10/16/17: Fandango to acquire MovieTickets.com

Good morning. It’s Monday October 16, 2017 and this is your your first early morning Digital briefing!

TODAY’S CODEBREAKER

Media Mix: The phrase media mix refers to the various advertising channels through which a company communicates to an audience. A basic plan for a media mix outlines the amount of the advertising budget that’s spent per channel.

JUST IN…

NBCU’s Fandango has reached a deal to acquire MovieTickets.com, its longtime rival in the movie-ticketing space. The MovieTickets.com site will continue to exist, and the company’s team will continue to be based in Boca Raton, Florida. Terms of the deal – expected to close by the end of the year – weren’t disclosed. The acquisition will expand Fandango’s reach into a number of new theater chains, including Cineplex and Landmark Theaters. It will also increase the company’s Latin American footprint, and extends its reach to Canada and the U.K. for the first time. Fandango’s biggest competitor will now be Atom Tickets, a service backed by 20th Century Fox, Disney, and Lionsgate.

In its ongoing patent war with Apple, chipset-maker Qualcomm is seeking to cripple the tech giant’s sales in the world’s most populous country. As first reported by Bloomberg, Qualcomm has filed a lawsuit against Apple in a Beijing intellectual property court. The suit claims patent infringement; according to a Qualcomm spokeswoman, the company is seeking an injunction that would prevent the sale and manufacture of iPhones in China. As Bloomberg notes, the iPhone accounts for almost two thirds of Apple’s Chinese revenue.

OTT + SVOD

Amazon has scrapped a planned event in London, where the company was going to unveil new European projects for the Prime Video streaming service. The cancellation comes in the wake of Amazon’s suspension of Amazon Studios chief Roy Price. Amazon suspended Price late last week; the move came shortly after Isa Hackett Dick, an executive producer for Amazon’s The Man in the High Castle, accused price of sexual harassment in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. Price was slated to headline the London presentation.

The London showcase isn’t the only project Amazon has canceled due to sexual harassment allegations: The company has decided to cut ties with The Weinstein Company. As a result, Amazon just nixed a Weinstein Company-produced project from director David O. Russell. The untitled series would have starred Robert De Niro and Julianne Moore. Moore, Russell, and De Niro released a statement saying that they supported Amazon’s decision. On the other hand, Amazon says it will not cancel The Romanoffs, its upcoming drama series from Mad Men-creator Matthew Weiner. The Romanoffs had been connected to The Weinstein Company as well, but the production will move forward without the company’s involvement.

Could Netflix beat Wall Street’s Q4 subscriber growth expectations even though it raised prices this month? Michael Graham, a media and technology analyst for Canaccord Genuity, thinks so. Graham wrote that the second season of Stranger Things – debuting October 27 – should help drive growth in the fourth quarter. As for the third quarter, Graham is more bullish than some of his peers: The analyst estimated that Netflix will add 850,000 U.S. subscribers in the quarter – about 50,000 more than Wall Street’s consensus of 796,000, and about 100,00 more than Netflix’s own estimates.

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APPS + PLATFORMS

The digital comedy platform Funny or Die now has its own Twitch channel. Funny or Die will stream regular programming on Mondays and Fridays. Monday broadcasts will include Masters or Die, in which actress Josephine McAdam plays the Blizzard Entertainment game Overwatch. Friday’s programming includes Heartbreaks & Power-Ups, an unscripted series in which host Alex Griffin interviews guests about dating. It’s the first time that Funny or Die has had a designated Twitch platform.

PROGRAMMING

The risque digital publisher Barstool Sports is making a new linear TV show. Barstool Van Talk, a weekly late-night talk series, will air on ESPN2. An interview series with a comic edge, the show will be hosted by two popular Barstool personalities: Dan Katz and the anonymous sportswriter PFT Commenter. The pair will host the show from inside a van, traveling across the U.S. to various college campuses and sports venues. Barstool Van Talk will debut on October 17; it’ll air at 1 AM on Tuesday nights (Wednesday mornings if you want to be technical about it). Content from the show will also run across ESPN’s social and digital platforms. Barstool Sports is majority owned by the Chernin Group.

MUSIC + AUDIO

Spotify’s numbers are improving mightily, but the music streamer is still losing money. At least, that’s according The Information, which reports that Spotify’s revenues hit 1.9 billion euros ($2.26 billion) in the first half of this year. The Information cited two unnamed sources, who were familiar with the numbers. If the figures are accurate, then Spotify is on track to make about 41 billion euros ($4.9 billion) in 2017, marking a 40% increase over last year. And on another positive note, the sources said that the company’s gross margins are up to 22%, compared to 15% in 2016. But the sources also said that Spotify saw an operating loss somewhere between 100 million and 200 million euros in the first half of the year. Spotify is expected to go public within the coming months, possibly via a public listing instead of a traditional IPO.

UPCOMING DIGITAL PROGRAMMING…

… for the week of Monday, Monday, October 16, through Sunday, October 22

– People Now at People.com, Monday-Friday at 8:30 AM ET and 11:30 AM ET. Guests include actress, TV personality and author Valerie Bertinelli (Food Network’s Valerie’s Home Cooking), actor Jason Ritter (ABC’s Kevin (Probably) Saves the World), and actress Liz Gillie (the CW’s Dynasty)

– Acorn TV: The drama series Acceptable Risk debuts today, October 16.

– Netflix: Patton Oswalt: Annihilation, a new comedy special, debuts Tuesday, October 17

– Netflix: Slasher 2: Guilty Party, a horror series, debuts Tuesday, October 17

– Hulu: The new season of Freakish debuts Wednesday, October 18

– Sundance Now: Fictional disaster drama The Swell debuts Thursday, October 19

– Netflix: 1922, an original thriller film based on a Stephen King short story, debuts Friday, October 20

– Netflix: The Day I Met El Chapo: The Kate del Castillo Story, a new documentary miniseries, debuts Friday, October 20

– Netflix: Season two of comedy series Haters Back Off debuts Friday, October 20

– Netflix: One of Us, a new documentary, debuts Friday, October 20

– Netflix: Wheelman, an original action/thriller film, debuts Friday, October 20

– Amazon Video: The new season of Red Oaks debuts Friday, October 20

– Hulu: Too Funny to Fail, a new documentary, debuts Saturday, October 21

TRIVIA

Cheo Hodari Coker created which Netflix series? Answer: Marvel’s Luke Cage. Kudos to Andrew Bellamy-Producers Guild of America/NY, Andy Pittman-TAMU/TX, Louis Lewow-Lewow Media Group/CA, Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/CA, Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/CA, David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA-Federal Credit Union/CA, and Lorrie Shilling/CA

Follow-up: Cheo Hodari Coker also served as a writer and co-executive producer on which Showtime series? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and state.)

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

Cynopsis Digital Awards: Check out the talent!

November 10 | 12pm – 2pm | NYC

41 Digital “It List” Honorees, 71 Model D Finalists and 6 celebrity presenters make for
a one-of-a-kind Digital Awards Reception with UNLIMITED networking opportunities. The event will be hosted by actor/host Oilver Trevena and among the ceremony’s guest presenters will be actor, comedian, writer and internet sensation, Randy Rainbow along with YouTube sensation, The Gregory Brothers.

SEE MODEL D FINALISTS SEE “IT LIST” HONOREES REGISTER YOUR TEAM

SHORT FORM SPOTLIGHT

Netflix just dropped the final trailer for season 2 of Stranger Things. The show returns on October 27. You can watch the new trailer here.

David Teich
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