Ankler Agenda

Welcome to Netflix’s hard pivot.

Faced with lagging engagement from its users and signs of audience disinterest in some of its top shows between seasons, Netflix’s next big thing might be… cable television. Live channels, more talk shows (via video podcasts) and creator content and bundles with other streamers (including perhaps Peacock) to recreate the lean-back appeal of watching TV on the couch.

Certainly, it’s possible Netflix makes a play for another company — perhaps NBCU now that Comcast has split the film and television studio from its broadband company, or Starz. But Jessica suggests there’s an even better fit for M&A hiding in plain sight: Spotify.

Listen to today’s bonus episode for more from Sean and Jessica on Netflix and the next steps for Paramount, plus hear Sean’s conversation with Fandango’s Shawn Robbins about the weekend box office, where Disney’s live-action Moana added another flop to the summer tally.
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Monoculture may not be dead after all — it just needed Taylor Swift in a wedding dress and Christopher Nolan in IMAX. Elaine Low, Sean McNulty and Natalie Jarvey break down an old-fashioned July of cultural spectacle, from the Swift-Travis Kelce nuptials to Nolan’s star-studded Odyssey, which arrives with sold-out premium-format screenings and billion-dollar expectations. Is this the summer moviegoing comes back? And is Nolan the last director in Hollywood whose name alone can make audiences show up? Plus: hot takes on this week’s Emmy nominations — including big love for Widow’s Bay and another tough year for YouTube’s contenders as they inch into the race.
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Books run on word-of-mouth. So what are the people who shape what gets made, watched, read and bought reading? Elaine Low, Natalie Jarvey and Sean McNulty dig into The Ankler’s inaugural summer reading list, where 100 notables — including Sony Entertainment CEO Ravi Ahuja, Gov. Gavin Newsom, Sherry Lansing, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan, Netflix film chief Dan Lin, Gillian Anderson and Janelle James — shared the books they’re packing, recommending and obsessing over now. Plus, with every major buyer adapting a glut of novels for the screena — see Elaine’s Series Business sellers’ guide — the team unpacks why book-based IP is hotter than ever and which major titles are in development.
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Another Monday, another huge deal in Hollywood.

Two weeks ago, Fox Corp. announced its intentions to acquire Roku for $22 billion. Now, it’s Comcast’s turn — in reverse.

Today, the company revealed it will exit Hollywood completely, spinning off another division, consisting of NBCUniversal and Sky Media, as a publicly traded company, and joining Versant outside the Comcast gates.

Comcast hopes to have all this done by summer 2027 – just like Fox and Roku.

On Monday’s special extra-bonus edition of Ankler Agenda, Sean McNulty and Wall Street Journal reporter Ben Fritz dive into the strategy afoot here, how Wall Street is driving the split, and the challenges and opportunities for both companies going forward.
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Oprah flew in to close deals, FOX Entertainment CEO Rob Wade came to talk up his investment in creator-led programming and even the Teletubbies arrived, ready to party. Last week, a cross-section of dealmakers, executives and stars flooded the Croisette for the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, where the battle between YouTube and Netflix was hotter than France’s record-setting heatwave — and “creator” was the buzzword for the second year in a row. Ankler Media CEO Janice Min and Like & Subscribe’s Natalie Jarvey break down who broke through in a week where, as Janice noted, subtlety was not the name of the game. Then, listen to Janice’s full conversation with YouTube chief business officer Mary Ellen Coe and Royal Court host Brittany Broski, where Coe came to the Croisette ready to hit back at Netflix’s podcast poaching with a few choice words, including “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” It’s on!
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