The Town with Matthew Belloni

Matt is joined by Puck’s Eriq Gardner to discuss the March 2027 trial date that has been set for the Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery antitrust case and what it means for the likelihood of this merger going through. They highlight the $650 million per quarter ticking fee Paramount has to pay in the meantime, how the November midterm elections could play a factor, who has the best leverage, whether Netflix could end up back in the mix, David Ellison’s New York Times column, and the other major legal issues at play (02:03). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about Season 4 of 'Ted Lasso' (30:08).

Host: Matt Belloni

Gust: Eriq Gardner

Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

Nominated for 25 Emmy Awards, including OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES.

This episode is brought to you by Accenture. https://Accenture.com/Spotify
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw to catch up with the biggest news around town, including a record-breaking opening weekend for 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day,' WarnerMount trial-date jockeying, and YouTube’s new deal with Peacock (02:24). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about a ‘Barbie’ sequel (31:03).

Host: Matt Belloni

Gust: Lucas Shaw

Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

Nominated for 25 Emmy Awards, including OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt and Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw finish The Town’s first Future Blockbusters Draft by filling the remaining five slots on their teams (01:12).

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Lucas Shaw

Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

This episode is brought to you by AMC+. Start your free trial today at join.amcplus.com

This episode is brought to you by Accenture. https://Accenture.com/Spotify
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt and Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw put on their studio chief hats and conduct the first Future Blockbusters Draft. In Part 1, they draft five elements (director, actor, or IP) they believe will define the box office for the next 10 years (00:34). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about the Paramount–Warner Bros. merger (24:18).

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Lucas Shaw

Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

This episode is brought to you by AMC+. Start your free trial today at join.amcplus.com

This episode is brought to you by Accenture. https://Accenture.com/Spotify

Tickets available at americancinematheque.com
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt is joined by Sean Diffley, head of media and entertainment as well as cable and telecom research at Morgan Stanley to discuss a new system for stock picking called the MS Media Matrix, which ranks publicly traded entertainment companies based on audience and engagement, their interactivity, urgency of the content, pricing power, IP, and AI positioning, and then compares these strengths and weaknesses to the companies’ relative share price. They discuss the importance of ownership within these companies, AI's role in content creation and the future of leisure time, and AI's impact on content consumption (02:56). Matt finishes the show with a prediction on what will be the second weekend drop of ‘The Odyssey’ (30:33).

Host: Matt Belloni

Guest: Sean Diffley

Producers: Craig Horlbeck, Jessie Lopez, and Stefano Sanchez

Theme Song: Devon Renaldo

This episode is brought to you by AMC+. Start your free trial today at join.amcplus.com

This episode is brought to you by Accenture. https://Accenture.com/Spotify
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices