Latest / Studio Signal / Studio Signal — Week Ahead, Sunday, April 26, 2026
Transcript
- Good morning, I'm Kai Rivers and this is Studio Signal — the week ahead edition, brought to you by Harkins Capital. Let's talk about what's coming. Alright studio fam, before we look at the packed week ahead, we have to talk about the weekend, because the box office just got a massive jolt of electricity. The Michael Jackson biopic, 'Michael,' absolutely crushed its opening weekend, pulling in a stunning ninety-seven million dollars domestically and over two hundred and seventeen million globally. As we were talking about last week, this thing was tracking hot after huge previews, and it completely delivered. It’s another massive proof point that globally recognized I.P. is the undisputed king right now. When you have a story and a soundtrack the entire world knows, you can still create a massive, global theatrical event. And speaking of massive global events, HBO gave fans a taste of what's coming, dropping a new trailer for the third season of 'House of the Dragon.' Showrunner Ryan Condal promised the new season, which lands in June, will be "more brutal" and have "lots and lots of dragons." For HBO and Max, this show is everything. It's their tentpole, their prestige genre hit, and keeping that hype machine firing on all cylinders is priority number one. Okay, let's turn to the week ahead, and honestly, get ready, because this is going to be one of the most consequential weeks of the year for the M&E space. It is a monster week for Big Tech earnings, and their results will tell us everything about the health of streaming, gaming, and digital advertising. The action starts on Tuesday, when we hear from Spotify. The big question for them is always subscriber growth versus profitability. But this time, all eyes will also be on their ad-supported tier and what their podcast and video investments are doing for the bottom line. T-Mobile also reports Tuesday, which will give us a fresh look at the state of the wireless and home internet wars. Then, Wednesday is the main event. We get earnings from Meta, Microsoft, and Google all on the same day. For Meta, it's about the ad market and the metaverse spend. For Microsoft, it’s all about gaming — how is the Activision integration going and what are the subscriber numbers for Game Pass? And for Google, the market will be laser-focused on YouTube's ad revenue and the growth of YouTube TV. This is the trifecta that will set the tone for the entire digital media market. We also hear from MGM on Wednesday. But it doesn't stop there. On Thursday, Amazon and Apple step up to the plate. For Amazon, the key questions are the performance of Prime Video, the integration of MGM, and what their advertising revenues look like. And for Apple, it’s about the services division — how are Apple TV+, Music, and Arcade growing, and can that growth offset any weakness in iPhone sales? And as all that is happening, the content never stops. On the gaming side, the big release this week is Diablo IV's first major expansion, Lord of Hatred, which drops on Tuesday. On the streaming front, Netflix is dropping a new series called Man on Fire on Thursday. And on Friday, the box office gets a few new wide releases, including the animated 'Animal Farm' and a sequel, 'The Devil Wears Prada 2'. It is going to be a jam-packed week of data, and if you want to make sure you don't miss any of what happens next, we're making it easy. The first one thousand users get their first month of Studio Signal Pro completely free using the promo code STUDIO at checkout. It's the best way to keep this level of M&E intel coming every single morning. So, the key questions as we head into this week are pretty clear. First: Will the earnings from the tech giants justify their massive stock run-ups, particularly in the streaming and gaming space, or will A.I. investments overshadow everything else? Second: After the monster opening for 'Michael,' does this signal a true return to health for the box office, or does it just reinforce that only the biggest I.P. can compete? And finally: What will Spotify's numbers tell us about the health of the audio advertising market, and are they finally proving that their big bets beyond music can pay off? That's your signal for the week ahead. I'm Kai Rivers — rest up, because it is going to be a big one. I'll see you tomorrow morning.