Phil LeBeau

For today's Wide Shot newsletter, we return to the question of whether streaming is a good business and, more precisely, for whom? We address cable giant John Malone's recent assessment (categorically "no") and take a look at the state of Netflix, Disney, Paramount and others who participated in the streaming war. Who's winning? Who's still losing money? What's the next stage of the streaming business? (Oh, we also get into JOKER 2's box office travesty). #entertainmentbusiness #hollywood #streaming

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Backed by solid research we believe in traditional marketing strategies mixes w digital. Here is why.

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Disney’s earnings today suggest something investors have largely ignored or dismissed: What if legacy media’s transition to streaming works? What if streaming ends up being a better business than traditional TV? It’s still early. But Disney’s earnings give hope to a legacy media industry in turmoil.

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#BreakingAlert President Joe Biden's campaign is aggressively pursuing older voters in key battleground states and will try to mobilize them with activities such as bingo and pickleball, the campaign announced on Tuesday.  #breakingnews #news #international #bbn #bbnewsinternational #corp #bulletinews #dailynews  #worldnews #trendingnews #newsoftheday #newsupdates #newsmedia #newsdaily #newsroom #internationaleditor www.bbnewsin.com

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Rich Greenfield, it's premature to call the Disney/Charter distribution deal a failure. Their "bundle" combines separate Disney products but falls woefully short of meeting consumer needs. I have yet to meet an NFL fan who only cares about the football games that air on ABC and ESPN. As compelling as the Disney programming may be, sports fans want to watch all games, irrespective of the network or streaming service. We should not view the adoption of the bespoke Disney bundle as the measure of the deal's success. The true measure is whether other legacy media companies adopt this deal template to create a comprehensive "full streaming bundle" distributed through pay-TV operators, including Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+, Max, Discovery+, Paramount+, Peacock, and Fox programming. I believe legacy companies' long-term success will largely hinge on their ability to roll out these "full streaming bundles" through pay-TV operators as quickly as possible. I explain why in the comments section of Rich's post. #Disney #WBD #Strategy

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AC/DC Powerage: My First Listen in 1978 and Why It's Still the Best https://lnkd.in/eA9bG-FN

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Radio ad demand is shrinking • How the major radio groups are privately dealing with declining advertising. • What market managers are doing to save the day (and their jobs). • The non-radio solutions being teed up by radio groups. • What some radio groups have turned to quarter by quarter to offset ad revenue declines with artificial cash infusions. • Typical market manager response to shrinking ad demand. https://lnkd.in/eXGHPhTM

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On Today's Episode of Most Impactful Journalists: John Peter Zenger Discover how John Peter Zenger, a courageous printer, and immigrant, challenged corruption and fought for press freedom in America with the landmark "Zenger Trial." His legacy continues to inspire journalists today. #JournalismHistory #PressFreedom #Facts #lpujournalism #Media #lpu #lpuuniversity #lpudiaries #lpucampus #thinkbig

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💲 Media giants made more headway on the path to streaming profitability this earnings season. 🤑 Over the past two years, price hikes and password-sharing crackdowns, ad-supported tiers, and mass layoffs have all shaken up the industry and brought companies closer to streaming profits. ❌ But the majority of companies still don't make money in those divisions, and investors remain skeptical that profit can be sustained. Here's what we learned after this latest earnings season... Yahoo Finance #streamingwars #money #profits #business #news #finance

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Details in the Audacy/Cumulus rollup -- • The little-mentioned “radio guy” flying under the radar in this deal. • What Soros buys after they rollup Audacy and Cumulus. • Why Cumulus will force Soros to revert to a hostile takeover. • Is this a political play by Democrat Soros? • What happens to the forced spinoffs? https://lnkd.in/e3mdXPKt

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The one thing I admire most about “old school” American journalism institutions is that they truly believe that they are independent - and act accordingly. This article from The Washington Post is perhaps the most beautiful example of that attitude, at a time when this independence - present during all of our lives - is also under the greatest threat it has ever been. Manuel Roig-Franzia and Laura Wagner report on the decision by their own editorial board - and allegedly by their own owner, Jeff Bezos - to not endorse a candidate for President. With their reporting, they are clearly not doing any favors to their owner, unless, that is, their owner cares as much about their journalistic independence and integrity as they do. They report on the news - WaPo does not endorse a candidate for President for the first time in 36 years - and go on to give a voice to credible sources who explain why this is so. Their reporting follows what you would learn in journalism school, and indeed what I learned at Columbia University - Graduate School of Journalism. You lay out the facts, quickly explain what they mean, and then go on to provide further background and analysis, with sources, numbers, and bigger picture examples. These two quotes stood out the most to me in the article. The first is by Robert Kagan, who resigned as editor-at-large following the decision, the second is by Martin Baron, who retired a few years back as executive editor, and who wrote an excellent book on the Trump years at WaPo, including multiple defenses of attacks on Jeff Bezos at the time. “It’s a sort of preemptive bending of the knee to who they may think is the probable winner,” said Kagan, whose resignation was first reported by SEMAFOR. “Anybody who is as much a part of the American economy as Bezos is … they obviously want to have a good relationship with whoever is in power. [It’s] an attempt to try not to be on the wrong side of Donald Trump.” “This is cowardice, a moment of darkness that will leave democracy as a casualty. Donald Trump will celebrate this as an invitation to further intimidate The Post’s owner, Jeff Bezos (and other media owners),” former Post executive editor Martin Baron, who led the paper while Trump was president, said in a text message to The Post. “History will mark a disturbing chapter of spinelessness at an institution famed for courage.” I still know quite a few people at the Post, especially in the newsroom, and after reading this article, I hope they’re going to be OK. That goes both for those who have been there for many years, and have bought into the vision of Marty. And those who have recently joined, and are trying to build the Post of tomorrow. That last assignment just got a lot harder. Perhaps there is a silver lining, but the current management did fail in 101 of stakeholder leadership: to know who your stakeholders are. https://lnkd.in/eTF52JiV

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What IS "traditional viewing" now? FilmTake issued a report. "In May 2024, YouTube accounted for 9.7% of all U.S. TV viewing, making it the largest single streaming platform for audience share. Netflix followed at 7.6%, underscoring the unique challenge YouTube poses to traditional media." (Here is that full report. https://lnkd.in/gQFdaHWf) YouTube has an ongoing payment platform for content creators, but Netflix refuses to offer that option. I feel the handwriting is on the wall for them. That will soon become "non-traditional" thinking and eventually 'non-acceptable" to content creators. I hope so, we deserve ongoing revenue. Collectively we hold power over streamers with our choices. I suggest YouTube will continue to dominate and WHAT IF YouTube becomes "traditional media" and all others, including ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, Netflix, Disney, and others NEVER catch YouTube? Will it then become "traditional media" and all others become "non-traditional media" in the future? In the mid-1800s horses were considered "traditional transportation" and the newly developed bicycles were threatening their role. By the early 1900s automobiles replaced all other forms of transportation, after being "non-traditional" for many years during their development stage. What IS the role of "traditional media" moving forward? According to Stastica, "With the wide availability of high-speed mobile internet and the ever-growing digital content landscape, it comes as no surprise that mobile video viewing has become increasingly popular in the United States. As of March 2023, almost 70 percent of the digital video content audience in the United States was reported to watch videos on their smartphones, compared to 59 percent of respondents who said the same about watching video on a smart TV, a more established device for online video consumption. On average, almost 16 percent of the total time spent streaming video content in the North American region saw users engaging with their smartphones and mobile phones." (Here is the link to the full report. https://lnkd.in/gCNxjd6u). Will the current TV format aspect ratio of 1:66 to 1:78 and movie format aspect ratio of 1:85 to 2:40 be replaced by the "non-traditional" vertical format, which is becoming 19:9 to fit more games, TV shows, and movies? What WILL "traditional viewing" be like in the future? As a producer, I feel we will see shorter content or 'snack viewing' as I refer to it. YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and other platforms now feature many vertical viewing videos. Now some cameras allow you to format your show and content vertically or horizontally. We created a platform for short films, movie trailers, music videos, and other media. Soon many streamers can detect the device you are viewing on and deliver that content in the most ideal format. If you are interested in streaming content, or becoming an advertiser on our new channel platform, see FiveMinuteMovie.com, a division of HandcraftFilm.com.

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While not as clear-cut as roads, clean water, and air, the democratic value to society of public interest journalism is, in my book and many others, a public good, writes Daily Maverick's Styli C.. "The recent tsunami of bad news about the news has raised an interesting question. Are we seeing the effects of a market failure playing out, or are we seeing the death of an industry that failed to innovate and keep up with the times?" #journalism #publicinterest #news #publishing

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🕵️‍♂️📚 **Unveiling New Perspectives on Historic Cases** In our latest professional spotlight, we delve into an insightful interview with John Eckberg, a seasoned journalist whose recent discussion on the OJ Simpson case brings forward a thought-provoking theory involving Glen Rogers, a convicted serial killer. John's extensive experience in courthouse reporting shines through as he challenges the prevailing narrative and presents evidence suggesting a possible collaboration between Simpson and Rogers. This conversation not only revisits one of the most controversial legal cases in American history but also exemplifies the critical impact of diligent journalism and in-depth research in revising public understanding of past events. 🎥 Watch the full interview to gain a deeper appreciation of the complexities involved in criminal justice reporting. https://lnkd.in/dcNssGWz #Journalism #CriminalJustice #OJSimpson #LegalStudies #ProfessionalDevelopment #MediaInnovation

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Carl Sagan once remarked, "The nuclear arms race is like two sworn enemies standing waist-deep in gasoline, one with three matches, the other with five.” The one with fewer matches wrongly feels that having more would bring security. This quote has always struck a chord with me, and reading Daniel Ellsberg's "The Doomsday Machine" brought it crashing back into my mind. Ellsberg delivers a harrowing account of his time as a consultant working with the RAND Corporation. He places you right in the thick of Cold War-era tensions. In under 350 pages, Ellsberg unveils a terrifying reality: the U.S. nuclear war plan was, and probably still is, a blueprint for global annihilation. This book isn't light, weekend reading. It's shocking and disconcerting. Ellsberg's insights show just how perilously close we’ve been to nuclear catastrophe for over 50 years. It’s a wake-up call, a stark reminder that our greatest threats aren’t lurking in the shadows—they're sitting in our own silos buried deep underground somewhere. Ellsberg passed away in June 2023 at 92, but his book will remain relevant as long as the nuclear threat exists. I recommend it to anyone who wants to grasp the imminent threat and vast scale of a nuclear cataclysm.

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