Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Tuesday, June 22nd, 2021

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Tuesday, June 22nd, 2021. I'm writing this from the Twin Cities suburbs, where AllYourScreens HQ is powered by Diet Rite and leftover pineapple fried rice.

AMAZON/MGM DEAL TO BE REVIEWED BY FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
When it comes to the subject of media industry mergers and acquisitions, much of the news coverage tends to focus on the business aspects of the deal. Will it affect the stock price, will it give the company more leverage in the market? Whether the deal is good for consumers is often a secondary consideration and that's why M&A deals are almost always framed as positive overall. There's a lot of talk about "synergy" and "expected cost-savings," but not "hey, this decrease in competition will end up costing you more."

There are news reports today that Amazon’s $8.45 billion acquisition of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio will be reviewed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and I don't have a problem with that. I'm not a fan of industry consolidation in general, but this particular merger is less of an issue for me. I'm not sure that MGM being acquired by Amazon is any better or worse than if it were acquired by Apple or Netflix. And while the MGM IP is nice, it's not a substantial enough advantage for Amazon to justify blocking the deal. 

Frankly, if I were a consumer I would be much more concerned about the proposed Discovery/WarnerMedia merger. As I wrote back in May, the deal is likely to cost consumers money, since one of the rationales for the merger is that it gives the combined companies more leverage when it comes to carriage negotiations:

All Cable and Satellite providers (TV providers) pay each Network owner (Programmer) a fee for every household that receives a particular Network - regardless of whether anyone in the household actually watches it. John Malone (one of the biggest holders of Discovery Inc. voting stock) essentially invented the now common practice of bundling together a bunch of lesser networks with those that the TV providers consider to be "must have" networks in order to extract regular increases in subscriber fees from the TV providers. Increases which are passed directly on to the subscribers.

WarnerMedia owns several of the channels which charge the highest per-subscriber rates in the industry. And thanks to its acquisition of the Scripps Networks, Discovery owns some of the most popular general consumer channels in the industry (Food, HGTV). So the easiest way for this new combined entity to extract money from customers is to raise the subscriber fees when it negotiates upcoming carriage deals. These increases will be passed on to you, so don't be surprised when your monthly cable or satellite bill increases in a year or two.

STRANGELY, PEOPLE DON'Y LIKE SEEING ADS WHILE THEY'RE PLAYING VR GAMES
Facebook’s first partner for advertising in its Oculus VR headset has pulled out of the initiative less than a week after it was announced. This move came after users had started posting one-star reviews of the game Blaston in protest of their push ads:

The idea of introducing advertising to virtual reality has long been rejected by some gamers. After selling Oculus to Facebook in 2014 for about $2bn, founder Palmer Luckey said that the company would be able to continue to operate with autonomy from its new parent company, adding: “We are not going to track you, flash ads at you, or do anything invasive.” Later on Monday, Blaston said in a tweet that as an alternative to its test, Resolution Games was “looking to see if it is feasible to move this small, temporary test” to its free fish-catching game Bait.

WILL NETFLIX AND OTHER STREAMERS FACE MORE GOVERNMENTAL OVERSIGHT IN THE U.K.?
No matter the government, it is always tempting for politicians to ask for more oversight over social media companies and streaming services. And as the world's largest streamer, Netflix has faced its share of problems. From being locked out of the massive Chinese market to facing government constraints in places such as India, Netflix is fighting a multi-front war to remain as independent as possible in a world filled with governments that have their own individual agendas.

Some of the issues - such as requirements to produce some percentage of content locally - are easy enough to finesse. In most cases, Netflix is expanding it localized production capacity anyway. But then there are regions such as the U.K., where the government is seeking to have the ability to regulate Netflix and other streaming services the same way it does British TV networks — including punishments for "bias" and "inaccuracy:"

Netflix will be regulated by Ofcom under Government plans to level the playing field for the BBC and other traditional broadcasters struggling to compete. Oliver Dowden, the Culture Secretary, is due to set out the proposal this week, with other streaming giants including Amazon Prime and Disney+ also brought under the UK’s regulatory framework.

The plans, due to be set out in a broadcasting white paper, would see Ofcom’s remit extended to cover on-demand services, meaning it could rule on complaints relating to bias and inaccuracy.

It comes after Netflix, the world’s biggest streaming service, was last year embroiled in a row over the accuracy of scenes in The Crown, the historical drama based on the Queen and the Royal Family. Following the release of the fourth series, which chronicles the marriage of the Prince of Wales and Diana, the Princess of Wales, Mr Dowden called on Netflix to use disclaimers making clear it was a “work of fiction”.

Amazon Prime was also criticised for hosting anti-vaccination documentaries in the US that it later removed.

But it's worth noting that some of these complaints about inaccuracies are less an issue than the fact that broadcasters in the U.K. are losing audience share to the streamers:

A Government source said: “UK broadcasters are having to compete with these giants with one hand tied behind their backs. The companies have deep pockets and go largely unregulated, leaving them free to impose their interpretation of British life…

“With the pace of change and the increase in global competition, the Culture Secretary feels it is time to look at how we can level the playing field between broadcasters and video-on-demand services and make sure the UK’s broadcasting landscape is fit for the 21st century.”

THE TOXIC ATMOSPHERE OF SPORTS COVERAGE
Several times in recent weeks female sports journalists have written in detail about the corrosive atmosphere of sexual harassment for women who are simply trying to cover the sports world. Kat O'Brien just wrote an achingly personal piece that the NY Times that tells her story of how she was raped by an MLB player while she was a sports reporter. It is a powerful piece, but it is extremely difficult to read:

I knew that if I told anyone what happened that it would ruin my career. I was 22 with no track record, and at that time — nearly two decades ago — most people in baseball would have rallied to protect the athlete. So I blamed myself. I must have been too nice, too trusting, too friendly and open. Even though I said no, it must have been a misunderstanding. I lived in fear the story would get out.

Soon after the assault, I was back at the ballpark in Arlington, in the visiting team’s clubhouse. An All-Star player stared at me, saying my name and the name of his teammate, the man who had raped me. Suddenly I realized he must have told people, making himself out to be a stud and me some girl who was there to pick up ballplayers instead of do my job. I felt humiliated and ashamed. The player who had raped me never said another word to me.

And then there are all of the small moments that happen to women. Stories and battles that never have to be faced by male journalists:

There was the time another sports reporter told me that he had heard a false rumor that I got my job covering the Rangers because I slept with a team executive. There was the coach who was a regular source for me who nicknamed me “Legs.” Players commented that I must be wearing a thong under my pants since they couldn’t see any panty lines, or maybe I wasn’t wearing underwear at all. I heard people — often male sportswriters — speculate as to whether a female reporter had slept with a certain player simply because she was friendly or had been at a bar frequented by players. There was the team manager (not with the Rangers or Yankees) who had a blowup doll in his office; team members would feign sex acts with it. There was the road series where players watched porn on a large television in the clubhouse, even when it was open to reporters. During that same series, a player asked what sexual positions I liked. That was the only time I ever spoke up, and thank you to the general manager, who acted quickly once he heard about it. But it did occur to me — being able to watch porn in a work setting with no consequences might have led to him thinking he could do that.

And this is the inherent problem you have when there is such an intertangling of interests between sports news coverage and sports rights. Few outlets - whether television or print - want to risk alienating big sports organizations by highlighting what insiders would consider to be "dirty laundry." And newer upstart digital outlets that depend on their subscribers to stay afloat don't want to tackle issues that might potentially be seen as divisive to some fans. Although it's a sad world we live in one of the editorial considerations has to be "well, what about the subscribers who believe that she shouldn't have dressed that way?”

WEDNESDAY'S PREMIERES 
1) Card Sharks Season Premiere (ABC)
Joel McHale returns as host for the second season of “Card Sharks,” a suspenseful game where a fortune can be won on the turn of a single playing card! The road to glory and riches begins with two players who face off in a head-to-head elimination game with the goal of one player making it to the life-changing money card round. In the money card round, the winning player has to make gut-wrenching decisions and risk it all to win it all. Ultimately, players can either take their earned cash and quit or continue wagering for a chance to take home a major cash prize.

2) Good On Paper (Netflix)
After years of putting her career ahead of love, stand-up comic Andrea Singer has stumbled upon the perfect guy. On paper, he checks all the boxes but is he everything he appears to be?

3) Murder By The Coast (Netflix)
In 1999, teen Rocío Wanninkhof is murdered. Her mother's ex-partner, Dolores Vázquez, is suspected. Did she do it? A second victim reveals the truth.

4) The House Of Flowers: The Movie (Netflix)
The De La Mora siblings concoct a mischievous plan to break into their old family home to retrieve a hidden treasure of significant importance.

5) The Parisian Agency: Exclusive Properties (Netflix)
This reality series follows the Kretz family and their luxury property business as they help clients buy and sell houses in France and beyond.

6) Too Hot To Handle Season Two Premiere (Netflix)
The world's hottest no dating dating show is back with ten sexy new singles.  Anyone who dares to break the rules of no kissing, no heavy petting, and no self-gratification of any kind will see the $100,000 prize drop faster than our contestants’ libido in the least sexy vacation getaway of their lives.

If you have any feedback, send it along to Rick@AllYourScreens.com and follow me on Twitter @aysrick.