Variety reports: “In a landmark move, streaming service giant Netflix has unveiled its first Mexican reality series, set to bow worldwide on Sept. 28. The reality show ‘Made in Mexico’ casts a light on Mexico City’s wealthy families and their opulent lifestyles as it trails nine socialites and the expats vying for a spot in their rarefied environment.”
Billboard reports: “Three weeks after purchasing Awesomeness, Viacom is laying off 98 employees at its new acquisition, amounting to roughly half the staff, according to a filing with California’s Employment Development Department. Additionally, CEO Jordan Levin has left the company, The Hollywood Reporter learned Friday (Aug. 17).”
Deadline Hollywood reports: “After seeing subscription gains for Showtime when the network’s stand-alone app entered the Amazon’s Prime Video Channels arena, CBS has reached a similar deal with the tech giant for its All Access OTT service. Amazon has also been singled out for praise by HBO and Starz, which say Prime Video Channels’ high visibility and powerful promotional engine have boosted their results”
Billboard reports: “Amazon is chomping at the bit to be in the same conversation as Spotify and Apple Music, in terms of music streaming leaders. The Seattle company told Bloomberg that it will soon begin rolling out its first national TV campaign for Amazon Music, with ads featuring songs by Ariana Grande, Kendrick Lamar and Queen.”
Hypebot reports: “Sony Music has officially begun to distribute the $750 million in profit it collected from the sale of 50% of its Spotify shares to its artists and distributed labels.According to Variety, the disbursement will be based on earnings over the last 10 years, allocated according to individual artist and label contract terms, and divisible against Sony’s own revenues from the Spotify stock gain for that time period.”
Venture Beat reports: “Genvid Technologies has raised $10 million in funding for its interactive streaming engine. The interactive streaming engine enables customers to monetize livestreams through sponsorships and in-stream purchases. It can, for instance, enable viewers to spectate an esports match where they can change which esports athlete they are following on the fly.”
Tech Crunch reports: “It looks like Amazon may be gearing up to make more moves in the brick-and-mortar world. Bloomberg reports that the e-commerce behemoth is putting itself in the running to acquire Landmark Theatres, which claims to be the United States’ largest chain of movie theaters focused on art house (indie and foreign) movies, with a network of 56 cinemas, covering 268 screens in 27 markets.”
Hypebot reports: “While streaming is often slammed for how little money it brings in, it turns out that this is more an issue for the artists, and the major companies behind the music like Sony and Universal are pulling down plenty of cash from streaming. Universal brought in just over $1.44 billion from music streaming, while Sony Music generated $943.7 million in the same six month period.”
Deadline Hollywood Reports: “Members of SAG-AFTRA have voted overwhelmingly to ratify the union’s new Network Code, which covers a wide range of non-primetime programs aired on the Big Four broadcast networks, including soap operas, game shows, talk shows and quiz shows, as well as sports and variety shows.”
Variety reports: “Mobile game ‘Looney Tunes: World of Mayhem,’ slated to be released this fall, will bring together more 70 characters from WB’s Looney Tunes franchise to wage prank-combat and cause other mischief. The game is being published by Scopely under a pact with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, and it’s developed in partnership with Brazil’s Aquiris Game Studio.”
