Cordkillers 225 - Our AI Are Teenagers Now
New MoviePass-like deals, Roku subscription video, and Timeless is out of time again. All this and more on Cordkillers!
CordKillers: Ep. 225 - Our AI Are Teenagers Now
Recorded: June 25 2018
Guest: None
Into Video
Primary Target
- AMC is launching a MoviePass-like subscription service
- AMC has extended its Stubs loyalty program to include a subscription service called Stubs A-list for $19.95 a month, starting June 26th. Members of the service can up to three movies a week and multiple movies in one day if they wish, including IMAX and 3D. Up to three reservations can be made in advance. The plan also waives online ticketing fees and offers discounts on food and drink. - MoviePass is going to introduce surge pricing on popular movies by July
- Business Insider reports Moviepass told the publication that high demand pricing will come into effect in the coming weeks. Titles that the service believes are very popular will cost $2+ more. - Sinemia preempts MoviePass with family-plan subscriptions from $9 per month
- Movie ticket subscription service Sinemia announced new family plans. Plans now range to up to six people and up to three movies per month per person. A premium option can add IMAX and 3D movies. Sinemia works with Fandango, MovieTickets and AtomTickets and is available in Australia, UK, Turkey, Canada and the US. - Alamo Drafthouse creating their own Season Pass.
- Alamo Drafthouse is sending out a waitlist for an upcoming Alamo Season Pass beta program. It will likely let users watch one 2D film per day and reserve seats via the Alamo app. The beta program is starting in Yonkers, NY, and users will see various price points (as a means of gathering data for Alamo).
How to Watch
- Roku Plans to Launch Amazon Channels-Like Video Subscription Marketplace
- Sources tell Variety that Roku plans to launch a marketplace app for video subscription services so users can watch subscription services without the need to download individual apps.
- It sounds like it would work similar to Amazon Channels. The Roku Channel is one of the top 10 most popular on Roku (it has movies and news) though its not clear if this new service would be integrated into it.
- The company is also reportedly working on the next generation of its billing platform Roku Pay.
- Revenue from ads and services surpassed Roku’s hardware revenue for the first time in the company’s history in Q1 of this year.
What to Watch
- ‘Timeless’ Canceled By NBC After 2 Seasons, Might Get Series Finale Movie
- NBC continued its annual tradition of canceling the show Timeless, shortly before the cast options expire on June 30. Sony Pictures TV had been discussing doing a two-hour movie to wrap up the series, though so far the economics haven't worked out but the two sides are apparently still talking. Sony's also shopping it to other outlets. - Superhero epic 'Invincible' heads to Amazon as an animated series
- Amazon is going to do an aniumated series based on Invincible from Cory Walker and Robert Kirkman. Invincible tells the story of Mark Grayson, an ordinary teen whose father is the planet's Superman-like guardian. Then Grayson gets powers and learns what it means to be a superhero. There are 8 episodes planned for the first season. No premiere date yet. - Apple picks up the immigrant anthology series ‘Little America’ for its streaming service
- Apple has acquired the anthology series about immigrants called Little America. The series comes from Kumail Nanjiani, Emily V. Gordon, and Lee Eisenberg. The series is inspired by the true stories featured in Epic Magazine. it is one of only two Apple shows to get a direct-to-series order, the other being Octavia Spencer's Are you Sleeping.
What We're Watching
- Brian: Incredibles 2, Deadwood (2 eps), Westworld (2 eps)
- Tom: Terrace House, Westworld, Deadwood, The Expanse, Death in Paradise, Skyscraper, The St. Louis Browns: The Team that Baseball Forgot
- On the Lookout: Shot in the Dark
Front Lines
- Oculus TV arrives today with a promising, though questionable, start
- Oculus TV launched on Oculus Go today. It integrates existing VR apps like Netflix and Hulu alongside new offerings from Red Bull TV, Pluto TV and Facebook Video. Oculus says it gives you the equivalent of a 180-inch TV. - Disney ups its Fox bid to $71.3 billion in response to Comcast offer
- Disney has raised its offer for most of 21st Century Fox to a total value of about $71.3 billion up from $52.4 billion and worth more than Comcast's competing bid worth about $65 billion. Comcast's bid is all cash while Disney will offer Fox shareholder the option of receiving cash or Disney stock. Fox has postponed a July 10 vote on the offers from both companies in order to examine Disney's new bid. Executive Chairman at 21st Century Fox, Rupert Murdoch issued a statement praising the Disney deal. - There’s a slew of “potential new” Star Trek shows underway, per report
- Variety and the Hollywood Reporter say that new Star Trek shows are being planned as part of Alex Kurtzman's new five-year deal with CBS. Variety says the shows include a Starfleet Academy series from Stephanie Savage and Josh Schwartz who did Gossip Girl and Marvel's Runaways. A limited series based on around the Wrath of Khan and an animated series. Patrick Stewart has recently told Red Carpet News TV that he had not seen Star Trek Discovery but that he "may have good cause to look at it very soon." - AT&T Announces Watch TV Service Lineup, Details on New Wireless Plans
- AT&T's new internet service Watch TV is slated to go live with 31 TV networks including AMC, HGTV, Hallmark and CNN with Viacom channels expected to be added soon. Watch TV subscribers will also get access to 15,000 movies and TV episodes on demand. Watch TV will cost $15 a month or free if you subscribe to one of two new wireless plans “AT&T Unlimited & More” which starts at $70 per month, and “AT&T Unlimited & More Premium” for $80/month which throws in a music or video subscription service free (HBO, Showtime, Starz, Pandora, Amazon Music) - ProSieben, Discovery to build German TV streaming platform
- ProSiebenSat.1 Media and Discovery Inc plan to build a German TV streaming platform that sounds like a German Hulu. The partnership would be based on the existing 7TV alliance formed last year, and combine ProSieben’s Maxdome video-on-demand offering and Discovery’s Eurosport Player. European competitor RTL and German public broadcasters ARD and ZDF have been invited to join. ProSieben and RTL compete head to head in Germany, the largest TV market in the European Union. The hope is to launch the service in the first half of 2019 and have 10 million users within the first two years. - CBS announced its partnership with the NFL has been extended. NFL games will stream through CBS All Access and start streaming on mobile devices this season.
Dispatches from the Front
Hi Killers,
Last episode, Bryce said it might be time to bring The Wizard of Oz back for another adaptation. In fact, last year they cancelled an adaptation on NBC called Emerald City with Vincent D'Onofrio playing the wizard. It was a fantastic show but, sadly, no one watched (probably because no one had heard of it). Felt like I needed to write in for a show that didn't get enough love despite how good it was.
Thanks,
- Anthony
Hello employees.
Living in Oklahoma 2 minutes make a huge difference if there's a tornado. Except it's not your weather updates that make that difference it's the tornado sirens. Unless it sunny, noon and a Wednesday when the sirens go off you take cover or grab your tornado beer and go take a look outside.
- Kevin
Hi Cordkillers gang,
I just wanted to respond to the conversation you had last week about live TV and severe weather updates.
Here in Oklahoma, local broadcast TV is by far the best, most accurate and timely information available during severe weather events. Not only can they track circulations down to the street by street level, but it is not uncommon to have a meteorologist say something like “the national weather service hasn’t issued a tornado warning on this storm yet, but we can see the circulation here and a warning will be coming shortly.”
In fact, when a threat arises, the local radio stations actually simulcast the tv stations.
These local TV meteorologists actually have become almost folk heros around here and are household names.
Radios are important if you can’t access the TV, but broadcast TV is where it’s at for the most timely and detailed info. There’s just no question about it.
Here’s a pretty compelling video of what it’s like during tornado season here in Oklahoma.
youtu.be/rvx95aajazM
Cheers,
- Dustin
Hello Tom, Brian Bryce and guest,
I have few quick things.
First I will be giving up Philo Service/Hulu Live in lieu of going back to Sling. ...
Philo app is wonderful. I almost regret giving it up. The UI on Tablets and Roku are great. Very user friendly and my favorite fast forward options (screen cap version). I loved it for Into the Badlands, Daily Show and guilty pleasures from MTV. For those who enjoy these shows, I would seriously suggest subscribing....
Finally HBO. I think they might have just broke the system. I got the Hulu $5 a month subscription for 6 months. This is something that used to be something Cable companies get but depending on your location impossible to switch to get back and forth. With the option of the new "Addon On" services, HBO could give Hulu a 6month deal and then offer Amazon a 6 month deal, then go to sling, then go to dish network, then maybe Youtube, then even just HBO Now deep discount. They could easy have 1 - 2 years of consistent subscribers by someone like me switching my source of HBO but taking advantage of the discount. Could this be the next big thing for Addons like Showtime and Starz?
Just something to think about
Love the show,
- Nicky
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