Too Much TV: DHS Warns Non-U.S. Citizens To Carry Proof Of Legal Status While Attending FIFA Club World Cup Games
What happens when an immigration crackdown meets a sporting event with fans from around the world?
Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Wednesday, June 11th 2025:
THIS IS PROBABLY NOT GOING TO END WELL
As if there isn't enough going on this Saturday, the 14th will also be the kick-off day for the FIFA Club World Cup at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. On Sunday, games will be played in Cincinnati, The Met Life Stadium in New Jersey, the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles and Lumen Field in Seattle.
There will be 63 games played at a variety of locations before the FIFA World Cup Final is played Sunday, July 13th at MetLife Stadium. This is an incredibly important moment for soccer in the United States and many of the host cities are predicting the games could generate millions of dollars in extra revenue from fans.
But there are increasing indications that this is likely to be the next flashpoint for the Trump Administration's crackdown on illegal (and often legal) immigration.
DHS confirmed earlier today that ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency agents will be on site “for security” at the start of the FIFA Club World Cup on Saturday. ICE issued its own statement, reminding non-U.S. citizens to carry proof of legal status while attending the event.
Aside from all of the logistical complications involved if ICE and CBP agents decide to start carding mass numbers of attendees, there is a growing concern that many Hispanic looking naturalized citizens or people who were born in the U.S. will also be targeted. In recent days, stories have increasingly surfaced nationwide of people who are in the United States legally being arrested and sometimes held for days until they are able to convince government officials to release them.
And then there are concerns that visitors headed to the United States for games might face problems entering the country, especially if they come from countries the American government considers "suspicious."
Worldwide media rights to the games are held by sports streaming service DAZN, but some of the games have been licensed to local broadcasters or streamers. For instance, in the U.S., TNT Sports has picked up the rights to broadcast 24 games and in the U.K., Channel 5 will air 23 matches on free-to-air television. So there is a lot of money involved and the thought that immigration efforts might impact the games seems to have every party I've spoken to this week a bit rattled.
I've been told that DAZN has a team in place in case there are widespread issues at any of the games and it has apparently been working with FIFA to ensure none of the athletes, team employees, friends or families run into any border crossing problems. But I don't get the sense that anyone is entirely confident things will go smoothly for everyone. Especially given comments like the ones made last month by Vice President JD Vance, who warned World Cup travelers not to "overstay their welcome."
The larger problem is that if there are problems over the next month, this will be headline news around the world. And it would likely have an impact on the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is set to take place in Los Angeles next year. In a warning of what might be coming, the Trump administration reneged last week on a pledge to host an open World Cup by issuing a travel ban on people from 12 countries, including Iran, which has already qualified for the World Cup.
One question I can't answer is how much any of this will be covered by press at Saturday's game. There will be a strong incentive for participating media to refrain from spotlighting any visible arrests at the event. But in this unpredictable environment, nothing is guaranteed.
APPLE'S NEW BACKEND PLAN IS BASED ON THE SAME METRICS USED BY OTHER MAJOR STREAMERS
One of the ongoing arguments I have with a number of veteran media journalists as well as many creatives working in Hollywood centers around the issue of assigning "value" to a streaming project. This is especially the case with films, where the argument is generally some variation of "if a film receives a theatrical release, then we know what it's worth. But no one knows what a streaming film is worth or how popular it might be." And the variation for TV shows is "How can we tell how well the show did if there aren't ratings being published?"
The answer is that while outsiders might not be able to ascertain the value of a streaming project or determine how much it's worth, people working at the streamer have extremely granular data which allows them to determine the impact a specific title has on the company's bottom line.
I was reminded of this when I was reading yesterday's Ashley Cullins piece for The Ankler, which laid out a new incentive plan which Apple Studio's plans to use to reward its most-viewed original programming on Apple TV+:
Here’s the math and how it breaks down, season by season.
Apple Studios’ new model uses performance points and ranks new seasons of series based on subscriber acquisition (if it’s the first piece of content viewed for more than 30 seconds within a week of a TV+ sign-up); engagement (total minutes viewed divided by the season runtime); and cost efficiency (Apple’s net cost for the season divided by its engagement metric). Those three rankings are combined to create a sum ranking for the calendar year — and ties are broken by subscriber acquisition first, infer from that what you will.
It’s important to note that, although only Apple Studios-produced show are eligible for this new performance-based comp, they’re up against all competitive series that premiere on Apple TV+ in that same calendar year in the rankings — which include Severance, Shrinking and Hollywood’s favorite self-deprecating and only slightly more absurd than real life comedy, The Studio.
If a show wins an Emmy for outstanding drama, comedy or limited series, Apple will give a $2 million payment that’s divided among everyone who has points. There are also bumps for staying in the TV+ library in the long term and cuts of Apple Studios’ distribution revenue.
A couple of things. Limiting it only to shows produced by Apple Studios will leave out a lot of shows produced by outside companies. Which eliminates programs like Foundation (produced by Skydance TV), Platonic (produced by Sony Television), and The Morning Show (produced by Echo Films and Hello Sunshine).
But it would include Apple Studios shows such as Silo, Stick and Your Friends & Neighbors.
While this "success" formulation might seem a bit peculiar to people in the industry accustomed to assigning value based on ratings and/or box office, this type of value calculation is increasingly common in the streaming business.
In fact, I wrote this piece three years ago which laid out some of the ways Netflix values titles and decides which shows to cancel or keep. And that calculation is very similar to what Apple is doing now. Although in the case of Netflix, no performance incentives are involved. At least, not yet:
A primary Netflix metric is called the "adjusted view share," which is a combination of more than 30 factors that attempt to assign an overall "value" for any piece of content. An example I was given was that it's possible to track which content was most watched by brand new subscribers last month. That content would be considered more valuable because it presumably was one of the reasons why viewers subscribed. But if those viewers exit after a month or two, that lessens the value of the content. The assumption being that some percentage of the canceled subscriptions came from people who subscribed primarily for a specific show.
It depends on where people are watching. A show that is more popular in a region such as the U.S., where the ARPU (average revenue per user) is higher has a greater value than one that tracks more in regions where the ARPU is lower. Although that indicator is weighted less than some others and whether the content is attracting subscribers in a territory where subscriber retention costs are high also factors into the equation. Netflix also tracks how many people complete a TV show within a week, the percentage of people who rewatch a series (although if the number is too high, it's discounted as possible fan manipulation). And there are many more. Each of the factors is weighted differently and the weighting can apparently change as the company's strategy evolves.
It's a difficult concept to wrap your head around if you're used to more traditional viewing metrics. And it's complicated by the fact that none of the data points tracked by the streamers are publicly accessible. Or even provided to the people producing the programs. Add on top of that, streaming executives seem to have little interest in explaining these methods of valuation, so it's no wonder many people continue to argue that "no one knows what is successful or not successful." The reality is that some people do know, but they're not sharing it with us.
ODDS AND SODS
* BritBox has announced season two of Karen Pirie will premiere "sometime in October (thanks!). In the meantime, here is a photo gallery of images from the upcoming season.
* A new reality series starring business investor and entrepreneur Marcus Lemonis will premiere Friday, July 18th on Fox. Here is the official logline for The Fixer: "In each episode, Lemonis meets with business owners from across the country whose companies are at a crossroad and need to make impactful changes. Struggling with tough decisions and looking for direction, he’ll assess their prospects and pick one business in the hope that they will all make a profit. As they address extraordinary challenges together in a revealing behind-the-scenes journey to success, they will benefit from Marcus’s candid instruction and business know-how in an effort to seek an investment." Here is a first look at the series.
* Billy Corgan's National Wrestling Alliance has signed a deal with Roku. Under the terms of the deal, matches will begin streaming Tuesday, July 29th on the The Roku Channel in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
* A really interesting piece in The Atlantic argues that The Simpsons has always been a wholesome show—even if some critics didn’t necessarily understand that.
* Cartoon Network Studios is currently developing Steven Universe: Lars of the Stars, a follow-up to the Peabody Award–winning series Steven Universe, for Prime Video.
* Teen Titans Go!, the longest running animated series in DC history, has been renewed for a tenth season on Cartoon Network.
* Crunchyroll announced today that the anime The Beginning After The End will return for a second season next year. Here is the official logline: "Following a mysterious death, The Beginning After the End explores the adventures of King Grey after he is reborn as Arthur Leywin. Although he enters his second life as a baby on the magical continent of Dicathen, his previous wisdom remains. He begins to master magic and forge his own path as the years go by, seeking to correct the mistakes of his past life."
* Season three of Foundation premieres Friday, July 11th on Apple TV+. Here is a first look at the season three trailer, as well as some photos from the upcoming episodes.
* Paramount+ has picked up the series Skymed for a fourth season. Production will begin later this summer. Here is an official logline of the series: "The medical drama follows the triumphs and tribulations of young medics and pilots who fly air ambulances across the remote skies of Northern Canada, weaving together intense journeys with jaw-dropping medical rescues 20,000 feet in the air in the most remote conditions."
* Chris Robinson, whom daytime-TV fans know well from his runs as General Hospital and Bold and the Beautiful, died on June 9.
WHAT'S NEW TONIGHT AND TOMORROW
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11TH:
Aniela Series Premiere (Netflix)
Careme Season Finale (Apple TV+)
Cheers To Life (Netflix)
Cocaine Air: Smugglers At 30,000 Ft. (Netflix)
Life Or Death: The Negotiators Season One Finale (NatGeo)
Our Times (Nuestros tiempos) (Netflix)
Sherlock & Daughter Season One Finale (The CW)
The Grudge Season One Finale (Vice)
The Real Housewives Of Miami Season Premiere (Bravo)
Titan: The OceanGate Disaster (Netflix)
THURSDAY, JUNE 12TH:
Alone Season Premiere (History)
Alone Australia Season Premiere (History)
American Thunder: NASCAR To Le Mans (Prime Video)
Deep Cover (Prime Video)
Fubar Season Two Premiere (Netflix)
Love Island UK Season Premiere (Hulu)
Revival Series Premiere (Syfy)
Secrets Of The Bunny Ranch Season Premiere (A&E)
The First 48 Season Premiere (A&E)
SEE YOU ON THURSDAY!