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| 1 | | According to a new report from The Wall Street Journal, Disney plans to pivot the ESPN cable network into a standalone streaming service. Executives apparently told WSJ that the transition was "inevitable" as more and more consumers cut the cord and abandon cable television. More: - The internal code name for the project is apparently "Flagship."
- No specific timeline for the transition has yet been established, though the network has already started reaching out to broadcast partners about altering their deals.
- ESPN will at least temporarily remain a cable network once the streaming service launches.
- Nonetheless, the loss of ESPN as a significant draw for cable subscriptions could dramatically accelerate the winding down of the entire cable TV industry.
- ESPN launched the ESPN+ streamer in 2018, but it doesn't offer a complete line-up of ESPN programming.
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| 2 | | During its first-ever upfront presentation to advertisers, Netflix president of worldwide advertising Jeremi Gorman said the platform's new ad tier has hit nearly five million global monthly active users. The company claims its ad subscriber base has more than doubled since early 2023. More: - The streamer did not release specific numbers on actual ad tier subscribers; some estimates have put that number at around 1 million.
- According to co-CEO Greg Peters, in countries where the ad plan is available, around one-quarter of new Netflix subscribers select that option.
- The streamer highlighted a number of new releases coming to the platform this fall, including the sixth and final season of "The Crown," the limited suspense series "Fall of the House of Usher," and the reality competition series "Squid Game: The Challenge."
- The long-awaited animated feature "Nimona" lands on June 30.
- Netflix also announced the Season 6 renewal of the romantic drama series "Virgin River"; Season 5 arrives later this year.
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| 3 | | DAILY CALENDAR THURSDAY, MAY 18 XO, KITTY: First-year romantic comedy-drama series from creator Jenny Han, based on her "To All the Boys" novels and their Netflix film adaptations. Anna Cathcart stars as Kitty Song Covey, who discovers love is more complicated than she imagined when she moves from the US to Korea to reunite with her long-distance boyfriend (Choi Min-young). [Netflix] KITTI KATZ: Debut animated series for kids about three teenage girls who transform into a team of feline superheroes to do battle with an evil Ancient Egyptian goddess. Season 1 hits Netflix on Thursday. [Netflix] YAKITORI: SOLDIERS OF MISFORTUNE: Anime series based on the illustrated novels by Carlo Zen and so-bin, about a young man who's recruited to join an interplanetary military unit with a 70% casualty rate. [Netflix] RAINN WILSON AND THE GEOGRAPHY OF BLISS: Five-episode docuseries, inspired by Eric Weiner's book, in which the former "Office" star visits some of the happiest and unhappiest places on Earth, seeking to unlock the secrets of bliss. [Peacock] TEXAS TRUE CRIME: ABC News true-crime docuseries dedicated to cases of notably brutal crimes from the Lone Star State. Season 2 hits Hulu on Thursday. [Hulu] SLASH/BACK: Sci-fi adventure film from Canada about a group of young Inuit friends who band together to save their remote Arctic hamlet from an impending alien invasion, armed with only makeshift weapons and their knowledge of horror films. Nyla Innuksuk co-wrote and directed. [Hulu] THE FERRAGNEZ - THE SERIES: Italian reality series following the daily lives of fashion blogger, model, and designer Chaira Ferragni and her husband, rapper Fedez. Season 2 hits Prime Video on Thursday. [Amazon] | | | |
| 4 | | Warner Bros. Discovery held a low-key upfront presentation in New York this week. While upfronts often feature celebrity appearances to promote their upcoming shows and films, this year's event was pared down due to protests by striking writers. More: - Ad chief Jon Steinlauf said the executives had asked actors not to attend the presentation "out of respect for our talent, and the WGA."
- Some talent nonetheless sent in pre-recorded remarks, including Jason Momoa, Guy Fieri, Anderson Cooper, Mindy Kaling, and Robin Thede.
- The combined HBO Max/Discovery+ streaming service -- Max -- officially launches on May 23.
- CNN chief Chris Licht introduced a pre-recorded message from new primetime host Kaitlan Collins and promoted a refresh for the network's on-screen graphics packages.
- CEO David Zaslav didn't speak at the upfront presentation, but at a New York media conference this week, he wondered aloud by Marvel never put filmmaker James Gunn in charge of their cinematic universe; Gunn now leads the DC Studios team alongside Peter Safran.
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| 5 | | Walt Disney CFO Christine McCarthy spoke at a media conference in New York this week, teasing the company's streaming strategy shift. McCarthy told attendees that "we like to think of ourselves as a company of winners... we are winners and we are going to win." More: - Disney+ dropped 4 million global subscribers in this past quarter, mostly due to the loss of cricket streaming rights in India; McCarthy said "Disney+ core subscribers were actually up, by less than a million."
- She described the reception to Disney+'s ad-supported tier as "very positive" and expressed confidence that the digital ad market will eventually rebound.
- McCarthy also spoke about the return of Bob Iger as CEO, noting that the company's global operations are now more streamlined.
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| 6 | | A YouTube TV outage interrupted the final moments of an NBA playoff game being aired on TNT. Many fans attempting to view the final moments of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics were instead served a looped commercial for Disney's "The Little Mermaid." More: - In a series of tweets sent late Wednesday night, YouTube assured viewers that the service was "back to normal."
- Other networks were impacted besides TNT, but the loss of a high-profile NBA game was the most noticeable issue.
- YouTube TV has more than 5 million subscribers in the US.
- The YouTube TV platform will also be the home to the NFL's Sunday Ticket package starting this year.
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| 7 | | The next film from Martin Scorsese -- "Killers of the Flower Moon" -- opens theatrically in October before moving over exclusively to Apple TV+. The epic Western crime drama was inspired by a true story, about the investigation into a string of murders in 1920s Oklahoma; it's based on a 2017 non-fiction book by David Grann. More: - Apple released the first teaser for the film on YouTube this week.
- Leonardo DiCaprio stars and executive produces; the cast also includes Jesse Plemons, Lily Gladstone, Brendan Fraser, John Lithgow, and Robert De Niro.
- This is the seventh collaboration between Scorsese and DiCaprio (including the short film "The Audition"), and the eleventh between Scorsese and De Niro.
- 80-year-old Scorsese recently told Deadline that he feels like he's running out of time to tell stories, quoting Akira Kurosawa to observe "I'm only now beginning to see the possibility of what cinema could be, and it's too late."
- The film hits select theaters on October 6 before opening wider on the 20th.
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| 8 | | QUICK HITS - The CW announced its fall schedule for 2023; the fates of three scripted shows -- "Gotham Knights," "Superman & Lois," and "All American: Homecoming" -- have yet to be determined.
- The Apple TV+ comedy series "Physical" will close out its storyline with its upcoming third season, debuting on August 2; Rose Byrne stars in the series as a frustrated '80s housewife who becomes a videotape aerobics instructor.
- "The Tonight Show" employees will be placed on an "unpaid leave of absence" for the duration of the WGA Strike, starting on Friday, May 19; Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel, and Stephen Colbert will reportedly continue paying their teams for now.
- The "Sex and the City" spinoff "And Just Like That" returns to Max for a second season on June 22.
- Paramount+ and Showtime will formally merge into a single streaming platform on June 27; pricing, tiers, and content offerings will likely remain unaffected.
- Guest actors lined up for Season 2 of the Peacock comedy series "Killing It" include Dot-Marie Jones, Katie Kershaw, Joe Massingill, Melanie Field, Kyle Mooney, and Beck Bennett.
- The CW grabbed the US rights to the eight-part series "The Swarm," a European eco-thriller that debuted on German TV earlier this year.
- The supernatural horror film "Brooklyn 45" -- about a group of old friends who hold an impromptu séance that goes very wrong -- hits Shudder on June 9; Anne Ramsay, Ezra Buzzington, Jeremy Holm, and Larry Fessenden co-star.
- An Israeli suspect has been arrested for allegedly hacking into HBO's servers to obtain an early copy of the "House of the Dragon" Season 1 finale, then distributing the episode online via illegal torrent sites.
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 | Writer | | 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." | | This newsletter was edited by Eduardo Garcia | |
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