Today's Cover Story segment features Variety's Angelique Jackson, senior entertainment writer, telling all about her experience interviewing Harrison Ford about the sweep of his career as he celebrates his first-ever Emmy nomination, for Apple TV+ comedy "Shrinking." Todd Spangler, business editor, also analyzes the latest moves in the cable TV divorces pending at NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
We shot for fifty nights in rain.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Most times we were outside. Kind of miserable to make,
but it holds its own and it is a remarkable film.
I like any cut without the voiceover.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
Welcome to Daily Variety, your daily dose of news and
analysis for entertainment industry insiders. It's Wednesday, July thirtieth, twenty
twenty five. I'm your host, Cynthia Littleton. I am co
editor in chief of Variety alongside Ramin Setuda. I'm in La.
He's in New York. Variety has reporters around the world
covering the business of entertainment. In today's episode, we'll talk
(00:47):
with senior entertainment writer Angelie Jackson on her cover story
with none other than Harrison Ford. It's a fantastic read,
published today in print and online. She shares a lot
lot of observations that add insight to her portrait of
this incredible movie star. After that, business editor Todd Spangler
(01:07):
catches us up on the status of the cable TV
divorces that are in progress at NBCUniversal and Warner Brothers Discovery.
But before we get to that, here are a few
headlines just in this morning that you need to know.
Big congrats to Ted Danson and Mary Stein Virgin The
Television Academy will honor the couple with its Bob Hope
Humanitarian Award. It'll be presented at the Emmy Awards on
(01:31):
September fourteenth. Together and separately, they are national Treasures. The
debut of Adam Sandler's Happy gilmour Io logged record viewership
for Netflix. The sequel log nearly fifty million views on
its opening weekend, and just like Adam Sandler, Jane Austen
has still got it. Netflix unveiled the first look at
(01:51):
its Pride and Prejudice limited series adaptation, and based on
the number of people who flock to Variety dot Com
to look at that picture, there is a lot of
anticipation for this British production, and because seemingly everything is
fodder for limited series, there are rumblings that Stars and
Lionsgate TV are working on a project revolving the gambling
(02:11):
scandal that sneered sho Hey Otani last year. It emerged
that the longtime interpreter for the Japanese Dodger Superstar had
embezzled some seventeen million from Otani to support his gambling habit.
Now we turn to conversations with variety journalists about news
and trends in show business. Here's Angelique Jackson talking about
(02:32):
her very big get a sit down with Harrison Ford.
That was Ford you heard in the cold open to
this episode talking about his experience making the original Blade Runner.
Angelique Jackson, thank you for joining me. I am so
excited to talk to you for our cover story segment
this week.
Speaker 4 (02:49):
It was truly an honor and a privilege.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
Privilege is a good word. You had the privilege of
sitting down with none other than Harrison Ford or a
wide ranging career spanning interview on the occasion of his
first ever Ammy nomination. Angelique, tell me everything. What is
Harrison Ford like at this moment in his life?
Speaker 5 (03:12):
I will say that walking into the Apple offices in
Culver City and finding Harrison Ford in a tuxedo at
eleven o'clock in the morning on a Monday really is
quite the way to start off a week. He's so
often to get a chance to see legends like that. Ever, really,
what I will say is really interesting was that it
kind of was like Clark Kent turning into Superman a
(03:35):
little bit, because Harrison walked in with a cup of
black coffee in hand to wearing this like olive green sweater,
his glasses, and then next thing you know, he's in
this tuxedo and becomes Harrison Ford as soon as that
camera was on him. Every single take was of movie
star quality. Being able to talk broadly about his career
(03:56):
really appeals to him right now. Obviously he is at
this point of his seventy plus year on screen career
where there's a lot to look back on, but oftentimes
he's focused on talking about the big hits, so Star Wars.
Speaker 4 (04:10):
Indiana Jones.
Speaker 5 (04:12):
Maybe he'll get to talk about Blade Runner in large
part because he played that role again, but he rarely
gets a chance to, you know, play the deep cuts.
He rarely gets a chance to talk about Witness or
some of his earlier roles like American Graffiti or Apocalypse Now.
So he seemed to have a lot of fun with
the idea of looking back on it all. But something
that really struck me just in general was something that
(04:35):
he said about acting and from the very beginning when
he was a college student and decided this is what
he wanted to be. The thing that he loved about
it was that it actually allowed him to hide where
other people they really felt like they were being their full,
you know, true selves by being actors. Acting allowed him
the opportunity to kind of hide himself in parts of
(04:58):
these characters. He is never really like playing Harrison Ford,
and he was very specific about that.
Speaker 4 (05:05):
You know, Paul in Shrinking is not Harrison.
Speaker 5 (05:08):
There are little parts of him that are in these characters,
but he actually kind of uses this opportunity to create
a little bit of distance between himself and the people
he's embodying.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
He's always juggled multiple major franchises, so he's never completely pigeonholed.
He's been Indiana Jones, yes, but he'll also be doing
something very different in another venue. For the uninitiated, explain
Know Your Lines and explain how it went, because it
is a bit of a game, and it sounds like
the game loosened him up for you.
Speaker 5 (05:39):
I did appreciate just how game Harrison was to dive
into this. So Know Their Lines is this game that
we play where we give the subject a line from
a movie they were in.
Speaker 4 (05:50):
They're supposed to.
Speaker 5 (05:51):
Guess what the movie is and then give a couple
of recollections about the project. Sometimes it's a very obvious line.
I mean, one of, honestly two of the most iconic
words in cinema. I know Harrison Ford knows that he
said that as Han Solo in Star Wars The Empire
Strikes Back, in large part because he had lived that
(06:13):
line and it made history himself.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
Oh, you're trying to make it too easy for me.
I know.
Speaker 5 (06:22):
I know.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
Carrie Fisher said to me, I love you, and I
was supposed to say I love you too, And I
thought that was a little un Han solo ish. I
thought I was a little banal, so I said, no.
Speaker 5 (06:45):
I love you.
Speaker 6 (06:46):
I know.
Speaker 5 (06:47):
But then when you give him one like the line
that we chose from Witness, he needed a few hints
to get there to figure out which one it was.
Speaker 4 (06:55):
He even joked, He's like, are you sure I said that?
Speaker 5 (06:58):
And because of course we had watched the movie rather
like the night before, I could confirm you did, in
fact say this line.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
If you're gonna play know your lines with Harrison Ford,
you better have done your homework.
Speaker 5 (07:09):
Hey, then to that, and we also got to have
lots of fun with moments like we talk about Blade Runner.
Speaker 4 (07:14):
He talked about how.
Speaker 5 (07:16):
Difficult it was to shoot the first movie, but how
much fun he had shooting the second movie, including when,
of course he famously punched Ryan Gosling in the face
on accident, so we got to have a little bit
of fun there.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
I also appreciated that you drew him out. American Graffiti
is a great example he intersected with that very very
fertile time in la when you had George Lucas, Steven Spielberg,
Francis Ford, Coppola, John Millius, like this world of directors
that were just coming into their own and they were
going to define movie making in the seventies and eighties.
(07:48):
And I just love that you got him to reflect
on being part of that moment. Was there a point
when the conversation took a turn that surprised you?
Speaker 5 (07:57):
Perhaps what was the most surprising about him was that
there was a difference between our video interview and the
print interview.
Speaker 4 (08:06):
He obviously is a bit more gregarious on camera.
Speaker 5 (08:09):
This is someone that is truly, you know, one of
our great faces of cinema. But then when we were
sitting down, he's a very very thoughtful interviewee. He really
takes his time to think out and really listen to
your questions. I mean, that's it's not a surprise, he's
a respectful subject. But I think it's more of a
(08:31):
surprise just how it's really thoughtful. Each and every response
is whether it be short or long. If he's just
going to tell you no, he's not doing something, there's
a lot of thought between why he's saying that and
what he's choosing to say there.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
You mentioned that he liked acting because it gave him
a place to hide, and I thought it was very
interesting last year that he made the very bold decision
to go on camera and thisss Harrison Ford give his
full throated endorsement to Kamala Harris with some real urgency.
That seemed to be a departure for him. What was
your sense in talking to him about his decision to
(09:10):
endorse Kamala in that very public way, and whether he's
felt any repercussions from that.
Speaker 5 (09:16):
His initial response to the question of how he feels
about making that video now, he gave me one word
as the response.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
Fine.
Speaker 4 (09:24):
I think there was also.
Speaker 5 (09:25):
Something to be said of the idea, and he gets
into it later in the answer that he did what
he felt was right.
Speaker 4 (09:32):
In the moment.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
Angelique, I want to commend you. You did not have
a lot of time to prepare for this, and boy
did you knock it out of the park. For us folks,
you've got to find it online, get your print edition.
It's published Wednesday. I will not spoil it, but I
loved your last question and I loved his answer.
Speaker 5 (09:50):
I loved having the opportunity and especially because shrinking is
so much fun.
Speaker 4 (09:54):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
These days in TV, it's hard to tell the players
without a scorecard. Here Todd Spangler catches us up on
all that is happening with Versant, the cable channel spin
off of NBC Universal and Discovery Global, which will be
the home of CNNTNT, TBS, Discovery Food Network, HGTV, and
other linear channels that had been part of Warner Brothers Discovery.
(10:20):
All of the movement is a big sign of where
the money is and isn't going in PayTV. Todd Spangler,
thanks for joining me.
Speaker 6 (10:28):
Hello.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
The assignment here is to step back and see the
forest for the trees. And as we know, there are
two very similar processes going on right now for NBC
Universal and for Warner Brothers Discovery. Both companies are in
the process of separating out from most of their traditional
linear cable channels. This really gives us almost like a
(10:50):
Petri dish of looking at where the television business is,
where the biggest companies see the opportunity. Todd, You've been
covering every inch of this. What you've covered on this
process told you about the dynamics of the television business
right now.
Speaker 6 (11:06):
Other than the logistics of actually making this separation, which
are not insignificant, the challenges are what really has the
future for each of these independent companies. They want to
tell investors that there is a potential growth play here.
It will give them the freedom to make some strategic decisions.
(11:28):
Potentially some strategic m and A. We might see a
recommodation of the companies that are in space and try
to get a more diversified revenue stream. But that's really
the challenges is like how do you diversify from the
melting ice cube that is PayTV, which is really the
bulk of their revenue.
Speaker 3 (11:48):
We've been shouting this now for almost a decade, but
the erosion of cable earnings is going to really change Hollywood.
And I would say here in twenty twenty five, we
are in the thick of that yep, here it is.
Let's talk about the practical concerns about separating such a
big chunk of the company like NBC Universal, USA Network,
(12:09):
sci Fi, MSNBC, CNBC. These are not insignificant brands under
that umbrella, and so it's everything from the biggest picture
of who's going to be the CEO to where is
everybody going to sit? Catch us up on kind of
the practicalities of NBC Universal's spinoff, which is expected to
be completed by years end if I'm not mistaken.
Speaker 6 (12:30):
Yeah, that's right. They're aiming for the end of twenty
twenty five. So they picked some office space they're going
to move out of Thirty Rock, although you know CNBC
was already in New Jersey a big operation over there.
It's essentially like you've got dynergies in doing something like
this where you've got to replicate the infrastructure that has
supported the merged companies. So you need new HR department,
(12:54):
you need to staff up your finance department, and so
you know, just as an example that you needed new CFO.
They picked some of those people and they've hired now
Tom Rogers, as you know from the NBC Cable days
in the earliest cable days. He helped launch MSNBC and CNBC,
so they brought him on as a senior advisor to
(13:17):
help steer them into their new scannon. As it were.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
When I saw that Tom Rogers News, I thought they
were definitely hiring Tom for his rolodex as somebody who
launched some very foundational cable channels. He's still got a
lot of pull in that world. It seems like, as
you say, reverse synergies, a little bit of a ray
of hope in hiring for mid level, white collar TV
executives because it has been a blood bath of layoffs
(13:44):
in this area the last couple of years. So it
is interesting to see people emerge like Rebecca Campbell, formerly
a senior person in Disney TV and Disney International, is
on the board of Versus. So just when it seemed
like hiring was pretty bleak, there is a movement. They
have some real leadership challenges because by definition, they're kind
(14:04):
of in a grow or die from day one situation.
Speaker 6 (14:08):
It's not that the business is losing money. It's profitable, right,
it's just not growing as fast as it had been.
And the new streaming era, basically you don't see those
thirty forty percent margins that used saw on the heyday
of cable TV. So it's a different financial profile. And
(14:29):
that's part of the thesis here, is that you're going
to present a company that has a certain financial growth aspect,
and for certain class investors that's great. It's going to
produce consistent profits, but it's going to shrink unless they
find some other way to either recombine with other cable
(14:50):
networks or find another way to get into the larger
media ecosystem. But yeah, on day one, for these companies,
the goal is going to to make sure you're running
a tight ship and got all of the processes and
people that you need to keep these things going, and
(15:10):
that the wheelstone fall off as these separations happen.
Speaker 3 (15:15):
It'll be interesting to see what comes from these companies
because there's a definite lack of pizazz around traditional cable,
so they're going to have to do something. And how
with that economic base, how do you compete with let's
say Disney and FX doing Alien Earth that cost a
whole lot of money. I know these are unanswerable questions,
but very interesting to watch anything else. In particular, Todd
(15:38):
that you're watching for in this process that you think
will be telling about the future of both of these
spinoff companies.
Speaker 6 (15:44):
One wild card to keep an eye on is what
sort of regulatory hoops may be introduced here. I don't
think Wherber's Discovery or in DC Universal are expecting any
serious regulatory problems here, but we don't really know how
that'll shake out just yet.
Speaker 3 (16:04):
As we know, these are highly unprecedented times right now
in Washington. So that's a very good note of caution. Well, Todd,
thank you as ever for tracking all these moves day
by day and giving us the big picture too. Appreciate it.
Speaker 6 (16:17):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (16:20):
As we close out today's episode, here are a few
things we're watching for. The Director's Guild of America has
set the negotiating committee for its upcoming contract talks covering broadcast,
network news, sports operations, and local broadcasting. At this point,
we're probably only weeks away from the first stirrings of
activity from unions on the broader film and TV negotiations
(16:41):
to happen next year. Bradley Cooper's latest directorial effort is
This Thing On, has been set as the closing night
film for the New York Film Festival on October tenth.
The Searchlight Picture, described as a dramatic comedy, stars Will
Arnett and Laura Dern. Comcast reports its second quarter earnings
on Thursday. We'll be on it before the sun comes
(17:02):
up in La before we go. Congrats to Flora Kelly.
She's been promoted to Senior VP of ESPN Research. She's
been with the Worldwide Leader since two thousand and six.
Thanks for listening. This episode was written and reported by
me Cynthia Littleton, with contributions from Angelie Jackson and Todd Spangler.
It was edited by Aaron Greenwald Stick's Nick's hick Picks.
(17:25):
Please leave us a review with the podcast platform of
your choice, and please tune in tomorrow for another episode
of Daily Variety.
Speaker 2 (17:32):
I was under contract to Columbia Pictures at the time
for one hundred and fifty dollars a week and all
the respect that that implies. I was called into the
office of the head of the new talent program and
he told me that I had no future in the business,
(17:52):
which is okay. You wanted me to change my name.
We thought that Harrison Ford was too pretentious a name
for a young man, and then he asked me to
get my hair cut like Elvis Presley,
We shot for fifty nights in rain.
Speaker 2 (00:03):
Most times we were outside. Kind of miserable to make,
but it holds its own and it is a remarkable film.
I like any cut without the voiceover.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
Welcome to Daily Variety, your daily dose of news and
analysis for entertainment industry insiders. It's Wednesday, July thirtieth, twenty
twenty five. I'm your host, Cynthia Littleton. I am co
editor in chief of Variety alongside Ramin Setuda. I'm in La.
He's in New York. Variety has reporters around the world
covering the business of entertainment. In today's episode, we'll talk
(00:47):
with senior entertainment writer Angelie Jackson on her cover story
with none other than Harrison Ford. It's a fantastic read,
published today in print and online. She shares a lot
lot of observations that add insight to her portrait of
this incredible movie star. After that, business editor Todd Spangler
(01:07):
catches us up on the status of the cable TV
divorces that are in progress at NBCUniversal and Warner Brothers Discovery.
But before we get to that, here are a few
headlines just in this morning that you need to know.
Big congrats to Ted Danson and Mary Stein Virgin The
Television Academy will honor the couple with its Bob Hope
Humanitarian Award. It'll be presented at the Emmy Awards on
(01:31):
September fourteenth. Together and separately, they are national Treasures. The
debut of Adam Sandler's Happy gilmour Io logged record viewership
for Netflix. The sequel log nearly fifty million views on
its opening weekend, and just like Adam Sandler, Jane Austen
has still got it. Netflix unveiled the first look at
(01:51):
its Pride and Prejudice limited series adaptation, and based on
the number of people who flock to Variety dot Com
to look at that picture, there is a lot of
anticipation for this British production, and because seemingly everything is
fodder for limited series, there are rumblings that Stars and
Lionsgate TV are working on a project revolving the gambling
(02:11):
scandal that sneered sho Hey Otani last year. It emerged
that the longtime interpreter for the Japanese Dodger Superstar had
embezzled some seventeen million from Otani to support his gambling habit.
Now we turn to conversations with variety journalists about news
and trends in show business. Here's Angelique Jackson talking about
(02:32):
her very big get a sit down with Harrison Ford.
That was Ford you heard in the cold open to
this episode talking about his experience making the original Blade Runner.
Angelique Jackson, thank you for joining me. I am so
excited to talk to you for our cover story segment
this week.
Speaker 4 (02:49):
It was truly an honor and a privilege.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
Privilege is a good word. You had the privilege of
sitting down with none other than Harrison Ford or a
wide ranging career spanning interview on the occasion of his
first ever Ammy nomination. Angelique, tell me everything. What is
Harrison Ford like at this moment in his life?
Speaker 5 (03:12):
I will say that walking into the Apple offices in
Culver City and finding Harrison Ford in a tuxedo at
eleven o'clock in the morning on a Monday really is
quite the way to start off a week. He's so
often to get a chance to see legends like that. Ever, really,
what I will say is really interesting was that it
kind of was like Clark Kent turning into Superman a
(03:35):
little bit, because Harrison walked in with a cup of
black coffee in hand to wearing this like olive green sweater,
his glasses, and then next thing you know, he's in
this tuxedo and becomes Harrison Ford as soon as that
camera was on him. Every single take was of movie
star quality. Being able to talk broadly about his career
(03:56):
really appeals to him right now. Obviously he is at
this point of his seventy plus year on screen career
where there's a lot to look back on, but oftentimes
he's focused on talking about the big hits, so Star Wars.
Speaker 4 (04:10):
Indiana Jones.
Speaker 5 (04:12):
Maybe he'll get to talk about Blade Runner in large
part because he played that role again, but he rarely
gets a chance to, you know, play the deep cuts.
He rarely gets a chance to talk about Witness or
some of his earlier roles like American Graffiti or Apocalypse Now.
So he seemed to have a lot of fun with
the idea of looking back on it all. But something
that really struck me just in general was something that
(04:35):
he said about acting and from the very beginning when
he was a college student and decided this is what
he wanted to be. The thing that he loved about
it was that it actually allowed him to hide where
other people they really felt like they were being their full,
you know, true selves by being actors. Acting allowed him
the opportunity to kind of hide himself in parts of
(04:58):
these characters. He is never really like playing Harrison Ford,
and he was very specific about that.
Speaker 4 (05:05):
You know, Paul in Shrinking is not Harrison.
Speaker 5 (05:08):
There are little parts of him that are in these characters,
but he actually kind of uses this opportunity to create
a little bit of distance between himself and the people
he's embodying.
Speaker 3 (05:19):
He's always juggled multiple major franchises, so he's never completely pigeonholed.
He's been Indiana Jones, yes, but he'll also be doing
something very different in another venue. For the uninitiated, explain
Know Your Lines and explain how it went, because it
is a bit of a game, and it sounds like
the game loosened him up for you.
Speaker 5 (05:39):
I did appreciate just how game Harrison was to dive
into this. So Know Their Lines is this game that
we play where we give the subject a line from
a movie they were in.
Speaker 4 (05:50):
They're supposed to.
Speaker 5 (05:51):
Guess what the movie is and then give a couple
of recollections about the project. Sometimes it's a very obvious line.
I mean, one of, honestly two of the most iconic
words in cinema. I know Harrison Ford knows that he
said that as Han Solo in Star Wars The Empire
Strikes Back, in large part because he had lived that
(06:13):
line and it made history himself.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
Oh, you're trying to make it too easy for me.
I know.
Speaker 5 (06:22):
I know.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
Carrie Fisher said to me, I love you, and I
was supposed to say I love you too, And I
thought that was a little un Han solo ish. I
thought I was a little banal, so I said, no.
Speaker 5 (06:45):
I love you.
Speaker 6 (06:46):
I know.
Speaker 5 (06:47):
But then when you give him one like the line
that we chose from Witness, he needed a few hints
to get there to figure out which one it was.
Speaker 4 (06:55):
He even joked, He's like, are you sure I said that?
Speaker 5 (06:58):
And because of course we had watched the movie rather
like the night before, I could confirm you did, in
fact say this line.
Speaker 3 (07:05):
If you're gonna play know your lines with Harrison Ford,
you better have done your homework.
Speaker 5 (07:09):
Hey, then to that, and we also got to have
lots of fun with moments like we talk about Blade Runner.
Speaker 4 (07:14):
He talked about how.
Speaker 5 (07:16):
Difficult it was to shoot the first movie, but how
much fun he had shooting the second movie, including when,
of course he famously punched Ryan Gosling in the face
on accident, so we got to have a little bit
of fun there.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
I also appreciated that you drew him out. American Graffiti
is a great example he intersected with that very very
fertile time in la when you had George Lucas, Steven Spielberg,
Francis Ford, Coppola, John Millius, like this world of directors
that were just coming into their own and they were
going to define movie making in the seventies and eighties.
(07:48):
And I just love that you got him to reflect
on being part of that moment. Was there a point
when the conversation took a turn that surprised you?
Speaker 5 (07:57):
Perhaps what was the most surprising about him was that
there was a difference between our video interview and the
print interview.
Speaker 4 (08:06):
He obviously is a bit more gregarious on camera.
Speaker 5 (08:09):
This is someone that is truly, you know, one of
our great faces of cinema. But then when we were
sitting down, he's a very very thoughtful interviewee. He really
takes his time to think out and really listen to
your questions. I mean, that's it's not a surprise, he's
a respectful subject. But I think it's more of a
(08:31):
surprise just how it's really thoughtful. Each and every response
is whether it be short or long. If he's just
going to tell you no, he's not doing something, there's
a lot of thought between why he's saying that and
what he's choosing to say there.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
You mentioned that he liked acting because it gave him
a place to hide, and I thought it was very
interesting last year that he made the very bold decision
to go on camera and thisss Harrison Ford give his
full throated endorsement to Kamala Harris with some real urgency.
That seemed to be a departure for him. What was
your sense in talking to him about his decision to
(09:10):
endorse Kamala in that very public way, and whether he's
felt any repercussions from that.
Speaker 5 (09:16):
His initial response to the question of how he feels
about making that video now, he gave me one word
as the response.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
Fine.
Speaker 4 (09:24):
I think there was also.
Speaker 5 (09:25):
Something to be said of the idea, and he gets
into it later in the answer that he did what
he felt was right.
Speaker 4 (09:32):
In the moment.
Speaker 3 (09:33):
Angelique, I want to commend you. You did not have
a lot of time to prepare for this, and boy
did you knock it out of the park. For us folks,
you've got to find it online, get your print edition.
It's published Wednesday. I will not spoil it, but I
loved your last question and I loved his answer.
Speaker 5 (09:50):
I loved having the opportunity and especially because shrinking is
so much fun.
Speaker 4 (09:54):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
These days in TV, it's hard to tell the players
without a scorecard. Here Todd Spangler catches us up on
all that is happening with Versant, the cable channel spin
off of NBC Universal and Discovery Global, which will be
the home of CNNTNT, TBS, Discovery Food Network, HGTV, and
other linear channels that had been part of Warner Brothers Discovery.
(10:20):
All of the movement is a big sign of where
the money is and isn't going in PayTV. Todd Spangler,
thanks for joining me.
Speaker 6 (10:28):
Hello.
Speaker 3 (10:28):
The assignment here is to step back and see the
forest for the trees. And as we know, there are
two very similar processes going on right now for NBC
Universal and for Warner Brothers Discovery. Both companies are in
the process of separating out from most of their traditional
linear cable channels. This really gives us almost like a
(10:50):
Petri dish of looking at where the television business is,
where the biggest companies see the opportunity. Todd, You've been
covering every inch of this. What you've covered on this
process told you about the dynamics of the television business
right now.
Speaker 6 (11:06):
Other than the logistics of actually making this separation, which
are not insignificant, the challenges are what really has the
future for each of these independent companies. They want to
tell investors that there is a potential growth play here.
It will give them the freedom to make some strategic decisions.
(11:28):
Potentially some strategic m and A. We might see a
recommodation of the companies that are in space and try
to get a more diversified revenue stream. But that's really
the challenges is like how do you diversify from the
melting ice cube that is PayTV, which is really the
bulk of their revenue.
Speaker 3 (11:48):
We've been shouting this now for almost a decade, but
the erosion of cable earnings is going to really change Hollywood.
And I would say here in twenty twenty five, we
are in the thick of that yep, here it is.
Let's talk about the practical concerns about separating such a
big chunk of the company like NBC Universal, USA Network,
(12:09):
sci Fi, MSNBC, CNBC. These are not insignificant brands under
that umbrella, and so it's everything from the biggest picture
of who's going to be the CEO to where is
everybody going to sit? Catch us up on kind of
the practicalities of NBC Universal's spinoff, which is expected to
be completed by years end if I'm not mistaken.
Speaker 6 (12:30):
Yeah, that's right. They're aiming for the end of twenty
twenty five. So they picked some office space they're going
to move out of Thirty Rock, although you know CNBC
was already in New Jersey a big operation over there.
It's essentially like you've got dynergies in doing something like
this where you've got to replicate the infrastructure that has
supported the merged companies. So you need new HR department,
(12:54):
you need to staff up your finance department, and so
you know, just as an example that you needed new CFO.
They picked some of those people and they've hired now
Tom Rogers, as you know from the NBC Cable days
in the earliest cable days. He helped launch MSNBC and CNBC,
so they brought him on as a senior advisor to
(13:17):
help steer them into their new scannon. As it were.
Speaker 3 (13:21):
When I saw that Tom Rogers News, I thought they
were definitely hiring Tom for his rolodex as somebody who
launched some very foundational cable channels. He's still got a
lot of pull in that world. It seems like, as
you say, reverse synergies, a little bit of a ray
of hope in hiring for mid level, white collar TV
executives because it has been a blood bath of layoffs
(13:44):
in this area the last couple of years. So it
is interesting to see people emerge like Rebecca Campbell, formerly
a senior person in Disney TV and Disney International, is
on the board of Versus. So just when it seemed
like hiring was pretty bleak, there is a movement. They
have some real leadership challenges because by definition, they're kind
(14:04):
of in a grow or die from day one situation.
Speaker 6 (14:08):
It's not that the business is losing money. It's profitable, right,
it's just not growing as fast as it had been.
And the new streaming era, basically you don't see those
thirty forty percent margins that used saw on the heyday
of cable TV. So it's a different financial profile. And
(14:29):
that's part of the thesis here, is that you're going
to present a company that has a certain financial growth aspect,
and for certain class investors that's great. It's going to
produce consistent profits, but it's going to shrink unless they
find some other way to either recombine with other cable
(14:50):
networks or find another way to get into the larger
media ecosystem. But yeah, on day one, for these companies,
the goal is going to to make sure you're running
a tight ship and got all of the processes and
people that you need to keep these things going, and
(15:10):
that the wheelstone fall off as these separations happen.
Speaker 3 (15:15):
It'll be interesting to see what comes from these companies
because there's a definite lack of pizazz around traditional cable,
so they're going to have to do something. And how
with that economic base, how do you compete with let's
say Disney and FX doing Alien Earth that cost a
whole lot of money. I know these are unanswerable questions,
but very interesting to watch anything else. In particular, Todd
(15:38):
that you're watching for in this process that you think
will be telling about the future of both of these
spinoff companies.
Speaker 6 (15:44):
One wild card to keep an eye on is what
sort of regulatory hoops may be introduced here. I don't
think Wherber's Discovery or in DC Universal are expecting any
serious regulatory problems here, but we don't really know how
that'll shake out just yet.
Speaker 3 (16:04):
As we know, these are highly unprecedented times right now
in Washington. So that's a very good note of caution. Well, Todd,
thank you as ever for tracking all these moves day
by day and giving us the big picture too. Appreciate it.
Speaker 6 (16:17):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (16:20):
As we close out today's episode, here are a few
things we're watching for. The Director's Guild of America has
set the negotiating committee for its upcoming contract talks covering broadcast,
network news, sports operations, and local broadcasting. At this point,
we're probably only weeks away from the first stirrings of
activity from unions on the broader film and TV negotiations
(16:41):
to happen next year. Bradley Cooper's latest directorial effort is
This Thing On, has been set as the closing night
film for the New York Film Festival on October tenth.
The Searchlight Picture, described as a dramatic comedy, stars Will
Arnett and Laura Dern. Comcast reports its second quarter earnings
on Thursday. We'll be on it before the sun comes
(17:02):
up in La before we go. Congrats to Flora Kelly.
She's been promoted to Senior VP of ESPN Research. She's
been with the Worldwide Leader since two thousand and six.
Thanks for listening. This episode was written and reported by
me Cynthia Littleton, with contributions from Angelie Jackson and Todd Spangler.
It was edited by Aaron Greenwald Stick's Nick's hick Picks.
(17:25):
Please leave us a review with the podcast platform of
your choice, and please tune in tomorrow for another episode
of Daily Variety.
Speaker 2 (17:32):
I was under contract to Columbia Pictures at the time
for one hundred and fifty dollars a week and all
the respect that that implies. I was called into the
office of the head of the new talent program and
he told me that I had no future in the business,
(17:52):
which is okay. You wanted me to change my name.
We thought that Harrison Ford was too pretentious a name
for a young man, and then he asked me to
get my hair cut like Elvis Presley,
Popular Podcasts
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.