Mornin! This is Sean McNulty (connect with me on LinkedIn here if ya like or email me at seanmcnultynyc@gmail.com), and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on TUESDAY, September 17, 2024.
Where as you’ve probably seen — I’m sorry AMAZON corporate, the good times are over. It’s back to the office 5 days a week as of Jan. 2 (except in rare or extenuating circumstances). So enjoy that, uh, day off for New Years Day. What’s that? New Years Eve, too? Fine — even though it’s a Tuesday, you can leave at 4:30 p.m.
Middle management . . . I’m afraid your free ride is over too, as CEO Andy Jassy has also finally discovered something that anyone who has dealt with AMAZON has anecdotally told me many times — there are way too many executive layers at this place! The fact that it took the CEO until Sept. 2024 to learn about this . . . is exhibit A.
So, farewell infamous AMAZON “pre-meetings for the pre-meetings for the decision meetings” in the words of Mr. Jassy — and enter the new AMAZON anonymous employee “bureaucracy” tip line, 1-800-JOB-CUTS (we’re still workshopping the number) . . . where folks can raise concerns about unnecessary processes, and I’m guessing, unnecessary positions.
THEN: Former MOVIEPASS CEO (and inadvertent star of the subsequent HBO doc MoviePass, MovieCrash) Mitch Lowe pled guilty to securities fraud conspiracy. He faces a prison sentence of up to 5 years, and a fine up to $250k.
LOOK: The Emmys are back! Well, at least to 6.9M viewers, or roughly the number it also got in 2019. But, certainly an improvement over the 4.4M and 5.9M of the previous two editions.
-
6.9M is:
-
A decent audience for an NBA Conference playoff game.
-
An above-average college football game.
-
Decently below a new episode of FBI on CBS.
-
-
Prior to 2019, the show never got below 10M viewers since at least 1987.
-
The Globes of course got 9M on CBS this year, with a Sunday NFL lead-in.
-
The 60 Minutes season premiere airing at 7:30 p.m. on CBS directly after the NFL got 10.2M viewers in preliminary NIELSEN numbers, likely to rise a bit in the finals.
-
PLUS: A thanks to the folks at Axios at putting America’s declining awards interest here in a handy visual chart:
YEAH: Diddy was arrested in NY yesterday, after a grand jury indicted him — the charges are sealed, but thought to be sex trafficking and racketeering. The indictment should be unsealed today.
APPARENTLY: Martha Stewart has some problems with her new NETFLIX doc, saying part 2 focuses too much on the uh, ya know, prison thing . . . and not enough on her professional collaborations! Which is what we all really want to hear about, of course. She and director RJ Cutler have still been out promoting the doc together however (he rightfully has final cut).
UH OH: Sorry KRAFT HEINZ — the creator economy is coming for your lunch. MrBeast, Logan Paul and KSI are teaming up to launch a Lunchables competitor called uh, Lunchly, which they call “better-for-you lunch option” that’s a “healthy alternative” (don’t worry, it’ll come with a PRIME drink and a mini FEASTABLES candy bar).
-
The new better-for-you options? Turkey Stack ‘Ems, Pizza and Fiesta Nachos. Way to keep it real, creator economy.
AND: Gotta love most of the sports biz punditry contingent changing their “disastrous” tune on the Tom Brady: TV Broadcaster subject just . . . one week later. It’s actually kinda refreshing to see an industry out there that’s more hyperbolic about the developments within itself than Hollywood.
Pace yourselves, folks — still 4+ months to go here.
THEN: Here’s your latest NIELSEN Gauge report for August, with a nice +39% pop for PEACOCK, garnering its highest % ever. #ThanksOlympics
AH: As for your bets on the billionaire’s dinner club from Sunday — gotta love the world’s richest men getting a free meal. (Okay wait, who picked Jensen? Come on, folks . . . he has the AI chips!)
BTW: Billionaire dinner member and noted comedian Elon Musk deleted his tweet yesterday saying “no one is even trying to assassinate Biden/Kamala.” I’m sure the “joke” went over much better at dinner — something Elon alluded to in his obligatory apology tweet:
Gotta think Larry Ellison had a great follow up during dessert about how his $1B X investment in the thing that Elon clearly doesn’t even understand . . . is now worth around $280M. Yeah, maybe Elon picked up that check after all.
PLUS: It’s #GetAJobTuesdays! A new lineup of job openings, ranging from AGBO, DISNEY TV and SIRIUSXM to some pretty great assistant gigs at WBD and APPLE TV+.
