Issue May 10, 2017 - The Hollywood Reporter (2024)

Home//The Hollywood Reporter/May 10, 2017

The all-new Hollywood Reporter offers unprecedented access to the people, studios, networks and agencies that create the magic in Hollywood. Published weekly, the oversized format includes exceptional photography and rich features.

Read on Any Device

Switch between PDF & Text Mode

Bookmark & Search Content

Read Offline

Receive New Issue Notifications

Cancel Anytime

in this issue

THE REPORTHeat IndexLaborNext Up: ActorsWhat SAG-AFTRA can learn from the writers deal p. 26DigitalNewFronts News5 questions from the annual ad scrum p. 28Jordan LevinThe TV veteran and NFL Network exec leaves to run AwesomenessTV as it pushes into more premium original content.John SkipperThe ESPN chief is forced to lay off about 200 staffers as revenue at Disney’s networks unit misses analyst targets amid declining subscribers.Bette MidlerThe Hello, Dolly! star scores one of the revival’s 10 Tony nominations, making her the favorite to win 53 years after she debuted on Broadway in Fiddler on the Roof.Bob PittmanThe iHeartMedia CEO may not be able to save the radio-station operator from bankruptcy as revenue drops and a $20 billion debt burden looms large.Showbiz Stocks$34 (+5.3%)LIVE NATION (LYV)CEO Michael Rapino says the parent of Ticketmaster and…1 min

THE REPORTFox News Faces a Scary New Reality: Actual CompetitionFor a generation, the single largest factor in cable news has been Fox News’ dominance in virtually every time slot. Other news networks existed almost solely as an inverse proposition to Fox.But then Fox News was, suddenly, no longer Fox News. In less than a year, its founder and leader, Roger Ailes, gone; its rising star, Megyn Kelly, gone; its reigning star, Bill O’Reilly, gone; its replacement leader, Ailes protege Bill Shine, gone. Its second-most-important star, Sean Hannity, according to insiders, hanging by a thread.What’s more, 21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch, now guiding the network’s fate, is openly contemptuous of Fox News’ politics and down-market cultural place. This is to cable news what the breakup of the Soviet Union was to politics. All bets are off.The hope of 21st…5 min

THE REPORTWhy Idol Rebuffed Fox for ABCIdol and ABCIdol’s ratings far outpaced ABC’s current numbers3.0 RATINGIdol 18-to-49average 2015-161.7 RATINGABC’s primetime 18-to-49 average 2016-17On the eve of the upfronts, American Idol is again the obsession in TV. Negotiations over Fox’s retired hit wrapped May 8 with ABC agreeing to revive it for the 2017-18 season — a deal insiders credit to the Disney network’s eleventh-hour push and the persistence of FremantleMedia CEO Cecile Frot-Coutaz. “Six months ago, no one wanted it,” notes one agent. “If there was one person who made this happen, it’s Cecile. She was determined to get Idol back on TV.”The Idol owner’s motivation to reboot its crown jewel (shared with CORE Media Group’s 19 Entertainment) is clear. But the appeal to broadcast networks also makes sense. Even in its fatigued 15th and final…2 min

THE REPORTUp Next: What the Actors Want• Wage increases: SAGAFTRA might get the same 3 percent annual increases as the DGA and WGA, but in reality that could mean 2.5 percent or even 2 percent a year because part of the increase could be diverted to the guild’s pension fund, which needs to be replenished.• Residuals enhancements: Like basic wage increases, residuals are considered “pattern items.” The actors probably will get the same improvement in SVOD payments as the DGA and WGA did before it.• Holds and exclusivity: Negotiators are expected to seek more flexibility in contracts that tie up actors for short-run series.• Pension plan: The union is expected to seek one or more 0.5 percent diversions from the basic wage increases in order to bolster the sagging pension fund.• Per diems: Expect negotiators to…1 min

THE REPORT5 Big Questions After Digital’s Annual Ad PitchOn May 5, Vice Media treated ad buyers to a boxing match between executive Niall Cooney and celebrity chef/ Viceland host Eddie Huang at New York City’s Spring Studios. A gimmick? Sure, but it was a fitting end to a NewFronts week in which digital media executives landed some heavy blows to the TV business.With digital advertising revenue reaching $72.5 billion in 2016 (per the Interactive Advertising Bureau), for the first time topping the TV industry’s $71 billion in ad dollars, the big digital players are riding high — but smaller upstarts still are searching for ways to capture a larger share of the cash.“You’ve got these 800-pound gorillas talking about reach,” says Noah Mallin, head of social at media agency MEC, “and everybody else is scrambling to say, ‘We’ve…2 min

Issue May 10, 2017 - The Hollywood Reporter (2024)

you may also like