Cordkillers 294 - Netflix, Take The Wheel
Netflix testing a "watch something" button, ads for binge watchers on Hulu, and dates for new The Matrix and The Flash. All this and more on Cordkillers!
This week on It's Spoilerin' Time: Rick and Morty (405), The Mandalorian (106), Watchmen (109), Mr. Robot (411), The Larry Sanders Show (204-205)
Next time in 2020: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, The Mandalorian (107-108), Mr. Robot (412-413), The Larry Sanders Show (206-207)
CordKillers: 294 - Netflix, Take The Wheel
Recorded: December 16 2019
Guest: None
Intro Video
Final trailer for The Witcher
Primary Target
Netflix Tests TV-Like ‘Watch Now’ Experience to Start Streaming Without Browsing the App
- Netflix is testing a "Watch Now" feature for its TV apps. The Watch Now button shows up join the profile section or in the sidebar if you don't have any profiles. Pressing the button plays the next episode of whatever you've been watching, or something in your list or failing that, something Netflix thinks yo would like. The video player then has a "play Something Else" button in case you don't like what Netflix decided to play for you. Netflix will limit the test to a small percentage of users for 1-2 months.
How to Watch
Hulu launches its viewer-friendly ‘binge watch ads’
- Hulu is launching a new kind of ad on its ad-supported subscription level that uses machine learning to tell when a user is binge-watching a show. It then plays a contextually relevant ads that acknowledge the viewer is bingeing the show. When the viewer reaches the third episode, they may get an ad announcing the next episode will be ad free or a personalized offer. Hulu estate about 50% of its ad-supported viewing hours are during a binge watch. Kellogg’s Cheez-its, Maker’s Mark bourbon, and Georgia-Pacific's Sparkle paper towels, are the launch partners for the new ads.
What to Watch
‘The Flash’ and ‘The Matrix 4’ Get Release Dates From Warner Bros.
- Warner Brothers studios announced the fourth movie in The Matrix series will arrive in theaters May 21, 2021. And The Flash movie starring Ezra Miller will arrive July 1, 2022. The Leonardo DiCaprio-produced Akira series has been shelved for the moment wit h The Matrix getting its slot on the schedule. Interestingly Lionsgate's John Wick: Chapter 4 Also opens May 21, 2021. So there's a potential for a Keanu Reeves double feature.
‘Star Trek: Picard’ Renewed For Season 2 Ahead Of Series Debut On CBS All Access Next Month
- We need a new word for "renewed" in the streaming era. Renewed implies that a series did well and because of that it's coming back. But streaming services often green light additional seasons for reasons of budgeting and scheduling leading to "renewals" happening before the show premieres. Like Picard which CBS has approved for 10-episode second season. Picard season one arrives on CBS All Access January 23.
HBO Max has ordered work on an adaptation of Neal Stephenson's novel Snow Crash. Scott Pilgrim's Michael Bacall will write and co-run the show with the L Word's Angela Robinson. Joe Cornish will direct.
Apple TV+ will drop every episode of ‘Little America’ on January 17th
- Apple TV+'s anthology series about immigrant stories, Little America, will arrive January 17 with all episodes showing up at once. The series is written by Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon who also did The Big Sick, and has been approved for a second season.
Paul McCartney Teams With Netflix, Gaumont on Animated ‘High in the Clouds’
- Paul McCartney is collaborating with Netflix on the animated feature “High in the Clouds,” based on the children’s novel he wrote with Geoff Dunbar, and Philip Ardagh. It's about a teenage squirrel in a gang of teenage rebels fighting an Owl who steals the voice of anyone who upstages her.
Eyes On
Brian: Jumanji 2, Parks and Rec through season 2, Mandalorian, Watchmen, Mr Robot, Rick and Morty
Tom: The Expanse
On the Lookout: The Imagineering Story on Disney+
Front Lines
John Stankey: HBO Max Will Appeal to ‘Entire Family’ With Broader Menu Than Disney Plus
- CEO of Warner Media, John Stankey told a conference in New York last week that Disney+ is a great product but not that deep. He said HBO Max will focus on “keeping all members of the family engaged... We’re making sure that there’s a good, stable offering for the late teens and twentysomething.” Stankey said he is talking with cable operators about bundling HBO Max with broadband offerings.
The Irishman Was Watched by 26 Million Households in First Week, Netflix Says
- Netflix says The Irishman was watched by 26.4 million households in its first 7 days on the streaming service. Birdbox got 45 million views on its first week. Ted Sarandos says the company anticipates 40 million in the first 28 days. A watch means at least 70% of a movie was viewed. That's 2 and half hours or so for The Irishman. Nielsen estimates 18% of day one viewers finished the movie.
Marvel TV To Shut Down, Current Series Folded Into Marvel Studios
- Marvel merged its Marvel TV unit into Marvel Studio last week. Marvel TV’s SVP Current Programming and Production Karim Zreik and some (but not all) of his team will join the Marvel Studios group to oversee current TV shows in production. That includes four animated series and live-action Helstron coming to Hulu as well Agents of SHIELD which is heading into its last season. Disney+ shows like WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Solider were already under Kevin Feige.
Netflix could lose four million U.S. subscribers in 2020: brokerage
- Multiple Wall Street brokerages have cut ratings for Netflix stock. Needham and Company justified the rating change on a prediction hat Netflix would lose 4 million US subscribers next year due to competition with other streaming services. Netflix's decision not to take advertising while charging $9-$16 a month played a part in the evaluation as well.
Netflix Breaks Down Results by Region, Showing Strong Asia-Pacific, Europe Growth
- In a filing with the SEC Monday Netflix broke down its subscriber numbers by region.
- Revenue for Netflix in Asia-Pacific has grown 153% over the past two years with a total of 14.49 million subscribers as of Q3.
- Europe and the Middle East revenue rose 105% with Q3 subscribers at 47.4 million
- Latin America revenue rose 71% with 29.4 million subs.
- US and Canada rose 57% with 67.1 million subs.
- Average revenue per user is the highest in U.S. and Canada at $13.08 for Q3, followed by EMEA at $10.40 , Asia-Pacific at $9.29 and LatAm at $8.63
Google built its own tiny HDMI 2.1 box to jump-start ‘the next generation of Android TV’
- Google released Android 10 for Android TV with mostly security and performance improvements. At the same time Google released the ADT-3 HDMI 2.1 dongle for developers. It's a full Android TV platform with a quad-core ARM Cortex A53 CPU, 2GB of DDR3 memory, outputting 4K HDR at 60 FPS. The device might be used in white-label devices for TV services or provide a platform for a new Google-made Android TV device in 2020.
Dispatches from the Front
It seems that Netflix and especially Amazon prepared to counter the attention that Disney+ was going to get.
Shortly before Disney+ launched on November 12, Amazon came out with the second season of Jack Ryan (October 31).
Since the Disney + launch Amazon has released the fourth and final season of the Man in the High Castle (November 15), the third season of Marvelous Mrs Maisel (December 6), the fourth season, Amazon Prime first, of the Expanse (December 13) and the movie The Report (which stars Adam Driver just as his face is everywhere from the publicity for the release of the latest Star Wars movie).
As someone who was anticipating these shows for a while it felt as if Amazon held back at least some of these shows, so that they could release them after Disney+ came out.
Netflix's answer to Disney+ seems to be movies and commercials. The Irishman, The Two Popes, Marriage Story and other movies are featured in Netflix's latest commercial. I think I've seen this commercial than any other Netflix commercial since the ones that advertised that you could use your Nintendo Wii to watch Netflix.
- Bill
Links