Cordkillers 428 - Is PAST the Future of Streaming?
Netflix quarterly earnings lead to a big round-up of news. Plus, Ant-Man 3 trailer and a DirecTV feature to beat bad signal. All that and more on Cordkillers!
This week on It's Spoilerin' Time: Star Trek: Lower Decks (309), Moonfall (2022), Miami Vice (316 - "Theresa")
Next week: Star Trek: Lower Decks (310), The White Lotus (201), Miami Vice (317 - "The Afternoon Plane")
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CordKillers: 428 - Is PAST the Future of Streaming?
Recorded: October 24 2022
Guest: None
Intro Video
Pepsi, Where's My Jet?
Primary Target
Ted Sarandos Downplays ‘Knives Out 2′ Theatrical Deal, Says Netflix Is About “Entertaining Members With Netflix Movies On Netflix”
Netflix adds more than 2.4 million subscribers, reveals details about password-sharing crackdown
Netflix password-sharing crackdown will roll out globally in ‘early 2023’ — and here’s how it could work
Netflix Will Consider Content Spending Boost After Positive Subscriber Numbers
Netflix Says It’s Committed to a Binge-Release Strategy for Series
Netflix to expand into cloud gaming, opens new studio in Southern California
Netflix Exploring Cloud Gaming to Bring Titles to TVs and PCs, Will Establish In-House Games Studio in Southern California
- Netflix subscribers rose by 2.41 million last quarter. 1.43 million of those came in the Asia-Pacific region. But all markets grew this time, with the US-Canada region showing the smallest growth, adding 100,000 subscribers. It predicts it will add 4.5 million subscribers this quarter. That’s the last time we’ll get a projection from Netflix though. To clear up a little confusion, Netflix announced it will stop projecting subscribers every quarter. Which means it will report its subscriber numbers each quarter, but it won't predict what subscriber numbers will look like for the next quarter.
- Netflix thinks it will get double the growth this quarter because of big releases like the Crown, as well as the seasonal upsurge from the holidays. A cheaper ad-supported tier launches in November, but it isn't expected to add much right away. And the crackdown on password sharing won't go global until 2023.
- So, a lot of the armchair analysis has proved to be off. Password-sharing and the ad tier aren’t desperation moves to save a falling company. And it also won’t cut back its spending. Netflix is spending $17 billion on content this year and Co-CEO Ted Sarandos said "I think we’re spending at about the right level."
- Netflix also repeated its commitment to the binge release model. It wrote in its shareholder letter “We believe the ability for our members to immerse themselves in a story from start to finish increases their enjoyment but also their likelihood to tell their friends, which then means more people watch, join and stay with Netflix.” Netflix showed a line graph comparing the spike in Google searches related to its Dahmer series— which was released all at once— to lower weekly spikes of searches related to Amazon's Lord of the Rings. It also said “It’s hard to imagine, for example, how a Korean title like ‘Squid Game’ would have become a mega hit globally without the momentum that came from people being able to binge it.”
- And separate from the earnings report, Netflix VP of Gaming Mike Verdu told TechCrunch Disrupt that Netflix is “seriously exploring a cloud gaming offering,” and is getting ready to open its fifth gaming studio in Southern California, led by Chacko Sonny, former Blizzard EP of Overwatch. Verdu said “For us, delivering games to your TV or to your PC, it’s value-add — like, we’re not asking you to subscribe as a console replacement, so it’s a completely different business model.”
- The future of cloud gaming has been, well, cloudy, since Google announced the end of Stadia coming in January, but Verdu specifically said he thought the problem with Google's Stadia was the business model.
How to Watch
Despite Football’s Big September Debut, Broadcast And Cable TV Viewing Still Didn’t Equal Streaming During The Month, Nielsen Says
- The Gauge is Nielsen's regular measurement of how much TV watching people did across cable, broadcast and streaming. We talked about the first time that streaming took the number one spot this summer, but we wondered if the return of the NFL and fall viewing might tilt the scales back toward cable and broadcast again for awhile.
- The answer is no. For the month of September streaming made up 36.9% of viewing, moving farther ahead of cable's 33.8%-- steady from August-- and broadcast's 24.2%. That was a big jump for broadcast which had lingered around 12% in the summer.
- Among the streamers, YouTube passed Netflix to top the chart with 8% of streaming followed by Netflix's 7.3%. Hulu got 3.8%, Prime Video 2.9%, Disney+ 1.9% and HBO Max 1.3%. And the first FAST service showed up on the detailed list as Pluto TV got 1%. Keep in mind Peacock and Paramount Plus aren't broken out, so we don't know how much they got, though "Other streaming made up 10.7% so they had less than a portion of that.
DirecTV can now quickly switch from satellite to broadband to avoid TV disruptions
- And one side note that is rather interesting in light of the rise of streaming over cable. DirecTV's satellite TV delivery service added a new feature called Signal Saver. If customers connect their DirecTV box to the internet, the box can switch from satellite to broadband if the satellite signal gets interrupted. Apparently it's not a seamless switch, described as taking a few seconds...And it's available on 83 of DirecTV's channels, so a lot of them, but not all. You also lose your DVR capability, though it sounds like that's a technical issue (not a policy) since DirecTV says it expects DVR to be available soon.
What to Watch
‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania’ Trailer: Here Comes Kang the Conqueror
- There's a new trailer out for "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" with Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror. The kick-off to Phase 5 comes out February 17.
NFL Awards Amazon Prime Video New ‘Black Friday’ Game in 2023
- Next year, 2023, Amazon will not only stream Thursday Night Football, but also pioneer a new NFL tradition. The Black Friday game. The NFL traditionally plays two games on Thanksgiving and in the US that's often seen as the traditional soundtrack for people sleeping after eating. That won't go away, but this new game will take place the day after Thanksgiving on the shopping day known as "Black Friday."
HBO Max’s A Christmas Story sequel is actually happening and has a new teaser
- HBO Max has a trailer out for (yet another) sequel to A Christmas Story. The previous sequels didn't have the original cast and flopped. This new attempt is called A Christmas Story Christmas and follows Peter Billingsley as Ralphie Parker returning to his childhood home to recreate an unforgettable holiday experience for his own children. Ian Petrella, Zack Ward, Scott Schwartz, and R.D. Robb are all set to reprise their roles as Randy Parker, Scut Farkus, Flick, and Schwartz, respectively. It comes to HBO Max on November 17th.
Damon Lindelof’s ‘Star Wars’ Movie Enlists Justin Britt-Gibson to Co-Write, ‘Ms. Marvel’s’ Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy Eyed to Direct
- We've learned not to trust the reports that LucasFilm has agreed to develop a new Star Wars movie with anyone since none of them have showed signs of progress and some have been reported to have been shelved. An unnamed Star Wars project is the only one on the calendar for December 2025. However. Variety says Damon Lindeloff, of Lost and Watchmen fame, is developing a Star Wars movie that he will co-write and that they're hoping to get Ms. Marvel director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy to direct.
Eyes On:
Brian: re-watched all of Andor
Tom: Atlanta
On the Lookout: Bosch and Bosch: Legacy
Front Lines
Apple Announces New Apple TV 4K With A15 Bionic Chip and HDR10+ for $129
You can now buy an Apple TV remote with a USB-C port
- There are also two refreshed Apple TV 4K models. Both have support for HDR10+, if you have a TV that also supports it. And they run on an A15 processor. The included remote also now charges by USB-C instead of lightning. The 64GB model costs $129 and the 128GB with ethernet model costs $149. Available for preorder now, shipping November 3rd. If you have an Apple TV but want the remote with USB-C you can buy it separately for $59, arriving by Friday.
Google TV is getting parent-controlled watchlists and AI-powered suggestions for kids
- Google TV is adding some family-focused features like parent-controlled watch lists and algorithmically-generated suggestions for kids profiles. Parents will also be able to add titles to a child's must watch list. And parents can define rating levels and and add and remove titles to affect what shows get recommended by the algorithm. The features will show up first on the Chromecast with Google TV followed by other devices.
YouTube Premium’s family plan just got more expensive
Apple increases US subscription prices for Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple One bundle
- YouTube raised the price of its YouTube Premium family plan from $17.99 a month to $22.99 per month. And because Apple takes 30%, YouTube charges more in the Apple store, so there, it will cost you $29.99 per month. A single YouTube Premium account is staying at $11.99 a month, so it still saves you a couple of bucks even if you only share it between two people. And you can share up to 6 accounts. YouTube premium includes ad-free YouTube viewing, downloadable videos, YouTube Music and background play.
- Apple also raised the price of Apple TV+ by $2 to $6.99 a month based on an increased selection.
FuboTV shuts down its sports betting service that synced with on-screen action
- FuboTV announced last week that it has closed its sports betting product. Basically they didn't see it being profitable. Otherwise Fubo is doing well with 1.2 million subscribers and income beating expectations.
Netflix Clarifies ‘The Crown’ Is a ‘Fictional Dramatization’ by Adding Logline to Trailer Description
- A trailer is out for season 5 of The Crown which returns November 9th. The description for the trailer clarified "“Inspired by real events, this fictional dramatization tells the story of Queen Elizabeth II." Just in case you were confused about whether it was a documentary or not.
HBO released a teaser trailer for season 4 of Succession. Still no solid date for its premiere sometime in 2023.
Warner Brothers Discovery has launched a free MotorTrend channel on Samsung TV Plus.
‘Welcome to Chippendales’ Hulu Series Starring Kumail Nanjiani Gets Official Trailer
- Hulu has released the official trailer for “Welcome to Chippendales,” starring Kumail Nanjiani as Somen “Steve” Banjeree, founder of the famous male-stripping clubs. The series premieres November 22.
Dispatches from the front
I was surprised to see that all of the seasons of the original Bosch series are also now available on Freevee. I remember when Bosch was being used as one of the first shows to advertise Amazon Prime's streaming video service. I'm a little surprised to see that Bosch is available without a paid subscription.
My question is do you think other companies are going to do this too?
- Bill
Brian and Tom,
Let me start by saying, I am not an octopus, I only have two human hands with which I hold the dollars I give you to stay loud, live and be independent.
Many, many, years ago you told me about this upstart over the top service “DirecTV now” and I have been a grandfathered in user until this past week. We finally bit the Disney+/Hulu Live/ESPN bullet and are pretty happy so far. We had been a three year inaugural Disney+ subscriber and wanted to consolidate the money we were spending. We had been keeping DirecTVNow just for live sports, San Jose Sharks Hockey, and “cable login” on some apps. So far my wife hasn’t complained about the changes, so far so good. But I do have to admit, while I am a cordnever, I’m feeling like a cable subscriber more and more these days.
- John
Hi Team - I would like to give you some additional thoughts on the Binge Vs Weekly discussion. I just realized that in the last couple of months I have started 3 shows (Sandman, Cowboy Bepop and Fauda) on Netflix and haven't finished them as they are made for binging and need a 10 hour commitment for me to get through them from me and whoever I want to watch it with (My wife 🙂). Whereas the other weekly dramas (Rings of Power, House of the Dragon, Disney+) do not require that commitment. We could catch up on a any day within an hour and wait for next week. It also helps that for the big dramas to have the water cooler conversations on Discord/Slack/Reddit etc. I still believe binge works for less demanding shows like sitcoms and maybe reality shows but heavy emotional dramas need to be spaced out and that cliffhanger that you need to wait on for a week is actually a good thing.
PS: Now that House of the Dragon is done with Season 1 can we have a spoilering time on it. What a season!!!
Thanks,
- Josh
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