Latest / Studio Signal / Studio Signal — Wednesday, April 29, 2026
Transcript
- Good morning, I'm Kai Rivers and this is Studio Signal — your daily M&E intelligence briefing, brought to you by Harkins Capital. Let's get into it. Alright studio fam, it is Wednesday, April 29th. We talked yesterday about Comcast’s first-quarter earnings beat, which on paper looked pretty good. Revenue was up, and they managed to slow down the bleeding in their broadband business, losing fewer customers than expected. But it looks like Wall Street's initial excitement has worn off. After a little pop yesterday, the stock is one of the biggest losers in the sector today. It seems investors dug into the details and maybe weren't thrilled with what they saw long-term. It's a classic case of "good news... but not good enough." Meanwhile, get ready to feel old, because The Devil Wears Prada is getting a sequel. The Hollywood Reporter is projecting the film, which reunites the entire original core cast, is on track to open with at least seventy to seventy-five million dollars in the U.S. and a hundred seventy-five million globally. What's really interesting here is the strategy. This is the first time a quote-unquote chick flick is being used to kick off the summer box office season. While the superhero movies are all getting their capes dry-cleaned, this sequel is stepping into a wide-open lane. It’s a huge bet on nostalgia and a demographic that's often underserved during blockbuster season. And while one studio leans on a classic, a new player is trying to change the music game entirely. According to Billboard, AI voice company ElevenLabs is revamping its ElevenMusic service. The goal? To turn passive listeners into active creators. The platform will let fans create and remix music using AI tools. And crucially, they're not just plowing ahead without the industry's buy-in. They've already inked licensing deals with major players like Kobalt and Merlin, which shows a smarter, more collaborative approach to AI disruption than we've seen from others. In some more serious news... a judge has dismissed a large portion of the child sexual assault lawsuit filed against Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler. According to Billboard, the judge ruled that many of the claims from Julia Misley were filed years too late, past the statute of limitations. And in a story that's just… deeply unsettling, The Hollywood Reporter confirms that the cousin of 'Summer House' star West Wilson has been charged with murdering their grandmother. The shooting reportedly happened on April 22nd, which was just one day before the show's reunion was filmed. Just a tragic story all around. Keeping up with all these moves is a full-time job… which is why we do it for you. And if you want to keep this level of M&E intel coming every morning, the first one thousand users get their first month of Studio Signal Pro completely free. Just use the promo code STUDIO at checkout. Spots are limited, so grab yours while they last. Alright, let's check the pulse of the M&E market before we wrap up. It's a bit of a mixed day out there... leaning slightly negative, with about eighteen companies in the red and only twelve in the green. The biggest mover by far is CoreWeave, which is roaring back today, up more than eight percent. On the flip side, we're seeing some red for the exhibitors and cable companies. AMC Entertainment is down almost five percent, and AMC Networks is down more than three and a half percent. And as we mentioned, Comcast is down over three percent today, giving back all of yesterday’s earnings gains and then some. And Warner Music is also sliding a bit, down a little over two percent. That's your signal for today. I'm Kai Rivers — thanks for tuning in, and I'll see you tomorrow.