Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Tuesday, October 18th 2022
A bit of Netflix context...
Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Tuesday, October 18th, 2022.
HEY, LOOK! IT'S NETFLIX EARNINGS
Netflix just released its Q3 earnings numbers and here are some of the highlights:
* The streamer added 2.4 million subscribers during the third quarter. That includes an addition of 110,000 in UCAN (for a total of 73.39 million); 560,000 added in EMEA (73.53 million); 320,000 added in LATAM (39.94 million) and 1.75 million in APAC (36.23 million)
* Netflix is projecting it will add 4.5 million in Q4, which is historically their biggest growth quarter.
* On the financial impact of its new advertising-supported tier: "While we’re very optimistic about our new advertising business, we don’t expect a material contribution in Q4’22 as we’re launching our Basic with Ads plan intra-quarter and anticipate growing our membership in that plan gradually over time."
* The long-awaited account sharing crackdown will begin in early 2023, when Netflix will introduce a new feature where subscribers can create "sub-accounts" to pay for family and friends.
* This is the last quarter Netflix is going to predict how many subscribers it is going to add (or lose). It wants investors to focus on revenue, which its trying to boost with ads and password sharing crackdown.
* On their competition: "Our competitors are investing heavily to drive subs & engagement, but building a large, successful streaming business is hard - we estimate they are all losing money, with combined 2022 operating losses well over $10 bn, vs. Netflix's $5-$6 bn annual operating profit."
YOU HAVE TO ADMIRE A GREAT CLICKBAIT HEADLINE
A BIT OF NETFLIX CONTEXT
Given the Netflix earnings info today, I wanted to link to a few pieces I've recently written about the company:
* In Defense Of Bingeing
* Six Big Misconceptions About The Streaming Business
* Why Does Netflix Decide To Cancel A Show? Spoiler: The Answer You Have Is Probably Wrong
* Is Social Sharing The Missing Link In Streaming Content Discovery?
WHIP MEDIA STREAMING ORIGINALS OF THE WEEK
ODDS AND SODS
* Entertainment-centric vMVPD Philo is adding Family Entertainment Television’s FETV to its base lineup, and Family Movie Classics (FMC) is being added to Philo's "Movies and More" add-on package.
* Investigation Discovery is premiering the true-crime doc The Freeway Killer: Lost Murder Tapes on Sunday, October 23rd.
* First Look: Once Upon A Time In Londongrad
* Chris Jericho has signed a contract extension through December 2025 with All Elite Wrestling (AEW).
* Comedy Central is considering a rotating group of hosts for The Daily Show following Trevor Noah's exit.
* For some odd reason, Hulu has licensed the movie Notting Hill for only one month (it arrives November 1st and exits at the end of the month).
MERGERS AREN'T GOOD NEWS FOR LATINO REPRESENTATION
The Daily Beast has a really interesting piece on the impact the Warner Bros. Discovery merger had on Latino programming. Spoiler: it's not good news:
That explanation never made much sense to Muñoz-Liebowitz, who noted during our interview that the Gordita creators always saw the series as a straight sitcom. And besides, the showrunner said, Gordita Chronicles was never discoverable under the streamer’s “Family” or “Comedy” categories; it only appeared under “Latino.”
As questionable as the Gordita team found Bloys’ “family content” explanation for the show’s cancellation, another detail he allegedly shared might be even more telling. As part of Warner Bros. merger with Discovery, Inc., the team learned, “premium” HBO Max shows would migrate to HBO proper. Gordita Chronicles just wasn’t one of them.
A bitter irony tinged the showrunner’s voice as she looked back on the moment. “So we’re not premium? Okay.” This was, after all, the same company that was more than happy to trot out the show’s creator for its market diversity pamphlets. To unceremoniously boot the show after just one season, Muñoz-Liebowitz said, was “egregious.”
MAYBE 'STREAMING FIRST' INSTEAD OF 'DIGITAL FIRST'
CMT Digital's live concert series CMT Campfire Sessions is returning for its third season tonight with a performance by Scotty McCreery. Upcoming shows feature appearances by Charley Crockett. Elle King, Jessie James Decker, Lainey Wilson and Warren Zeiders.
The episodes will be available via the show's Facebook and YouTube pages. But why isn't it available on Paramount+? Granted, CMT is listed on the streamer as one of its "brands," and there's no music selection on the Paramount+ side navigation bar.
But as branding goes, a lot of people recognize that CMT is one of Paramount's brands and the fact that the streamer isn't taking advantage of a chance to engage subscribers more with some low-hanging fruit is a bit perplexing.
TWEET OF THE DAY
WHAT'S NEW FOR TUESDAY:
Here's a quick rundown of all the new stuff premiering today on TV and streaming:
American Dynasty Series Premiere (Fox Business)
Black Ink Crew New York Season Premiere (VH1)
Body Cam Season Premiere (Investigation Discovery)
Gabriel Iglesias: Stadium Fluffy Live From Los Angeles (Netflix)
Historic Battles for America: Crucial Conflicts Series Premiere (Fox Business)
Life After (Prime Video)
LISA: Another Great Day (Netflix)
Mama's Boy (HBO)
Primal Survivor: Over The Andes Series Premiere (NatGeo)
Somebody Feed Phil Season Premiere (Netflix)
Spirited (Apple TV+)
The Murder Tapes Season Premiere (Investigation Discovery)
Unsolved Mysteries Volume Three Premiere (Netflix)
Click Here to see the list of all of the upcoming premiere dates for the next few months.
SEE YOU WEDNESDAY!
If you have any feedback, send it along to Rick@AllYourScreens.com and follow me on Twitter @aysrick.