Cordkillers 287 - Apples Everywhere
Apple has come to Roku, Netflix has grown internationally, and HBO Max gets Ghibli with it (na-na na na na-na-na).
This week on Spoilerin' Time: Watchmen (101), El Camino, The Good Place (403-404), The Righteous Gemstones (109), Mr. Robot (402-403), The Larry Sanders Show (103-104)
Next week: Watchmen (102), The Good Place (405), Mr. Robot (404), The Larry Sanders Show (105-106). Possibly Parasite.
CordKillers: 287 - Apples Everywhere
Recorded: October 21 2019
Guest: None
Intro Video
American Son
Primary Target
Netflix (NFLX) Q3 2019 earnings
Netflix to raise $2 billion in debt to fund more content spending
Netflix Execs Talk Film Push, Streaming Competition, ‘Seinfeld’ Deal & More In Q3 Earnings Interview
Netflix Q3 earnings exceed estimates, despite disappointing US subscriber growth
Netflix Shares Rise As Most Wall Street Analysts See Upside In Q3 Results
- Netflix beat earnings expectations but missed on US subscribers. The company added 517,000 US subscribers and 6.26 million international subscribers in Q3. Analysts expected 802,000 US and 6.05 million international.
- Netflix still blames the price change on slow US growth. 2.1 million adds in US so far this year compared to 4.1 million at this point last year. But hey ARPU is up 16.5%
- Starting next quarter, the company will break out revenue and subscribers regionally including Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Latin America and the US and Canada. Netflix projects 7.6 million additional global subs compared to 8.8 million for the same quarter last year.
- CEO Reed Hastings said the raft of new streaming service competitors would generate "modest headwinds" in the near term.
- “The upcoming arrival of services like Disney+, Apple TV+, HBO Max, and Peacock is increased competition, but we are all small compared to linear TV. While the new competitors have some great titles (especially catalog titles), none have the variety, diversity and quality of new original programming that we are producing around the world.”
- Hastings thinks they will all steal marketshare from traditional TV "the likely outcome from the launch of these new services will be to accelerate the shift from linear TV to on-demand consumption of entertainment."
- He said Netflix will continue to take "bold swings" but won’t “chase every deal on the table.”
- Threw shade at Disney “I think that is every bit as valuable as drafting off a bunch of different franchises and waiting for them to burn out."
- Hammered on Stranger Things, Scorsese, Michael Bay, Noah Baumbach -- also Seinfeld.
- For the second time in 2019 Netflix is raising $2 billion to spend on “for general corporate purposes, which may include content acquisitions, production and development, capital expenditures, investments, working capital and potential acquisitions and strategic transactions.”
How to Watch
The Apple TV app is available on Roku
- Roku announced that Apple is launching an Apple TV app for most Rokus starting Tuesday. The app will let users access purchased or rented TV shows and movies as well as programs from Apple TV channels like HBO and CBS All Access. Apple TV+ original shows will be available through the Roku app starting November 1 for $4.99 a month.
Netflix ends support for some older Roku players on December 1st
- Starting December 1, Netflix will no longer support its Roku app for Roku HD, HD-XR, SD, XD and XDS as well as the NetGear-branded XD and XDS. These are players made in May 2011 or earlier that are also no longer updated by Roku. (Bad news if you need composite or component output.
What to Watch
HBO Max has struck the first deal for streaming rights to content from Studio Ghibli. 21 movies will appear on HBO Max, including Howl's Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro and more.
Apple Launches In-House Studio With 'Band of Brothers'/'The Pacific' Follow-Up
- Apple has ordered a nine-episode followup to HBO's Band of Brothers, called Masters of the Air with Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman and Steven Spielberg executive producing. The show will be the first of Apple's TV shows to be produced in house by Apple's own TV studio. Other Apple TV+ shows are produced by external production companies. Apple's Worldwide Video heads Zack Van Amburg and Jamie Erlicht will oversee the studio. Hollywood reporter says HBO turned down the series because of it's $250 million price tag and the lack of a DVD market that was used to generate revenue for Band of Brothers and The Pacific.
‘For All Mankind’ Drama Renewed For Season 2 By Apple
- In just more than a week Apple TV+ will launch. Apple already had confirmed that The Morning Show will get a second season, but Deadline reports For All Mankind, Dickinson, See, Little America and Home Before Dark will all get seconds season's or are all renewed or in the process of being renewed for a second season. And in an interview with Wired, Apple TV+ exec Zack van Amburg says Ron Moore had mapped out all seven seasons of For All Mankind before he pitched it to Apple.
Apple TV+'s 'For All Mankind' is already mapped out for 7 seasons
Apple orders TV+ series based on a Jason Sudeikis commercial
- Variety reports Apple has ordered a comedy series called Ted Lasso based on the character played by Jason Sudeikis in NBC Sports Promos. In the promise Sudeikis plays an American Football coach called Ted Lasso who is forced to coach an english soccer team. Sudeikis co-wrote the pilot episode.
HBO released a trailer for Silicon Valley season 6. This final season will have seven episodes. The trailer shows Richard Hendricks, CEO of Pied Piper testifying to congress. Silicon Valley premieres October 27.
A new trailer for Netflix's the Crown is out. Olivia Colman takes over the role of Queen Elizabeth starting in 1964 and lasting into the 1970s. The Crown arrives November 17.
Netflix reveals its huge lineup of holiday movies and specials
- Netflix unveiled a list of holiday specials including the third Christmas Prince movie, The Royal Baby coming December 5. There's also Holiday in the Wild with Kristin Davis coming November 1, Let It Snow November 15, animated movie called Klaus November 15, Vanessa Hudgens in the Knight Before Christmas, November 21 and Romany Malco in Holiday Rush November 28.There's also season 2 of Lost in Space arriving December 24.
Apple TV+ also has some holiday magic in the works. Hollywood Reporter says it's acquiring a musical version of A Christmas Carol starring Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds, though this won't be ready until next year.
Netflix has acquired the rights to turn the Jeff Smith comic book character Bone into an animated kids series.
Variety says Apple has signed Alfonso Cuarón to a multi-year television development deal.
HBO Max issued a series order for Grease: Rydell High reimagining the original Grease characters and stories, set int he 1950s.
Eyes On
Brian: Inception, Watchmen, The Good Place, Mr Robot, The Larry Sanders Show
Tom: Parasite
On the Lookout: Raising Dion
Front Lines
What TV shows does Disney+ have?
- Disney+ tweeted "basically all" of the TV shows and movies it will have at launch November 12. The thread was more than 600 posts long. Disney followed up by posting a 3 hour and 28-minute video with clips from almost everything coming to launch day.
Disney’s three-hour Disney+ trailer proves that all those movies it tweeted are real
AMC Theaters will launch its own service for renting and buying digital films
- AMC Theaters launched an on-demand video store in the US. AMC Theaters on Demand will make 2,000 films from major studios available for purchase or rental. AMC Stubs members who use their first transaction to buy or rent a movie distributed by Lionsgate or Paramount Pictures can choose an additional three movies from a selection of that studio’s films. You can use AMC Theaters on Demand at AMCTheatres.com, the AMC Theatres mobile app, Roku and some SmartTVs with more services and devices to be added in the near future. The New York Times says AMC plans to offer loyalty program members occasional free digital versions of movies they see in theaters, with the Lion King becoming the first. Canada's Cineplex has offered a similar program for years.
AT&T TV Now Price Hike Coming Next Month, Base Package to Cost $65
- AT&T TV Now, the formerly-named DirecTV Now streaming service, will increase prices starting next month. The basic "Plus" package will go from $50 to $65. People grandfathered into older plans are told their prices will rise as well. DirecTV Now launched in 2016 with special introductory prices of $35. AT&T raised the price fo the service $10 in March.
Movie Ticket Prices Fall 4% In Q3; Admissions Clock 316M, 18-44 Demo Shows Up The Most At Cinemas
- The US National Association of Theatre Owners reported Thursday that ticket prices for Q3 2019 fell from $9.26 the quarter before to $8.93, still above last year's $8.83. Comscore says 52% of all people who went to the movies in Q3 were between 18 and 34 years old. Total summer box office was $4.8 billion up 1% from last year. Meanwhile a UK event cinema company called Secret Cinema saw record box office and attendance for Casino Royale. That production took place in a 70,000 square foot warehouse went through pre-show pieces involving stunts, music, poker and bars finishing with a screening of the movie Casino Royale. Tickets cost between £49-£175 and attracted120,000 customers.
Secret Cinema Wraps UK ‘Casino Royale’ Run With More Than $10M ‘Box Office’
Tencent Video will start adding product placement and in context ads to videos as part of a partnership with a company called Mirriad that uses computer vision to insert images into existing video.
Dispatches from the Front
In listening to your latest episode I enjoyed the conversation about cable companies and fees. As I am sure for most people, fees has often been an area of great frustration, not only with cable companies, but for a variety of companies including ticketing, hotels, airlines, etc. I personally believe states should pass laws requiring that advertised prices must be within a certain percentage of the actual out the door price, let's say 10% including any tax. It is absurd that my local movie chain (as much as I like them) charges me a fee to buy a ticket online that is 25% of the total cost of the ticket that is being bought directly from them. It's not like Target charges you a fee to order online. Same for hotels, where your $99 hotel room is $130 after a ""resort fee."" All these are outlandish and should all be tackled in one large swoop. Just hope the Ticketmaster lobby doesn't buy off your local politicians.
Keep up the fight!
- Kyle
Hey guys I am so appreciative of what you guys do every week for us. I wanted to address the movie joker in particular. The discussion you had on cordkillers about the film confirmed what I thought trailers and the media conveyed about it. Good art that would be difficult to enjoy. I knew I would not go to theaters to watch and honestly don't think it really is the type of film I would want to see. That is why I'm thankful for you guys. Spoiler in time will allow me to get the real skinny on it from people I trust. Thanks for not spoiling us on cordkillers and spoiling us on spoiler in time. Just wanted to let you know I appreciate the options you give us with the show.
- Donovan
I don't mind the idea of the interactive ads on Roku TVs that you guys were talking about on Episode 286. Since they're not adding additional ads, but just augmenting the current ones, I don't think it'd bother me. This is something close to what I've always wanted. There are ads that I would like to be reminded about, or a note taken of, but I don't want more info right now.
For example, I'm watching a show on Hulu and a movie trailer comes on. I'd like to be able to hit the "OK" button on my remote (or something similar) and it adds an event on my calendar for the release date. Maybe if it's a product that I'd like more info on, I could hit "OK" and it would send me an email with more info or add an entry to my OneNote or some other similar app. I don't know how many times I saw an ad for something that I wanted to look up later and completely forgot when I had some time to do it.
Just a thought. Keep up the good work guys.
Your boss,
- Andy
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