Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Friday, December 16th, 2022
Here's everything you need to know about the world of television.
Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Friday, December 16th, 2022.
A PROGRAMMING NOTE
I wanted to let you know what the next couple of weeks will look like for the newsletter. Next Monday-Wednesday will be regular editions of the newsletter and - assuming there isn't any big news - next Thursday's edition will be a mini-version that will include some end-of-the-year coverage.
For the following week - December 26th through the 30th - I'm only planning a newsletter for Wednesday the 28th. There isn't likely to be much going on in the media world until after the New Year, but if that changes I'll cover it with a special edition.
And while every other newsletter is bugging you for money, I'll simply say that I'm offering a special discounted deal on paid subscriptions through the end of year. The upside is that the discount will also apply for as long as you remain subscribed. One perk for paid subscribers is a free e-book version of the new trade paperback book “Too Much TV: 2022 In Review,” which should hopefully be available the beginning of January. Click here to check out the details.
AN INTERIEW WITH NETFLIX'S TV SERIES BOSS
Vulture's Joe Adalian has an expansive interview for his Buffering newsletter with Netflix scripted head Peter Friedlander, who addresses (sort of) what criteria the streamer weighs when it makes decisions about the future of an original scripted series:
When Netflix was first starting out doing originals, it was almost assumed that every show would get two seasons, and in fact, Ted talked about how audiences want to see stories completed. That’s not the case now, obviously. But even shows you deem a success now often last no more than three seasons. How do you figure out how many episodes a show should run these days? Is it just how many people watch versus how much the show cost you to make?
I get that you hear the same answer from us, and it still continues to be that: It is not metrics alone. There are many components considered. It is a multifaceted decision, but it’s one that you can’t apply the same analysis to every title. We have to look at every title specifically — what are the creative hopes for the project? What is the opportunity for the future of the storytelling? It’s more complex than it’s often painted to be. I imagine my competitors experience the same level of complexity. But no matter what, it’s obviously the most painful decision to not move forward with a show when there’s been the investment in time — not just from the storytellers and the artists but from the executives and the folks at Netflix. One of our greatest challenges is making those decisions, and hopefully, we’re making the right ones on behalf of our viewers. We certainly try.
Completion rate really is a big deal, isn’t it?
We certainly know when people are completing, and it’s great to know when they complete, because that’s often a sign that they’ve loved every minute of it.
As an FYI, I wrote a piece about this subject back in March, based on conversations I had with multiple sources at Netflix and it provides a bit of additional context to the conversation:
A primary Netflix metric is called the "adjusted view share," which is a combination of more than 30 factors that attempt to assign an overall "value" for any piece of content. An example I was given was that it's possible to track which content was most watched by brand new subscribers last month. That content would be considered more valuable because it presumably was one of the reasons why viewers subscribed. But if those viewers exit after a month or two, that lessens the value of the content. The assumption being that some percentage of the canceled subscriptions came from people who subscribed primarily for a specific show.
It depends on where people are watching. A show that is more popular in a region such as the U.S., where the ARPU (average revenue per user) is higher has a greater value than one that tracks more in regions where the ARPU is lower. Although that indicator is weighted less than some others and whether the content is attracting subscribers in a territory where subscriber retention costs are high also factors into the equation. Netflix also tracks how many people complete a TV show within a week, the percentage of people who re-watch a series (although if the number is too high, it's discounted as possible fan manipulation). And there are many more. Each of the factors is weighted differently and the weighting can apparently change as the company's strategy evolves.
WHY DOESN'T NETFLIX HAVE MORE CLASSIC TV
And leave it to Joe to get in a question about why streamers don't license more classic TV shows. This is a topic he and I have frequently complained about to each other:
You oversee acquisitions of TV shows for Netflix, so I have to get in a question about library content: specifically, why there’s so little TV from before the 1990s on the platform. I’ve heard from other streamers that it just doesn’t play with subscribers, but a lot of older folks have jumped into streaming in the past five years. Do you ever think of expanding the classic-TV content on the service?
What show are you looking for, Joe? What have I not provided that you want? [Laughter]
There are so many! Moonlighting is one. WKRP in Cincinnati. Kate & Allie is a great show that isn’t available anywhere. There’s Rhoda. There’s so much from the ’70s and ’80s that just isn’t streaming.
To be honest, I don’t really have an answer for that. I do know that when we look at licensing older shows, we’re always looking across the board at what’s available and what are some programming opportunities that we may not be filling with some of our original shows. It’s a moving target.
ODDS AND SODS
* Netflix has missed some early advertising targets and had to return money to advertisers.
* The cringeworthy end of Harry & Meghan on Netflix. The ex-royals insist they’re moving on. Viewers should be so lucky.
TWEET OF THE DAY
THE PRODUCER GUILD ANNOUNCES SOME TV NOMINATIONS
The Producers Guild of America (PGA) announced today nominations in its television specialty categories for the 34th Annual Producers Guild Awards. Winners will be announced in Los Angeles and New York at the Guild’s Nominee Events the week of February 19th:
The Award for Outstanding Sports Program
Formula 1: Drive to Survive (Season 4)
Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Detroit Lions (Season 17)
Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers (Season 1)
McEnroe (Special)
Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Come Off (Special)
The Award for Outstanding Children's Program
Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock (Season 1)
Green Eggs and Ham (Season 2)
Sesame Street (Season 52)
Snoopy Presents: It's the Small Things, Charlie Brown (Special)
Waffles + Mochi's Restaurant (Season 1)
The Award for Outstanding Short-Form Program
Better Call Saul: Filmmaker Training (Season 4)
Love, Death + Robots (Season 3)
Only Murders in the Building: One Killer Question (Season 2)
Sesame Street's #ComingTogether Word of the Day Series (Season 1)
Tales of the Jedi (Season 1)
WHAT'S NEW FOR FRIDAY:
A Christmas To Treasure (Lifetime)
A Storm For Christmas (Netflix)
Bardo (Netflix)
Cook At All Costs Series Premiere (Netflix)
Dance Monsters Series Premiere (Netflix)
Dr. Pimple Popper: With Every Cyst-mas Card I Write (TLC)
Far From Home (Netflix)
From The Source Season Premiere (Discovery+/Netflix)
Holiday Heritage (Hallmark)
How To Ruin Christmas (Netflix)
If These Walls Could Sing (Disney+)
Joe Bob’s Ghoultide Get-Together (Shudder)
Le pupille (Disney+)
Litvenenko (AMC+/Sundance Now)
LOL: Last One Laughing Mexico (Prime Video)
Love After Lockup Season Premiere (WEtv)
Lupin Zero (Hidive)
Metallica Presents: The Helping Hands Concert (Paramount+)
Nanny (Prime Video)
90th Annual Hollywood Christmas Parade (The CW)
Paradise PD Season Four Premiere (Netflix)
Private Lesson (Netflix)
Ranch To Table Season Premiere (Discovery+/Magnolia)
Snow Day (Paramount+)
Storefront Stories Series Premiere (Discovery+/Magnolia)
Summer Job Series Premiere (Netflix)
The Apology (Shudder/AMC+)
The Kindness Project (Discovery+/Magnolia)
The Recruit Series Premiere (Netflix)
The Volcano: Rescue From Whakaari (Netflix)
Click Here to see the list of all of the upcoming premiere dates for the next few months.
SEE YOU MONDAY!
If you have any feedback, send it along to Rick@AllYourScreens.com and follow me on Twitter @aysrick.