Crypto News: Oscars' new home, Netflix surprises, good news for media

Happy Oscar Sunday to those who celebrate. We'll be eating Armenian food as an ode to Anora and closing with Italian desserts to hedge our bets. We've got an update on the future of the Oscars below, but first...

We've talked a lot about the struggles of Hollywood studios and the existential crisis afflicting my hometown. So, how about some good news?

There are glimmers of hope in the streaming business. Not only are many of the major streaming services now profitable, but their growth is starting to offset the declines in cable.

Profits increased at Walt Disney Co., Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. and NBCUniversal in the final quarter of 2024, in part because streaming added profit (or cut losses) more quickly than the cable networks declined. (Profit fell at Paramount, though its streaming division is also improving its performance.)

Wall Street has soured on these legacy media companies because investors don't believe streaming can replace or improve upon cable. That has been true so far. Streaming services have lost money while cable networks are still quite profitable.

But it's still early days in streaming. Price increases and advertising are starting to make it a better business. Though these changes have made streaming more expensive for customers, fewer people are canceling major streaming services than they were a year ago, per Antenna. Churn had been on the rise for almost two years.

Are we going to start seeing streaming profit make up for the cable shrinkage? Too soon to know. Most analysts would still say no.

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Add Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount to the list of media companies changing their DEI policies.

The Oscars weigh move from Disney after 50+ years

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has begun the hunt for the Academy Awards' next TV home.

The organization initiated negotiations with Disney last year about re-upping a deal that is worth more than $100 million a year. Yet the exclusive negotiating window between the two sides lapsed without a new agreement, according to several people familiar with the matter.

The relationship between Disney and the Academy is still strong; Disney's ABC has aired the Oscars for almost 50 years and will continue to do so through at least 2028. Yet Disney doesn't want to increase the size of the deal and the Academy does. Ergo, the Academy has made it clear it would like to test the market.

Negotiations with new potential partners have not begun, but the Academy has spoken informally with new potential partners, including Netflix, and is interested in talking to others as well, said the people, who declined to be identified discussing confidential negotiations.

The negotiations will test the appeal of a show that has lost a lot of its audience but remains the most-watched awards show in the US. Viewership in the US has collapsed more than 60% from its peak in the late 1990s and is half of what it was just a decade ago.

While Disney would like to reduce what it pays for the Oscars (or keep the fees the same), the Academy is looking for a substantial increase. Disney just agreed to pay more than $70 million a year for the Grammy Awards – an increase on the previous deal with CBS – even though the audience for the show has slipped.

Critics point to many factors for the decline in the Oscars' TV audience. The awards show used to be one of the only places where the average viewer could see a bunch of famous people. Now they can see most of the nominees on social media all the time. The Oscars used to award big commercial hits. Most recent best picture winners have been modest hits, at best. And the show is loaded with categories that honor editors, sound mixers and costume designers that aren't known by the average viewer.

While the Recording Academy has turned the Grammys into a concert that features a few awards, the Motion Picture Academy has faced great resistance from some corners of the Hollywood community when it tried to change the show. It has discussed removing certain categories from the show and introducing an award for more popular movies. (In one nod to modernity, the academy will let Disney stream the show on Hulu in addition to the broadcast on ABC.)

Yet for all the handwringing about the decline of the Oscars, the show still ranks as one of the most-watched telecasts in the US. Almost 20 million people tuned in last year, which is the most in four years. That was the biggest audience for any prime-time show besides 11 football games and a presidential debate.

The Academy is looking to increase the audience for the show and is shopping the global rights this time around. It believes it has enough of a global following to attract more viewers outside the US and wants to find a partner that can help it do so.

Netflix and Amazon offer the largest global audience. They also have the resources to pay a big licensing fee and have already dabbled in awards shows. Netflix streams the Screen Actors Guild Awards, while Amazon carries the Academy of Country Music Awards. Netflix co-Chief Executive Officer Ted Sarandos also sits on the board of the Academy's Los Angeles Museum.

Whether the Academy would do a deal with one of those two companies – or just use them for leverage – remains to be seen. Netflix has said it would only be interested if it could also create more programming using the Academy's library of footage and a deal with either company would be fraught. Netflix has alienated many cinephiles and Academy members by refusing to prioritize movie theaters. Amazon is releasing movies in theaters, but it's still a technology giant that has undercut traditional studios and changed the way Hollywood operates.

Few of the other major media companies can deliver everything the Academy wants. Comcast Corp. has a large presence in the US and Europe and a major US broadcast network, but its streaming service Peacock is only in the US and is a third-tier player. Paramount just balked at paying more for the Grammys, and it's hard to imagine them throwing down twice as much for the Oscars unless incoming Chief Executive Officer David Ellison really wants to make a splash.

Max and Apple TV+ are both global services, but have much smaller audiences than Netflix, Amazon or Disney. Their owners also don't have a broadcast network and Apple has never carried an awards show. All these services could get bigger through mergers or investment over the next few years, but years of flirtation and conversation have yet to produce a deal.

That brings the conversation back to Disney, which still offers both a broadcast network and a global streaming service. And it comes with none of the baggage of Netflix or Amazon since it also owns the most successful movie studio in town. Disney has been the home of the Oscars since 1976. Is a tradition-bound show ready for a seismic change?

The best of Screentime (and other stuff)

A lot more people are watching a little less Netflix

Fool Me Once was the most-watched show on Netflix last year, followed by the third season of Bridgerton and Baby Reindeer. That's according to the latest Netflix engagement report, which details the viewership for all of its programs.

Squid Game crushed everything if you also consider its viewership in the beginning of 2025. The second season of the show dropped at the very end of last year and was still one of the most-watched shows for the entire year.

While we may dive deeper into this data in the weeks ahead, I wanted to share a few takeaways and fun tidbits.

Total viewership of Netflix in 2024 increased by 3% over the prior year, which makes sense since Netflix added 41 million customers last year.
The amount of time the average viewer spent using Netflix declined by about 11%. That also makes sense since a lot of people who used to share a password now set up their own account. The average Netflix account watches almost 2 hours a day.
The most popular genres of movies are animated and action. Damsel, Lift, Carry-On, The Union and Rebel Ridge were the five most-watched movies last year. They are all original action movies. Licensed animated titles include The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Minions and The Boss Baby all ranked in the top 10.
Live events on Netflix are either really, really big or tiny. The NFL on Christmas and The Roast of Tom Brady were huge. Only 1.2 million people watched Chestnut vs. Kobayashi, which is comparable to the US viewership for the similar Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest on ESPN 2. Just half a million people watched Dave Chang's live cooking show.
Reruns still account for a lot of the most popular titles if you include all seasons — largely because there are so many episodes. Netflix viewers spent more time watching Suits and Prison Break than almost every Netflix original. However, no single season of an old show was in the top 50.
Programs in English remain more popular than those in other languages. Though most of Netflix's growth is occurring in territories that don't speak English, programs in other languages account for the same share of viewership (nearly a third) as they did a year ago.

The No 4. tour in the world is…

Anyma. The Italian-American DJ made $2.6 million a night during an eight-date residency at the Sphere, according to Pollstar. That's still not as much as The Eagles ($4.5 million), but pretty good for the first electronic act at the venue.

Anyma is back in Vegas for a brief stint right now.

Deals, deals, deals

Netflix is looking for its next home in Los Angeles.
Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper dropped the next biggest star in her network. There are rumors of a feud.
The world's largest theater chain had a strong close to the year.
Warner Bros. shut down three video game studios, the latest hiccup for the challenged division.
Local broadcast stations are pushing for the federal government to get rid of the rules that prevent broadcast station owners from reaching a national audience.

Weekly playlist

I find it hard to believe I can nail the Oscar winners as I did with the Grammys, but I will offer what I think should happen. Not necessarily what will happen. Anora will capture best picture while Brady Corbet will claim best director for The Brutalist. Fernanda Torres takes best actress for I'm Still Here and Adrien Brody earns best actor for the second time.

The SAG Awards suggest Demi Moore and Timothee Chalemet will win, so I would probably bet on those if I were in Las Vegas. The surest bet on the ballot is Kieran Culkin winning for best supporting actor.

I am having a hard time feeling passionately about many of these categories. This year featured a lot of really good movies but nothing great — at least among the major nominees. A few of my favorite movies of the year aren't nominated at all.