Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Wednesday, March 10th, 2021

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Wednesday, March 10th, 2021. I'm writing this from the Twin Cities suburbs, where AllYourScreens HQ is powered by iced tea and trail mix.

My apologies for the lateness of the newsletter today. It's virtual finals week for my high schooler, so there is much to distract me from work. On the upside, he is doing very well, so I have no complaints.

AMAZON (FINALLY) IMPROVES IT UI
I have been railing about the horrors that are part of the Amazon Prime Video user interface. It's clunky, it's confusing and it's nearly impossible to find what you're looking for.

Someone from Amazon kindly walked me through some prototypes a few weeks ago and talked on background about a number of the issues the UI designers have been dealing with - everything from marketing plans to conflicting sales priorities.

While the biggest problems haven't gone away, Amazon has slightly tweaked their Prime Video app. And while the change might seem to be trivial, it has vastly improved the user experience.

Amazon had added a new section in the top navigation bar entitled "Free To Me." And if you click it, you're brought to a page that only includes content that is free: basically, just the movies and TV shows available for free through an Amazon Prime Video account and through the free AVOD service IMDb TV. No Amazon Channels, no link to movie rentals or TV that needs to be purchased. If you're someone who wants to just watch the content that is free, then this is the perfect solution.

You can't set the "Free To Me" option to be your automatic front page, but clicking once to get to it isn't an imposition. And one advantage for Amazon with this change is that it further highlights IMDb TV content, which is a priority for the streamer.

SPEAKING OF USER INTERFACES
There a lot of things to complain about when it comes to Paramount TV+. But the biggest one is that it launched without wish lists or a way to "save" shows to watch later. It's one of those features that should be a baseline feature for any streaming service in 2021.

I asked all of you in Monday's newsletter to send along your streaming UI pet peeves as well as features you think should be baseline must-haves for any streaming service. I received more than 100 emails with your thoughts and thanks to all of you.

So what are some of the must-have features any streaming service should offer? Here's the list (in no particular order)

PROFILES
You should be able to create multiple profiles, including profiles that limit viewing to kid-friendly content. Amazon has just recently rolled out their profile option and most streamers have some version of profiles available. The biggest offender right now is the otherwise excellent Philo, which still doesn't offer customers the ability to create profiles. Which is a capital crime for any Live TV streaming service. And speaking of creating profiles, any streamer gets bonus points for including the ability to customize your profile. Netflix offers hundreds of icons from individual shows (mine is from "The Umbrella Academy). HBO Max allows you to customize your profile, but only to change the color of the generic circle around your profile name. Which is the definition of "the least effort required to complete a job."

WATCH LIST
It should be easy to create a watch list for your favorite programs. And even more importantly, that watch list should be easy to find. As I mentioned at the beginning. Paramount+ doesn't have one at all and Amazon predictably makes everything more confusing by combining items on your watch list along with items you stopped watching midway through the program. 

CONTINUE WATCHING
It should be easy to find programs you halted part of the way through. But even more importantly, you should be able to remove items from that list since sometimes you stopped watching because you were no longer interested. Netflix's UI is typically pretty decent, but there still is no way for users to remove items for their "continue watching" que. Hulu has a weirdly clunky way of offering the option. Users need to click into the title to find the main menu, then go under "manage series," which only offers the option to remove the show from your watch history.

NEW EPISODES OF YOUR FAVORITE PROGRAMS
One of the more challenging things for any TV fan is trying to determine when new episodes of your favorite TV shows have been added to your streaming service. Most services have a tendency to dump the episodes into your overall watch list, which is incredibly confusing. I haven't see any service that does it well, which is weird given that both Peacock and Disney+ are owned by media companies which also own multiple TV networks.

I received more suggestions, but to keep today's newsletter from reaching a novella length, I'm pushing the rest of this list until next Wednesday's newsletter.

HULU IS RUNNING AN ESPN+ BUNDLE DEAL
Customers have long been able to bundle a basic Hulu subscription with ESPN+ & Disney+ for $13 a month. But there was no way to bundle a Hulu Live TV account with ESPN+.

Hulu is now trying to do that, with a splashy promo for "unlocking" ESPN+ popping up on the home page of Hulu Live TV subscribers:

The downside is that while Hulu is encouraging Live TV subscribers to add ESPN+, they aren't offering a discount to do so. Even shaving a dollar a month off of the normal subscription price would be a motivator and given that the ESPN+ discount is tied to existing Hulu Live TV subscribers, it should reduce the churn rate for both services.

TODAY'S PREMIERES
1) Beyond The Unknown Season Premiere (Travel)
Don Wildman combs through the vaults of the world's most prestigious institutions to unearth extraordinary artifacts with captivating, revealing and shocking mysteries that challenge our beliefs and defy expectations. Through compelling interviews, rich archival footage and dramatic reenactments, Don seeks to answer history's biggest questions and explore the most astonishing and explainable events of our time.

2) Dealer Series Premiere (Netflix)
Tensions erupt when two filmmakers infiltrate an area ruled by gangs to shoot a music video for a rapper in this gritty found-footage series.

3) Game Of Talents Series Premiere (Fox)
The series pits two teams of contestants against each other as they attempt to figure out the surprising, mesmerizing – and sometimes bizarre – hidden talents of the mystery performers. With more than $200,000 on the line, can the contestants spot the fire dancer from the spider wrangler or the gospel singer from the contortionist?

4) Last Chance U: Basketball Season Premiere (Netflix)
From Greg Whiteley (Cheer) and the team behind Emmy-winning Last Chance U , this series is an honest, gritty look inside the world of community college basketball. Over the course of eight episodes, viewers will follow the East Los Angeles College Huskies (ELAC) in their high stakes chase to an unprecedented California state basketball championship. Led by passionate head coach John Mosley, the ELAC team is made up of former D1 recruits and powerhouse athletes hustling to prove themselves for a last chance to fulfill their dreams of playing at the next level. But the team is tested as the players battle adversity, inner demons, and emotions on and off the court.

5) Marriage Or Mortgage Series Premiere (Netflix)
A wedding planner and a real estate agent compete to win the hearts and budgets of spouses-to-be. Will they pick fairy-tale nuptials or a dream home?

6) Operation Awesome Series Premiere (BYUtv)
Five incredible young people with the biggest, boldest, most amazing ideas for change will get the chance to make their inspired, out-of-the box dreams come true. They will travel to 10 cities across America and work together with local volunteers to help others launch new initiatives, making a lasting and impactful change in every community they visit. Along the way, they'll see the sights and meet some incredible people. On this epic road trip, there's only one rule: leave each place you go better than when you got there. 

7) South ParQ: The Vaccination Special (Paramount+)
The citizens of South ParQ are clamoring for the COVID-19 vaccine. 

6) The Masked Singer Season Premiere (Fox)
In the season premiere episode, “Group A” performs as guest host Niecy Nash takes the stage, along with panelists Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy, Nicole Scherzinger and Robin Thicke

This newsletter is called "Too Much TV" because....well, it's hard to keep track of all the new television premiering everyday. To help you prioritize your viewing, click here to see our list of more than 400 upcoming television premieres, movies and finales. You'll find listings from more than 70 networks, as well as streaming services and web shows.

I'll be back with another one tomorrow. If you have any feedback, send it along to Rick@AllYourScreens.com and follow me on Twitter @aysrick.