Financial
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FandangoNow Creates Playlists for San Diego Comic-Con
With Comic-Con in full swing in San Diego through July 21, FandangoNow, Fandango’s transactional VOD service, is hosting two new playlists devoted to fan favorites and genre films. Fandango correspondent Alicia Malone, author of the feminist film histories The Female Gaze and Backwards and in Heels, July 19 is moderating a Comic-Con panel entitled “The Future of Film is … Continue reading “FandangoNow Creates Playlists for San Diego Comic-Con”
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‘The Secret Life of Pets 2’ Coming to Digital Aug. 13, Disc Aug. 27 From Universal
The family film The Secret Life of Pets 2 will debut on digital Aug. 13 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD and on demand Aug. 27 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. From the studio Illumination (Despicable Me, Minions, Sing), the animated sequel features the pets and their growing families in a new chapter that explores … Continue reading “‘The Secret Life of Pets 2’ Coming to Digital Aug. 13, Disc Aug. 27 From Universal”
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NPD: June Video Game Sales Declined 13%
Anticipation of new hardware in 2020 continues to undermine the video game industry in 2019. New data from The NPD Ground found that total industry sales dropped 13% in June to $959 million compared to $1.1 billion the previous-year period. Hardware revenue plummeted 33% to $235 million, while software dipped 1% to $386 million and … Continue reading “NPD: June Video Game Sales Declined 13%”
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Netflix Rival BritBox Launching Q4 in the U.K.
As expected, British television rivals ITV and the BBC have signed an agreement to launch subscription streaming video service BritBox in the U.K. in the fourth quarter priced at £5.99 ($7.51) per month in HD and available across multiple screens and devices. Originally launched in North America in 2017 featuring British-centric programming from the BBC, … Continue reading “Netflix Rival BritBox Launching Q4 in the U.K.”
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Post Subscriber Hiccup, Netflix Piles Praise … on HBO
After disappointing Q2 subscriber growth numbers, Netflix senior management on the fiscal webcast took the high road deflecting the subscription streaming service’s first domestic quarterly decline (since 2011) while adding only half of projected international subs. CEO Reed Hastings said it might be easy to “over-interpret” the lack of sub growth but that under similar … Continue reading “Post Subscriber Hiccup, Netflix Piles Praise … on HBO”
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Netflix Vows to Stay Ad-Free
Netflix July 17 put to rest speculation it plans to incorporate advertising into programming similar to what Hulu does. With the SVOD pioneer spending billions annually on content, Wall Street analysts have suggested Netflix would roll out an ad-supported viewer option to generate incremental revenue to help pay for it. CEO Reed Hastings put a … Continue reading “Netflix Vows to Stay Ad-Free”
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Netflix Q2 Sub Growth Stalls; Posts First Domestic Sub Loss
In a surprise, Netflix July 17 disclosed it added just 2.7 million subscribers in the second quarter, ended June 30. The sub growth was barely half the 5 million subscribers added in the previous-year period. In the shareholder letter, CEO Reed Hastings said the service expects to grow its sub base by 7 million paid … Continue reading “Netflix Q2 Sub Growth Stalls; Posts First Domestic Sub Loss”
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Trans World Entertainment Switching Nasdaq Markets
As expected, fiscally-challenged Trans World Entertainment Corp. is taking its stock from the Nasdaq Global Market to the Nasdaq Capital Market, effective July 18. The corporate parent to home entertainment retailer For Your Entertainment (f.y.e.) made the switch to avoid exceeding a 180-day grace period granted by Nasdaq to bring its stock above the minimum … Continue reading “Trans World Entertainment Switching Nasdaq Markets”
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Disney Shuttering FX+ Streaming Service
To make room for its pending Disney+ subscription streaming video service and global expansion of Hulu, Disney — as expected — has begun informing subscribers that 20th Century Fox’s FX+ streaming service will shut down Aug. 21. Launched in 2017 as a $6 monthly add-on to pay-TV subscribers, Disney says FX+ viewers can still access … Continue reading “Disney Shuttering FX+ Streaming Service”
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Sony Pictures Television Sells Dutch VOD Movie Service
Sony Pictures Television Networks has sold the brand assets of Film1, a Dutch pay-TV and video-on-demand service, to SPI International. Financial terms were not disclosed. SPI, which operates 40 television channels and movie services on six continents, will continue to operate all of Film1’s digital services and related platforms. As of Aug. 1, SPI will … Continue reading “Sony Pictures Television Sells Dutch VOD Movie Service”
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MoviePass Suspends Service Indefinitely
Fiscally challenged MoviePass suspended service midday July 4 for an indefinite period of time to revamp its app. The eight-year-old movie ticket subscription pioneer, in an email to subscribers, said the stoppage was in order to “provide the level of service you deserve.” “We have listened and we understand the frustrations of our subscribers,” Mitch … Continue reading “MoviePass Suspends Service Indefinitely”
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BayView Entertainment Acquires Monterey Media
BayView Entertainment, a supplier of independent special interest, fitness, and wellness video releases for more than 15 years, has acquired California-based Monterey Media, a distributor of independent films for all media platforms. The Monterey library encompasses hundreds of feature films and documentaries and has been awarded numerous Multi-Platinum RIAA and ITA sales awards, according to … Continue reading “BayView Entertainment Acquires Monterey Media”