Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Thursday, October 6th 2022

So why is Netflix's 'Glass Onion' only running in theaters for a week? I have one possible answer.

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Thursday, October 6th, 2022.

My apologies for the lack of a newsletter yesterday. I was assured by my doctor that receiving the new COVID booster, a flu and a pneumonia shot at the same time would "probably be fine." Spoiler: I was not fine.

Also, my original plan was to point to an updated piece of mine on Peacock that builds on some suggestions I had made earlier this week. But there is a lot going on today and in effort to keep this newsletter shorter than a novella, I'm pushing it off until tomorrow.

NETFLIX'S 'GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY' GETS A ONE-WEEK THEATRICAL RUN AT THANKSGIVING
Back in August, I wrote in this newsletter about the wranglings between Netflix and the big theatrical chains over whether several of its big original films - including Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery - would receive a theatrical release. I reported that Netflix was hoping for a Thanksgiving weekend theatrical release, giving the film a 30-day window before it premiered on Netflix.

Today the streamer announced the film will run in 600 U.S. theaters for one week, beginning with the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Like everyone else, I was curious about the decision to limit the run to just one week. I wasn't able to get much clarity this afternoon from my sources at Netflix, other than comments along the lines of "it was a strategic decision." But I did speak with someone on background familiar with the terms of the movie deal who told me that Glass Onion has a one-week theatrical carveout which was part of the original deal for the Knives Out sequels. If the theatrical release runs longer than a week, it triggers additional revenue and possibly additional renegotiations, which makes an extended run "problematical."

I haven't been able to get confirmation of this from anyone at Netflix, although it was suggested to me that another reason for the limited run was that the film is expected to generate strong word of mouth, which will only build leading up to the film's streaming premiere. The movie is also expected to help Netflix with both subscriber retention as well as new customer acquisition. Both of which are extremely important with the end of the financial quarter wrapping up at the end of December. 

'HOCUS POCUS 2' HAS A PRETTY GOOD OPENING WEEKEND
Despite the fact some people apparently believe the made-for-Disney+ film Hocus Pocus 2 will lure your teen into witchcraft, the film has turned out to be pretty popular with subscribers.

New data from Whip Media suggest the film might have had the biggest three-day opening for any original streaming movie so far in 2022:

IN DEFENSE OF ALEX WAGNER
This week has brought a flurry of mostly-anonymous stories arguing that new MSNBC primetime anchor is struggling and that the extremely soft ratings of her show so far points to larger problems at the network. But no one has been as critical as The Puck's Dylan Byers, who over the past few months has written a series of columns recounting what he says are the management missteps at MSNBC.

I posted a column late last night examining his latest piece, and I argued that talk of Wagner's failures is more than a bit premature. And in fact, I think she'll end up doing just fine:

So I come into this discussion with my own set of biases. Still, I'd like to think I wouldn't write this paragraph, which seems to use the menu of an event celebrating Wagner's hire as a way to illustrate how elitist and out-of-touch those MSNBC executive weasel can be:

"On Monday evening, MSNBC hosted a dinner party for Wagner across the street from 30 Rock at L’Avenue at Saks, attended by network insiders and a familiar smattering of green room denizens. While guests sipped champagne, Jones offered a pro-forma toast—“we’re so happy to have you back in the family and could not be more excited to celebrate you”—but it wasn’t exactly clear what they were celebrating. Wagner told the guests she was “planning to work my butt off,” then everyone dined on their choice of sea bass, curried vegetables or beef, followed by elevated s’mores. Hayes left early to do his show, later followed by Maddow’s producer. Maddow herself wasn’t there, but her ghost loomed large."

To be clear, it's not great that Wagner's ratings have been middling-to-weak so far. It might be what MSNBC executives expected, especially with Maddow returning to the timeslot once a week. But as someone who watches her show most nights, you can tell she's also working out just what she wants to show to be and that takes time. I remember how clunky and erratic Maddow's first six months of primetime shows were until she found her groove. These things take time and while no one at MSNBC might be happy with the numbers, no one I've spoken to there is arguing she should be replaced or even that she was the wrong choice. At worst, the reaction is "anyone would struggle in this timeslot with Maddow only mostly retiring."

Read the entire piece and let me know what you think.

TWEET OF THE DAY

ARTICLE ABOUT THE NEED TO BUNDLE STREAMING SERVICES ACCIDENTALLY PROVES IT LIKELY WON'T HAPPEN
Executives and media industry reporters love to talk about the mystical idea of "the great rebundling." Basically, it's the idea that at some point in the near-ish future, you'll be able to buy a selection of streaming services in a new bundle, which will look a lot like your old cable TV bundle.

It's a tempting idea for executives struggling to make money in a streaming world, because the traditional cable bundle was a massive cash cow for the industry. It provided an ever-increasing revenue to media companies and no matter how unhappy consumers might be, it was almost impossible not to be part of it if you wanted to watch your favorite TV networks. Rebundling also plays into many executive's beliefs that bigger is always better. Losing money with your idea? Combine it with a rival so you can "leverage your size." It's unofficially known around the office here as the "one big thing that sucks is always better than two smaller things that suck" business plan.

CNBC has a new piece arguing that a cable TV-type bundle of streaming services isn't coming "any time soon." But when you read the piece, it's apparent that they have really proved it probably won't ever happen:

“Streaming has moved to the phase where customer loyalty and ancillary revenue are becoming the focus,” said Jason Anderson, CEO of boutique investment bank Quire. “We are past subscription growth merely for the sake of subscription growth. To have stable subscriber numbers, you need your audience to be loyal to you and your content, not that of a partner.”

This is a major change in the media landscape from the last 40 years. In the world of traditional pay TV, all programmers were collective winners for every new subscriber. While NBCUniversal may compete against Paramount Global for content and advertising dollars, it doesn’t compete against Paramount Global for subscriber fees. A cable TV customer pays for both NBCUniversal’s cable and broadcast networks and Paramount Global’s every month.

In the streaming world, each media company is a direct competitor for eyeballs against each other. Aiding the competition may no longer be smart business.

CHART OF THE DAY
The Hollywood Reporter has a really interesting look at the technical and ethical complications of customer data in the advertising-supported streaming market. My favorite bit was this chart, which helps explain why watching Paramount+ with ads doesn't feel all that different than watching linear TV:

A COMBINED PARAMOUNT+/SHOWTIME MOVES ONE STEP CLOSER
CNBC's Alex Sherman takes a look at the decision by David Nevins to exit his role at Paramount Global. His job is being split into several parts and the thinking is this might make it easier to combine Paramount+ and Showtime into some as yet undefined combination streaming/linear service:

One obstacle to pushing Showtime together with Paramount+ is existing pay TV distributor agreements. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Paramount has discussed simply shuttering the standalone Showtime network with at least one pay-TV partner.

Another idea under consideration by Paramount Global executives is to move Paramount+ originals and movies to Showtime, effectively making Showtime a mirror to Paramount+’s content that doesn’t appear on other TV networks, two of the people said. That could assuage pay-TV providers, who could adjust pricing against the merged streaming product.

One of the reasons cited for a merger would be the cost-savings associated with a smaller headcount (i.e., layoffs). Those savings almost always end up sounding better than they turn out to be in real life. That being said, I think a Paramount+/Showtime combo is on its way.

ODDS AND SODS
* Amazon Prime Video has ordered a second season of the Josh Brolin sci-fi/western drama Outer Range, with Charles Murray taking over as showrunner.

* Katherine Langford will star in the Starz series The Venery Of Samantha Bird, which will explore addictive love and the repercussions that a relationship has on the families in a small New England town.

WHAT'S NEW FOR THURSDAY:

Here's a quick rundown of all the new stuff premiering today on TV and streaming:

A Friend Of The Family (Peacock)
Aftershock: Everest & The Nepal Earthquake (Netflix)
Alaska Daily Series Premiere (ABC)
Folklore (HBO Max)
Grey's Anatomy Season Premiere (ABC)
Monster High: The Movie (Nickelodeon)
Pennyworth: The Origin Of Batman's Butler Season Premiere (HBO Max)
Station 19 Season Premiere (ABC)
The Joys And Sorrows Of Young Yuguo (Netflix)
Wahl Street Season Premiere (HBO Max)
Walker Season Premiere (The CW)
Walker Independence Series Premiere (The CW)

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.