Cordkillers 235 - Amazon as in Beer (w/ Nicole Lee)
Mr. Robot to end, Dr. Who coming soon, and Spotify adds Showtime for students. All this and more on Cordkillers! With special guest Nicole Lee.
CordKillers: Ep. 235 - Amazon as in Beer
Recorded: September 10 2018
Guest: Nicole Lee
Intro Video
Daredevil S3 teaser
Primary Target
Netflix snags former Disney exec Christie Fleischer to lead its consumer products team
- Disney exec Christie Fleischer to head its global Consumer Products team overseeing retail and licensee partnerships, publishing, interactive games, merchandising and experiential events
- Fleischer was previously head of merchandise for parks, experiences and consumer products at Disney
- She also worked in merchandise management for Warnaco Inc, American Pacific Enterprises and The Disney Store.
- Danger zone: People get annoyed by promos for Netflix shows inside Netflix. Will they run promos for merch?
How to Watch
Netflix and Amazon will have to make more European content by law
- The European Union has reached a preliminary agreement on rules to require streaming services to carry at least 30% European-made content in their libraries. Individual countries can mandate up to 40% and require a minimum of that amount be made in their specific country. Surcharges on subscription fees can also be levied to pay into national film funds. Netflix already does this in Germany. A vote is expected to pass and the rules become law in December. Companies will have 20 months from then to apply the rules.
Switzerland Is Doing Away With Over-the-Air TV. Could the U.S. Do the Same?
- Switzerland's public broadcaster will stop over-the-air TV broadcasts by the end of 2019. 1.9% of the population, about 64,000 people, reportedly take advantage of the service. (In the US 17% of homes rely on “broadcast only” up from 15% in 2015.
What to Watch
The First: Hulu’s new series about a human mission to Mars feels pretty real
- The First, about the first human mission to Mars, arrives on Hulu September 14. The show stars Sean Penn as a grounded astronaut and was created by House of Cards Beau Willimon.
Doctor Who’s next season will premiere on October 7th
- Doctor Who will premiere October 7th for both UK and US viewers. BBC America will air the premiere twice: once in the afternoon, simulcast with the UK start time and an airing at the normal prime-time hour.
Netflix to release Orson Welles' final film in November
- Orson Welles last film "The Other Side of the Wind" began shooting in 1970 starring John Huston, Peter Bogdanovich, Susan Strasberg and Oja Kodar. In March 2017, Welles production manager Frank Marshall and Filip Jan Rymsza got the film completed. It features Oscar-winning editor Bob Murawski and a new score by Oscar-winning composer Michel Legrand. It tells the story of a self-exiled producer who returns to LA to make a comeback movie. It arrives in select theaters and Netflix November 2.
Netflix released a teaser for House of Cards returning November 2. It shows Claire at Frank's grave.
Netflix released a teaser for She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. The show arrives November 16.
Ellen DeGeneres' return to stand-up arrives on Netflix December 18th
CBS will stream Super Bowl LIII on mobile devices without a sign-in
-CBS will stream the Super Bowl Sunday February 3, on its mobile website and apps without a sign-in. Though of course authenticated viewers through cable and subscribers to CBS All Access will also be able to watch it. It will also stream on the NFL's website and app and on Verizon's AOL, Complex, Tumblr and Yahoo.
Netflix has cast Henry Cavill as Geralt in The Witcher series. Production will start October 18 andThe show will now likely premiere in late 2019 instead of 2020.
Apple's latest show acquisitions include an elephant documentary
-Apple has bought rights to both the nature documentary The Elephant Queen as well as the animated movie Wolfwalkers from Oscar nominee Tomm Moore about a young hunter who learns to appreciate wolves.
Netflix is bringing the latest Coen brothers movie to theaters
- The Coen Brothers Netflix movie "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs" showed at the Venice Film Festival and will also receive a theatrical release to qualify it for awards.
Mr. Robot’s fourth season will be its last
- The Hollywood Reporter says Mr. Robot's fourth season will be its last. It will run 12 episodes and air next year. Sam Esmail said “Since day one, I’ve been building toward one conclusion — and in breaking the next season of Mr. Robot, I have decided that conclusion is finally here. Everyone on the creative team, including the amazing people at USA and UCP, didn’t want to say goodbye, but we ultimately have too much respect for Elliot’s journey to extend past its inevitable ending.”
What We're Watching
Brian: The Good Place, Ozark season 2 (2 eps), Better Call Saul (2 eps), Deadwood
Tom: Ramen Heads, Being George Clooney
Nicole: Crazy Rich Asians, every MCU movie ever (except Ant Man and the Wasp), The Toys That Made Us, Stay Here, Pluto TV
On the Lookout: Chef & My Fridge
Front Lines
Netflix, Hulu and Amazon win numerous creative Emmy awards
- The Emmy awards happen in three waves. The first wave of Creative Arts were awarded Sunday, the next wave of Creative Arts is coming September 9, and then the Prime Time Emmys which is televised will be awarded September 17. SO. In this first round HBO took home the most trophies at 13, mostly for Game of Thrones. Netflix took three awards for Black Mirror 3 for the Crown and two for GLOW. Hulu's Handmaid's Tale got three and Amazon's Marvelous Mrs. Maizel got three as well. Even Apple took home one with “Outstanding Short Form Variety Series” for Carpool Karaoke.
DC’s streaming video service will launch on September 15th
- DC's streaming service will launch September 15. The first original show, Titans, will arrive October 12th though New York Comiccon attendees can get a sneak peek October 3rd.
YouTube TV users can pause their subscription for up to six months
- YouTube TV users can pause their subscription for up to six months without losing any of their DVR recordings or favorites. Keep in mind that recordings still expire after 9 months and the date that you resume your membership becomes your new billing date.
Dispatches from the Front
Cord killing gurus,
Wanted to follow up Joining Netflix via iOS instead of direct through Netflix website. I am sure I am a very small minority but I actually cancelled my membership just to be able to sign up again through my AppleTV. When you sign up through Apple you can use your iTunes balance to pay for service. iTunes cards are pretty easy to find for a 10-15% discount so it allows me to save $2 a month off Netflix.
Thanks for all you do,
- Ian
Hi Tom and Brian,
I was listening to your latest podcast about Netflix renewals and iOS. I have been a Netflix customer since the early days but switched my billing once they offered billing through Apple's app subscription service. The reason: itunes gift cards consistently go on sale for 10-20% off and that money can be applied to my subscriptions as well. Since the cost is the same on the Net and iOS, why not just take the discount?
Your Boss,
- Derrick
Disney’s Blu-ray patterns haven’t changed. They continue to pull their major family movies into the “vault” and reintroduce them every 10 years. This strategy works because there is a new generation ready for the content and the urgency of the “limited release” ensures that the movies will get bought rather than allowing parents to put them on the “we’ll get around to it” list. The question now is does this go away with the Disney streaming service. Will parents keep the Disney channel month after month if everything is available all the time or will the service continue to release movies in 10 year windows (a twice a year or so “premiere” that lines up with their Christmas and Easter disc releases perhaps)?
I subscribed to CBS All Access when Star Trek started. I went ahead and watched week after week instead of waiting until the season was over and binging but I still intended to drop the service between Star Trek seasons. I went ahead and stayed with it because the new shows that are slowly coming out such as Strange Angel caught our attention as well as watching old series. But here’s where CBS falls down as a streaming service because they are forced into what Brian likes to call “the mushy middle”. You can use the service to watch a new CBS show that you missed earlier in the week (such as Mom or Big Bang) but you can’t stream an entire season to catch up. Plus you are only allow to watch a handful of episodes even after the season is over (presumably to protect the affiliates summer reruns). They are also apparently protecting syndication since you are unable to watch previous seasons. Perhaps all of this fades away one day after all the current deals are done, I guess we’ll see.
- Troy
Hey guys,
Everyone seems to think that adapting Asimov's "Foundation" series for TV will be hard. I just want to point out that the BBC radio did an excellent radio series of the novels some years back. Surely if someone can do a radio adaptation of the works, then a TV version isn't impossible, either.
I will say that the one thing which bothered me about the radio adaptation, that I never noticed when I read the novels *mumbly mum* years ago is how much many of the characters fawned over the idea of living under an emperor instead of being in a republic. I know Asimov was said to be inspired to write the series when thinking about what it must have been like when Rome fell apart, but the idea of a leader selected simply because of who his parents were just doesn't sit well with me at all.
You can find a link to the BBC radio's adaptation here: https://www.theverge.com/2012/12/7/3739574/asimov-foundation-bbc-radio-drama
- Tucker
As one of the Veronica Mars movie backers I was thrilled to hear the news that the show was coming back. I was less thrilled to hear Hulu as that is my least favorite platform so far but I will be paying to watch the show and then not paying anymore. (I know Hulu has a free thing but I have to deal with streaming at work and an ad can stop me from watching a show literally)
- Jeff
Dear Killers,
Spotify recently updated their Spotify Premium for Students program to include Showtime, meaning for just 5 dollars a month, you can get Spotify Premium, Hulu (w/ ads) AND Showtime.
It's a crazy deal! Check it out! Two things:
1) if you're having trouble signing up, even if your college is on the list, manually verify that you're a student and use a PDF of your class schedule.
2) If you have the discount already, you won't get Showtime until your next billing cycle.
From,
- Amar
Listen to the BBC's radio version of Asimov's 'Foundation' trilogy online
Dear Killers,
Spotify recently updated their Spotify Premium for Students program to include Showtime, meaning for just 5 dollars a month, you can get Spotify Premium, Hulu (w/ ads) AND Showtime.
It's a crazy deal! Check it out! Two things:
1) if you're having trouble signing up, even if your college is on the list, manually verify that you're a student and use a PDF of your class schedule.
2) If you have the discount already, you won't get Showtime until your next billing cycle.
From,
- Amar
Links