Cordkillers 219 - Seven is the New Unlimited

Hulu adds offline, Arrested Development is back, and a Kimmy Schmidt finale movie? All this and more on Cordkillers!

CordKillers: Ep. 219 - Seven is the New Unlimited
Recorded: May 7 2018
Guest: None

Intro Video


Primary Target

  • Hulu passes 20 million subscribers, will finally offer offline viewing
    - Hulu announced it has 20 million subscribers up from 17 million it reported in January. Hulu also said subscribers will now be able to download some shows for offline viewing later this year.
    -  Ad-supported subscribers' downloads will contain ads.
    - Hulu will also sell ads into its Live TV offering
    - 78% of Hulu's viewing takes place on connected TVs
  • Hulu’s upcoming shows include ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’ and a Blumhouse horror anthology
    --Four Weddings and a Funeral (written and executive produced by Mindy Kaling and Matt Warburton)
    - In the Dark - Blumhouse TV anthology 1st Friday of each month
    - Ramy, based on the comedy of Ramy Youssef.
    - Castle Rock, Hulu’s second project from J.J. Abrams and Stephen King set to premiere on July 25;
    - Catch-22, from George Clooney and starring Kyle Chandler;
    - The First, from Beau Willimon and starring Sean Penn;
    - Little Fires Everywhere, from Reese Witherspoon and Kerri Washington, based on the novel of the same name.
    - Handmaid's Tale gets a third season.
    - DREAMWORKS DEAL
    - Exclusive home of movies (Boss Baby 2 Trolls 2) in 2019 and library movies and original series (Shrek, Shark Tale) 2020.
  • Hulu is getting a ‘Stop Suggesting’ button so you can hide its bad recommendations


How to Watch

  • MoviePass revives it's unlimited plan
    - MoviePass resumed its $10 a month unlimited movie theater ticket service and CEO Mitch Lowe says the company is "absolutely committed" to keeping it around. The restriction on seeing certain movies only once remains but Lowe said it will introduce plans including 3D and IMAX screenings by the end of May.
  • MoviePass competitor Sinemia offers movie plans starting at $5/mont
    - Sinemia lowered it's price to $4.99 a month in Australia, US, UK and Canada for one movie a month. $6.99 for two, $9.99 for two including 3D and IMAX, and $14.99 for three including 3D and IMAX. You can buy 30 days in advance and choose seats.


What to Watch


What We're Watching


Front Lines

  • YouTube Sets New Content Deals With Will Smith, Coachella and More, as CEO Promises Focus on Brand Safety
    - YouTube now has 1.8 billion logged-in users each month. YouTube is renewing Kevin Hart’s “What the Fit?”, Hart’s Laugh Out Loud; and a second season of The Slow Mo Guys’ “The Super Slow Show.” Also there's a new untitled show from Demi Lovato in which she’ll raise awareness for issues she’s passionate about, a renewed Coachella deal for three more years, Will Smith's September 25th bungie-jump over the Grand Canyon, called The Jump Off, Lebron James' "Best Shot" documentary series is coming to the YouTube NBA channel, AND a series with “Quantico” star Priyanka Chopra, called “If I Could Tell You Just One Thing, “Training Days,” in which comedian-actor Jack Whitehall trains with the world’s top soccer players, will debut May 9 on Whitehall’s YouTube channel.
  • Oculus TV is the VR set-top streaming box you never knew you needed
    - Facebook announced Oculus TV launching in May with Facebook Watch, Redbull TV and Pluto TV. It will also work with Netflix, Hulu and Showtime who already have standalone apps in the Oculus store. There'a also Oculus Venues for live concerts and sports.
  • Disney Digital to launch an over-the-top video app for millennials, as it woos advertisers burned by YouTube
    - In addition to the forthcoming paid Disney streaming service, Disney Digital will launch an ad-supported free service aimed at millennials this summer. It will feature Disney social content and other short-form video programming from Oh My Disney as well as Maker creators and partnerships.
  • Cord Cutting Is The Obvious Result Of A 70% Spike In Cable TV Prices Since 2000
    - A recent study by Kagan highlights how soaring cable TV prices are contributing to the cord cutting trend. The firm was quick to note how the average cable bill has increased in price by 74% since 2000, even adjusted for inflation. Prices for multichannel packages have steadily risen from just below $60 a month in 2000 to close to $100 in the peak year of 2016.
  • Vudu update brings 4K Disney movies to Apple TV
    - Vudu updated its Apple TV app to support 4K. That means you can get 4k Disney movies from Vudu and then watch them on Apple TV. Disney is the only studio that doesn't support Apple's policy that gives users 4K versions at the $20 HD price.
  • JBL's next soundbar doubles as an Android TV box
    - JBL and Google announced a new Soundbar that uses Google Assistant to control the TV its plugged into. The JBL Link Bar features seamless HDMI input switching and the Google Assistant can also be used when the TV is off.


Dispatches from the Front

Hey Tom and Brian,
Rebels also started with a premiere on Disney, then followed with the series proper on XD. Resistance is doing the same thing. The release on StarWars.com states "It will premiere this fall on Disney Channel in the U.S. and thereafter, on Disney XD and around the world." That wasn't included in stories on The Verge and other sites, which is probably why you guys missed it. I'm excited for this series and have full faith in Filoni to make another great series.

Don't worry even though I'm a boss, this won't affect your performance reviews. :)
- Jeremy

 

 

Brian mentioned he liked the autoplay feature on a lot of sites. Just sit back and let a computer pick video after video for you. I just have to say: please be sure to turn off your autoplay feed when you're done, as Tom suggested.

Now, I have nothing on my phone to be ashamed of. No inappropriate pictures, history, or apps. You could give my phone to my mother or a toddler and I wouldn't be worried about anything on it.

Except for the day after Christmas last year.

On Christmas day I Chromecasted the 10-hour version of Nick Offerman's Yule Log onto my dad's TV. At the end of the day, we turned off the TV, not realizing my phone continued to auto-play videos. The next day I did notice, and my YouTube history was horrifying. At first, the suggestions were benign: Nick Offerman on Conan, then other celebrities on Conan, soon it picked videos of a young actress on Conan, and then one where she was at a, um ... "select" French beach, and then other videos of young people at similar beaches, and eventually it was playing the kinds of videos that celebs have sued people over.

I was so horrified and embarrassed that I deleted my YouTube history. I wish now I had taken a screenshot as proof, but at the time I didn't even want the screenshot on my phone.

So, I just wanted to remind people to turn off your AutoPlay Suggestions when you're done or you might be surprised where the algorithm takes you.

Your boss,

- Chris

 

 

 

Dear Tom, Brian, Bryce, and notable/witty guest!

Thanks for the great show, info and insights. We've been cord-cutters for about 5 years now. Its been interesting seeing our kids grow up sans-cable... My wife and my old habit of sitting down and flipping through the channels to "see what's on" seems to be a habit of old!

I travel for work to the tune of 130-150 nights a year in a hotel room for the past 17 years. ... I found the Rav Power file hub and travel router. It paired with my chromecast and cell phone with massive SD card avails to me the ability to WWIWWIWOWDIDWP. (you know the deal) The file hub is a router that I interface via wifi through my phone and can then connect to the hotel wifi. My chromecast and phone connects to the file hub, and I can then watch youtube red, netflix, hulu or my saved podcasts directly to the hotel TV.

This adds extra utility when travelling with the family. The kids want to connect to the wifi, and the travel router avails an extra piece of security as it acts as a hardware firewall. Dad starts up the file hub, and everyone's device works! Furthermore, I don't have to deal with hotel passwords or splash pages on multiple devices. In all honesty the Rav Power interface leaves a little to be desired, but overall, this thing is amazing! Its also got USB and SD Card slot to unload pics, or stream movies from said media. I thought I'd spread the word about this thing that makes the road a little better for me.

For all the great info, I've recently become a monthly recurring patreon. If my dollars don't say it, let me say it with letters: THANK YOU!

Sincerely,
- Derrick

 

 

 

Hello Tom, Brian, Bryce and honoured guest.

As a Canadian, I can sympathize with fellow Canadians and cord cutting. So far my Go-To device has been Amazon's FireTV Stick available in Canada. It has access to all of the major streaming services in Canada such as Prime Video, CraveTV and Netflix.... Honestly there isnt much else besides those three.

We are no where near as far ahead as the States and it sucks for being a cord cutter, but you learn to live with what you have.

I FireTV or an android equivalent such as the ShieldTV is the only platform that will run all of the streaming services on one device.

Depending on where the user is, they could also go for an OTA Antenna and a Plex Server or similar for DVR, we have alot of OTA channels in the major centers.

Hope this helps.

 

 

 

Brian's mention of "Sex House" in episode 218 reminded me of two great sendups of reality shows.

SpikeTV had 3 seasons of "The Joe Schmoe Show." The show featured just one real "contestant." Everyone else was an actor - the host, the other contestants - everyone - all playing a giant practical joke on one person. I watched the first 2 seasons back in '03 and '04. I didn't even realize a 3rd season was created nearly a decade later.

"Invasion Iowa" was also a creation of SpikeTV. It featured William Shatner punking an entire town. He tells the town of Riverside, Iowa that he's filming a movie there. This town is chosen because it is the birthplace of James T Kirk.

Unfortunately, I don't know where you'd watch most of these shows. Season 3 of Schmoe is available on Amazon Prime - which will now have a few more bucks of mine. :)

WARNING: Spoilers
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Joe_Schmo_Show
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_Iowa

Keep up the great work!

- Chris

 


 

So I looked up Sex House on my where can you watch service Reelgood. It says it’s not available to watch anywhere on the internet.
So either my app is broken or you have basically ‘touched me in the morning and walked away’. 😜

So where exactly can I find it?

- Blair


 


Links

2018 Summer Movie Draft
patreon.com/cordkillers

Bryce CastilloComment