Cordkillers 467 - Down In Front! (w/ Bill Meeks)
Did Barbenheimer make us forget how to visit a cinema or are we nostalgic for an old idea of viewing? Plus, WBD kinda lost 1.8M subscribers (kinda) and Gal Gadot is (still) not-fired from Wonder Woman 3, okay? All that and more on Cordkillers! With special guest Bill Meeks ( https://everlyheights.tv/ ).
This week on It's Spoilerin' Time: Justified: City Primeval (104), Good Omens (201-202)
Next week: Justified: City Primeval (105), Good Omens (203), Miami Vice (418, "Badge of Dishonor")
Download video http://archive.org/download/cordkillers-ep-467/CordkillersEp467.mp4
Download audio http://archive.org/download/cordkillers-ep-467/CordkillersEp467.mp3
CordKillers: 467 - Down In Front!
Recorded: August 7 2023
Guest: Bill Meeks
Intro Video
Heartstopper
Primary Target
Movie-Theater Behavior Has Gone Off the Reels
- Wall Street Journal has an article titled "Movie-Theater Behavior Has Gone Off the Reels.Theaters were once a no-phone zone. Now people are using devices without remorse."
- Basically it's about people sharing pictures and videos from within their movie showings on TikTok and such.
- There's lots of anecdotal evidence in here. Is this just a Barbie-related thing or did movie manners actually get worse?
How to Watch
HBO Max was renamed Max, and Warner Bros. Discovery lost subscribers
Max Will “Soon” Add News & Sports To Its Streaming Mix, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav Says, Though No Timeline Is Given
Warner Bros. Discovery Says Strikes Saved It More Than $100 Million in Q2, David Zaslav Hopes Negotiating Resumes Soon
- Warner Brothers Discovery announced earnings and also that it lost 1.8 million subscribers across all its properties after the merge of Discovery Plus and HBO Max into Max. Most of that decline was attributed to overlapping subscribers who dropped Discovery+ now that it was in Max. That's born out by the fact that streaming revenue grew 13 percent on the year.
- A few other notes
- Max plans to launch internationally over the next year "plus"
- CEO David Zaslav says Max “now has full capability to deliver live programming” and that news and live sports are "important differentiators" and "you will hear from us on that. Soon.”
- NBA rights expire in 2025.
- However the company will sell or close down its regional sports networks but he end of the year.
- The company saved $100 million on expenses because of the writer and actor strikes. However Zaslav said he hoped they could settle the strike soon. Our goal is to tell great stories... And we cannot do any of that without the entirety of the creative community,”
NOTES
- Max is $9.99 - $19.99 a month. Discovery+ on its own is $4.99 a month.
What to Watch
Let's start with Iyaz Akhtar updating us on what's coming to streaming in August!
Gal Gadot on ‘Wonder Woman 3’: ‘What I Heard’ From James Gunn and Peter Safran ‘Is That We’re Gonna Develop It Together’
- As I have been saying for months, Gal Gadot has not been fired as Wonder Woman, if you believe what Gal Gadot says. She told ComicBook.com “I love portraying Wonder Woman. It’s so close to and dear to my heart. From what I heard from James and from Peter is that we’re gonna develop a ‘Wonder Woman 3’ together.”
‘Loki’ Season 2 Trailer Breaks Viewership Records For Disney+ With 80 Million Online Views
- Remember that Loki season 2 trailer we talked about last week? Well you should, all of you watched it apparently. Its 80 million views make it the biggest online trailer debut for any Disney+ series. Which I guess makes sense, since it was also the most viewed Disney+ Series. Loki debuts on October 6.
‘Star Trek’ Library Moves to Paramount+ in Canada
- Paramount+ is adding Star Trek to its library in Canada as of August 1st. Episodes of Strange New Worlds will continue to air on CTV Sci-Fi Channel. And the fifth and final season of “Star Trek: Discovery” will only be available on CTV Sci-Fi, and not Crave.
AMC Networks Sheds More Streaming Subscribers in Q2, U.S. Ad Sales Down 17%
- AMC Networks (the studio not the theater company) announced Friday that it lost 300,000 subscribers across its streaming services last quarter. It now reports 11.2 million subscribers. However it claims the result was due in part to change in the definition of how they count subscribers. AMC Networks previously announced a goal of 20-25 million subscriptions by the end of the year.
‘Gran Turismo’ Release Date Moved Just Weeks Before Premiere
Sony Shakes Up Release Dates: ‘Bad Boys 4’ & ‘Venom 3’ Set; Strikes Push ‘Ghostbusters’ Sequel, ‘Kraven The Hunter’, ‘Beyond The Spider-Verse’ & More
- Did we cover Sony moving back a bunch of release dates including Gran Turismo going from August 11 to August 25 right before it premieres because "the actor's can't promote it, but the fans can?"
Eyes On:
Bill: My Adventures with Superman
Tom: Lollapalooza (Hulu)
On the Lookout: Good Omens Season 2
Front Lines
Apple Tops 1 Billion Paid Subscriptions, Services Revenue Climbs to Record $21.2 Billion in June Quarter
- Apple revenue declined for the third straight quarter, but services is its future and services rose 8.2%. Apple announced it now has 1 billion paid subscribers to its services across Apple Music, iCloud, Apple News, Apple TV+ and more.
NextGen TV’s DRM puts future of the over-the-air DVR in doubt
- ATSC 3.0, aka NextGen TV, will add 4K HDR video and dialog enhancement to over the air broadcasts. It will also add encryption so that you can be blocked from recording broadcasts, watching from out of your home and using certain video player apps. This is all in the name of preventing piracy. You can find out which ATSC 3.0 stations are encrypted on the RabbitEars website, at rabbitears.info. Broadcasters must continue to support ATSC 1.0 for at least four more years.
The Super Bowl Will Be Slimed As Nickelodeon, CBS Sports And The NFL Expand Alternate Telecast
- Next year's Super Bowl happens February 11th, and it will have alternate broadcasts. CBS will carry the main broadcast. But a version with alternate commentators, targeted to children will air on Nickelodeon. The main broadcast will also stream on Paramount+, and on NFL+ for mobile.
Pluto TV Launching in Australia With 50 FAST Channels
- Paramount's FAST service, PlutoTV will launch in Australia at the end of August with 50 free ad-supported channels. That includes South Park, MTV Reality, MTV The Shores, Nick Classics, and Nick Toons, in addition to classic shows “I Love Lucy,” “Happy Days and “Dynasty.”
YouTube's enhanced 1080p playback option is rolling out to Premium users on the web
- YouTube has started rolling out its 1080p playback with 'enhanced bitrate' option. You'll see it above the regular 1080p option, and if you don't pay for YouTube Premium, clicking on the option will prompt you to pay up. Basically 1080p Premium, as they're calling it, improves the picture without having to increase the resolution. 4K does both which can be too much data for some connections to handle. YouTube Premium costs $14 a month.
Dispatches from the front
Hello Brian, Bryce, and Tom,
CW was given rights to the NASCAR Xfinity Series starting in 2025 [through 2031]. The Xfinity Series is akin to AAA baseball--the Second highest level of NASCAR racing. [The Cw is getting 33 races plus practices, qualifyings]
In the past few years NASCAR has had the Xfinity series split between Fox Sports, NBC sports, USA or sometimes on a network. Now this CW contract brings NASCAR back to Network TV Full time.
Personally i'm happy because this brings more eyes back to NASCAR, and the Xfinity Series does put on a lot of good racing, sometimes better than the top tier NASCAR Cup Series. I'm not sure if [Comcast's] Xfinity had a say in where these could be broadcast? Im Wondering if they will drop sponsorship in the future if they are that upset?
I do have to thank the Cordkiller crew though. When this was announced, much of NASCAR twitter and Youtube kept making horrible jokes about Supernatural/ Gossip Girl/Riverdale Characters showing up etc etc...Because of listening to your fine podcast I know that NexStar bought the Network last year. I've seen changes to the programming like many of the DC shows canceled, but the NASCAR contract has been one of the most interesting moves.
I feel like it's a big deal bigger than Formula E going to Roku.
Love the Show Keep up the good work.
- Scott
Will ya'll get around to covering this season of What We Do in the Shadows? The episode where Collin Robinson runs for comptroller might be the most "Brian" thing ever
- WR
Links
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doghousesystems.com/v/rogue
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