Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Wednesday, December 7th, 2022

Is the future of HLN looking a lot like a FAST?

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Wednesday, December 7th, 2022.

IS THE FUTURE OF HLN TIED TO HBO MAX?
One of the more striking decisions made by Warner Bros. Discovery executives in recent weeks has been to essentially put its long-running linear network HLN on life support:

CNN — and, by proxy, its corporate parent, Warner Bros. Discovery — nearly gutted the cable outlet Thursday by cancelling Meade’s “Morning Express,” which has been on the air in some form or another since 2001. The company also declared that it would not longer produce new live programming for the network and that Kathleen Finch, not CNN chief Chris Licht, would take over the true-crime shows, which would be made part of another cable outlet, ID, known for similar stuff. Meade is to be replaced by a simulcast of CNN’s morning programs.

So for now, HLN is just another zombie network, running random reruns while executives wait to make a public announcement about its future.

Unlike some other zombie nets, HLN has a couple of assets which still bring some value to any discussion about its future. Even though the network's ratings have plummeted in recent years, it still draws more of an audience than other semi-discarded networks such as American Heroes or MTV Classic. It also has a reasonably strong name recognition with linear TV viewers. Even better, MVPDs and vMVPDs have a strong incentive to keep the network around, since CNN has traditionally just thrown the network in for free when negotiating carriage agreements.

So given all of that, what is the most likely outcome for HLN? While I've been told that no decision has been signed off on by upper management, several sources have told me the leading internal proposal is to make HLN essentially the linear equivalent of a  FAST (Free ad-supported streaming television) network. The programming would be a mix of older original HBO Max titles, along with a healthy mix of Warner Brothers catalog titles that are currently not being licensed elsewhere. An additional option would be to shift some of the catalog Discovery+ titles to this network once the two streamers combine their services next year.

I reached out to WBD for an official comment and the only semi-official response I received was from a corporate communications person who simply said they would pass along my question.

But I have to say this idea makes a lot of sense. It's a cheap way to program the channel and it allows WBD to shift some of the content that it really doesn't need to stream to a channel where they can make a few dollars running ads against the programs. It also provides the company with another way to promote their core streaming service. Including doing stunt such as airing the first episode or two of a new HBO Max original multiple times in the week leading up to the streaming premiere.

WHATEVER THAT HBO MAX/DISCOVERY SERVICE WILL BE CALLED IS STILL SET TO LAUNCH IN LATIN AMERICA NEXT YEAR
Variety has an interview with Fernando Medín, WBD president and MD Latin America and U.S. Hispanic, who told the outlet that the not-HBO Max service is still on track to launch late next year in Latin America:

In a first interview since his appointment this April, Medin also talked about WBD’s working on telenovela production and how its competitive advantages feeding its strategy Latin America which looks set to become, before Europe and Asia, an acid test of overseas acceptability for WBD’s new merged streamer, one of the biggest plays in Hollywood history.

Medin underscores the region’s “receptiveness” to WBD’s U.S. product, not only scripted and movies but also formats from both sides of the merger. Discovery+’s top performer in Brazil, for instance, is a local makeover of Discovery U.S. franchise “Naked and Afraid Brazil,” now on its third season. 

WBD also has other competitive assets, Medín argues. The whole region population still skews young, for instance, 25.5% of Mexicans being aged 0-14 in 2021. “The presence of a younger population in our territory is so different from other geographies, and the combined company has an undeniable strength in kids,” he says, pointing to Cartoon Network, Discovery Kids and Cartoonito. “Platforms can retrofit what you discover in the linear world and consume more deeply in the streaming world,” he added. 

That final point is a bit ironic, given that of all the various cuts that have been at WBD in recent months, those in children's animation have been some of the deepest - both on the original content as well as licensed content sides.

TWEET OF THE DAY

TV IS GLOBAL...TV PR, NOT SO MUCH
I've written a lot about how difficult it can be to write about TV shows and movies produced outside the U.S. Netflix is notoriously bad about not providing info on any but a select few high-profile non-English language titles. Although the streamer also looks to those international productions to provide the bulk of the company's subscriber growth.

But to be fair, Netflix is only the biggest offender. It can be a challenge to track down cast info on an upcoming global release, much less screeners. Which is why I was pleasantly surprised today to receive an email from one of the studios with links to about a dozen upcoming international productions. Not all of them are premiering in the U.S. immediately. But even the ones that aren't should be on my radar. If for no other reason that the readership of this newsletter (as well as AllYourScreens.com) is increasingly shifting to an international audience. 

OTOH, I have been struggling to get screeners from one of the Canadian networks, even though I could literally drive to Canada in a couple of hours. Apparently, the theory is that since I'm based in the U.S., I don't need to know anything about a show if it isn't currently airing in the U.S. Which would make sense if none of my readers lived somewhere that it is currently airing.

I'm mostly ranting about this right now because I know I have a lot of readers who work for the various networks and studios. So if you have some project you think might benefit from me covering it, please reach out.

THE CASE FOR THE THEATRICAL RUN OF 'GLASS ONION'
Kyle Buchanan has an interview with Glass Onion producer and writer Rian Johnson and he talks about his efforts to get a longer theatrical run for the movie:

So, how did it feel to be the belle of the ball?

Very cool, but also nerve-racking, because it’s not just about taking the best deal. It’s about trying to innovate in a time of great tumultuous change.

What were the factors that you weighed?

Ultimately, it was a moment where the model that we released “Knives Out” under had ceased to exist, and a moment where the studios were basically flipping their big movies to streamers anyway. Having a direct partner with the biggest streamer made a lot of sense.

When you say that the model for releasing “Knives Out” had ceased to exist, do you mean it didn’t exist in March 2021, or do you think that model doesn’t exist going forward, period?

I was talking about ’21, when we struck the deal. Right now, I don’t know. I’m probably a little more optimistic about theatrical, but at the same time, you look at the numbers and it’s not what it was pre-pandemic. Even when I’m thinking about the next movie, which I’m about to start writing, who the hell knows what the landscape is going to look like when it’s actually time to release it? All I know is it’ll probably be as different from today as today was from ’21.

He also makes the point I've made in recent weeks. For Netflix, their decision-making about a theatrical run is based on where they believe they will receive the most impact. Netflix executives need to see that theatrical is the best advertisement for streaming, not a detriment. Or even a net-neutral decision.

Netflix is apparently reopening the theatrical window once the film premieres on Netflix. Which gives the movie a hybrid "one week theatrical window, off the market for several weeks and then what is essentially a day-and-date release." It will interesting to see how many theaters opt to bring back Glass Onion if it's also available on Netflix.

ODDS AND SODS
* TNT will premiere the new scripted action thriller, The Lazarus Project, on Monday, January 23rd, 2023, at 9:00pm ET/PT. The series is the first new scripted drama to appear on TNT since the April 2022 merger between WarnerMedia & Discovery.

* Season two of the HBO Original drama series Perry Mason premieres on Monday, March 6th, 2023.

WHAT'S NEW FOR WEDNESDAY:

All I Didn't Want For Christmas (VH1)
Bed Rest (Tubi)
Burning Patience (Netflix)
Connect Series Premiere (Hulu)
Greatest Holiday Commercials Countdown 2022 (The CW)
I Hate Christmas (Netflix)
Smiley (Netflix)
The Marriage App (Netflix)
The Most Beautiful Flower Series Premiere (Netflix)
Too Hot To Handle Season Premiere (Netflix)

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.