Showbiz Sandbox 655: Netflix Stops Sweating (and Reporting) Subscriber Growth Showbiz Sandbox

Netflix first quarter earnings report showed growth in all areas from subscribers, to revenue and income. But with Netflix clearly dominating competitors and entering a mature market, the streaming giant will no longer provide subscriber figures on a regular basis. Instead, Netflix will concentrate on profit and the amount of time each of their 270 million subscribers spend viewing programming on their platform.

Meanwhile, the long gestating sale of Paramount Global got a lot more interesting last week when Sony entered the picture with its own bid for the media conglomerate. Unfortunately, indie production house Participant Media was unable to find a buyer and abruptly shuttered.

Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment headlines including this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, Taylor Swift breaks her own sales records with the release of her album “The Tortured Poets Department” and the Sundance Film Festival may be in search of a new home.





All The Records Taylor Swift’s ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ Has Broken (So Far)

https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2024/04/22/all-the-records-taylor-swifts-the-tortured-poets-department-has-broken-so-far/

‘Godzilla X Kong’ Storming Towards $500M WW As ‘Dune: Part Two’ Closes In On $700M

https://deadline.com/2024/04/godzilla-x-kong-dune-japan-china-global-international-box-office-1235891070/

‘Civil War’ Draws Blood to Beat ‘Abigail’ and Stay No. 1 With $11M Second Weekend

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/civil-war-box-office-drawing-blood-abigail-1235878317/

Justice Department to File Antitrust Suit Against Live Nation

https://www.wsj.com/business/media/live-nation-justice-department-antitrust-lawsuit-ab98c268

Sundance Without Park City? Festival Exploring Options for 2027 and Beyond

https://www.indiewire.com/news/festivals/sundance-film-festival-exploring-options-other-host-cities-2027-1234974957/

Hugh Grant Settles Privacy Case Against Sun Publisher

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-68834392

NMPA Accuses Spotify of ‘Attacking Songwriters’ as Streaming Service Changes How It Pays Out Mechanical Royalties in the US

https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/nmpa-accuses-spotify-of-attacking-songwriters-as-it-changes-how-it-pays-mechanical-royalties-in-the-us/

Netflix’s New Film Strategy: More About the Audience, Less About Auteurs

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/14/business/media/netflix-movies-dan-lin.html

Netflix Adds 9.3M Subscribers In Quarter, Growing Its Lead in Streaming

a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.