Cordkillers 471 - What Do We Need Spectrum For?
Disney has a very public fight with Spectrum over the next big cable issue? Plus, sports coming to Max and Succession creator Jesse Armstrong settles an unsettled question over the hit drama. All that and more on Cordkillers!
This week on It's Spoilerin' Time: Good Omens (206), Justified: City Primeval (108), Miami Vice (421)
Next week: Miami Vice (422, "Mirror Image")
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CordKillers: 471 - What Do We Need Spectrum For?
Recorded: September 11 2023
Guest: None
Intro Video
Castlevania: Nocturne
Primary Target
Hulu + Live TV Offering Short-Term Discount Amid Disney-Charter Fight
Disney Says Charter Dispute Is Driving A 60% Increase In Hulu + Live TV Subscriptions Relative To Internal Expectations
Disney Offers Free Cricket As It Fights Back In India’s Streaming Wars
Comcast moves up date for Hulu deal with Disney to Sept 30
- Disney's been busy the past few weeks. Today, Monday, ended a 10-day stand-off between Disney and Charter's Spectrum TV service over negotiations between linear TV channels like ABC and Disney Channel and the role of telecoms in streaming. Disney played hardball as their channels went dark for 10 days, but the two companies agreed today to a wholesale agreement to bundle some of Disney's streaming services with select Spectrum TV plans including Disney+, ESPN+, and ESPN's larger upcoming service, which is still undated.
- In other Disney spats, Disney's Hotstar is offering free cricket streaming to phones and tablets in India after competition for IPL Cricket saw users leave Disney's paid streams for free on JioCinema. “We were bullish on Indian subscribers’ propensity to pay. That’s not worked out,” an internal source told Reuters. “Free cricket is the only bullet left.”
- And finally, Comcast and Disney have changed their agreement regarding Hulu's ownership. While a final price tag hasn't been announced, the companies will be able to begin transferring Comcast's stake in Hulu to Disney on Sept 30 instead of January 2024. The deal could potentially set Hulu's value at $27.5B, though Comcast CEO Brian Roberts suggested it could be higher.
Disney To Offer Free Cricket As It Fights Back In India’s Streaming Wars
What to Watch
Max will reportedly start offering free sports later this year
- Max will reportedly start offering free sports later this year
- You may only get to watch free sports for a few months, though, as sources tell Bloomberg that it will make viewers start paying in February or March next year
- If they have the rights to move a lot of big-name games to Max, they will have a very strong competitor to ESPN's upcoming streamer--but it's all about the rights (see: ESPN+)
Max will stream 'Fear the Walking Dead,' 'Killing Eve' and other AMC+ shows
- We've been talking about how streaming TV is moving from expansion into consolidation. As it makes that transition, you can expect to see lots of interesting partnerships and collaborations. Here's one today.
- Max - the service with HBO-- will offer 200 episodes of titles from rival streaming service AMC+ for two months, from September 1st to October 31st.
- AMC+ offers shows from the AMC family of networks like Killing Eve, Fear the Walking Dead and Interview with the Vampire.
- The shows will be in a tab labeled "AMC+ Picks on Max" and will not have ads run against them if you subscribe to the ad-supported version of Max.
- Is this AMC+ trying to get more awareness, or testing the waters on becoming a supplier of shows instead of a streaming platform of its own?
NOTES:
- When company chairman James Dolan sent a memo to staff members in the midst of layoffs last year, he wrote: "It was our belief that cord cutting losses would be offset by gains in streaming. This has not been the case."
- CNBC says they will not include AMC's biggest shows, such as Mad Men and The Walking Dead. Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, (already licensed to Netflix)
Our Flag Means Death is back for season 2 in October
- Our Flag Means Death returns to Max on October 5th with another accelerated weekly schedule. Three episodes at first, two episodes a week, and then the finale on Oct 26. Exciting and seemingly a cosigning of the accelerated weekly release schedule.
Star Trek is getting five new ‘very Short Treks’
- CBS is working with Casper Kelly, of viral video "Too Many Cooks," to release 5 animated shorts set in Star Trek settings. The first is out now, "Skin a Cat," and the rest will come out on Wednesdays on Star Trek's official YouTube channel.
New trailer for Loki S2 released. Starts releasing on Disney+ Oct 6.
Eyes On:
Brian: Baldur's Gate
Bryce: Gran Turismo
Front Lines
‘Succession’ Creator Jesse Armstrong Reveals Answer to Whether Kendall Roy’s Name Was Crossed Out or Underlined
- Now that HBO's Succession has wrapped up, creator Jesse Armstrong has spoken up about the true meaning behind the ambiguous pen mark in the final season. Speaking in Londo, Armstrong said, "If you were crossing something out, you wouldn’t start underneath, would you?"
Tubi sees impressive growth, with over 74M monthly active users
- Tubi announced they now have 74M monthly active users, up from 64M six months ago, and that they measured 4B streaming hours in the first half of '23. Nielsen ranked Tubi at 1.4% of streaming time in July, just behind rival FAST service Pluto.
Starz is lowering the price of its annual subscription
- Starz is lowering the price of their annual plan from 74.99$ to 69$. This is after Starz raised the price of their monthly plan by a dollar to $9.99/mo. “As one of the few streaming networks that is profitable, we are always looking for ways to drive success for the business while providing great value to our customers,” said Alison Hoffman, president of Domestic Networks at Starz
Max Adds On-Screen Top 10 List, Using Different Method Than Netflix To Determine The Ranking
- Max is adding a Top 10 ranking of its new releases for their first 6/8 weeks of release. Currently The Flash is the #1 movie in the US, Hard Nocks is #1 in series. A view is counted for each use profile that watches 2-minutes.
Rest in peace, neglected iTunes Movie Trailer app and website
- Ars Technica has a eulogy for the now-ended iTunes Movie Trailer app. Once YouTube became the go-to place for videos and trailers, the iTunes directory got fewer software updates and features. Users are now redirected to Apple's TV app.
Disney is releasing a very expensive 100-movie Blu-ray collection
- Disney announced Disney Legacy Animated Film Collection, an 18-blu ray collection with 100 films. Walmart is taking preorders at a price of $1500. The films cover the entire span of Disney, physical goodies, and codes for digital versions of every movie. The Verge says the list has "very few of the mediocre direct-to-video snoozers the company produced so many of over the years''
Dispatches from the front
Cordkillers,
One of the sticking points I am having with replacing cable for my parents is that my dad switches channels a lot by typing in the channel numbers. He also likes using the “back” button to go between two channels (when they have commercials or when the program is boring). How can I replicate that ease of changing channels on a streaming service? Is that even a thing (I’m thinking of Hulu plus Live TV or something like that)?
Thanks,
- Gubbins
Dear Brian, Tom and Bryce,
I know you’ve already set in motion CordKillers:Reckoning, it’s been fun to listen to the thought process during aftertalk.
However, during the most recent CordKillers I heard you say that the new villains are Streamers?
So, of course my immediate thought went to what you’re going to call the podcast next.
New from CordKillers, StreamDammers.
Primary Target -> Dam it!
What to Watch -> Chew on this
Eyes On -> In the (Beaver) lodge
Front Lines -> Running water?
Dispatches from the front -> What’s around the pond
Things are always less funny when you actually write them down.
Your grateful boss,
- John
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