Showbiz Sandbox 354: Why the Entertainment Industry Should Care About Net Neutrality
Summary: President Donald Trump’s selection of Ajit Pai to chair the Federal Communications Commission has moved quickly to rollback consumer protection regulations long thought to be settled; specifically net neutrality. Rules put in place to ensure an open internet allowing every company to compete on equal footing could get thrown out for ones that favor four telecom giants. That could mean record labels, movie studios, streaming music and video providers wind up paying much more to reach audiences.<br> In addition, Pai threw out proposed rules that would have allowed cable subscribers to purchase their set top boxes. Consumers in the United States presently pay $200 or more per year to rent such equipment putting $20 billion annually into the pockets of video providers. Will legislative bodies in other countries take similar stances in the wake of such F.C.C. moves?<br> This all comes as streaming music revenue has helped slow or reverse years of declining income sales for record companies. Nielsen music reports that streaming platforms provided 38% of total audio consumption in 2016, up from 23% in 2014. In fact, these days a glut of streaming music providers are trying just about everything to differentiate themselves in what has become a crowded marketplace.<br> Of course, we also cover the week’s top entertainment news stories including Disney’s $100 million anti-poaching settlement with animators, Oprah Winfrey joins “60 Minutes” and which media outlets have backed out of the annual White House Correspondents Dinner.<br> <br> Super Bowl’s TV ratings slip for the second straight year<br><br> <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-super-bowl-ratings-20170206-story.html" target="_blank">http://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-super-bowl-ratings-20170206-story.html</a><br> comScore Announces Official Worldwide Box Office Results for Weekend of February 5, 2017<br><br> <a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/comscore-announces-official-worldwide-box-office-results-for-weekend-of-february-5-2017-300402307.html" target="_blank">http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/comscore-announces-official-worldwide-box-office-results-for-weekend-of-february-5-2017-300402307.html</a><br> Third-Party Investigation Finds No Animal Injuries, Cruelty on Set of ‘A Dog’s Purpose’<br><br> <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/third-party-investigation-finds-no-animal-injuries-cruelty-set-a-dogs-purpose-972081" target="_blank">http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/third-party-investigation-finds-no-animal-injuries-cruelty-set-a-dogs-purpose-972081</a><br> DGA Awards: The Complete Winners List<br><br> <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/dga-awards-2017-winners-list-full-966475/item/outstanding-directorial-achievement-documentary-960110" target="_blank">http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/dga-awards-2017-winners-list-full-966475/item/outstanding-directorial-achievement-documentary-960110</a><br> ‘Lion’ Tops ASC Cinematographer Awards<br><br> <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/lion-tops-asc-cinematographer-awards-966477" target="_blank">http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/lion-tops-asc-cinematographer-awards-966477</a><br> Annies: ‘Zootopia’ Wins Big With 6 Awards Including Best Animated Feature<br><br> <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/annie-awards-winners-2017-list-full-966476" target="_blank">http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/annie-awards-winners-2017-list-full-966476</a><br> FCC Chairman Ajit Pai Pulls Set-Top Proposal<br><br> <a href="https://variety.com/2017/biz/news/fcc-chairman-ajit-pai-scraps-set-top-proposal-1201974178/" target="_blank">https://variety.com/2017/biz/news/fcc-chairman-ajit-pai-scraps-set-top-proposal-1201974178/</a><br> FCC Rescinds Claim that AT&T and Verizon Violated Net Neutrality<br><br> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/02/fcc-rescinds-claim-that-att-and-..."></a>
