issue 166
Hello! Well, well, well. Ann Sarnoff and Jason Kilar really did it. For the uninitiated, I’m talking about the heads of Warner Bros and WarnerMedia who decided to drop all their 2021 releases on HBO Max the same day the films are released in theater (Deadline). Dune, Matrix 4, Reminiscence, Space Jam 2, Godzilla vs Kong, King Richard, and many more. Easily over a billion dollars worth of the goods. A bet on streaming… an investment. The church bells are ringing. Funeral toll.
This is good for audiences and bad for the industry (especially exhibitors - movie chains). It’s a sign of the times. The since-cancelled Kevin Spacey called this reckoning back in 2013 in Edinburgh (BBC). I don’t think Warners “bought out” the backend, box office bumps, or first dollar gross on any of their talent or co-financier deals. Many people are upset - I doubt this will go down without a fight. Though I’d say this is not jumping the shark… HBO Max just became a must-have service for everyone - stateside, that is. They’re employing a rolling thunder release strategy meaning few will churn off as they’re eventizing releases every few weeks and will own our collective dialogue. Hell, it might even be financially lucrative - for them, and them alone. A huge move that I suspect will ultimately pay off.
Funny though, I heard that a few of the biggest names in town signed landmark deals with Warners (instead of say, going to Apple) as there was the promise of theatrical releases. I’m not so sure if that can be trusted. They did seemingly stand by Chris Nolan’s Tenet. I’ll give them that. So it now looks like Universal might be the newly favored prodigal son. My friends at HBO Max have some work to do, like perhaps open it up to the rest of the world (hello from NZ) and get 4K geared up. Tick tock goes the clock.
I’m phoning the rest of this one in with re-posts. I’m proud of my last two newsletters and got heaps of kind feedback. Appreciate it. Here they are in case you missed them: Part I and Part II. They’re about yours truly, more or less. And below is what wrote last year in issue 115 about Spotify Wrapped. The big winners for me this year were Moby and Aphex Twin’s Avril 14th, which is the first song on Spotify’s Hipster Cinema playlist - embarrassing, I know.
I really do love Spotify’s yearend roundup. Here is mine (it’s a tweet, *updated with my 2020 tops). It’s invigorating because 1) this is a rare case where content providers actually publish their user data with complimentary visualizations and 2) people actively share it almost as a status or taste symbol. More-so, they anticipate it. It’s ritualized. If you didn’t share it, then I guess you must live in shame. It’s probably the truest, unfiltered reflection of the individual. The anti-thesis of vainglorious. It’s like asking a friend to show you their Screen Time. Raw. Data.
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading. Align interests, take fliers. See you next week.
Tech
Antenna, streaming measurement co, raised $4.2m Raine. Axios
Vivenu, ticketing api for events, raised $15m. TC
Roblox acq Imbellus, sentiment analysis (?), ahead of IPO. Reut
Lightforge, game co by Epic veterans, raised $5m. BizJ
iHeart and Podimo partner on translated podcast. BW
Zephr, helps publishers drive more revenue, raised $8m BDMI. Zeph
Greenpark, sports fan experiences and games by Youtube founder, raised $14m. Forbes
WaveOne, ai enabled video compression codecs, raised $6.5m. TC
Esports One, fantasy esports platform, raised $4m. TC
Mel Science, educational platform, raised $14m. Fins
Core Loop, co-op gameplay for MMOs, raised $2.4m. VB
Google acq Smash GG, esports events and communities. ZDNet
NovaStart, kids games that teach english, raised $4m. TC
Pharrell launches accelerator for BIPOC founder. Forbes
Skillz, sports training platform, raised $5m. BizJ
Vsco acq Trash App, ai video editing (wrote about in issue 124). TC
Flow, matches founders with investors, raised $6.7m. TC
Supergreat, beauty product review platform, raised $6.5m. WWD
FB accused of squeezing early VR startups (it true). Bberg
Orbit, communities around open source products, raised $4m. TC
Google’s DeepMind determining 3D shapes for proteins. Nature
Wonder, virtual hangout co, raised $11m. Fins
Capiche is a new social radio platform in beta. APtwtr
Totum Lab, tracks satellites, raised $13m. Cision
JD to accept use of Chinese' digital currency. Reut
AirDeck, voice and video slideshows, raised $3.5m. Cis
Hype Simulator is an app where you can pretend to be an internet influencer. Input
Reddit has 52m DAUs. Verge
Stir drops MerchWith, 50/50 artist and merch splits. MW
FB will remove vaccine misinfo. NYT
Supernormal, one-way video conference presentations, raised $2m. VB
Salut, platform for virtual fitness trainer videos, raised $1.5m. TC
Looking Glass unveils personal holographic displays. Med
Deduce, digital identity verification, raised $7.3m. CB
Mursion, workplace training with VR, raised $20m. Murs
A decade of Buffer (social media tools), reflection on stats and rev. Buff
Media
Chernin Group invests $30m into Surfline (wrote about in issue 101). Cision
Amazon in talks to buy Wondery, podcast co, for $300m (ughh). WSJ
Hodinkee, watch blog, raised $40m from TCG and celebs. WSJ
Steve Cohen taking Collectors Universe, trading cards and more, private for $700m. Bberg
TikTok testing 3min videos. Verge
FuboTV acq Balto Sports for sports wagering. BW
Bob Dylan sells music catalogue to UMG. THR
Flutter buying FanDuel stake worth $4b. Bberg
Endeavor and GS bidding on Bundeslinga rights for $360m. Sport
AMC Theaters looking to raise $800m. Wrap
Google spars with IAC over marketing practices. WSJ
Cisco acq Slido for interactive conferencing (use Hovercast). TC
Cuomo bands deepfake videos, applause from SAG. Var
Eyes on YouTube for allowing plug-in to download videos and music THR
YouTube sets hate speech limit in effort to be more inclusive. Axios
CNN might plan streaming service. Info
Dua Lipa livestream had 5m+ viewers, cost $1.5m to throw. Var RS
FB Oversight Board first cases to review. FB
Disney TV re-org. Dead
Activision sues Netflix over talent poaching. Var
Gamenet Group (Apollo) buys Italy’s Lottomattaca for $1b. Cision
Discovery+ rollout strat for early 2021. Dead
Creative Morns and Pop Up Mag hosting an immersive walk / event. CMNY
Pharrell launches OtherTone podcast network. Complex
Rival Peak is an interactive Facebook show with digital characters. VB
Sony Music Brazil launches ai accelerator in region. MBW
Travis Scott grossed $20m on Fortnite concert. GIB
A look at Spotify’s New Music Friday playlist. Var
EG7 to acq Daybreak Gaming Co, MMO, for $300m. Eg7
All3 acq Silverback Films, maker of Our Planet. Dead
China forces livestream donors to use real names. SCMP
Patch debuts local newsletter platform. Axios
Daytime video usage continues to skyrocket. Nielsen
iHeart reveals Spotlight Grants, $1m for positive social impact. GN
WMG’s 10-K from this year. SEC
Entertainment
WarnerMedia dropping 2021 titles in theaters and on HBO Max day and date. PostbyJasonKilar
Legendary might sue Warner Bros over HBO Max deal (rightfully so). Var
Sundance unveils hybrid festival plan. Var
Blacklist and MGM partner in blind guild deals. Blk
Emmy 2021 rule changes. IW
Skydance sets Gal Gadot in Heart of Stone, potential spy franchise. Dead
A24 and Rudin land book Shuggie Bain for TV. Dead
Oscar Isaac to be Solid Snake in Metal Gear adapt for Sony. Var
LuckyChap signs first look tv deal with Amzn. Var
Hellon Sunshine acq SKR Prods, focuses on unscripted (Making the Cut). Var
Amblin extends Uni deal, Participant out as shareholder. Var
MTV commits $250m to BIPOC and female prod cos. Var
Lionsgate acq rights to Silk Road (wanted to make a movie about this). Dead
Viacom prepping Balenciaga show*. THR
Netflix to double Asian spend. Bberg
Charlize Theron inks first look tv deal at HBO Max. THR
Issae Rae, Adam McKay to adapt Nine White Parents for HBO. Var
Focus greenlights A Thousand and One from AV Rockwell. Dead
Amazon to air Vikings before History (wild). Var
Magnet takes US rights to Riders of Justice. Var
Kirkman’s Invincible sets A-list cast for animated Amzn series. Dead
Hulu lands Candy, Elisabeth Moss true crime series from UCP. Dead
Netflix planning Korean version of Money Heist. Dead
Doug Liman’s Lockdown lands at HBO Max. THR
Vantage Point tv series in the works with Original Films and Sony TV. Dead
Netflix takes rest of world on Joe Penna Stowaway. Dead
Gina Prince and Tina Mabry to adapt Supremes at Earls for Searchlight. Var
Cynthia Erivo to star and produce Gifted about 19th century African queen. Dead
Matthew Vaughn and Doug Ellin team on soccer tv drama Day One. Dead
Alex Pettyfer to star and direct Phantom of Belgrade. Dead
Clintons to host Apple docuseries Gutsy Women. Var
Bryan Cogman (GOT, LOTR) moves overall to eOne. THR
Shudder acq all rights to The Power. Dead
Rachel Kaplan (Keshet) Warner Bros overall. Var
IFC takes US rights to Falling for Figaro. Var
Vida creator launches her own prod co. dead
WSL and Apple making surf tour docu-series (Pat, where was my call?). Dead
Indie films getting squeezed with covid insurance. Bberg
Collaborative
Spotify 2020 wrapped data. Spot
YouTube year-end data review. YT
Apple App Store best of 2020. App
Google Play 2020. Goog
Chloe Zhao and Alfonso Cuaron. Interview
Giphy most viewed Gifs of the year. Med
a16z writes about social making a comeback. a16z
The journey of a plastic water bottle. Wired
Charlize Theron and Mackenzie Davis. Interview
Interview with Adam Silver NBA. GQ
*Balenciaga’s online video game (webGL). Balen
White paper on Google’s autonomous balloons. Nature
Google employees stand with fired AI researcher Timnit Gebru. Med
Top creators on TikTok of the year. BF
Deepmind founder on how gaming inspired breakthrough. BBC
Scientists studying why gamers invert controllers. Guard
Internal Sony doc showing that gaming is a big activity for adults. Vice
Nike gives Drake his own sub-brand. Input
Interview w/ Hipgnosis founder on evaluating music catalogues. ST
Spaceflight does alter astronauts bodies. MIT
Machine Gun Kelly and Dave Franco. Interview
Hybrid events are going to be the post-rona wave. Digiday
Hugo Amsellem maps the creator economy. HA
Fred Wilson on cliff vesting. AVC
A new satellite to track ocean data. JPL
Adam Sandler and Aubrey Plaza. Interview
Paul McCartney interview. NYT
Big cos urge USA to join back Paris Climate Accord. WSJ
Grateful Dead emerging as a top streetwear brand. Input
Forbes 30 under 30 (I’m too old for this shit now, literally). Forbes
Data viz and crossword puzzles. Pudding
Courses for indie creators on making money online. VizVal
US job hiring slowed last month. WSJ
Bot made a Sinatra cover of Britney Spears song. Futurism
AI that summarizes complicated research papers (thank u). Nature
Thread of horrendous writer rejections and more. Twtr
2020 most common passwords. Vice
The growth of OnlyFans. Bberg
Experts on how to fix the American economy. NYT
Lance Weiler on building storyworlds part 2. Med
Jerry Lu on online music and ColorXStudios. JLss
James Clear on focusing on one thing (h/t Block). JCblog
11mins of exercise a day offsets in-chair work days. NYT
Mauritanian trailer. YT
Deck on go-to-market strats. Sheets
Rex Woodbury on virtual worlds and economies. RWss
A 1000 yr old store in Kyoto (love that city). NYT
Investing in AGI. Nana
How Nestle intends on offsetting its carbon emissions. Nestle
Russell Wilson and Ciara launching consumer product cos. Forbes
South Korea says BTS doesn’t have to do their military time. BF
50 year old NASA rocket set to return to earth. NYT
Stratechery puls in about $3m/yr. BI
Malaria Must Die commercial w/ aged-up Beckham (how much did they spend on this spot?). Vim
Cheerleaders are the college athletes that can skirt around rules to get paid. NYT
Mark Mulligan on UK music streaming data. Midia