The Ankler Podcast

What to do in this moribund market? Elaine Low outlines TV writers’ post-strike challenges — including the rickety staffing ladder — while our new Dealmakers columnist Ashley Cullins dives into the deterioration of the overall deal — and her news that Amazon and Apple are presenting new terms to industry agents and lawyers that sound a lot like . . . backends! (Remember those?) Plus: Peter Kiefer assesses agency efforts behind the celebpreneur boom, while the crew breaks down Paramount’s ongoing drama and previews summer box office.For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler here. Transcript here.--Link here to live stream the Milken Institute: Journalism Today: New Voices, New Models, New Methods where Janice Min (Ankler Media, CEO) will be speaking on May 7th at 4p PST.RSVP to the upcoming events at the links below:May 10th (Waitlist Only) – Ed Zwick and Janice Min: In ConversationMay 13th – The Ankler x Backstage Screening Series: ExpatsMay 14th – The President & The Podium Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Reacher, The Terminal List and Jack Ryan may not win Emmys, but Dad TV has become a juggernaut for a TV business desperately needing one. Entertainment Strategy Guy joins Sean McNulty to break down the truth behind Prime Video’s Dad TV crown, streaming’s corresponding Mom TV — and what the abundance of both mean for prestige TV. Also: the crew on the state of Peacock after Comcast’s earnings call; what five TV agents told Elaine Low about the state of the business; and Richard Rushfield’s marketing stunts that worked.For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Though the strikes ended, the fight around AI is far from over. Following the debut of her Dealmakers newsletter, new contributor Ashley Cullins joins to reveal her conversations with powerhouse entertainment lawyers and CAA, their behind the scenes maneuvering to protect Hollywood talent, and the agonizing Sophie’s Choice actors will face when deciding to allow AI replica rights (a choice the A-list can reject more easily, but not up-and-comers). Also: Elaine Low details five TV agents’ assessments of what streamers want to buy these days, and Richard Rushfield foretells A24’s dangerous trajectory.For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There’s plenty of worry about AI writing scripts . . . but let’s see AI come up with a story about two billionaire families negotiating a complex sale of an iconic, troubled entertainment conglomerate — and wreaking havoc in their wake. Sean McNulty and David Lidsky weigh just what David Ellison’s buying, why every shareholder not named Shari Redstone is mad and what AI has to do with it. Speaking of, Sean welcomes producer Erik Barmack to discuss his new Reel AI newsletter for The Ankler and how the technology can be a “cheat code” in script coverage. Also: Elaine Low on laid-off execs starting their own companies, and Richard Rushfield from CinemaCon.Also, we’ve been nominated for a Webby Award, vote for us here by April 18th!For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Endeavor went public in 2021, the agency pulled out all the stops to present itself as innovators and a disruptor — the kind of terminology Wall Street loves from tech companies. But, as it often goes with the media companies that try the same tack, “investors never fully bought it,” says David Lidsky, who joins to evaluate Endeavor’s recent decision to go private again. Also: Sean McNulty and Elaine Low discuss the culmination of Disney’s proxy war, and Peter Kiefer joins to break down his story on Silicon Valley’s new ideology around AI and why Hollywood should pay attention. Also, we’ve been nominated for a Webby Award, vote for us here by April 18th!Transcript here. For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hollywood is filled with, er, colorful personalities. The one of the moment: Michael Kassan, the former MediaLink connector-in-chief now in dueling lawsuits with UTA. David Lidsky joins to reveal The Ankler’s investigative reporting into Kassan’s curious legal and financial history, including a $3.3m IRS tax lien taken out on his Beverly Hills home the week before he went to war with UTA. Also: Elaine Low on TV workers’ struggles as unemployment outpaces series cutbacks, and Richard Rushfield on the current studio merger landscape.Transcript here. For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wall Street likes surefire bets — growth companies that deliver predictable returns for infinite quarters. But in Hollywood, “you’re in the failure game,” says Richard Rushfield. Yet when the alchemy works, hits power the industry. Still studio leaders are mired in machinations to appease investors, often with disastrous results: a studio for sale (Paramount); activist investors (Disney); and open jobs at Netflix and NBCU that have almost nothing to do with creativity. Despite it all, when Sean McNulty and crew evaluate the upcoming box-office slate, they find cause for hope. After all, Ankler Rule No. 1: this is a business of hits.Transcript here. For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the most plum jobs in entertainment historically has been that of the creative exec. But now, with data informing programming choices more than ever, and advertisers hungry for user information, Elaine Low examines how the job market is revealing those shifted priorities through the lens of the two most storied legacy studios, Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery (while sharing a peek at Amazon Studios). Meanwhile, Sean McNulty lays out the current streaming advertising landscape, and Richard Rushfield opines on the lingering puzzles from the Oscars.Transcript here. For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Richard Rushfield assessed the State of the Industry this week, and we have questions: Why is there reason for hope? Why is Netflix suddenly so into sports? What are its live TV ambitions? Is there really no superhero fatigue? Or do we just need better superhero movies, as Disney's Bob Iger says? Will the Oscar telecast be less than four hours? And will anyone watch? As always, Sean McNulty and Elaine Low join Richard to answer these questions and more, including perhaps the biggest one of all: Who will Richard be wearing at the Academy Awards on Sunday?Transcript here. For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week featured two huge film jobs finding their man: Netflix and Disney. Over at Netflix, seasoned producer Dan Lin is set to replace Scott Stuber, and Disney promoted David Greenbaum from Searchlight head to Disney Studios head. Do these moves mean a return to more original fare? “There’s reason for hope,” says Richard Rushfield. “I mean, normally when you get these kinds of announcements, it’s like, ‘Ok, well, another person like that to a different person like that.’ But these are people you’re genuinely excited to see what they might do, so go figure.” Also: the crew discusses the Paramount and Endeavor earnings calls, and what the takeaways were from the whole earnings slate.Transcript here. For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices