Showbiz Sandbox

Showbiz Sandbox


Showbiz Sandbox 495: Coming Up With A Popular Method To Calculate Streaming Residuals

May 26, 2020

With audiences spending countless hours streaming video during the coronavirus pandemic, and with some movies once bound for cinemas bypassing theaters and going directly to video-on-demand, the issue over residual payments to those that make all the content has once again become a hot button issue. This especially true since global streaming subscription revenue doubled in four years to $37 billion in 2019 and is expected to hit $62 billion by 2024.
Rather than being based on box office, ratings or profits, when it comes to streaming, residuals turned into a low fixed annual payment, no matter how big a hit your series or movie was. Now the Writers Guild of America has proposed a tiered system based on viewership to make sure residual payments reflect the new streaming reality when it comes to the likes of Disney+, HBO Max and Netflix.
Of course we also cover some of the week’s top entertainment headlines including why “Batwoman” lost its star, People magazine heads to television and Joe Rogan’s podcast payday.

Venice Film Festival Still On for September, Venice Governor Confirms
https://variety.com/2020/film/global/coronavirus-venice-film-festival-going-ahead-2020-1234615352/
TV Fan-Favorite Smash Heading To Broadway as a New Musical
https://www.broadway.com/buzz/199335/tv-fan-favorite-smash-heading-to-broadway-as-a-new-musical/
New Zealand Returns To Production, Paving Way For ‘Avatar’ Sequels & ‘The Lord Of The Rings’ Series To Resume Filming
https://deadline.com/2020/05/new-zealand-returns-to-production-paving-way-for-avatar-sequels-to-resume-live-action-filming-1202929138/
Daytime Emmys Rescheduled for June 26 as Virtual Ceremony
https://www.thewrap.com/daytime-emmys-rescheduled-for-june-26-as-virtual-ceremony/
Report: Theater Producers and Concert Promoters Call it Quits on 2020
https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2020/05/report-theater-producers-and-concert-promoters-call-it-quits-on-2020
The Directors and Producers Guild of America Change Their Award Rules
https://www.indiewire.com/2020/05/producers-guild-of-america-revise-award-rules-1202232134/
Theatre Stands On The Brink of Ruin
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/theatre-stands-brink-ruin/
Coronavirus: National Theatre Preparing fFr ‘Substantial’ Staff Redundancies
https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/coronavirus-national-theatre-preparing-for-substantial-staff-redundancies
People Magazine to Launch Syndicated Series on Meredith Corp. TV Stations