The Hollywood Jealousy Draft: What Each Studio Would Steal From Its Rivals

Summary of The Hollywood Jealousy Draft: What Each Studio Would Steal From Its Rivals

by The Ringer

36m•May 19, 2026
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Overview of The Hollywood Jealousy Draft: What Each Studio Would Steal From Its Rivals

This episode of The Town turns into a playful but revealing “jealousy draft” for Hollywood: Matt Belloni and Lucas Shaw each pick the single asset every major entertainment company would most want to steal from a rival if there were no legal, financial, or regulatory limits. The game becomes a fast way to diagnose each studio’s biggest weakness — streaming product, sports, kids/franchise content, theme parks, or IP — and it ultimately underscores how much of Hollywood’s value still sits inside Disney’s ecosystem.

The Draft: What Each Company Would Steal

Disney

  • Pick: Netflix’s product and engineering team
  • Why: Disney’s streaming strategy is fragmented and confusing across Disney+, Hulu, ESPN, and related offerings.
  • The argument is that Disney needs one clean front door and a better user experience more than it needs more content.
  • A secondary idea discussed: Spider-Man from Sony or K-pop Demon Hunters, but those were treated as lesser options.

Comcast

  • Pick(s) debated: HBO Max vs. Hulu
  • Matt’s view: HBO Max would solve Comcast’s streaming weakness with a stronger library, awards brand, and global growth.
  • Lucas’s view: Hulu fits Comcast better because it is more ad-friendly, more plug-and-play with NBCUniversal, and better aligned with Comcast’s domestic focus.
  • The segment ends with both being treated as broadly similar “streaming service” answers, though the debate was not fully resolved.

Warner Bros. Discovery / “WarnerMount”

  • Pick: Universal’s theme parks business
  • Why: Warner needs diversification beyond declining cable networks and would benefit from an experience-based business.
  • Universal’s parks were seen as especially attractive because they are more flexible than Disney’s and could easily absorb Warner IP like DC, Harry Potter, and Game of Thrones.
  • Other ideas floated: Disney+ or an executive/COO with real operating experience, but theme parks won decisively.

Netflix

  • Pick: Disney’s ESPN
  • Why: Netflix has the scale and money to become a major player in sports, and ESPN would instantly give it the dominant sports brand.
  • The hosts noted that Netflix has historically avoided sports because of cost, but ESPN would give it:
    • NFL, college football, baseball, NBA, and more
    • a daily sports-news/talk engine
    • a stronger live-content strategy
  • Other ideas considered:
    • Disney Animation / Pixar
    • Disney Cruise Line
    • DC
    • a premium HBO-style brand
    • Tubi or a free ad tier
  • The final choice reflected Netflix’s desire to move deeper into live sports rather than kids/franchise IP.

Amazon

  • Pick: Marvel
  • Why: Amazon already has a strong streaming base but lacks a defining, long-term franchise engine.
  • Marvel would give Prime Video a durable, evergreen IP machine and strengthen Amazon’s entertainment identity.
  • Another idea was a “Shonda Rhimes/Taylor Sheridan”-type hitmaker, but Marvel won because it is a perpetual franchise asset.
  • They also noted Amazon’s broader corporate priorities: entertainment is not its core business, so even a huge IP like Marvel mostly helps Prime Video rather than the entire company.

Final Draft Board

The final lineup they settled on was:

  • Disney → Netflix’s product and engineering team
  • Comcast → HBO Max
  • Warner Bros. Discovery → Universal theme parks
  • Netflix → ESPN
  • Amazon → Marvel

Key Takeaways

  • Disney emerged as the most desirable asset pool in Hollywood. Nearly every company wanted something from Disney, which led the hosts to conclude Disney has fewer obvious weaknesses than it sometimes seems — but struggles with integration and execution.
  • Streaming product matters as much as content. Disney’s biggest issue, in their view, is not lack of IP but a fragmented product experience.
  • Sports and franchises are still the most valuable currencies. ESPN, Marvel, Pixar/Disney Animation, and theme parks all came up because they offer recurring, long-tail value.
  • Comcast and Warner are still trying to solve structural problems. Comcast wants a better streaming position; Warner needs a broader business mix beyond cable and studio volatility.
  • Amazon’s entertainment strategy still feels secondary to its core retail/tech business. That’s why even a huge prize like Marvel is framed as improving Prime Video more than transforming Amazon as a whole.

Call Sheet: Late-Night Ratings and Colbert’s Exit

The back half of the episode shifts into a ratings discussion about Stephen Colbert’s upcoming final Late Show.

Why it matters

  • David Letterman’s final Late Show in 2015 drew 13.76 million viewers, a huge number by modern late-night standards.
  • By comparison, Colbert has recently averaged about 2.8 million viewers, with Kimmel around 2.48 million and Fallon around 1.21 million.

The question

  • Will Colbert’s farewell episode get a meaningful ratings bump?
  • They set the line at 4 million viewers.
    • Lucas: under
    • Matt: over

Broader point

  • The conversation reinforces how dramatically late-night TV has declined, with most viewers now likely consuming clips later on YouTube or social media rather than tuning in live.

Bottom Line

This episode uses a game format to make a sharp industry argument: in Hollywood, the most valuable things are not just hits, but distribution platforms, sports rights, theme parks, and durable franchises. The draft also doubles as a subtle indictment of companies that have content but struggle with product, strategy, or execution.