Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Monday, July 11th, 2022

Warner Bros. Discovery continues its flea market approach to paying off debt.

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Monday, July 11th, 2022.

PROGRAMMING NOTE
Amazingly, I am actually taking a few days off at the end of this week. The last newsletter this week will be on Wednesday, July 13th and I'll be away until Friday, July 22nd. I am going to try and stay offline as much as possible and enjoy the beach. Although don't be surprised if I send out a brief newsletter following the release of Netflix's earnings next week.

As always, I appreciate everyone's support and feedback.

And now, the important stuff...

HBO MAX MAY RETURN TO AMAZON'S CHANNELS
Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw is reporting that Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. has been in talks with Amazon.com Inc. about restarting a distribution agreement for the online retailer to sell Warner’s HBO Max along with its Prime Video service:

If the two sides came to an agreement it would reverse a move that happened only last year. HBO Max, then owned by AT&T Inc.,  pulled its service off of the Amazon platform, a move that cost the company 5 million subscribers. Warner executives said at the time they wanted to have a direct relationship with the customers. Amazon limited HBO Max’s access to information about viewer habits as well as its ability to promote new programs.

The Warner business merged in April with Discovery Inc. and there’s now a lot of incentive for Chief Executive Officer David Zaslav to get a deal done. Zaslav needs to boost HBO Max’s subscriber base and generate additional revenue to help pay off debt and lift the stock of Warner Bros Discovery, which has fallen about 45% since Discovery completed the merger. 

This is what happens when you're scrambling to pay down debt that come out of a big merger. You make all sorts of decisions that bring short-term results even if it damages your business model down the road. 

I think it might also be an indication that HBO Max's sub growth is slowing in the U.S., which may point to an overall softening of the market for all of the major streamers in the U.S.

TBS PULLS SEASON TWO OF "CHAD' AT THE LAST MINUTE
The second season of the TBS original comedy Chad was set to premiere tonight, after being delayed from its original April premiere date. Now the unaired season is apparently being sold off, along with the first season, which HBO Max pulled on July 1st. 

This is apparently part of the overall Warner Bros. Discovery mandate to sell or license off any assets considered to be "non-core." The shame in this move is that the company waited until the last minute to announced the move, which isn't what I would call a "talent-friendly" approach.

Sadly, I think we're going to see a lot more of these decisions in the coming months as Warner Bros. Discovery scrambles to raise money in order to service its massive debt.

DISNEY+ TO PRODUCE THREE SHOWS FEATURING K-POP GROUP BTS
The Walt Disney Company and BTS’ studio home Hybe announced a new global content partnership Tuesday that will produce five streaming titles, including three featuring the superstar K-Pop group BTS.

The titles include:

In the Soup: Friendcation: An original travel reality show with a star-studded cast including V of BTS, Itaewon Class’ Seo-jun Park, Parasite star Woo-shik Choi, Hyung-sik Park and Peakboy. The show features the five friends venturing on a surprise trip and enjoying a variety of leisure and fun activities.

BTS: Permission to Dance on Stage – LA: An exclusive cinematic 4K concert film featuring BTS’ live performance in Los Angeles’ Sofi Stadium in November 2021. Performing Billboard hit songs “Butter” and “Permission to Dance,” this was the first time in two years since the pandemic that the band met fans in person.

BTS Monuments: Beyond the Star: “This original docu-series follows the incredible journey of 21st century pop icons BTS,” says Disney. “With unprecedented access to a vast library of music and footage over the past nine years, the series will feature the daily lives, thoughts and plans of BTS members, as they prepare for their second chapter.” The show will be available exclusively on Disney’s streaming services in 2023.

PLUTO TV ROLLS OUT NEW CONTENT CATEGORIES, INCLUDING NEW GAME SHOW CHANNELS
AVOD Pluto TV is reshuffling its content mix a bit, adding some new categories in order to make it easier for viewers to find favorite programming.

As part of the change, the Paramount Global-owned service will add five new content categories, including Game Shows, Daytime TV, Home, Food, and Lifestyle & Culture. That brings the service's overall content category count to 18.

Channels devoted to the game show The Price Is Right and Judge Judy launched today, with channels focusing on the long-running game shows Wheel Of Fortune and Jeopardy! launching on August 1st.

ODDS AND SODS
* Season two of The Kardashians premieres Thursday, September 22nd on Hulu.

* I was not impressed with the new three-part Discovery+ documentary Unprecedented, which promises a "behind-the-scenes & unfiltered" look at Donald Trump and his family during the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election.

* Linda Martindale has a great recap of Sunday's episode of the increasingly insane Riverdale.

* Season two of The Outlaws premieres Friday, August 5th on Prime Video. Click here to see the just-released season two trailer.

* Leverage: Redemption will make its broadcast network premiere on Ion beginning July 11th.

* Bobby Flay has figured out a way to get the Food Network to pay for his trip to Los Angeles with his daughter Sophie in the new three-part series Bobby And Sophie On The Coast, which premieres Monday, August 22nd. 

* CNBC has ordered a new season of Money Court, adding reality TV star and businesswoman Bethenny Frankel as co-host of the show, although with Shark Tank investor Kevin O'Leary.

* Hulu has renewed Only Murders In The Building for a third season.

* Season two of INSP’s original historical docudrama series Wild West Chronicles will premiere on Thursday, July 28th.

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:

BBQ USA Series Premiere (Food)
Below Deck Mediterranean Season Premiere (Bravo)
Better Call Saul Season 6B Premiere (AMC)
Chad Season Two Premiere (TBS)
Claim To Fame Series Premiere (ABC)
Days Of Our Lives: Beyond Salem (Peacock)
For Jojo (Netflix)
Game Of Sharks (ESPN)
Great White Vs. Tiger Sharks (ESPN)
Maui Shark Mystery (NatGeo)
Modern Marvels Season Premiere (History)
POV Season Premiere (PBS)
Sharks Vs The World (NatGeo)
Sky Sharks (NatGeo)
Team Zenko Go (Netflix)
The Bachelorette Season Premiere (ABC)
Valley of the Dead (Malnazidos) (Netflix)
When Sharks Attack (NatGeo)

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.