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Hello again WrapPRO Enterprisers,
If the news from the beginning of last week that Warner Bros. Discovery was officially putting itself up for sale, setting off waves of speculation, wasn’t enough to rattle the mediasphere, the story from a leak out of the White House by Donald Trump later in the week could signal a new phase for M&A.
The New York Post’s Charlie Gasparino reported from sources that Trump is endorsing the Ellisons and Paramount to be the buyers of WBD. Billionaire and Oracle-co founder Larry Ellison is a Trump supporter and many believe that went a long way, along with CBS agreeing to settle a Trump lawsuit, to David Ellison’s Skydance getting approval to buy Paramount.
OK, let’s not be naive. White House administrations have always had opinions on M&A, largely based on ideology exercised through their regulators. Democrats are harder on deals, trumpeting concerns for consumers, and Republicans were more favorable on the belief that free markets should dictate industry consolidation.
But a direct endorsement for a buyer coming from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., a buyer who’s curried favor with a president, seems to indicate a new footnote for companies when considering an acquisition. Does it give us scale? ☑️ Is it accretive to earnings? ☑️ Does it boost our market value? ☑️ Can we get the public Trump endorsement? 👑
Nobody in business expected a smooth ride under a second Trump presidency. But I guess the stock market’s resounding resilience makes it easier to stomach.
It sure looks like we’ve entered a new phase of crazy this past week.
Can’t wait for what the new one has in store.
In case you missed all of our outstanding coverage on the Warner Bros. Discovery sale, you can find it here.
Tom Lowry
SVP/Editorial Strategy
tom.lowry@thewrap.com
1. Nickel 🪙 and Diming Independent Production: As our film and box office reporter Jeremy Fuster pointed out last week in his excellent analysis, “fees, confusing regulations and disgruntled businesses are among the reasons why producers don’t want to shoot in L.A., and reform, while coming, is a slow process.”
Under the headline “‘$1,500 a Day for a Guy to Sit in a Car’: Indie Producers Warn Los Angeles Is a ‘Hostile’ Place to Film,” Fuster points out why the newish $450 million tax incentive program to woo productions back to L.A. and California isn’t helping everyone — including independent productions.
See below for the costs on a three-day shoot in Griffith Park for an indie film called “Malibu Horror Story.”
2. Who’s Winning the Global 🌎 Streaming Revenue Race? We found this data and map from our partner Parrot Analytics fascinating to highlight how non-English streaming performs.
Parrot posted this chart on LinkedIn to shine a light on one country, Spain, which now “leads Europe in streaming hit efficiency, with 26.1% of its titles landing in the top 20% of non-English content by global revenue — beating out even Japan.”
Spanish content demand in Asia surged 63% year over year through a program called “Spain, Audiovisual Hub of Europe” initiative.
As Parrot points out, “platforms are responding: increased availability, top-performing titles on Netflix, Disney+, and Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, and growing global revenue share (6.47% of non-English content).”
3. How Political Is Today’s Music 🎵 ? What could be more poised for some good old-fashioned protest music than the politically charged times we live in today? But data collected by Daniel Parris for his “Stat Significant: Pop Culture Meets Data” Substack offer a contrarian take.
“Given the sheer pervasiveness of political news today, this pattern came as a surprise. I constantly hear people grumbling about ‘how bad things are’ and that it’s ‘such a bad time to bring children into the world,’ and I assumed this ambient dread would be reflected in popular music. Instead, I found contemporary music to be significantly less political. So why was socially conscious songwriting more prevalent during a mid-20th-century period untouched by digital media?”
Sounds like Bruce Springsteen, Adele and Beyoncé, who have all spoken out against President Donald Trump and not given permission to use their music for causes supporting the president’s agendas, need a big backing chorus from fellow artists.
Interesting analysis, and worth a read.
Nothing solidifies the Saudi desire to be a player in Hollywood more than the creation of independent studio SNK Studios, backed by a $1 billion investment from MiSK Group — a fund that is controlled by Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.
Being put in charge of SNK is the Hollywood veteran Erik Feig. As CEO, Feig will be the face of an enterprise that is certain to fall in the crosshairs of scrutiny as Saudi cash in Hollywood remains a hot-button issue.
As our founder and Editor-in-Chief Sharon Waxman pointed out in her Oct. 15 WaxWord column: “The investment is less surprising than the fact that Feig, a veteran Hollywood executive who helped build the indie Summit Entertainment and ran Lionsgate’s motion picture group, making hits like ‘Twilight’ and ‘The Hunger Games,’ is ready to partner with a regime that is known for brutally repressing its critics. Indeed, Saudi Arabia has come under significant scrutiny in the past two weeks as American comedians who traipsed to Riyadh for a comedy festival were bitterly criticized by their colleagues for taking money from a regime that stifles free expression for its citizens.”
A representative for Feig declined to comment for the record to Waxman.
For Feig, 55, once a co-president of Lionsgate and more recently head of his own company Picturestart, the appeal, of course, must be to help build the first conventional entertainment studio backed by the Saudis with plentiful resources to do so.
The Saudis selected in Feig an executive with an impressive record at the box office, through stints at Summit Entertainment and Sony besides Lionsgate. He has produced, supervised or originated the production of films including “Together,” “Theater Camp,” “Sharper,” “La La Land,” “The Hurt Locker” and “Sicario,” as well as book adaptations including “Twilight,” “Midnight Sun,” “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” and “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Parts 1 and 2, “Divergent,” “Wonder,” “Warm Bodies” and “The Perks of Being a Wall Flower.” Additionally, he launched multiple original film franchises including “John Wick,” “Now You See Me,” “Red” and “Step Up.”
Feig, who grew up in Westport, Connecticut, and got an English degree at Columbia, is apparently approaching his new role gingerly. He’s made no public comments yet that we could see.
But he should be prepared to face some tough questions when he does agree to an interview, especially at a time when Middle East politics more than ever have polarized his beloved profession.
Is There Life After the Corner Office?, Junko’s Tech Probe
The Twisted Rhetoric of College Sports’ Investment Ambitions, Sportico
Can Las Vegas Steal Hollywood’s Spotlight?, Stagerunner