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Hello again WrapPRO Enterprisers,
If the news from the beginning of last week Discovery of Warner Bros. was officially put up for sale, triggering waves of speculation, it was not enough to shake up the mediaspherethe story of an escape from the White House by Donald Trump later in the week could mark a new phase for mergers and acquisitions.
Charlie Gasparino of the New York Post sources reported that Trump approved the Ellisons And Primordial be the buyers of WBD. Billionaire and founder of Oracle-co Larry Ellison is a Trump supporter and many believe it has come a long way, with CBS agreeing to settle a lawsuit against Trump, to Skydance by David Ellison obtain permission to purchase Paramount.
OK, let’s not be naive. White House administrations have always had opinions on mergers and acquisitionslargely based on an ideology exercised through their regulators. Democrats are tougher on the deals, raising concerns for consumers and Republicans were more supportive of the belief that free markets should dictate industry consolidation.
But direct approval for a buyer coming from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., a buyer who has won the favor of a president, seems to indicate a new footnote for companies when considering an acquisition. Does this give us scale? ☑️ Is it accretive to revenue? ☑️ Does this increase our market value? ☑️ Can we get public approval from Trump? 👑
No one in business is expected a smooth ride under a second Trump presidency. But I guess the resounding resilience of the stock market eases the stomach.
It really looks like we have entered a new phase of madness last week.
I can’t wait to see what the new one has in store for us.
In case you missed everything our exceptional coverage of the Warner Bros. sale Discoveryyou can find it here.
Tom Lowry
Executive Vice President/Editorial Strategy
tom.lowry@thewrap.com
1. Nickel 🪙 and independent dimming production: Like our Jeremy Fuster, film and box office journalist pointed out last week in his excellent analysis, “fees, confusing regulations and unhappy companies are among the reasons producers don’t want to film in Los Angeles, and reform, while coming, is a slow process.”
Under the title “‘$1,500 a day for a guy to sit in a car’: Independent producers warn Los Angeles is a ‘hostile’ place to film,” Fuster highlights why the new $450 million tax incentive package intended to attract productions to Los Angeles and California doesn’t help everyone, including independent productions.
See below for costs on a three-day shoot at Griffith Park for an independent film called “Malibu Horror Story.”
2. Who is winning the global streaming revenue race 🌎? We found this data and this map of our partner Parrot Analytics fascinating to highlight the performance of non-English streaming.
Parrot published this graphic on LinkedIn to highlight a country, Spainwhich is now “leader in Europe in terms of efficiency of streaming hits, with 26.1% of his titles landing in the top 20% of non-English content in terms of global revenue, even surpassing Japan.
Demand for Spanish content in Asia jumped 63% year after year thanks to a program called the “Spain, audiovisual hub of Europe” initiative.
As Parrot points out, “the platforms are reacting: increased availability, best-performing titles on Netflix, Disney+And Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studiosand a growing share of global income (6.47% non-English content).”
3. How political is today’s music 🎵? What could be more balanced for some? good old fashioned protest music that the a politically charged time in which we live today? But the data collected by Daniel Parris for his “Meaningful statistic: pop culture meets data » Sub-stack offer a counter-current socket.
“Given how omnipresent political news is today, this trend came as a surprise. I hear people complaining about the problem all the time. ‘how bad things are’ and that it is “It’s a really bad time to bring children into the world,” and I assumed that this ambient fear would be reflected in popular music. Instead, I found contemporary music to be significantly less political. So why was socially conscious songwriting more prevalent during a mid-20th century period untouched by digital media?
It looks like Bruce Springsteen, Adele And Beyoncéall of whom have spoken out against President Donald Trump and have not given permission to use their music for causes supporting the president’s agenda, I need a big chorus from other artists.
Interesting analysis and worth a read.
Nothing reinforces the Saudi desire to be an actor in Hollywood more than the creation of independent studio SNK Studiossupported by a Billion dollar investment from MiSK Group — a fund controlled by Mohammed bin Salman, crown prince of Saudi Arabia.
Being in charge of SNK is the Hollywood veteran Erik Feig. As CEO, Feig will be the face of a company that is sure to be in the crosshairs of increased scrutiny as Saudi money in Hollywood remains a hot topic.
Like our founder and editor-in-chief Sharon Waxman highlighted in his October 15 WaxWord column: “The investment is less surprising than the fact that Feig, a veteran Hollywood executive who helped create the independent Summit Entertainment group and led the Lionsgate film group, directing hits like “Twilight” and “The Hunger Games,” is ready to associate with a regime known for brutally repressing its critics. Indeed, Saudi Arabia has come under intense scrutiny over the past two weeks, as American comedians who traveled to Riyadh for a comedy festival were bitterly criticized by their colleagues for taking money from a regime that stifles free speech for its citizens.
A representative for Feig declined to comment officially to Waxman.
For Feig, 55, formerly co-president of Lions Gate and more recently director of his own company Beginning of the image, the call, of course, must be to help build the first conventional Saudi-backed entertainment studio with enough resources to do so.
The Saudis have chosen in Feig an executive with an impressive track record at the box office, thanks to stays at Entertainment at the top And Sony apart from Lionsgate. He has produced, supervised or initiated the production of films including “Together,” “Theater Camp,” “Sharper,” “La La Land,” “The Hurt Locker” and “Sicario,” as well as book adaptations including “Twilight,” “Midnight Sun,” “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” and “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Parts 1 and 2,” “Divergent,” “Wonder,” “Warm Bodies” and “The Perks of Being a Wall Flower”. Additionally, he launched several original film franchises, including “John Wick,” “Now You See Me,” “Red,” and “Step Up.”
Feig, who grew up in Westport, Conn., and earned an English degree from Columbia, is apparently approaches his new role with caution. He has yet to make any public comments that we have seen.
But he should be prepared to face difficult questions when agreeing to an interview, especially at a time when Politics in the Middle East has polarized his beloved profession more than ever.
Is there life after the corner office? Junko’s technological probe
The twisted rhetoric of college sports’ investment ambitions, Sporty
Can Las Vegas steal Hollywood’s spotlight?stage runner
