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For our American readers, hope you’re having a great Labor Day weekend! (If you’re among our growing international readership, I wish you a wonderful day as well; I’m sure a well-deserved bank holiday is in your near future.) I appreciate you spending a few minutes with me in your inbox today.
We may be in the twilight of summer, but the entertainment industry never stops. We published some great stories and podcasts this week, so with no further ado, our best of the week, ICYMI:
Netflix, Disney . . . Chick-fil-A. If the sandwich chain enters the Streaming Wars, it’ll join Nike, Starbucks and LVMH as production studios. In this week’s Series Business (for paid subscribers only), Elaine Low names the streamers and production companies already working with these big brands; talks to the players you need to know who connect these companies to Hollywood; and captures creators’ glee having new buyers in the market:
Manori Ravindran digs into the mysterious Edinburgh TV Fest no-show of Paramount U.K.’s chief content officer Ben Frow, in the process revealing the chaos caused by the company’s evolving global strategy; how Paramount’s pivot to streaming has made a mess; and why Skydance would underestimate Channel 5 and its programming genius’ importance at its peril:
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Richard Rushfield dives in to Apple’s sudden realization that losing money is no fun and what its strategy shift means for a town already exhausted by austerity. Also: he pleads for Hollywood’s leaders to learn a thing or two from, of all people, Democrats:
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While everyone worries that AI will take their creative job, the race is underway for AI-generated content to live on its own platform that could rival TikTok, Netflix or YouTube. In this edition of Reel AI (for paid subscribers only), Erik Barmack shows some of the wild new AI videos being made; nods to the micro communities Hollywood should be watching; the startup that wants to be the ‘HBO of AI’; and how Hollywood should respond to another potential challenge for audience attention:
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Fresh off NBCU’s winning Olympics ratings, Entertainment Strategy Guy (for paid subscribers only) assesses how live sports on streaming compares with the biggest streaming hits in the history of streaming; whether sports docuseries are winning over any more viewers; Netflix’s tough choices between live sports, original programming and free cash flow; how legacy studios could exploit that; and the wildcard that could turn every sports streamer into losers:
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Katey Rich delivered a trio of worthwhile creator conversations this week with showrunner Soo Hugh, director Lana Wilson, and on her Prestige Junkie podcast with Girls Trip producer Will Packer, he reveals how he got comedian Kevin Hart to get serious onscreen:
 | Will Packer's Hard-Earned Hollywood Wisdom Prestige Junkie 1:09:51 |
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As the endless Paramount sale drama drew to a close, Sean McNulty broke down what you need to know about the legacy studio’s coming, bumpy transition:
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 | Apple Now Thinks Different About Movies The Ankler Podcast 54:12 |
 | The Juicy Backstage Stuff Martini Shot 12:18 |
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