??Curtain Call - Week 12

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Welcome to Curtain Call! ?? Your curated, weekly recap of the latest industry headlines and news across media, entertainment, and sports. The 3 things you need to know. Short, sweet, and to the point ?? But, first, for those with short attention spans, here's our weekly call sheet and a public comps trading update. Enjoy!

Your Weekly (W)Rap ??

After The Bell - Sector Trading Update ??

Market Backdrop ??:

• Rising Together: For the first time in 2024, the S&P 500, the NASDAQ, and the Dow each posted a weekly total return of 2% or more. That uniform progress pushed each index to a record high and marked a shift from the modest declines recorded in the previous two weeks.
• Rate Outlook Intact: Despite recently mixed progress in curbing inflation, a majority of U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers stuck w/ their earlier expectations to approve three interest-rate cuts by year end. Chair Jerome Powell said the first potential cut isn’t likely to occur until the Fed gains greater confidence that inflation is sustainably declining toward its 2% target.
• Anxiety Subsides: An index that tracks investors’ expectations of short-term U.S. stock market volatility fell to its lowest level in more than six weeks. The Cboe Volatility Index fell about 9% for the week; relative to a recent intraday high on March 11, the VIX was down 18%.

This Week's Top 3 - ICYMI ??

Audio/Music/Podcast ???

• Global recorded music revenues rose 10.2% to $28.6bn in 2023, as paid subscriptions to music streaming services exceed 500m globally. IFPI, the organization that represents the recorded music industry worldwide, has published its Global Music Report, which reports on global trade revenues for the recorded music industry in 2023. Last year (2023) marked the global music market’s 9th consecutive year of growth. Subscription streaming revenues grew by 11.2% y/y last year, accounting for ~49% of the global market, translating to ~$14bn in 2023. Total streaming revenues (incl. both paid subscription and ad-supported) reached $19.3bn in 2023, accounting for more than two-thirds of the total global market. (Music Business Worldwide)
• Spotify paid out $9bn in streaming royalties last year, the company said in its latest “Loud and Clear” report.?Spotify’s 4th annual report, which originally launched in 2021 following criticism over its lack of transparency, noted record accomplishments, including the highest annual payment from any retailer to the music industry. Spotify — and most other streaming services — pay royalties to the rights holders of the music on its platform, a number which is determined by “streamshare.” (TV News Check)
• In other Spotify news...the company is adding music videos to its mobile and desktop apps in some markets and also released a new feature showing podcast follower counts.?The music videos will be tightly integrated w/ the company's music library. Instead of searching for music videos directly or browsing videos in a separate section of the app, music videos can be started from the “Now Playing” screen. The new podcast follower count shows Joe Rogan a the most popular podcast on Spotify, by far, w/ 14.5m followers. (TechCrunch)

Film/TV ???

• George Lucas backs Bob Iger in the Walt Disney proxy fight w/ Nelson Pelta and Trian, saying: "Creating magic is not for amateurs."?There’s a disturbance in the force, and George Lucas wants to help correct the problem. Lucas is a high-profile name to support Iger and Disney, following similar statements of support from the family of Walt and Roy Disney last month, not to mention the shareholder services firm Glass Lewis, which released its recommendation to support the Disney board. (The Hollywood Reporter)
• Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour broke records on Disney+ w/ 4.6m views, making it the No. 1 music film ever on the platform per the studio.?Swifties watched 16.2m hours of the blockbuster 3.5-hour concert film. These viewership?numbers are based on 3 days of streaming; views released for?other movie premieres on Disney+ were based on 5 days of viewing (i.e. The Little Mermaid,?Elemental). (Deadline)
• Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is looking at a $45m opening at the domestic box office this week, give or take.?The previous installment, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, released during the pandemic in 2021, opened to $44m and legged out to $129m domestic. Through four movies, the Ghostbusters franchise box office stands at ~$945m; the 5ht title easily will put the brand past the $1bn mark globally, if not this weekend then shortly thereafter. (Deadline)

Gaming ??

• Sony is hitting pause on production to try and shift its unsold inventory. The PlayStation VR2 launched last Feb. for $549 as an accessory for the PlayStation 5, but IDC data suggests that shipments have declined each quarter since. Bloomberg suggests that the problem is a lack of content for the headset. The PSVR 2 is compatible w/ a handful of AAA games including Horizon Call of the Mountain, Gran Turismo 7, and entries in the Resident Evil series, as well as a range of smaller titles. (The Verge)
• The Apex Legends North America Finals was marred by a massive hack that stirred reactions across the gaming community.?Hackers disrupted the event, raising serious concerns about the game’s security. The hack has left the gaming community shocked and outraged. The hack not only disrupted the Finals but also highlighted potential vulnerabilities in the game’s infrastructure. (The Portal)
• Unity published a report that sheds light on the gaming industry’s response to economic challenges, highlighting resilience and adaptation among game studios.?An increasing number of studios are investing in multiplatform and multiplayer development to broaden their reach and enhance player engagement. Another trend is that there are more games w/ live operations, or frequently updated games w/ events that are aimed at drawing people back in or to motivate them to subscribe to battle passes. (VentureBeat)

Sports ??

• Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore are supposed to become the majority owners of the Timberwolves.?Dyal HomeCourt Partners, the division of global asset management firm Blue Owl, will help fund Rodriguez and Lore’s acquisition of a second 40% stake in Minnesota that will make the pair controlling investors, according to The Athletic. In 2021, Rodriguez and Lore agreed to purchase Minnesota, as well as the WNBA’s Lynx, in a multistep deal that valued the franchises at a collective $1.5bn. (Front Office Sports)
• Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund has made a $2bn offer to merge the men's and women's tennis tours, a proposal presented by ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi to Masters tournament representatives following discussions in Indian Wells.?This take-it-or-leave-it offer, which notably excludes the four grand slams, is designed to reshape professional tennis. The deal, emphasizing a new Masters 1000 tournament at the season's start, faces a 90-day decision window, marking a significant potential shift in the sport's future structure. (The Telegraph)
• ESPN snags college football playoff TV rights extension for expanded CFP, w/ games set for ABC and Disney streaming services.?In the biggest sports rights deal of 2024 so far, ESPN has snagged a six-year extension for the College Football Playoff, a critical deal (valued at a reported $7.8bn) that will keep ESPN as the home of the playoffs through 2031-2032. The CFP will expand this yr from four teams to 12 teams, w/ another expansion to 16 teams possible in 2026. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Social/Digital Media ??

• LinkedIn is breaking into gaming in order to boost the time people spend on the company.?It will be doing so by tapping into the same wave of puzzle-mania that helped simple games like Wordle find viral success and millions of players. Three early efforts are games called “Queens”, “Inference” and “Crossclimb.” App researchers have started to find code that points to the work LinkedIn is doing. (TechCrunch)
• Reddit shares soared 48% above their IPO price, as investors embraced the social media company's vision of profiting from the growth of artificial intelligence.?Reddit’s more than two-year slog to listing reflects the ups and downs of the market, beginning w/ its initial confidential filing in 2021, when IPOs on US exchanges set an all-time record of $339bn, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. (Yahoo Finance)
• TikTok is developing a new "TikTok Photos" app to compete w/ Instagram's photo feed, expanding from its video-first approach.?References found in TikTok's code suggest a similar platform where users can share photos. Based on the strings seen by the website, this new app seems to be very similar to Instagram, w/ a feed where users can share photos w/ their friends and family. (9to5Mac)

Streaming ??

• Netflix unveiled 26 new Nordic film and TV productions at its Next on Netflix showcase in Stockholm, expanding its slate of Nordic content that began distribution in 2018.?The film will be produced by leading Scandinavian production firm Filmlance, w/ casting not yet announced. With the additional competition of Netflix’s increasingly expansive host of Nordic content, determining what content local viewers want to see will be of greater import to the Scandinavian streamer. (NEXTTV)
• Discovery has acquired TV rights to the Bellator Championship Series mixed martial arts franchise, adding to its lineup of live sports content.?Max will stream Bellator’s first event under the new deal on Mar. 22 from Belfast, one of eight Bellator Championship Series events taking place during the year, according to WBD. Each event will take place from various locations around the world and highlight the best fighters from each region.?(NEXTTV)
• A survey of over 1,000 cord cutters reveals Roku as the top streaming device, used by 62% of respondents, nearly twice as popular as its closest competitor, Amazon Fire TV at 32%.?Smart TVs (36%) have surpassed Fire TV for the second spot, indicating a significant shift towards smart TV usage for streaming. Laptops, PCs, Apple TV, and Chromecast follow in popularity. Gaming systems saw a decline, used by only 4.7%. The survey suggests a trend towards utilizing available devices for streaming, w/ Roku's dominance possibly expanding through its focus on smart TV OS. (Cord Cutters News)

Artificial Intelligence ??

• Google researchers have developed 'VLOGGER', an AI system that generates realistic talking head videos from a single image, raising concerns about deepfakes.?The technology relies on advanced machine learning models to synthesize startlingly realistic footage, opening up a range of potential applications while also raising concerns around deepfakes and misinformation. (VentureBeat)
• The BBC is planning to build its own AI models and is in talks w/ tech companies to sell access to its content archive for AI training.?It is also reportedly looking to use its television and radio content archive to train its own GenAI model.?The model will then power BBC production applications, like aiding journalists w/ writing and sourcing stories, the?FT?reported.? (Verdict)
• OpenAI is expected to release GPT-5, an improved version of the AI language model that powers ChatGPT, sometime in mid-2024—and likely during the summer.?Two anonymous sources familiar w/ the company have revealed that some enterprise customers have recently received demos of GPT-5 and related enhancements to ChatGPT. One CEO who recently saw a version of GPT-5 described it as "really good" and "materially better," w/ OpenAI demonstrating the new model using use cases and data unique to his company. (Business Insider)

That's a wrap! Let me know what you think of this latest format and/or if you have any suggestions of things that would be interesting to see/add.

?? In The Meantime…

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Disclaimer

This post and the information presented are intended for informational purposes only.?The views expressed herein are the author’s alone and do not constitute an offer to sell, or a recommendation to purchase, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any security, nor a recommendation for any investment product or service. The information provided is believed to be from reliable sources but no liability is accepted for any inaccuracies.? This is for information purposes and should not be construed as an investment recommendation.?Sources used in this post include Bloomberg, CapIQ, Pitchbook, and company filings.