Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Wednesday, June 21st, 2023
Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Wednesday, June 21st, 2023.
A COUPLE OF THOUGHTS ABOUT THAT POTENTIAL WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY/NETFLIX CONTENT DEAL
Even after a lot of reporting over the past 24 hours, while it appears clear that some select Warner Bros. Discovery titles are headed to Netflix, there are many more questions than answers.
Last night, Deadline reported a potential deal may be in the works, with Insecure mentioned as one possible title headed to Netflix in a non-exclusive deal. This afternoon, Vulture is reporting the identity of several other titles which may or may not be headed to Netflix. Those include the Dwayne Johnson series Ballers, the long-running series Six Feet Under, along with the WWII miniseries Band Of Brothers and The Pacific. In their stories, both outlets warn that no deal has been finalized, different titles may end up being part of the deal or the deal might not happen at all.
But as the Vulture story notes, this isn't the first time WBD has licensed out titles in the past year or so:
This new Netflix licensing deal — if it does go through — has been reported as a financial decision from WBD corporate, one that HBO execs aren’t happy about but have limited options to stop. But it’s not the first of its kind. True Blood was made available on Hulu in late 2022, becoming accessible to Hulu users without an HBO Max subscription. The Netflix deal also follows the decision earlier this year to send edited versions of Insecure to the WBD-owned basic cable channel OWN, True Blood to TNT, Silicon Valley to TBS, and other recent licensing plays, like axing and kicking pricey titles like Westworld to ad-supported channels named “WBTV” on Roku and Tubi.
On one level, the particular titles make sense if you absolutely need the revenue. Both Band Of Brothers and The Pacific have had liner TV runs in recent years and with the exception of Ballers, all of the shows mentioned have been stripped out to other platforms at some point.
But there are a couple of things I'd like to highlight. One, while I don't know for sure about the identity of the person/persons who leaked the info to Deadline and Vulture, I have a suspicion it was likely someone who thought the deal was a bad idea.
I also think it's interesting that this potential deal is being described as "non-exclusive." I'm told that is because WBD has already licensed the titles to global regional streamers as part of a series of deals the company has made in recent months as part of its pause on rolling out Max into new markets. Different titles are licensed in different markets and it appears to be fairly complicated. So it's easier all around for Netflix to grab non-exclusive rights. What's not clear is how many markets this deal might cover. They certainly won't be global, but they are likely to be more than U.S.-only.
Let's also remember that this licensing wouldn't need to take place if the Warner Media/Discovery merger had never happened.
ACADEMY ANNOUNCES THEATRICAL STANDARDS FOR BEST PICTURE ELIGIBILITY
The Academy's Board of Governors has approved new requirements to broaden the public theatrical exhibition criteria for Oscars eligibility in the Best Picture category starting with the 97th Academy Awards, for films released in 2024. And there is more than a little bit of "screw you Netflix" included in the new rules:
Upon completion of an initial qualifying run, currently defined as a one-week theatrical release in one of the six U.S. qualifying cities, a film must meet the following additional theatrical standards for Best Picture eligibility:
Expanded theatrical run of seven days, consecutive or non-consecutive, in 10 of the top 50 U.S. markets, no later than 45 days after the initial release in 2024.
For late-in-the-year films with expansions after January 10, 2025, distributors must submit release plans to the Academy for verification.
Release plans for late-in-the-year films must include a planned expanded theatrical run, as described above, to be completed no later than January 24, 2025.
Non-U.S. territory releases can count towards two of the 10 markets.
Qualifying non-U.S. markets include the top 15 international theatrical markets plus the home territory for the film.
Still, the requirements leave a lot of wiggle room for streamers. And depending on how you book the movie, you can still essentially do a one-week theatrical run and still qualify for a Best Picture nod.
THE FUTURE OF TCM IS SO BRIGHT DAVID ZASLAV HAS TO WEAR SHADES
On top of all the other high-profile layoffs at Warner Bros. Discovery this week, came news that several of the top execs at Turner Classic Movies had been let go. And this was not news that was well received by fans of the network, who openly mocked Zaslav's former public proclamations that the cable network was a "crown jewel" of WBD. The public pushback was so intense that by today, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Paul Thomas Anderson reportedly held an emergency call with David Zaslav about the recent layoffs.
While the news has been shocking to movie fans, other linear networks - including the Cartoon Network - have also seen some high-profile exits this week.
The thing to remember about these moves is that I have no doubt that Zaslav believes that he is protecting the TCM brand by cutting costs in the face of a declining subscriber base. But the exits are also a standard move that is made any time a CEO is looking for money and decides to strip mine one or more assets. You get rid of the veteran employees at the highest level of the target company. In part because they are likely receiving the highest salary. But the move is primarily about disconnecting the company from its past. You get rid of the institutional memory, the people who remember how things used to be. You prune away as many future conflicts as possible by removing the employees who are well-respected and likely to push back against aggressive cost-cutting.
With those people out of the way, you can makeover the company in your image. In the case of TCM, that means getting rid of all the low-margin efforts that made the channel a jewel for movie fans. You eliminate most original programming, encourage well-known hosts to leave. There's less effort put into curation and more into slicing away every bit of muscle you can until the network is little more than a fondly remembered nameplate.
I don't know what will happen with TCM. But these actions are something you should keep fresh in your mind the next time you see speculation about some future media company merger. How many more beloved institutions will have to be eliminated in order to pay for Comcast/WBD merger? Or one that is even more unlikely?
ODDS AND SODS
* The Max "reinvention" of the Bravo series Project Greenlight premieres on Thursday, July 13th. The season follows Meko Winbush, whose feature film Grey Matter will premiere on Max the same day.
*Deadline has a rundown of all the people who have been laid off at Warner Bros. Discovery this week.
TWEET OF THE DAY
WHAT'S NEW FOR THURSDAY:
* And Just Like That Season Two Premiere (Max)
* A Road Less Traveled (Viaplay)
* Clean Sweep Series Premiere (Sundance Now/AMC+)
* Downey's Dream Cars Series Premiere (Max)
* Glamorous Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Let's Get Divorced (Netflix)
* My Husband's Worst Mistake (LMN)
* Skull Island Series Premiere (Netflix)
* Sleeping Dog (Netflix)
* That Peter Crouch Film (Prime Video)
* The Bear Season Two Premiere (FX)
* TMZ Investigates: The Miracle Children Of The Amazon (Fox)
* Trippin' With Anthony Anderson And Mama Doris Series Premiere (E!)
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.