(This is Part III for a multi-part series on “Logarithmic Distribution of Returns”. Read Part I HERE and Part II HERE.) I come across the flaw of averages in reporting quite a bit. Take my article on MoviePass. The CEO said in an interview with The Indicator that the “average MoviePass customer sees 1.7 movies per month”. If you read my articles from a few weeks back explaining distributions—and I ... Read MoreThe Most Important Shape in Entertainment Part III: The Examples| Entertainment Strategy Guy
Should We Worry About a Recession? (Maybe, But Entertainment is Still in a Bad Place!) | Entertainment Strategy Guy
A Deep Dive Into the Biggest Streaming Film of the Summer…and Some Surprising Comparisons | Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) I’m incredibly allergic to hype, and I constantly complain about people overreacting to one-off events or data points. ... Read MoreA Deep Dive Into the ...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) In the first few years of this blog/website-turned-newsletter, I used to write lengthy pieces of analysis, then I would follow those articles up with “Director’s Cuts” articles, sharing all the ... Read MoreLLMs...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) As I wrote in the last streaming ratings report, I love getting null results. If every data pull results in an amazing takeaway, something is wrong. Same goes for unexpected ... Read MoreI Tested Whether Screenwriters...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) As longtime readers know, I’m a huge fan of IP and franchises in Hollywood. Even though they’re not ... Read MoreCrime Pays…At Least on Streaming The...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) Has anyone else noticed how weird IMDb’s genres are getting? Over the last six months or so, my ... Read MoreThe Batch Release Isn’t Dead?| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(This is the third part of a multi-part series exploring one specific Netflix number. To read the other pieces: – Introducting “Datecdotes”, when Streaming Companies use Data to Win the PR Wars – Did More People Watch Crazy Rich Asians or a Netflix Rom Com Last Summer? – Netflix versus Crazy Rich Asians: What Else Does Netflix “80 Million Customer Accounts Tell Us?) Okay, enough skepticism. If we take the ... Read MoreSuspiciously Recurring Numbers and More Implications/Insights| Entertainment Strategy Guy
When Will Apple TV+ Finally Have Another Hit Show? | Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) One film’s success sort of threw me last December: Netflix’s latest Christmas week release, The Six Triple Eight. On the one hand, it did well. Of the 416 first-run films ... Read MoreThe Holiday Film Bump Is Dead...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) Today, I want to lay out my approach to data in one place, explaining why my data philosophy is both unique in the streaming ratings game and, frankly, worth paying ... Read MoreMy Data Philosophy The post My Data Phi...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) Usually, I wait a bit to self-congratulatorily pat myself on the back and link to all the people ... Read MoreSquid Game is Huge…But There Is Some Weakne...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) Want to know the toughest data question I’ve been asked since I started writing about the streaming wars? How many TV shows and movies do the streamers release every year? ... Read MoreThe TV Bubble Popped… The po...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) It’s time for another addition of “What I Got Right, What I Got Wrong”! I usually try to balance these articles with a mix of two or three big topics ... Read MoreThe NBA’s Big Salary Cap Update, Formula 1 v...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
A Minecraft Movie vs. KPop Demon Hunters vs. Frozen: The Hit Broadway Musical | Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) Looking at the Emmy nominees this year, I have to say: Well done, Emmy voters! No, seriously, between Adolescence, ... Read MoreA Minecraft Movie vs. KPop...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) Going into today’s article, I want you to keep an open mind. I’m pouring cold water on the overheated hype train for multiple theatrical genres and mini-majors, so part of ... Read MoreChecking in on the Indie Stu...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) A few weeks ago, I was out and about, and I wanted to find out what F1 did ... Read MoreThe Streaming Mega-Hit Show No One is Talking About| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) Here’s how you can create disagreement online: Just talk past the other person. It’s that easy! For example, I constantly read articles about how “horror is the most bankable film ... Read MoreLilo & Stitch Has ...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to the “Most Important Story of the Week”, my bi-weekly strategy column analyzing the most important (but often not buzziest) news story of the last two weeks. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. Please subscribe.) The story that’s drawn my attention this week will likely put me out on a limb compared to many—maybe all?—the other media ... Read MoreBe Bold, Paramount! Can New Pa...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) Sometimes, I wish I could let myself go wild rhetorically. Specifically, I would love to write crazy, hyperbolic headlines. I pull a lot of data cuts every week, and it ... Read MoreWell, Actually, The Streaming W...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) Happy Fourth of July! As has been a tradition of mine going back to the beginning of the EntStrategyGuy website, then newsletter, I’m sharing my favorite long reads of the ... Read MoreLong Reads for the Long Weeken...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) Today is part two of my “Four Horsemen of the Media-pocalypse” check-in, which I started last week with a big ‘ol article on AI. Frankly, there’s just way, way (probably ... Read MoreThe State of Theaters, the...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) Right now, I recommend two different newsletters from two ideologically-distinct-but-similarly-named policy pundits. And boy howdy, do they hate each other. On Twitter, it gets personal. Both of them accuse the ... Re...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
How I’m Using AI (And Why I’m Still Underwhelmed) | Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) So many newsletters use AI to generate intro images these days, so I figured I might as well. Based on my inside joke about heading to my “data bunker”, I ... Read MoreHow I’m Using AI (And Why I’m Still Under...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) Emmy season remains undefeated. This week, we have so many new shows, but few hits. In fact, the ... Read MoreIf a Streaming Show Flops in the Forest, Bu...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to the “Most Important Story of the Week”, my bi-weekly strategy column analyzing the most important (but often not buzziest) news story of the last two weeks. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. Please subscribe.) One of the entries on my “Damn, I wish I wrote that article” list is offering strategic advice to Disney as they ... Read More11 Reasons For AT&T/WB/Discovery’s Strea...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) Before we get to today’s article, two fun digressions. First off, based on the response to last week’s ... Read MoreThe 24 Month Gap Between Seasons Is...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
Awards Shows Are Struggling on Streaming | Entertainment Strategy Guy
(The EntStrategyGuy is putting up a paywall on 16-June-2022—Subscribe here!—and I’ve been explaining why in a series of articles debunking myths about streaming ratings, explaining my philosophy on data, describing what streaming data we do have, and more. If you’d like to read the rest of those articles and a short case for why, click here.) Here’s the craziest cognitive dissonance of the streaming wars: At the same time ... Read MoreThere’s Too Much Data! And It’s All Lies!| Entertainment Strategy Guy
The big buzzword in business is still “data”. Or better yet, “big data”. Or more complicated sounding, “analytics”. Better than just analytics is “advanced analytics” which is like analytics but more advanced. With all that data, a bunch of “algorithms” are figuring everything out. Take your pick. Sure other trends have picked up in the last few years—how about disruption anyone?—but since I started business school, data (or one of ... Read MoreTheme 1: It’s Not Data...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
Here’s a Hot Take: Both Stranger Things AND Obi-Wan Kenobi Are Hits! | Entertainment Strategy Guy
After what felt like a few slow weeks—or months—without huge news, this week had some pretty big developments. MGM and Amazon is happening! Netflix is testing their strongest response to password sharing yet! Disney got Indian Premiere League rights! With all that news, my “most important story of the week” feature will return next week. But for now, it’s time for some streaming ratings. There was a bit of a ... Read MoreBel-Air Flops, Mrs. Maisel Does Okay, and a Look at Kids Films| Entertainment Strategy Guy
– Disney and Netflix are in the “top tier” of US streaming subscribers, with 69.1 million and 66.8 million respectively. Disney just passed Netflix for top streaming subscriber in the US. – HBO, Prime Video, and Showtime/Paramount+ make up the next tier of streamers. The latest issue of the Economist features a topic near and dear to my heart, intelligence. Specifically, “open source” intelligence, meaning publicly available data. The ... Read MoreIs Disney Finally Bigger tha...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
This week, Them, from Prime Video made it up to second place on the “Originals” top ten list from Nielsen. Which left me wondering: Is Amazon’s Prime Video having their best stretch ever? Let’s find out. That plus Thunder Force’s “good” debut, The Handmaid’s Tale having an (allegedly) strong debut, and speculation about Invincible’s future in today’s “Streaming Ratings Report”. (Reminder: The streaming ratings report compiles data from Nielsen’s weekly ... Read MoreI...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
As often happens in scientific/data endeavors, sometimes you work for hours/days on a project with no results, then, all of a sudden, it comes together and you make tons of progress rapidly. And, usually, the “tons of progress” doesn’t happen without the days of drudgery. That’s what happened to me over the last week or so. After a few days of struggle, yesterday morning I had a breakthrough, which delayed ... Read MoreHow Big Were ‘Firefly Lane’ and ‘Crime Scene’ for Netflix?| Entertainment Strategy Guy
In December of 2018, Netflix let loose with their first datecdote™. They told us this… Took off my blindfold this morning to discover that 45,037,125 Netflix accounts have already watched Bird Box — best first 7 days ever for a Netflix film! pic.twitter.com/uorU3cSzHR — NetflixFilm (@NetflixFilm) December 28, 2018 But they went further! By their earnings report, they started telling us how many folks were watching their films in the ... Read MoreThe Decay is Real: Streaming Films on N...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
My favorite Chuck Klosterman rant is in his book Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs about the phrase “apples to oranges”. In short, is anything actually more similar than apples and oranges? How is that a synonym for difference? He finishes his rant with the line, “in every meaningful way, they’re virtually identical”. He’s right. It’s a great line because when doing data analysis, this phrase comes up all the time. ... Read MoreBe-Twitch-ed: How “On The Media” Repeated a Bad Statistic| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) Want to help me solve a mystery? Starting on 23-May, my Substack saw a huge boost in traffic ... Read MoreA Case Study in Why Movies Should Go to Theaters| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to the “Most Important Story of the Week”, my bi-weekly strategy column analyzing the most important (but often not buzziest) news story of the last two weeks. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. Please subscribe.) Last year, in a bid to fend off a bill that mandates that large search engines like Google (Well, only, Google) pay ... Read MoreThe All-in-One Streamer is Dead| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) Today, I deliver on a long-promised topic. As I wrote when Beast Games first started—the week of 16-Dec, ... Read MoreLandman and Severance Show Beast ...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) Before we get to the last two weeks of streaming viewership data, let’s talk about “The Lizardman’s Constant”. ... Read MoreNo News is Bad News for...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) Normally, I just sneak a quick look at broadcast and cable TV show renewals into my regular Renewals and Cancellations update, without saying much else, but I’m not doing that ... Read MoreCan Sports Replace Scripte...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) When I research and write up my data deep dives, I love slicing the data as many ways as possible. Frankly, I don’t have a choice. If you only look ... Read MoreHit Shows Are Gettign Early Renewals, While Two Stream...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to the “Most Important Story of the Week”, my bi-weekly strategy column analyzing the most important (but often not buzziest) news story of the last two weeks. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. Please subscribe.) I won’t lie to you, reader. I’ve been waiting to write about “the content battlefields” of the streaming wars for a while ... Read MoreRecapping 2025’s Big Franch...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) Before we get going, let me address the trade-war-sized elephant in the room, namely, why I haven’t written ... Read MoreThree Dystopian Emmy Darlings Vi...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) Today is the seventh anniversary of the Entertainment Strategy Guy website, and honestly, I can’t believe I’ve been writing this long! Seriously, it’s been surreal to realize that I’ve been ... Read MoreHappy ...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what is popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. Please subscribe.) I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read someone arguing (or just casually mentioning as if it’s common knowledge) that a major award nomination or win will “bump” ... Read MoreDo Oscar Nominations Drive Streami...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) As television shifts to streaming, the TV release calendar is taking on a new rhythm. Back in the ... Read MoreAs Emmy Season Kicks Off, The Misses Pile Up| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) I was on track to get today’s jam-packed double issue of the Streaming Ratings Report out right on time…and then I got a call to appear on The Town after ... Read MoreAwards Shows Are Struggling on Streaming| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) Before we get to today’s Streaming Ratings Report, it’s time for some more shoutouts from other newsletters and ... Read MoreAdolescence vs. The Reside...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) Man, I was all geared up to write another edition of “Most Important Story of the Week” so I could discuss the interesting content release news stories that I’ve been ... Read MoreA Trade War Could Be A Disaster...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) It’s time for part two of my bi-annual “Flops, Bombs and Misses” series: the TV show flops! Overall, I love putting this longer deep dive together, looking at a big ... Read MoreOver 86 of the Biggest TV Show Fl...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) It’s that time of year…time to start recapping the streaming ratings data from 2024. (Technically, for this article, the second half of 2024.) Yeah, I don’t release my analysis at ... Read More52 of the Biggest ...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) Another week, another set of Streaming Ratings data! Plus I’ve got another round of shoutouts to share. First, ... Read MoreMad About the Streaming Rat...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to the “Most Important Story of the Week”, my bi-weekly strategy column analyzing the most important (but often not buzziest) news story of the last two weeks. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. Please subscribe.) Man, the list of articles I’d wished I’d written is long. So many topics; so little time. How to cover it all? ... Read MoreUncertainty| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) Before we begin today’s Streaming Ratings Report, I want to note the passing of Kevin Drum, one of ... Read MoreA Meh Week in Streaming| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) At the end of December, Freevee (Prime Video’s AVOD/free streaming service, formerly the very awkwardly named IMDb TV) ... Read MoreHulu’s Ticket to Pa...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) Since this report comes out well after these shows come out—due to Nielsen’s four-week ratings delay—I’m definitely not ... Read MoreThe Spy Show W...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to the “Most Important Story of the Week”, my bi-weekly strategy column analyzing the most important (but often not buzziest) news story of the last two weeks. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. Please subscribe.) I treat the subject of “entertainment” pretty broadly in this newsletter/website. For some folks, “entertainment” seems to boil down to just Hollywood ... Read More...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional mini-dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) Every week I have to figure out the best way to use numbers to tell the viewership story of a given show, film, sport or special. If one rule guides my ... Read MoreStreaming Football Got Much, Much, Much Bigger in 20...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) It just makes my day whenever I get quoted in another outlet, so indulge me in some self-congratulation ... Read MoreApple TV+ Achieves a New Streaming Mil...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) As I mentioned last week, I wanted to wait until we got more data on WWE Raw moving ... Read MoreNow That We Have Seven Weeks of Data We Can Say: WWE Raw i...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) There’s a narrative out there that old Hollywood/the traditional entertainment companies are “losing” to tech companies because they’re too “stupid/stodgy/old fashioned/out of touch…” and so on. Obviousl...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) Today’s article is free for all to read. If you’d like to cross-post it to your newsletter, feel free!) Is “superhero fatigue” real? No one is a bigger superhero fan ... Read MoreIs Super Hero Fatigue Real?| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) To start the new year, the streamers didn’t put out very many new movies or TV shows. It ... Read MoreProcedurals Finally Make Their Way to Streaming…| Entertainment Strategy Guy
Today’s newsletter is a bit of a change of pace, a guest article from Kris Longfield of Fanthropology on the romantasy genre, a genre I’ve had my eye on for a while. Full disclosure: I’ve done some consulting work with Kris. As she says at the end, she’s running a seminar on Romantasy later this morning, 11:00 AM PST on 5-Feb, with replays available after. Check it out! You may ... Read MoreRomantasy, a Genre That Lives Up to the Hype?| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to the “Most Important Story of the Week”, my bi-weekly strategy column analyzing the most important (but often not buzziest) news story of the last two weeks. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. Please subscribe.) In the past few weeks, I’ve read some pretty dour, pessimistic (mostly online) takes on the future of Los Angeles after the ... Read MoreThoughts on the Wildfires, Loca...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) As I wrote in my recap of Beast Games earlier this week, we’ve got one last Streaming Ratings ... Read MoreSquid Game is HUGE! So Is the NFL!!!| Entertainment Strategy Guy
Deep dives into Nielsen and other data that provide insights into streaming.| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) Here’s the craziest thing about Beast Games, the new reality competition show from YouTuber Mr. Beast that premiered ... Read MoreBeast Games Is…Mid| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) Before we get to this week’s absolutely jam-packed Streaming Ratings Report, I wanted to share some recent EntStrategyGuy ... Read MoreCarry-On versus Re...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) Just because you’re good at one thing, doesn’t mean you’re good at everything. Take, for example, LeBron James. He’s one of the top three basketball players of all time, but ... Read MoreLeBron (Probably) Isn...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) Like last issue, I’m going to dive right into this week’s Streaming Ratings Report without any wry asides. ... Read MoreDid Santa Bring Christmas Gifts...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) Usually, I try to open the Streaming Ratings Report with a light-hearted or wry observation/tangent, but this week, ... Read MoreBinge vs. Batch vs. Weekly...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) I don’t personally dabble in cultural criticism. Sure, everyone has an opinion (and I do too!) but you come here for strategic advice or data analysis, not movie reviews. Occasionally, ... Read MoreMy 2025 Plea to...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) Like I did last year, I want to close out this year by sharing a few of the “biggest myths” I debunked in 2024. That will mean re-running last year’s ... Read MoreThe 26 Biggest Myths in the Entertainment Indust...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(This article is Part 3 of my series on the Pac 12, including whether they should have brought on a strategic partner in 2012: Did the Pac 12 Need a Strategic Partner in 2012? Part I at Athletic Director U Did the Pac 12 Need a Strategic Partner in 2012? Part II at Athletic Director U) When Athletic Director U reached out a couple months back, I knew I wanted ... Read MoreDid the Pac 12 Need a Strategic Partner – Director’s Commentary| Entertainment Strategy Guy
A big topic in the streaming world has been who owns what. All I can say is, “Finally!” For many years, we—sort of speaking of the business press, especially the casual observers—have treated all streaming TV shows interchangeably. If Netflix branded a show an “original” for all intents, the press referred to it as an original and lumped all the originals together. With the Friends on Netflix issue coming to a ... Read MoreLicensed, Co-Productions and Wholly-Owned Television Show...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
The trouble with value chains—which I unveiled Monday—is that they don’t stay the same forever. They are constantly changing. Disruption, right? Take filmed entertainment. In 1980, it was just movies and TV, with movies in theaters and TV on broadcast. But home entertainment, cable, digital and the internet have all disrupted those two models. Plus toys and merchandise are sold for all of it now at unconsidered levels back then. ... Read MorePorter’s Five Forces…Explained| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(This is Part I of a multi-part series answering the question: “How Much Money Did Disney Make on the Lucasfilm deal?” Previous sections are here: Part I: Introduction & “The Time Value of Money Explained” Appendix: Feature Film Finances Explained! Part II: Star Wars Movie Revenue So Far Part III: The Economics of Blockbusters Part IV: Movie Revenue – Modeling the Scenarios Part V: The Analysis! Implications, Takeaways and Cautions ... Read MoreHow much money will Disney make (or lo...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to the “Most Important Story of the Week”, my bi-weekly strategy column analyzing the most important (but often not buzziest) news story of the last two weeks. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. Please subscribe.) Well, one ongoing “will they/won’t they” had a partial resolution last week, as Paramount officially nixed their Skydance acquisition deal. Trust me, ... Read MoreAnt...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
The theme of the week is “antitrust”. It didn’t start out that way, as Friday night’s leadership change at AT&T would have been the story of the week most weeks. (Though, I consider it less of a big deal than most, and that’s why it’s at the bottom of this column.) So which M&A story wins the crown? Most Important Story of the Week – Ending the Paramount Dissent Decrees ... Read MoreWhat Comes Next As The Paramount Consent Decrees End?| Entertainment Strategy Guy
2019 is off to a great start for “maps of the entertainment universe”. When I was writing on media consolidation, I wanted to make one of these to help explain this crazy industry in better detail. But I doubt it would have looked as good visualization as this Wall Street Journal visualization I saw on Twitter last week: Source: Wall Street Journal What I love about that image is that ... Read MoreValue Chains…Explained!| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) Let’s kick off today with a fun fact to impress your friends: In July, Paramount+ only released three ... Read MoreDid Ghostbusters do Gangbusters Ratings?| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) In the latest salvo in the big “Should movies go to theaters or straight-to-streaming?” debate, just last week, ... Read MoreDid Cobra Kai’s Batch Re...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(In true EntStrategyGuy fashion, I wrote a “short” 2,000 word article on why you should subscribe to my Streaming Ratings Report. But that wasn’t enough to explain why I’m putting up a paywall. For in-depth explanations on the Streaming Rating Report, read the following articles: – We Have Streaming Ratings Now! Debunking One of the Biggest Myths of the Streaming Wars – There’s Too Much Data! And It’s All Lies! ... Read MoreIntroducing the Streaming Ratings Report Paywall| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to the “Most Important Story of the Week”, my bi-weekly strategy column analyzing the most important (but often not buzziest) news story of the last two weeks. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. Please subscribe.) Today’s article is free for all to read. If you’d like to cross-post it to your newsletter, feel free!) Several years back, ... Read MoreHere’s a 7 Point Plan to Save...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) August is supposed to be a dead zone, news story-wise, because everyone is on vacation, so it’s probably ... Read MoreMax Wins the Week, While Two New Sh...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) Today’s article is free for all to read. If you’d like to cross-post it to your newsletter, feel free! Please though send me a head’s up so I can share ... Read MoreWhy the NBA Media Rights Deal is a Big Win...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) Outside of two big new movies (one from theaters; one straight-to-streaming), the streamers really pulled back on big ... Read MoreStreaming Booms! As Ever...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) Today’s article is free for all to read. If you’d like to cross-post it to your newsletter, feel free! Please though send me a head’s up so I can share ... Read MoreThe NBA’s New Media Rights Deal Isn’t th...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) Another week, another double dose of streaming ratings report. And it’s a good week for a double issue, ... Read MoreThe Bear Continues To Maul the Strea...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to the “Most Important Story of the Week”, my bi-weekly strategy column analyzing the most important (but often not buzziest) news story of the last two weeks. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. Please subscribe.) Two weeks ago, I snuck off with my family for a long-coming week-long Fourth of July vacation. No news broke, did it? ... Read MoreWe’ve Avoided One Strike…and Did Para...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) A few quick things before we get into the issue… First, according to last week’s survey, folks have big ... Read MoreStreaming’s British Invasion Falls Flat| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) Recently, a friend sent me a podcast where a critic was complaining that we know what movies are ... Read MoreMadame Web’s Shocking Streaming Debut, Plus...| Entertainment Strategy Guy
Take a look at this headline (from 2019): “League Of Legends Gets More Viewers Than the Super Bowl” Maybe you saw this; maybe you clicked on the link; maybe you even shared it. But if you did, you should know that… MORE PEOPLE DID NOT WATCH THE LEAGUE OF LEGENDS FINALS THAN THE SUPER BOWL!!!!! Sorry for the all caps-lock, underline, italicized, bolded text there, but this type of statistic ... Read MoreApples-to-Apples…Explained| Entertainment Strategy Guy
(The EntStrategyGuy is putting up a paywall on 16-June-2022—Subscribe here!—and I’ve been explaining why in a series of articles debunking myths about streaming ratings, explaining my philosophy on data, describing what streaming data we do have, and more. If you’d like to read the rest of those articles and a short case for why, click here.) Last December, my wife and I attended a Christmas dinner with a bunch ... Read MoreWe Have Streaming Ratings Now!| Entertainment Strategy Guy