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| Good morning! Thursday Night Football returns to Amazon Prime Video this evening for a pre-season game, and we've got a look at some of the new AI-enabled bells and whistles Amazon has in store for football fans. According to the streamer, viewers really wanted to get deeper into the strategy and analytics this year. So they've got a bunch of machine learning tools that have been trained on tens of thousands of football plays, and will not just produce automated highlight reels, but try to predict blitzes or audibles before they're called and provide other up-to-the-minute data and insights about the game and players. I'll admit, I'm a bit skeptical. Do fans actually want their TVs to try and guess what's going to happen in the game before it happens, or to constantly interrupt the on-field action with new metrics? Or is it more like, Amazon executives have invested a ton in these AI applications and now want to have something to show for their efforts? I guess we'll find out starting tonight. Enjoy today's issue, which was entirely created by me, a real human, and not machines. Lon
p/lon-harris | |
| 1 | | Max will add a 24/7 stream of CNN content starting on September 27. Though it's not an exact copy of the CNN cable feed, "CNN Max" will livestream many of the network's tentpole shows, including "Anderson Cooper 360°," "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer," "The Lead with Jake Tapper," and "Amanpour." More: - In addition to livestreams of linear CNN shows, CNN Max will also include original programming featuring the network's anchors and personalities.
- Max's current "CNN Originals" hub will be replaced by CNN Max.
- Current legacy CNN programming -- such as "Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown" and "Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy" -- will move over to the new CNN Max homepage.
- The announcement comes around 16 months after WB Discovery pulled the plug on the short-lived CNN+ subscription service.
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| 2 | | Amazon plans to utilize a number of cutting-edge AI tools and features during its Thursday Night Football streams this season. The company spent much of the off-season training an AI app to understand the game of football, and will now produce curated analytical and highlight segments based on its outputs. More: - The AI features will be available to anyone watching Amazon's "Prime Vision" secondary broadcast; a pared-down stream that's similar to a conventional TV football broadcast will be available as the default.
- One machine learning model was trained on 35,000 plays from the past few seasons, and attempts to determine based on a number of variables how likely the defending team is to blitz on the upcoming play; Amazon's "Defensive Alerts" feature will inform viewers when the computer thinks a blitz is likely.
- Amazon's Thursday Night Football analytics chief, Sam Schwartzstein, said the desire for more coverage of "strategy" was the main piece of feedback the company heard from viewers last season.
- An AI app will also produce customized highlight feeds prior to every game, similar to a "previously on..." montage on a scripted TV show.
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| 3 | | DAILY CALENDAR THURSDAY, AUGUST 24 THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL: Prime Video will stream 16 regular-season NFL games this year, along with tonight's pre-season match-up between the Indianapolis Colts and the Philadelphia Eagles from Lincoln Financial Field in Philly. Amazon's coverage begins at 8 pm ET. [Amazon] WHO IS ERIN CARTER? Debut crime thriller series, starring Evin Ahmad as a British expat living in Spain, posing as an everyday teacher while hiding her real identity from everyone in her life. When she's recognized during a supermarket robbery, her carefully-crafted cover story begins to fall apart. Sean Teale, Indica Watson, and Susannah Fielding co-star; "Doc Martin" vet Jack Lothian served as showrunner. [Netflix] RAGNAROK: The Norwegian coming-of-age fantasy-drama series returns for a third and final season this week. It's about a collective of Norse gods, reincarnated as teens in the modern day, who confront a family of polluting giants posing as wealthy industrialists. David Stakson, Jonas Strand Gravli, Herman Tømmeraas, Theresa Frostad Eggesbø, and Synnøve Macody Lund co-star. [Netflix] HOW TO BLOW UP A PIPELINE: 2023 independent action-thriller from co-writer/director Daniel Goldhaber ("Cam"), based on the 2021 non-fiction book by Andreas Malm. The story centers on a group of eight young environmental activists in West Texas who plan to blow up an oil pipeline at two different strategic locations. Ariela Barer, Kristine Froseth, Lukas Gage, Forrest Goodluck, and Sasha Lane co-star. [Hulu] TRANSFUSION: Australian crime thriller feature, starring Sam Worthington as a former special forces operative who descends into the criminal underworld in the hopes of saving his drug addict son. Matt Nable wrote, directed, and co-stars in the film. [Hulu] MY FAIRY TROUBLEMAKER: Animated family fantasy-comedy film from Germany, which has been dubbed into English for US audiences. It's about a chatty tooth fairy named Violetta who gets lost on Earth and befriends a 12-year-old girl while searching for a way home. [Hulu] FOOTBALL MUST GO ON: Four-episode docuseries taking viewers behind-the-scenes with Ukrainian football club Shakhtar Donetsk, following the players and coaches as they compete in the 2022-2023 UEFA Champions League season, even as their home country is torn apart by war. [Paramount+] ORGAN TRAIL: 2023 direct-to-VOD Western feature, starring Zoé De Grand Maison as a lone woman in 1870 Montana on a mission to retrieve her family's sole possession -- a horse -- from a dangerous gang of bandits. Michael Patrick Jann ("Wayne," "The Good Doctor") directed. [Paramount+] THE HUSTLE OF @617MIKEBIV: Documentary profile of music producer and singer Michael Bivins, a founding member of both New Edition and Bell Biv DeVoe, tracking his life from his humble beginnings in Roxbury, Massachusetts' Orchard Projects. Bivins participated in the making of the film. [ALLBLK] BARGAIN BLOCK: On the HGTV renovation series, design experts and partners Keith Bynum and Evan Thomas -- with help from local real estate expert Shea Hicks-Whitfield -- buy abandoned and rundown properties in the Detroit area, and then recreate them from the ground up into stylish and fully-furnished starter homes. It's back for a third season. [Max] SAVE MY SKIN: The TLC reality series follows the cases of British dermatologist Dr. Emma Craythorne, who specializes in treating extreme skin conditions. Season 4 aired in 2022 on cable and hits Max today. [Max] DOWNTON ABBEY: A NEW ERA: This 2022 historical drama is the second feature spun off from TV's "Downton Abbey," and a direct sequel to the 2019 film. It follows the Crawley family to the South of France, where the dowager countess has mysteriously inherited a villa. Hugh Bonneville, Jim Carter, Michelle Dockery, Elizabeth McGovern, and Maggie Smith co-star; "Downton Abbey" creator Julian Fellowes wrote the script. [Peacock] | | | |
| 4 | | A federal judge rejected a request by Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to temporarily block Google from removing YouTube videos in which he's featured. YouTube has removed several videos in which Kennedy provides alleged misinformation about COVID-19 and vaccines. More: - Kennedy appears in the videos in question but did not post them himself.
- US District Judge Trina Thompson found that Kennedy was unlikely to prevail in his case, as Google is a private company and not a government representative.
- In her ruling, Thompson wrote that Kennedy's team had not presented sufficient evidence that government representatives encouraged Google to remove the videos; she also found that he had failed to demonstrate any "irreparable harm" from the removal of the videos.
- In a statement to The Hill, Kennedy said the decision was "regrettable" and "allows tech platforms to continue censoring political candidates."
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| 5 | | Paramount announced the line-up of Star Trek Day 2023 events and celebrations scheduled for Friday, September 8. Jerry O'Connell, who voices Commander Jack Ransom on "Star Trek: Lower Decks," will host a streaming special for StarTrek.com, commemorating the franchise's 57th anniversary. More: - The "Star Trek Day" anniversary special will be available to stream on the official Star Trek website, along with YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, Paramount+, Pluto TV, Smithsonian.com, and Mixable.
- It's also airing on local CBS affiliates, plus Comedy Central, Paramount Network, Pop TV, and Fave TV.
- CBS will also air the first two episodes of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" on September 8, starting at 8 pm ET.
- Paramount will also host free screenings of "Star Trek: The Animated Series" and "Lower Decks" episodes in several world cities, including Philadelphia, Dallas, San Diego, Vancouver, Calgary, and London.
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| 6 | | Apple dropped a trailer for Season 3 of the drama series "The Morning Show." The first two Season 3 episodes arrive on September 13. More: - In the new season, influential tech mogul Paul Marks (Jon Hamm) takes an interest in the UBA network, forcing everyone in the newsroom to take stock of their priorities.
- Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Billy Crudup, Julianna Margulies, Nicole Beharie, Karen Pittman, and Greta Lee all return for the new episodes.
- Teasing the new season on a recent episode of "Entertainment Tonight," Witherspoon noted that "there is lots of romance this year."
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| 7 | | Vanity Fair got an exclusive first look at Season 2 of Max's "Our Flag Means Death." The pirate comedy-drama returns with new episodes in October. More: - Season 1 of the series -- based on the life of real "gentleman pirate" Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby) -- was a surprise hit for HBO Max in the Spring of 2022.
- Taika Waititi co-stars as the pirate Blackbeard, and also executive produced the series along with creator David Jenkins.
- Minnie Driver joins the cast in Season 2 as another real historical pirate, Anne Bonny; Ruibo Qian co-stars as another new character, a mysterious merchant named Susan.
- The set for The Revenge, Blackbeard's pirate ship, was transported from Los Angeles -- where Season 1 was produced -- all the way down to New Zealand to shoot Season 2.
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- An extended version of the "Riverdale" series finale, with 8 minutes of extra footage that wasn't included in Wednesday night's TV broadcast, is now available to stream on the CW website and app.
- Entertainment Weekly got a sneak peek at the costumes for Season 10 of Fox's "The Masked Singer"; the new episodes premiere on September 27.
- Cox Media Group launched Neighborhood TV -- a streaming service featuring news content produced locally -- in the Atlanta and Charlotte metropolitan areas this week.
- Some sports fans are calling out the latest episode of Netflix's "Untold" docuseries -- "Swamp Kings" -- for going too easy on former Florida Gators football coach Urban Meyer and his time with the program, and skipping over the team's infamous off-field antics.
- The romantic comedy-drama series "Wolf Like Me" returns to Peacock for a second season on October 19; Isla Fisher and Josh Gad both return, while Edgar Ramirez joins the cast this year.
- Amazon executives apparently still haven't decided the fate of UK reality series "Clarkson's Farm"; it has been anticipated that Prime Video would likely cancel the series, due to ongoing backlash against host Jeremy Clarkson's controversial Meghan Markle column, published earlier this year.
- Filmmaker J.A. Bayona's ("The Impossible") latest, "Society of the Snow," is based on the same 1972 plane crash and survival story as the memorable 1993 film "Alive"; after closing this year's Venice Film Festival, it will stream on Netflix in the US.
- Kim Cattrall made her long-awaited return as Samantha Jones on the "And Just Like That" Season 2 finale, checking in remotely to say goodbye to Carrie's apartment.
- Disney+ released some early images from the Australian drama series "The Artful Dodger," a sequel to Charles Dickens's "Oliver Twist" following the former pickpocket as he embarks on a new career as a surgeon; the series, starring Thomas Brodie-Sangster ("The Queen's Gambit") as The Dodger, premieres on November 29 in the US.
- Upcoming episodes of the anime series "Jujutsu Kaisen" -- part of the show's second season -- will adapt the "Shibuya Incident" arc from the manga.
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INSIDE STREAMING LEADERBOARD (ALL-TIME) |
 | 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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