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| Hello again and thanks for opening today's Inside Streaming brief. The decision to rebrand the Showtime cable network as "Paramount+ with Showtime" is very strange, right? I get that they like the idea of the streaming service and cable network having the same name, so everyone understands that you're getting the same content, whether you're a cable or internet subscriber. And I even understand that they can't just use "Paramount" because "The Paramount Network" is already the name of a different cable network, and that'd be even MORE confusing to merge them all together. But "Paramount+ with Showtime"? I'm sure we can do better than that. Even a totally new name... or just calling everything "Showtime" or "Showtime+" would be better than two names pushed together. This version is so cumbersome and weird. It's like that "FX on Hulu" thing Disney couldn't make work. It has to be catchy and simple or memorable or it's useless, from a branding POV. Enjoy today's issue! Lon
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| 1 | | The linear Showtime cable network will rebrand as "Paramount+ with Showtime" on January 8, 2024. The move aligns the network under the same name as Paramount Global's streaming service. More: - In a press release, Paramount called the new Showtime the first-ever "multiplatform brand that integrates streaming and linear content."
- A campaign will begin airing this week on Showtime to raise awareness about the change among TV viewers.
- The network will continue to air Showtime-branded content, while also adding former Paramount+ exclusives, such as "Mayor of Kingstown" and "Star Trek: Discovery."
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| 2 | | The Premier League's latest domestic rights packages do not include any streaming services. Last week, the league announced a record domestic TV deal with Sky Sports and TNT Sports, valued at around £6.7 billion ($8.45 billion). More: - The Sky/TNT deal is the largest sports media rights deal in UK history.
- Premier League matches will now remain exclusive to broadcast TV in the UK through the end of the decade.
- Amazon has streamed Premier League matches in the UK since 2019, but elected not to bid in the latest round.
- New York Times columnist Rory Smith explains that the TV deals are so lucrative for the league, there is little incentive to experiment with streaming platforms.
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| 3 | | DAILY CALENDAR MONDAY, DECEMBER 11 SCIENCE FAIR: THE SERIES: Three-part docuseries from National Geographic, following nine ambitious high school students from diverse backgrounds as they compete for a spot in the elite Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). The series was inspired by a 2018 documentary by filmmakers Cristina Costantini and Darren Foster, who returned for the new project. Rebecca Lee narrates. [Hulu and Disney+] THE BILLION DOLLAR GOAL: Three-part sports docuseries looking back at the history of soccer fandom in the United States, and how a sport once considered largely an "immigrant's game" rose to nationwide prominence. Journalist Grant Wahl hosts and executive produced. [Paramount+] JULES: 2023 sci-fi comedy-drama feature starring Ben Kingsley as a widower whose quiet life is upended when an alien spacecraft crashes in his backyard. Jane Curtin, Harriet Sansom Harris, Zoë Winters, Jade Quon, and Andy Daly co-star; Marc Turtletaub ("Gods Behaving Badly") directed. [Paramount+] ROUND AND ROUND: Holiday romantic comedy from Hallmark, starring Vic Michaelis as a woman who finds herself trapped in a time loop, reliving the same family Hanukkah party over and over again. Bryan Greenberg co-stars. [Peacock] PELTZ-BECKHAM VS. THE WEDDING PLANNERS: Two-part docuseries from Discovery UK, chronicling the wedding of Brooklyn Beckham (the eldest son of David and Victoria Beckham) and actor Nicola Peltz from multiple perspectives, including the staffers they fired just weeks before the ceremony. [Max] | | | |
| 4 | | Former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson launched his own subscription streaming service on Monday. "Tucker Carlson Network" (TCN) will feature multiple formats, including short-form videos, interviews, and extended monologues. More: - For now, the service is exclusively available via Carlson's website.
- Subscriptions cost $9/month or $72/year, but some content is available for free with ads.
- All of the content Carlson has posted to Twitter/X since his exit from Fox News this summer will also migrate to the new service; Carlson plans to continue posting some content for free on the social media platform.
- According to The Wall Street Journal, there were discussions about launching TCN entirely through X, but the tech company wasn't able to move quickly enough to build out a subscription streaming platform.
- Former White House adviser Neil Patel -- with whom Carlson co-founded the conservative Daily Caller website -- will service as CEO of TCN.
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| 5 | | Netflix's next live event is "The Netflix Slam," a tennis match between Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz. The match streams live on Sunday, March 3, from Michelob Ultra Arena at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. More: - Netflix's previous experiment in live sports streaming was "The Netflix Cup," a golf tournament bringing together participants from the "Drive to Survive" and "Full Swing" docuseries.
- Full Day Productions -- the company behind "The Netflix Cup" -- will also produce "The Netflix Slam."
- The line-up will apparently also include a few other matches that have yet to be announced.
- "The Netflix Slam" will stream live with both English and Spanish-language commentary.
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| 6 | | HBO and Max's "Succession" is the most-nominated TV series of 2023 at the Golden Globe awards, with 9 total nods. The 81st annual award ceremony will air on CBS and stream on Paramount+ on January 7. More: - Hulu's "The Bear" and "Only Murders in the Building" were the next most-nominated shows, with five nods apiece.
- Warner Bros.' "Barbie" led all film nominees with 9 honors.
- This year's show will include two new categories, honoring TV stand-up comedy specials and "blockbuster" films (defined as any earning more than $100 million at the box office).
- Apple's "Killers of the Flower Moon" and Netflix's "Maestro" and "May December" were nominated in the Best Motion Picture categories, in a year that leaned more toward theatrical releases.
- Apple and Ridley Scott's historical epic "Napoleon" ranked among the more notable snubs, receiving zero nominations.
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| 7 | | According to Nielsen, the Peacock holiday comedy "Genie" had the most-watched debut of any film in the platform's history. The film -- starring Paapa Essiedu and Melissa McCarthy -- hit Peacock on November 22 and was viewed for around 405 million minutes in its first five days. More: - "Genie" was the seventh most-streamed film of that entire week, ranking among long-standing holiday favorites such as "Elf" and "Home Alone."
- 405 million minutes works out to around 4.35 million total viewings of the 93-minute film.
- McCarthy stars as a genie who's been trapped in an antique jewelry box, before being freed by an everyday guy (Essiedu) in the present day.
- It was written by "Love Actually" vet Richard Curtis, based on his 1991 BBC TV movie.
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| 8 | | QUICK HITS - Want to master Kubernetes? The Kubernetes Cookbook is a must-have guide to discover guidance on cloud architecture analytics, optimization, governance, and more.*
- A new report from Ampere Analytics suggests that the merged Disney+/Hulu app could leapfrog Netflix in both catalog size and viewership in the US; according to Ampere, around 1/3 of the 100 most popular 2023 streaming titles come from one of these two services, more than any other single competitor.
- With the "Doctor Who" 60th anniversary David Tennant specials having wrapped up last week, BBC dropped the first trailer for Ncuti Gawta's debut as the Fifteenth Doctor, "The Church on Ruby Road"; the special episode arrives on Christmas Day on Disney+ in the US.
- In a post to Instagram, publicist Yvette Noel-Schure shut down rumors that "Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé" will soon make its streaming debut on the Roku Channel.
- Netflix grabbed the romantic comedy series "Too Much" from married co-creators Lena Dunham and Luis Felber; Megan Stalter and Will Sharpe will co-star.
- The casting of Denzel Washington as ancient Carthaginian general Hannibal in a Netflix biopic has sparked controversy in Tunisia, the famed military leader's "home country."
- The curated cinephile streaming service Mubi will add a collection of 14 martial arts films from China's legendary Shaw Brothers Studio on December 22; the package includes classic titles "The Five Deadly Venoms," "Five Elements Ninjas," "Clan of the White Lotus," and "The 36th Chamber of Shaolin."
- Bestselling book on alternative investing offers the first chapter free for a limited time. "Money Shackles" innovates the way you think about money.*
*This is sponsored content | | | |
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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 Lon Harris | |
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