Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Thursday, May 11th, 2023
Not all content spending cuts are created equal.
Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Thursday, May 11th, 2023.
TWITTER IS GETTING A NEW CEO
NBCUniversal’s head of advertising Linda Yaccarino is in talks to become the new CEO of Twitter, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Her background is no doubt part of the reason she was chosen, but it apparently is also because her politics are pretty compatible with those of Musk. For example:
But more to the point, it's well-known in NBCU circles that she is politically very conservative. Which would seem to be a prerequisite for anyone hoping to mesh with Musk.
CUTTING CONTENT SPEND IS MORE COMPLEX THAN IT SEEMS
When one of the major media companies announces it is cutting spending on content, the headlines (and honestly, much of the commentary) treat every dollar cut as being equal. If a billion dollars is being cut from content spend, then that means a billion dollars less is being spent on original programming. And that means fewer new shows.
And it is hardly ever that simple.
Some media companies lump some of their sports rights into their original content spend total, which complicates thing immensely when outsiders try and parse out the changing levels of spending. Then there are the more subtle changes in spending, which are even more difficult to track. For instance, Warner Bros. Discovery originally budgeted money over the next couple of years for ramped up original content production in a number of global territories. The original plan was to continue rolling out HBO Max globally and using localized original production to help lure in subscribers. But the company has reined in those plans in a number of countries, arguing that it isn't giving up the idea but merely pushing it down the road a few years. In the meantime, its able to cut spending on original content as well as bring in additional revenue by licensing out content in those local markets for an additional two-to-three year period.
And then there are situations like Canada, where the government is in the process of requiring streamers to spend a certain percentage of their local revenue on Canadian productions. There are similar laws in place in about 20 countries worldwide and licensing original content instead of a launching a standalone app in that country saves money overall, but also allows HBO Max (or Max) to not be forced to spend money on local content that might not have enough value to the company globally.
But cutting content spend can also happen in all sorts of ways that most people won't even notice. And the cuts won't affect what shows are available or even how many new shows are produced.
Netflix announced it was slowing its content spend, but most of those cutbacks seem to be around the margins. For instance, the streamer premiered a package on Indonesian-produced films across the service today and they are all films that are not originals but were produced in Indonesia. The films are important on a micro level to Netflix because Indonesia is a growing market and despite having cuts deals with several local telecoms, the regional streamer Vidio remains the most popular choice in the region. And that is because Vidio hyper focuses on Indonesian and other regionally-produced originals. So Netflix licensing local content is an important strategic move.
But for cultural and stylistic reasons, these films aren't necessarily going to travel well outside the APAC region. So one way Netflix is saving money is by not paying the extra money to create multiple audio-dubbed versions of the films. For instance, Arini By Love.Inc (which is a pretty cool thriller) is only available with the original Indonesian audio track, with the option of Indonesian, Korean and English subtitles. And that is the case with the other Indonesian films added today as well as an increasing number of global licensing deals.
While the cost savings on any one title isn't huge, the difference on a full complement of audio dubs and subtitles on a movie can be in the range of $20,000-$100,000, depending on the complexity of the project. For instance, the number of available people who can translate from Indonesian to Norwegian is extremely limited and priced accordingly. Opting not to spend that money is an easy call and 99.6 percent of Netflix's subscribers won't even notice the difference.
ODDS AND SODS
* The CW has ordered the scripted drama The Spencer Sisters for the Fall 2023 primetime schedule. The series stars Lea Thompson and Stacey Farber as a mother and daughter duo who join forces to start a private detective agency. Although if they are mother/daughter why does the show title describe them as sisters? Okay, I might be overthinking this one.....
* Scripps plans to air the 2023 National Spelling Bee on all six of its entertainment networks. The preliminary rounds begin on Tuesday, May 30th.
* The CW has canceled Kung-Fu and The Winchesters.
A LOOK BACK AT 'HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREETS'
There is a great piece in today's NY Times that looks back at NBC's famed Homicide: Life On The Street and it's a fun read for fans of the show:
The show’s sixth episode, “Three Men and Adena,” which first aired in March, was a stark, dramatic example of what made “Homicide” different from other cop shows. It takes place almost entirely within the confines of an interrogation room, with the detectives Pembleton and Bayliss (Kyle Secor) attempting to wring a confession out of Risley Tucker (Moses Gunn), an itinerant fruit-and-vegetable man, after the murder of a little girl named Adena Watson. Pembleton and Bayliss prod, provoke and rage, but “Homicide” refuses to grant the audience the resolution they crave. Tucker doesn’t crack. Adena’s case is never solved. (The showrunner, Tom Fontana, won an Emmy for writing the episode)
One of the things that comes up in the interviews is the fact that the show isn't available for streaming:
LEVINSON For the last four years, I’ve tried to get an answer for why we’re not on streaming. No one, I mean no one, has been able to give me an answer. There’s money to be made. You can’t figure out how to handle whatever rights issues that may come up? You’re talking over 120-some episodes. And somehow no one can figure out how to handle the rights? That doesn’t make sense!
Long-time readers of this newsletter will remember that I have written about this before and I have an explanation, albeit a complicated one:
As is often the case, there are multiple reasons why the show still isn't available for streaming. But the biggest problem is the result of the collapse of a special purpose acquisition company (or SPAC).
MCEG Sterling Incorporated was a co-producer on seasons 2-7 of "Homicide" & my understanding is that they would have to sign off on a deal. Except....they don't exist anymore. Sterling was the home entertainment arm of UAV & its primary business was selling DVDs of MTM shows.
In 2006, the private equity firm that controlled UAV lost control of the company to lenders & it was liquidated. A company called ContentFilm apparently acquired the rights later that year when they purchased a bunch of UAVassets. They were acquired by Key Media Group in 2017.
Key Media Group was picking up all sorts of random assets using a SPAC for funding. Ranging from the rights to international distribution of Finding Neverland to the production company that did Dance Moms. KMG collapsed about three years ago & the parts were sold off piecemeal.
At that point, the percentage of "Homicide" ownership originally controlled by MCEG Sterling seems to have been part of KMG subsidiary Kew Media Distribution, which was sold to UK's Quiver Entertainment in May 2020. Except that Quiver says the "Homicide" rights weren't part of the deal. So who controls the rights to that sliver of "Homicide?" I've tried to find out & none of the entities that acquired pieces of KMG seem to have it. So I have no clue. And that's likely at least part of the reasons why "Homicide" isn't available for streaming.
The rights to "Homicide" seem to be all tied up & while it's possible to get it figured out, it would require some expensive legal work & I don't think anyone has been willing to tackle it to this point. Especially given the other usual suspects when something isn't streaming (musical rights, other subsidiary rights).
And speaking of Homicide: Life On The Street, let me also point you to this piece, which recounts the story of how an early John Wells drama was forced to change some aspects of the show following allegations of plagiarism. It was a dispute which almost kept Homicide: Life On The Streets off the air.
According to Simon, an agent sent Levinson's production company a sample of Wells' work, which turned out to be the Polish Hill pilot.
Simon, a crime reporter for The (Baltimore) Sun, says entire accounts, dialogue and characters were lifted from his book by "Polish Hill" screenwriter John Wells.
"I called CBS and said, `How can you put this on? This is stolen material,"' Simon said in an interview. "Two of his (Wells') three murders are directly out of the book."
In one scene of the "Polish Hill" script, he said, "Every single line of dialogue was copied verbatim - including vernacular."
Not surprisingly, this is a story that everyone involved seems happy to just memory hole after all of these years.
TWEET OF THE DAY
WHAT'S NEW FOR THURSDAY:
* Arini By Love, Inc. (Netflix)
* Ghosts Season Finale (CBS)
* 58th Annual Academy Of Country Music Awards (Prime Video)
* Intelligence: A Special Agent Special (Peacock)
* Next Level Chef Season Finale (Fox)
* One Night Stand (Netflix)
* Que Viva Mexico! (Netflix)
* Royalteen: Princess Margrethe (Netflix)
* Tell No One (Topic)
* Ultraman Season Three Premiere (Netflix)
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.