Cordkillers 442 - Popcorn Baggage Fees (w/ Adam Ganser)
AMC Theaters announced a new way to price tickets: charge more for better seats. Plus, Netflix almost announces a policy for their upcoming account sharing crackdown before say j/k. DC lays out a roadmap for their new cinematic universe (including things that won't be in-universe!). All that and more on Cordkillers! With special guest Adam Ganser ( https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-1upsmanship-97574019/ ).
This week on It's Spoilerin' Time: The Last of Us (104), Twenty-Five Twenty-One (112-113), All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)
Next week: The Last of Us (105), Twenty-Five Twenty-One (114), Miami Vice (404, "The Big Thaw")
Download video http://archive.org/download/cordkillers-ep-442/CordkillersEp442.mp4
Download audio http://archive.org/download/cordkillers-ep-442/CordkillersEp442.mp3
CordKillers: 442 - Popcorn Baggage Fees
Recorded: February 6 2023
Guest: Adam Ganser
Intro Video
Trailer for Agent Elvis
Primary Target
AMC Entertainment Is Tweaking Theater Ticket Prices Based On “Sightline” To Movie Screen
AMC Theatres to Change Movie Ticket Prices Based on Seat Location
- AMC Theaters announced a new pricing plan called "Sightline" that charges you a different amount based on where you pick to sit.
- There are three price tiers.
- Value, are the cheapest seats described as “seats in the front row of the auditorium, as well as select ADA seats in each auditorium."
- Preferred is the most expensive described as “seats in the middle of the auditorium"
- And Standard will be what you'd normally pay and apply to anything not in the other two categories.
- AMC Stubs A-List members (folks who pay a monthly) fee will be able to get Preferred seats at no additional charge.
- The new pricing does not apply to showtimes before 4PM or discounted days like discount Tuesdays. The new plan starts Friday at a few New York, Chicago and Kansas City locations, before expanding to all domestic locations by the end of the year.
How to Watch
Confirmed: Netflix Unveils First Details of New Anti-Password Sharing Measures
- "The Streamable noted that Netflix updated its Help Center outling changes to its password sharing policy enforcement. It SAID it would require users to connect to the Wi-Fi at a primary residence once every 31 days to make them trusted devices. Users trying to sign in elsewhere from an untrusted device will be asked to create their own account. Travelers can request a temporary code that can be used on other devices for up to 7 days. Users can transfer profiles to new accounts to migrate watch history and recommendations.
- It said all that
- And then the next day
- Netflix removed those help pages
- Turns out Netflix wasn't prepared for The Streamable to shine a light on that section of its US help pages, and it has since removed them.
-A Netflix spokesperson told The Streamable, “For a brief time yesterday, a help center article containing information that is only applicable to Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru, went live in other countries.” OOPS!"
Netflix gives Premium members more download devices and spatial audio on 700+ titles
- "NEW PREMIUM FEATURES
- Can have up 100 active downloads on up to 6 devices. (Up from 4 devices)
- Spatial Audio available on more titles at the premium level. (More than 700 titles)"
- IP addresses, device IDs, and account activity to determine whether a device signed into your account is connected at your primary location.
- prompt users who try to sign into your account elsewhere to sign up for their own account instead and block their access until they do.
- Traveling users who want to use Netflix on a hotel smart TV, company laptop, etc. can request a temporary code from the service when signing in. This will give them access to their account for seven consecutive days.
- Users can make a device "trusted" so that it won't be blocked. To do so you must log in from the network connection at the primary location "open the Netflix app or website, and watch something" once every 31 days.
- Netflix will NOT begin automatically charging account holders whose information is used outside of their homes.
- Users can migrate "show recommendations, watch history, and more to their own account"
Netflix Claims It Errantly Posted Password Sharing Rules that Would Block Devices Outside of Subscribers’ Homes in U.S.
Netflix hasn’t confirmed its plans to stop password sharing just yet
Sharing your Netflix account, archive.org
Netflix Cements Position In France With Cinémathèque Française Sponsorship Deal; Sets Agnès Varda Tie-In
- Netflix signed up for a three year major sponsorship of Cinemathèque Française. It's a nonprofit that holds one of the largest archives of film and film-related items (props, costumes etc.) in the world and offers daily screenings of films worldwide. Netflix will co-present some screenings and donate items to the museum.
What to Watch
Iyaz Akhtar is keeping us updated with what's coming to streaming services this month
Here are just a few of our plans. Up, up, and away!
- DCU and DC Elseworlds. Joker and The Batman are examples of Elseworlds (The Batman Part II” will open in theaters on Oct. 3, 2025)
- “Superman: Legacy” - Not an origin story. Balancing his Kryptonian and human backgrounds. Set to open on July 11, 2025
(A separate Superman movie produced by J.J. Abrams through Bad Robot, and written by Ta-Nehisi Coates, remains in development and would exist outside the DCU)
- “The Authority” - an ensemble movie about superhumans who have a less-than-idealistic approach to saving the world.
- “The Brave and the Bold” - The Bat family with Robin as Bruce Wayne's son Damian.
-“Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow”
- Supergirl, who was raised on a rock chip off of Krypton and she's different than Superman.
-“Swamp Thing”
- “one-upping” the Rocket Raccoon Guardians approach with “Swamp Thing.”
- TV - Animation voice actors will play live action versions fo themselves
- “Creature Commandos”-Originally was Frankenstein and stuff but Gunn's version will include Suicide Squad's Weasel
Written by Gunn coming to HBO Max,
- “Waller”
- “team ‘Peacemaker'” will appear alongside Davis as a “continuation” of that show
- “Lanterns”
- Like True Detective but for Green Lantern
- Hal Jordan (the test pilot first played on screen by Ryan Reynolds in 2011’s “Green Lantern”) and John Stewart (an ex-marine and one of DC’s first Black superheroes)
-“Paradise Lost”
- Game of Thrones like story set on Themyscira before Wonder Woman was born
- “Booster“a loser from the future who uses basic future technology to come back to today and pretend to be a superhero.” Gold”
‘The Batman Part II’ Sets 2025 Release Date as Part of Newly Branded ‘DC Elseworlds’ Projects
Eyes On:
Adam: Deadwood
Brian: Poker Face
Tom: Poker Face
On the Lookout: Cunk on Earth
Front Lines
Peacock Drops Free Tier for New Sign-Ups, Will Only Offer Paid Plans to New Customers
- Peacock will no longer offer its free with ads tier to new subscribers. That tier let you watch a more limited selection of Peacock stuff without having to pay. New subscribers will only be able to get the $4.99 a month Premium plan which has ads or the $9.99 a month Premium Plus tier which has almost no ads. The free tier will still be offered to current subscribers who cancel or lose access after a complimentary subscription expires.
Apple TV users can now watch Major League Soccer matches with MLS Season Pass
- Apple launched MLS Season Pass, available for $14.99 per month or $99 per season on the Apple TV app, providing access to MLS matches, Audi 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs, Leagues Cup, and original content. Last summer Apple signed a ten-year deal for streaming rights to Major League Soccer.
MLB Network Yanked From YouTube TV Lineup As Contract Talks Break Down
- YouTubeTV dropped the MLB network after it could not agree on a carriage deal. The channel will not only be unavailable but any recordings from the channel will also disappear.
HBO Max is increasing the price of its ad-free plan for the first time
- Warner Brothers Discovery is bringing several free ad supported channels to Roku and Tubi. One of those channels will be called WB TV and include shows like Westworld, Raised by Wolves, The Nevers and The Time Traveler’s Wife. All shows that left HBO Max in December.
'The Last of Us' episode five will premiere two days early on HBO Max
- With the Super Bowl taking place this Sunday, HBO decided to release this week's episode of The Last of Us two days early, on Friday Feb. 10 at 9 PM eastern.
The Yellowstone prequel 1923 has been approved to have a second season.
‘Neighbours’ Classic Episodes to Stream on Amazon Freevee Ahead of New Season – Global Bulletin
- Starting Feb. 23 some classic episodes of the Australian soap Neighbors will stream on Amazon Freevee in the US and UK, ahead of a new Amazon-backed season coming later this year. Folks in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, and South Africa can see the library episodes on Amazon Prime Video.
Paramount announced Ridley Scott's Gladiator 2 will come out November 22, 2024.
The next round of independent stories within the Star Wars universe, known as Star Wars Visions returns to Disney+ on May 4th.
NBC's over the air digital channel Cozi celebrated its 10th anniversary.
ABC renewed La Brea for a third season. Season 2 returned last week.
Hulu renewed the animated series Hit-Monkey for a second season.
There's a trailer for Murder Mystery 2 starring Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler. It's coming to Netflix March 31st.
Netflix has ordered a second season of That 90s show.
The CW will not develop any pilots for 2023-24, likely ending BABYLON 5 reboot development
- The CW, which is owned by Nexstar with CBS and Warner only holding minority stakes, let go of its heads of original programming last week. The CW has not approved any new pilots for this season. The CW was working on the Babylon 5 reboot.
Dispatches from the front
Hi Tom and Bryan,
In last week's show, you both pointed out that you feel Netflix has not achieved the same reputation of ""prestige"" as HBO. The biggest failure I see in Netflix's pursuit of this is their unwillingness to use a weekly release schedule for some shows.
Every time I hear someone talk about Netflix switching to a weekly release schedule, it is often proposed as an all or nothing switch. But I think Netflix is in a unique position to use the weekly release schedule as a signaling tool to foster the ""prestige"" perception for certain shows. I would propose that Netflix chooses a certain night of the week, brand it ""Netflix Night"". Then schedule their slate of their most premium content to only release weekly year round at the same time on this specific night. But only those shows would get released weekly, the rest would remain with the current all-at-once model.
They would use the differentiation between weekly and all-at-once releases specifically as a boosting signal for which shows are the most ""premium"". They would also leverage the branded ""Netflix Night"" as an additional premium signal, but would also gain the benefit of the ""cultural moment"" that a simultaneous viewing experience can have. Finally, they would also foster the longer lasting cultural following that many other weekly release premium shows gain from weekly word of mouth, media, podcast, etc...
No other company is in the position to get the regular benefits from the weekly release schedule, but also get a boosted benefit from the signaling that dichotomizing the weekly and all-at-once releases would give.
Would love to hear your thoughts on this! All the best!
- Peter
"I am listening to 441 ""Just Go Max"" and you are ripping on Netflix and saying HBO has all this great stuff. I have the exact opposite feelings on this. I can't find anything good and re-watchable on HBO. I subscribe for two months a year and I'm out because HBO just doesn't have enough. I can find all kinds of stuff on netflix and the interface is a million times better. Maybe this is a convenience trumps fidelity experience for me; but Netflix's algorithm works for me. The branding you are talking about sounds confusing and similar to what everyone else is doing. I just don't like the idea of fracturing a working system.
- James
Hi Tom, Brian and Bryce,
I think you missed an element of this discussion: price.
In 2013, Netflix had 2 price tiers: $7.99 let you watch in standard definition on 2 screens. $11.99 got you 4 screens in HD. HBO cost between $14.99 and $17.99 in 2013 and was mostly considered something you had to add to your cable bill. Now, HBO keeps lowering their price and offering deals (I paid $100 for a year of their ad-free tier last Fall) while Netflix just keeps raising their price. I had high hopes for Netflix with ads until I found out it's not HD.
I think the price reinforced the prestige of the HBO brand. That worked when there weren't so many streaming services.
Now, Netflix is the service with the most shows. Something for everyone, and a lot of it, if you aren't as picky about quality as the Cordkillers audience is. I think it's still seen as the service to get if you're just going to get one streaming service, but I'm not sure how much longer that will last.
I like your idea of separating Netflix into hubs. I'm not sure it will save Netflix, but I don't think it could hurt. I'm interested to see what effect their password sharing crackdown has on their subscriber numbers.
Your wannabe boss who still can't fix the problem with Patreon,
- Beelissa
Links
patreon.com/cordkillers
doghousesystems.com/v/rogue
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