Distribution

Taylor Swift.

Her new album is scheduled for release October 2. As she did in the middle of her Eras tour, Swift is using movie theatres across the globe in over 100 countries to promote its release.

Of course, unless your name is Yungblud or Bad Bunny, none of us have the fan base or reach that Swift enjoys. That said, we can all learn from her. What she is doing is providing us with new and unique ways to promote and distribute our creations.

She reminds me of Madonna in this way. Madonna reinvented herself so many times to keep up with changes in both her fan base and to attract new fans. I loved her example. While some just stayed the same, Madonna tested the waters with new and, sometimes, wild presentations to find new audiences and to stay relevant.

Here is the link to the official release party information: https://investor.amctheatres.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/396/t...

Stepping outside of everyone else's comfort zone is necessary in such a changing environment. You might be a filmmaker, a makeup artist, a camera operator, an actor -- it doesn't matter what your craft is, you can always learn tips from the risk takers on how to push yourself into new challenges.

This is a short clip from Variety Studio at Sundance 2018, but it still applies. The opportunities are even better today for independents to find a way to get their films out there without having to be beholden to the studio and theater system.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NLEiUzRVbE

From Sean Fennessey on The Big Picture podcast:

"Box office is a short-term analysis game. It's not a long-term analysis game because the information around how much more money a movie generates over one year 5 years 25 years is very opaque. The studios are not incentivized to release how much money they garner from licensing a film to a streaming service, what their VOD numbers are going to be, what it means when a movie wins awards and comes back into the conversation. Movies can be valuable over they're like an annuity. They they can generate revenue over long periods of time, right? And a movie like One Battle After Another is an interesting contrast to to something like like a dead stock movie."

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYxGlCJSfug&t=154s)

Submissions add up quickly. Save money with these tips.

Here you can find 5 Ways to Keep Your Film Festival Submission Budget in Check:

1. Research Carefully: Apply only to festivals suited to your film.

2. Submit Early: Take advantage of early-bird discounts.

3. Leverage Connections: Seek waivers or discounts where possible.

4. Focus on Quality Over Quantity: Prioritise prestigious festivals.

5. Track Expenses: Monitor costs to avoid overspending.

How Pzaz Helps: Budget and track submissions effortlessly with Pzaz tools.

➡️ What’s your favorite film festival experience?

A standout from this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, Poetic License marks Maude Apatow’s feature directorial debut and has just been acquired by Row K Entertainment for North American theatrical distribution in the $5.5–$7 million range.

This marks Row K’s fourth major fall acquisition, continuing their fast rise as a new theatrical distributor with festival buzz titles like Dead Man’s Wire and Charlie Harper.

Read the full Deadline article here: https://deadline.com/2025/09/maude-apatow-poetic-license-row-k-1236556348/

For producers, this is another reminder that festival buzz + strong ensemble casts can still drive competitive distribution deals.

What do you think, does the mid-seven-figure price tag suggest that Row K is betting big on theatrical comedy, or that Apatow’s name recognition gave this film an extra edge in the market?

Distribution coordinator Manuel Palos stressed, “Some countries support film distribution in other European nations: to help films from their countries gain greater reach, they support local distributors in these destination countries.” Stefan Schmitz confirmed this: “Film institutes in France, Germany, Italy and Scandinavia allocate funds to supporting the release of their films in other countries.

https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/482326/

The indefinite suspension of Jimmy Kimmel following political backlash is raising more than eyebrows; it’s raising real questions about who controls the airwaves and what that means for the future of late-night television.

According to Deadline, internal dissent is growing at Disney after the decision to pull Jimmy Kimmel Live! just before a scheduled taping, and while negotiations for his return are reportedly underway, the damage may already be done. We’re now seeing talent boycotts, protests, and even subscription cancellations.

The late-night format has long been a space for satire, social commentary, and irreverent truth-telling. But when political pressure leads to the shelving of one of the format’s key figures, what does that mean for the future of the medium? Are studios and streamers still willing to take the risks that satire requires, or is political fallout becoming the deciding factor in what gets aired?

This is about more than one host; it’s about how distribution choices reflect a company’s values, risks, and relationship with its audience.

What do you think this means for the future of late-night content and politically-driven programming? Will platforms play it safer, or is this the beginning of a new kind of reckoning?

Read the full article here: https://deadline.com/2025/09/jimmy-kimmel-disney-return-talks-1236548983/

To be clear, this conversation is not for debating left vs. right US politics or unpacking the death of Charlie Kirk. If that’s what you want to discuss, there are plenty of conversations you can join on other platforms. On Stage 32, we talk about the business and how it can affect your path as creatives. The conversation should not veer off-topic from the future of late-night and programming.

When you turn on your TV in 2025, the very first thing you engage with isn’t an app like Netflix or YouTube, it’s an operating system. Think Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, LG webOS, or Samsung Tizen. These platforms decide which shows and apps get prime placement, who appears in autoplay rails, which icons sit on dedicated remote buttons, and, critically, who processes the payments. Today’s “carriage agreement” is the OS home screen.

Consider this,

Connected TV (CTV) now reaches more than 90% of US households, with over 117 million homes streaming via these devices. YouTube on the TV set alone serves upward of 100 million American households, and Nielsen reports streaming took 44% of all U.S. TV time in 2025. Meanwhile, CTV ad spending just crossed $33 billion and is set for continued double-digit growth.

But here’s the central truth,

YouTube’s surge isn’t about better programming or a creative renaissance. The real catalyst is CTV platforms making it the path of least resistance, one-tap access, autoplay, and top billing on the interface. The interface, not the content, shapes who wins the living room. Distribution has fundamentally changed, but most people still think it’s about the shows. Every content provider, studios, streamers, even YouTube, now negotiates with platform landlords.

The real estate that matters is the home screen. Remote control buttons, deep links that bypass app menus, and hero tiles are now more valuable than any content deal. Roku claims 37% of the US market for CTV ad impressions, with Fire TV at 17%. OEMs and OS companies are selling these digital corridors like high-traffic shopping centers, and success increasingly depends on owning or renting that front door.

It’s no surprise Meta and TikTok are racing to the big screen, vying for their own piece of the home screen map, before those spots become impossible to unseat.

Linear TV’s share of global ad dollars has dropped to 12%, with CTV quickly heading toward a projected 40% by 2030. The platforms that shape access now shape audience flow, advertising revenue, and content discovery.

So while headlines declare a “streaming war” between Netflix and YouTube, the real battle for control has shifted. OS makers and TV manufacturers, they’re the true winners in today’s entertainment landscape. They own the entryway, the data, and the viewer relationship.

In the era of CTV, the lesson is clear, Content remains essential. But distribution rules the kingdom, and today, the platform is king. If you’re not focused on how you’ll reach the viewer through the OS, you’re playing someone else’s game and paying rent in a digital estate run by new landlords.

The sea change continues. More and more optimism in the air. More and more throwing traditional models out the window and taking matters into their own hands.

From Indiewire:

With No One Else Buying Movies, Financiers Turn Distributors to Seize Opportunity

Not long ago, if A24 or Netflix passed, the market slowed to a crawl. Today, fresh energy is flowing into the indie scene as new players step in to give films a home.

“We just felt that there was a real hole, a lot of white space in the market for a new distributor that was going to release mid-budget, commercial pictures,” Row K co-chairman Christopher Woodrow told IndieWire. “I’ve been doing this for 20 years. I never felt that there was a more exciting opportunity than the independent market at this particular moment.”

Full article here:

https://lnkd.in/gsX36Axk

In this interview with Zac Reeder, much of what he says makes sense—particularly when it comes to the importance of cast, which is relevant on many levels. But is it really true that 99% of filmmakers are unaware of how this impacts distribution? Sounds sort of abnormally high.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7W-ETC6Uz8

Interesting quotes from Landgraf:

“We have an industry that, from a structural standpoint, requires some consolidation. We can’t have as many streaming services, certainly not global streaming services, and some of the great legacy majors in the United States don’t really have enough scale.

“I think that’s why you see — between Paramount, Universal, and Warner Brothers — a desire to consolidate at least two of those companies to try to create another distributor that has a scale globally.”

“I really honestly think it’s inevitable. If you look at the balance sheet for half of these companies independently, they really don’t have any way of scaling to 200, 250, 300 million global subscribers without some kind of consolidation.”

(https://deadline.com/2025/09/fx-john-landgraf-paramount-warner-bros-disc...)

The move into distribution is a strategic expansion, building on the company’s strong track record in unscripted television with its content finding audiences around the world through license agreements with Netflix, Hulu and Discovery Channel.

The distribution arm will also sell scripted projects from Big Time Decent’s new scripted division, Bread & Better Films, and is looking to represent select third-party content that aligns with its brand.

https://broadcastdialogue.com/vancouvers-big-time-decent-launches-intern...