Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Tuesday, June 7th, 2022

What is the future of Netflix gaming?

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Tuesday, June 7th, 2022.

THE FUTURE OF NETFLIX GAMING
When people talk about Netflix's expansion into gaming, they tend to think of it through an American lens, of somehow being an eventual rival to PC or console gaming.

But as a tweet I saw today reminded me, the mobile aspects of Netflix gaming have some under-appreciated qualities that can help the streamer continue to grow globally:

To be honest, I haven't had an problems with crashing games and I have tended to find mobile games through the Netflix app (instead of searching for them in the App store).

While the mobile gaming market might not have a huge impact on churn and subscriber acquisition in North America, the games do have a couple of features that are really important in markets where Netflix is trying to grow its mobile-only subscription base (primarily Africa and Asia). As the tweet above mentions, the games don't have ads. That's a huge plus no matter what market you're in, but it's especially important in markets where cellphone service can be spotty. Even better for those markets, nearly all of the games can be played offline, which makes them a valuable calling card for a Netflix subscription in emerging territories.

And there seems to be an effort by Netflix to roll out some games that are designed to appeal to that market, including True Story, which takes place in an African village.

One of the biggest challenges for Netflix gaming is just building a large enough roster of compelling titles (sound familiar). I tend to lean towards games that have short rounds, since that is generally what fits into my day. Many of the Netflix games attempt to take familiar game concepts and give them a distinctive spin. Card Blast and Bowling Ballers are very successful with that, but some of the games are insanely beautiful, but nearly impossible to play (Wonderputt).

As is typically the case, Netflix is being publicly coy about its gaming ambitions. But I can see the games being increasingly important not only in the African markets, but also in India, a very competitive streaming market that boasts a large percentage of mobile users.

WHIP MEDIA STREAMING TV AND MOVIE ORIGINALS REPORT FOR THE WEEK ENDING JUNE 5TH

DOES NETFLIX REALLY CANCEL EVERYTHING?
Whats-On-Netflix has a piece translated from a French-language Substack that takes a look at all of Netflix's 2021 originals to try and determine if the streamer really does "cancel everything." As you might imagine, the answer is more nuances than the conventional wisdom:

So far, 18 Netflix Originals shows have been canceled from their 2021 debuts.

11 have been officially canceled after only one season:

• The Irregulars (UK)

• Jupiter’s Legacy (US)

• Dad, Stop Embarrassing Me! (US)

• Country Comfort (US)

• The Crew (US)

• Hit & Run (ISR)

• Zero (ITA)

• Zero Chill (UK)

• City of Ghosts (US)

• Pretty Smart (US)

Out of the 11 on this list, 4 are US sitcoms, 2 are teen dramas and 2 are superheroes shows (The Italian show Zero is a contemporary and urban take on superheroes).

You definitely want to read the entire piece, but it also made me wonder how this compares to other streamers. The only streamer right now that maybe has close to the number of Netflix releases is Amazon Prime Video and that is complicated by the fact that many of their "originals" are co-productions they've picked up from local networks and services. As a result, some of those shows might end up canceled for reasons that have nothing to do with their performance on Amazon Prime Video.

NETFLIX REACHES THRESHOLD FOR 30% EUROPEAN CONTENT OFFERINGS
While there are a number of reasons why streamers are expanding their international production so aggressively, one factor is that local governments are mandating that streamers include a certain percentage of local production and/or content in order to continue to do business in that country:

The European Union mandated foreign streaming services — starting in 2021 — carry at least 30% localized content, or risk undisclosed penalties. The new rules stipulated that if SVOD giants Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, HBO Max, Peacock and Paramount+ wanted to expand into Europe, they had to up their local content spending.

The mandate was put on hold following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Regardless, Netflix has now satisfied the ruling for most of the EU member countries. The notable exception is the U.K. and Ireland, where 27% of titles are European. France is also slightly under, as are minor markets Belgium and Switzerland. With the 30% quota already being introduced in a number of markets, Netflix is now just a ‘rounding error’ away from meeting requirements across its entire European footprint, according to Ampere.

It's worth noting that with the exception of Disney+, most of the other major American-owned streamers are approaching the 30 percent threshold as well:

Indeed, while Netflix is ahead of its global streaming rivals in programming European content, Amazon also exceeds the 30% quota in Germany, Switzerland and Italy and is on a par with Netflix in the U.K. with 27% of catalog titles being of European origin. Other Amazon markets range from 16% to 28% European.

HBO Max also has a large proportion of European titles in its local catalog, with the majority of its European footprint already exceeding 25% European. Disney still has some way to go, hovering around the 10% European mark. But like other studio and global streamers, Disney has recently been ramping up its European local original production activities.

One unplanned consequence of this growth in production outside the U.S. is that it will allow streamers to better weather a Hollywood strike. Next year, the industry contract with the Writers Guild is set to expire and union members have already been vocal about their need to shift U.S. production away from Netflix's (and other streamers) business model of buying rights up front and eliminating residuals.

The move away from the residual model has decimated the middle-class writing class of Hollywood and I am sympathetic to their cause. But winning this battle - even on a modest basis - is likely to only happen after a very bloody battle. 

ODDS AND SODS
* HBO Max has renewed Tokyo Vice for a second season.

* Sandra Oh and Awkwafina will star in a made-for-Hulu that will premiere in 2023. The comedy follows a brilliant but tightly wound, gameshow-obsessed young woman, Anne (Awkwafina) and her estranged, train-wreck of a sister Jenny (Oh), who must work together to help cover their mother’s gambling debts. When Anne’s beloved dog is kidnapped, they set out on a wild, cross-country trek to get the cash the only way they know how: by turning Anne into a bona-fide gameshow champion.

* The Fuse unscripted series Made From Scratch returns for season four on July 28th.

* Screen Media Film has acquired North American TV rights to Salvage Marines, a sci-fi action series starring Starship Troopers alum Casper Van Dien that will stream on Crackle TV.

* 81-year-old Sam Waterston will return for another season of Law & Order.

* Elizabeth Vargas will be hosting iCrime, a new syndicated half-hour true crime series set to premiere this fall.

WHAT'S NEW FOR TUESDAY
Here's a quick rundown of all the new stuff premiering today on TV and streaming:

All Rise Season Premiere (OWN)
That's My Time With David Letterman Series Premiere (Netflix)
The Barking Murders (BritBox)

Click Here to see the list of all of the upcoming premiere dates for the next few months.

SEE YOU WEDNESDAY!

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