Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Friday, March 15th, 2024

The simplest parts of the streaming business can be the hardest to execute

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Thursday, March 14th, 2024.

THE SIMPLEST PARTS OF THE STREAMING BUSINESS CAN BE THE HARDEST TO EXECUTE
If I ever had the opportunity to interview Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, my first series of questions would be simple ones: "When was the last time you watched something on Max?" "Were you happy with your experience?" "Did you find it easy to find the content you were looking for?" And I would ask the same series of questions if I interviewed Disney CEO Bob Iger or any other major media company executive.

I say this because my only explanation for the continued ineptness of the major streamer user interfaces is that no one in a decision-making position at any of the companies has ever had to deal with the problems we mortals battle with on a daily basis. 

I can guarantee that if some high-powered executive at Comcast called over to Peacock HQ and wanted to know why their Peacock app is never able to find the spot where they quit watching a show or movie, changes would be made. Or if Paramount Global head Bob Bakish called over to Paramount+ demanding to know why his app crashes every time he tries to rewind a program, a new tech team would be on the problem within hours.

One of the weird consequences of the streaming media business is that despite the fact the industry lives and dies on churn rates and customer satisfaction, you'd be hard-pressed to find a SVOD subscriber who doesn't have at least a few UX horror stories about one of the services they subscribe to.

None of the problems are fatal, but they are often annoying enough to get in the way of an enjoyable experience. So most subscribers find themselves in this annoying position of having to calculate whether the current level of annoyance is high enough to convince them to cancel their subscription.

For instance, I have had a Hulu Live TV subscription since it launched. And I have kept it primarily because Hulu offers the best combination of live sports channels (including the bundle with ESPN+) for my sports-loving teenager.

But there are so many annoying aspects connected with using the service. And it's especially frustrating because the problems are well-known and for whatever reason, Hulu has opted not to fix them. 

And there are similar cases with most major streaming platforms. I will hear apologists at Max or Peacock or Paramount+ shrug off comparisons to Netflix with the excuse "Oh, they're a tech company and it's easier for them to get it right." No, the difference is that an easy user experience has always been a priority at Netflix and they have consistently been willing to spend the money to get it right.

Frankly, many of the most annoying issues aren't technical fixes at all. They just involve making the decision to prioritize the customer and not some half-baked marketing plan. It doesn't require a complete rebuilding of the tech stack to change things so that users looking to find the listing of shows they most recently watched don't have to scroll through 6 or 8 or more rows of loosely categorized content before they get to what they were looking for when they opened the app.

And it doesn't take a team of coders to decide that a row of shows and movies in a category titled "Things For You" should probably include titles that have some vague connection to programming you've previously watched on the platform. Honestly, I wish Max would just retitle their version to "Here Are The Shows We Think You Should Be Watching, Many With Guy Fieri."

What is your biggest streamer pet peeves? I'll put together some of your examples and use in an upcoming piece. Reply in the comment section below or directly to this newsletter.

MAYBE IT'S TIME FOR MAX TO DO A STREAMING VERSION OF 'DINNER AND A MOVIE'
If there is a list of cable network originals that lasted the longest amount of time before being canceled, the long-running TBS wraparound program Dinner And A Movie would have to be near the top of the list. 

The show - which was really just some short segments wrapped around some over-used library movie - aired on TBS from 1995 through 2011. Each episode included a movie and the preparation of a dinner that had some vague connection to the theme of the movie. Chef Claud Mann and comedian Paul Gilmartin hosted the show throughout the entire run, with original co-host Annabelle Gurwitch exiting in 2002, to be replaced by Lisa Kushell (2002–2005) and Janet Varney (2005 to 2011).

The segments were goofy and really fit the definition of lean-back television. The combo of Gilmartin and Gurwitch was especially fun to watch, because apparently they didn't much care for each other off-camera. So much so that TBS executives reportedly sent them to some sort of counseling together. But that passive-aggressive relationship made for some fun times for viewers.

Kathleen Finch, Chairman and Chief Content Officer of Warner Bros. Discovery’s U.S. Networks Group, announced the network was exploring a remake of the format during the May 2023 Upfronts, but I haven't heard any update since. And given the shifting priorities at TBS, I would not be shocked to learn they aren't moving forward with the idea,

But as I was thinking about this today, I realized it's a perfect fit for Max. It's a way to creatively use some of the service's familiar but lesser-viewed library movie titles. And besides the fact that it's a relatively cheap bit of programming, unlike the linear version, these Dinner And A Movie presentations can live on Max forever (or at least until they license out the movies elsewhere).

And if TBS does decide to use them, they could air them a week or two after they premiered on Max, under the banner Max's Dinner And A Movie.

TWEET OF THE DAY

WHAT'S NEW TONIGHT AND THIS WEEKEND

FRIDAY, MARCH 15TH:
* America's Backyard Gold Series Premiere (Discovery)
* Ancient Aliens Season Twenty Finale (History)
* Chicken Nugget Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Dream Scenario (Max)
* Frida (Prime Video)
* Irish Wish (Netflix)
* Irish Reign Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Manhunt (Apple TV+) 
* Masters Of The Air Series Finale (Apple TV+)
* Murder Mubarak (Netflix)
* The Bloody Hundredth (Apple TV+)
* The Dynasty: The New England Patriots Series Finale (Apple TV+)
* The Outreau Case: A French Nightmare (Netflix)

SATURDAY, MARCH 16TH:
* Critters Fixers: Country Vets Season Six Premiere (NatGeo Wild)
* 55th Annual NAACP Image Awards (CBS/BET)
* Friday Night Sext Scandal (Lifetime)

SUNDAY, MARCH 17TH:
* Alice & Jack Series Premiere (PBS)
* Call The Midwife (PBS)
* In Restless Dreams: The Music Of Paul Simon (MGM+)
* Killing For Extra Credit (Lifetime)
* Nolly Series Premiere (PBS)
* Quiet On Set: The Dark Side Of Kids TV (Investigation Discovery) - [video: first look | Drake Bell Shares His Story] - [review]
* 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After? Season Premiere (TLC)
* Sweetly Salted (UP tv)
* Yellowstone Wardens Series Premiere (Animal Planet)

MONDAY, MARCH 18TH, 2024:
* An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame And The Weight Loss Revolution (ABC)
* Photographer Series Premiere (NatGeo)
* Stormy (Peacock)
* Young Royals: Forever (Netflix)

SEE YOU ON MONDAY!