Channel 4 has good results for last year, but the government is considering privatisation. Is change inevitable? We’ve reported often on changes afoot at the BBC as it responds to declining audience and the rise of digital services. This week focus has turned to Channel 4, the other public service, though advertising funded, unlike the … >
Amblin Partners, the global film and television studio led by Steven Spielberg, and Netflix have announced a partnership that will cover multiple new feature films per year This is yet another example of a streamer adding a content string to its bow, in this case future content, rather than any deepening of its extensive back-catalogue. … >
What is the environmental impact of watching your favourite show? The sustainability of streaming is something we should all care about It takes a lot of technology to run the modern world (and not just streaming media, but social media as well as the rest of the web / internet). If you’ve ever spent time … >
Amazon buys MGM for $8.45 billion — this includes the James Bond movies As we expected a few days ago (when we reported on the imminence of a deal), Amazon buys MGM for a ‘mere’ $8.45 billion. Slightly under the price reported, Variety is now is one of many outlets echoing a similar story: was it … >
BBC complacency is the summary of a slamming report on the publicly funded broadcaster If you’ve yet to work you way through the various reports noted on the UK Parliament website, you may not picked up on the report of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), slamming the BBC complacency. The full list of points noted is damning; … >
The business press is reporting on the proposed Discovery merger AT&T is hoping to perform Over the past few months we’ve reported in changes in the media industry and how various deals and acquisitions are slowly building a landscape of streamers with both back-catalogue and new content creation capability. If we regard Netflix, Amazon and … >
Netflix shares plunge. It’s a statement of fact — following their quarterly investor update, the share price took an 11% hit. So what? Cultbox is about content rather than business, though for most streamers, their business is content. It matters, hence our fascination with global trends and ratings. If you’ve paid any attention to entertainment … >
Netflix and Sony have signed a deal to bring Sony’s films to Netflix from 2020 Where other film studios are launching their own streaming service (eg Paramount+) or being bought by existing studios (Disney acquiring 21st Century Fox for Disney+, Sony has instead signed a deal with Netflix (as StudioCanal has with Sky). Regular CultBox visitors will know, we’ve been doing … >
According to a report published by the Department for Media, Culture and Sport (DCMS), it seems the BBC licence fee is here to stay for a good few years Most obviously relevant only to our UK readers, this has huge bearing on the future of the BBC and the way it make programs including a … >
Tim Davie, the BBC’s Director General has outlined the BBC blueprint for transformation over the next seven years The new blueprint (which you can download and study) is a thirteen page document focused on tangible outcomes the BBC wishes to achieve. We’ve been covering the forces at play in the BBC, and some of its … >