Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Wednesday, March 23rd, 2022

The "rebundling" of TV might not look like you expect

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Wednesday, March 23rd, 2022. 

THE 'GREAT REBUNDLING' MIGHT NOT BE THE BUNDLE YOU THINK IT IS
I spoke with a stock analyst this morning who covers one of the major media companies. Among other assets, they own a major broadcast network and he kept mentioning the idea of the "great rebundling," this notion that the industry is headed towards a new bundle of some sort that will magically save linear television.

There may indeed be a rebundling coming, but not in the way that this analyst believes. In fact, there are a number of indications that if there is a rebundling on the horizon, it's likely to be an ala-carte bundle assembled by consumers who aren't so much interested in live television. 

It's no secret that viewership for traditional broadcast television and even cable TV is generally continuing to decline. Yes, live sports still draws a crowd. But given that more and more games are becoming available on streaming platforms, are there enough hardcore fans out there to sustain a business model which insists the cheapest package you can get that includes live sports is at least $60 per month? And that cost is more like $100 per month if you can't get a discounted cable or satellite TV bundle price.

Based on the ratings, more viewers are getting accustomed to not watching scripted programming live, especially when they know they can catch most of that television on demand the next day with their favorite streaming service.

Which leads us to a future where a viewer could assemble a pretty impressive bundle of television on their own, which would cover most of the major streaming services and most of the programming they could see on live television. And for a monthly cost of that same $60 or so.

Here is a streaming "bundle" which is hard to beat. It includes the lowest cost option for each service, which means the fewest number of simultaneous streams and most services will have commercials. This also includes the current price for stand-alone versions of HBO Max & Discovery+, which will likely end up being discounted into a bundle at some point soon:

Netflix - $9.99 per month
Disney bundle (basic Hulu, Disney+ & ESPN+) - $13.99
HBO Max - $14.99
Discovery+ - $4.99
Peacock -  $4.99
Paramount+ - $9.99 

This gets you to $58.94, which is the range of the cheapest live streaming television package. It includes 90 percent of your favorite TV shows on demand - most available the next day. Peacock and Paramount+ both offer some live news streams and while you don't have the sports options you'd have with a live TV package with the sports nets, there is an increasingly impressive sports coverage on ESPN+, Peacock and Paramount+. If you are a conservative and want your Fox News fix, while you can't stream the mother Fox News channel this way, you can add the Fox Nation streaming service for $5.99 a month.

There are a couple of caveats. Many of these services offer periodic aggressive discounts, which would lower your overall monthly costs. There are also cheaper ad-supported versions of several of these services on the way. And Peacock already offers a free ad-supported version of its service, albeit one that doesn't include the live sports and new movie releases. Also, it's worth noting that unlike traditional cable packages (or even vMVPD packages), you can drop any of these individual services whenever you want. 

I also didn't add Apple TV+ ($4.99 a month) because for all of its content, it still feels like it's not part of this core bundle. I also didn't include Amazon Prime Video, because I suspect a lot of people already subscribe to the Prime service for reasons other than Prime Video.

So which "bundle" gives you a better range of programming for your $60 a month? I can honestly say that if I wasn't in the business and needed my Live TV package for work reasons, I would go for this virtual streaming bundle without reservation.

THE LITTLE THINGS THAT CAN DRIVE YOU CRAZY
I write a lot about UX issues with the various streamers, and I am the first to admit that it might seem like nitpicking. But it's the small things that can make you decide to switch services, especially when we're talking about vMYPD's. If someone doesn't like their live streaming TV service, it's easy enough to find a replacement for about the same amount of money per month.

I've had Hulu Live TV for a few years and I have generally been happy with it. Especially now that I can get a discount for bundling it with Disney+ and ESPN+. But I am having an issue with the Live TV DVR that is annoying enough that it is making me reconsider my choice, even though switching will mean losing my bundle discount.

The way that Hulu's DVR works is that you can decide to record a program and whether or not you want to record all episodes or just the new ones. Then when you want to stop recording episodes, you flip to switch to stop recording and you never see it again in your DVR.

In theory.

The reality is that Hulu DVR service sometimes decides it will record all showings of an episode, if you select "new episodes only." Which for me means that I record two airings of MSNBC's All In With Chris Hayes every night. Even worse, the DVR doesn't seem to want to accept that there are some shows I no longer want to record, no matter how many I turn the recording switch to "off." For instance, at some point during its final season on CBS, I set the show Mom to record new episodes. Of course, I tried stopping the recordings once the series was canceled, but my DVR had a different idea. There aren't any new episodes of Mom, but there are reruns that air on CMT. And the DVR will randomly record a few when it's in the mood. No matter how many times I ask it to stop.

While this isn't a life and death issue, the basic Hulu DVR plan has a limited amount of recording space and when the DVR gets full, it will automatically delete the oldest stuff. So there's nothing more fun to lose a movie you've watched halfway through because the DVR deleted it in order to record eight episodes of Last Man Standing. 

Based on what I've seen on the Hulu customer forums, I am not the only person with this issue and from I can tell, the company's response has been to whistle loudly and hope the problem fixes itself.

I have no idea what the solution for this problem might be and I am sure Hulu won't miss me when I'm gone. But it's frustrating, because I like the service otherwise. 

ODDS AND SODS
* Chris Madden, a lifestyle and decorating author and personality who lent her name to furniture and housewares, including a collection for J.C. Penney, has died at 73.

* Roku has given a a series order to Slip, a seven-episode comedy created and written by Zoe Lister-Jones (Life in Pieces), who also stars and directs every episode. ZLJ will play Mae Cannon, a thirtysomething who finds herself restless "inside a marriage that totally works." 

* Netflix has acquired worldwide rights to Alanna Brown’s Rwandan genocide drama Trees Of Peace. The film won the top three jury prizes at American Black Film Festival including the John Singleton Award for best first feature and earned the top jury award at Santa Barbara International Film Festival after it premiered there last year.

* ABC has picked up the new unscripted series Claim to Fame, co-hosted by siblings Kevin and Frankie Jonas. The reality show will follow 12 celebrity relatives as they step out from their famous family’s shadows and move into the same house, attempting to keep their identity secret.

* If you've ever wondered what happened to the Duck Dynasty family, it turns out they're headed to the conservative streaming service Fox Nation for a series entitled Duck Family Treasure. 

TWEET OF THE DAY

WHAT'S NEW FOR WEDNESDAY
Here's a quick rundown of all the new stuff premiering today on TV and streaming:

Assisted Living Season Three Premiere (BET)
Bloods (Hulu)
Clive Davis: Most Iconic Performances (Paramount+)
House Of Payne Season Nine Premiere (BET)
Parallels Series Premiere (Disney+)
Tallboyz Series Premiere (Fuse)
The Green Room With Nadia Brown Series Premiere (Ovation)

Click Here to see the list of all of the upcoming premiere dates for the next few months.

SEE YOU THURSDAY! 

If you have any feedback, send it along to Rick@AllYourScreens.com and follow me on Twitter @aysrick.