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| Hello again! In a first for the Disney+ platform, they reported some actual numbers around the "Ahsoka" premiere. Disney claims global audiences watched the first episode for around 784 million minutes in its first five days online, a pretty solid number that would typically be good enough to sneak into Nielsen's weekly Top 10 list. There's no way to verify this, and we won't get Nielsen numbers on "Ashoka" for a few weeks still... but it certainly would seem to indicate that it's been a bigger breakout success than some relatively disappointing Disney+ debuts like "Willow" or Marvel's "Secret Invasion." Enjoy today's issue. We'll see you back here tomorrow. Lon
p/lon-harris | |
| 1 | | Veteran news executive Mark Thompson takes over as the new head of CNN on October 9. Thompson will report directly to Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav. More: - Thompson replaces former CNN chairman Chris Licht, who was terminated in June; since then, the company has been run by a collective of four veteran executives.
- Thompson previously oversaw a major transition at The New York Times, in which he successfully shifted from a focus on print journalism to a larger digital footprint.
- Thompson also spent 30 years as an executive at The BBC, working primarily on news and current affairs programming.
- Next month, CNN content will be more fully integrated into the Max streaming service, under the new "CNN Max" hub.
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| 2 | | Another group of investors have sued Disney and its top executives over an alleged accounting scheme to hide streaming losses. In addition to the company, the suit specifically names current CEO Bob Iger, previous CEO Bob Chapek, former CFO Christine McCarthy, and several other individuals. More: - Stourbridge Investments filed the suit over "materially misleading statements and/or omissions" that it alleges were designed to hide Disney+ financial losses.
- The suit further alleges that Disney+'s growth trajectory and 2024 targets were not "sustainable" nor "achieveable," and that the numbers were altered to conceal this information from shareholders.
- Two previous lawsuits have made similar allegations, which concern the shifting of costs away from the Disney+ platform and over to legacy platforms.
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| 3 | | DAILY CALENDAR WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 30 HEART OF INVICTUS: Docuseries taking viewers behind the scenes of the 2022 Invictus Games, in which all the competitors are wounded, sick, or injured servicemen and women. The series follows the experiences of six competitors in the Games, along with the preparations in advance of the event. Invictus Games founder Prince Harry appears in the series and produced; Orlando von Einsiedel ("The White Helmets") directed. [Netflix] LIVE TO 100: SECRETS OF THE BLUE ZONES: Docuseries from National Geographic and author Dan Buettner, based on his book "The Blue Zone: 9 Lessons of Living Longer from People Who've Lived the Longest." The series follows Buettner as he visits five regions of the world in which the local populations live the longest, and works to unlock the secrets of their particularly healthy lifestyles. [Netflix] MISS ADRENALINE: A TALE OF TWINS (ROMINA PODEROSA): Spanish-language telenovela from Colombia, about a competitive cyclist (Juanita Molina) who assumes the persona of her estranged, recently-murdered twin sister in order to uncover the identity of her killer. [Netflix] DESIGN DOWN UNDER: Debut home renovation reality series from Magnolia Network, in which husband-and-wife team Richie Morris and Georgia Ezra create modern, customized living spaces for clients throughout Melbourne, Australia. [Max] IN WITH THE OLD: Reality series from Magnolia Network in which designers and builders renovate and reimagine historical structures across the US. Season 4 hits Max today. [Max] PRETTY FREEKIN SCARY: Disney Channel live-action comedy series, based on the books by Chris P. Flesh. Eliana Su'a stars as 14-year-old Frankie Ripp, who's killed in a freak accident but permitted by the Grim Reaper to return to Earth, so long as she obeys her Underworld guardians (Kyan Samuels and Leah Mei Gold). 6 additional episodes from the show's first season hit Disney+ in the US today. [Disney+] CHIP 'N' DALE: PARK LIFE: The dialogue-free animated series -- produced in the style of classic cartoon shorts -- follows the adventures of the two chipmunk troublemakers, now living in a park in the middle of a big city. A fresh batch of Season 2 episodes premiere today. [Disney+] | | | |
| 4 | | Multiple sports leagues -- including the NFL, NBA, and UFC -- formally asked the US government to update the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), making it faster to take down illegal livestreams. According to The Verge, the leagues want to change the wording in the law around how quickly DMCA notices take effect. More: - Currently, the DMCA requires illegal copyright-violating broadcasts to be taken down by online platforms "expeditiously."
- In a letter sent to the US Patent and Trademark Office, the leagues argue this language should be changed to "instantaneously or near-instantaneously."
- The leagues argue that, by the time platforms get around to honoring takedown requests, live sporting events have often concluded anyway.
- The letter makes the case that "this would be a relatively modest and non-controversial update" to the DMCA, and estimates that the global sports industry loses $28 billion in potential revenue each year due to pirated streams.
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| 5 | | According to Disney's own internal figures, the "Ahsoka" series premiere received around 14 million global views in its first five days on Disney+. Disney counts "views" using the same methodology as Netflix, dividing the total viewing time a program received on the platform by its runtime. More: - Doing the math, that means "Ahsoka" racked up around 784 million minutes viewed in its first five days.
- Disney only reported numbers for the first episode of "Ahsoka," even though the first two episodes arrived on August 23 simultaneously; the third episode went live on Wednesday.
- This marks the very first time Disney has released any specific numbers around Disney+ viewership; previously, the company only announced how shows and films have performed relative to one another.
- "Ahsoka" is set in the "Star Wars" universe, and stars Rosario Dawson as former Jedi Ahsoka Tano, a fan-favorite character from the animated series "Clone Wars" and "Rebels."
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| 6 | | Netflix announced its film release schedule for the remainder of 2023. The streamer's fall slate includes 28 movies, including Part 1 of Zack Snyder's sci-fi epic "Rebel Moon," Bradley Cooper's Leonard Bernstein biopic "Maestro," and the Wes Anderson short "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar." More: - Anderson's "Henry Sugar," based on a story by Roald Dahl, hits Netflix on September 27, following a limited theatrical release.
- Other notable films on the schedule include the dark horror-comedy "El Conde" from "Jackie" filmmaker Pableo Larraín; Robert Rodriguez's "Spy Kids" reboot; the Sundance thriller "Fair Play" from writer/director Chloe Domont; Bill Burr's comedy "Old Dads"; and "Pain Hustlers," starring Emily Blunt as a pharmaceutical exec suffering a crisis of conscience.
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| 7 | | Netflix renewed the drama series "The Lincoln Lawyer" for a third season. The series is based on books by author Michael Connelly, and comes from executive producer David E. Kelley. More: - Season 3 will be based on Connelly's book "The Gods of Guilt," the fifth entry in his "Lincoln Lawyer" novel series.
- Manuel Garcia-Rulfo stars as Los Angeles attorney Mickey Haller, who runs his practice out of the backseat of his Lincoln.
- In addition to Rulfo, Becki Newton, Jazz Raycole, Angus Sampson, and Yaya DaCosta are expected to reprise their roles for Season 3.
- Season 2 debuted on July 2; according to Netflix, it appeared in their Top 10 ranking in 81 different countries.
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| 8 | | Apple will give Martin Scorsese's new historical crime drama "Killers of the Flower Moon" a full worldwide theatrical release in October. Apple Studios had originally planned a limited theatrical release for the film, ahead of its Apple TV+ streaming debut. More: - "Killers of the Flower Moon" will now hit theaters worldwide on October 20; no streaming release date has been announced.
- Paramount Pictures partnered with Apple on the film's theatrical distribution.
- The film relates a true story about a killing spree in the wealthy Osage Nation of Oklahoma in the 1920s, after oil is discovered on tribal land; Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, and Jesse Plemons co-star.
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| 9 | | Late night talk show hosts Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver join forces for the new Spotify podcast "Strike Force Five," debuting this week. All proceeds will benefit their shows' writing staffs, which are currently on strike. More: - Spotify announced the series on Tuesday, along with the guarantee that it will run for at least 12 episodes.
- Late-night shows all halted production shortly after the announcement of the WGA Strike on May 2.
- "Strike Force Five" launch sponsors include Mint Mobile and the alcoholic beverage makers Diageo.
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- Samba TV reports that "The Flash" was viewed by around 1.1 million US households in its first 3 days on Max, an 8% drop-off from viewership of the DC Comics adaptation "Black Adam."
- In the latest issue of Empire, Ridley Scott reveals that he has a "fantastic" director's cut of his new Apple biopic "Napoleon" that runs nearly four-and-a-half hours; the theatrical cut clocks in at 158 minutes.
- Nine Big Ten football games will stream exclusively on Peacock this season, leading to some confusion among non-subscribers.
- NBC News noted that several "canceled" YouTube stars -- including James Charles, Tana Mongeau, and Jeffree Star -- have managed to restart their careers and find receptive new audiences on alternate platforms, such as TikTok.
- Peacock announced an animated "Jurassic Park" LEGO special; the original film celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.
- According to Australian research firm Telsyte, Netflix's subscriber base in the country dipped by about 3% year-over-year, after the streamer introduced more restrictive rules around password sharing.
- Annette Bening stars as marathon swimmer Diana Nyad in a new Netflix biopic; the Los Angeles Times notes that its path to award-season success could be complicated by lingering questions about some of Nyad's potentially exaggerated claims.
- A feature documentary from Amazon Studios will explore the life and career of actor, filmmaker, and studio chief Tyler Perry; "Maxine's Baby: The Tyler Perry Story" hits Prime Video in the US on November 17.
- Contrary to news reports earlier this week, "Bachelorette" contestant Josh Seiter has not passed away; apparently, the reality star's Instagram account was hacked and a false obituary was posted.
- Zynga announced a new mobile puzzle-based role-playing game inspired by HBO's "Game of Thrones," featuring characters from the epic fantasy series and its prequel, "House of the Dragon."
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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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