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"We are out of the rehabilitation business" - Rockets coach on former No. 1 pick's second failed drug test
Rockets coach drawed hard line on former No. 1 pick John Lucas after second failed drug test.
Notre Dame Fans To Team: Just Win (Big), Baby
Welcome back to One Foot Down Reacts, where we ask the most connected Notre Dame football fans to weigh in on a weekly question of our choosing. This week, the biggest question after an 11-point win over a North Carolina team and a beleaguered Stanford on deck was: What does the team most need to […]
NY Giants’ bruising back needs help, not another 20 carries
Cam Skattebo has carried the ball 50 times over the Giants’ last three games and gained 154 yards. Asking for […]
Aaron Sorkin reveals the tough question he’d ask Mark Zuckerberg if he ever got the chance
‘The Social Reckoning’ writer-director Aaron Sorkin has never spoken to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg despite writing two movies about him. He tells Entertainment Weekly the one question he’d like to ask if he got the chance.
Aaron Sorkin reveals the one thing he’d ask Mark Zuckerberg: ‘There’s a whole other movie in answering the question’
‘The Social Reckoning’ writer-director has never spoken to the billionaire Facebook founder.
Regional business leaders share their advice for new team members
This month, we asked: How is artificial intelligence changing the way your organization operates and where do you see the biggest opportunities?
“He fits on any basketball team on the planet. You …
“He fits on any basketball team on the planet. You …
Talarico disappearance has Dem volunteers worrying and Trump asking, 'What is going on?'
Trump called James Talarico "MISSING IN ACTION" as the Texas Democrat's nearly two-week campaign trail absence sparks concerns about losing momentum.
Hard Pressed: Alaska Journalists Rewrite the Rules of Survival
The revival of the Anchorage Press as a weekly newspaper defies an industry-wide tide of media outlets going online or out of business.
Oregon Universal Health Plan Group Hastens To Meet Deadline
A few weeks ago, it looked like the board tasked with giving lawmakers the template for government-run universal health care plan would get until December to finish its big report. It turns out it had to move faster.
How Meta’s Muse AI Agent Is Helping Small Businesses Save Time
Meta’s Muse for Small Business is designed to automate tasks such as marketing, customer communication, scheduling, and business analysis, helping owners focus on growth.
UConn Huskies: Men's Basketball Suffers Shocking Exhibition Loss
The Huskies took on Charlotte on Thursday and will now ready for Syracuse on Tuesday.
John Cena reveals his soccer, basketball, football and baseball GOATs
Former WWE wrestler John Cena has now been quizzed on who the GOATs of a number of sports are. The GOAT debate is a popular topic in many sports, especially in soccer where people often speak about Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Apple Reportedly Cuts iPhone 18 Pro Orders After Price Hike Dampens Demand
Apple has asked some of its suppliers to cut production of iPhone 18 Pro components due to lower-than-expected demand, according to Nikkei Asia ($). Citing its own sources, the report claims that Apple has been more cautious about shipments since early September because of the rising cost of memory chips, leading to higher prices. Component orders for October were said to have been cut by at least 15 percent compared with what was originally requested.
Chris Collins Reveals New Offensive Approach for Northwestern Basketball
Chris Collins outlined a new offensive approach at Big Ten Media Day, emphasizing ball movement and balanced scoring as Northwestern prepares for life after Nick Martinelli.
Indiana football at Nebraska: 3 things to watch for
Indiana plays its second straight road game, heading to Lincoln to face a tough Nebraska group.
Sports quiz of the week: Harry Kane, Victor Wembanyama and WSL winners
Have you been following the big news in football, tennis, basketball, rugby, hockey, cycling, darts and the NFL?
Health affordability task force considers utility model
CHEYENNE — The Health Insurance Affordability Task Force discussed models Tuesday that could reduce the cost of health insurance in Wyoming, in addition to unanimously agreeing that the task force
UConn basketball reveals first-ever jersey patch sponsorship with UConn Health
The University of Connecticut’s Division of Athletics recently announced a first for the school’s championship basketball programs: a jersey patch sponsorship with UConn Health.
UConn basketball reveals first-ever jersey patch sponsorship with UConn Health
The University of Connecticut’s Division of Athletics recently announced a first for the school’s championship basketball programs: a jersey patch sponsorship with UConn Health.
MMBets: The Wizards Attempt Good Basketball
The Wizards finally look like a real basketball team again
Is Academy Sports and Outdoors (ASO) Still Cheap On Earnings?
Academy Sports and Outdoors has delivered solid gains for long term shareholders, which puts a spotlight on whether the current share price at US$52.76 is still well supported by its earnings power. With that kind of track record in the rear-view mirror, the key issue now is what those profits are worth today. A 33.9% return over the past 5 years means long term holders have been rewarded. Fresh buyers need to ask whether the present valuation still lines up with the earnings that underpin...
Nebraska’s swim club brings welcoming environment to club sports
UNL is home of many intramural and club sports. One of which is the Nebraska Swim Club, which consists of those who can compete at national levels and those who are just looking to swim for fun.
Editor Score Predictions: Nebraska vs. Indiana
Throughout the 2026 Husker football season, the sports senior staff will be sharing their score predictions for each game. This weeks predictions are in terms of the next game this Saturday against No. 7 Indiana.
Scientists create new statewide surface geologic map of Nebraska
A new academic paper by Paul Hanson and Matthew Joeckel of the Conservation and Survey Division in the University of Nebraska–Lincoln's School of Natural Resources contains a brief phrase—"new linework"—that ...
3rd annual NMU Mind over Miles 5k promotes mental health awareness
Mind over Miles Director Jessica Corkin says the race is in honor of World Mental Health Day on Saturday and is meant to bring the community together and reduce the stigma around asking for help.
Vance, Rubio brush off questions about claim that Guilfoyle asked donor to pay $100K Amex bill
Allegations by former congressional candidate Eric Deters are the latest controversy to swirl around the U.S. ambassador to Greece.
Time capsule: Hardwood, softwood, fuelwood
Note: After finally cleaning my stovepipe last weekend, it feels like woodstove season at my cabin can officially (and safely) begin.
'Jesse Watters Primetime' visits Columbia University to talk politics
'Jesse Watters Primetime' visits Columbia University to ask students about their political beliefs.
UConn's Basketball, Football Coaches Face New NCAA Rule
The rule, effective immediately, limits the games basketball and football coaches or specified staff members may attend and watch in person.
Syracuse Basketball: Three Takeaways From ACC Tip-Off Event
Orange players and head coach Gerry McNamara spoke to the media in Charlotte, N.C. this week ahead of the 2026-27 season.
'Not just a vehicle': Utah food truck launches fundraiser to get back to business after accident
Utah-based food truck Fatty Tuna Sushi and Ramen is asking for community support to get back on the road after an accident in September put a halt to full operations.
MAGA donor says Amb. Kim Guilfoyle asked him for $100K: ‘No question it was a quid pro quo’
How Gainesville’s ‘Everything School’ Built an Athletic Powerhouse - WRUF 98.1 FM | 850 AM
As you drive down NW 39th Avenue in Gainesville, you’ll find a school where the competitiveness in multiple sports never rests. As you sit or chat on campus with Athletic Director Billy Pankey, you feel the pride of the school as he calls it “Buchholz Everything School,” a place where cross country, football, volleyball, basketball
Hugh Hefner’s widow asks Jessica Biel to rethink playing Playboy founder’s wife in new movie
Hugh Hefner’s widow, Crystal Harris, has asked actress Jessica Biel to rethink playing the Playboy founder’s wife in the upcoming movie ‘Playmates.’
Trump bucks and the politics of mailing checks
The checks started going out last week, nearly one million of them, and mostly to battleground states. With a return address for the U.S. Treasury and a letter enclosed signed by President Donald Trump, these one-time checks for $500 were ostensibly government rebates for Obamacare enrollees who overpaid. In the accompanying letter, however, Trump attacks his predecessor and talks about his record in office on an important issue he’s not polling well on, which makes it seem more like the most expensive political mailer in U.S. history. The average piece of direct mail costs between 30 cents and $3, according to Mail Processing Associates, a print, mail, and fulfillment company. At $500 a pop plus roughly 50 cents each to issue the paper check, the cost of Trump’s healthcare mailer sent to more than 950,000 enrollees comes in at more than $475 million. Trump’s midterm healthcare message “For years, the Biden Administration overcharged you to fund the operation of HealthCare dot gov,” Trump wrote in the letter. “That money belongs to hard-working Americans, not the Government, and now, I am returning it to you!” In the letter, Trump makes false and misleading claims about his administration’s record on healthcare costs, an issue Democrats have a 20 point advantage on over Republicans, according to a recent poll from KFF, a nonpartisan health policy think tank. Trump touts his administration’s TrumpRX program, which he claims is “delivering massive discounts.” However, new research from KFF found that of a selection of drugs available on the TrumpRX platform, just five were the lowest price, while 13 were the highest price. Trump also falsely claims in the letter that he’s fighting to lower healthcare costs. In reality, average monthly premium payment costs for enrollees rose 58% under Trump while marketplace sign-ups declined 5%, per KFF. Under Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, it’s estimated 10 million more Americans will be uninsured by 2034. You get a check and you get a check and you get a check Trump’s long promised cash outs to his fans, from his days as a casino operator and gameshow host to his presidency. During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the first Trump administration made the unprecedented move to put Trump’s name on checks that went out under the CARES Act (notably the $500 refund checks this time around don’t feature Trump’s name). Ever since, Trump’s been chasing that high. In his second term, Trump’s promised more stimulus that never arrived, like refund checks from DOGE cuts and tariffs, while he said at his party’s convention last month that he’d give out $5,000 checks to everyone if Republicans win in November. In reality, DOGE overstated its cost cutting and Trump’s government actually now spends more than former President Joe Biden’s, while Trump’s tariffs actually grew the trade deficit. His proposal for $5,000 checks would add about $1.2 trillion to the national debt. The problem is there’s no money to give. These $500 checks — plus $90 Medicare rebate checks also going out as well as $250 deposited this week in some Trump Accounts for kids courtesy Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell and his wife Susan — represent the closest Trump’s going to get to making good on his promise to deliver cash fast. And the checks seem especially targeted. Though the $500 checks went out to enrollees in one of 30 states that use the federal HealthCare dot gov marketplace, a Reuters review found 71% of the payments, or $339 million, went to enrollees in 13 states that have the most competitive elections for governor and U.S. Senate. Most Americans don’t buy it Could Trump bucks sway the election? An Economist-YouGov poll found 57% of U.S. adults doubt Trump will deliver on his promise for $5,000 checks, compared to 21% who do. “I’m waiting on my DOGE check and I’m still waiting on my tariff check,” one 2024 Trump voter who’s since turned on him told a recent focus group. “It felt like kind of trying to buy people’s votes, which honestly felt like in elementary when the class president was like, hey we’re going to take you to the water park if you vote for me. It’s like, I don’t think it works like that.” But for voters in swing states who got a check, it could still matter. One survey published in 2022 found receiving a physically personalized check in the mail during the pandemic was associated with a much greater self-reported likelihood of voting for Trump in 2020, and those gains mainly came from out partisans. The issue for Trump comes if these checks are mostly going to Obamacare enrollees whose premiums have gone up by more than just $500 since he took office and who view the money as something like a bribe before the election rather than an actual long-term solution to lowering household costs. Spending $500.50 per mailer would be absurd as a normal campaign expenditure, but since Trump’s checks and letter are a government rebate, his campaign and super PAC didn’t have to spend a dime and he got out his message regardless. If enough voters in key states are swayed by the one-time payment, it could prove to be the best $0 the Trump campaign spent. Subscribe [ ](https://www.yellopolitics.com/p/why-independent-candidates-are-making) [ Why independent candidates are making independence central to their brand ](https://www.yellopolitics.com/p/why-independent-candidates-are-making) Hunter Schwarz · Oct 6 [ Read full story ](https://www.yellopolitics.com/p/why-independent-candidates-are-making) [ ](https://www.yellopolitics.com/p/these-designers-and-grocery-nerds) [ These designers and grocery nerds will brand Mamdani’s NYC grocery stores ](https://www.yellopolitics.com/p/these-designers-and-grocery-nerds) Hunter Schwarz · Oct 2 [ Read full story ](https://www.yellopolitics.com/p/these-designers-and-grocery-nerds) Trump wants to turn his first-ever golf course into a government course for presidents
Online sports betting petitions in Nebraska get another $7 million from DraftKings and FanDuel
National online sports betting apps continue to see a big opportunity with two Nebraska petitions that would legalize and regulate online sports betting in Nebraska, donating a combined $7 million in a two-month period.
Exclusive: House Democrats ask Kimberly Guilfoyle for records related to alleged pay-to-pay scheme
Democrats from the House Oversight Committee on Thursday asked U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle for financial records and communications with Trump administration officials after allegations that she engaged in a pay-for-play scheme.
Alaska Railroad Promotes Real Estate Director
The Alaska Railroad Corporation promoted Kristen Gratrix from Manager of Real Estate Contracts to Real Estate Director.
RFK Jr. tasks researchers with studying vaccine injuries
The US Department of Health and Human Services launched a program this week to study and capture the breadth of vaccine injuries, reviving a longtime priority for HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and stoking concerns from some public health advocates.
Data Science Initiative Talk: Dr. Thea Kristensen- Community Observations of Massachusetts Black Bears | Events & Calendars | Data Science Initiative Talk: Dr. Thea Kristensen- Community Observations of Massachusetts Black Bears
As part of the Data Science Initiative Speaker Series, Prof. Thea Kristensen (Biology) presents "Using Community Observations to Ask Questions about Massachusetts Black Bears”.
Gerry McNamara vows to restore the Orange to 'national relevance'
The basketball buzz is clearly back in Syracuse, thanks to a familiar face.
BMW’s Greatest Strength Became Its Biggest Weakness. Are You Making the Same Mistake?
BMW’s profit margins are plunging as Tesla and BYD disrupt the EV market. Ask three critical questions to future-proof your business strategy.
The states that aren’t cooperating with Democrats’ Senate majority hopes
Democrats’ path to the Senate majority is improving. In fact, recent polls have shown the party leading in three states that President Donald Trump carried by double digits in 2024: Alaska, Ohio and Texas. Democrats need at least two of those to win the majority.
Trump awards science, technology medals
Speak at the New Golden Age Summit at the Institute of Peace in Washington D.C., President Trump awarded Elon Musk, NVIDIA president and CEO Jensen Huang, CEO of Dell Technologies Michael Dell and more with the National Medal of Science and the National Medal of Technology and Innovation.
Google brings agentic AI to Gemini, starting with businesses
Google is turning Gemini into an AI agent that can plan, execute tasks, and work across business apps and systems. The agent can delegate work to subagents, use multiple AI models, and even gets its own workplace identity, complete with an email address.
NU regents to consider increasing Project Health budget by $557M, extending president’s contract
The University of Nebraska Board of Regents will consider extending NU President Jeff Gold’s contract and increasing the $2.19 billion budget for NU’s “Project Health” by 25%.
Media attorneys ask court to block White House ban while legal case continues
The hearing was the latest development in the escalating drama between the Trump administration and the news media
Fall Sports Update: Women’s Volleyball Swept By Nebraska
Women’s Hockey (2-2) The women’s hockey team got back on track with 5-3 and 4-1 wins over Robert Morris to open conference play. Robert Morris scored two goals in the first minute of Game 1 before the Lions found their legs. Five different Nittany Lions scored the five goals, including freshman Sofia Ismael scoring her […]
Nebraska football team cites injury concerns in season-ending decision
The Eagles are just two seasons removed from a nine-win year.
New ASU podcast asks: What if the future of news starts with people?
Andy Pergam has spent his career thinking about journalism not only as an industry, but as a public service that has to keep earning its place in people’s lives.
Amazon is phasing out Fire Tablets because they weren’t ‘giving customers what they were asking for’
Panos Panay says there are more hardware announcements coming, but don’t expect an Amazon laptop.
Natura’s $99 smart ring puts AI agents on your finger
Natura’s $99 Interface smart ring lets you summon AI agents with the press of a finger to complete tasks, capture thoughts, and control devices — while doubling as a health tracker.
Supreme Court asked to weigh political ad rates
The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to step into a lower court dispute over television advertising rates paid by political candidates and joint fundraising committees weeks before the midterm elections. The application asked the justices to set aside a 2-1 ruling issued Wednesday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th […]
How old is Earth really? Science and religion offer very different answers
Ask how old Earth is and you will encounter two very different answers. Modern geology places Earth’s formation at roughly 4.54 billion years ago, while some Christians who interpret the creation acco...
Google Cloud introduces Gemini agent for work as AI race heats up
Alphabet's Google Cloud on Thursday introduced the Gemini agent, a single AI agent for work that can answer questions, handle tasks, create content and write code.
Alaska Science Forum time capsule: The secret life of a red fox family
Note: At the start of every walk, my dogs try to sneak away to “fox town,” a fox den on the other side of the pond near my cabin, and we often see the adult foxes trotting through the neighborhood. Hearing one of them bark the other evening, I was reminded of this March 26, 2020, story by Ned Rozell. He recently reported that foxes still use the den, but did not occupy it in summer 2026. — Sara Wilbur
Google is launching a one-stop Gemini agent for your work tasks
The enterprise-focused Gemini agent handles work from a single interface.
Rumour Mongering: Jarell Quansah Expected to Leave Leverkusen in 2027
Chatter in Germany is starting to ask where the ex-Liverpool centre half will end up next summer.
Phibro Animal Health honored with Governor’s Bioscience Award
Company has maintained a significant presence in Nebraska since acquiring Baltzell Agri Products mineral nutrition business in 2009.
Editorial: What would socialist policies mean for the middle class?
With Election Day less than a month away, voters should look beyond campaign slogans and ask what the policies on the ballot would mean for families who built their lives
Google Cloud unveils persistent Gemini Agents for long-running tasks, and they get their own Gmail, Calendar, and Drive storage
While Google supplies its own Gemini models, the agent can already use Anthropic's Claude models, with support for additional proprietary and open-weight AI models planned.
Concern after Europeans endorse US science agenda
Germany’s biggest research funder has said it is “concerned” after Berlin, plus several other European countries, endorsed a controversial US-led science policy statement. On October 4, the White House announced that 16 countries, including Germany, the UK, Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Poland, Japan and South Korea had backed the Kyoto Vision for a Golden Age of Science.The document, agreed on the margins of the annual Science and Technology in Society forum in Kyoto, which gathers science ministers from across the world, appears uncontroversial at first sight. It’s a one-page statement, without any concrete measures, that touches on reducing administrative burden on scientists, experimenting with new funding models and the use of “super intelligence” in science, the Trump administration’s preferred term for artificial intelligence. However, what’s controversial is that much of the language in the Kyoto Vision reflects Science: A New Golden Age, a major policy document released by the White House in July.That document attracted criticism for deriding universities as “legacy institutions” and suggesting money be diverted to new research labs. In a speech in Kyoto on October 4, Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office for Science and Technology Policy and the report’s author, said that the US was seeking to “diversify the ways that we support research to meet our best scientists where and when they do their best work.” The worry is that the Trump administration may be using genuine dysfunctions in academia as a pretext to defund and disempower universities, which US vice president JD Vance has labelled “the enemy.” Many in Europe also want more experimentation and reform of how science is organised and funded, and agree with criticisms of academia made by Science: A New Golden Age. But some also fear that if the US pushes for reform partially in bad faith, it could politicise and undermine the whole agenda. Washington is currently trying to change federal funding rules so that political appointees can block and cancel scientific grants. It has cut grants mid-project on topics related to diversity and other politically forbidden areas. And last year, it threatened to cut Harvard University’s federal funding unless it admitted a “critical mass” of new faculty and students to create campus “viewpoint diversity.” “Particularly concerned”Because of this wider US political context, the Kyoto Vision’s otherwise innocuous sounding statement that “we encourage experimentation with new institutional models for science that provide varying levels of autonomy, resources and direction” has caused consternation in Europe, particularly from some of Germany’s biggest science organisations. A spokesperson for the German Research Foundation (DFG), the country’s biggest funder, said that it would “closely monitor whether the current US administration uses the Kyoto Vision to restructure research funding to the detriment of research institutions such as universities and their autonomy.” The DFG was “particularly concerned” with the statement’s references to Science: A New Golden Age, they continued. A spokesperson for the German Rectors’ Conference, which represents the country’s universities, said that the reference to “new institutional models” raises “questions on the underlying understanding of academic freedom and autonomy.” Research funding must “guided first and foremost by scientific not political principles,” they went on. Dampen criticismEuropean endorsement of the Kyoto Vision might dampen domestic criticism of the Trump administration’s science policy, some in the US fear, by suggesting international support. “What we saw from Germany, Japan, the UK and other countries, is an impulse that the administration has exploited with our own science reform movement, a belief they can use dialogue to make things better,” said Cole Donovan, director of science policy at the campaigning group Stand Up for Science. “In practice, the administration has done the opposite.” Not a binding statementThere’s been so much concern in Germany that the country’s federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space put out a statement defending its endorsement of the Kyoto Vision, which it has posted on its website. Related articlesIs metascience being co-opted?European researchers sound the alarm that Trump rule changes will hit cooperationThe US ‘golden age’ science strategy: what Europeans need to know The ministry said that it “should be regarded as a basis for discussion and does not constitute a binding statement.” Backing the statement gives Germany the chance to raise “issues and concerns” with the US during upcoming talks on science and technology scheduled for November. “Although these intentions appear, in principle, to be worthy of support, they will be scrutinised and examined more closely as the process continues,” the statement continues. Super intelligence?A ministry spokesperson confirmed to Science|Business that Germany had broadly endorsed the Kyoto Vision.However, they said Berlin had not agreed to final changes in the statement to refer to AI as super intelligence. In September, facing protests against data centres and polling that suggests US citizens are far more concerned than excited by the technology, Trump issued an executive order that attempts to rebrand AI as super intelligence, following polling on social media.The name change is to “reflect the transformative capabilities of these technologies and the limitless opportunities they create for the American people,” the order says. EU askedThe UK and Italian science ministries did not respond to a request for comment on their endorsement of the Kyoto Vision. Although most EU countries did not endorse the statement, it’s not clear which states the US asked. The White House Office for Science and Technology Policy did not return a request for comment. A European Commission official, speaking under condition of anonymity, said that the US had approached the EU, but too late for the EU to quiz all its member states on whether Brussels should endorse the statement.
Gen Z politicians who want to make a change grapple with parties that aren’t always ready for them
Editor’s Note: This story is part of Gen Z at the Ballot Box, a collaboration between States Newsroom and The 19th. TOPEKA, Kan. — After state Rep. Angel Roeser defied her fellow Republicans and voted against their plan to ask voters to change the way Kansas Supreme Court justices are selected, members of her own […]
After the NFL Draft, Detroit’s small businesses want a bigger piece of the Final Four
Business owners are "cautiously optimistic" about seeing a boost from the upcoming NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four.
Alaska found a way to elect more moderates. Now voters might end it.
Alaskans will decide in November whether to ditch a system that allows four primary candidates, regardless of party, to advance to the general election.
Husker football scouting report: Indiana
Nebraska hosts its first ranked opponent of the season. Indiana’s football team will bring a championship-winning team to Memorial Stadium to face the Huskers.
Nebraska soccer prepares for Maryland and Rutgers
After a gauntlet of ranked matches, Nebraska will travel eastward to face Maryland and Rutgers. The Terrapins and Scarlet Knights will pose a challenge to the Huskers this weekend.
Dana Altman's greatest achievement before he retired? Lifting Creighton out of the mud in the '90s
Oregon men's basketball coach Dana Altman won 792 games in his Division I coaching career. He made perhaps his biggest impact at Creighton, in his home state of Nebraska.
Four Ohio college basketball teams play Outdoor exhibition
CareSource Invitational event University of Dayton head coach Anthony Grant started four years ago after his daughter died by suicide.
Buckeyes' Basketball Drops Really Unique Exhibition Against Cincinnati
The Ohio State Buckeyes Men's Basketball team dropped a really unique exhibition game against the Cincinnati Bearcats on Wednesday.
A public health-minded senator asks: What comes after Trump and Kennedy?
Sen. Patty Murray, a former chair of the Senate health committee, is forming a group of experts to examine how to insulate the C.D.C. from political interference.
Who Won August and September: Original Films or Franchises?
(Welcome to the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a newsletter on the entertainment industry and business strategy. I write a weekly Streaming Ratings Report and a bi-weekly strategy column, along with occasional deep dives into other topics, like today’s article. Please subscribe.) I just heard someone say that if you’re reading a pundit or data analyst, and they don’t tell you that they got anything wrong, they’re not a pundit but an “influencer”. I agree with that. You have to tell your audience when you get things wrong, or they won’t (or shouldn’t) trust you as much. Today, we’ve got another edition of “What I Got Right, What I Got Wrong”. In general, I’m patting myself on the back (and patting very hard) about a few things like IP at the box office, LIV golf, horror films, crowdfunding movies, superheroes, and old people going to the theaters. That said, I also made a couple of data mistakes on the streaming bubble popping and HBO’s datecdotes, so I’m not perfect. But first, I need your feedback... Subscribe Follow-Ups: What Should We Call Mid-Budget Movies Which Aren’t Cinematic Enough for Theaters But Are Too Expensive to Make Money on Streaming? After I asked for feedback on what we should call straight-to-streaming films that are too big to pencil out on streaming but not really big enough to resonate in theaters, I got some great suggestions from you all, including... “Moldilocks” from John Aboud “Little Big Indie” from Travis Frick1 “Midflicks” from Jonathan Funke. “Extra-Medium” from Jona Nwuke. (Read the explanation in the footnote.) Between these and Brandon Katz—who suggested “Bermuda Budget Triangle”, “The Platform Gap” and “The Distribution Deadzone”—we’ve got some excellent suggestions. And they’re better than my suggestion, the “Streaming Budget Dead Zone”, so let’s take a poll! The winning entry becomes the new term. Loading... RIGHT: LIV Golf is Fully Bankrupt…Is Anyone Else Next? A few years ago, I was always a bit perplexed at all the articles I’d read praising LIV Golf and their strategy to disrupt the PGA. LIV Golf, a brand new professional golf league, offered PGA stars ten times what they made on the PGA Tour to join their new league. And folks praised this strategy for its initial “success” in that a lot of big names did indeed leave the PGA. Yeah, of course the players came over. LIV Golf paid them so, so, so much more! But LIV Golf hadn’t discovered a way to increase potential revenue. So think about this in basic business terms… They paid much more in costs… …but had no real way to increase revenue. That’s not a strategy! That’s deficit financing. It won’t work unless you bankrupt the competition (and then turn around and pay those same golfers much, much less). It’s not a sustainable strategy and only lasts as long as the company/person/nation backing it decides they’re cool with losing money. For LIV Golf, that meant Middle East oil wealth, in particular Saudi Arabian money. Clearly, the current Iran War has hurt Middle East finances, so they need to trim their more exorbitant spending. And LIV Golf was part of that trimming. This should be a major warning for others. TGL’s parent company, TMRW Sports, just got a $1 billion valuation, despite TGL’s (the indoor golf league) horrible TV viewership of less than half a million viewers per match. Unrivaled, the women’s basketball league, just secured a $650 valuation, despite its horrible TV viewership and a new rival (Project B) entering the scene next year. To relate this to streaming, Hollywood should ask which streamers may have wealthy patrons funding their losses. (Let’s be clear: Google, Amazon and Apple.) Could those patrons lose their appetite? For Amazon, probably not. But Apple has a new boss, so maybe! WRONG: My Analysis of the Streaming Bubble Was Missing a Week I’m going to be congratulating myself a lot today, but I make mistakes too, like this data goof. When I last compiled the data on the decline in TV shows, I was missing one week at the end of June. If you look at the first image, you can see that one week was mislabelled as “July”. Mainly, this image got updated to show a 27% decline, not 29%: This change doesn’t really impact the overall analysis, but it is two percent better. By the way, through the third quarter, the decline increased and it’s now a 30% decrease since 2022. (I’ll write/visualize this in an upcoming article.) But I want you to trust me and my data. Especially these days, when many people are using LLMs that I know are inserting faulty data into their charts, I want to keep earning my audience’s faith. So that’s the accurate data. RIGHT: IP Remains Very, Very Popular In July, I wrote a giant (and I mean giant) article on Backrooms, Obsession, and the box office, going over what we know, what we don’t know about what works in theaters, looking at YouTubers, IP, the horror genre, comic book movies, and a whole lot more. The month of August really tested a lot of my theses and, being honest, mostly supported my arguments. Let’s start with IP. Looking at 8-Aug (the weekend after Spider-Man: Brand New Day came out) to 18-Sep (the weekend that Resident Evil came out, which I think provides a nice bookend to this time period), there were seven films based on pre-existing IP: Resident Evil (2026) ($126 million) Practical Magic 2 ($65 million) _Insidious: Out of the Furthe_r ($65 million) Coyote Vs. Acme ($59 million) Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie ($53 million) Tony ($15 million) Super Troopers 3 ($7 million) Compare those to the notable original films from the past month—I actually could have included more movies, but here are just thirteen, bringing us to an even twenty films—including.... The End of Oak Street ($54 million) Buddy ($26 million) Mutiny ($15 million) By Any Means ($15 million) The Dog Stars ($14 million) Runner ($14 million) One Night Only ($11 million) Hope ($8 million) Spa Weekend ($7 million) The Uprising ($6 million) Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma ($6 million) Onslaught ($3 million) Eli Roth’s Ice Cream Man ($2.8 million) Here’s that in chart form: Five of the top six films in this time period were all based on IP. I made a big chart of films that grossed over $200 million at the box office before Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Odyssey hit theaters. Let’s update that chart! By the way, if you want to see how I categorized each film—so another bar chart—here it is: I know that many of my fellow critics/pundits/analysts dislike films based on IP and how Hollywood is making so many of them. And I’m sympathetic to this point of view. As I’ve written many, many times before, you need a balance between existing franchises, new IP, and original films. And Hollywood clearly needs to make more films like Resident Evil (a well-made film from a visionary director) and fewer Practical Magic 2’s (which didn’t get critical or customer buzz). But at some point, critics and pundits need to contend with what audiences are telling them: Movie-goers aren’t showing up to original films. Audiences are speaking with their dollars, telling you they want more IP and franchises. You can try to convince studio heads to make fewer IP-based films and franchises, but the data and numbers aren’t there. Instead, critics need to work harder to convince audiences to show up for original films. Aim your ire/concern at the average person, not studio heads.2 Because they’re just making the films that audiences are telling them to make. WRONG: Original Horror Films Didn’t Break Out I’ll be honest, even though I wrote an article casting some skepticism on the horror genre in July, if you asked me to make a prediction, I would have predicted that, in August, a new, original horror film would have blown up. No, seriously, I just assumed that Obsession and Backrooms presaged a change in audience behavior. But none of the buzzy new original horror films from August—Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, Onslaught (not an action film in spite of the ads), The End of Oak Street, Eli Roth’s Ice Cream Man, or _Buddy—_broke out. To be clear, exactly one of those films (Buddy) had good “ROI”, but again—I try to be specific in my language—none were “popular” in any broad sense of the word. None of them will be “saving” movies theaters like Backrooms or _Obsession_helped save the summer. The new Insidious film and Resident Evil, both based on IP, were far and away the biggest horror films since July. (We’ll see if this changes in October/Halloween season.) RIGHT: Stay Skeptical about Crowdfunding... I’ve long been skeptical about crowd-investing platforms as one of Hollywood’s saviors, mainly because there’s so much hype/buzz. People need to stay more skeptical about more things, explaining both the potential upside but also the downsides. In particular, the media often hypes crowdfunding at the start and never checks in on the actual results after they’ve come in later. And August gave us our first update! _Ice Cream Man—_directed by Eli Roth—grossed $6 million off of a $5.5 million budget. This is a production of The Horror Section, which was one of the first “crowd investing” studios with 2,400 investors, which means that 2,400 investors probably lost money. They certainly aren’t getting as great of returns as if they had just invested their dollars in the stock market. Hopefully Stiletto (Tagline: “Someone’s Going to Make it Rain Blood!”) does better next month. WRONG: Another Data Goof Here’s another data error. When the first episode of House of the Dragon came out, HBO put out that it had 21.5 million viewers in the first three days, and I read that to mean in the US…but no, it was global. So my US-only datecdotes charts shouldn’t have included it. We never got US-only numbers for the first episode, but for the final episode, HBO put out that it had 11 million US viewers. (And that global dropped to 21 million viewers.) Here’s the updated chart (which I’ve since used in the Streaming Ratings Report): Still, this show is absolutely huge. RIGHT: Superhero Films Remain Very, Very Popular After Supergirl flopped, I read a few takes that “comic book movies are going the way of the Western”. Post-Spider-Man: Brand New Day, that take didn’t age well. To be fair, I have a very nuanced take on the superhero genre right now; it’s down right now, for a lot of reasons. But it’s not “dead”. Maybe _Spider-_Man is just a really popular character? I saw that take, and it’s a fair counter-argument. (But pundits arguing that superhero movies were dead should have mentioned this $1.5 billion counter-argument…) But is it just Spider-Man? The next Avengers film already has $50 million in pre-sales (and I was skeptical that that film would do well) and the Avengers: End Game re-release topped the box office two weekends ago (over three original films). And I wouldn’t bet against Batman or Superman. So maybe it’s just Spider-Man, Batman, Superman and the Avengers. Oh, and Deadpool, of course. And Black Panther. And Wolverine. And probably the X-Men. Plus a well-made Wonder Woman or the Hulk film could break out. But that’s it! It’s just those ten characters/teams. Oh, what’s that? Lanterns is also doing well on HBO? (See previous section…) To be fair, I’m actually pretty sympathetic to the argument that more popular characters—like Spider-Man and Batman—anchor more popular films. In fact, I made that exact argument three years ago when I first wrote about the “Marvel-cession”. In many ways, you can blame The Guardians of the Galaxy for fooling Marvel Studios (and the rest of us) into believing that any character could pop. It turns out, the list of iconic characters is probably smaller than most people think. But it’s probably too early to say that superhero films and comic book movies are dead unless “death” means a slight decline over a longtime. RIGHT: Who Killed Theaters? Old People I get frustrated whenever I see headlines or analysis about how young people are “returning” to theaters. As I’ve detailed(for years), young people have always powered the US box office, despite narratives about “kids these days” and their “phones”. Really, what’s changed post-2020/pandemic is that old people aren’t going to the movies nearly as much. This summer, I saw a movie (from an older director) in a theater near a retirement community, and multiple older people at the theater were talking about how this was their first time seeing a movie in years. I dislike personal anecdotes, so YouGov can fill in the data, best summarized by this headline: “Who killed movie theaters? Not the youths”. According to them, 64% of people aged 18-29 have seen a movie in the last year, but only 30% of 65-and-older. 20% of 18-29 have seen a movie in theaters in the last week and 42% in the last month. Here’s the polling data: Most concerning? Many Americans (17%) think theaters are a worse or much worse experience than watching films at home. Slight WRONG: Hadestown Opens Big A live theater capture of the Broadway musical, Hadestown, made $20 million at the US box office, which begs the question: was I wrong to be skeptical about musicals a few years ago? Yes and no. On the one hand, $20 million is a far cry from being “popular”, so yeah, the genre isn’t that popular overall and Hadestown is one of the more popular musicals from recent years (i.e. the “Taylor Swift Data Fallacy” in action). On the other, I doubt filming this cost all that much, and I don’t think that they spent much on marketing, so this is a good source of ancillary revenue. Smaller Updates WRONG: As I mentioned in a Streaming Ratings Report, I underestimated the budget for Enola Holmes 3. It probably cost more like $50 million, if not more. But... I’m not sure that it really matters? At sub-10 million hours, prices have to come down to make this work. WRONG: Netflix is giving Ink a 27-day in theaters! To quote the kids/YouTubers these days, let’s go! Now I might actually have a chance to see Danny Boyle’s latest in theaters. I’d complained about this in a “Coming Soon” section, but I was heartened to read that Netflix is giving multiple films longer theatrical windows this year. RIGHT: Netflix is sending 4-5 films per year to theaters. Netflix is slowly but surely sending more and more films to theaters, as I cautiously predicted earlier this year. For now, it’s just three big films and a number of awards contenders, but still, this is great news. And they’ll be releasing box office grosses! Just this week, Ted Sarandos confirmed that KPop Demon Hunters 2 will come to theaters (and my guess is it performs in the box office top ten at a minimum). WRONG: Angel has 3 million subscribers! How do I know this? Well, they told Deadline, who reported it. I marked this as “wrong”, since they’ve doubled their subscribers in one year but, you know, they don’t really have a hit film to speak of and they’re still losing money. WRONG: Furious was only renewed for one more season. I accidentally wrote “two more seasons” in my latest “Renewals, Cancellations, Un-Orders and Removals Update”. RIGHT: House of David is ending with its third season. In July, Prime Video renewed House of David for a third season, as I just wrote in my latest “Renewals and Cancellations” report. Well, now it’s ending after that third season. Why? As I’ve been writing, its viewership wasn’t great. I got feedback that this show didn’t cost very much, but it cost enough that its limited viewership didn’t save it. WRONG: Adults was a Hulu original! So I missed Adults when it first came out last year; I saw that it aired on FX and just assumed that it was a linear-first program. Turns out, it aired three episodes on FX, but binge-released the rest of its episodes the next day on Hulu. Huh. So I should have covered it last year! But I just wrote about it. 1 “When I was a kid in the 90s, if you wore a t-shirt to school that wasn’t too big and also wasn’t too small, but somehow didn’t quite fit, we’d say you were wearing an “extra-medium” shirt.” 2 As always, a huge exception is Disney, which barely makes anything original anymore.
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