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PODCAST

Ankler Agenda

"Ankler Agenda" breaks down the headlines, trends and creativity shaping the evolution of Hollywood, the creator economy and entertainment. The show is hosted by Elaine Low, author of Ankler Media’s popular “Series Business” Substack newsletter, who is joined weekly by her colleagues Sean McNulty (“The Wakeup”) and Natalie Jarvey (“Like & Subscribe”) -- in addition to Richard Rushfield, the Ankler himself. Episodes will also be available every Thursday on YouTube.

business entertainment news

All Episodes

51:55

Inside Kamala Harris’ Hollywood

Ankler Agenda ·

2024/07/26

Entertainment execs are paid to find tomorrow’s stars today — and that applies to politics too. Matthew Frank joins Sean McNulty, Elaine Low and Richard Rushfield to name names of who identified Kamala Harris’ talent early — from Disney’s Dana Walden to legend Sherry Lansing — and what her win could mean for Hollywood. Plus: David Lidsky breaks down the implications of the new NBA rights deal on scripted TV and the business prospects of Peacock and Warner Bros. Discovery, and we preview Deadpool &

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43:54

WBD Woes and an Uncertain Future

Ankler Agenda ·

2024/07/19

Paramount isn’t the only legacy studio struggling with tough choices and crushing debt these days. Warner Bros. Discovery, after laying off 2,000 people over the last year, will now be cutting another 1,000 jobs. All while Wall Street tells David Zaslav that WBD isn’t working and he should explore a breakup of the company. Sean McNulty, Richard Rushfield and Elaine Low analyze the latest job cuts and where WBD and other studios actually are still hiring. Plus: Peter Kiefer joins to discuss the

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49:55

Paramount: New Boss, Same Problems

Ankler Agenda ·

2024/07/12

The (seeming) finale of the Paramount sale drama brings closure to some questions but raises more. How is David Ellison’s promise of a rejiggered tech stack going to stem linear TV losses? Where is the additional $3 billion in revenue he is projecting coming from? And wait, is that Jeff Shell? Sean McNulty, Richard Rushfield and Elaine Low break down the next phase of the drama to come. Also: how people are vacationing right now (if at all), and the reinvigorated summer box office.For more

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45:52

HBO, A24 and Prestige's Next Phase

Ankler Agenda ·

2024/06/28

HBO and A24 are two of the only Hollywood brands left that signal prestige. But for better or worse, both are now leveling up — or is it down? Sean McNulty, Elaine Low, and Richard Rushfield break down HBO’s incorporation of Max’s upcoming tentpole Warner Bros. IP series, like the Harry Potter and Green Lantern adaptations, and A24’s massive investment round led by Josh Kushner. Also: what’s selling now in unscripted and Hollywood’s lost Latin opportunity.For more entertainment news, subscribe to

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43:08

Greenlight Like It’s 1985

Ankler Agenda ·

2024/06/21

What’s the one common trait across every studio executive with greenlight power? They’re all old enough to remember the launch of the first Mac. And what they give the go-aheads to on their film slates shows it (looking at you, St. Elmo’s Fire sequel). Sean McNulty, Elaine Low and Richard Rushfield break down what remake fever means to the box office, why Paramount and AMC stocks are the opposite of Nvidia, and how showrunners have adapted to the world of brand-building.For more entertainment news,

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56:29

Hot Seat: Ed Zwick’s Battles With the Stars

Ankler Agenda ·

2024/06/15

Over four decades, legendary director, writer and Oscar-winning producer Ed Zwick built an enviable body of work, from acclaimed films (Courage Under Fire, Legends of the Fall) to zeitgeisty TV series (Thirtysomething, My So-Called Life). Ankler CEO Janice Min spoke to Zwick about his best-selling memoir, Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions, a page-turner that’s packed with revealing stories about what it took to bring his iconic movies over the finish line, including his battles with Julia Roberts,

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36:51

A TV Deal Flurry. For Some

Ankler Agenda ·

2024/06/14

It feels like 2019 all over again — for a lucky few, that is. The Night Agent creator Shawn Ryan this week inked an eight-figure overall with Netflix, the latest in a flurry of recent announcements bucking the slash-and-burn trend in overall deals and first looks. Sean McNulty, Richard Rushfield and Elaine Low discuss who is getting these deals (and not), how Paramount can turn around four straight years without growth, and why are movie theaters nice everywhere but L.A.?For more entertainment

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29:54

'My Career Feels Like it's On Life Support'

Ankler Agenda ·

2024/06/07

The state of careers in entertainment is shifting radically. As a new college major takes over the industry, the latest class of graduating seniors also is being told by their screenwriting and film professors, “Nope, find another line of work.” But how do these shifting tides impact those already mid-career? The team talks about Elaine Low’s new Salary Confessions series, where one development exec bares their full rage and grief as their ambitions — and pay — hit a dead end.For more

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40:00

Pray for Paramount. And the Movies

Ankler Agenda ·

2024/05/31

Maypocalypse Now just came to a close, ending with the worst box office since 1995. The timing happens to coincide with Paramount’s uncertain future as Sean McNulty, Richard Rushfield and Elaine Low talk through the current state of play — and best and worst case scenarios. Meanwhile, in TV land, the team dive into Elaine’s stunning interview with a big name TV studio exec who, anonymously, explains their private thoughts and intel on what’s selling, what’s not and why the market is in such

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40:16

Cannes vs. Box Office: Film's Troubling Split...

Ankler Agenda ·

2024/05/24

At the Cannes Film Festival, the active buyers’ market and (largely) applauded indies had everyone in the market, from haute couture hangers-on to cinema’s swells, feeling festive says Claire Atkinson. But back in L.A., an early June gloom has descended, with Sean McNulty, Elaine Low and Richard Rushfield talking movies’ early signs of a summer bummer — and a release calendar that looks like it’s on Ozempic.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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37:09

Scripted TV SOS!

Ankler Agenda ·

2024/05/17

Hollywood descended upon New York City this week for the Upfronts, the traditional TV showcase, to promote almost everything but as sports, live events and movies dominated the stage and star power. The crew breaks it down while Richard Rushfield and Sean McNulty dive into Hollywood’s new, possibly misguided belief that sports will save Hollywood. For more entertainment news, subscribe to The Ankler here. Transcript here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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41:52

WBD, Disney and the New Frenemy Era

Ankler Agenda ·

2024/05/10

Earnings season has been a rough go as Disney, Paramount, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery deliver their Q1 results. And if you thought “Sports Hulu” was a surprise, just wait for the new bundle of Disney+, Hulu and . . . Max?! Sean McNulty dives into Disney and Warners tepid earnings, their new streaming bundle, and the urgency in joining forces. Plus: Do you have to be from an Ivy League school to rise to the top of Hollywood? Maybe the opposite, says Richard Rushfield, who breaks down alma maters

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52:29

TV Deal Turmoil 2024

Ankler Agenda ·

2024/05/03

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

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49:37

How Dad TV Muscled Into Hollywood

Ankler Agenda ·

2024/04/26

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

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41:56

AI and Hollywood's 'Sophie's Choice'

Ankler Agenda ·

2024/04/19

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’

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52:31

The Paramount Soap Opera

Ankler Agenda ·

2024/04/12

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

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41:19

How Ari & Iger Outfoxed Wall St.

Ankler Agenda ·

2024/04/05

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

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38:19

UTA vs. the Talented Mr. Kassan

Ankler Agenda ·

2024/03/29

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

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40:52

Wall Street's War on Hollywood

Ankler Agenda ·

2024/03/22

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

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37:52

Disney, WBD and Hollywood's Jobs Shift

Ankler Agenda ·

2024/03/15

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

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245 results

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