While the rest of the entertainment world tries to get its head around the idea that Lebron James could sell his one-year-old production company, The SpringHill Company, for $750 million and Reese Witherspoon is considering unloading her Hello Sunshine production company for about $1 billion, Barclays media analyst Kannan Venkateshwar wrote Friday that streaming distribution has turned the way companies value programming on its ear.

James reportedly started SpringHill with a $100 million investment and has been fielding interest from several possible suitors, including Nike, according to The Information. Best known for the just-released Space Jam: A New Legacy film and the HBO series The Shop (it also owns a small marketing arm) a $750 million sales price represents a more than robust premium, even for an NBA legend. 

Academy-Award-winning actress Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine has produced the hit HBO series Big Little Lies, Little Fires Everywhere for Hulu and The Morning Show for Apple TV Plus. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Hello Sunshine is working with investment bankers to determine its options, and there is no guarantee a sale will take place. No revenue figures were available, but other reports have said the production company is expected to turn its first profit this year. AT&T is part owner of Hello Sunshine, through its Otter Media unit.

But whether a sale happens or not, the lofty valuations placed on these assets seems to fly in the face of tradition. It used to be that a company had to accumulate a big library, establish a proven track record of hits and have a management team that could practically foretell the future before attracting Lotto-type valuations. Now, in the streaming era, that model is quickly becoming obsolete.

In his research report, Venkateshwar notes that every content library is valued differently, and rightly so. Volume alone doesn’t determine value, but the analyst said another factor -- distribution channels -- also is rising in the mix. But Venkateshwar added it isn’t the number of distribution channels available to a piece of content that determines its value, but the type of distribution. 

“Unlike legacy channels for content distribution which were purely focused on content alone, today, the consumer value proposition of a given content distribution channel may actually have nothing to do with content,” Venkateshwar wrote. “In fact, the value of content may ironically be higher in channels where content is only a secondary offering, unlike the past where the more focused a distribution channel was on content, the more it could charge (theatrical, TV bundle etc.).”

He used Amazon’s Prime Video offering as an example. While Prime Video has a lot of content -- which should increase after Amazon agreed in May to buy movie studio MGM at a price ($8.5 billion) some have estimated is 37 times its annualized cash flow -- it’s main function is to serve as a complement to the Amazon Prime service, which offers customers free shipping on their Amazon retail orders. According to Venkateshwar, the real value of the video offering is in its ability to increase the value of the platform as a whole.

“Other emerging content distributors like Apple are also more oriented to use content to enhance the value of their broader platforms rather than as an end in itself,” Venkateshwar wrote, adding that the same holds true for audio, which has taken advantage of new distribution channels like Peloton, Fortnite and Tik Tok which is becoming an increasingly important driver for music labels.

“However, not every new distribution channel is a platform and therefore most new streaming services will have to justify the economics of a given piece of content or a library based on its ability to drive subscriber growth, engagement or pricing power. This is why it may make more sense for Netflix to spend $8 billion-plus on creating more local language programming across its footprint rather than buying a company like MGM.”

Specific windows for theatrical, pay per view, premium, cable and broadcast content were also a key factor in the way programming was valued previously. But streaming threw theatrical windowing, well, out the window as distributors either ignored them totally, like Netflix, or created a new day-and-date release strategy for movies like Disney Plus.

While Venkateshwar wrote that the new strategy could be good for consumers, who can switch between distributors for specific content without penalty, it ultimately will hurt lifetime valuations for that content.

The analyst pointed to Disney’s latest day-and-date release, Black Widow.  While that film had a strong opening box office weekend of $80 million in North America and generated more than $60 million for Disney Plus, the drop off in box office after opening day (40%) was significantly greater for Black Widow than any other Marvel film, Venkateshwar said. 

“Therefore, what will be interesting to watch is the overall collection for Black Widow across its entire theatrical and Disney Plus run and its impact on Disney Plus sub growth once the movie hits the normal subscription window (although Disney may not make these numbers available),” Venkateshwar wrote.

The elimination of multiple windows also could affect the cultural import of certain content, the analyst said, wondering aloud if Star Wars would have been as culturally significant over the past several decades if it had been released exclusively on Netflix rather than in theaters. Venkateshwar argues that marketing plays a huge role in not only promoting films but letting potential viewers cut through the clutter to discover programming they want to watch. 

“A movie release tends to be akin to a high-profile new product launch, with franchise movies spending $100 million-plus on marketing alone,” Venkateshwar wrote. “Netflix’s movie releases, on the other hand, rely significantly on its own content discovery algorithms. While the latter may be more efficient in the short term, it limits the duration of cultural relevance of a given piece of content, especially in a world with significant content clutter. This is why we believe Netflix’s strategy of shunning theatrical windows may drive a lower return on investment for its franchises than, say, Disney.”

Venkateshwar goes on to consider ad-supported streaming (best to monetize library content) and the benefits of binge-watching (which highlights the value of original programming), but it all boils down to the fact that valuing content is hard. And you can’t point to one deal or even a series of deals as a blueprint for the rest of the business. So Lebron James and Reese Witherspoon may indeed have hit the content lottery with their respective content endeavors, or maybe not. Amazon may be spending too much on MGM -- there is still the question of regulatory approval -- or it may end up being considered a bargain 10 years down the road. Venkateshwar pointed to how many analysts thought Disney paid way too much for Pixar and Marvel back in the day. 

The key, he wrote, is being willing to continually reinvest in what you buy, no matter the price. Buying a studio or a production company or what have you has to be the start of the investment cycle, not the end.  

“In hindsight, however, the last decade of Disney’s growth including its streaming pivot and therefore its valuation has largely been fueled by these anchor assets,” Venkateshwar wrote of Pixar and Marvel  “Valuation context, in other words, is a function of the post-deal strategic path of these assets more than a point in time estimate of asset value of a given studio.”

HBO's Succession was a surprise winner in the best drama series category at the Golden Globes awards Sunday night.

The sophomore series, which stars Brian Cox, Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook and Kieran Culkin, beat out such favorites as Netflix's The Crown, BBC America's Killing Eve and HBO's Big Little Lies, as well as freshman series The Morning Show from Apple TV+. 

Cox also took home the Golden Globe award for best actor in a drama series, topping Kit Harington (Game of Thrones), Rami Malek (Mr. Robot), Tobias Menzies (The Crown) and Billy Porter (Pose) for the statuette. 

Fans of several popular drama series will be tuning in this week for new episodes as the summer TV season begins to heat up.

On Sunday (June 9), HBO’s Big Little Lies and TNT’s drama series Claws will return for new seasons, while The Handmaid’s Tale comes back on Tuesday (June 4) for its third season.

Also, the Kiefer Sutherland-starrer Designated Survivor debuts on Netflix Friday (June 7) after two seasons on ABC.

Below are video trailers and premiere dates for several shows debuting this week on cable networks and streaming services:

June 4 -- Jonas Brothers: Chasing Happiness (movie) -- Prime Video

June 5 -- Black Mirror (returning anthology series) -- Netflix

June 6 -- The Cold Blue (documentary) -- HBO

June 6 -- Hero Ink (reality) -- A&E

June 7 -- I Am Mother (movie) -- Netflix

June 7 -- XY Chelsea (documentary movie) -- Showtime

HBO will bring back its freshman drama series Big Little Lies for a second season on June 9, the network announced Sunday.

The series, which stars Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Laura Dern and Zoë Kravitz, will continue to explore the durability of friendships, the fragility of marriage and the vicious ferocity of sound parenting, said network officials.

Big Little Lies, based on the novel by Liane Moriarty, is executive produced by Kidman, Witherspoon, David E. Kelley, Andrea Arnold, Jean-Marc Vallée, Bruna Papandrea, Per Saari, Gregg Fienberg, Nathan Ross and Liane Moriarty

HBO’s Big Little Lies remained hot on the TV awards front, sweeping the acting SAG Awards in the best television movie or limited series category.

Nicole Kidman won the SAG Award for outstanding performance by a female actor in a television movies or limited series, while Alexander Skarsgard took home the trophy in the outstanding performance by a male actor in a television movie or limited series.

Kidman adds a SAG Award to her Emmy and Golden Globe award wins for her portrayal of Celeste Wright in the HBO limited drama series. Skarsgard also completes the three-peat with Emmy, Globe and SAG wins for the role of Perry Wright in the HBO series.

HBO continued to sizzle on the TV awards front Thursday, dominating the Critics' Choice Awards in a fashion similar to its Golden Globes Awards performance this past Sunday. 

HBO won six Critics' Choice Awards during Thursday night’s ceremony which aired on the CW, doubling Hulu and NBC’s three awards, according to The Broadcast Film Critics Association and The Broadcast Television Journalists Association.

RELATED: HBO Leads Golden Globes Award Winners 

Also mirroring its strong Golden Globes Awards performance was HBO’s Big Little Lies, which took home four Critics' Choice Awards -- including the statuette for Best Limited Series – leading all shows. 

Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale also repeated their Golden Globes victories with Critics' Choice Awards wins in the Best Comedy Series and Best Drama Series categories, respectively.

HBO's The Wizard Of Lies won the Critics' Choice Award for Best TV Movie, according to the BFCA and the BTJA. 

The Critics’ Choice Award Winners in the Television Category:

BEST COMEDY SERIES – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Amazon

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES – Ted Danson, The Good Place, NBC

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES – Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Amazon

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES – Walton Goggins, Vice Principals, HBO

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES – Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory, CBS

BEST DRAMA SERIES – The Handmaid’s Tale, Hulu

BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES – Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us, NBC

BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES – Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid’s Tale, Hulu

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES – David Harbour, Stranger Things, Netflix

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES – Ann Dowd, The Handmaid’s Tale, Hulu

BEST LIMITED SERIES – Big Little Lies, HBO

BEST MOVIE MADE FOR TV – The Wizard of Lies, HBO

BEST ACTOR IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TV OR LIMITED SERIES – Ewan McGregor, Fargo, FX

BEST ACTRESS IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TV OR LIMITED SERIES – Nicole Kidman, Big Little Lies, HBO

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TV OR LIMITED SERIES – Alexander Skarsgård, Big Little Lies, HBO

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MOVIE MADE FOR TV OR LIMITED SERIES – Laura Dern, Big Little Lies, HBO

BEST TALK SHOW – Jimmy Kimmel Live!, ABC

BEST ANIMATED SERIES – Rick and Morty, Adult Swim

BEST UNSTRUCTURED REALITY SERIES – Born This Way, A&E

BEST STRUCTURED REALITY SERIES – Shark Tank, ABC

BEST REALITY COMPETITION SERIES – The Voice, NBC

BEST REALITY SHOW HOST – RuPaul, RuPaul’s Drag Race, VH1

HBO rebounded from a Golden Globes shutout last year to lead the 75th annual Golden Globes awards winners in the television category, announced Sunday night.

Read More: Complete Coverage of the 2018 Golden Globes

Led by its limited series Big Little Lies, HBO won four Golden Globes during NBC's live ceremony telecast, hosted by Seth Meyers. Streaming services Amazon and Hulu both won two Golden Globes awards, with FX, NBC and Netflix garnering one award each, according to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

Big Little Lies’ four awards doubled the count generated by second place finishers, Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Hulu’sThe Handmaid’s Tale. The streaming shows won the Golden Globe awards for best comedy and best drama series, respectively, marking the first time shows from streaming services swept the coveted awards. 

Elisabeth Moss followed up her recent Emmy Award win for best actress in a drama series with a Golden Globe in the category, while Sterling K. Brown won the Globe award for best performance by an actor in a drama, matching his Emmy award in the category.

Related | Golden Globes 2018: Elisabeth Moss Takes Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series

Oprah Winfrey --who was awarded the Cecil B. deMille Award during the ceremony -- summed up the sentiments of many Globe winners who spoke in support of the #MeToo movement by saying she's been inspired by all the women who have told their stories regarding sexual harrassment.

“Speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we have,” she said. “A new day is on the horizon.”

2018 Golden Globe Winners In The Television Category:

Best Television Series -- Drama
The Handmaid’s Tale – Hulu

Best Performance By An Actress In A Television Series – Drama
Elisabeth Moss – The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)

Best Performance By An Actor In A Television Series –Drama
Sterling K. Brown – This Is Us (NBC) 

Best TV Series – Musical Or Comedy
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel – Amazon

Best Performance By an Actress in a Television Series – Musical Or Comedy
Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon)

Best Performance By An Actor In A Television Series – Musical or Comedy
Aziz Ansari, Master of None (Netflix) 

Best TV Limited Series Or Motion Picture Made For Television
Big Little Lies – HBO

Best Performance By an Actress In A Limited-Series or A Motion Picture Made For Television
Nicole Kidman. Big Little Lies (HBO) 

Best Performance By an Actor In A Limited-Series or A Motion Picture Made For Television
Ewan McGregor –Fargo (FX)

Best Performance By An Actress In A Supporting Role In A Series, Limited Series Or Motion Picture Made For Television
Laura Dern – Big Little Lies (HBO) 

Best Performance By An Actor In A Supporting Role In A Series, Limited Series Or Motion Picture Made For Television
Alexander Skarsgard – Big Little Lies (HBO)

Read More: Complete Coverage of the 2018 Golden Globes

HBO’s Big Little Lies was a big winner at the Golden Globe Awards, virtually sweeping the limited series or Motion Picture Made For Television category.

The series beat out FX’s Fargo and Feud: Bette And Joan; USA Network’s The Sinner; and SundanceTV’s Top of the Lake: China Girl.

Related | Golden Globes 2018: HBO Leads Awards Winners

Big Little Lies stars winning Globes awards during tonight's live ceremony include Nicole Kidman (Best Actress), Laura Dern (Best actress in a supporting role), and Alexander Skarsgard (Best actor is a supporting role). 

Big Little Lies was not nominated for Globes award in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Limited-Series or Motion Picture Made For Television category, which was won by Ewan McGregor (FX’s Fargo). McGregor beat out Robert Di Niro (HBO’s Wizard of Lies); Jude Law (HBO’s The Young Pope); Kyle McLachlan (Showtime’s Twin Peaks); and Geoffrey Rush (National Geographic’s Genius).

Netflix and HBO dominated the 2018 Screen Actors Guild Awards television nominations announced Wednesday morning.

Netflix garnered 19 SAG Awards nominations, with HBO finishing second with 12. NBC finished a distant third with three nominations, according to SAG-AFTRA. 

Three shows tied for the most nominations with four each, including HBO’s limited series Big Little Lies, Netflix’s sci-fi series Stranger Things and female wrestling-themed comedy GLOW. 

Netflix’s Stranger Things will look to repeat in the best drama series category as it competes with sister Netflix series The Crown, HBO’s Game Of Thrones, Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale and NBC’s This is Us.

Netflix’s Orange Is The New Black will also look to defend last year’s win in the outstanding comedy series category against ABC’s Black-ish, HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, Netflix’s GLOW and HBO’s Veep.

The 24th annual SAG Awards will be presented live on TNT and TBS on Jan. 21.

SAG Awards nominees in the television category are as follows:

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series

LAURA DERN / Renata Klein – “BIG LITTLE LIES” (HBO)

NICOLE KIDMAN / Celeste Wright – “BIG LITTLE LIES” (HBO)

JESSICA LANGE / Joan Crawford – “FEUD: BETTE AND JOAN” (FX Networks)

SUSAN SARANDON / Bette Davis – “FEUD: BETTE AND JOAN” (FX Networks)

REESE WITHERSPOON / Madeline MacKenzie – “BIG LITTLE LIES” (HBO) 

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series

BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH / Sherlock Holmes – “SHERLOCK: THE LYING DETECTIVE” (WGBH/Masterpiece)

JEFF DANIELS / Frank Griffin – “GODLESS” (Netflix)

ROBERT DE NIRO / Bernie Madoff – “THE WIZARD OF LIES” (HBO)

GEOFFREY RUSH / Albert Einstein – “GENIUS” (National Geographic)

ALEXANDER SKARSGÅRD / Perry Wright – “BIG LITTLE LIES” (HBO)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series

MILLIE BOBBY BROWN / Eleven – “STRANGER THINGS” (Netflix)

CLAIRE FOY / Queen Elizabeth II – “THE CROWN” (Netflix)

LAURA LINNEY / Wendy Byrde – “OZARK” (Netflix)

ELISABETH MOSS / Offred/June – “THE HANDMAID’S TALE” (Hulu)

ROBIN WRIGHT / Claire Underwood – “HOUSE OF CARDS” (Netflix)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series

JASON BATEMAN / Martin “Marty” Byrde – “OZARK” (Netflix)

STERLING K. BROWN / Randall Pearson – “THIS IS US” (NBC)

PETER DINKLAGE / Tyrion Lannister – “GAME OF THRONES” (HBO)

DAVID HARBOUR / Jim Hopper – “STRANGER THINGS” (Netflix)

BOB ODENKIRK / Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman – “BETTER CALL SAUL” (AMC)

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series

UZO ADUBA / Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren – “ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK” (Netflix)

ALISON BRIE / Ruth Wilder – “GLOW” (Netflix)

JANE FONDA / Grace Hanson – “GRACE AND FRANKIE” (Netflix)

JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS / Selina Meyer – “VEEP” (HBO)

LILY TOMLIN / Frankie Bergstein – “GRACE AND FRANKIE” (Netflix)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series

ANTHONY ANDERSON / Andre “Dre” Johnson – “BLACK-ISH” (ABC)

AZIZ ANSARI / Dev – “MASTER OF NONE” (Netflix)

LARRY DAVID / Himself – “CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM” (HBO)

SEAN HAYES / Jack McFarland – “WILL & GRACE” (NBC)

WILLIAM H. MACY / Frank Gallagher – “SHAMELESS” (Showtime)

MARC MARON / Sam Sylvia – “GLOW” (Netflix)

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

THE CROWN (Netflix)

GAME OF THRONES (HBO)

THE HANDMAID’S TALE (Hulu)

STRANGER THINGS (Netflix)

THIS IS US (NBC)

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series

BLACK-ISH (ABC)

CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM (HBO)

GLOW (Netflix)

ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK (Netflix)

VEEP (HBO)

Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series

GAME OF THRONES (HBO)

GLOW (Netflix)

HOMELAND (Showtime)

STRANGER THINGS (Netflix)

THE WALKING DEAD (AMC)

LIFE ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

54th SAG Life Achievement Award

MORGAN FREEMAN

Broadcast network CBS’s coverage of the 52nd Academy of Country Music Awards drew the most social media interactions for a TV show on Sunday, outdistancing the seventh season finale of AMC’s The Walking Dead, according to Nielsen.

The Country Music Awards drew 2.2 million Twitter and Facebook interactions from more than 1.3 million unique social media accounts, besting The Walking Dead, which drew 1.8 million social media interactions from 967,000 unique accounts, according to Nielsen.

HBO’s drama series Big Little Lies, Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Atlanta and ABC’s Once Upon A Time rounded out the top five most social TV shows on Sunday.

ESPN’s Chicago Cubs-St. Louis Cardinals Major League Baseball opening day telecast, and its coverage of the Mississippi State-South Carolina NCAA Women’s college basketball tournament finals dominated social media traffic for live sports events, with each telecast averaging more than 1 million social media interactions, said network officials.