New UK media rules / NFL forms EverPass Media / Multiview on Apple TV+ / "Curb" may end with S12

Plus today's calendar, "House of the Dragon" S2 details, "Star Trek" series renewed, Netflix "Man on Fire" series, and more

Inside.com Part of   Network March 29, 2023

The UK government revealed new proposed rules for streamers and broadcasters, to be enforced by media regulator Ofcom. The guidelines include protections for local public broadcasters such as the BBC and ITV, as well as prohibitions against "harmful material," such as "misleading health claims." More: The new regulations will make local UK-run streaming services such as BBC's iPlayer and ITVX more easily discoverable on local smart TVs. According to Ofcom, linear TV viewing has plummeted by 68% among the 16-24 demographic since 2011. VARIETY

The NFL partnered with investment firm RedBird Capital on a new company, EverPass Media, to provide commercial venues with access to NFL content. EverPass will offer a multi-year license for bars, restaurants, hotels, and other businesses to air or stream NFL Sunday Ticket games. More: The games will be offered to businesses via all cable and satellite TV providers. For consumers, YouTube has locked up exclusive Sunday Ticket rights. Derek Chang and Alex Kaplan will serve as the new company's Chairman and CEO, respectively. Satellite provider DirecTV formerly held Sunday Ticket rights, and continues to offer "Thursday Night Football" access to commercial venues. Primary funding for EverPass comes through RedBird, though the NFL is participating through its investment arm, 32 Equity. HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

DAILY CALENDAR WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29 THE BIG DOOR PRIZE: Debut fantasy-comedy series, based on the novel by M.O. Walsh, set in a small town in which a mysterious machine appears that can reveal anyone's "true life potential." Chris O'Dowd, Gabrielle Dennis, Ally Maki, and Josh Segarra co-star; David West Read ("Schitt's Creek") created. [Apple TV+] EMERGENCY: NYC: Intense reality series following emergency medical workers -- including helicopter flight nurses, transplant surgeons, paramedics, trauma surgeons, and neurosurgeons -- as they race against the clock to save lives across New York City. The show comes from "Lenox Hill" vets Ruthie Shatz and Adi Barash. [Netflix] WELLMANIA: Debut comedy-drama series from Australia, starring Celeste Barber as a free spirit who's forced to rethink her "live fast, die young " outlook after a major health crisis. Brigid Delaney co-created and co-wrote the series, based on her own novel. [Netflix] UNSEEN: Six-part English-language crime thriller series from South Africa, starring Gail Mabalane as a house cleaner on a desperate search for her missing husband, whose quest puts her in the crosshairs of some dangerous criminals. "Blood & Water" vets Travis Taute and Daryne Joshua co-created. [Netflix] ABOMINABLE AND THE INVISIBLE CITY: Animated family series from DreamWorks, based on the 2019 feature film "Abominable," in which Yi, Jin, and Peng travel around the world helping magical creatures in need. Season 2 debuts on both Hulu and Peacock today. [Hulu and Peacock] LUCIFER AND THE BISCUIT HAMMER: The anime series, based on the manga by Satoshi Mizukami, centers on a college student who's selected to serve as a magical warrior known as a Beast Knight. Part 2 of the show's debut season comes to Hulu in the US today. [Hulu] MESSYNESS: MTV comedy clip series spun off from "Ridiculousness" in which Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi and friends react to debaucherous dating and partying clips pulled from the internet, featuring adults being "messy." Seasons 1 and 2 hit Paramount+ today. [Paramount+] TEEN MOM 2: The MTV reality series follows young women who appeared on the network's "16 and Pregnant" franchise facing the challenges of early motherhood. The 11th season aired last summer on TV and hits Paramount+ today. [Paramount+] MICKEY MOUSE FUNHOUSE: Animated Disney Junior series in which Mickey and his pals have fun in an enchanted talking playhouse (Harvey Guillén). 4 new episodes from the show's second season come to Disney+ today. [Disney+] THIN BLUE LINE (TUNNA BLÅ LINJEN): Police procedural drama series from Sweden, centering on the personal and professional lives of six cops from Malmö. Season 2 debuts today on Viaplay in the US. [Viaplay]

Code spotted by a developer in Apple's iOS 16.5 beta 1 build hints that the company is working on a "multiview" option for Apple TV+. The feature would allow viewers to watch up to four streams of sports content at once. More: YouTube TV launched its own multiview feature earlier this month. Apple TV already supports picture-in-picture mode, so the new feature would essentially add two extra streams. Apple currently streams "Friday Night Baseball" games along with content from Major League Soccer; there are also rumors the company may be pursuing English Premier League streaming rights. Apple's iOS 17 software update will reportedly contain a number of long-awaited "nice to have" features. TECHCRUNCH

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the upcoming 12th season of HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" will likely close out the series. Season 12 wrapped production this week, and was apparently treated as a series finale; writer/producer Jon Hayman shared a since-deleted tweet announcing that he was "shooting the last scene of the last episode of the final season." More: Co-star Richard Lewis also sent a tweet from set that had an air of finality, noting that it's "hard to believe we started in 2000." HBO and "Curb" star and creator Larry David have a long-standing "open-door policy," allowing David to return with new seasons whenever he feels ready. However, 2023 marks the end of David's current HBO contract, so further "Curb" seasons would require him to ink a new deal with the network and streamer. Apparently, the creators originally planned to kill David's character off at the end of Season 11, but filmed an alternate ending in which he survived, thus clearing the way for Season 12. "Curb" is now HBO's longest-running series. HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Season 2 of HBO's "House of the Dragon" will have eight episodes, two fewer than Season 1. According to Deadline, HBO is also close to announcing a Season 3 renewal for the epic fantasy series. More: Production on Season 2 is about to begin in the UK for an expected Summer 2024 premiere. The original plan was to continue producing 10-episode seasons; the new 8-episode order required some rewrites. According to sources at HBO, the change for 10 to 8 episodes was story-driven rather than an attempt to rein in the budget. Showrunner and executive producer Ryan Condal is plotting out the series along with input from original "Song of Ice and Fire" author George R.R. Martin. The creative team is apparently planning for 3 or 4 seasons total, and are close to having Season 3's storyline mapped out. DEADLINE

"Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" Paramount+ renewed two ongoing "Star Trek" series for two additional seasons each. "Strange New Worlds" will return for its second season on June 15, while Season 4 of the animated comedy "Lower Decks" arrives this summer. More: Despite one being live-action and the other animated, and being set in different centuries, "Strange New Worlds" and "Lower Decks" will do a crossover episode this year. The streamer's flagship "Trek" series -- "Star Trek: Discovery" -- returns for its fifth and final season in early 2024. The "Next Generation" spinoff "Star Trek: Picard" is currently wrapping up its three-season run. There's also the kid-oriented animated series "Star Trek: Prodigy," which is back for Season 2 later this year as well. INDIEWIRE

2004's "Man on Fire" Netflix ordered a drama series based on the A.J. Quinnell novels "Man on Fire" and "The Perfect Kill." The books -- two of a five-part series following the adventures of former mercenary John Creasy -- have been previously adapted into movies multiple times, including a memorable 2004 film starring Denzel Washington. More: "Fear Street" and "Halo" vet Kyle Killen will write the adaptation and produce the series. The story centers on Creasy taking on a revenge mission while protecting the daughter of a fallen comrade. New Regency Productions -- which financed the 2004 film and continues to control the rights to the novels -- developed the series. The 2004 "Man on Fire" is currently streaming on Tubi. DEADLINE

The debut Netflix spy thriller series "The Night Agent" was viewed for 168.7 million hours in its first four days on the streamer. According to the company's internal figures, that was the third best premiere week for any English-language Netflix original in its first season. More: "The Night Agent," based on a novel by Matthew Quirk, appeared in Netflix's "Top 10 Shows" list in 93 countries. "Love is Blind" also debuted its fourth season this past week, and was viewed for around 25.52 million hours. "Luther: The Fallen Sun" remained the platform's most popular English-language film for the third week in a row, with 24.7 million hours viewed. DEADLINE

QUICK HITS Wander launches the first Vacation Rental REIT. Enjoy targeted 8% annual dividend and 14% total return by owning a part of this incredible portfolio.* According to cast member Dan Soder, the upcoming seventh season will be the last for Showtime's "Billions." Amazon released a full trailer for "Dead Ringers," its series adaptation of the 1988 David Cronenberg thriller starring Rachel Weisz as twin sisters who share every aspect of their lives; the series hits Prime Video on April 21. Paramount will release Martin Scorsese's "Killers of the Flower Moon" in France on October 18, locking the Apple original production in to the country's strict rules about theatrical windows; films must open in theaters 17 months prior to their local streaming releases under French guidelines. Disney posted a new trailer for the reality series "Rennervations," in which actor Jeremy Renner and friends help out local communities by refurbishing and converting used buses; the series arrives on April 12. "Daily Show" vet Trevor Noah will host the South African version of Amazon's "LOL: Last One Laughing" unscripted comedy franchise; this will be the company's first-ever South African original series for Prime Video. According to the streamer's internal numbers, the Kerry Washington-Delroy Lindo comedy series "UnPrisoned" had the most-watched debut of any Hulu original from Disney's Onyx Collective to date. In March, Fox led all cable news networks in ratings, while CNN saw its primetime audience tumble 61% from its March 2022 numbers. Adult Swim renewed the animated comedy "Royal Crackers" for a second season, ahead of the April 2 series premiere. The latest music video to top 1 billion views on YouTube is George Michael and Wham!'s 1984 chart-topper "Careless Whisper." Sign up for Lemonade and have your claim paid faster than it took you to read this ad. No joke.* *This is sponsored content

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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