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| Good morning/afternoon and thanks for opening today's Inside Streaming brief. Lots of news coming in from Brazil's CCXP fan convention, which was held late last week and over the weekend in São Paulo. As American fan conventions have sort of contracted lately -- most of the big film studios and streamers barely participated in San Diego Comic-Con last year -- some of these international versions are threatening to take prominence. Lots of pop culture news filtering in over the weekend from South America, some of which you can find listed below. Enjoy today's issue! We'll be back tomorrow with more updates. Lon
p/lon-harris | |
| 1 | | Verizon announced details about its new low-cost Netflix/Max bundle deal. Starting on December 7, Verizon myPlan customers can sign up for bundled ad-supported subscriptions to both services for $10 per month. More: - Typically, an ad-supported Netflix plan costs $6.99 per month, while ad-supported Max runs $9.99 per month; this makes Verizon's deal about a $7 monthly savings.
- This is the only Netflix/Max bundle currently offered by any platform or provider.
- Verizon's myPlan broadband service features three unlimited plans costing $100, $90, or $75/month, not including the $10 Netflix/Max add-on.
- Verizon also has streaming offers available from Disney and Apple.
- The Hollywood Reporter suggests that more streaming companies -- including Apple and Paramount -- are exploring similar bundling deals.
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| 2 | | Speaking at the UBS Global Media and Communications conference on Monday, Comcast CEO Mike Cavanagh estimated that Peacock will lose around $2.8 billion in 2023. That's less than the $3 billion in losses Comcast projected for Peacock in January. More: - Cavanagh suggested that 2023 will be the peak loss year for the platform.
- According to Comcast's last earnings report in October, Peacock ended Q3 with 28 million subscribers.
- Comcast has started the process of shifting Hulu over entirely to Disney's control; an $8.61 billion check related to the deal arrived on Friday.
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| 3 | | DAILY CALENDAR MONDAY, DECEMBER 4 MURDER IN BOSTON: ROOTS, RAMPAGE & RECKONING: True-crime docuseries from The Boston Globe and HBO exploring the 1989 murder of pregnant attorney Carol Stuart and the police investigation that followed. Though Stuart's husband Charles originally blamed an African-American carjacker, it was ultimately revealed that he committed the crime himself to collect on his wife's life insurance policy. Globe reporter Adrian Walker hosts; Jason Hehir ("André the Giant") directs. [Max] MOB LAND: 2023 direct-to-VOD crime thriller from first-time writer/director Nicholas Maggio. Shiloh Fernandez stars as a desperate husband and father who robs a local pill mill, not realizing it's controlled by violent mobsters from New Orleans. John Travolta, Kevin Dillon, Stephen Dorff, and Ashley Benson co-star. [Hulu] DEW DROP DIARIES: The animated DreamWorks kids' series returns for a second season this week. It centers on three enthusiastic young fairies in training who help out human families in the hopes of earning their wings. "Thomas & Friends" vet Rick Suvalle created. [Netflix] TILL DEATH: The romantic drama series from Lebanon is back on Monday for a third season. It centers on the rocky and unpredictable relationship between Reem (Danielle Rahme) and Sahar (Maguy Bou Ghosn), who grew up together in an orphanage and then reunite under awkward circumstances as adults. [Netflix] THE PRICE IS RIGHT AT NIGHT: All this week, special holiday episodes of the shopping-themed game show will air in the evenings on CBS, while also streaming on Paramount+. Monday, Thursday, and Friday shows begin at 7 pm ET, while Tuesday night's episode starts at 8 pm ET. Drew Carey hosts. [Paramount+] | | | |
| 4 | | A new report from media agency GroupM suggests that global ad revenue jumped by 5.8% in 2023 over last year's levels. GroupM's figures put worldwide ad revenue at around $889 billion for the year, excluding spending on political ads. More: - GroupM further suggests that ad revenue will continue growing, but more slowly in 2024, due to inflation and other variables.
- Most of the surge came from digital ads, on platforms like YouTube and TikTok; spending on so-called "pure play" digital ads jumped by 9.2% over 2022.
- By 2028, GroupM predicts that the "pure play" category will be larger than the entire 2022 advertising industry.
- The US and China remain the two largest global ad markets; the UK jumped over Japan to claim the #3 spot this year.
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| 5 | | At the CCXP fan convention in Brazil, HBO unveiled an early look at "House of the Dragon" Season 2, including a teaser. The new episodes premiere in early summer of 2024. More: - Season 2 will center on the conflict between former friends Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy) and Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke).
- The series is based on George R. R. Martin's book "Fire & Blood"; it covers a civil war within House Targaryen, around 200 years before the events of "Game of Thrones."
- The first episode drew around 10 million viewers across HBO platforms in 2022, making it the network's most-watched series premiere in history.
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| 6 | | Season 4 of "True Detective," subtitled "Night Country," hits Max and HBO on January 14. The new episodes come from writer/director Issa López, whose breakout was the 2017 Mexican horror feature "Tigers Are Not Afraid." More: - Jodie Foster and Kali Reis co-star as Alaska detectives investigating the disappearance of eight men from a research station.
- A new trailer debuted this weekend at CCXP in Brazil.
- Original creator Nic Pizzolatto has departed the series; "Moonlight" filmmaker Barry Jenkins joined as an executive producer.
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| 7 | | At the CCXP Brazil fan convention, Amazon premiered a teaser for "The Boys" Season 4. No release date has been set for the new eight-episode season; it's coming sometime in 2024. More: - "Walking Dead" vet Jeffrey Dean Morgan is joining the show this season in an undisclosed role.
- Other new characters include Susan Heyward as Sister Sage and Valorie Curry as Firecracker.
- A plot synopsis released by Amazon indicates that the "Boys" universe is "on the brink" as America prepares for a presidential election, and team leader Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) faces his imminent demise.
- The lab-created virus capable of killing superheroes, first introduced on the spinoff series "Gen V," will likely also factor into the new season.
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| 8 | | HBO Films is developing a scripted feature about former US Representative George Santos. The network optioned the book "The Fabulist: The Lying, Hustling, Grifting, Stealing, and Very American Legend of George Santos" by author Mark Chiusano, just days after it was published on November 28. More: - "Succession" and "Veep" vet Frank Rich will executive produce; "Bad Education" vet Mike Makowsky has been tapped to write the adaptation.
- The film will apparently take a darkly comic look at the Congressional race that resulted in Santos being elected as a Republican representing Long Island, New York.
- Once elected, numerous questions were raised about details of Santos' biography, work history, criminal background, and campaign financing; following an ethics investigation, he was ultimately expelled from the House on December 1 of this year.
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| 9 | | QUICK HITS - The Kubernetes Cookbook is your comprehensive companion equipping you with the knowledge and techniques to harness the full potential of Kubernetes.*
- Amazon renewed the crime drama series "Reacher" for a third season ahead of its Season 2 premiere on December 15.
- Netflix renewed the Wanda Sykes/Mike Epps sitcom "The Upshaws" for a 10-episode third season; as in prior years, Season 3 will be split into two parts.
- Amazon grabbed the rights for Australian men's and women's International Cricket Council (ICC) tournaments and cricket World Cup tournaments through 2027.
- Apple canceled the animated musical comedy series "Central Park" after three seasons, according to co-creator and voice actor Josh Gad.
- A scripted biographical series about actor and singer Sammy Davis Jr. will not move forward at Hulu; producers Lee Daniels and 20th Television are shopping the project, set to star Elijah Kelley as Davis, to other streamers and networks.
- Buzzy dark comedy/thriller "Saltburn" -- the latest from "Promising Young Woman" writer/director Emerald Fennell -- hits Prime Video on December 22.
- "Star Trek: Discovery" returns for a fifth and final season -- which producer Jonathan Frakes has described as a "galaxy-wide treasure hunt" -- in March of 2024; Paramount+ debuted a clip at CCXP in Brazil.
- The UK crime drama series "Sexy Beast" -- a prequel to the 2000 film, about the former friendship between thieves Gal Dove (James McArdle) and Don Logan (Emun Elliott) -- hits Paramount+ on January 25 of next year.
- Amazon canceled the UK drama series "Riches" after a single season.
- Toast to 2024: Key affiliate marketing trends to help your campaigns start off on the right foot in the new year. Get the free report.*
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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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