Cordkillers 462 - Monetize FASTly (w/ Merrill Barr)
NBC is getting heavier into the FAST game with 30 more FAST channels. Roku and CBS lock up TV rights for Formula E. Plus, hot new trailers for Dune 2 and Futurama. All that and more on Cordkillers! With special guest Merrill Barr ( https://twitter.com/merrillbarr ).
This week on It's Spoilerin' Time: Silo (110), The Righteous Gemstones (304), Secret Invasion (102)
Next week: The Righteous Gemstones (305), Secret Invasion (103), Miami Vice (409, "Rising Sun of Death")
Download video http://archive.org/download/cordkillers-ep-462/CordkillersEp462.mp4
Download audio http://archive.org/download/cordkillers-ep-462/CordkillersEp462.mp3
CordKillers: 462 - Monetize FASTly
Recorded: July 3 2023
Guest: Merrill Barr
Intro Video
Take Care of Maya
Primary Target
NBCUniversal Launches Nearly 30 New FAST Channels, Setting Distribution With Amazon Freevee and Xumo Play
- Comcast-owned NBCUniversal is launching 30 new FAST channels on Comcast-owned Xumo Play and Amazon's Freevee. Among the channels are Saturday Night Live, The Real Housewives, Top Chef, Keeping up with the Kardashians, Little House on the Prairie, Murder, She Wrote and Saved by the Bell, As well as some Spanish language channels like Historias de Amor, Lo Mejor de Telemundo and Telemundo al Día. There are also some genre-based channels including a monster movie channel.
How to Watch
ESPN Layoffs: Here’s The List Of On-Air Talent Who Were Let Go
- About 20 ESPN on-air talent were laid off this weekend as we continue to see the biggest of the beneficiaries of the old cable model begin to adapt to the new realities.
- ESPN will probably be fine. Disney will probably be able to make the transition in a way that keeps makign them load sof money.
- BUT if you were going to steal ESPN's crown, now is the time.
Roku Signs Pact to Stream 11 Formula E Races per Season for Free, Its First Live-Sports Deal
- While Netflix dithers, Roku is racing into the live sports field. Roku has a multi-year deal to stream Formula E, essentially Formula 1 but for electric vehicles. Roku gets 11 races per season in the US starting in 2024. CBS has the five other races and will show them on CBS Sports and Paramount+.
What to Watch
Let's start with Iyaz Akhtar updating us on what's coming to streaming in July!
There's a new trailer for Dune: Part Two coming to theaters November 3
Futurama returns on Hulu July 24th with a ten episode season. Technically Futurama's 11th season. And we have a trailer.
James Gunn’s new Superman looks just like the old one
- Deadline reports that James Gunn has cast Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane for the reboot of Superman: Legacy. Yes. Mrs. Maisel is Lois. And Superman, played by Henry Cavil, looks like David Corenswet. The movie is set for release July 11, 2025.
Among Us is being turned into an animated series
- Titmouse, the folks who do Star Trek: Lower Decks, are animating a series based on the game Among Us. There's no platform on board yet so it could end up anywhere.
Ryan Seacrest Named ‘Wheel of Fortune’ Host, Replacing Pat Sajak
Graham Norton to Host ‘Wheel of Fortune’ U.K. Reboot on ITV, ITVX
- Ryan Seacrest will take over from Pat Sajak as host of Wheel of Fortune starting in 2024. Seacrest just left Live with Kelly and Ryan after six years. And somewhat unrelated, Wheel of Fortune will return to ITV in the UK after a 22 year absence, hosted by Graham Norton
Eyes On:
Merrill: The White Lotus S1
Brian: Seasons 1 and 2 of The Righteous Gemstones
Tom: Barry
On the Lookout: The Diplomat
Front Lines
Paramount+ Purge Continues With ‘Inside Amy Schumer’, ‘Fantasy Football’ & Nickelodeon Content Scrapped
- Paramount+ continued the practice of removing shows from its service in order to take tax write downs and re-monetize them elsewhere. Inside Amy Schumer, Tell Me a Story and docuseries From Cradle to Stage, and Ghislaine: Partner in Crime were all removed.
Netflix is now streaming Insecure, and more HBO shows are coming
- Netflix and HBO reached a deal. All five seasons of HBO's Insecure will be available on Netflix. Deadline reports that Band of Brothers, The Pacific, Six Feet Under, and Ballers will come to Netflix too. True Blood will stream on Netflix outside the US. All the shows will stay available on Max.
Korea Rivals the U.S. in New Scripted Shows’ Global Internet Popularity
- Ampere Analysis ranks the most popular scripted TV series based on internet search volume. So it's not measuring viewing hours but interest. 32 of the top 100 in 2022 were from the US. 30 were from South Korea.
To get people to watch the finale of Silo, Apple uploaded the entire first episode on Twitter.
Apple's "Invasion" returns for season 2 August 23rd
Dispatches from the front
IMDB is starting to provide where to find shows! How long until Amazon buys JustWatch and integrates it?
Thanks
- Mike
I just discovered a Just Watch alternative I think I like better- reelgood.
I would to reelgood first.
- Curt
I’m a little baffled by the recent conversation around Just Watch solving the TV discovery problem. Maybe it’s the most comprehensive listing now, but I still only go to Just Watch after I can’t find what I’m looking for through Apple TV. Apple and the other device platforms are already doing this (Google TV and Roku TV also offer the same universal-ish search capability). Plex also offers a similar service. But I don’t see any third party winning this until and unless all the platforms allow for direct access to specific titles and episodes from another app. Licensing and protectionism are likely the blockers that will prevent content discovery and access from ever being truly universal.
- Richard
We use a Chromecast w/Google TV as our primary method of streaming our content, and while it isn't perfect (doesn't have every streaming service under the sun) but like much like Tom said, I can sit down in front of my tv, press the remote button for google assistant and say ""Show me the movie ABC"" or ""Show me the show XYZ"" and it usually shows me a landing screen for the show or movie that I requested with some buttons for additional information, but more importantly there is usually a button labeled ""# ways to watch"" (where # is some number), clicking on that button reveals a list of the different ways that I can watch the content either via subscription or purchasing. Clicking on my preferred method takes me to the app and starts the content. It's pretty handy, however it isn't perfect as I think only partner apps that allow it are supported but it has improved over time.
That being said, I still use JustWatch quite a bit as well, especially if I'm away from home or not at our primary TV. Bryce mentioned that people don't go to JustWatch to browse as they would a Netflix or Hulu. I'm probably a little odd in that I actually do sometimes go to JustWatch to browse, but I'm browsing the ""New"" section to see what is the most recently added content to the various services that I subscribe to. To see if there is anything just added that I might want to watch.
Keep up the great work as always.
Thanks,
- Levi
Hi Cord Killers,
Let me paint a picture for you.
Welcome to the Queue.
Step one: create profiles. One for each member of the family. Then each family member does 3 things. Select shows they like (have watched and have rewatched). Select shows they are currently watching. Queue up shows they want to watch or wait for release days on. (Shows and Movies I mean)
Step Two: Select the services you want that are Free (pluto, crackle plex, etc)
Step Three: Select the services you pay for and how many months you want of each. Netflix for 6 months, HBO, Hulu, Disney, yearly plans. Epix, Britbox, Acorn 3 - 4 months at a time.
Then sit back for the calculations:
You get a personal queue of shows you want to watch and where they are. Press play on TV just like just watch.
For family nights Select a genre. Then movies or tv shows everyone has selected they like/want to see filter to a family list. This can be voted on or just press play.
Finally, the service selector. Once a month a family member gets a pie chart of what services were watched. Do we keep it, or do we drop it for the month? How much of a service we are paying for is watched? What makes this awesome is if a service is purchased through Amazon Prime, Apple TV, or Roku for example, you can then be routed to the cancel page.
Also in this same area, you can be reminded your family wants to watch 3 HBO shows or 5 Netflix shows and you could then grab those services.
I know the first half is basically a multiple family profile with Just Watch, but if Roku could provide me with a monthly, what services did we watch service? I think I would pay for that.
I know it's just a pipe dream but if Roku is selling all that data for Ads, why can't they find a way to sell it to me? If Apple TV isn't selling it at all, why aren't they offering it to those with Apple devices? I'm actually just waiting for Roku to buy JustWatch. I use JustWatch to find my shows then the remote most of the time. Then we would be halfway there.
I know it's a bit rambly but a person can dream.
Thanks
- Nicky
Hey Cord Killers,
I learned about Just Watch from listening to this show, so thank you for that! I use it not just for looking up where to watch a show, but to find new content. Whenever I find myself with time to add another show or watch a movie and don't know what to pick, I open up the Just Watch app, click on the New or Popular tab, then use the filter to only show things with a certain IMDB rating range...I like to choose at least 7.0. The results in the "New" section are even sorted by streaming service. It even shows the IMDB rating right at the bottom of each show thumbnail as you scroll.
I also use the "Watch list" feature to keep track of all shows and movies that I want to get to eventually...this is easier to me than manually adding each show or movie to their streaming service's watch list. This way I have one stop shopping for tracking everything I want to watch. The watch list has a tab for TV vs Movies, and even has a check mark so I can check it off once I've watched it, which is great because I can always go back and filter by things I've already seen when I want to recommend them to others.
- Adam
Links
patreon.com/cordkillers
doghousesystems.com/v/rogue
World's Greatest Con
FreeTomNewsletter