Among the usual flurry of financial results each quarter, Lionsgate Studios may be the studio under the most scrutiny thanks to its recent split from Starz. And financial results were decidedly mixed, although they have made significant progress on shrinking the losses we have seen in other quarters. We have our expert entertainment attorney from Blake & Wang P.A., Brandon Blake, with more details.

Brandon Blake

Mixed Financial Results

For their first quarter as a standalone company, this was not a particularly impressive one. Lionsgate Studios posted considerably lower TV and film business revenues. However, the losses that have been dogging the company’s footsteps did reduce, sinking to $113.5M from $163.3 in the previous quarter. That, at least, will be welcome news. 

Total studio revenue fell with it, however, coming in at $475.1M. The previous year was $604M. Overall, the company posted an earnings-per-share loss of 39c, down from the 68c loss of the same quarter last year. Their adjusted OIBSA was $14.1M.

First Standalone Quarter

Lionsgate Studios, as it now is, comprises the original Lionsgate Motion Picture Group and Television Studio business, and is also home to their impressive catalog of films and series, now over 20,000 titles strong. The Motion Picture segment saw a revenue dip as well (from $409.4M to $276.4M). However, it’s a tough comparison, as last year the same quarter saw 5 Lionsgate releases, with only 2 in the latest figures. Additionally, their segment profit improved to $30.5M, compared to just $1.7M in the prior year. On the TV side, despite dull numbers, Lionsgate expects to see serious movement in scripted episodic deliveries from 2027. Here, segment profit was $12.5M, vs. $24.4M in 2024.

All in all, not the best quarter Lionsgate has seen. However, it was to be expected, as the dust finally settles on the Starz split, and studio execs, at least, seem confident about the company’s trajectory into 2027 and beyond.

In the midst of several very positive latest quarter earnings, there’s no such luck for Peacock. In fact, the streamer seems to have stalled in growth, with a $217M loss and no subscriber growth. We have Blake & Wang P.A. entertainment attorney, Brandon Blake, with a full analysis.

Brandon Blake

The Subscriber Problem

For the entirety of this year, Peacock has been stalled at 41M subscribers, unable to raise it even to their 42M target. The issue, for the most part, seems to be churn, with somewhere between 5% and 8% of their subscribers dipping in and out of the service. The net result? 41M subscribers per quarter, no matter what else happens. 

Keen to put a positive spin on the issue, Comcast and NBCUniversal have tried to maintain this as a sign of consistency, not stalled growth.

A Programming Issue?

Peacock does have a (reasonably) strong programming lineup. However, the bulk of the programming driving new subscriptions is their sports offerings. These are somewhat backloaded into the year, especially this year, without a major event like the Olympics to create interest. 

This may mean things will look up for them later in the year, with the NBA returning with exclusive Peacock games. We also have the impact of a spate of bundling, most notably with Amazon and Paramount+ for Walmart+, alongside Apple TV and even YouTube TV deals to look forward to. 

However, a steep price increase of $3 per month earlier this year has hurt them, with churn growing after its announcement, peaking in September. The loss of one of their most lucrative wrestling deals has hurt, too. 

With profit still beyond Peacock, and not even the hint of a break-even timeline to offer, this leaves many questions about Peacock’s future, and whether it will be the first of the major streaming platforms to throw in the towel or merge with a stronger platform. 

It seems it is a week for the smaller streaming platforms to shine. Alongside considerable movement from Apple, including its new rebrand, we also saw a new international licensing and distribution deal between Bell Media and Tubi. Our Blake & Wang P.A. expert entertainment attorney, Brandon Blake, shares more below.

Brandon Blake

Bell Media and Tubi Sales Pact

Tubi, which functions mostly as Fox’s ad-supported streamer, is now heading to Canada as a result of the new deal for both content and ad sales with Bell Media. Under the terms of the deal, they will co-develop original content for global release on Tubi and Bell’s platforms. Bell will take over as the exclusive ad sales partner for Tubi in Canada, while also bringing its own FAST channels to the platform.  

A Difficult Market

In the Canadian TV market, we’ve seen subscribers opt out of legacy channels in favor of streaming platforms, giving Tubi some groundwork it has taken full advantage of. Tubi’s cheaper, ad-supported offerings have seen considerable uptake, even ahead of local media companies. Under the new development deal, we will also see Canadian-focused originals created both for local markets and for release in the US under the broader Fox banner. It’s perhaps worth remembering that Bell Media itself has a stake in the indie producer, Sphere Media, as well as several content development pacts with some notable companies, including  Lionsgate itself. 

This should allow Fox, Bell Media, and Tubi itself to share both risks and costs in new developments, as well as take advantage of local tax credits. With the service having already demonstrated both traction among local audiences as well as viewer interest, it will be interesting to see how the new deal changes its appeal to Canadian viewers, as well as how the coming Canadian originals perform on US streaming platforms. 

What’s in a name? For Apple TV, it’s certainly not a plus. In yet another subtle rebrand for one of our major streaming services, Apple is shedding the plus for a fresh, clean look. With all the details, we have our entertainment lawyer from Blake & Wang P.A., Brandon Blake, to keep us in the loop.

Brandon Blake

A New Identity

Apple quietly revealed the name change during its press release around the shift of its highly successful release, F1: The Movie, onto the streaming service. While their claims of it being a “vibrant new identity” may be stretching it a bit far, it does highlight a swing we’ve seen to simpler, clearer brand identification among the top streaming platforms of late.

The Little Streamer That Could

While Apple TV remains one of the smallest mainstream streaming platforms, with only 45M subscribers and most indications suggesting it runs at a notable loss (perhaps even $1B a year), covered by the rest of the Amazon shopping ecosystem, it does have some accolades that earn it its “major” status.

Most notably, Apple was the first streaming service to win the Academy Award for Best Picture with a win for CODA. They have also had further successes with The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and the Horse in the animated short film category, and, of course, Killers of the Flower Moon netted 10 nominations, the equal of many a legacy studio in the day. With their TV Original, Ted Lasso, having also dominated in several Emmy awards seasons, Apple TV accounts for 620 wins and 2,816 nominations, with 22 of those in the latest Emmy session. 

While the quiet dropping of the plus is likely to go mostly unnoticed within an industry that already saw them as just “Apple” to start with, it does raise the question of whether we will see other action from Apple ahead, as they have also been very active in the deal and bundling market of late. 

While rushing into another merger was likely not on anyone’s Bingo card for this year, it looks like there could be a deal shaping for Warner Bros from the now David Ellison-run Paramount. With full details, we have our entertainment lawyer at Blake & Wang P.A., Brandon Blake. 

Brandon Blake

A Fantastic Year for Warner Bros

If Warner Bros did want to shelve its looming split between its legacy and streaming assets and pursue a deal for the whole company, it’s certainly in a fantastic place for it. They were officially the first studio to cross the $4B mark at the box office this year, with a string of successes across both tentpoles and smaller releases. Much of this success has been laid at the door of the Warner Bros. Motion Picture chairs, Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy- and we have recently seen their contracts formally renewed, which would be a drawcard for a buyer.

No Formal Offer Yet

However, despite the bevy of rumors around a potential purchase, no formal offers have yet been made, and we do know that informal discussions have taken place. Naturally, all parties would be keen to avoid the prolonged, painful regulatory processes that marred the Skydance merger. Warner Bros. is also currently very debt-heavy, which may be an issue.

There is also the issue of what this would mean for the current Warner Bros. leader, David Zaslav, who is unlikely to make the transition into a merged entity, should it occur. The Ellisons are more likely to want a new broom to sweep clean if they take control. As Zaslav has himself been very prominent as Warner Bros. head, this may cause further conflict. 

For now, we have no formal word on if, let alone when, we may hear a formal bid from Paramount. However, it does seem increasingly likely that we will see a formal bid for the full company in the future, and whether Warner Bros. will ever make it to the planned legacy/streaming split is looking less certain than it did a few months ago.

Paramount, through its Channel 5 British network, has seen lower profits and sales, but they are still going big on local content spending. Our Blake & Wang P.A. entertainment attorney, Brandon Blake, walks us through their reasoning. 

Brandon Blake

First Earnings Since Merger

This is the first earnings announcement for Channel 5 since the Skydance-Paramount merger finally closed earlier this year. In 2024, Channel 5 brought in £21M, down 81% from 2023’s £112.4M. However, it must also be noted that redressing an accidental underpayment to ad partners did eat up a chunk of this year’s profits. 

When that payment is taken out of the mix, it does look a lot brighter. 2024 saw an operating profit of £12M in 2024, compared to £22.7M in 2023. Revenue was down by only 1% at £314M. The broadcaster has managed to make a profit in 9 of the past 10 years, with the pandemic-ridden 2020 the only exception.

High Content Spending

Paramount has always seen Channel 5, and its streaming arm, 5,  as an important part of its UK market presence. 5 is, in fact, one of the fastest-growing streamers among UK public broadcasters. However, there may be changes coming. Their content spending hit a 3-year high (£216.6M), whereas most other competing channels have slowed down considerably. 

With Paramount finally able to focus on its profitability and restructuring under the Skydance deal, the sustainability of those levels of spending may be in question. We have seen a general trend of streaming services looking to cut excessive content spending as each service aims for profitability, so whether they will rein in that spending is certainly a core question.

However, the news around Channel 5 has been generally positive, and Paramount seems committed to keeping it healthy for the sake of their UK market. It is likely we will see further changes coming for the service soon.

As we prepare for awards season, what can the festival sales so far tell us? Building on our earlier roundup of the Cannes sales to date, we have entertainment attorney Brandon Blake at Blake & Wang P.A.

Brandon Blake

Potential for The Right Buyer

While Venice does not have a dedicated film market in the way that Cannes does, its hits (and misses) can still tell us a lot about what we could see hitting the awards scene. For TIFF, this will be its last year without a dedicated market, with a new initiative kicking off from the 2026 iteration. 

Perhaps one of the most interesting “acquisitions” out of this year’s Telluride festival, however, is the sale of Tuner to Black Bear, also its creator. With Black Bear having freshly launched its own distribution arm, keeping another of their festival titles (Christy) for themselves, it was speculated whether they would retain distribution rights for the thriller as well. Christy, particularly, has immense potential for the awards circuit. 

Other Names to Know

Row K Entertainment has been an active buyer, taking the distribution rights to Poetic License and Charlie Harper (both TIFF Special Presentations) as well as Dead Man’s Wire, which played out of competition at Venice. We may see Dead Man’s Wire pushed out later this fall in anticipation of awards qualification. Row K Entertainment is a brand-new distributor, making their first acquisitions particularly noteworthy. We see a similar situation with Erupcja, which went to 1-2 Special, another new face on the distribution scene. 

Netflix, meanwhile, took home rights to Cover-Up, with Paramount+ netting itself Adulthood, a black comedy that is already heading to streaming. Fittingly, Man on the Run went to Amazon MGM. Sony could be eying awards success with anime to build on the fantastic box office run for Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, acquiring Scarlet from the Venice Out of Competition circuit for release later this year. 

All in all, TIFF, Venice, and Telluride have brought some buzzy titles to life, and it is good to see the pace of sales accelerate as we head towards awards season. 

Just about a year ago, we saw the largest cinema circuits in North America pledge to invest north of $2B in modernizing and upgrading the American cinema experience. How far have they gotten? We have our entertainment attorney at Blake & Wang P.A., Brandon Blake, to share the news.

Brandon Blake

$1.5B Already Invested

Over the last 12 months, over $1.5B in upgrades and new builds, including $920M from the largest 8 chains, has been spent. Not bad, for the first year in a three-year plan. Especially as we see box office volumes, on the audience and the slate side, accelerating alongside them. 

These upgrades and modernizations have been identified as a key facet in adapting the exhibition industry to the “new normal” of younger, more demanding audiences wanting their entertainment choices to be more experiential and offer more value than sitting on the couch with their streaming services. 

Knock-On Impacts

We are seeing new fits cover everything from revitalized multi-screen theaters and reopening those that had shuttered. However, we are also seeing some chains, especially those looking for a luxury “rebrand” of sorts, explore options from bringing in alternate entertainment (from bowling to, reportedly, axe throwing) to improving the behind-the-scenes experience with new projectors, screens, and sound systems. Adding extended food and beverage options, up to near-restaurant experiences in some cases, has also been popular. 

Bringing new life back to the cinema as an entertainment focal point isn’t just about the chain’s pockets, either. Recreating the cinema experience as a go-to entertainment destination helps to feed back into the communities they support as well, making it a win-win for everyone.

All in all, it’s encouraging to see cinemas take the need to modernize so seriously, and it will be interesting to see how these upgraded and enhanced amenities contribute to the box office in the coming years. 

It’s been a week of dealmaking for Netflix. In addition to their new advertising pact with Amazon, they have also formally extended their streaming deal with AMC, bringing AMC IPs to life under the AMC Collection banner on Netflix’s platform. With the full story, we have Blake & Wang P.A. the best entertainment lawyer, Brandon Blake. 

Brandon Blake

Extended Deal

Under the new terms of the deal, we will see several AMC properties brought to Netflix viewers, including new seasons of tried-and-trusted favorites like Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire and The Walking Dead’s Daryl Dixon. In addition to new properties, AMC will also be adding some library titles to Netflix’s offerings. Under the new deal terms, there will also be an international expansion, with some titles earmarked for specific overseas markets.

Building on a Prior Partnership

Netflix and AMC first teamed up for a content partnership like this last year, so the new deal is officially a deepening of that existing relationship. In particular, they are hoping to focus further on the franchisers that have seen good viewer uptake on Netflix. 

AMC Networks officially has the AMC+ streaming platform, which was released in June 2020, the height of the pandemic lockdowns. While they have 10.4M subscribers, the platform has remained very small in comparison to the major streamers, and deepening their ties to Netflix’s platform gives them a major boost in viewership as well as profits from the same. For Netflix, meanwhile, it means more fresh content and even greater domination of the streaming market, something becoming ever-more important as platforms like Disney and even Peacock have intensified their market outreach. 

As both bundling and content-sharing deals become increasingly important in the streaming space, it will be interesting to see how Netflix and AMC develop this partnership in the months to come.