Also big thank you to @walthickey.bsky.social for the recent mentions! www.numlock.com/p/numlock-ne...

In an epic deep dive, I compare Heated Rivalry to Mad Men and Heartstopper...which isn’t necessarily a good thing. Take a read for all the data!!! entertainment.substack.com/p/you-cant-e...

In last week’s article on the Oscars, I wrote: “If those six films get nominated, that would be the most popular Best Picture slate in over a decade! As someone who writes these articles yearly, I would be ecstatic.”

Appreciate the @seanmcnulty.bsky.social shout out in today's Wake Up for my huge Heated Rivalry deep dive! theankler.com/p/netflix-25...

Premium: The AI Bubble is a time bomb, burdening hyperscalers with billions of new depreciation a quarter that will soon eat away profits, VCs with dead equity in fallen AI startups, and Oracle with hundreds of billions of unpayable leases. www.wheresyoured.at/premium-timebomb/

Well here we go... My take on Heated Rivalry. entertainment.substack.com/p/you-cant-e...

Well it's time. The hottest show of 2025 will get the EntStrategyGuy analysis tomorrow (or Friday), in one big article. Do the numbers back up the hype? Sign up now to get it in your inbox.

Do you know the biggest movie on streaming of all time? The answers may surprise you!!! entertainment.substack.com/p/did-kpop-d...

I offered six tips on using LLMs...can’t emphasize enough to NOT outsource your thinking to LLMs. entertainment.substack.com/p/six-tips-o...

I don’t think the Academy will nominate more popular films for Best Picture this year, but there’s more popular contenders than ever before. The problem? Most are sitting outside of the top ten in terms of odds.

The latest hot trend I’m really skeptical about? Micro-dramas. If anything, the more I analyze them, the more skeptical I become. entertainment.substack.com/p/a-realisti...

To me, it’s a gigantic inconsistency between eye-popping YouTube stats (60 million subscribers!) and incredibly paltry results off of that platform. Dude Perfect couldn’t turn their 60 million fans out to see their movie? entertainment.substack.com/p/exclusive-...

This is @richardrushfield.bsky.social at his best theankler.com/p/the-golden...

This year I combined my annual plea to nominate more popular Oscar films (reminder the great popular films; they exist) with my strategy analysis of YouTube buying the future Oscar telecasts. entertainment.substack.com/p/the-oscars...

Some more record breaking numbers this week... entertainment.substack.com/p/the-nfl-br...

Yes, streaming is profitable now, just not as profitable as TV used to be. This fact probably still hasn’t been reckoned with enough... entertainment.substack.com/p/a-realisti...

Sean Combs: The Reckoning is the biggest unscripted show since Tiger King entertainment.substack.com/p/smashing-s...

Man, on streaming, the Kardashians just do not move the needle.

YouTube shared this “illuminating” stat with the world: “On average, over 30% of daily logged-in YouTube viewers watched live content in Q2 2025 alone.” Uh, what? entertainment.substack.com/i/177496678/...

Marvel has a streaming problem. entertainment.substack.com/p/what-happe...

I love, love, love Ampere Analysis’ study on how movies and TV shows boost video games. Often, people think Hollywood is dead, when it often drives the cultural conversation. entertainment.substack.com/p/the-broadc...

I loved @scottmendelson.bsky.social best movies of 2025 list. This is how I think more lists should be made, and it captures the year really well. Bravo! scottmendelson.substack.com/p/best-movie...

The response to my gigantic article on entertainment industry definition has been great. If you have any suggestions, send them my way. ​​https://entertainment.substack.com/p/the-entstrategyguys-entertainment

Wow. The numbers for Stranger Things in the US according to Nielsen. Just wow. I had privately wondered if it could best 100 million hours in one week. Answer: Yes!!! entertainment.substack.com/p/smashing-s...

Today, not just one, but two--TWO!--newsletter hit my inbox hyping micro-dramas. So I’m going to have to write a, how shall I say it, in-depth, “realistic” analysis soon.

Recently, I read an article that used a LLM to provide stats on an industry issue. So I ran those starts through two LLMs, which then debunked 60% of them. If you’re a journalist, you absolutely CANNOT use LLM generated outputs without factchecking the results.

Since I wrote about David Bamman’s ground-breaking diversity report (which used AI in a good way) the rest of the media... ...still hasn’t mentioned it. Here’s the key image, showing Hollywood’s big (but incomplete) gains over the last decade. entertainment.substack.com/p/the-ground...

Peacock seems to be on a run! All Her Fault is their biggest show of all time...and I can’t wait to see how The Copenhagen Test does. entertainment.substack.com/p/a-winter-v...

I love the phrase “quiet cancel” and hope to use it more in the future. Amazon quiet-cancelled their Project Runway fast follow/copy, Making the Cut, and no one ever noticed! SBJ reported that Starting 5 was cancelled, but did Netflix ever make an official announcement?

I don't think it's sustainable but I think the question you've been asking for a while is the more important one: WHO is actually watching these and how many viewers are actually out there?

I wrote about microdramas today. There's been a TON of hype about the new field in 2025, and one thing stuck out to me that rarely gets covered: The core biz model is about OBSCURING to customers how much they pay. Huh.

Lotta news in 2025...and I missed some stories. So I cleared out the notebook in today's strategy column. entertainment.substack.com/p/a-realisti...

This simple AI tip saved me 3 hours per week. Find out what it is and how to use AI to maximize your workflow in 2026 here... entertainment.substack.com/p/six-tips-o...

Before the holiday vacation starts, I wrote one more strategy column. What does Disney investing in Open AI have to do with Facebook, the metaverse, Epic Games, Club Penguin and more? entertainment.substack.com/p/is-disney-...

They also had the follow up that Zuckerberg himself ordered to stand down a fraud detection team. At some point (again not a lawyer, so not legal advice) I do wonder if an entrepreneurial Attorney General tries their hand at the biggest fraud/theft trial in history...

Once you see the "seeking valuation" headline, and realize it could be completely fictional (did the deal close? half the time no one follows up) you can't stop seeing it! www.reuters.com/technology/o...

This made me laugh out loud @Walt Hickey From here... www.numlock.com/p/numlock-ne...

Last minute shopping advice (mainly for grandparents): don’t buy cheap knockoffs on Amazon! Buy real toys that are high quality! entertainment.substack.com/p/what-happe...

The Witcher dropoff is incredible... entertainment.substack.com/p/what-happe...

I think most box office should move to this split for box office nowadays. Not US vs International, but US vs China vs Rest of World. Loved this chart from Emily Horgan thekidsstreamersphere.substack.com/p/divining-t...

The theme of the TV show flops for the half year? Social media stars’ streaming TV shows have not done well. This trend doesn’t look to have reversed in the second half of the year. entertainment.substack.com/p/over-93-of...

I think Simon Carless of GameDiscoverCo said that people were upset at this one, but I think it’s one of the best things I’ve read all year. (For new readers, it’s parody,) newsletter.gamediscover.co/p/puglips-th...

Some folks saying my latest is one of my best. To see why it's needed...here's Bloomberg. Today! "Seeking!" My take here! entertainment.substack.com/p/exclusive-...

Big headline here! (Please, please, please read the article.) entertainment.substack.com/p/exclusive-...

A jam packed Streaming Ratings Report is out. The Witcher! Mayor of Kingstown! Frankenstein! Fantastic Four! Jurassic World and many many more! entertainment.substack.com/p/what-happe...

Spoiler alert: I hate using the term “gaslighting” but, hoo boy, I struggle to read pro-LLM pundits and wonder what they’re seeing that I’m not with this new technology.

The saddest part of the "Disney made an AI" deal is the explanation is, "Disney had no choice, since we don't enforce copyright law for AI platforms." If we did, Disney would get an even better return on their valuable IP. BTW, don't kid yourself, copyright is vital.

Poll: My editor/researcher timed himself using a LLM for a data collection task vs. doing it himself. Question: 1. He did the task quicker than the LLM. 2. He saved time using the LLM.

Sorry, not be all "harp on Disney"... ...but did anyone notice that they didn't actually put out how much licensing revenue they stand to make? Weird right? Even a projection? Or the share? When they did their big gambling deals, we got numbers.

Fascinating how much of the coverage focused on the Epic Games investment and not, you know, this... www.wsj.com/articles/dis...