The Morning Fix: Turner’s three-point play! Redbox makes more peace. They censored Kenny!
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After the coffee. Before deciding whether I need to buy those ‘Back-up Plan’ tickets in advance.
Turner shoots and scores. Time Warner’s Turner Broadcasting and CBS have teamed up on a new TV and Internet deal for the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament. Under the terms of the $10.8-billion, 14-year deal, Turner will carry about 65% of all games across several of its channels and ultimately will share the Final Four and championship games with CBS. For Turner, it is another big franchise to platform across its channels (and use to jack up subscription fees) while CBS gets to hold on to much of a marquee event and lessen its own financial risks. Postgame analysis from the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Advertising Age.
Redbox makes peace. Redbox, the movie kiosk operator, has struck new deals with 20th Century Fox and Universal Pictures. Instead of offering rentals of those studios’ DVDs the same day they are available for sale, Redbox will now wait 28 days before doing so. Redbox has a similar deal with Warner Bros. but continues to offer rentals of Paramount, Sony and Disney movies on the first day of their release for sale. More from the Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal and Deadline, which had harsh words for Redbox.
The watchdog. The New York Times offers up a look at Marilyn Gordon, the Motion Picture Assn. of America’s point person on movie advertising. She decides if a poster is too racy or a television advertisement too misleading (guess she dropped the ball on ‘Kick-Ass,’ but anyway). She also handles movie trailers. We will only note that the Los Angeles Times’ Richard Verrier did a similar piece a few weeks ago about Joan Graves, the head of the MPAA’s ratings committee. What paper will weigh in next with a piece on whoever at the MPAA monitors restrooms and concession stands at theaters?
Don’t double down. More questions were raised about creating box office futures exchanges in a House hearing Thursday. Details on that hearing from the New York Times. Meanwhile, a group of senators, including California’s Diane Feinstein, weighed in with their own campaign to scuttle the idea, reports the Los Angeles Times.
More monsters. Disney announced a sequel for ‘Monsters, Inc.’ that will premiere in late 2012. That appears to have been the only real news out of a press gathering the studio had with reporters Thursday. And I’m still waiting for someone to tell me what the MT in new marketing chief MT Carney’s name stands for. Come on people, this isn’t Watergate. More on the press schmooze from the Wrap.
On the couch. Inside Movie’s Anne Thompson offers an assessment of Jim Carrey’s career. Hope it’s not time for a sequel to ‘Doing Time on Maple Drive,’ and I only sort of look like him.
Pitching Rosie. Broadcasting & Cable’s Paige Albiniak details the sales pitch for Rosie O’Donnell’s new daytime talk show. Although Rosie once ruled daytime, her comeback attempt will face a lot of hurdles.
Staying in this weekend. Don’t look for a lot of excitement at the box office this weekend. The new movies battling it out are Jennifer Lopez’s ‘The Back-up Plan’ and ‘The Losers.’ Might be time to catch up on a book or go see ‘Kick-Ass’ again. Previews from Variety, Hollywood Reporter and the Los Angeles Times.
Inside the Los Angeles Times: Hulu’s plans to put in a pay section has annoyed lots of users (just check out all the comments on our Company Town post on it. Here’s some more analysis of the move. The ‘South Park’ controversy continues.
-- Joe Flint
