Cordkillers 336 - Shy Wal-Mart Lovers
A Netflix channel?! Tenet coming to VOD next month. An 8K streaming box? All this and more on Cordkillers!
This week on It's Spoilerin' Time: Fargo (407), The Mandalorian (202), The Larry Sanders Show (611)
Next week: Fargo (408), The Mandalorian (203), Hannibal (101)
CordKillers: 336 - Shy Wal-Mart Lovers
Recorded: November 9 2020
Guest: None
Intro Video
Happiest Season on Hulu
Primary Target
Netflix Picks France to Test First Linear Offering
- Netflix is testing a "Netflix Channel" in France that will show movies and TV series from Netflix in an ongoing stream like a cable TV channel. The channel, called "Direct" will only be available in a Web browser. The channel launched for some November 5 and will be broadly available to French Netflix subscribers in early December.
How to Watch
Comcast, Walmart in Talks to Develop and Distribute Smart TVs
- The Wall Street Journal's sources say Comcast and Walmart are in talks to develop smart TV. Comcast would provide the smart TV software which would run on TVs made by a third party and promoted and sold by Walmart and possibly carry Walmart branding. Comcast's software would work nationwide and not be tied to its cable service though it might encourage growth of Comcast's Peacock and Xumo products. Walmart has an existing partnership to sell TVs running Roku under the Onn brand.
Slingbox Discontinued Announcement
- However it was announced Monday that Slingbox products will be discontinued. Slingbox servers will be taken offline November 9, 2022, so you have a couple years to prepare for your sling box to stop working if you still have one.
What to Watch
You will finally be able to watch 'Tenet' at home on December 15th
- Early in the summer Christopher Nolan's movie Tenet was billed as the harbinger of the return to movie theaters and the waning of the coronavirus. But the world had other plans. Tenet did eventually release to theaters making $293.3 million dollars worldwide, $53.8 million in the US. Disappointing for a movie like Tenet but honestly not that bad for a movie released in a world where theaters were shut down in New York and Los Angeles and many people just didn't have any inclination to go sit in an enclosed space with a bunch of other people.
- But I have good news for all of you who didn't go see Tenet. It's coming to 4K UHD Blu-ray, DVD and Digital December 15. The 4K Blu-Ray will cost $44.95, the Blu-ray edition $35.99 and the DVD $28.98.
‘The Mandalorian’ Eyes Production Start As Spinoff, Casting & Boba Fett Buzz Heats Up
- There's confusion on when the Mandalorian might start production on season 3, with some sources saying this week and others claiming spring or even autumn of next year. Deadline notes that there are loads of rumors swirling about spinoff series which may explain the discrepancy. The loudest rumor is around a potential Boba Fett miniseries. But there is also speculation of a Cara Dune spinoff starring Gina Carano and a less reliable rumor of a spinoff starring Kate Sackhof as Bo-Katan, from Star Wars: Rebels. Disney+ is also supposedly developing a female-driven series run by Leslie Headland that might be set in an alternate timeline.
Darth Vader, Rey and Baby Yoda Collide in Lego ‘Star Wars’ Holiday Special Trailer
- One thing we're definitely getting on Disney+ is a new Star Wars holiday special. A trailer for "The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special" sees Rey, Finn, Po and friends celebrating Life Day and somehow involves Rey time traveling through Star Wars lore meeting Darth Vader, and various Lukes, Hans and even Pa Palpatine.
‘Connecting’ Pulled From NBC Schedule, Remaining 4 Episodes To Stream Online
- Here's something that may mark the turning of a tide. NBC is pulling "connecting" from broadcast and will show the last four episodes on Peacock. Connecting is a comedy about friends staying close through video chats during the pandemic. It was something of a necessity when launched but will now give up its Thursday time slot to Superstore.
‘Fantastic Beasts 3’ Release Date Delayed to 2022
- However, another big name movie has been delayed. Fantastic Beasts 3 will now open sometime int he summer of 2022. It had originally been scheduled to release November 12 next year. While most fo this is likely due to the pandemic, part of it is certainly due to the recasting of the role of Grindelwald, played in the first two movies by Johnny Depp. Depp was asked to leave the franchise after losing a libel case against British tabloid The Sun.
A faithful DISCWORLD TV adaptation is coming in 2022, starring Hugh Laurie
- Sky TV and Narrativia Productions will adapt Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel, The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, for TV. Hugh Laurie, Emilia Clarke, Gemma Arterton, David Thewlis, Himesh Patel and Hugh Bonneville will voice the animated production.
Netflix's first Egyptian original series, Paranormal, launched last Thursday. The series is based on Egyptian novelist Ahmed Khaled Tawfik’s books.
HBO Max to Air Episodes of ‘Titans,’ ‘Flight Attendant’ on TNT, TBS, truTV Over Thanksgiving
- The first episodes of HBO Max's DC series “Titans” and the new HBO Max Kaley Cuoco series “The Flight Attendant” will both air during the “Thanksgiving to the HBO Max” block, which will run from Nov. 26-29 on TNT, TBS and TruTV
Eyes On
Brian: Queen's Gambit
Tom: Queen's Gambit, Soul
On the Lookout: Queen's Gambit
Front Lines
T-Mobile told us TV programmers loved TVision. They don't
- Last Thursday, Discovery CEO David Zaslav took issue with T-Mobile selling its channels in the T-Mobie Vibe streaming service. Zaslav says he does not believe T-Mobile has the right to do what it's doing. ViacomCBS expressed a similar concern. T-Mobile says they vetted their offering with all the distributors before launch but they're talking to the networks and remain "open minded." At issue is the clever thing T-Mobile did to add Viacom and Discovery channels by offering them in a separate package called Vibe. The networks are required to be in any basic offering, which makes them more expensive, but one imagine T-Mobile argues Vibe is a separate service from Vision and is its own basic tier not an add on. And that is true because you can't get Vibe with The rest of Vision and Vibe does not come with all he features of Vision.
Xiaomi launches $60 8K streaming box in China
- Xiaomi announced the Mi Box 4S pro, which can stream video at 8K. It's not clear what if any services will stream in 8K but it's there when they arrive. The MiBox 4S Pro sells for 399 Yuan, about 60 dollars US, available now in China. Xiaomi has no plans for a worldwide release.
Roku Shares Rise As Q3 Results Bash Estimates, Platform Hits 46M Active Accounts
- Roku earned nine cents per share in Q3, when analysts had expected it to lose 40 cents a share. Active Roku accounts rose 43% to 46 million, while streaming hours rose 54% to 14.8 billion. Sales of Roku hardware increased 57% on the year. But Roku is in the midst of moving from being hardware-focused to ad sales focused. To that end the company announced that its Roku channel now has 54 million viewers while monetized video ad impressions were up 90% on the year. Roku CFO Steve Louden said “We’re not going back to the way it was — COVID triggered a lasting, durable change in how marketers… are thinking about their TV ad spend.”
- This may help you understand why Roku had disputes with Peacock and HBO Max. It's future is setting precedents that let it make ad money off the biggest players on its platform.
Cinemark Adopts “Dynamic” Approach To Theatrical Windows, Seeing Progress In Lobbying Effort To Reopen In NY, LA
- AMC Theaters struck a deal with Universal earlier this year to allow some movies to be exempt from the 90-day theatrical exclusive window to as few as 17 days. Cinemark said it would not do that at all. Instead it has announced it will take a "dynamic" approach to theatrical windows, adjusting them on a film by film basis. Cinemark stresses this is not at all the same thing as what AMC is doing because it's not a formal shift in the window.
ViacomCBS Streaming Subscribers Hit 17.9 Million, Pluto TV Reaches 28.4 Million Users
- Combined paid subscribers to CBS All Access and Showtime rose from 13.5 million last quarter to 17.9 million this quarter. ViacomCBS raised its target for the end of the year from 18 million to 19 million. Pluto TV reached 28.4 million monthly active users. Total streaming and digital revenue rose 56%. ViacomCBS also announced it would shut down some of its smaller streaming service and fold them into Paramount Plus, the forthcoming new name for CBS All Access. ViacomCBS operates MTV Hits, NickHits, Comedy Central Now and Noggin.
ViacomCBS to Shutter Niche Streaming Services to Focus on Paramount Plus
Sling TV gained 203,000 subscribers in Q3, offsetting a drop of 87,000 subscribers to Dish satellite service. Dish ended up with 8.96 million Dish subscribers and 2.46 million Sling TV subscribers.
Dispatches from the Front
Hey guys,
I heard y'all talking about the Netflix price increase and was exciting to log into Netflix and decrease my package. However, I logged in and realized I was already on the basic plan. At least I finally realize why my wife's ipad and my phone could never both download content. At least that's something.
Take care!
- Norm
Links
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