Cordkillers 461 - The Sound of Squinting

Warner Brothers Discovery are looking to offload music cues and syndicate old series to Netflix. Paramount+ adds to the pile of dead shows for tax reasons. Netflix has a new math! All that and more on Cordkillers!

This week on It's Spoilerin' Time: Secret Invasion (101), The Righteous Gemstones (303), Silo (109)

Next week: Secret Invasion (102), The Righteous Gemstones (304), Silo (110)

Download video http://archive.org/download/cordkillers-ep-461/CordkillersEp461.mp4

Download audio http://archive.org/download/cordkillers-ep-461/CordkillersEp461.mp3

CordKillers: 461 - The Sound of Squinting
Recorded: June 26 2023
Guest: None

Intro Video
Survival of the Thickest

Primary Target
Warner Bros. Discovery in Talks With Netflix to License Older HBO Series
- Multiple outlets reported that Warner Brothers Discovery was in talks to license library titles from HBO to Netflix.
-It wouldn't be the first. Some of HBO's back catalog was licensed to Prime Video in 2014 and recent titles like WestWorld were licensed to FAST services Roku and Tubi.
- This new deal is believed to be non-exclusive hough, so the titles would stay available on Max.

Warner Bros. Discovery is reportedly looking to sell off half of its film and TV music catalog
- Both Variety and Hits' source say Warner Brothers Discovery began discussions to sell "slightly less than half" of its movie and TV music catalog to a record label, with Sony identified as one of the frontrunners. The company hopes to secure $500 million for the deal. Variety notes most of the music up for sale would be for themes and cues to shows and movies, with few conventional songs.

Warner's earnings report on August 3rd will be the first to compare year over year since the merger. 
Warner Bros. Discovery’s Noisy Week, From TCM And ‘The Flash’ To Netflix Talks And CNN Chatter, Highlights Media Giant’s Many Challenges
‘Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies,’ ‘Star Trek: Prodigy’ Among Four Shows Canceled at Paramount+, Will Be Pulled Off Streamer
- Paramount Plus canceled several series and removed them from the streaming service to take a break on taxes. That includes “The Game,” “Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies,” “Star Trek: Prodigy,” and “Queen of the Universe”. Season 2 of Star Trek: Prodigy will be completed and then shopped to other outlets.

How to Watch
Netflix Adjusts Viewership Metric, Prompting Shakeups Among All-Time Most Popular Lists; ‘Wednesday’ Overtakes ‘Stranger Things 4’ & ‘Queen Charlotte’ Remains In Play For TV
- Netflix changed the way it measures viewership. Up until now it has ranked its shows by hours viewed. It's changing that formula to divide hours by the total runtime of a show. This would help shorter series to rank higher. Netflix will still make total hours viewed available to see. Netflix will also expand the measurement window from 28 days to 91.
- Most of the rankings didn't change much but there were a few notable shifts. Wednesday now ranks ahead of Stranger Things 4 as the most popular english-language series of all time. (Stranger things was a long 13 hours) Squid Game is still the most popular series ever. The Witcher and The Queen’s Gambit bumped Lucifer and Inventing Anna off the most popular list.

What to Watch
Amazon Wants To Create “New Sports Holiday For NFL Fans” On Black Friday, As Streaming Audiences Mushroom
- Marie Donoghue, VP Global Sports Video at Amazon spoke at the Cannes Lions advertising conference and among other things, talked about Amazon's plan to tie its Black Friday sales into an NFL game it will stream that same day. Donoghue said it’s an opportunity to create a new sports holiday for fans.”

Gal Gadot On ‘Wonder Woman’ Future: “Things Are Being Worked Behind The Scenes”
- During Netflix's Tudum Festival, ET asked Gal Godot if she'd ever play Wonder Woman again. She said “Things are being worked on behind the scenes and once the right moment arrives, you’ll know about it.” While many assume that James Gunn will move on without her after canceling the most recent Wonder Woman movie, Gadot said on social media in December "Can’t wait to share her next chapter with you."

The Idol: HBO’s Controversial Drama Is Ending One Week Early — Here’s Why
- Update on an old story: HBO says The Idol will now wrap its season after the upcoming fifth episode. TVLine's source says the episode count was reduced after original director Amy Seimetz left the show mid-filming and the story pared down.

Eyes On:
Brian: Asteroid City
Tom: Barry
On the Lookout: The Bear season 2

Front Lines
Netflix is removing its 'basic' plan in Canada
- Netflix is removing its $9.99 a month basic plan in Canada. That makes the Basic with ads plan at $5.99, the cheapest. Customers on the Basic plan will get to keep it, but new customers will not be able to sign up for it, and if you cancel Netflix you won't be able to get it back.

YouTube TV expands multiview beyond sports — but you still can’t customize it 
YouTube TV Drops SNY, Home Of New York Mets Baseball, As Regional Sports Network Business Model Enters The Late Innings
- Good news: YouTubeTV expanded multi view to include news, business and weather programming. It launched only for sports. The app gives you pre-selected multi view groupings, you don't get to customize them. And that's not the bad news. The bad news is that SNY, the regional sports net that carries the New York Mets baseball games, is no longer available on YouTube TV.

US might finally force cable-TV firms to advertise their actual prices
- The US FCC has proposed a new rule that would require cable and satellite TV providers to give consumers an all-in price for services, rather than prices before fees. Next, price transparency for buggy whips.

Disney Rails At “Micro-Managing” New UK Streamer Laws & Warns They Could Result In Price Hikes
- Disney objects to language in a draft UK law, that would require streamers to send a reminder to customers every 6 months that they're still subscribed. There's also a provision that would let consumers change their mind up to 14 days after subscribing without having to pay.

Pay-TV Will Dip To 38% Of U.S. Homes By 2027 As Exodus Continues; Streamers Facing Saturated U.S. Market, “Tectonic” AVOD Shift – PwC Forecast  
- PwC published analysis that the TV industry will get $30 billion less annually from subscription and advertising by 2027 than it gets now. By that year, PwC estimates only 38% of US homes will pay for traditional cable or satellite service. Revenue from so-called OTT services, streaming platforms will fill the gap.

Oscars: Academy Approves Major Change To Best Picture Eligibility Rules Requiring More Extensive Theatrical Runs
- The Academy has added qualifications in order to be considered fro best picture. The old rules required at least a one-week release in one of six US cities. The new rules require a 7 day run (can be non-consecutive) in 10 of the top 50 US markets no later than 45 days after initial release. Non-US territories can count toward two of the ten locations. As long as they are in the top 15 international theatrical markets as well as the home market for the film.

Dispatches from the front
I just wanted to let you know why I’ve had to cancel my Patreon subscription.  Late last month my dog tore her ACL, and since I foolishly didn’t get pet insurance I’m having to cover a $6,000 surgery bill.  So for the time being I’m having to cut expenses.
I just wanted to let you know this isn’t about not enjoying the show or thinking it’s not worth the pledge, and if everything works out I hope to re-pledge after the first of the year.

- Mike

My vote is for Cordkillers: Fallout

- William

Kind of thinking of the after the Revolution theme I came up with this:

Cordkillers: Fallout

New names for current parts

Primary target —> “The Bomb” or “The Nuke”

Frontlines—> “The Vault” or “Promoted or Nuked”

Dispatches from the front —> Communiques

Aftertalk: Area 51 or sillier Area 52? 

- David

Hi gents - i'm 100% behind the Streaming Survivors chapter of the show.  my brain immediately went to one of the sections being ""Shiny and Chrome.""

I will continue to witness you in this new era!

ride forever,

- Andy

Tom and Brian,

I, like you, read Wool a while ago and remembered enjoying it and was excited for the show, but couldn't recall many of the details. I reread the book (I have not read the subsequent books in the series) just before the show started and the differences are interesting. Primarily the amount of content in the series that is completely or mostly absent from the book. The most high level plot points are there, but the show has done much more than just flesh out some of the relationships. Characters, organizations, plot lines and devices that did not exist in the book have been added. In retrospect, a completely faithful retelling of the book would probably make a terrible TV show. It may take a few seasons to not spoil yourself, but I recommend rereading the book if only to consider the translation from book to TV series. I would certainly be interested in hearing your thoughts about it.

Unrelated to Silo, if you are going to modify the show name, how about Cordkillers: Reckoning? We are now dealing with the consequences, good and bad, of the post-cord landscape.

Thank you,

- Derrick

Links
patreon.com/cordkillers
gigstan.com/events/great-night-live-in-austin#
doghousesystems.com/v/rogue
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