Cordkillers 307 - Quibi Cult (w/ Jeff Cannata)
Quibi is out now. What shows are good and what things can Quibi do to succeed. Plus, The Simpsons in 4:3 is coming soon and Amazon video rentals have come to iOS! All this and more on Cordkillers! With special guest Jeff Cannata.
CordKillers: Cordkillers 307 - Quibi Cult
Recorded: April 6 2020
Guest: Jeff Cannata
Intro Video
Netflix’s LA Originals
Primary Target
Quibi launches its mobile streaming service in the middle of the quarantine era
Quibi, day one: This phone-focused TV service really isn’t that bad
Why You Can’t Watch Quibi on TV: Backlash Over Mobile-Only Viewing
Quibi: how to watch shows and use the app’s features
Quibi app launch: best or worst timing?
Quibi Free on T-Mobile for One Year to Unlimited Wireless Customers
Quibi has launched in Canada and the US with a 90-day free trial with ads (offer ends at the end of April - T-Mobile family plan users can get a year free until July 7).
- 50 shows including Chrissy's Court with Chrissy Teigen as a judge in small claims court, Most Dangerous Game, starring Liam Hemsworth and Christoph Waltz, Survive starring Sophie Turner and Fresh Daily from Rotten Tomatoes from my wife's team.
- Eventually will cost $4.99 a month or $7.99 a month without ads. (You can pay that to remove ads right now too if you want)
- Episodes are around 5-10 minutes and can only be viewed on your mobile device. No casting to bigger screens.
- The waiting in line use case for Quibi is a little reduced unless you're waiting at a grocery store or testing center.
- Quibi CTO Rob Post told TechCrunch
- “I’m looking to take small breaks more than ever before to stand up, walk around, go outside. Our use cases are these in-between moments. Now more than ever, that use case is still present.”
- Early reviews of shows largely positive
- Sees competition as YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.
How to Watch|
Amazon Prime Video now allows in-app rentals and purchases on the iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV
- Amazon now allows purchases of movies and TV shows in its iOS and Apple TV apps. Previously users had to purchase or rent shows on the Web to gain access in the app. Apple takes 30% of all in-app purchases and does not allow companies to subvert that by linking in their own purchasing methods.
Apple lets some streaming services bypass its 30% App Store fee
- Apple announced it established a program for premium subscription video entertainment providers, letting them use the payment system tied to the existing subscription, rather than Apple's which takes a 30% cut. This change lets Amazon Prime Video, Canal+, and Altice One offer purchases in its iOS and Apple TV apps. The program also brings “integration with the Apple TV app, AirPlay 2 support, tvOS apps, universal search, Siri support and, single or zero sign-on.”
Why Amazon got out of the Apple App Store tax, and why other developers won’t
What to Watch
Rick and Morty trailer out for Sunday return to Adult Swim May 3.
CBS courtroom drama will use Zoom, FaceTime for special pandemic episode
- CBS series All Rise is a drama set in a courthouse. A new episode has been produced shooting video from actors homes using programs like FaceTime, WebEx and Zoom along with some visual effects. The episode will tell how the characters from the courthouse are dealing wit the effects of COVID-19. Judge Benner authorizes Judge Lola Carmichael to preside over a virtual bench trial while other characters try to maintain their relationships and one tries to make extra money as a food delivery driver. The episode will air May 4 at 9 PM on CBS.
Disney animator Hyrum Osmond and actor Josh Gad have created new Frozen shorts starring Olaf the snowman. "At Home with Olaf, available on YouTube is made entirely by Gad and Osmond from their homes.
Fox Predicts Return of Sports In 3Q, 4Q
- Fox is already planning for the return of sports, meeting with advertisers to get ad buys for Q3 and Q4. July marks the beginning of Q3. NFL and college football start back up in August and there is talk of a compressed MLB season and finishes for the NHL and NBA that would make for a packed second half of 2020.
The SXSW Film festival will show some of its festival films for free in front of the paywall on Amazon Prime Video. Filmmakers who participate will be paid a screening fee for making their film available over a 10-day period.
Tribeca Film Festival to Move Some Programming Online After Coronavirus Postponement
- Tribeca Film festival will run some of its programming online April 15-26 on the Industry Extranet Resource Hub for journalists and members of the industry. Buyers can watch and bid on films. Tribeca’s Cinema360 will release 15 virtual reality films for the public on Oculus TV.
Late-night hosts will help stream a COVID-19 benefit concert on April 18th
-Late Night hosts and celebrities will come to gather for a live stream called One World: Together at Home to raise money for the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert will host and Billie Eilish, Alanis Morissette, Chris Martin, Elton John, John Legend and Kacey Musgraves are among those who will perform. The stream will run on Apple, Facebook, Instagram, Twitch, Twitter and YouTube, as well as ABC, NBC and CBS and BBC One. The stream runs live April 18 at 8 PM Eastern.
‘Fleabag’: Live Performance Of Phoebe Waller-Bridge Comedy To Be Released For COVID-19 Charities; Amazon & Soho Theatre Among Those To Stream
- Phoebe Waller-Bridge's live theater performance of Fleabag from 2019 is being released online through Soho Theater's sites in most parts fo the world, and Amazon Prime Video in the US. Profits from the rental fee will be donated to charities supporting work to fight COVID-19.
Disney’s Broadway Anniversary Concert To Stream For COVID-19 Assistance Fund
- Likewise, last November's benefit concert celebrating Disney's 25 years on Broadway will stream April 13 on broadwaycares.org to raise money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS’ COVID-19 Emergency Assistance Fund. The stream will include live interviews with Disney Stars throughout the stream.
The Simpsons will be available on Disney Plus in the correct aspect ratio by the end of May
- Disney announced that original 4:3 aspect ratio versions of the Simpson's will be available on Diseny+ by the end of May. The episodes available now are cropped to fit 16:9 screens. Simpson's released its episodes in 4:3 until midway through its 20th season in 2009.
Variety's sources say Joby Harold has been hired to write the Obi-Wan Kenobi series for Disney+. Hoseein Amini left the series in January. Joby Harold has not written for TV before. He was EP ion John Wick 3.
Andrew Lloyd Webber YouTube Channel To Offer Free Musicals During COVID-19 Pandemic
- A YouTube channel called The Shows Must Go On will feature free streams of Andrew Lloyd Weber musicals once a week, starting this past Friday with Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. This coming April 10 will be Jesus Christ Superstar. Each musical is available for 48 hours.
NBCUniversal Delays Launch of NBC Sky World News
- The NBC Sky World News service has been delayed from its expected summer launch. The worldwide news service required a lot of travel to create and the UK lockdown has prevented completion of its London production facilities.
Keira Knightley Starrer ‘Misbehaviour’ – UK & Ireland Film Releases Heading Online Early Due To Coronavirus Disruption
- The movie Misbehaviour, starring Keira Knightley and Gugu Mbatha-Raw came out int he UK March 13, just in time for theaters to shut down. It's being released online early starting April 15. Pablo Larraín’s Ema is going to skip theatrical and debut online May 2. And Top Gun: Maverick, set for release June 24 has been rescheduled for December 23. A Quiet Place Part II now has a September 4 premiere date. And The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run moved from May 22 to July 31.
‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Release Pushed to December
Eyes On
Brian: Tales from the Loop, Ozark
Tom: Furious 6
Jeff: Portrait of a Lady on Fire, WrestleMania
On the Lookout: Zoe's Extraordinary Playlist
Front Lines
In the Age of Coronavirus, Even Movie Theaters Learn to Love Streaming
- Multiple small theater chains including the Alamo Drafthouse have begin launching virtual cinemas that let viewers support their local theater and watch movies from home. Movies cost around $12 to rent for a couple days. Alamo's website called BirthMoviesDeath.com for folks to chat about the movies they just saw.
WarnerMedia Sets Ex-Hulu Boss & Amazon Exec Jason Kilar As CEO
- WarnerMedia has hired original Hulu CEO Jason Kilar to be its new CEO. John Stankey, will move back to only holding the AT&T COO role and Kilar will report to Stankey. WarnerMedia's HBO Max is set to launch in May. Kilar will also oversee News, Sports and Entertainment networks (like HBO, CNN and TNT) as well as Warner Brothers studios.
New WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar on His Vision for the Future of Media
HBO is making a ton of TV shows and movies free to non-subscribers
- April 3, HBO made more than 500 hours of content available to stream without paying HBO. Among the content are The Wire, Barry, The Sopranos, Succession and several more including movies. Game of Thrones and Westworld were NOT made available for free. The Roku channel included the free HBO shows in its app as well, and added 20 episodes of Sesame Street from 2016-2018 which will be available through May 15.
Roku Channel Adds Hundreds of Hours of Free HBO Shows, Movies and ‘Sesame Street’ Episodes
NBCUniversal Is Reducing Commercials As Advertisers Scale Back And Shift Messaging; Hello, Family Movie Night With Limited Ads
- As advertisers either remove or lessen ad runs, NBC announced it will educe ad inventory across its channels and departs. That means fewer commercials in almost every type of programming. In programs that can adapt, like news, there will just be more news. In edited content that can't be easily expanded clips from talk shows will fill some of the gaps. And NBC will offer commercial-free family movie nights (which will actually have sponsors, just not all the commercial interruptions)
Roku OS 9.3 adds faster performance, Spanish voice support, and more
- Roku released OS 9.3 to streaming boxes for this month, with TVs to get it in the months after. The update adds Spanish language support to voice commands as well as improvements to understand natural speech in Canada, Ireland and the UK. Voice search results will be more visual and some channels now support play from search.
China’s Film and TV Production Makes Partial Restart After Coronavirus Hiatus
- Filming of TV and movies in China has resumed for the first time since the country shut down in February. Traffic jams have returned in Shanghai and Shenzhen, though Beijing still has restrictions on transport. New film and TV productions are expected to be ready for release in Q3 or 4.
Dispatches from the Front
Hey Killers,
Have to say I am totally in the same boat as Lamarr. I love movies but prefer to watch them at home. My thing is my wife and I value our time greatly so driving to a theater finding parking, standing in line to buy a ticket or if you already got a ticket it online waiting on the usher to clip it, sitting through previews you already saw online and driving home; all adds up to an extra hour plus for an average already 2hr movie. That is a big chunk of my weekend. When I have so many other things to get done. Keep the good shows coming guys appreciate what you and awseome guests like Lamarr do!
-Donovan
I just finished the last episode and you mentioned sending Conan some Logitech 920s. This made me curious. What cameras do you all use?
- Josh
How to Perform an Online Magic Show (w/ Michael Kent)
DTNS Special - How to Stream Video from Home
I'm still watching CordKillers, but I had an idea for how to make Day & Date streaming work.
$150 for opening week to stream at home.
90 days works out to about 13 weeks.
Reduce the price by $10 per week. By the time the 90 days runs out, we're back down to the $20 price most of these movies are running when they first release.
This gives theaters a way to compete with the streaming-at-home price tag while also giving studios a way to make $$ from us suckers who would rather not deal with crowds, idiots who won't shut off their phones, etc. :)
Heck, maybe charge $200 for the first week and drop it by $10 per week, so you're still at more-than-theater-prices as the window closes... ? To me, this seems like some sort of reasonable balance to allow theaters to stay in business AND give people the option to stay at home and watch Lamarr's 82" 8K TV when Wonder Woman 1984 hits the streams. :)
- Michael
Tom and Brian,
Episode 306, you were talking about how studios do not want to give up theater revenue. Since it seems like most studios are tied to mega corporations that have their own streaming services, I think there is a opening for VIP or Early Access subscriber memberships. Imagine them tacking on $8 a month to their normal streaming prices for instant access to major new movies. This would bring in extra money and you could combine movie marketing with streaming brand marketing. That would likely lower their marketing costs. Not to mention less risk of high quality digital files getting stolen since they are not sending them out to theater servers. The lower costs of distribution and marketing combined with high monthly subscriber revenue could make theaters much less important to the over all revenue brought in.
Just a thought.
Keep up the great work.
Cheers,
- Kevin