MEMO TO: BOB CHAPEK, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY FR: STEVE LEBLANG, MEDIA CONSULTANT SUBJECT: THAT FLORIDA THING Mr. Chapek, I want to preface these opinions by reinforcing they are my own exclusively, nor do I profess to know the inner workings of your company. I certainly don’t know the nuances of the … Read more
A few months back, when Mark Zuckerberg woke up from a fever dream and renamed Facebook Meta, I was prompted to recall my own adventures in renaming and rebranding networks and services, and the astounding amount of time, effort and money involved in such an undertaking. This morning, Amazon gleefully announced their own contribution to … Read more
I extol praise on quite a number of Apple TV+ projects, and I’ll admit I’m a little pre-disposed to wanting to. I’ve had the privilege of working directly with many of their key executives for many years, and I’ve seen first-hand their dedication to finding the right talent and the right tone for projects they … Read more
It’s the first Sunday of baseball season, and for decades that often meant I’d begin several months spent many relaxing hours of ensuing Sundays on a beach towel or sitting in a sun chair poring over standings, team statistics, expanded and exhaustive lists of players’ individual performances and box scores. My default paper then and … Read more
Every now and then a move is made by a major media company than even I can’t find any fault with. Yesterday’s announcement from the Disney corporate execs that 30-season reality stalwart DANCING WITH THE STARS will move to Disney Plus this fall and will indeed continue beyond that was one of them. DWTS, as … Read more
A generation ago, the battle for time slots on local television stations for first-run syndicated shows was fierce, passionate and strategic. As the “consigliere” to those on the front lines in the more expensive suits, I would frequently be brought into conversations and often business lunches with buyers and even competitors. While we were technically … Read more
Any sign of normalcy in a world inexplicably resistant to return to normalcy is seen here as exceptionally positive. For me, nothing was more positive than the fact that MIP-TV was held IN PERSON this week in Cannes, France. The fact that this week large contingents of actual people finally got on planes, congregated in … Read more
While I’ve never worked directly with and only have crossed paths briefly with incoming Warner Discovery chairman David Zaslav I personally know plenty of people who have. To a person, he’s been described as genial, accessible, fair, demanding and while he indeed has had loyal lieutenants through his career at both NBCUniversal and Discovery those … Read more
Music has always been a passion of mine, though I can personally barely carry a note. And since I consume so much sports, news and comedy information I don’t have as informed a knowledge base for the Grammy Awards’ nominees as I do for the other major awards’ personalities. But I did watch (sadly, joined … Read more
After the news cycle of the last couple of weeks, the return of Saturday Night Live to original episodes this past weekend was especially welcomed. I look forward to new episodes with eagerness and anticipation, and I’m not alone. Last year, SNL was the most-viewed network program among young adults in same-day viewing, and it … Read more