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Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/1359241
of IMDb, the online database of everything/everyone in the industry and added IMDd TV to the mix last year. Despite the two firms steady investment in new, original content, the AMPAS (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) “knew” they weren’t worthy of the industry’s highest honor, an Oscar, because real movies appeared first in a theater and then with lesser D2C (pay TV, SVOD, AVOD) services. Yeah, the rule got bent over time until BAM! theaters shut down. Pandemic reality set in and every studio/content owner suddenly realized their usual means of determining a project was a hit and hypothetically get a fast ROI on their over-the-top investment was a lot of smoke … a film that sells $200M of tickets in the theater usually returns them $100M. And with theater chains closed and spooky even when they reopen, they had to “adjust” their business model and reinvent themselves. M&E firms shifted to direct-to-consumer and subscription-based platforms needed different creative work, programming, marketing, distribution and sales expertise. Every studio quickly set up a streaming service: - Disney – Disney+, Hulu - Comcast – NBCUniversal, Peacock - ViacomCBS – CBSAllAccess, Pluto TV - Fox – Tubi TV, - Sony – Crackle - WarnerMedia – HBO Max - BBC/ITV – BritBox - Foxtel – Kayo Sports, Foxtel Now - KBS, MBC, SBC – Wavve - Star Network – Hotstar - Balaji – ALTBalaji - Viacom 18 – Voot You get the idea…everyone! And it also meant every organization had to reduce staffing in almost every area to address the new normal. It was the winter of discontent for M&E workers. No level of seniority has been spared from the wave of layoffs. The layoffs were a painful but a necessary byproduct of change. Arguably AMC’s Aaron faced the reality of the new industry model first when he negotiated with Universal to replace the sacred theatrical window and establish a new guideline that benefitted both parties in the new entertainment world. Depending on the individual negotiations tentpoles can be released to PVOD the same or 17 days following the theatrical release. And the theatrical chain would receive a portion of the streaming proceeds for a designated period (financial/time to be privately negotiated). Now that’s an intelligent, professional discussion that benefits everyone in the M&E ecosystem…especially the consumer. Avid theater attendees are going to return as they determine the time is right. Frequent ticket buyers will be a