• Wendy McMahon is quitting CBS News, citing disagreement with Paramount's direction.
• Her exit follows that of the "60 Minutes" vet Bill Owens and raises concerns about the show's future.
• CBS is facing legal issues with Trump, which could affect its merger plans with Skydance.

The prestigious news program "60 Minutes" is left without another key ally as CBS News' head, Wendy McMahon, has quit, citing disagreement with the company's path forward.

Her exit is the latest shocking turn of events in the face-off between CBS's parent company, Paramount, and President Donald Trump.

"It's become clear that the company and I do not agree on the path forward," McMahon, the president and CEO of CBS News and Stations and CBS Media Ventures, wrote in a memo obtained by Business Insider. "It's time for me to move on and for this organization to move forward with new leadership."

Her departure comes a month after the longtime "60 Minutes" executive producer Bill Owens quit the show, saying he could no longer run the program independently.

At the time, Owens said McMahon had the show's back, while McMahon praised Owens as having "unwavering integrity, curiosity, and a deep commitment to the truth." She said then that CBS remained committed to "60 Minutes" and would ensure that its mission and the work remain a priority.

"It is not a good sign," a "60 Minutes" employee told BI. "She and Bill were very close. Feels like he was the first target and they wanted her gone, too. But they spread it out. Also, they waited until the '60 Minutes' season was over, by hours."

The employee expressed concern that McMahon's promises to preserve the work of "60 Minutes" and promote from within to replace Owens could fall by the wayside.

CBS is in talks to settle a $20 billion legal battle with Trump. Last year, he sued the network over its "60 Minutes" preelection interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris.

The legal trouble has cast a shadow over Paramount's long-standing plan to sell to the Hollywood production company Skydance, which requires Federal Communications Commission approval.

Trump and his allies have repeatedly targeted the mainstream press.

George Cheeks, a co-CEO of Paramount and the CEO of the broader CBS organization, praised McMahon in a memo that was also seen by BI, saying her contributions improved the network's local news, competitiveness, and streaming operations. He said Tom Cibrowski, who oversees CBS News, and Jennifer Mitchell, who leads CBS Stations, would report directly to him going forward.

For CBS Media Ventures, which McMahon also oversaw, Cheeks said Scott Trupchak, who heads advertising sales, and John Budkins, who oversees programming and production, would report to Bryon Rubin, CBS's chief operating officer and CFO.

Here's the text of McMahon's full memo to staff:

Hi everyone,

Today, I am stepping down from my position as president and CEO of CBS News and Stations and CBS Media Ventures.

This has been one of the most meaningful chapters in my career. Leading this extraordinary organization has been the honor of a lifetime because I got to work alongside all of you. Your commitment to truth, fairness and the highest standards is unassailable.

Championing and supporting the journalism produced by the most amazing stations and bureaus in the world, celebrating the successes of our shows and our brands, elevating our stories and our people ... It has been a privilege and joy.

At the same time, the past few months have been challenging. It's become clear that the company and I do not agree on the path forward. It's time for me to move on and for this organization to move forward with new leadership.

I have spent the last few months shoring up our businesses and making sure the right leaders are in place; and I have no doubt they will continue to set the standard.

You are in incredibly good hands with Tom, Jennifer, John, Matt and Robert. They are phenomenal leaders and people who will continue to protect and celebrate your work. I am sure of it.

To George: Thank you for this opportunity.

To our viewers: Thank you for your trust. You hold us accountable, and you remind us why this work matters.

To the CBS News and Stations and CMV teams: Thank you for your passion, your professionalism and your partnership. It has been a privilege to walk this path with you.

Wendy

• I attended presentations from Amazon, Disney, Netflix, and others at the TV upfronts in New York.
• The media industry is in flux, with declining linear TV and economic uncertainty.
• I saw how media companies are highlighting sports and tech innovations to attract advertisers.

This week, I attended events by Amazon, Disney, NBCUniversal, and other streaming and network giants in New York, where they made their biggest pitches of the year to ad buyers.

The TV upfronts are an annual series of presentations and parties during which TV ad sellers do their best to sell the bulk of their inventory. Given the jittery macro environment and the decline of linear TV viewing, this year's incarnation was expected to be a buyer's market. A recent EMARKETER forecast estimated that tariffs could drag down this year's haul by as much as $4.1 billion, a 23.5% decline from last year.

Still, the show must go on. And as far as I could see, the cloud of uncertainty didn't keep people from coming out. They packed ballrooms and concert halls to get exclusive peeks at the fourth season of "The Bear" on Hulu and the sequel to "Wicked," sip free booze, and catch Lady Gaga.

But the most entertaining moment of the week had to be Arnold Schwarzenegger, who came to Amazon's upfront to plug his Christmas movie, "The Man With The Bag." He had the crowd both groaning and laughing as he rambled on — until his "True Lies" costar Jamie Lee Curtis eased him off the stage.

Behind the parties and celeb antics, however, I could get a sense of the changing ad business — and five clear takeaways emerged.

1. The world has changed

Amid what's usually a celebratory atmosphere, media companies couldn't entirely avoid acknowledging that the world has changed. Sellers had to say enough to show they were sympathetic to the times, but not kill the vibe. This was a party, after all.

NBCUniversal's sales chief, Mark Marshall, kicked off the week with a nod at the economic headwinds (and why they shouldn't keep brands from staying on the air). Disney's Rita Ferro also flicked at the uncertain climate and how Disney was all about flexibility, a play to fickle advertisers.

On the whole, though, execs tried to keep the mood light. So it was notable when ABC's Jimmy Kimmel made an earnest plea for advertisers to support rival CBS's "60 Minutes," which is in President Donald Trump's crosshairs.

2. YouTube loomed, even if media companies dared not speak its name

YouTube's rising TV viewership — and the creator economy it's built on — has been one of the biggest media stories of the past year.

Studios have taken note.

This year's upfronts offered more signs of the shift, with Amazon renewing top YouTuber MrBeast's "Beast Games" for two more seasons, and Fox's free streamer Tubi bringing out social media stars like Noah Beck, who's starring in "Sidelined 2: Intercepted." And of course, YouTube reliably paraded out its biggest creators, including MrBeast and "Hot Ones" host Sean Evans, at Brandcast, its take on the upfront presentation.

Some legacy media giants like Disney went in the other direction by packing their presentations with famous franchises and Hollywood celebrities. Disney wanted you to know it had more than 100 talent on hand. The Mouse House seemed to be saying, hey, we have Hollywood-quality entertainment — and the stars most ad execs have actually heard of.

3. The upfronts aren't just about TV anymore

Upfronts used to be about showing off your fall TV programming, but this week showed how media companies are trying to sell everything they have.

Everyone was promoting movies in addition to shows, for advertisers who like to be part of big marketing partnerships. Amazon trotted out the Kelce brothers of its Wondery podcast arm and Lizzo and DJ Steve Aoki to promote its Twitch streamer. Whole Foods appeared on the screen at one moment.

"Now it's, let's showcase everything that we have. It's, 'Here's what we have, pick what appeals to your client,'" Alicia Weaver-McKinney, VP of media activation at ad agency Mediassociates, said of the broad menu on offer.

4. Sports are the new savior

Nearly every presentation was front-loaded with live sports as media companies leaned on the programming in their arsenal that's most valuable to advertisers as they looked to drive deals in a shaky ad market.

"If you heard anything other than sports, it was item number two, three, four on the list," longtime advertising advisor Michael Kassan said.

NBCU bragged that Peacock had more sports than any other streamer, and Jimmy Fallon didn't miss a beat, quipping, "It's great to be at the NBA upfront."

NBA-less WBD was forced to talk up its tennis, the NHL, and women's sports.

Some buyers privately wondered how sustainable the high prices media companies want for sports will be, though, given the glut of sports inventory out there and hesitance caused by economic uncertainty.

5. Big Tech is trying to change the language of TV

For the past few years, the tech companies have been crashing upfronts week, with Netflix and Amazon having their second in-person events this year.

Now, they want to change the way we talk about and value "TV."

Netflix's content head, Bela Bajaria, talked about slate, not slots, to differentiate streamers like Netflix from the old guard of linear TV, and pointed to its big engagement numbers to say Peak TV wasn't over.

YouTube's Neal Mohan emphasized how much people are watching podcasts on TV, the value of its creator-funded model of entertainment, and how it's giving creators tools to spiff up their shows with TV viewers in mind.

And Amazon touted new interactive ads, data about how much its viewers shop on the platform, and the ability to get them to buy with the click of a remote, something no linear TV company can offer. Every Amazon presenter seemed to be required to utter the phrase, "Full funnel advertising at scale."

• Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos gave a thumbs-up to Warner Bros. Discovery's return to HBO Max branding.
• Sarandos said Netflix has a branding advantage in lacking legacy TV ties.
• He previously expressed surprise at Warner Bros. Discovery dropping the HBO name from its streamer.

Add Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos to the voices welcoming back the HBO name.

Warner Bros. Discovery announced Wednesday that it would change its streamer's name back to HBO Max, abandoning the Max name it adopted two years ago.

"They had so many years trying to start with so many different brands that this move makes sense," Sarandos said, chatting with Business Insider after the streamer's annual TV upfront presentation.

Sarandos said that branding was one area in which Netflix had an easier time than its legacy media rivals. It didn't have to make the transition from cable TV to streaming and integrate different TV assets into one company.

"We have the luxury of being one brand from the beginning," he said.

"I look at '90 Day Fiancé,' it's bigger than 'Hacks' on the top 10, so it's like, how do you argue that you're not this or that?" he added, referring to an example of the lowbrow Discovery reality shows and HBO prestige fare that WBD tried to bring together with Max.

Despite the variety of content, Sarandos previously made it known that he was surprised WBD had dropped "HBO" from the name of the streamer.

"They put all that effort into one thing that they can tell the consumer — it should be HBO," he told Variety earlier this year. In that interview, he also said he didn't understand Amazon's and Apple's streaming strategies.

Apple's strategy includes tapping Sarandos himself for a cameo in Apple TV+'s "The Studio." He played himself in the Seth Rogen-starring parody of Hollywood.

"It would be the most meta moment of television for me to win an Emmy and thank my friends at Apple," he joked after the upfront event.

Sarandos also weighed in on another media rival, Versant, the new name for the Comcast cable networks — including USA, CNBC, MSNBC, and Golf Channel — that are set to soon be spun off.

"How do you make them a cohesive product?" he said.

• HBO Max is once again the name of Warner Bros. Discovery's flagship streamer.
• It's one in a long line of rebrands and logo changes.
• We took a trip down memory lane and dug into all the incarnations over the years.

What's old is new again.

Max is now HBO Max — reversing a polarizing rebrand that happened two years ago. Warner Bros. Discovery announced its streaming service's new-ish name at its annual upfront presentation to advertisers.

This is the latest entrant in a series of names for HBO's streamer. Media and advertising circles are split on its merits.

The HBO Max rebrand could help restore awareness and credibility associated with HBO's storied entertainment name, said Ben Kunz, the chief strategy officer at advertiser Mediassociates. He said clients were often "puzzled" by the streamer's more generic name.

"People have limited room in their head for brand names," Kunz said. "When people get confused, they fall back on 'no.' Anchoring a streaming service with all the momentum of the past of HBO, I think that will build credibility for marketers."

The company says reverting to HBO Max signifies a return to its roots with a renewed focus on quality over quantity.

"We will continue to focus on what makes us unique — not everything for everyone in a household, but something distinct and great for adults and families," WBD streaming head JB Perrette said in a statement.

But some branding experts believe that yet another name change will only create confusion.

"Everybody now knows that Max is HBO Max," said Chris Rosica, the CEO of branding firm Rosica Communications. "It's a little late in the game to do that."

Below is a brief history of HBO's many streaming rebrands:

HBO GO (2010)

HBO Go debuted in 2010 and was only for linear HBO customers who were traveling or wanted to watch HBO on the go — hence the name.

Smartphone adoption was rising, and tablets were starting to pop up after Apple unveiled the iPad in early 2010.

HBO Now (2015)

Then came HBO Now, which brought shows like "Game of Thrones" to cord-cutters for the first time.

Pay TV was just starting to decline from its peak as millennials opted for Netflix and Hulu, which offered on-demand shows and movies at a fraction of the cost of cable and satellite TV.

HBO Max (2020)

WarnerMedia, which cellphone giant AT&T ran from 2018 to 2022, launched HBO Max in 2020 during the height of the streaming wars. Its timing was excellent, as the pandemic kept the world inside, which led to a boom in streaming viewership.

However, competition was fierce. HBO Max had to contend with stalwarts like Netflix and Hulu as well as compelling new entrants like Disney+, Apple TV+, Peacock, and eventually Paramount+.

A purple color palette was a purposeful departure from HBO's simple but iconic black-and-white look. It was distinct and "ownable," brand strategist Lily Thaler of Design Bridge and Partners said.

Max (2023)

HBO's parent company had a rocky run under AT&T, which cut its losses by spinning it off in 2022. WarnerMedia then joined forces with cable company Discovery to form a new media conglomerate, which had even more exposure to the shrinking pay-TV business.

Enter Warner Bros. Discovery. David Zaslav, who'd run Discovery since 2006, was looking to make a splash and shake up Hollywood.

Armed with HBO's prestige fare and Discovery's guilty-pleasure shows — like "My 600-lb Life" and "Dr. Pimple Popper" — Zaslav dropped the HBO name from its streamer in hopes of being a something-for-everyone service like Netflix.

This move was controversial and heavily criticized by some, though others argued the Max rebrand was necessary to protect the HBO brand.

WBD marked the rebrand to Max by swapping its purple gradient for a bright blue. Patrizio "Pato" Spagnoletto, WBD's then-marketing chief, told Vulture that this change was "intending to signal not just change from HBO Max of the purple, but a much more sustainable premium version of the service."

Max had mixed results. It struggled with a high cancellation rate but found success by bundling with Disney+ and Hulu. The service grew meaningfully in the last year, largely due to international expansion.

Max (2025)

WBD foreshadowed its HBO Max rebrand in late March by refreshing its blue color scheme with HBO's signature black-and-white look.

"Typically, moving to black in a space where a lot of brands own color might try to signal sophistication, legacy, respectability," Thaler said.

This move shows confidence, she added: "We don't need to be bright and flashy and cover all colors of the rainbow to get your attention."

HBO Max (2025)

This latest rebrand is WBD's clearest signal yet that it's no longer trying to contend with Netflix and is instead prioritizing profitability.

WBD content chief Casey Bloys said putting the HBO brand front and center "far better represents our current consumer proposition," and positions its content as differentiated and valuable.

HBO's three letters stand for high-quality, prestige programming, said Dan Green, a professor and the director of entertainment industry management at Carnegie Mellon University.

"It's hard to get attention, and HBO Max — you know what you're getting," Green said.

However, branding veteran Rosica said this move wasn't necessary — and could backfire.

Rosica said Max already had high brand awareness, especially among younger audiences. Confusion could also emerge, as some consumers may wonder if reality TV shows from Discovery are going away, or if prices are changing.

"A lot of questions will come up that really can be avoided," Rosica said.

Some ad execs said they doubted the rebrand would make a difference either way.

Mike McHale of Noble People said ads on WBD's streamer are still too expensive compared to its peers, given it has an audience that he thinks is reachable elsewhere.

"People who watch 'The Sopranos' — they probably also watch 'The Office.' There isn't an exclusive audience of people I feel like I'm missing when I leave them off buys," McHale said.

No matter what WBD calls its streamer, Thaler pointed out that it won't be able to retroactively change shortcut buttons on Roku remotes. Many of them still say "HBO Max" — albeit now in the wrong color.

• Netflix is making big updates to its homepage to improve engagement and cut down on decision fatigue.
• The changes aim to boost time spent as Netflix shifts focus to engagement from subscriber growth.
• Netflix's strategy includes vertical video, AI search, and more.

Netflix is refreshing its homepage for the first time in a decade as it tries to keep people on the service for longer.

As Netflix has added sports and live events, its TV viewing experience has had to evolve, executives said in a blog post and presentation previewing the updates with reporters on May 6. The changes include moves to promote live events, use artificial intelligence in search, and help users get to search faster.

"Our members do a lot of eye gymnastics when they're scrolling down and right and going back and forth between rows and title details on the homepage," Eunice Kim, chief product officer of Netflix, said in the presentation. "This makes it hard to absorb enough information to understand what is unique about each title."

Why does that matter? Growth.

As it matures, Netflix isn't growing as fast in its core markets of the US and Canada. It has more opportunities in Asia, where there's more upside for its lower-priced, ad-supported tier.

In those mature markets, it's moving toward time spent as its North Star and away from subscriber growth. The more time its ad-tier subscribers spend on Netflix, the more ads they see and the more money Netflix makes.

So, Netflix has to keep offering something for everyone, and shows and movies people feel they have to show up for.

That means putting out an enormous amount of new titles that meet the varied tastes of its more than 300 million subscribers worldwide. It's why Netflix is rolling out more live programming like the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight and the YouTube-born dating show, "Pop the Balloon." It's why the service is considering offering other kinds of content, like video podcasts, that people are increasingly watching on TVs.

Despite being far and away the winner of the streaming wars, Netflix's share of US TV viewership has remained largely flat over the past year at around 8%, according to Nielsen. Meanwhile, Google's YouTube has pulled away from the pack, to 12% of TV viewing in March, up 19% year over year.

Here's a breakdown of the changes Netflix said it's rolling out to users in the coming weeks and months to get them to make viewing decisions faster:

• More information on titles, like whether they've won awards or ranked among Netflix's most-watched.
• More visible shortcuts, which Netflix moved to the top of the screen from the left-hand side.
• Recommendations that respond to people's moods and interests in the moment based on signals like what they gave a thumbs-up or searched for.
• A cleaner design.
• A generative AI search tool in its mobile app that lets people search using natural language.
• A vertical feed in the mobile app with clips of Netflix shows and movies that can be tapped to watch immediately, add to a list, or share.

• President Donald Trump just proposed an addition to MAGA: MMIAA, or "MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!"
• While the details of Trump's proposed film tariffs are unclear, many in Hollywood are rattled.
• Here are the potential winners and losers from this policy proposal.

Hollywood is the latest industry to be brought into President Donald Trump's trade war.

Many in the movie business were spooked when Trump said he planned to impose a 100% tariff on films produced in foreign countries.

Trump said his goal was to stop Hollywood from "dying a very fast death." But while there are more questions than answers, industry insiders and analysts said they felt tariffs could wreak havoc on an entertainment business already struggling to come back from labor strikes and spending cuts.

"It basically will hit the whole industry," NYU entertainment industry professor Paul Hardart said.

Industry insiders said they feared tariffs could raise costs (and potentially sink revenues if other countries retaliate). But there also could be winners, depending on what the ultimate plan is.

White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement that "no final decisions on foreign film tariffs" had been made and that the administration was "exploring all options to deliver on President Trump's directive to safeguard our country's national and economic security while Making Hollywood Great Again."

Here's a rundown of the potential winners and losers if tariffs come to the movie business.

Potential winner: US film hubs

Foreign countries have long lured productions with financial incentives. The five top destinations for filming were outside the US, including Vancouver and the UK, a survey of studio executives by production services firm ProdPro found.

If Trump's tariffs steer films back to the US, it would benefit burgeoning hubs beyond LA and New York. Cities like Atlanta and New Orleans have built film industries through tax breaks and lower living costs. At least 18 states have started or expanded film tax incentives since 2021.

Potential loser: Producers, directors, actors, and writers

Although Trump's tariffs appear well-intended, many in Hollywood are afraid of them.

"Tariffs risk triggering retaliation, inflating costs, and stalling productions — hurting the very professionals we aim to support," Producers United, an organization representing producers, said in a statement. The group instead advocated for a federal production rebate to counteract foreign tax incentives.

Film producer Randy Greenberg wrote on LinkedIn that Trump's film tariff proposal would "have the opposite effect" of what it intends and "will kill the movie industry faster."

Morgan Stanley analyst Ben Swinburne wrote in a note that Trump's proposed 100% tariff "would lead to fewer films, more expensive films, and lower earnings for all in the business."

Potential winner: Below-the-line crew

The clearest beneficiary from film tariffs would be those in LA who work in pre-production, production, and post-production, said Schuyler Moore, a partner at LA-based law firm Greenberg Glusker.

Unlike actors and directors, many of these crew members can't easily join overseas productions. The same goes for those in food catering or makeup artists. More films made in LA would make them busier.

"It's clearly a positive for the below-line crew," Moore said. "It's a hammer to everybody else."

However, these workers might not be better off if film production plummets and there are fewer projects overall.

Potential loser: Independent production companies

Independent production firms like industry darlings A24 and Neon may be big losers from tariffs.

Global outsourcing helped indie production companies that have less access to financing. Film financing is tenuous, so higher costs could mean fewer films getting made. It could also make it cost-prohibitive for indies to bring films like Neon's Best Picture-winning "Parasite," which came from South Korea, to US audiences.

"If you're going to do something to squash the independent sector, this is what you would do," said Peter Marshall, a former Lionsgate film executive who's now a media consultant.

Potential loser: International networks and production firms

Foreign TV networks with US exposure could be crushed if there are tariffs or quotas on films or shows, analyst Brian Wieser of Madison & Wall said.

Sean Furst, an overseas-focused producer, said European players have been trying to reduce their reliance on the US entertainment market. If overseas production is penalized, US producers filming abroad could similarly give up on getting US distribution and look abroad.

"Talk to anyone in Europe, and nobody is relying on a US commitment in a finance plan anymore," Furst said, adding that the knock-on effect of tariffs could be a shift to fewer productions with lower budgets.

Potential winner: AI companies

Hollywood has been slow to adopt AI and has mainly limited it to tasks like post-production, special effects, and dubbing.

However, AI use could speed up as filmmakers look for ways to cut costs. This could mean expanding to generating video from text prompts.

Potential loser: Global streamers

The tariffs have put a spotlight on Netflix, which has the most output and the biggest global footprint of the US streamers. Netflix has been seen by some investors as recession-resistant after reaching utility-like status.

We don't really know how the tariffs would be implemented. But Citi media analyst Jason Bazinet estimated that, in a worst-case scenario for Netflix, it could raise the streamer's costs by $3 billion a year and hit its earnings per share by 20%. He calculated this by assuming Netflix licenses 40% of its total content budget and produces half of the remaining 60% abroad.

However, Bazinet added that Netflix could limit the impact by shifting production to the US, cutting down US access to foreign-made content on the service, and raising prices to cover higher production costs.

Potential loser: Audiences

Frank Albarella, a KPMG partner who studies media and telecom, said tariffs could "inadvertently force audiences to pay more for what could become a narrower creative landscape."

Mike Proulx of research firm Forrester warned that if tariffs go through, there could be fewer films as production costs and the prices of movie tickets and streaming subscriptions soar.

"Any way you slice it, this measure equates to consumer pain," Proulx said.

• YouTube is the 800-pound gorilla crashing TV's annual upfronts sales extravaganza.
• TV companies like Disney and Paramount will try to reclaim the spotlight with tech and sports.
• But ad buyers want flexibility amid economic uncertainty, which benefits platforms like YouTube.

Streaming and network giants like Amazon, Disney, NBCUniversal, and Paramount will gather in New York this week to parade their best programming in front of ad buyers, in hopes of securing big commitments.

One thing everyone's sure to be whispering about: YouTube's growing dominance in the living room.

The platform's success on bigger screens has been well documented. Now, the economic uncertainty rattling markets is making YouTube increasingly attractive to advertisers. MoffettNathanson analyst Michael Nathanson recently predicted that YouTube would be the biggest media company in the world by revenue this year, surpassing Disney.

At the TV upfronts this week, streaming giants and traditional networks will try to prove they can deliver the same value and flexibility as YouTube — and remind advertisers about areas like sports where they are still dominant.

"YouTube has been the beneficiary of tremendous growth in streaming and also in ad spend, and it has done that without a formula that's dependent on premium content," said Christopher Vollmer, a partner at the talent agency UTA and managing director of its media consultancy MediaLink.

"It's giving the buying entities — the agencies and the brands — a lot of what they look for: Scaled media consumption, on a big screen, looks like TV, and all the bells and whistles in terms of the performance metrics of digital," Vollmer added.

TV players are taking a page from YouTube

As the impact of tariffs and declining consumer confidence threatens advertisers' spending plans, a key theme of this year's upfronts will be flexibility, ad buyers said.

Digital players like YouTube are well-positioned in this sort of environment because online ads tend to be easier to switch on and off as required. TV networks, for whom the upfronts were created to lock in ironclad spending commitments, will begrudgingly have to accept the current reality.

"Clients want to feel like they are putting money into the marketplace, but if they need to pivot in any way, that they have the ability to do so without penalties," said Jessie Schwartzfarb, an EVP at the media agency Dentsu Media US.

In their pitches, TV players are acting a little more like YouTube, industry insiders said. Their presentations are likely to hammer home how they're matching the tech giant's adtech and data chops.

Given the macro environment and the decline of linear TV viewing, there's no escaping that the upfronts will probably be a buyer's market this year. An EMARKETER forecast estimated that tariffs could drag down the upfronts TV haul by as much as $4.1 billion, a 23.5% decline from last year.

The so-called scatter market — TV ad inventory that's not purchased during the upfronts, and which typically sells at rates around 30% to 40% more — is already soft, said Ed Papazian, founder of MediaDynamics, a media research and consulting company.

"The fly in the ointment right now is the erratic behavior of the government — the tariffs — which is making it difficult to predict the economic picture for the full year next season," Papazian said.

MrBeast vs sports

YouTube, which will host its own Brandcast sales event during the upfronts, will return to the stage with its biggest star: MrBeast. It's also promoting opportunities for advertisers to own the conversation around cultural events like the Masters and the Met Gala and work more closely with creators.

Despite its rise, YouTube isn't a must-buy for all TV advertisers. Some are still befuddled by its breadth and see it as downmarket.

"The tension is really still — I don't know if my ad will show up on something amateur," an exec at a major ad agency said.

Another area of weakness for YouTube is sports. Sure, YouTube has the NFL's Sunday Ticket. But the TV companies will certainly remind buyers that there's no better place to reach large, captive audiences than with tentpole live sports like the Super Bowl and the Olympics.

"I got one word for you today: sports," said Michael Kassan, a longtime ad industry player, riffing on the famous advice a young Dustin Hoffman's character got in "The Graduate." "That's what's selling. And I got two words for you: women's sports."

NBCUniversal plans to emphasize in its pitch that it'll own nearly 40% of big event viewership in the US, with 129 nights of live sports in primetime from 2025 to 2026. Upfront attendees can expect to see personalities representing the NBA, Super Bowl LX, and the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics take the stage. Paramount will also lean on its extensive sports offering, with appearances by its on-air talent.

Disney is going for an intimate show that emphasizes the famous IP that only the Mouse House has, like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, said Bill Skrief, who runs DeadLizard with Todd Reinhart, a creative agency whose clients include Disney.

Papazian said TV networks may also look to bundle their broadcast, cable, and streaming holdings as one package to advertisers in order to regain some leverage.

Everyone's touting their creator relationships

The line between digital and TV in the ad market is increasingly blurring.

In years past, TV companies focused their upfront events simply on the programming and the celebrities, but they are now devoting more stage time to the under-the-hood tech. On the flipside, YouTube, streamers, and tech platforms are attempting to prove they've moved beyond "video" to premium TV.

Legacy TV companies have also sought to deepen their relationships with creators. Last week, for example, NBCUniversal announced four scripted series on its streaming service Peacock featuring "self-made social media stars."

Ed East, CEO of the influencer marketing agency Billion Dollar Boy, said TV networks are increasingly exploring partnerships where advertisers co-produce creator-led content.

"These are sophisticated, commercially-driven operations, and TV networks are responding," East said.

Who will come out on top this year?

Katie Klein, chief investment officer of the media agency Omnicom Media Group North America, said the winner of the upfronts will be whoever best combines digital and TV strengths.

"I don't think there's a clear winner yet, but I do think that this year's upfront will certainly help us to determine who's coming out ahead," Klein said.

• Elon Musk's X is seeking a PR leader to bolster its public image.
• Under Musk, the platform's relationship with some advertisers has been fraught.
• Musk has also attacked journalists by name.

Help wanted: X is looking for a PR guru to boost its reputation.

Since Elon Musk bought the platform formerly known as Twitter, its relationship with advertisers and reporters has been fraught.

X is now looking for a communications leader to help improve its relationship with reporters, multiple people familiar with the matter told Business Insider. One person who was contacted by a recruiter said the remit was described as helping craft the company's public image. The job has been vacant since Dave Heinzinger left his role as head of media strategy earlier this year. The person would work closely with CEO Linda Yaccarino, who's been trying to rebuild X's ads business.

The company saw an exodus of advertisers after Musk acquired it in October 2022, though there have been some recent signs that the company's ad revenue is turning around. In 2023, Musk lashed out at advertisers directly, telling those that had stopped spending on the platform to "go fuck yourself." And X is suing 11 advertisers, alleging they collectively conspired to boycott the platform in contravention of antitrust laws. The case is ongoing.

On the media front, Musk has attacked journalists by name on the platform.

X has also been criticized for loosening moderation and account verification rules and reinstating some banned accounts of provocative figures. Separately, Musk has used the platform to tout MAGA messaging and promote President Donald Trump, stirring division among users. In March, Musk said his startup xAI acquired X in an all-stock deal.

X has had a revolving door of comms execs in the past year. Joe Benarroch, a longtime associate of Yaccarino's, left in June after a year. Nick Pickles, a legacy Twitter employee who was vice president of global affairs, followed him out the door in September. Then Heinzinger, a public relations vet, came in December and stayed for just three months before returning to his former role as president of Haymaker Group. John Stoll, a former Wall Street Journal editor who was hired in January to head up a news and partnerships team, has taken on comms duties while the role has been vacant.

People in PR circles credited X for being self-aware in trying to expand its operation and said it would take someone with an uncommon sense of adventure to fill such a role.

"It certainly would be the challenge of a lifetime," one person said.

• Google has quietly launched a film and TV production initiative called 100 Zeros.
• Google wants to promote its products and a positive image of tech, particularly to young people.
• The goal is to sell projects to studios, not put them on YouTube.

Google wants to use Hollywood to upgrade its cool factor.

The tech giant has quietly launched a new film and TV production initiative, Business Insider has learned.

The effort, called 100 Zeros, is a multiyear partnership with Range Media Partners, the talent firm and production company whose notable films include "A Complete Unknown" and "Longlegs." It's tasked with identifying projects that Google can help fund or produce. The goal is to get behind an array of scripted and unscripted films and TV shows. (The companies wouldn't comment on a number or timeframe.)

Google has a few goals with 100 Zeros. The company sees it as a way to get the creative community to adopt its newer tech products and services, like its Immersive View feature that lets you see things in 3D, spatial tools that blend the physical and virtual worlds, and AI.

Google also wants to promote a positive view of its products — and tech generally — through entertainment to young audiences by helping shape pop culture.

Last year, 100 Zeros quietly dipped a toe in the water, putting some marketing dollars behind an indie horror film from Neon, "Cuckoo." In exchange, 100 Zeros' logo was prominently shown in the opening credits. Google didn't seek any publicity for the move, but it was indicative of the alignments it wants: A celebrated indie studio ("Parasite," "Anora") and a movie aimed at Gen Z and starring Hunter Schafer, known for "Euphoria" and the "Hunger Games" franchise.

In another step in that direction, Google and Range announced a partnership this spring called "AI On Screen" to commission short films about AI, with the goal of making two into feature films. Here's how it described one of the shorts, "Sweetwater": "When the son of a late celebrity visits his childhood home, a piece of fan mail reveals a startling AI, forcing him to reconcile his mother's legacy."

"Through our continued partnership with Range, we aim to collaborate with the Hollywood creative community in a thoughtful and productive way, upkeeping our ongoing commitment to responsibly support creative expression and explore the possibilities of technology through storytelling," a Google spokesperson said in a statement.

Google wants to make Android cool

In projects where Google is involved early on, the company wouldn't mind if characters clutched Android phones instead of iPhones and used its features like "Circle to Search." That's provided the integration isn't forced. Product placement isn't 100 Zeros' main focus, however. Google has a separate effort with United Talent Agency for marketing partnerships like its recent ones with "The White Lotus" and "Wicked" to promote the Pixel.

One of the ways Google will judge the success of the initiative is how it impacts popular sentiment around the company's products and services. Google dominates the global mobile phone market, but is outsold by Apple in the US. Apple has gained a strong following with Gen Z with its luxury image and blue text bubbles that can make Android users feel left out. Its phones have become entrenched in pop culture, appearing in buzzy titles like "Succession" and "Knives Out." Piper Sandler's spring survey found 88% of US teens owned an iPhone.

Beyond Android, Google search is losing its hold on young people, who are increasingly going to AI or other platforms like Amazon and TikTok for answers to their questions.

Google isn't looking at YouTube as a distributor

Consumer brands are increasingly using Hollywood-style entertainment to spread their messages, as it's gotten harder to get people's attention with traditional ads. The interest is welcome in cash-strapped Hollywood.

A common approach by brands is to lean on established filmmakers and agencies to develop or produce projects. A handful of brands like Procter & Gamble and WeTransfer have gone further and hired in-house expertise. Google's efforts are similar to those of Waffle Iron Entertainment, a studio Nike set up to make original entertainment that aligns with the company's goals while operating at arm's length.

100 Zeros has a small dedicated staff: Penny Lin, a film producer at Range, and development execs Casey Durant and Tony Nguyen. Rachel Douglas, partner and manager at Range, oversees the relationship with Google. On the Google side, the point person is Jonathan Zepp, the managing director of emerging content experiences.

"This initiative is different in that it's staffed by full-time people who come out of Hollywood and are housed at and supported by Range," Douglas said of 100 Zeros.

Consumer brands' flirtation with films isn't guaranteed to last. Some have been halting or slowing film projects amid President Donald Trump's tariffs and attacks on DEI. Even before the tariff news hit, some corporations that had made commitments to the space — including Starbucks, Marriott, and Southwest Airlines — laid off marketers who worked in filmed entertainment as a part of larger corporate cuts, a reminder of the tenuous nature of the work.

One aspect of 100 Zeros that people might find surprising is that it's not looking to leverage YouTube as a primary distribution platform. YouTube has become a TV juggernaut and has been working to make itself a home for premium programming. But 100 Zeros isn't trying to recreate YouTube Originals, the platform's onetime stab at making original shows, or even use YouTube as the first stop for these projects. Instead, the goal is to sell projects to traditional studios and streamers like Netflix.

• Sundar Pichai warned that people's privacy could be at risk if Google is forced to sell search data.
• The Alphabet CEO testified in an antitrust case that could force Google to sell Chrome and share data.
• Pichai also played up the competition Google faces from AI chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT.

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said he has "a lot of concerns around privacy" if Google is forced to sell some of the data it collects to create its search results.

Google and the Department of Justice are in the midst of a three-week court battle in Washington, DC, that could result in a massive shake-up of the $1.8 trillion tech giant.

Pichai testified in Google's monopoly case on Wednesday. US District Judge Amit Mehta ruled in August that Google's online search business violated US antitrust law and will ultimately determine Google's fate.

One of the remedies the Justice Department is seeking would require Google to sell its Chrome browser and share some of the data.

Asked about how the government's proposed remedy would affect Google's business, Pichai warned about the impact on people's search data.

"People search in Google in their most vulnerable moments, and there seems to be no privacy protections," he said, calling the proposal on data sharing "so far-reaching, so extraordinary.

"All of the years of R and D and all the years we have put into the product, it feels like a full divestiture," he said.

Pichai also expressed concerns about how a potential future competitor would secure users' info, stressing that no one has done more than Google to safeguard its user data over the years.

Justice Department attorney Veronica Onyemar said that Google was accused back in 2011 of violating consumers' privacy when it launched its social network. Google and the government settled that case.

"I haven't seen any other company come close to making the type of investments that we do," Pichai said.

Onyemar poked at Pichai's concern about the government's request by pointing to Google's compliance with Europe's Digital Markets Act. Under the sweeping tech law, Google is required to share some search data with small competitors.

In response, Pichai said Europe's requirements are "very different from how it is in the plaintiffs' proposal."

The DOJ returned to the Digital Markets Act, which the Trump White House has taken issue with, to undermine Pichai's claim that Google would reconsider its robust investment in research and development if the company is forced to give up closely-guarded data.

Pichai responded that the DMA's complex requirements have forced European users to wait for the latest developments.

"In Europe today, there are many features that we launch a year later than we launch in the US," he said.

Earlier, Pichai was asked about the threat of AI chatbots to Google search. The Justice Department has argued that the company could use its AI products to bolster its dominance in search by using its powerful search data.

Pichai's point was that Google's dominance is by no means assured. He said the field is wide open in Gen AI, with OpenAI's Chat GPT in the leading position, plus more entrants than he can keep track of.

"In terms of the consumer Gemini app, we've made a lot of progress. It is a popular app," he said. "I am pleased with the progress, but we have a big gap between us and the market leader in the space."

• Brands are halting or slowing some film projects amid Trump's tariffs and attacks on DEI.
• This threatens a bright spot in the entertainment industry.
• Despite challenges, sectors like healthcare and B2B are still going strong in branded entertainment.

President Donald Trump's tariffs are threatening a rare bright spot in Hollywood.

Brands have been ramping up their embrace of Hollywood-style films and TV shows. It's a trend that's taken on heightened relevance as the entertainment business struggles to find its footing after COVID, double labor strikes, and the end of Peak TV.

But Trump's tariffs threaten to put the kibosh on its growth. Six agencies and consultants that work with brands told Business Insider that projects had been canceled or put on hold in recent weeks because of economic uncertainty.

That aligns with data about the broader ad world. For example, a February IAB survey of marketers found that 45% of advertisers planned to reduce ad spending amid worry about tariffs.

"Typically, what brands do is lean on performance marketing and pull money from top of funnel marketing, which is where brand storytelling lives," said Rick Parkhill, director of Brand Storytelling, an organization that hosts professional gatherings for the branded entertainment community. Performance marketing is where a brand pays for measurable outcomes like a sale or website visit. In contrast, top of funnel marketing is geared toward building a brand's awareness or shifting its perception. The IAB survey found that 35% planned to increase focus on performance-based campaigns.

"I'm hearing about projects being pulled, held, people being laid off, a lot of concerns about job security," Parkhill said of branded entertainment in Hollywood. "The big million-dollar-plus projects that are a year long in development — there's going to be some delays."

The chill has also had a human impact, brand entertainment insiders said.

"I've gotten weekly emails from someone who's been let go at a brand that was doing some kind of film content or agencies working in that space or a publisher, and they're looking for jobs," said Brian Newman, founder of Sub-Genre, which helps companies like REI with content strategy. He said it's a stark change from just a few months ago.

"At Sundance, we were taking meetings like crazy," Newman said.

DEI attacks have put a squeeze on brand films

Trump's war on DEI has taken a toll on branded entertainment as well.

Brands that invest in Hollywood-style marketing content often use it to associate themselves with progressive values. Think Procter & Gamble, whose in-house studio has backed films about gender equity and LGBTQ+ issues; or John Deere, which made a film about Black farmers, "Gaining Ground: The Fight for Black Land."

Two consultants told BI that the political headwinds had affected clients' film projects.

Marcus Peterzell, founder of Passion Point Collective, a brand film studio with clients like The North Face and Yogi Tea, said one client decided to stop promoting a film it had already produced and released to avoid attracting backlash from the White House. He declined to name the brand to protect business relationships.

"It's unbelievable," Peterzell said.

Why branded entertainment is vulnerable to cuts

Companies that already have a film in production are likely to stick with it, given the sunk cost. It's easier for them to hit the brakes on projects that are in the idea or development stage. Brand advisors are counseling clients to stay the course and, at the very least, continue developing projects. They're making the case that brands can gain an advantage by continuing to advertise as others cut back. And in anxious times, consumers are receptive to brand messages that are about more than just low prices.

Parkhill is planning his organization's big Elevate event in July. With tight travel budgets, he expects it to take longer than usual to fill up. Attendees can expect programming focused on why brands should keep making impactful entertainment in tough times.

"To just say 'come buy our stuff,' people are not going to respond to that," Parkhill said.

As much as branded entertainment is getting more buzz thanks to the success of movies like Mattel's "Barbie," it can still face internal resistance. Films take a long time to get made, and it's hard to prove someone bought a product after seeing a movie.

Even before the tariff news hit, some corporations that had made commitments to the space — including Starbucks, Marriott, and Southwest Airlines — laid off marketers who worked in filmed entertainment. While those cuts were part of larger corporate cuts, they were a reminder to industry insiders of the tenuous nature of the work.

That said, there are some signs of health in the industry, despite challenges.

Hershey has a widely anticipated movie in the works about the candy empire. And Toys 'R' Us is looking into a live-action film, Variety reported this month.

While insiders said efforts associated with areas like travel and China-dependent manufacturers had seen the most immediate impacts from the tariffs, they said other sectors like the creator economy, healthcare, and B2B were still going strong.

• Bill Owens quit as executive producer of CBS's "60 Minutes," saying he lost editorial independence.
• CBS faces a $10 million lawsuit from Donald Trump over one of the show's interviews.
• Paramount's plan to sell to Skydance needs FCC approval.

In a stunning announcement, Bill Owens, the longtime executive producer of CBS's "60 Minutes," quit the news program, saying he could no longer run it with editorial independence.

CBS has been embroiled in a legal battle with President Donald Trump, who sued the network last year for $10 million over its "60 Minutes" preelection interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris.

The legal trouble has cast a shadow over the CBS parent Paramount's long-standing plan to sell to the Hollywood production company Skydance, which requires FCC approval.

Legal experts have called the lawsuit indefensible, but Paramount's controlling shareholder, Shari Redstone, has said she's in favor of settling the case, which many journalists at the network believe would amount to capitulation, The New York Times reported.

"Over the past months, it has also become clear that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it. To make independent decisions based on what was right for 60 Minutes, right for the audience," Owens wrote in a memo sent to staff Tuesday, which was obtained by Business Insider. The Times earlier reported on his exit.

Wendy McMahon, the president of CBS News, praised Owens in a separate memo obtained by BI, saying he had "unwavering integrity, curiosity, and a deep commitment to the truth." She wrote that CBS remained committed to "60 Minutes" and ensuring that its mission and the work remain a priority.

The news comes as media outlets wrestle with how to counter threats from a president who has vowed revenge on his perceived enemies, including the press.

Here's the text of the note Owens sent to the "60 Minutes" staff:

The fact is that 60 Minutes has been my life. My son was 6 months old, my wife was pregnant with my daughter and my mother was in a coma when I spent 5 weeks on the battlefield in Iraq with Scott. My 60 Minutes priorities have always been clear. Maybe not smart, but clear.

Over the past months, it has also become clear that I would not be allowed to run the show as I have always run it. To make independent decisions based on what was right for 60 Minutes, right for the audience. So, having defended this show — and what we stand for — from every angle, over time with everything I could, I am stepping aside so the show can move forward.

The show is too important to the country, it has to continue, just not with me as the Executive Producer. Please remember, people didn't think we would survive without Mike or Ed or Don or Jeff. We did. You will.

60 Minutes will continue to cover the new administration, as we will report on future administrations. We will report from War zones, investigate injustices and educate our audience. In short, 60 Minutes will do what it has done for 57 years.

Wendy McMahon has always had our back, and she agrees that 60 Minutes needs to be run by a 60 Minute producer. Tanya has been an amazing partner, as have Claudia and Debbie, Matt Richman and Matt Polevoy. I am grateful to all of them.

Look, I have worked at CBS News for 37 years, more than half of that at 60 Minutes, I have been shot at and threatened with jail for protecting a source. I have overseen more than 600 stories as Executive Producer of 60. I know who I am and what I have done to cover the most important stories of our time under difficult conditions. I am also proud to have hired the next generation of correspondents and to call Lesley, Bill, Anderson, Sharyn, Jon, Cecilia and Scott friends. Scott one of my closest.

Thank you all, remain focused on the moment, our audience deserves it.

Bill

Correction: April 22, 2025 — An earlier version of this story misstated what type of approval is required for Paramount's sale to Skydance. It requires the FCC's approval, not the White House's.

• Netflix is interested in competition shows starring creators on the heels of Amazon's "Beast Games."
• The streaming giant is entertaining riffs on "Survivor" and "The Bachelor," BI was told.
• It's the latest example of media giants trying to borrow from YouTube's success.

In the wake of Amazon's hit "Beast Games," starring MrBeast, Netflix has been soliciting ideas for competition shows involving digital creators.

The streamer has name-checked the long-running franchises "Survivor" and "The Bachelor" as inspirations, four people familiar with the discussions told Business Insider.

Netflix is still in the early stages of its efforts, and while it mentioned those shows by name, it also asked prospective creator partners to riff on the formats, one person said.

"They have mentioned that 'Beast Games' is good and has done well," this person added.

One criticism of big media companies' earlier forays into leveraging the popularity of social media creators was that they tried to shoehorn influencers into old-school TV formats, with sometimes awkward results. Netflix seems to be flexible on the format and wants the creator to be active in developing it, three people said.

Netflix already streams some competition shows, including "Squid Game: The Challenge." On the romance front, it's garnered massive success with shows such as "Love Is Blind."

Two people familiar with Netflix's outreach in the creator space said the streamer was also interested in live concepts.

Its most recent foray into the live space, "Pop the Balloon" — an adaptation of a YouTube dating series — was met with lukewarm reviews. Its host, Yvonne Orji, told "Today" that future installments would be "refined and renewed."

Hollywood is awakening to YouTube's impact

Netflix and other media giants have ramped up efforts to bring YouTubers onto their platforms. Netflix has been making the rounds with creator reps and done deals with the Sidemen and the preschool educator Ms. Rachel. Earlier this month, it premiered the docuseries "Bad Influence: The Dark Side of Kidfluencing," centered on the controversial vlogger Piper Rockelle.

At the same time, top execs at Netflix have been making the case — as recently as on Thursday's earnings call — that it can be a better platform for creators than YouTube because it pays talent up front and can amplify their reach.

"We're looking for the next generation of great creators, and we're looking everywhere," Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said on the Thursday call.

The charm offensive comes as Hollywood is waking up to the fact that young people are increasingly turning to YouTubers over more traditional fare.

The Google-owned platform has led the pack in TV viewership, doubling its share to 12% in March this year from 2021, the year Nielsen started measuring the whole TV-watching pie, including streaming. During the same time period, Netflix's share has increased to about 8% from 6%.

Netflix needs to keep experimenting with new types of shows as its member growth in the US and Canada slows, said Alejandro Rojas, the vice president of applied analytics at the data firm Parrot Analytics. Competition shows are good at retaining viewers and attracting advertisers thanks to dramatic storylines, repeated formats, and the ability to integrate products.

He added that having a well-known creator at the helm could help bring in and retain new audiences. And if a show is successful in one market, like "Love Is Blind," the format can be imported globally.

"Competition shows can be as successful as a major scripted show," Rojas said.

• Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said video podcasts could "find their way" to the streamer.
• Netflix has ramped up its pitch to creators as it competes with YouTube.
• Sarandos said Netflix is looking "everywhere" for the "next generation of great creators."

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos says video podcasts could be the next format to appear on the streaming service as it pursues creators in many areas.

On the company's first quarter earnings call Thursday, Sarandos said the "lines are getting blurry" between podcasts and talk shows, in response to a question on whether video pods could work on Netflix.

"As the popularity of video podcasts grows, I suspect you'll see some of them find their way to Netflix," Sarandos said.

His comments confirmed earlier reporting by Business Insider that Netflix was exploring potential deals with video podcasters as it looked to its next phase of growth.

Netflix execs have become increasingly aggressive about putting YouTube creator-led shows on the platform and talking up its advantages to creators.

This comes as YouTube leads the media pack in terms of TV watch time. According to Nielsen, YouTube accounted for 12% of TV watching time in March, extending its lead over Netflix, which came in at 7.9%.

Netflix's top execs have lately argued that Netflix is better than YouTube in helping creators grow and make money. Alongside other media giants like Amazon and Disney, Netflix has also been leaning into popular YouTubers, picking up deals with the Sidemen, preschool educator Ms. Rachel, and the live dating show Pop the Balloon.

"We're looking for the next generation of great creators, and we're looking everywhere, not just in film schools and certainly not just in Hollywood," Sarandos said on the call. "Creators today have tools that were unimaginable a decade ago to tell stories, to reach audience."

Some creators are eager for the prestige, up-front money, and ability to reach new viewers that Netflix and other Hollywood players can afford.

But for others, especially well-established creators, the advantage is less clear when they've built multiplatform businesses independently and enjoy control over their productions as well as direct relationships with their audiences.

• Netflix will stop sharing quarterly subscription figures, starting with its first-quarter report Thursday.
• So, what will Wall Street be looking for?
• Analysts are interested in Netflix's ad progress, as well as its creator and sports strategies.

Netflix is set to report its first-quarter earnings on Thursday, but there's a big twist. It will no longer break out subscription figures, which had been a central barometer that many on Wall Street used to gauge the health of its business.

Why the change? Netflix has said it wants to shift the conversation to other metrics like user engagement and revenue, which it contends are more indicative of its success as it matures.

After a blockbuster fourth quarter — when it had its biggest-ever haul of new subscribers, helped by live sports events — several analysts expect Netflix to have a more modest first quarter based on a softer content lineup.

So, in the absence of subscriber numbers, what will Wall Street be looking at?

"Frankly, I think all of us are going into this with a blindfold, not knowing what they'll disclose," Bernstein analyst Laurent Yoon told Business Insider. "But at the end of the day, it's about the health of their financials and the margin expansion trajectory versus the last several quarters."

Here are some other topics Wall Street will be focused on.

Its ads rollout: Analysts will be listening for any details on Netflix's ad rollout, which it's relying on to show substantial growth in the years to come. Netflix has said it expected to double its ad revenue haul this year after it increased its ad commitments by 150% during last year's TV upfronts season, and analysts are holding them to it.

"The most important thing is to see if they are growing revenue because of advertising," Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter said. "I know they are, but would like some color on that. They should get lots of operating leverage from holding costs in check, so I expect big profits."

Yoon also said he'll be listening closely for intel on the health of the ad market.

Economic uncertainty: The big question hanging over Wall Street's otherwise bullish stance on Netflix is how the on-and-off tariffs could impact its burgeoning ad business.

Netflix significantly dropped its ad rates after Amazon flooded the market by introducing ads to Prime Video last year. The company could face pressure to lower prices even more to keep advertisers spending amid a trade war. Morgan Stanley trimmed its advertising forecast slightly for Netflix in an April 8 note, while remaining bullish on the company.

Analysts will also be looking for co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters to discuss how economic jitters might dampen new user interest.

Netflix has been able to raise prices in line with the popularity of its entertainment, but analysts wonder if the macroeconomic environment could hurt its ability to keep raising prices around the world.

Ad tech: Netflix has built its own in-house tech to facilitate ad buying and rolled out new sports programming that's popular with advertisers. Bringing adtech in-house can be complicated, though, and analysts will be looking for detail on Netflix's progress as it's weaned itself off Microsoft's Xandr to sell ads using partners such as The Trade Desk and Google's DV360. One question is whether Netflix has attracted any new advertisers this way, Raymond James analysts wrote in a recent note.

A related question is how much room is left to grow in the ad tier. Since launching in 2022, it has ramped up quickly by offering people a lower-priced option as it raised the price on ad-free versions and cracked down on password sharing. By November, the company said, it had reached 70 million global users. In January, it said that the ad plan made up over 55% of new sign-ups in countries where it's available.

Creator content and sports: Analysts want to hear more about Netflix's plans for sports programming, with its associated ad appeal. They're also interested in what execs have to say about plans to build out a creator-driven content strategy, as YouTube increasingly dominates TV viewership.

"This increases the opportunity and necessity around advertising monetization success at Netflix, as YouTube has already built a big subscription revenue business," Morgan Stanley analysts wrote. "It also increases our interest in Netflix pushing into creator-led content over time while also leveraging AI tools to drive monetization, personalization, and production efficiencies."

Paid sharing: Inquiring minds want to know: When will Netflix's password sharing crackdown stop bearing fruit? "While the paid sharing benefit should slow in 2025, the company is still seeing incrementality from ad-supported users joining the service, and we see the potential for improving ad CPMs as the supply increase starts to slow," Raymond James analysts wrote.

• Apple TV+'s "The Studio" satirizes Hollywood's art-commerce tension.
• The Seth Rogen show parodies brand films and nods to real-life successes like "Barbie."
• Insiders say its portrayal of branded entertainment is positive for the industry despite the jokes.

Warning: Minor spoilers for "The Studio" episode one.

Apple TV+'s buzzy new satire, "The Studio," skewers Hollywood's recent embrace of brands with a prominent storyline about a "Kool-Aid" movie.

You might think the real-life people who make brand-backed films and TV shows would be miffed. You'd be wrong. They love it — though they might have some notes.

Four Hollywood insiders told Business Insider they felt the show was positive for the branded entertainment business because the series legitimized the concept by poking fun at it.

Jae Goodman, whose Superconnector Studios is working with the likes of LVMH and AB InBev to break into Hollywood, said he's already had a couple of directly correlated incoming calls from people in the wake of the show, asking: "Should we be thinking about this?"

The first episode of "The Studio" centers on Seth Rogen's character Matt Remick, a film purist, getting promoted to be the head of the fictional Continental Studios. The catch? He only gets the job after promising his boss, played by Bryan Cranston, that he'll make a movie based on the Kool-Aid brand. In the episode, Remick initially snubs filmmaker Nick Stoller's ("Forgetting Sarah Marshall," "Captain Underpants") commercial adaptation to work with Martin Scorsese, who wants to make his dream film about the Jonestown massacre. Hilarity ensues.

"Even if it's done in an over-the-top way, it's highlighting the state of storytelling in Hollywood right now," said Brad Roth, president of Known Originals, which worked with Toys "R" Us and Fox Studios for a competition reality series, "Family Faceoff," and is now working with The Knot on a slate of TV shows and films.

What the show gets right about branded entertainment

One immediately recognizable scene is the studio's hopes of repeating the success of "Barbie." 2023's Barbie blockbuster movie is the ultimate in brand films, earning critical praise, winning an Oscar, and topping the list of highest-grossing pictures.

"Hollywood is Hollywood, and if something works, they want to keep it going as long as they can," said Angela Matusik, who consults with brands on entertainment strategies.

Episode one's resolution — in which Remick ultimately throws Scorsese under the bus and goes with Stoller's more commercial pitch — also rang true to insiders.

While Kool-Aid executives aren't portrayed in the show, Remick's actions speak to the compromises required to bring these kinds of projects to fruition, which people who work at the intersection of brands and entertainment know all too well. And as much as Remick was wedded to the auteur version of the film, the Stoller one would probably be better, Known's Roth said.

"It is such a pop culture icon that feels more aligned with Nick's take," he said. "It may not get into the pantheon of great films, but it probably is the right take."

"The Studio" also shows that, ultimately, there's a great and awful way to execute any idea, said Marc Gilbar, president of Imagine Brands, IP & Partnership at Imagine Entertainment, who's led award-winning films for brands including Nike, Unilever, and Procter & Gamble.

"If you told someone there was a movie in development about Facebook, Nike, Barbie, Lego, they would be pretty skeptical, but then again, with David Fincher, Ben Affleck, Greta Gerwig, or Lord and Miller behind them, those all become great movies," he said.

What the show leaves out

So, what did "The Studio" get wrong?

For one, insiders said the nitty-gritty of getting all the stakeholders aligned to make a brand film is more nuanced than its portrayal in "The Studio."

The show also depicts brands as thirsty to get in bed with Hollywood. While it's true to some extent — Mattel has other films in the works based on toys like Uno — in reality, brands aren't just a blank check, as some studios and producers think.

"They think this is a big white horse that's going to ride in and save the film industry," Matusik said.

In uncertain economic times like today's, marketers tend to turn away from formats like films that will come out when the world may be a much different place, in favor of ad formats that promise a quick payoff.

The show got people talking about Kool-Aid

One big question people had: How much did Kool-Aid know, and when did they know it?

Sometimes movies and shows are made about brands without their involvement, as was the case with 2023's "Air" about the origin of Air Jordans. It was made independently of Nike.

In the case of "The Studio," which pointedly recalls Kool-Aid's association with an episode of mass death, it's hard to imagine the brand played an active role.

A spokesperson for parent Kraft Heinz said the brand got a heads-up when the show was filmed and about to air and that while it "was not given the opportunity" to be involved in developing the show, its inclusion speaks to its strong cultural relevance. The rep added that Kool-Aid "would love to find a way to collaborate with them in the future."

Despite the prominent Jonestown reference, brand entertainment insiders said they felt Kool-Aid's starring role in multiple episodes was a triumph.

"To be in this funny show, that's such a great win for the brand," Roth said. "I haven't talked about Kool-Aid since I was 12 years old. Everyone who's watching that show is talking about Kool-Aid."

The lavish Saudi TV drama "Muawiya" debuted in March, just in time to ride the surge in TV viewership that hits the region around Ramadan each year. One of the most expensive Arab series ever made, it portrays seventh-century life in the desert, with sweeping overhead shots, charging armies on horseback, and massive flotillas.

"Muawiya" was a ratings hit, but behind the dazzling visuals, it had problems emblematic of Saudi Arabia's broader TV and movie struggles.

The 30-episode series from MBC Studios, Saudi Arabia's marquee TV and movie studio, faced years of delays and a ballooning budget, two people familiar with the production told Business Insider. The budget had reached more than $50 million by the time of a previously unreported internal audit dated December 2022, which was viewed by BI.

The show also sparked a religious uproar, particularly among Shiite Muslims, and was banned in Iran and Iraq.

"It's super edgy, super sensitive," said Mazen Hayek, who worked for 14 years as a spokesperson for MBC Group — the majority Saudi government-owned parent of MBC Studios — and is now a media consultant based in Dubai.

"Muawiya" centers on the life of Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan, a figure in early Islam who is generally held in high esteem in the Sunni Muslim world — including Saudi Arabia — but loathed by many Shiites. The show, in part, dramatizes the events in the years after the death of the Prophet Muhammad that propelled the two groups into the religious rift that endures to this day.

"Muawiya's" problems are familiar to MBC Studios. Delays, cost overruns, and political land mines have hampered its ambitious projects for years, according to the audit and BI's conversations with people who have worked for and with the company.

MBC Studios was a key part of Saudi Arabia's plan, unveiled in 2018, to spend $64 billion on entertainment projects and venues at home, largely funded by its sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund. But five people close to the company said it hasn't lived up to its aspirations to be a calling card for the country's film and TV prowess.

MBC Group founded the studio in 2018 and brought in a former NBCUniversal exec to run it. MBC Studios soon began to jump into projects at a dizzying pace. By the time of the 2022 audit, it had over 100 projects in various stages of production. The audit, which ran over 50 pages, said that while the studio was growing fast, it was undermined by unclear strategy, disorganization, and a lack of internal controls.

The audit identified a litany of issues, including consultants hired without oversight, conflicts of interest, a lack of market research, and companies chosen outside a competitive process.

It recommended tightening production practices to avoid overspending, hiring competitively, and monitoring projects' performance.

Since that time, MBC Studios has had some wins, particularly with local-language productions.

The five people close to the company told BI it has scaled back some of its original production ambitions, however. They said it's also been plagued by leadership shake-ups and jettisoned a series of Hollywood experts brought on to take its operations to the next level.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's other big entertainment bet besides MBC Studios, Neom Media — the filmmaking facility in its futuristic city of Neom — has seen some similar problems. It has faced leadership turnover and fallen off the radar in Hollywood, multiple industry insiders said.

Neom Media said in a statement that it's hosted 40 productions from Hollywood and elsewhere and has plans for more.

"They have a fast-growing local sector that caters toward a local audience," one person who works in the region said broadly of Saudi Arabia's entertainment efforts, the two most prominent of which are MBC Studios and Neom Media. But, this person added, "They're yet to convince the international community that they can make first-class entertainment on the ground."

MBC Studios didn't provide comment by press time following multiple requests.

Big movie bets falter for MBC Studios

MBC Studios' first two big swings in the movie business disappointed.

"Kandahar," the action film the studio funded starring Gerard Butler, and one of the first US films to be shot in Saudi Arabia, was released in 2023 to tepid reviews and a lackluster box office.

Another, the unreleased "Desert Warrior," has been stymied by rising costs and delays.

Directed by British filmmaker Rupert Wyatt, who also made "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," "Desert Warrior" was the first feature film shot at Neom Media. By the time of the 2022 audit, the budget had reached $140 million. People familiar with the financing characterized that as double its original budget.

Some of the added costs, such as COVID protocols, were due to timing. Others were self-imposed. Infrastructure had to be built in the desert, and crew had to be flown in from other countries. The film went big on talent, enlisting Anthony Mackie of Marvel movie fame and Oscar winner Ben Kingsley, in addition to local stars.

Insiders said fights over creative direction and the film's length also hung up production. Filming ended in 2022, but there's been no festival premiere — the film will miss out on another Cannes Film Festival premiere this year — and the movie has yet to get a release date. That type of delay would be virtually unheard of in Hollywood.

Local success and political headaches

MBC Studios has had some local success stories, like "Rashash," a show about a notorious criminal figure in Saudi Arabia that was well received, and "Inheritance," billed as the first Arab soap opera.

But Sheikh Waleed Al Ibrahim — the politically connected founder of MBC Group — also wanted to make projects about historical events, which often courted controversy.

In addition to "Muawiya," there was "Embassy 87," which revisited the deadly 1987 clash between Saudi police and Iranian pilgrims at Mecca. It was shelved. Then there was "Flight 422," about the hijacking of a Kuwaiti flight by Hezbollah. That one was removed from streaming after Kuwait demanded it be taken down.

Hayek, the media consultant, said MBC Studios has to strike a tricky balance. It needs to embrace edgy topics to be relevant to audiences and fend off competitors like Netflix and Amazon Prime. That means standing up to "extremists" and "ultra-conservatives" who want to censor its content, Hayek said. But it can't go too far.

"You don't push the envelope to the extreme of creating turbulence in society," he said.

Turning away from Hollywood

Despite these challenges, in early 2024, MBC Group undertook an IPO, part of a boom of other Saudi public offerings. It was considered a big success, raising $222 million and valuing the company at nearly $3 billion.

A prospectus promoting the offering touted the studio's relationships with Hollywood and its hiring of international talent. Behind the scenes, however, MBC Studios was pulling away from Hollywood, four people close to the company said.

Since the IPO, MBC Studios has cut ties with many of the international players it leaned on. Those included the former Amazon exec who led its film and TV efforts, its head of global series, an Oscar-nominated producer, its longtime distributor, and talent giant CAA.

The studio is now run by a veteran MBC executive, Samar Akrouk, and has cut back its ambitions to focus on lower-risk dramas and comedies, particularly productions for Shahid, its streaming service.

"They're focused more on local language programs with local language budgets and putting the 'Desert Warriors' and 'Kandahars' on the back burner," a person who has worked with the company said.

It's also a time of transition at parent MBC Group, which replaced its CEO in early April.

Crew and climate hurdles have held back Neom Media

As MBC Studios has withdrawn from Hollywood, Neom Media has also faced challenges in attracting global productions.

Industry insiders describe its facilities as top-notch but say its rebate of up to 40% on production costs — cash grants given to incentivize international and other productions to film there — is still unproven and hard to apply for. Those who get it could find the rebate benefit wiped out by the need to fly in crew members. Between Ramadan and the summer months, when the temperature exceeds 100 degrees Fahrenheit, shooting can be difficult for a quarter of the year.

Filmmakers wanting a desert landscape may kick the tires on Saudi Arabia but often end up going to more established filmmaking locales like Jordan, Morocco, or Abu Dhabi, where "Dune: Part Two" was shot. Some are put off by Saudi Arabia's alcohol ban.

Turmoil at the top can't have helped. Wayne Borg, an Australian exec who was tapped to run Neom Media, was replaced in September after a Wall Street Journal report alleged he made racist and sexist comments about workers. Borg did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

"They've created the highway but haven't gotten the cars yet," said one top Hollywood agent who's worked extensively in the region.

Neom Media said it's in advanced discussions with unspecified international productions to film there in 2025. It touted the quality of its facilities and ease of production.

"We're not just attracting international productions; we're also becoming a hub for regional content and international content, with projects in the pipeline," Michael Lynch, another Australian exec who now leads Neom Media, said in a statement.

Some people who have done business in the region preached patience. They compared Saudi Arabia's efforts to China's and Qatar's moves into entertainment and emphasized that it takes decades to build such a business. They said they see progress in Saudi Arabia, especially considering it didn't even have movie theaters until 2018.

"It would be unrealistic to expect fast results," someone who has worked in the country said. "They really are at the start of the journey."

• Advertisers expect to trim budgets in response to Trump's tariffs.
• The retail and e-commerce sectors may face the biggest spending cuts.
• Social media could be hit hard, though performance-driven channels might be somewhat protected.

Trump's tariffs are expected to hit businesses across many sectors — as well as the media companies that depend on their ad spending.

But who is most at risk?

In February, when Trump started following through on tariff threats — starting with China, Canada, and Mexico — 94% of 100 advertisers surveyed by the Interactive Advertising Bureau said they were concerned about the potential impact of tariffs on their ad spending.

At the time, the top move was cutting spending, with 45% saying they would trim budgets. Most advertisers — 60% — expected to cut budgets 6% to 10% ad budget due to tariff-related pressures, the IAB found.

But the effects of tariffs won't be felt evenly. The survey results suggest that retail and e-commerce are the most at risk. In the survey, 40% of advertisers said they expected budget cuts in those categories. At the other end of the spectrum, only 5% of advertisers expected cuts in the packaged goods category.

Here's a full breakdown of the categories from the IAB survey:

Different advertising channels will also feel the pain to different degrees. The advertisers surveyed by IAB expected social media and traditional media (like TV and print) to be hit the hardest.

Within these categories, some industry analysts previously told BI they expected Amazon and Meta to suffer because they get a lot of revenue from Chinese advertisers, who could cut spending.

EMARKETER and other forecasters predict that performance-driven channels — like retail media and search — will be somewhat safe as they offer precision and flexibility for advertisers.

Amazon could fare better than Meta and Google because of its role as a place for vendors to sell and advertise goods. That said, its exposure to China, especially through third-party sellers who use the platform, remains a big risk.

EMARKETER analysts said that, in general, advertisers with exposure to China or Asia-Pacific markets are likely to put off campaign launches or shift spending.

Here's a full breakdown of different channels from the IAB survey:

Besides trimming budgets, in the IAB survey, advertisers said they also planned — to a lesser extent — to shift spending to performance-based channels and platforms with better measurement. They also said they would adjust their campaign messages and seek more flexibility from ad sellers.

The impact of the tariffs could last even if there's a de-escalation, EMARKETER analysts said. The economic uncertainty could leave a lasting mark on the economy and consumer spending.

EMARKETER sees increased chances of a recession because of weakened consumer confidence, stalled investment, and potential retaliation by other countries.

Disclosure: EMARKETER and Business Insider share a parent company.

• Trump's return to office has affected the news media and entertainment businesses in major ways.
• The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times stopped endorsing presidential candidates in the run-up.
• Hollywood has cut back DEI efforts and liberal themes in content while bracing for tariff impact.

President Trump's return to office has been an earthquake in the news and entertainment business.

Trump and his associates have taken aim at DEI programs in corporate America. He's revived complaints against TV networks, challenged the funding of public media, and blocked some news outlets from covering events. His proposed tariffs have caused chaos in the global markets, raising the specter of a recession and threatening media and entertainment along with the rest of the business world.

Here's a closer look at how Trump's influence has rattled media and entertainment.

News outlets face new attacks

Trump's influence was felt long before he took office for the second time.

Notably, during the campaign, The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times reversed their long-standing practices of endorsing presidential candidates. This raised concerns inside and outside those papers that the news outlets were self-censoring out of fear of retaliation by Trump. Post owner Jeff Bezos said he made the decision because many people believe the media is biased and presidential endorsements don't help. Times owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong said he sought to be less divisive in a rocky election year.

Then, during the early days of Trump's new term, Bezos shook up the paper's opinion section.

The moves prompted a backlash. There was a staff upheaval and mass subscription cancellations at the Post, and some LA Times members resigned.

While Trump bashes their credibility, mainstream news outlets are scrambling to reverse a protracted decline in audience trust by increasing transparency and deepening engagement. But trust will take a long time to restore, and the shift to digital has weakened the business models of many news outlets, making it harder for them to fight back.

One exception is The New York Times, which is one of the biggest business successes among traditional news outlets. In a post-election memo, it promised to be "unflinching" but "fair" in its coverage of Trump.

Read: NYT, WSJ, NBC, and others tell us how they're tackling a crisis that's bigger than Trump

Entertainment feels DEI crackdown

Media and entertainment conglomerates have joined others in corporate America in overhauling their corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in response to Trump's DEI crackdown.

Disney's moves here were notable, as CEO Bob Iger has criticized Trump's policies in the past and championed liberal themes in Disney's TV shows and films. That said, even before Trump's return, Iger had said repeatedly that Disney's main mission is to entertain rather than advance a political agenda.

As big entertainment companies have cut back on DEI on the business side, creatives and their reps say there's also been a chill on liberal themes in programming.

Hollywood insiders told BI the shift has taken the form of studio execs asking producers to tweak storylines and characters — or nixing them altogether — and companies backing off past directives to ensure casts were diverse.

Read: Trump is influencing Hollywood like no president before

Tariffs threaten Hollywood's recovery

Many bankers and investors expected Trump's return to the White House to usher in a pro-business climate favorable for dealmaking. This was particularly relevant in entertainment. The biggest deals at stake were Skydance Media's long-awaited merger with Paramount Global and Comcast's plans to spin off most of its NBCUniversal cable channels.

The hopes for an easy climate began to fade quickly, however.

Trump has assailed multiple news outlets, including Comcast's NBC News. Before the election, he sued Paramount's CBS, alleging its "60 Minutes" manipulated an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris in her favor. The suit is pending.

Then Trump ordered sweeping tariffs, which could clobber media and entertainment companies on the advertising and consumer revenue fronts.

Media and entertainment stocks fell on the tariff news. Debt-laden Warner Bros. Discovery and parks-dependent Disney were hit the most while Netflix, protected by its utility-like status, was among those impacted the least.

The tariffs could cause Hollywood, which was already struggling to recover from historic labor strikes, a spending pullback, and the LA fires, to greenlight still fewer shows if they take their toll on consumer spending and production costs.

Read: Meta and Amazon's ad businesses could get whacked by Trump's tariffs. Here are the other media companies at risk.

• Hollywood's hopes for a 2025 recovery are dimming as Trump's tariffs threaten the economy.
• The industry was already facing declining production, a slow box office, and other challenges.
• However, productions could also move back to the US if tariffs spark retaliatory moves.

A year ago, Hollywood was rallying around the motto, "Survive till '25." The industry was hopeful it would get back to growth following a dip caused, in part, by streamers reining in their aggressive spending.

But three months into the new year, hopes of a comeback are fading. Production was already down, and now Hollywood has the impact of Trump's tariffs to worry about.

The tariffs could weaken the economy and cut into the consumer spending and advertising that drives the TV and movie industry. In a downturn, people might book fewer trips to Disneyland, buy fewer movie theater and live events tickets, and trim their streaming subscriptions.

"Everyone was trying to think about the recovery and would 25 be an up year, but I think these tariffs are casting a shadow on prospects for growth Hollywood had," said Scott Purdy, a media industry consultant at KPMG US.

'It's terrible out there'

Hollywood was already feeling malaise before this week's tariff news.

"It's terrible out there," one reality TV producer lamented.

"Dread," said an entertainment lawyer in summing up the mood.

Film sales out of Sundance, which can usually be counted on to set the market, have started out slow, and the box office has been dismal, this person said.

"People still want to be entertained," they added. "But studios overextended themselves to keep up in streaming so they need to correct."

For the first two months of the year, US orders of shows fell 20% year over year to 390 titles, according to data from Ampere Analysis. Ampere had previously predicted total production spending by the major players including Netflix, Amazon, and Disney, would be flat in 2025.

The box office isn't looking great, either.

In a new forecast, Gower Street Analytics revised down its 2025 outlook for the domestic box office to $9.5 billion from $9.7 billion, citing a lack of breakout hits in the first quarter. The revision of its December forecast represents an 8% increase over 2024 but a 17% decline over the average of the three pre-pandemic years.

Looking at broader consumer behavior, Hollywood also has YouTube's ongoing ascendance to worry about.

YouTube now makes up more than 10% of TV viewing, threatening to eat into traditional TV and film consumption. Investors are pouring money into the YouTube-fueled creator economy. Last year brought deals for companies like Dude Perfect and influencer agency Timeline.

LA has hit historic lows

A new report from FilmLA, Hollywood's film permitting office, painted a grim picture of the industry's center.

Sound stage occupancy levels, which historically were in the 90% range, declined to 63% in 2024. The number of projects and shoot days — the latter of which particularly reflects the loss of work due to declining episode counts — were at their lowest level since 2018 (except for the 2020 pandemic year when production mostly shut down).

Wall Street had bet big that studios would continue spending in the streaming wars and keep sound stages full, but that bet has soured.

An ongoing exodus of productions to lower-cost entertainment hubs outside the country has left US soundstages to fight over a smaller number of productions.

"Everyone is discounting their rates from the prior years," said Hal Rosenbluth, president of Kaufman Astoria Studios. "I'm in it 45 years — I've never seen it like this." Rosenbluth said on the bright side, his phone had been ringing more lately with prospective productions, a sign that activity could pick up later in the year.

Glimmers of hope for legacy film and TV companies

On the plus side, Disney's and Warner Bros. Discovery's streamers are starting to show profitability.

And if people trade down in entertainment spending, it could be a positive for free or ad-supported streaming services.

Trump's tariffs could also spark retaliatory actions overseas, which could mean perks to film globally might go away and drive productions back to the US.

Already, production has shifted slightly back to the US. Ampere found that in the first quarter, about 43% of the major global streamers' commissions were being made in North America, up from 36% in the first quarter of 2024 — though still down from 53% in the first quarter of 2021.