$2B Tubi offers / Hotstar losing HBO shows / "Squid Game" reality show faces review / "Last of Us" Nielsen #s

Plus the weekend calendar, Lionsgate content writedown, Peacock "Watch With" feature, "Swarm" trailer, and more

Inside.com Part of   Network February 10, 2023

Lachlan Murdoch According to a new report from Bloomberg, Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch has received multiple unsolicited offers to purchase the Tubi free streaming platform, but has turned them all down. At least one of the offers was apparently in the $2 billion range. More: On Wednesday, Fox reported that ad revenue on Tubi spiked by 25% in the final three months of 2022, contributing to an overall 4% revenue jump company-wide. Fox executives predict that Tubi will generate $1 billion in ad revenue this year. The streaming service averages 61 million monthly active users; it had around 25 million when acquired by Fox in 2020. Tubi recently announced a new agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery to stream content from their brands and channels, including shows removed from the HBO Max service. BLOOMBERG

HBO's "House of the Dragon" India's Disney+ Hotstar platform plans to drop content from HBO, including "House of the Dragon" and "Succession," according to a new report from Deadline. HBO content has streamed on the Hotstar service in India since 2016, and helped to grow the platform. More: In general, English-language content remains a niche market in India; no longer paying licensing fees for HBO shows is an obvious cost-cutting maneuver. Disney+ Hotstar's subscriber base dropped by 6% in Q4 2022, after the platform lost the rights to the Indian Premier League cricket tournament to Viacom18. Many Indian industry insiders believe that Amazon will pick up HBO content in the country; Prime Video India already streams content from HBO Max's sister service, Discovery+. DEADLINE

WEEKEND CALENDAR FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10 YOUR PLACE OR MINE: This 2023 romantic comedy feature is the directorial debut of "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" co-creator Aline Brosh McKenna, who also wrote the script. Reese Witherspoon (who also produced) and Ashton Kutcher co-star as lifelong friends -- one from Los Angeles and the other New York -- who agree to swap homes for one life-changing week. [Netflix] LOVE IS BLIND: AFTER THE ALTAR: The reality dating series catches up with married couples who first met on "Love is Blind." Three new episodes, reuniting with Season 3 couples, hit Netflix today. [Netflix] 10 DAYS OF A GOOD MAN (IYI ADAMIN 10 GÜNÜ): Nejat Isler stars in this mystery-thriller film from Turkey as a lawyer-turned-private investigator who takes on a life-altering missing person case. The film is the first installment in a planned trilogy. Uluç Bayraktar ("The Choice") directed. [Netflix] LOVE TO HATE YOU: Debut romantic comedy series from Korea, about the combative relationship between an A-list actor (Yoo Teo) who distrusts women and a competitive attorney (Kim Ok-Vin) who can't stand losing to men. [Netflix] SOMEBODY I USED TO KNOW: 2023 romantic comedy from co-writer/director Dave Franco. Alison Brie (who co-wrote the script with Franco, her husband) stars as Ally, a workaholic who reunites with her ex-boyfriend (Jay Ellis) during a rare trip back to her hometown. Kiersey Clemons, Julie Hagerty, Haley Joel Osment, and Amy Sedaris co-star. [Amazon] AT MIDNIGHT: 2023 romantic comedy feature about a hotel manager (Diego Boneta) and a movie star (Monica Barbaro) who have both vowed never to fall in love, until fate inevitably pushes them together. Jonah Feingold ("Dating & New York") co-wrote and directed. [Paramount+] VANDERPUMP RULES: The reality series revolves around "Real Housewives" vet and restauranteur Lisa Vanderpump and her family and friends. Season 10 debuted this week on cable's Bravo network; new episodes hit Peacock on Fridays. [Peacock] MARCELLA ARGUELLO: BITCH, GROW UP! The Los Angeles comedian's first HBO special was recorded at the Roulette Intermedium in Brooklyn. Topics include being particularly tall for a woman, as well as observations about dating and relationships. [HBO Max] MEET ME IN PARIS: Hybrid dating reality series and scripted romantic comedy from executive producers Reese Witherspoon and Zoe Saldaña. Three single women travel to Paris for two weeks in search of love, then get the opportunity to write their own endings for their stories. [Roku] MARVEL STUDIOS LEGENDS: These quick Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) refreshers help set the stage for the studio's latest films and TV shows. Three new episodes arrive today ahead of "Quantumania," featuring rundowns on Ant-Man, Hank & Janet Pym, and The Wasp. [Disney+] THE STORIED LIFE OF AJ FIKRY: 2022 comedy-drama feature, based on the novel by Gabrielle Zevin (who also wrote the adaptation). Kunal Nayyar stars as a depressed bookstore owner and widower who gets a new lease on life after receiving a mysterious package. Lucy Hale, Christina Hendricks, and David Arquette co-star. [Hulu] SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11 MARC MARON: FROM BLEAK TO DARK: The comedian's first-ever HBO special was recorded in December at New York City's Town Hall, and features very personal material about the 2020 death of his partner, filmmaker Lynn Shelton. [HBO Max] SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 12 PUPPY BOWL XIX: In this annual pet adoption-promoting special from Animal Planet, puppy players from "Team Ruff" and "Team Fluff" battle it out in Puppy Bowl Stadium for the prized "Lombarky" trophy. This year, WB Discovery is airing and streaming the special across several of its networks and streaming platforms. It begins at 2 pm ET/11 am PT. [HBO Max / Discovery+] A PARIS PROPOSAL: Hallmark romantic comedy feature starring Alexa PenaVega and Nicholas Bishop as a pair of work colleagues who are mistaken for a couple by a potential client, then maintain the illusion in hopes of scoring new business. [Peacock] MASTERS OF ILLUSION: The CW series features professional magicians performing their signature illusions in front of a live audience. Season 9 debuted on Saturday; new episodes hit CW's app and website on Sundays. Dean Cain hosts. [CW]

According to Deadline, the Netflix reality competition series "Squid Game: The Challenge" was hit with an independent safety assessment after multiple contestants required medical attention. Britain's Health and Safety Executive (HSE) checked out the set, and provided some additional instructions to producers, but declined to take any further action against the production. More: The series ranks among the largest reality shows ever produced, and features 456 players competing in cutthroat versions of schoolyard games inspired by the scripted Korean thriller series. Specifically, contestants required medical attention after a game of "Red Light, Green Light," which was recorded over the course of nine hours in freezing temperatures; one contestant allegedly suffered a herniated disc and torn knee tendon, while another claimed to have developed pneumonia and an ear infection. Other contestants described seeing a woman "convulsing on the floor" and not receiving help from bystanders, who were afraid of being eliminated from the game. A spokeswoman for the production toold Deadline that producers on "Squid Game: The Challenge" had taken "all appropriate safety precautions." DEADLINE

According to Nielsen, "The Last of Us" pilot was streamed for around 223 million minutes in the hours after its January 15 debut. Nielsen's latest weekly streaming chart covers January 9-15, so it only includes premiere night numbers for the hit HBO post-apocalyptic drama. More: By comparison, Nielsen reported that HBO's "House of the Dragon" was viewed for around 327 million minutes on its first Sunday night. According to HBO's internal numbers, 4.7 million viewers watched "The Last of Us" across all platforms on its debut night. The #1 show for the full week of January 9-15 was Netflix's comedy-drama series "Ginny & Georgia," which was viewed for around 2.73 billion minutes. "The Walking Dead," "Vikings: Valhalla," "Cocomelon," and "Wednesday" -- all streaming on Netflix -- round out the Top 5. HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Lionsgate reported its third-quarter financial results, including overall revenue of $1 billion, up from $885.4 million in the same period a year before. The studio also reported record revenue on its content library for the quarter, from licensing high-profile content such as "Schitt's Creek" and "Shotgun Wedding." More: Lionsgate took an $80.8 million content write-down as it restructures the former StarzPlay international division, now known as Lionsgate+; it also pulled some TV shows from the Starz platform. The studio is exploring the possible sale or spinoff of its Starz cable network and streaming service, with the goal of creating two standalone companies. CEO Jon Feltheimer told investors that the goal is to separate Lionsgate and Starz by September; separate financial statements for the two businesses are already being prepared. The company also reduced its overall workforce by 10%, laying off around 150 employees. HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Peacock announced a new interactive feature, "Watch With." It allows users to stream content alongside real-time reactions and commentary from the actors and creatives who collaborated on the project. More: "Watch With" will debut on February 24, the day after the Season 2 premiere of the drama series "Bel-Air." "Bel-Air" cast members Jabari Banks and Olly Sholotan will debut the feature at 9 pm ET on the 24th. The livestreams will feature a running viewer count, so fans can see how many people are watching, and will allow users to send in questions using the social media hashtag #WatchWithPeacock. Other Peacock shows with planned "Watch With" integrations include the "Eurovision" live song contest and "Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip." TECHCRUNCH

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Lon Harris is the writer and editor of Inside Streaming and was the very first person to ever write an Inside newsletter. He lives in Los Angeles, California, and also writes about TV and film for Fandom, Screen Junkies, Rotten Tomatoes, Gamma Ray and others. Plus he has a Game of Thrones podcast called "Casterly Talk" and competes on The Movie Trivia Schmoedown as "The Professor." Editor Eduardo Garcia is a writer and editor based in New York. He is the author of "Things You Can Do," an illustrated book about climate action. Bylines in The New York Times, The Guardian, Slate, Scientific American, and others. In one of his previous lives, Eduardo worked as a Reuters correspondent in Latin America for nearly a decade.

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