The Morning Fix: Occupy Rupert! Netflix flip-flop. NBA delay.
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After the coffee. Before starting my own Occupy protest.
The Skinny: Netflix has become the Oprah of media companies. Anything it does -- small or big -- gets scrutinized to death. Tuesday’s stories include the latest on Netflix, Paramount’s big hire and the grim labor situation with the National Basketball League.
Make up your mind. Netflix continues to baffle its customer base and annoy Wall Street. After unveiling a 60% price increase that sent its stock tumbling and subscribers running, the company announced it was splitting off its DVD rental service from its online streaming business. That move made little sense to customers or investors and now Netflix seems to have recognized this as well and is dropping plans to create a new service called Qwikster. The price increase remains. Coverage from the Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg, and an amusing parody article about Netflix from The Onion.
Get animated! Paramount Pictures has tapped animation veteran David Stainton for its fledgling unit that the studio has committed to turning into an eventual competitor to DreamWorks Animation and Disney. The first movie will be released in 2014. More from the Los Angeles Times and Deadline Hollywood. Meanwhile, still no word on where DreamWorks Animation is going for distribution after ending its relationship with Paramount. Variety takes a look at the challenges facing DreamWorks Animation.
Occupy Rupert. The New York Daily News reports that the Occupy Wall Street protesters are going to start camping out in front of the homes of the rich and powerful, including News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch’s New York digs.
Wishful thinking. USA Today tries to make the case that the success of Melissa McCarthy (‘Mike & Molly,’ ‘Bridesmaids’) and the launch of an MTV reality show about an overweight woman is a sign that size doesn’t matter as much in Hollywood anymore. Although the paper managed to find the rent-a-quote types who will say anything to get their name in the paper, does anyone really believe this to be a trend?
Happy Birthday. Fox News is celebrating its 15th anniversary. Although most people skip their 15th high school reunion in favor of the 20th, there has been a lot of media coverage around the event. Here’s a take from The Wrap on what’s next on the horizon for the top-rated cable news source.
Rejected. The National Basketball Assn. is canceling the first two weeks of the season and is nowhere near resolving its labor dispute with the players. ESPN and ABC, which carry a combined total of 90 games, and TNT, which has 52, would feel some pain if the whole season is lost but all the regional sports networks that count on the NBA to fill their schedules would suffer most. Coverage of the situation from the Los Angeles Times and New York Times.
Inside the Los Angeles Times: Mary McNamara on Rosie O’Donnell’s new OWN show.
-- Joe Flint
Don’t be bitter. Follow me on Twitter. Twitter.com/JBFlint
