worldwide Production.  Before accepting a position at Relativity Media, Tooley had extensive film industry experience, previously working as president of Tooley Productions as well as Creative Executive at Interlight Productions.[8]  In 2011 Tooley became the President at Relativity Media and has since been the producer and executive producer of some of Relativity’s most successful films.  He also played a large part in the company’s 2009 transition from film financier to film studio and will be a major player during the studio’s eventual IPO.[9]

 

Financials

Relativity media has participated in the financing, distribution, or structuring of over 200 films.  As of 2014, box office revenue has generated over $17 billion worldwide for the company.  Much of the relatively small film studio’s success can be attributed to its performance in foreign markets.[10] Relativity Media’s most successful release to date was the 2011 Immortals, which grossed $84 million domestically and $143 million in foreign markets.[11] Theatrical releases account for only 60% of Relativity’s revenue, indicating a highly diversified revenue stream.  The company will continue this campaign and plans to have 50% of its revenue coming from alternate sources by next year[12]

Initial Public Offering

Relativity IPO

Relativity Media’s IPO preparations[4*]

Beyond its slate of film releases this year, Relativity has made substantial steps towards a planned upcoming IPO by attempting to raise capital and grow its business through acquisitions, such as its $1.1 billion bid for Makers Studios which it eventually lost to a competing bid by the Walt Disney Company.  Sources believe that the planned IPO will value the company somewhere between $6 billion and $10 billion. CEO Ryan Kavanaugh’s strategy for the IPO preparation is one of diversification, which he hopes will entice investors by offsetting the volatile nature of film markets.[13]

Additionally, Relativity has made strategic partnerships with multiple Chinese companies, and has publicly suggested that it may list its stock in both New York and Hong Kong.  Its largest partnership will be with Chinese broadcaster, Jiangsu, with which Relativity will co-finance, produce, and distribute translatable content for both economies.[14]  Kavanaugh stated the following in regards to his recent dealings in China.

We view China as being as important as the United States for Relativity. We’ve put a big bet on China, and the partnerships we announced today will further strengthen the robust foundation we have built in China.[15]

Other moves, such as plans to refinance their debt and the hiring of attorney Carol Genis make it clear that Relativity Media will likely go public within the next 12 months. Below, Kavanaugh explains his decision to hire Carol Genis.[16]

I have worked closely with Carol for more than a decade, relying on her sound counsel. She is an incredibly talented executive with an intimate understanding of our business and her experience and insight will prove vital as we prepare for an IPO[16.5]

 

Carol Genis

Kavanaugh Hires New Staff[5*]

Theatrical Releases

Relativity Media’s 2013 season was less then desirable, returning only $242, releasing a total of 9 films by the end of the year.[17]   Jason Dietz from Metacritic.com, a film performance rating site, had this to say about Relativity’s 2013 season.

Relatively speaking, Relativity performed horribly with critics in 2013, earning negative notices for more than half of its releases. The studio did score some hits, none bigger than the Nicholas Sparks adaptation Safe Haven, which grossed nearly $100 million worldwide against a $28 million budget. But there were also numerous duds, including animated family film Free Birds, drama Out of the Furnace, and thriller misfire Paranoia[18]

Relativity released 7 new films during the 2014 season, commanding 2.0% of the market share.  As of November 30th, Relativity’s total gross for the 2014 season amounts to $181 million.  Below are Relativity Media’s 2014 releases in descending order of highest grossing to lowest grossing.  Hold your cursor over the movie poster to see the film’s Box Office gross.  Click the poster to read a synopsis and access cast and crew information about the film on IMDb.com[19]

The Releases

Earth To Echo

Earth To Echo[6*]

3 days to kill

3 Days To Kill[7*]

Oculus

Oculus[8*]

Best Of Me[9*]

The November Man[10*]

Brick Mansions

Brick Mansions[11*]

Beyond The Lights

Beyond The Lights[12*]

References

[1] About Us. Retrieved November 24, 2014, from http://www.relativitymedia.com/About.aspx

[2] Cieply, M. (2009, January 4). Universal Sells Rogue for $150 Million. The New York Times. Retrieved November 24, 2014, from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/05/business/media/05rogue.html?_r=1&

[3] Finke, N. (2010, July 23). Relativity Takes Over Overture from Starz. Retrieved November 24, 2014, from http://deadline.com/2010/07/relativity-takes-over-overture-from-starz-56058/

[4] Riley, J. (2014, May 6). Relativity Media Celebrates 10th Anniversary (VIDEO). Retrieved November 25, 2014, from http://variety.com/2014/film/spotlight/relativity-media-celebrates-10th-anniversary-video-1201172992/

[5] About Us. Retrieved November 24, 2014, from http://www.relativitymedia.com/About.aspx

[6] Pomerantz, D. (2013, May 6). Why Ryan Kavanaugh Is Now The Most-Watched Man In Hollywood. Retrieved November 25, 2014, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/dorothypomerantz/2013/04/17/why-ryan-kavanaugh-is-now-the-most-watched-man-in-hollywood/

[7]Philanthropy. Retrieved November 25, 2014, from http://www.relativitymedia.com/Philanthropy.aspx

[8] Tucker Tooley. Retrieved November 26, 2014, from http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=118221022&privcapId=24439893

[9] About Us. Retrieved November 26, 2014, from http://www.relativitymedia.com/About.aspx

[10] About Us. Retrieved November 26, 2014, from http://www.relativitymedia.com/About.aspx

[11] Immortals. Retrieved November 26, 2014, from http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=warofgods.htm

[12] Atkinson, C. (2014, June 12). Relativity Media to close $1B pre-IPO funding. New York Post. Retrieved November 26, 2014, from http://nypost.com/2014/06/12/relativity-media-to-close-1b-pre-ipo-funding/

[13] Sakoui, A., & Erlichman, J. (2014, April 14). Relativity Media Sends offer for Makers Studios Over Disney. Retrieved November 27, 2013, from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-14/relativity-media-sends-offer-for-maker-studios-over-disney-s.html

[14] Sakoui, A., & Erlichman, J. (2014, June 19). Relativity Media Plans to Raise Capital Ahead of Planned IPO. Retrieved November 7, 2014, from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-06-19/relativity-media-plans-to-raise-capital-ahead-of-planned-ipo.html

[15] Coonan, C. (n.d.). Relativity CEO Ryan Kavanaugh: ‘China Is Just as Important to Us as the U.S.’ Retrieved December 1, 2014, from http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/relativity-ceo-ryan-kavanaugh-china-712036

[16] Mcnary, D. (2014, September 2). Ryan Kavanaugh’s Relativity Continues Prepping for IPO, Taps Managing Director. Retrieved November 27, 2014, from http://variety.com/2014/film/news/ryan-kavanaughs-relativity-ipo-managing-director-1201296042/

[16.5] Mcnary, D. (2014, September 2). Ryan Kavanaugh’s Relativity Continues Prepping for IPO, Taps Managing Director. Retrieved November 27, 2014, from http://variety.com/2014/film/news/ryan-kavanaughs-relativity-ipo-managing-director-1201296042/

[17] Studio Market Share. Retrieved November 28, 2014, from http://boxofficemojo.com/studio/?view2=yearly&view=company&p=.htm

[18] Dietz, J. (2014, January 23). Metacritic’s 5th Annual Movie Studio Report Card. Retrieved November 28, 2014, from http://www.metacritic.com/feature/film-studio-rankings-2014

[19] Relativity. Retrieved November 28, 2014, from http://boxofficemojo.com/studio/chart/yr=2013&view=company&studio=relativity.htm

Image Sources

[1*]Snider, M. (2012, May 22). Relativity Media Logo. Retrieved November 30, 2014, from http://www.geekfore.com/?attachment_id=1987

[2*] “The November Man” Premiers in Hollywood. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2014, from http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/aOUGAlyXxtJ/November Man Premieres Hollywood/qlYI0FI9yDa/Ryan Kavanaugh

[3*] Huver, S. Tucker Tooley Helps Stars Make it Big Read more at http://la-confidential-magazine.com/living/articles/its-all-relativity#KXq4xRUfDqI5bB4u.99. Retrieved November 30, 2014, from http://la-confidential-magazine.com/living/articles/its-all-relativity

[4*] Atkinson, C. (2014, June 12). Relativity Media to close $1B pre-IPO funding. New York Post. Retrieved November 26, 2014, from http://nypost.com/2014/06/12/relativity-media-to-close-1b-pre-ipo-funding/

[5*] Mcnary, D. (2014, September 2). Ryan Kavanaugh’s Relativity Continues Prepping for IPO, Taps Managing Director. Retrieved November 27, 2014, from http://variety.com/2014/film/news/ryan-kavanaughs-relativity-ipo-managing-director-1201296042/

[6*] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2183034/

[7*] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2172934/?ref_=fn_al_tt_7

[8*] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2388715/?ref_=nv_sr_1

[9*] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1972779/?ref_=nv_sr_1

[10*] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2402157/?ref_=nv_sr_1

[11*] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1430612/?ref_=nv_sr_1

[12*] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3125324/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1