Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Monday, June 13th, 2022
The tyranny of pointless embargoes.
Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Monday, June 13th, 2022.
THE TYRANNY OF EMABARGOES
All weekend parts of TV Twitter were talking about the lack of marketing/PR for some shows. It's something I've written about at length and the problems encompass a wide range of issues.
But let's talk about embargoes.
Embargoes can be useful in certain situations. For instance, when you want to prevent spoilers before a show has premiered. But in the streaming era, embargoes are frequently being used a reverse marketing tool. Some streamers - most notably Netflix - believe that content discovery works best when it's organic. In other words, aside from a trailer or two, allow subscribers to "discover" the show through random searching, word-of-mouth or via highlighting in the service's UX. The theory is that this random-ish uncovering of the show will resonate more with subscribers than other more traditional methods such as marketing, reviews or feature stories.
The problem with this idea is we have learned over the past few years that while this method can work, it also leads to a lot of worthwhile shows being ignored. Viewers are faced with such a firehose of new content that they can't randomly possibly discover all the worthwhile stuff without help. And without a few reminders before the show premieres so they can plan accordingly.
Which brings us back around to embargoes and how they can have a huge negative impact on new shows.
Netflix has a new animated series premiering this Thursday. Which I can't talk about it until it premieres. No social media reaction, I am not supposed to discuss the show at all before the premiere. And I certainly can't review it.
Which is frustrating. I don't see why there's an embargo. There isn't a lot that can be "spoiled" and given the type of show it is, providing people a heads-up it's coming would presumably be a good thing. And when I have brought this up to Netflix publicists in the past, I've been told that "sometimes the embargo comes from the studio." Which seems unlikely in this case, given the competitive nature of animated programming and the difficulties in getting viewers to sample unfamiliar characters.
This show might be a bit of a hard sell and I can see a scenario in which it gets lost. While it's the only significant animated titles premiering Thursday or Friday, there is a LOT premiering on streaming over those two days: Spiderhead, The Old Man, The Summer I Turned Pretty, The Lake, Good Luck To You Leo Grande, Jerry & Marge Go Large, Players and a bunch of smaller titles.
It's easy for a show like this unnamed one to get lost & it's frustrating to not be able to talk about a show that could likely use the help.
THE BATTLE OVER CRICKET
Cricket is wildly popular in India and Pakistan and the fact that Disney + HotStar had the streaming rights to the games in India (thanks to Disney's purchase of Fox) is thought to have been a major driver of Disney + Star subscription growth in India.
But all of that will change for the 2023 season, now that rival Viacom18 has acquired the digital streaming rights to games from the IPL (Indian Premiere League) for $2.6 billion. Disney has won rights to the linear TV broadcasts of the games for a reported $3 billion. And two other packages of rights are still being auctioned off. One package is a non-exclusive smaller package of digital rights to games which aren't part of the main package won by Viacom18. The fourth package is streaming rights outside the Indian subcontinent and the leader for that package is thought to be Zee TV, a streaming service which provides Indian entertainment in the overseas market.
The general industry consensus in the U.S. is that this is overall good news for Disney. Yes, it will impact the subscriber numbers for Disney+ Hotstar, but it will save the company lots of money. Although many people seem perplexed about why Disney would opt for the broadcast rights over the streaming rights in India.
The answer is that Disney Star (which is owned by Disney subsidiary Disney India) is the largest television and entertainment network in India. It has a network of 60 channels in eight languages, reaching 9 out of 10 cable and satellite TV homes in India. Its massive reach makes it much easier to monetize the costs of Cricket vs. what it would cost for the streaming rights. Disney + HotStar faces a number of challenges in India, including a market where there are severe pricing constraints. At the current licensing costs, the IPL deal would likely end up costing Disney as much as a billion dollars in losses over the five-year period. The number isn't a gamechanger for a company such as Disney, but it is substantial enough to make the subscription losses easier to accept.
Disney is spending for sports in other territories, albeit for less expensive items such as WWE streaming rights in Thailand. And there is a case to be made for Disney bidding for the IPL rights outside the Indian subcontinent, since that would lessen the impact on subscriber numbers throughout the rest of Asia. But regardless, Disney executives have apparently decided that no matter the popularity of IPL in India, the cost is simply too high.
TWEET OF THE DAY
SPEAKING OF MARKETING PROBLEMS
As I mentioned, I write a great deal about content discovery, PR and marketing in this newsletter. But I also write quite a bit about these subjects on AllYourScreens. Since I've added a lot of new subscribers here in the past few months, I wanted to highlight some recent pieces you might have missed:
Can Netflix Solved Its Marketing Problems?
Is A Social Component The Missing Link In Streaming Content Discovery?
An Open Letter To David Zaslav About Content Discovery
Why Does Netflix Decide To Cancel A Show? Spoiler: The Answer You Have Is Probably Wrong
The (Mostly) Mythical Content Boom
ODDS AND SODS
* Season five of Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale will premiere on Wednesday, September 14th, with two episodes.
* The Max Original comedy series Rap Sh!t, from Issa Rae, will debut Thursday, July 21st. The series follows two estranged high school friends from Miami, Shawna (Aida Osman) and Mia (KaMillion), who reunite to form a rap group.
* Veteran character actor Philip Baker Hall, whose TV credits includes The Loop, Modern Family and Falcon Crest, died on Sunday. He was 90.
* HBO Max has renewed the Rose Matafeo comedy Starstruck for a third season.
* Mehcad Brooks will join Law & Order as a series regular for the 2022-23 broadcast season. The casting will help fill the void created by the departure of former original L&O star Anthony Anderson.
WHAT'S NEW FOR MONDAY
Here's a quick rundown of all the new stuff premiering today on TV and streaming:
Charlie's Colorforms City (Netflix)
Digital Addiction Series Premiere (A&E)
Fear Thy Neighbor Season Premiere (Investigation Discovery)
Intervention Season Premiere (A&E)
Making Modern With Brooke & Brice Season Premiere (Magnolia)
Pete Davidson Presents: The Best Friends (Netflix)
The Great Giveback With Melissa McCarthy And Jenna Perusich (HGTV)
Click Here to see the list of all of the upcoming premiere dates for the next few months.
SEE YOU TUESDAY!
If you have any feedback, send it along to Rick@AllYourScreens.com and follow me on Twitter @aysrick.