Cordkillers 543: Billion-Dollar Maybe
Apple TV+ is losing a billion dollars a year but still thriving with hits like Severance, and Netflix is embracing video games with a broad four-quadrant strategy. Also, Disney+ launches a 24/7 Simpsons channel, and Plex raises prices for the first time in a decade.
This week on The FULL Experience: The Outer Limits (205 - "Demon with a Glass Hand")
Next week: The outer Limits (113 - "Tourist Attraction")
YouTube: https://youtu.be/taGQXM9jmfs
Supply Run
Apple TV+ reportedly loses $1 billion a year, but the company sees the service as a value-add to its ecosystem, not a moneymaker. With $52 billion in cash, Apple is playing the long game—even as its frugal habits clash with Hollywood’s big spending.
Read more at Ars Technica
Severance greenlit for Season 3, becoming the most-watched show on Apple TV+, surpassing even Ted Lasso.
Read more at Engadget
Search Party
Netflix lays out its game plan at GDC, focusing on narrative, mainstream, party, and kids genres as it pushes deeper into gaming.
Read more at Bloomberg
Tina Fey’s The Four Seasons arrives May 1 on Netflix, with an all-star comedy cast including Will Forte, Steve Carell, and Kerri Kenney-Silver.
Read more at Deadline
Ketchup Entertainment to rescue Coyote vs. Acme in a $50 million deal, following their previous save of another Warner Bros. Looney Tunes project.
Read more at Deadline
Disney+ launches a nonstop Simpsons channel, running seasons 1 through 35 in order. It would take nearly 12 days to loop.
Read more at Engadget
Disney+ also now lets you edit your "Continue Watching" list, either from the list itself or a show's details page.
Read more at Engadget
Netflix adds HDR10+ streaming support, promising better frame-by-frame contrast and clarity—ideal for all that dimly lit original content.
Read more at Engadget
Buried Treasure
Brian’s still hunting for a Severance substitute—maybe The Good Place or Gemstones?
Amos is still journeying through This Is Us.
Scanning the Horizon
Netflix’s Ted Sarandos calls HBO’s branding confusing, and says Amazon's sports strategy is smart, even if their full plans are unclear.
Read more at The Verge
Plex raises prices for the first time in a decade. Monthly subs go from $4.99 to $6.99, with big hikes on annual and lifetime plans. A new $1.99 Remote Watch Pass launches too.
Read more at Ars Technica
Comcast’s “Spinco” appoints a chairman—David Novak, co-founder of Yum! Brands (KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell). Still no name for the entity.
Read more at Variety
Chatter
Ralph from Jersey recommends The Legend of Vox Machina, the animated fantasy-adventure based on D&D antics—now four seasons in on Amazon Prime.
Terry asks: What was the last piece of tech that truly thrilled you? For him, it was the original TiVo—nothing else has hit that "whiz bang" level since.