Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Thursday, September 1st, 2022
Broadcast TV's most anticipated September premieres. Weirdly, it's not good news for "Ghosts"
Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Thursday, September 1st, 2022.
NETFLIX TO REPORTEDLY LAUNCH AD-SUPPORTED SERVICE NOVEMBER 1ST
Several different news organizations are reporting that Netflix is moving up the launch of its ad-supported tier to November 1st and at least some of the details are leaking out:
Regarding the starting $65 CPM that Netflix and Microsoft have floated, one ad buyer said, “My guess is they won’t get that.” The feedback from brands is “very much wait-and-see,” the source added. “At anything above $20 [CPM], the feeling is, ‘Let’s let other advertisers wade into that pool first.'”
Netflix is asking for a $10 million minimum commitment in annual ad spending from agencies right now, according to one source. The company wants to lock in ad buys by Sept. 30 to meet the Nov. 1 launch date. Netflix has told ad buyers it expects to have about 500,000 customers on its ad-supported plan by the end of 2022. Netflix hasn’t settled on retail pricing but is reportedly looking at between $7-$9 per month.
As I wrote about in last Friday's newsletter, I expected that Netflix was going to provide very limited visibility to advertisers, despite some speculation that this was going to eventually make it possible for outsiders to have some sense of viewing numbers on the service. And that certainly seems to be the case, at least in the short-term:
Initially, Netflix’s ad-supported service will not have any third-party attribution. It also will have limited targeting ability: Advertisers will be able to buy against Netflix’s top 10 most-viewed TV series and against some content genres. But for the first phase of the ad tier’s rollout, Netflix will not serve ads based on geography (except by country), age, gender, viewing behavior or time of day.
As previously reported, Netflix’s ad-supported tier will have an ad load of about 4 minutes per hour for series. For movies, the streamer will run pre-roll ads, according to sources. Netflix is setting frequency caps (how often an ad spot may be served to individual viewers) of one per hour and three per day per viewer, which are relatively low by industry standards.
This earlier-than-expected launch by Netflix is being framed by a lot of reporters as an effort to get its ad-supported service launched ahead of the one by rival Disney+. And while that is certainly one of the factors, the bigger ones are that a launch in November will mean Netflix will have an influx of new subscribers and revenue to report for the fourth quarter 2022 results. Which is important, because the streamer can't afford to have another bad quarter of numbers if it hopes to continue turning around the slumping stock price.
SEPTEMBER'S MOST-ANTICIPATED BROADCAST TELEVISION SHOWS
In yesterday's newsletter, I passed along some data from Whip Media listing the five most-anticipated new and original shows premiering in September. It was a list that combined streaming and linear television titles, but I was curious about the specifics of the broadcast TV premieres. Whip Media has provided me with an expanded list that covers a lot more shows and there are a few surprises, including the relative softness on the list of the CBS comedy Ghosts.
September's premieres are primarily returning shows, so the new show premiere rundown includes a few cable premieres to fill out that list.
Returning Shows
La Brea (NBC)
The Simpsons (Fox)
CSI: Vegas (CBS)
Abbot Elementary (ABC)
Family Guy (Fox)
Young Sheldon (CBS)
New Amsterdam (NBC)
The Cleaning Lady (Fox)
9-1-1 (Fox)
Chicago Fire (NBC)
Chicago Med (NBC)
Chicago P.D. (NBC)
The Resident (Fox)
Ghosts (CBS)
The Rookie (ABC)
New Shows
Monarch (Fox)
American Gigolo (Showtime)
Quantum Leap (NBC)
The Rookie: Feds (ABC)
The Serpent Queen (Starz)
So Help Me Todd (CBS)
Teen Mom: The Next Chapter (MTV)
Batwheels (Cartoon Network)
READER COMMENTS
On Monday, I wrote about the upcoming service from HBO Max and Discovery+ and ran down a list of some of my must-have features.
But many of you had suggestions of your own and it's a reflection of how crazy this week has been that I am just getting to them now:
"love to see shows or movies with the director talking thorough them telling us the inside story!"
--Daniel
Disney+ includes the DVD features along with its MCU movies and it's nice to see the outtakes and deleted scenes. But I am still surprised the various streaming services aren't more aggressive about this stuff with their original content, since it feels like low-hanging fruit. The fact that there isn't a cast commentary alternative audio track on a couple of episodes of Stranger Things or Power of the Rings is almost criminal. And for the premium Netflix is paying for some of its big budget originals, having the stars of Red Notice or The Adam Project do the same for those movies feels like a natural marketing idea. Plus, it provides extra content and subscriber engagement for a very modest cost.
"Something has to be done. How about curation by region. The closer we get to the Video Mom and Shops the better."
--Roger
I like the idea of curating by region. To be honest, I'd love to see more human curation in general on the streaming services.
"I would be happy if they had an app that saved the place where I stopped so that when I returned, I didn't have to fast forward halfway through the movie."
--Cynthia
The HBO Max app is notoriously bad about this. And this will become an even bigger issue when you add advertising. Oftentimes, while you can fast forward through the movie, you can't do the same through the commercial break. Which is an issue if you need to get back to a spot in the movie that is an hour of content and four ads break into the film.
TWEET OF THE DAY
WHAT'S NEW FOR THURSDAY
Here's a quick rundown of all the new stuff premiering today on TV and streaming:
Bloods (Hulu)
Fenced In (Netflix)
It Couldn't Happen Here (Sundance)
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean (Netflix)
Liss Pereria: Adulting (Netflix)
Love In The Villa (Netflix)
Mountain Men Season Premiere (History)
Pantheon Series Premiere (AMC)
Off The Hook (Netflix)
Race For The Championship (USA)
Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles Season Two Premiere (Netflix)
The Secrets She Keeps (Sundance Now)
The Shell Collection (Fox Nation)
The Mighty Ones (Hulu/Peacock)
Click Here to see the list of all of the upcoming premiere dates for the next few months.
SEE YOU FRIDAY!
If you have any feedback, send it along to Rick@AllYourScreens.com and follow me on Twitter @aysrick.