Thread by @doctorow

AMC is (still) going bankrupt.

edition.cnn.com/2020/06/03/med…

The company is blaming covid for its demise, but as with so many pandemic deaths, the cause of death is complicated by comorbidities that left it in a weakened and vulnerable state.

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AMC was repeatedly looted by private equity firms that loaded it up with debt, borrowing money they paid to themselves as fees and dividends. First, they were bled by China's Wanda Group, then the notorious looters of America's Silverlake Partners.

pluralistic.net/2020/04/12/mam…

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When AMC says they can't pay their bills because they've had to close their doors, a substantial part of those bills are the company's debts, which were not incurred to invest in improving theaters or buying their buildings (which would shield them from rent shocks).

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No, that money was funnelled to billionaires who style themselves "job creators."

What's more, AMC took advantage of America's nonexistent antitrust law to buy most of its competitors, making it the only screen in town for many of America's cities.

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AMC's demise matters, then, because it constitutes the bulk of American screens.

The company's leading suitor is another monopolist, Amazon, flush with cash thanks to pandemic profiteering and shaving costs by endangering its employees' lives:

arstechnica.com/tech-policy/20…

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And that matters to another important monopolist, Disney, which, like Amazon and AMC, has bought many of its competitors, notably Fox, which it acquired in 2019.

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To a first approximation, Disney now IS the American cinematic industry. 80% of last year's box office hits were owned by Disney.

theverge.com/2019/12/23/210…

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If you were wondering why Universal didn't care that AMC announced that it would no longer screen Universal movies in retaliation for Universal's offering home streaming of first-run movies, that's why. Basically, no one but Disney is in the cinematic release business.

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So Disney needs big screens, especially since its Plan B, streaming media through Disney+, is being demolished by Time-Warner/AT&T, which is using @AjitPaiFCC's obliteration of Net Neutrality to upcharge customers who choose Disney+ over HBO Max.

pluralistic.net/2020/06/03/whi…

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And of course, Universal owns Comcast, so it's poised to do the same.

Some people watched the endless mergers and industry concentration of the past 40 years and thought, "Well, at least I'll get a titan who'll protect me and give me the things I love."

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But that's not how concentrated power works - instead, it proceeds with brutal brinksmanship that destroys the things we love, the jobs those things created, and the businesses behind those jobs.

eof/