Too Much TV: Answering Your Questions

I answer some of the questions you've asked me this week

I am back with this week’s answers to some questions from the readers, and as a reminder, it’s a paid subscription-only feature.

It’s running a bit late today because I dropped my wife and son off at the Minnesota Wild game so they could watch their beloved NY Islanders play in person. I am writing this at a local Denny’s, which has a Nordic Noir-level of quirky behavior. All of which I have recounting on Bluesky throughout the evening.

And now to this week’s questions:

You were complaining about Hulu Live TV this week and I have been having a similar experience. Why do you think most streaming services have such a terrible customer experience? Do they not realize the problem, or just don’t care?

It depends on the streamer. Each company has different issues it struggles with that prevent it from focusing on customer usability.

For instance, Amazon’s Prime Video is notoriously difficult to navigate. They are trying to push Prime Video content, live sports, Amazon Channels, FAST Channels and SVOD titles. The company has put a lot of effort into trying to make it easier to navigate, but there is a limit to what you can do with so many different priorities all fighting for the same space.

A couple of years ago, an engineer showed me a mockup of a Prime Video interface that prioritized Prime Video titles and live sports over everything else. Customers who tested this version loved it. But SVOD purchases plummeted, which was a big issue for the company, since SVOD money is a fairly substantial revenue stream. And given that the studios receive around 80% of SVOD revenue, they didn’t want to be impacted any more than Amazon did.

Max has a similar problem, in that there is so much content available to highlight and no easy way to provide the proper attention to everything. From what I can tell, MAX also struggles with balancing the needs of marketing vs the desires of users. Max executives might want HGTV/Food titles to be accessed by x percentage of users each month. Which means forcing it in front of subscribers, whether or not there is the slightest interest.

I’ve written about Hulu a lot, so I don’t want to just pile on. My hope is that they commit to a totally new tech stack, which could solve a number of that streamer’s on-going problems.

You’ve been writing a lot about pressures being put on executives and other people in Hollywood. But what personally worries you the most about the new administration?

That the Supreme Court would overturn Sullivan vs. the New York Times. That ruling basically says that you can’t be found guilty of libel unless it can be proven that a publication not only said something incorrect or inflammatory, but did it with the knowledge that what they said was wrong.

It’s a large part of what protects publications of all sizes from being harassed in court by critics. Most opponents won’t spend the money on lawsuits they can’t win. But with Sullivan overturned, the press will be opened up to endless lawsuits filed by opponents that only need to prove the publication made a mistake - even it was an innocent and very small one.

That would put many publications out of business. Or force them to wrote only things that won’t make anyone in power mad enough to sue them.

This is a real concern for many journalists. When I was writing about Dan Schneider a few years ago, I was warned that if I didn’t stop, I would likely be sued. Which would have financially ruined me (not that it would take much to do that). Even though I was accurate about everything I wrote, the costs of litigation would have buried me.

And apparently those warnings were real, since Schneider sued Warner Bros. Discovery and the producers of the “Quiet On Set” documentary for libel. And after nearly a year, that case is nowhere close to going to trial, despite a number of hearings and motions.

And one last question…

You complain a lot about streamers not promoting shows. What is a recent show you wished they would have promoted more?

The most recent is Prime Video’s Clean Slate. It was originally developed for Freevee and was moved over the prime, where it was basically ignored. It’s not a perfect comedy, but it’s funny and heartwarming. And it’s centered around the relationship between a father in Alabama and his trans daughter. Which feels like a show that deserves more attention than Amazon gave it.

While a lot of attention is rightfully being given to Laverne Cox, this is the role comedian George Wallace has been waiting for his entire career. I think it would have been as a three-camera comedy, but regardless, it’s one of my favorite recent comedies and I can’t wait to see more.

See you next week!