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| Hey, folks! Welcome back and thanks for reading! A few little interesting behind-the-scenes nuggets today. Digiday gives us some insight into the war going on between YouTube and its advertisers over the TrueView system; Bloomberg digs into how transparency around streaming numbers is, in some ways, fueling the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes; AND MrBeast is suing his partner in that ghost kitchen venture! Check out those stories and more in today's issue and we'll see ya back here tomorrow. Lon
p/lon-harris | |
| 1 | | According to a new report from Digiday, based in part on data from Adalytics, advertisers have started to push back against YouTube's ad inventory system. At issue are what are known as "negative-option provisions," requiring advertisers to "opt-out" of certain elements of YouTube's ad inventory, rather than opting in to their favored formats and platforms. More: - The result, according to Digiday, is sponsors essentially forced to purchase ads in a format known as TrueView, taken from so-called Google Video Partners (GVP).
- TrueView ads give viewers the option to skip after just five seconds, but advertisers pay only if the viewer watches at least 30 seconds.
- In a report published earlier this summer, Adalytics found that -- in 80% of cases -- these ads weren't functioning as promised; in many cases, the ads appear in a small, muted window in the corner of the screen and auto-play on a loop, often with no viewer interaction or initiation.
- A number of YouTube sponsors told Digiday that, following the original Adalytics report, they have attempted to opt-out of all TrueView or Google Video Partners purchases, but have faced pushback and a lack of transparency from Google and YouTube.
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| 2 | | In Bloomberg's "Screentime" newsletter, Lucas Shaw suggests that a lack of transparency from streamers is intended to hide how much money is spent on shows that don't attract viewership. Shaw posits that subscription streaming revenue on its own will never be enough to sustain Hollywood studios, which will need to find alternative sources of revenue. More: - Union leadership has argued that streamers like Netflix use a lack of transparency to hide lucrative profits from creatives, in order to avoid paying residuals.
- Shaw argues that, in fact, the reverse is true; while some shows like "Wednesday" earn streamers the bulk of their revenue, most shows are costly and then attract little to no attention.
- As well, Shaw suggests, the talent responsible for the streamer's biggest and most popular shows -- hits like "Wednesday" and "Stranger Things" -- are already well-compensated for their work.
- Many legacy media companies previously relied on revenue streams such as content licensing and advertising which have declined during the streaming era; streaming alone may be unable to make up the difference.
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| 3 | | DAILY CALENDAR TUESDAY, AUGUST 1 UNTOLD: Netflix's sports anthology docuseries returns for a third season this week. The first new episode, "Jake Paul the Problem Child," profiles the controversial YouTube sensation turned professional boxer. Future Season 3 episodes center on scandal-plagued quarterback Johnny Manziel; steroid distributor and money launderer Victor Conte; and Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer. [Netflix] RIVER WILD: 2023 direct-to-VOD adventure-thriller film, inspired by the 1994 film "The River Wild," about estranged siblings who find themselves on a whitewater river rafting trip alongside a brutal killer. Adam Brody, Leighton Meester, and Taran Killam co-star; Ben Ketai directed. [Netflix] TIGER 24: 2022 documentary from filmmaker Warren Pereira, chronicling a 2015 incident in which a wild Indian tiger was locked up after attacking a forest guard who had entered its territory. Declaring the tiger a "man-eater" sparked social media backlash and, ultimately, a landmark legal case concerning animal rights. [Netflix] FISK: Australian legal comedy series from from co-creator, co-writer and star Kitty Flanagan. She plays Helen Tudor-Fisk, an attorney from Sydney whose personal life and career fall apart simultaneously, prompting her to move to Melbourne. Season 1 aired in 2021 on ABC Television and comes to Netflix in the US today. [Netflix] BREEDERS: The semi-autobiographical British comedy series, which airs on FX in the US, is back this week for a fourth and final season. Martin Freeman (who also co-created) and Daisy Haggard star as a stressed-out couple who struggle with the challenges of parenting. New episodes air Monday nights on cable and hit Hulu on Tuesdays. [Hulu] MIXTAPE: Original documentary from MTV Entertainment Studios exploring the significance of the mixtape throughout hip-hop history, featuring insights from Lil Wayne, DJ Khaled, Fat Joe, KRS-One, Jadakiss, Big Boi, 2 Chainz, A$AP Rocky, The Game, Mark Ronson, Funkmaster Flex, N.O.R.E., and others. [Paramount+] BUMP: Australian comedy-drama series, starring Nathalie Morris as an ambitious high-school overachiever whose future plans are thrown a curveball when she gets unexpectedly pregnant. Claudia Karvan co-stars and created the series along with Kelsey Munro. Season 2 debuted Monday night on CW; new episodes come to streaming on Tuesdays. [CW] RUN THE BURBS: Canadian sitcom which originally aired on CBC Television, starring Andrew Pham as a suburban stay-at-home dad. Rakhee Morzaria co-stars; Phung also co-created the series along with Scott Townsend. Season 1 debuted Monday night on CW; new episodes hit the app and website on Tuesdays. [CW] GRANITE HARBOUR: Three-part mystery series from the UK, starring Romario Simpson and Hannah Donaldson as police detectives in Aberdeen, Scotland, investigating the murder of an oil tycoon. [BritBox] PRIMATE: Spanish-language comedy series from Colombia, starring Christian Tappán as a depressed, diabetic guy in his late 40s who's forced by circumstance to move in with his best friend (Diego Cadavid). Season 2 hits Prime Video in the US today. [Amazon] | | | |
| 4 | | YouTube star Jimmy "MrBeast" Donaldson and his company, Beast Investments, filed a breach of contract lawsuit against former Planet Hollywood executive Robert Earl. Donaldson and Earl co-founded Virtual Dining Concepts in 2020, a company that established "ghost kitchens" in various cities to sell delivery food during the pandemic. More: - Via these remote kitchens, often operating out of pre-existing restaurants, customers can order "MrBeast Burger" menu items online through delivery apps and services.
- Within the company's first three months, over 1 million burgers were sold; by 2022, the duo had signed up 1,700 participating restaurants.
- The food itself, however, has been the subject of a wave of customer complaints and negative reviews.
- In his lawsuit, Donaldson alleges that his complaints about quality control were ignored, his image and registered trademarks was used by the company without permission, and that he has not been properly compensated from the venture.
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| 5 | | Actor Angus Cloud, a regular on the HBO drama series "Euphoria," died at age 25 in his home in Oakland, California. Cloud co-starred as warm-hearted drug dealer Fezco "Fez" O'Neill in the first two seasons of the HBO series; he also shot roles in a few upcoming films that will be released posthumously. More: - TMZ was the first to report news of Cloud's passing.
- Cloud's father, with whom he was very close, passed away last week.
- A statement from Cloud's family said that "Angus was open about his battle with mental health and we hope that his passing can be a reminder to others that they are not alone and should not fight this on their own in silence."
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| 6 | | "Selling Sunset" regulars Mary and Romain Bonnet agree with Bethenny Frankel, that reality stars could use a union of their own. "We're not protected like everybody else is," Mary Bonnet told Variety over the weekend while attending a charity gala. More: - Frankel first called for reality stars to organize a few weeks back; the "Real Housewives of New York" veteran believes unscripted talent should receive residuals, just like their acting counterparts.
- Bonnet actually is a current member of SAG; she first received eligibility after appearing in a commercial for Vegas.com.
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| 7 | | The Netflix animated fantasy-comedy series "Disenchantment" will end after its upcoming fifth batch of episodes. The show's final 10 episode run kicks off on September 1. More: - "Disenchantment" initially received a 20-episode order in 2017; the "first season" was composed of two batches of 10 episodes.
- The most recent episodes were released back in February 2022.
- The series -- from "The Simpsons" vet Matt Groening -- follows the adventures of hard-drinking Queen Bean (Abbi Jacobson), her elf companion Elfo (Nat Faxon), and the demon Luci (Eric Andre) in the realm of Dreamland.
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- Netflix dropped a trailer for "Choose Love," an interactive romantic comedy film in which viewers make decisions that will help determine the story's outcome; the film, starring Laura Marano and Scott Michael Foster, arrives on August 31.
- Apple canceled the thriller series "Suspicion" -- a remake of the Israeli series "False Flag," starring Uma Thurman -- after a single season.
- A few new photos from the set of Amazon's "Fallout" series adaptation have leaked online via Discord; Kyle MacLachlan, Xelia Mendes-Jones, Aaron Moten, Ella Purnell, and Walton Goggins co-star.
- The ABC News doc "Sound of the Police" -- about the tense relationship between Black Americans and law enforcement -- premieres on Hulu on August 11; Stanley Nelson ("Attica") and Valerie Scoon co-directed.
- Fox announced the 14 celebrities who will square off on Season 2 of the grueling reality competition series "Special Forces: World's Toughest Test"; the list includes Tom Sandoval, Tara Reid, Blac Chyna, JoJo Siwa, and Robert Horry.
- "Star Trek" content begins a gradual move this week off of regional streamer Crave and over to Paramount+ for Canadian subscribers.
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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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