10 Stories You Should Know: 10/27/2022

There is mixed news when it comes to the health of the streaming business.

Here are the stories that should be on your radar for Thursday, October 27th, 2022:

NATPE Cancels Its 2023 Bahamas Marketplace (Senal News)
With NATPE being unable to celebrate its traditional January event, which is always the first big market of the year, DISCOP organizer Basic Lead might be planning to launch its own Miami-set convention, DISCOP Miami, which could take place from January 31 to February 2, 2023, at the Grand Beach Hotel in Miami Beach.

UCLA TV Diversity Report Finds “Progress” For Women & Minorities, But Latinos Still Lag Far Behind (Deadline)
Women and minority TV creators, writers, directors and cast members continue to make progress towards greater inclusion, both in front of and behind the camera, according to the latest Hollywood Diversity report from UCLA.

OTT Starts To Recover In Russia (Broadband TV News)
Subscriptions were taken up by 44%, with paid subscriptions chosen by 30%. The highest percentage of subscriptions – paid and unpaid – were in Moscow and St Petersburg.

Kinopoisk continues to be the leader among OTT services in Russia. In Q3, the service grew both the total number of subscribers — 17.2% against 14.7% in the second quarter, and the number of paying subscribers — 12.4% compared to 10.5% for Q2.

Prime Video Nordics Strikes Nordisk Film Movie Deal And Pushes Into Local Unscripted Originals With ‘LOL’ Remake And Reality Formats (Deadline)
Prime Video Nordics is pushing heavily into the Scandinavian unscripted originals market, unveiling a handful of reality shows at a splashy event in Sweden today. The streamer has also struck a multi-territory movie output deal with Nordisk Film for the likes of John Wick: Chapter 4 and The Hunger Games preque.

British Streamers Keep Faith In Service Subscriptions (Rapid TV News)
Looking at basic attitudes to the paid subscription model, the majority (58%, rising to 67% in those aged 18-35) indicated that they were happy to pay that little bit extra for an ad-free experience. And just days before Netflix is to launch an ad-based service in the UK, a significant part of the survey (60%) were happy to watch ads when it came to free streaming services. However, it was also the case that if paying for a subscription, no matter the cost, viewers would like ad-free content.

Secrets Of The Netflix 'Love Is Blind' Dating Pods (CNET)
Every octagonal pod has one of the aforementioned couches -- gray and usually rounded or squared off -- and a circular ottoman that sits on a long strip of dark red carpet (the red being a nod to love and romance). The walls are velvety looking, and the pillows are typically some mix of earthy browns and reds. Though you can't see it on screen, each pod has snacks stashed away.

Simpson said there are two main goals in the pods' design: They've got to be comfortable and they can't be distracting. 

Comcast Sees Continued Headwinds in Q3 Cable As NBCU Ads Drop Post-Olympics (Variety)
At NBCUniversal, revenue 4.3%, to $9.6 billion, compared with about $10 billion in the year-earlier period. Comcast said the year-earlier quarter offered an extra $1.8 billion due to the Tokyo Olympics. Media revenue fell 22.7% to $5.2 billion, due to declines in revenue from both distribution and advertising. Ad revenue was off 35.1% in the third quarter. But there were brighter spots in other parts of the operation: Revenue from the company’s production studios rose 31.4% to $3.2 billion, thanks in part to releases such as “Jurassic World: Dominion” and “Minions: The Rise of Gru.” Revenue from theme parks increased 42.4% to $2.1 billion. due in part to better attendance and increased customer spending.

Community Organisations Call On Netflix To Set Standard With Ad Model That Prioritises Health And Wellbeing (Mirage News)
More than 50 leading Australian and international health and community organisations have signed an open letter to Netflix, urging the streaming giant to exclude alcohol advertising from its new ad-supported subscription tier.

New Survey: Most Current Viewers Want Netflix’s Ad-Supported Tier To Be Free (CyberNews)
However, a survey of current Netflix subscribers by Attest, a consumer research platform, showed that most of them want the subscription to be free (19.9%). 17.3% said they wouldn’t switch from their current plan.

Of respondents who would be willing to pay for a discounted subscription, most would be willing to pay $5-6 per month (15.5%), followed by $9-10 (12.7%) and $7-8 (11.2%).

Netflix, Realness Institute Open Submission For Episodic Lab, Development Executive Traineeship 2023 (World Stage News)
The Lab and Traineeship aim to support screenwriters and mid-career industry professionals from Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya who are seeking opportunities to develop their original story ideas in any genre.

It is also for those are looking to enhance their skills as story consultants respectively.