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| Wow, HUGE news day so I will get right to it! Casey Bloys didn't even get 24 hours to deal with the aftermath of that Rolling Stone exposé before he had to appear before the press and talk up HBO's new slate. Poor guy. He seems to have handled it alright, without truly acknowledging how embarrassing it is to get caught using sock puppets to pick on the critics that didn't like your shows. Regardless, I'm SUPER excited about a new season of "The Jinx," the greatest unscripted true-crime series of them all, in my honest opinion. So all is forgiven. Enjoy today's issue! Lon
p/lon-harris | |
| 1 | | Disney will pay Comcast at least $8.61 billion for its 33% stake in Hulu. Comcast exercized its right under a 2019 agreement to push the deal forward on November 1. More: - Disney already owns 66% of Hulu; it will be the sole owner after the Comcast deal closes, no later than December 1.
- A guaranteed floor value of $27.5 billion was established for Hulu in 2019.
- This may not ultimately be the final price tag, as the two sides continue to negotiate the streamer's fair market value; Comcast has suggested that it's likely closer to $30 billion, though some Wall Street analysts are skeptical.
- If the total value calculated by Disney and Comcast's bankers are not within 10% of one another, the two firms will pick a third bank to make another estimate; Hulu's final valuation will then average the two closest figures together.
- According to CEO Bob Iger, Disney ultimately plans to merge the Hulu and Disney+ services, in order to "boost pricing power" and reduce churn.
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| 2 | | HBO chief Casey Bloys presented the network's 2024 content slate to press on Thursday. Before discussing upcoming HBO shows and films, Bloys responded to a Rolling Stone report about his team criticizing TV critics on X/Twitter via fake accounts. More: - On the Twitter subject, Bloys apologized to critics who were singled out in the leaked text messages, and said that he has switched strategies to direct messaging writers from his own account when he has concerns or thoughts to share.
- HBO announced a newly-produced second season for the iconic true-crime reality series "The Jinx," which features prison phone calls from late subject Robert Durst, as well as interviews with witnesses who had not previously come forward.
- The second season of "House of the Dragon" will premiere in "early summer" of 2024; Bloys also said another "Game of Thrones" spinoff series, "The Hedge Knight," will enter production in the spring.
- New episodes of the video game adaptation "The Last of Us" will enter production early next year, for a planned 2025 launch.
- Third seasons of "Euphoria" and "The White Lotus" have been pushed back to 2025, as has the "IT" prequel series "Welcome to Derry."
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| 3 | | DAILY CALENDAR THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2 ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE: Limited drama series based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Anthony Doerr, chronicling the relationship between a blind French girl (Aria Mia Loberti) and a young German soldier (Louis Hoffman) during the closing days of World War II. Mark Ruffalo, Hugh Laurie, and Lars Eidinger co-star. Steven Knight ("Peaky Blinders") wrote the adaptation; Shawn Levy ("Stranger Things") directed. [Netflix] UNICORN ACADEMY: Debut animated adventure series for kids, based on the books by Julie Sykes. A group of students at a magic academy for unicorn riders join forces to defeat a mysterious darkness that threatens their school. The series was produced in collaboration with toy company Spin Master, which is creating a line of merch based on the property. [Netflix] ONIMUSHA: Debut anime series, spun off from the Capcom video game franchise. During Japan's early Edo Period, legendary swordsman Musashi Miyamoto (Akio Ôtsuka) and his fellow samurai put down a zombie uprising. "Dragon's Dogma" vet Shinya Sugai directs in collaboration with iconic filmmaker Takashi Miike. [Netflix] CIGARETTE GIRL (GADIS KRETEK): Period romantic drama series from Indonesia, about a couple in the 1960s who bond over their shared efforts to create a perfectly blended clove cigarette. Dian Sastrowardoyo and Ario Bayu co-star. [Netflix] HIGUITA: THE WAY OF THE SCORPION (HIGUITA: EL CAMINO DEL ESCORPIÓN): Spanish-language documentary profiling the dramatic life and career of Colombian soccer icon René Higuita, with an eye on his many public controversies and the origin of his colorful nickname. [Netflix] PAMELA'S GARDEN OF EDEN: Canadian reality series, produced for HGTV Canada, in which Pamela Anderson renovates her family's property on Vancouver Island. Season 2 aired earlier this year on TV and hits Hulu in the US today. [Hulu] MAGIC MIKE'S LAST DANCE: This 2023 comedy-drama is the third film in the "Magic Mike" series, and finds the former male stripper (Channing Tatum) traveling to London to help a socialite (Salma Hayek Pinault) mount a new stage play. Ayub Khan Din, Jemelia George, Juliette Motamed, and Vicki Pepperdine co-star. [Hulu] REPORTING FOR CHRISTMAS: Holiday romantic comedy-drama starring Tamara Feldman as an ambitious reporter who falls for a charming toymaker (Matt Trudeau) while working on a Christmas puff piece. D.B. Sweeney co-stars. [Hulu] KINGDOM BUSINESS: The musical drama series stars Yolanda Adams as Denita Jordan, a gospel superstar and label owner who finds her position threatened by Rbel (Serayah), a hot new arrival on the scene. Michael Jai White and Michael Beach co-star; Kirk Franklin executive produces. The show is back this week for Season 2. [BET+] CAUGHT IN THE NET: The Investigation Discovery true-crime series features stories about investigators who had to rely on internet sleuthing and digital paper trails to solve cases. Season 2 aired earlier this fall on cable and hits Max today. [Max] EXPEDITION BIGFOOT: The Travel Channel docuseries follows an elite team of researchers as they scour North America for evidence of the legendary cryptid. Season 4 debuted in August on TV and premieres on Max in the US today. [Max] | | | |
| 4 | | In its first fiscal quarter of 2024, Fox Corp. ad revenue tumbled by 2%, while affiliate revenue rose by the same amount. Quarterly earnings hit $415 million in the period ending on September 31, down from $613 million in the same period one year ago. More: - CEO Lachlan Murdoch blamed a soft advertising market for the drop, but noted that Fox Corp. was handling the dip better than rivals that share its news and sports focus.
- Fox-owned Tubi led rival ad-supported offerings from Max, Paramount+, and Peacock in terms of viewing time, though Murdoch noted that it was also impacted by the weak ad market.
- Murdoch also discussed the loss of "WWE Smackdown" rights to NBCUniversal, commenting that the company wasn't seeing a return on investment from WWE content.
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| 5 | | Roku reported better-than-expected revenue in Q3 of 2023. The company reported revenue of $912 million, exceeding projections of around $855.2 million. More: - Losses hit $330.1 million in Q3, nearly triple the same quarter from one year ago; revenue was up 20% over the year-ago quarter.
- Roku credited the strong revenue performance to its content distribution and video advertising divisions, along with sales of Roku-branded smart TVs, which launched in March of this year.
- Roku executives suggested that the ad market is recovering slowly, but they are proceeding with caution.
- Following the earnings report, Roku shares jumped by around 30%.
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| 6 | | Subscribers to Netflix's ad-supported tier will start getting access to some ad-free episodes. The streamer announced that, for every three consecutive episodes streamed with ads, subscribers can watch a fourth episode ad-free. More: - The scheme is intended to encourage more binge viewing, get more benefits for advertisers from a consistent Netflix viewing experience, and entice more subscribers to ad-supported plans.
- Ad-tier users will also soon gain the ability to download content for offline viewing.
- Currently, an ad-supported Netflix subscription costs $6.99 in the US.
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| 7 | | Magnolia Network announced a new slate of family-friendly unscripted original series, all headed for Max in early 2024. Magnolia is a joint venture between Warner Bros. Discovery and Texas home renovation gurus and TV personalities Chip and Joanna Gaines. More: - "Second Chance Stage" is a talent competition specifically featuring contestants who have put their previous careers aside to chase their dreams.
- The humorous game show series "Human vs. Hamster" puts human competitors up against actual hamsters in strength, intelligence, and agility challenges.
- "Social experiment" reality series "Back to the Frontier" features families attempting to live as the pioneers did back in the 1800s.
- Reality competition series "Roller Jam" brings together the top roller skating crews from around the US.
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| 8 | | Hulu ordered two more seasons for the "Futurama" revival series. The streamer originally ordered 20 new episodes when it announced the revival in 2022. More: - "Futurama" Season 11 made its Hulu debut on July 24; it was in Nielsen's Top 10 original streaming series chart for six weeks.
- Season 12 -- which caps off the original Hulu order -- will debut in 2024; the new order will bring the show through Season 14.
- "Futurama" started life on Fox before moving over to Comedy Central and, ultimately, Hulu; it was created by "Simpsons" vet Matt Groening for 20th Television Animation, now a part of Disney TV Studios.
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- The latest Indiana Jones adventure, "Dial of Destiny," hits Disney+ on December 1.
- According to Deadline, SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP's latest round of talks remain ongoing, but protections around the use of AI apps remain a frustrating sticking point for both parties.
- Comedian Taylor Tomlinson will host the late-night CBS series "After Midnight," a new spin on Comedy Central's improv series "@midnight"; Stephen Colbert is an executive producer on the new take.
- FX's series adaptation of the 1975 James Clavell novel "Shogun" -- set in Japan in the year 1600, and following the collaboration between noble Lord Yoshii Toranga (Hiroyuki Sanada) and English sailor John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis) -- debuts in February 2024.
- An untitled drama series from filmmaker Ava DuVernay -- which had been picked up for three seasons -- will no longer move forward at Starz; the series, which paused in March due to the WGA strike, was to feature Joshua Jackson and Lauren Ridloff.
- Hulu is developing a new take on the Fox drama "Prison Break," from "Mayans M.C." vet Elgin James.
- YouTube has intensified its efforts to limit ad blockers, launching a "global effort" to convince users to try YouTube Premium for an ad-free experience.
- People Magazine got an early look at the upcoming action-comedy feature "The Family Plan," coming to Apple TV+ on December 15; Mark Wahlberg stars as a suburban dad and former elite government assassin who's tracked down by old enemies.
- The Bally Sports streaming service has suffered two significant outages in the last three days.
- Mike Birbiglia's next comedy special, "The Old Man and the Pool," hits Netflix on November 21.
- A number of "Dance Moms" cast members plan to reunite for a 2024 reunion, which will air on the Lifetime cable network; participants include Chloé Lukasiak, Paige and Brooke Hyland, JoJo Siwa, Kendall Vertes, and Kalani Hilliker.
- Reactions to Konami's hybrid streaming series and interactive game, "Silent Hill: Ascension," have been very mixed so far, largely due to technical issues; there have been numerous complaints about installation errors, glitchiness, log-in problems, and a lack of spam filters in the chat.
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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 Lon Harris | |
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