Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Monday, October 17th 2022
If we've learned anything today, is that there are an unsettling number of idiots in the world.
Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Monday, October 17th, 2022.
THIS CAN'T BE GOOD NEWS FOR THE FUTURE OF 'DEADLIEST CATCH'
Alaska is cancelling its winter snow crab season in the Bering Sea for the first time ever after observing an estimated 90 percent drop in population over the past two years, essentially meaning that a billion crabs aren’t there. The precise reason for the population collapse isn’t known, but climate change and the resulting warmer waters seems to be at least part of the problem.
Seeing the news over the weekend reminded me that I spoke with Deadliest Catch star Captain Keith Colburn back in 2016 and at the time, he spoke about his concerns that Alaska's crab population might be endangered:
But that ice masks what's going on. You ask most fishermen what they think of climate change and they say "Grrr...there's no such thing!" But you know what? Look at the weather. In Alaska, we're seeing a lot more erratic weather. In Alaska, in the past ten years we've had the three warmest years on record and the two coldest years. So it's not just about things warming up. It's about crazy, cyclical things happening that we're not used to seeing. Things have changed in all sorts of ways that are more than just about warming, although that's happening as well. A few years ago, you would see maybe one large storm a year. Now, you're seeing seven or nine a year. And it's because the water is warmer and it's making the weather more unpredictable.
COMCAST SHUTS DOWN G4...AGAIN
In the arc of perplexing business decisions, this one is pretty far into "what the F*&k were they thinking?" territory.
Comcast on Sunday said that it is shutting down the video game-centric network G4 TV, a year after it was brought back from the dead:
The current iteration of G4 is smaller and less focused on traditional linear TV than was its predecessor. It has announced a programming slate including a revived version of original G4 mainstays Attack of the Show! and Xplay, plus comedy Boosted, Japanese competition series Ninja Warrior, esports competitions and Dungeons & Dragons limited series.
Along with putting content on YouTube and social media, G4 has a multi-year agreement with Twitch and pay-TV distribution deals with Verizon FiOS, Cox, Xfinity TV and Philo.
And in typical Comcast fashion, instead of shutting the network down on Thursday, there was first a massive round of layoffs, followed by reassurances from remaining network talent that everything would be okay:
G4 hosts Fiona Nova and Case Blackwell went live at 2:00 p.m. on Twitch Thursday for the latest episode of The Feedback and addressed the layoffs, reassuring viewers that while close colleagues had been laid off, there were no plans to scale back the channel’s programming.
There had been a previous major round of layoffs at the channel back in September, which at the time executives said would help G4 stabilize financially.
Bringing back G4 wasn't a terrible idea, but the execution of the plan was haphazard, to say the least. And then of course, since we're dealing with a big American media company, there was also a bit of nepotism:
The relaunch was reportedly the brain child of Tucker Roberts, the son of Comcast CEO Brian Roberts. Tucker led the cable and internet company’s move into esports and is currently the president of the competitive Overwatch team, Philadelphia Fusion. According to one source, however, Tucker stepped away from G4 operations back in March.
It's worth noting that Puck's Matthew Belloni is reportedly that some of young Tucker's decisions at the network were perhaps not the wisest decisions:
But this move by Comcast is also a middle finger to the junior Roberts. He had helped get jobs there for several of his buddies, and, according to two sources, the network had also given Olivia Munn, who began her career on G4’s Attack of the Show!, a two year, 7-figure deal—ostensibly to promote and appear on G4TV, but it doesn’t look like she did much of either. Munn is Tucker’s former girlfriend.
I've seen some snarky comments from journalists along the lines of "how many gamers are watching linear TV," which is an accurate observation but also not the point. The audience for the G4 reboot was not young gamers, it was older gamers who remember the original G4 and have a sense of nostalgia about the brand. And appealing to that demo was a good play (so to speak). This audience has more disposable income and they can be harder to reach than younger gamers.
The problem wasn't specifically that G4 was on linear TV, there was also a Twitch channel and other social media efforts. But gamers cane be very tribal and it would have made more sense to have launched G4 as a tab on Peacock and built a home for the content and the brand in a predictable spot. As I wrote about last week, Peacock's best play moving forward is to build small, passionate audiences who feel connected to the service. Spending lots of money on things that don't build long-term engagement is essentially just burning the cash in the parking lot at Peacock. G4 is one of those brands that would have had some traction and Peacock could have tied the G4 launch to that special $20 for the year subscription rate the service is now offering. Which would have tied subscribers to the service long enough to hopefully build a connection with fans of the channel.
Aside from all of the other problems faced by G4, it also had several high-profile talent controversies, most recently the September exit of Xplay co-host Indiana Black, a.k.a. "Frosk" or "Froskurinn," She had been hired in part to host the short-lived eSports variety show Boosted, but quickly found herself the target of critics who criticized everything from her knowledge of the sport to her looks:
During all this, Frosk has become the go-to target for outrage YouTubers building content around the G4 relaunch. In January, she called out the regular sexist comments directed at her and other female G4 talents, noting that no matter the gender of the person who would write a review or segment, it would receive more hate in chat/comment sections if a female personality delivered it on-screen. Many of the comments also would also compare hosts' physical appearances with past G4 stars Olivia Munn and Morgan Webb. Frosk hit back on these comments, and toxic personalities in the gaming space took advantage of the viral moment to make hours of outrage-bait demanding G4 fire her.
In the months, the backlash and hateful comments continued, but Xplay continued to produce solid content, with Frosk remaining a main personality. However, she did stir up ire from critics and supporters alike in wake of the Sept. 14 layoffs. She posted a meme of the Xplay studio lizard Gex with the caption "I SURVIVED," meant to mock the trolls who wanted her out at G4. Many thought this tweet was in bad taste.
Frosk was let go a week later, after the network reportedly bought out her contract. And predictably, many of those same critics were out in force on Monday, claiming she was in part responsible the network's demise.
IN THE END, IT'S ALL ABOUT THE MARKETING
Over the past several years, I've written a great deal about Netflix's attitude towards marketing new shows and it is the subject that I am very passionate about. Because in a time where so much new stuff is being released, marketing and promotion become even more important.
Bloomberg's Lucas Show's a long piece about Netflix in his recent "Screentime" newsletter and his has this to say about the service's marketing efforts:
Despite complaints from show creators, filmmakers and its own employees, Netflix has never spent as much on marketing as any of its peers. Netflix has waited to spend on marketing until it sees if a show finds an audience, pouring gasoline on an already developing fire. Sarandos just doesn’t see the point in spending billions of dollars to market shows when tens of millions of people already use the service every day. The algorithm tells them what to watch. (This relative disinterest in marketing may be one reason Sarandos has had four heads of marketing in the last five years.)
This all falls under the umbrella of "content discovery" and for whatever reason, the powers that be at Netflix believe the most accurate representation of subscriber engagement and interest comes from them stumbling across a new title and deciding to try it.
But if you're not interested in devoting a lot of resources to marketing and PR (or don't believe it works in many cases), at least make the effort to provide minimal information to journalists so they can write about the show ahead of the premiere:
But let us help you. There are things you can do to make it easier for journalists to discover and highlight new and returning programs. Things which don't require huge outlays of time or resources. Have information about every upcoming show on your press site. This is especially important for services such as Netflix, Prime Video and HBO Max, which can sometimes have a firehose of new content. Have photos, helpful synopsis on the page as a minimum. Ideally, some cast and crew information. And for all that is holy, include a specific press contact. For instance, Netflix tends to just include this generic PR email address on global shows that aren't a priority in North America. Which wouldn't be an issue if anyone ever answered those emails. I've had to spend time compiling local PR contacts for a lot of territories, in hopes of making it easier to track down info.
Make screeners available and make them easy to access. I can't recommend a show based on one episode. And if it's a choice between reviewing a show I can watch on my TV and one I have to watch on my laptop, guess which one I'll prioritize? I know that tight production schedules can make getting screeners out in advance a challenge. But don't send out screeners two days ahead of a premiere and expect much attention unless you're working on an extremely high profile show.
I have also spoken with some extremely frustrated show creators and producers who also claim Netflix prevents them from doing the level of outside promotion they believe is necessary. They are discouraged from hiring outside PR firms and in many case are prevented from having stories out there in advance of Netflix's news embargo for the series. Which in many cases is set to expire on the day of the show premiere. Without the time to plant the PR seeds ahead of the premiere and put their show on the radar for viewers, these critics tell me, too many shows get lost when the first time a viewer has any detailed info on a show comes the day of the premiere.
ODDS AND SODS
* Fubo TV announces that effective immediately they will close its FUBO Gaming subsidiary & cease operation of its owned-and-operated Fubo Sportsbook. Fubo says continuing the business would "impact our ability to reach our longer term profitability goals."
* Sundance Now, AMC+ pick up the Alexander Litvinenko mini-series (starring David Tennant) for the U.S. market.
* Prime Video is premiering a new Thursday night live concert series to accompany its Thursday Night Football NFL games. Amazon Music Live will be hosted by 2 Chainz and premieres October 27th.
COMING THIS WEEK ON ALLYOURSCREENS
Here is a rundown of all the reviews coming this week on AllYourscreens.com. Shows that are marked with a "*" are ones that I had a screener for and those reviews will post when any relevant embargo expires. Others will be reviewed after they premiere and that typically takes place within 24 hours or so.
Tuesday, October 18th:
Customer Wars Series Premiere (A&E)
*Gabriel Iglesias: Stadium Fluffy Live From Los Angeles (Netflix)
*Primal Survivor: Over The Andes Series Premiere (NatGeo)
*Somebody Feed Phil Season Premiere (Netflix)
*Unsolved Mysteries Volume Three Premiere (Netflix)
Wednesday, October 19th:
American Horror Story NYC (FX)
*Notre-Dame Series Premiere (Netflix)
*Nova: Can Psychedelics Cure? (PBS)
*The Rebellious Life Of Mrs. Rosa Parks (Peacock)
The School For Good And Evil (Netflix)
Thursday, October 20th:
Legacy (HBO Max)
*V/H/S/99 (Shudder)
Friday, October 21st:
Barbarians Season Two Premiere (Netflix)
Descendent (Netflix)
*From Scratch (Netflix)
ONI: Thunder God's Tale (Netflix)
*Terror Train (Tubi)
*The Peripheral Series Premiere (Prime Video)
TWEET OF THE DAY
WHAT'S NEW FOR MONDAY:
Here's a quick rundown of all the new stuff premiering today on TV and streaming:
American Built Season Premiere (Fox Business)
Kids Baking Championship: Trick Or Eat (Food)
Mike Rowe’s How America Works Season Premiere (Fox Business)
No One Can Hear You Scream Series Premiere (Investigation Discovery)
POV: An Act Of Worship (PBS)
Rising Against Asian Hate: One Day In March (PBS)
The Paloni Show! Halloween Special! (Hulu)
The Vow Part Two (HBO)
Waffles + Mochi's Restaurant (Netflix)
Click Here to see the list of all of the upcoming premiere dates for the next few months.
SEE YOU TUESDAY!
If you have any feedback, send it along to Rick@AllYourScreens.com and follow me on Twitter @aysrick.