Village Soapbox: One R(at)ing to Rule Them All, Disney+, DISH Media, HBO Max, Facebook vs. the U.S. and Much More

Check out:MediaVillage is proud to announce the launch of a compelling new video-interview series, The Storytelling Revolution hosted by Raquelle Zuzarte.The series features great story architects and change-makers in the advertising, media, innovation and business world. Episode 1 features a discussion with Unilever’s Rob Master.

In this week’s media news:

On Thursday, The Walt Disney Company held its Annual Investor Conference which played out very much like an Upfront presentation with clips from dozens of new shows for Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ (also FX and NatGeo).

While Disney Theme Parks and Theatrical as a whole have faced incredible challenges in 2020 due to the pandemic, Disney+ has blown past any original subscriber projections and as of December 2 has 86.8mm subscribers (globally). Hulu has also done incredibly well with 38.8mm subscribers. ESPN+ has 11.5mm. For each of these services they have achieved this year the goals that were set for 2024. Disney is now projecting that by 2024, Disney+ will have an unprecedented 230mm - 260mm global subscribers. With this success, Disney is dramatically increasing its production slate with over 100 new shows or movies currently planned. This includes 10 new shows under the Star Wars franchise, 10 new shows under the Marvel franchise, 15 new Disney Animation/Pixar series, and 15 new Pixar films over the course of the next few years.

At the Disney Investor Day, we also learned that Hulu Live has 4mm subscribers, making it the No. 1 digital MVPD and, according to Disney, the fifth largest pay TV provider overall.

Facebook is now facing the biggest threat in its history as the federal government and 48 state attorneys general have filed an antitrust lawsuit with the specific request that it be made to sell off Instagram and WhatsApp. Given the equally strong rancor on both sides of the political aisle, it’s hard to imagine that Facebook will come out of this unscathed.

Nielsen put a stake in the ground with a major announcement regarding a single cross-media currency, NielsenOne, that will go into effect in 2023. They have previously announced the integration of Vizio’s Project Oar, DirecTV and Dish Network data into the ratings. Read about the Nielsen announcement in Oriana Schwindt’s recap Nielsen Introduces Single-Source Cross-Media Measurement. Also, read what some of the top leaders in the media industry have to say about the big news in Charlene Weisler's Market Response to Nielsen One: diComo, Kassan, McDonald, Yaccarino, Jankowski, Walpert Levy.

AT&T has sold anime site Crunchyrollto Sony’s Funimation for $1.2B.

Props to Droga5 for picking up newly public company Airbnb’s creative assignment.

If you are at a Creative or Media Agency (that doesn’t have Pepsi as a client), your time off this holiday season may be a bit limited. Coca-Cola has put advertising for their entire portfolio of brands up for review; in what may be a precursor to another Pitch-a-Palooza year given the economy.

MediaVillage congratulates Alysia Borsa on her promotion to the role of President, Meredith Digital.

MediaVillage congratulates Jim Keller who has joined Discovery, Inc. as Executive Vice President, Digital Ad Sales and Advanced Advertising.

This week in MediaVillage:

Check out my interview with DISH Media’s Advanced TV veteran, Tim Myers, on how DISH Media is working with all the partners in the Addressable TV ecosystem, especially as National Linear Addressable rolls out. DISH Media’s Time Myers on Bringing Scale to the Addressable TV market.

Last week, my family stared at each other for about 30 minutes trying to figure out what we wanted for dinner. We had finally hit that wall, which, according to the conversation that ensued when I posted our dilemma on Facebook, apparently struck a chord. Tamara Alesi examines our changing eating habits and the impact on QSR, doing a deep dive age breakdown analysis that yields some eye-popping results. Check it out in McDonald’s, Chik-fil-A, Subway: Will the Fast Food Customers Forever Be Changed?

There is nothing better this time of year than hanging out on the couch in your snuggie watching holiday movies. Our Jacqueline Cutler got into the holiday spirit and spoke with OWN President Tina Perry about their three new Christmas movies: A Christmas for Mary (debuted 12/8), Cooking Up Christmas (debuts 12/15) and First Christmas (debuts 12/22). OWN President Tina Perry Unwraps the Network’s Christmas Movies

Between podcasting, audiobooks, sports talk and more, audio has taken on a broader definition, and the segment which is "spoken word audio" has gained share over the years. NPR and Edison Research partnered to look at this trend. You can read the topline in Charlene Weisler's latest, Blacks, Latinos, Youth Spur Spoken Word Audio Growth: NPR & Edison Research Report.

In a year where spend in most media types is down, OTT is up. But are marketers spending in the right kind of OTT? Bill Harvey has some thoughts on that in Over the Top! The Most Significant Development in Television History.

If you haven’t watched The Flight Attendanton HBO Max, you may want to skip this review, as there are quite a few spoilers inside. But if you’ve caught an episode or two, check out Ainsley Andrade's take on it in After Some Early Turbulence, HBO Max’s "The Flight Attendant" Has Leveled Off.

Tamera Mowry-Housley is back on Hallmark Channel with her second Christmas movie in as many years. Steve Gidlow had the opportunity to speak with Mowry-Housley on what it was like to return. Get a sneak peak of "Christmas Comes Twice" in Tamera Mowry-Housley Adds a Little Magic to Hallmark Channel in "Christmas Comes Twice."

Simon Applebaum unwraps a surprise present courtesy of music and podcast company Pandora, which has just released a guide to creative best practices which will beat any coffee table book that you receive this holiday season. Read the highlights in Review: Pandora "Unwraps" a Best Holiday Ad Practice Catalog.

Steve Gidlow chats with the stars of Lifetime's new Christmas movie that is breaking barriers as the first gay-driven holiday rom-com. Read what it was like for this real-life married couple to work together in Steve’s article, Ben Lewis and Blake Lee Make History in "The Christmas Setup," Lifetime’s First LGBTQ+ Rom-Com.

We welcome new contributor Larry Samuel, founder of the NYC and Miami based consultancy Age Friendly Consulting. Samuel has scripted a piece this week titled How Big Business Can (and Should) End Ageism in which he highlights some major global efforts underway to make real changes to the age discrimination that takes place in many industries, including our own.

Lastly, it is isn’t unusual to see a lot of end-of-year recaps hit the trades right after Christmas. However, if there were ever a year where it wouldn’t be too soon to say goodbye, 2020 is it. So with that in mind, please read Brian Jacobs’ So, Farewell Then 2020. What are the Takeaways?

Happy Chanukah to all those who are celebrating. May your candles burn and your latkes not. Have a wonderful, safe and healthy weekend!

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