Pay TV experiences a half-million subscriber drop, Roku: top of the set-top box, and why you want to watch Ozark. With special guest Chris Cox.
CordKillers: Ep. 181 – Everything Is Great!
Recorded: July 31 2017
Guest: Chris Cox
Intro Video
Primary Target
- Cord Cutting: Subscribers Abandon AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon Cable
- Comcast Earnings Fueled by Universal Studios, Fate of the Furious
- Comcast’s ‘Instant TV’ service for cord cutters could launch by year-end
– 5 largest US pay TV providers lost 527K subscribers in Q2
– Comcast -34K
– ATT -351K DirectTV and U-Vers (+152K DirecTV Now)
– Charter -90K
– Verizon -15K
– Altice USA -37K
– Comcast
– added 175K broadband (220K year ago)
– Filmed entertainment revenue rose 59.6% on the strength of movies such as The Fate of the Furious while theme parks revenue increased 15.6%.
– Said internet-only service Xfinity Instant TV launching later this year (cost in flux) only in markets with Comcast Internet
How to Watch
- Roku Pulls Ahead of Google Chromcast, Apple TV in Streaming VIdeo
– emarketer – number of people using at least once in July
– Roku – 39mm 23%
– Chromecast 37mm 22%
– Fire TV 36 mm
– Apple TV 21mm
What to Watch
- Hulu is getting every episode of classic TGIF lineup: Full House, Family Matters, and more
– Hulu struck a deal with Warner Bros. Domestic TV to become the exclusive home of Full House, Family Matters, Step by Step, Perfect Strangers, and Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper, starting September 29. - Jon Stewart performed his first stand-up comedy special in more than 20 years for HBO July 26. His first special since 1996.
- AMC is developing a sci-fi show from the writers behind Arrival
– AMC announced another Ted Chiang story, Liking What You see, is being developed by Eric Heisserer who was the screenwriter on Arrival. The story is about people who undergo surgery to prevent them from perceiving beauty. - Netflix has ordered 20 episodes of a new show from Matt Groening called Disenchantment. It’s about a crumbling medieval kingdom.
- Wonder Woman 2 set for release in December 13, 2019
What We’re Watching
- Brian: Firefly, Preacher, Rick and Morty, Game of Thrones, Ozark (4 episodes), The Big Sick
- Tom: Friefly (Bushwhacked), Preacher, Rick and Morty, Game of Thrones, Twin Peaks
- Chris: Twin Peaks, The Mist, Dark Matter, Wynona Earp
- On the Lookout: Last Chance U
Front Lines
- Cord cutting pressures lead to Discovery Communications’ acquisition of Scripps Networks for $14.6B
– Discovery Communications announced it plans to acquire Scripps Networks Interactive which operates networks like HGTV and Food Network. The combination will give the combined company more leverage when seeking distribution deals on traditional and online pay TV services. - HBO says data hacked, media says ‘Game of Thrones’ targeted
– HBO said Monday that attackers had stolen data including upcoming programming. Entertainment Weekly reports the theft includes a script for an upcoming episode of Game of Thrones. - Amazon Moves Into Self-Distribution With Woody Allen’s ‘Wonder Wheel’
– Variety reports Amazon will act as its own distributor for Woody Allen’s movie, Wonder Wheel, set for release in December. This gives Amazon control over marketing, screenings and theater rollout. Amazon previously worked with indie studios like Lionsgate for distribution. - Nielsen’s TV ratings now include Hulu and YouTube TV
– Nielsen has begun adding YouTube and Hulu to its C3 and C7 numbers which have previously been used to include streaming views from traditional broadcast networks. - PlayStation Vue is luring sports fans away from cable
– PlayStation Vue has added a sports package for $10 a month that includes NFL Redzone, MLB Strike Zone, ESPN Classic and 11 other channels. - Cycflix lets you watch Netflix, but only if you keep up the pace
– Dublin Institute of Technology student Ronan Byrne has started a project called Cycflix. It’s basically an Arduino hooked up to a stationary bike that only lets you watch Netflix if your peddling hard enough. You set the levels. It can also work with other streaming services like Hulu.
Dispatches from the Front
Could The Dark Tower, at 95 minutes, be a good movie? Sure. It just won’t be The Dark Tower.
So don’t call it The Dark Tower.
Just toss me a colon for god’s sake. The Dark Tower: Face of My Father. Or call it The Dark Tower and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Whatever. Anything that admits you’re not trying to do the whole series.
Though I’m not sure what portion of the story they can tell well in 95 minutes–that’s barely longer than each Game of Thrones episode is supposed to be next season.
Of course, Game of Thrones is an epic adventure that you could hardly expect to be told in shorter form, whereas The Dark Tower is–oh, wait…
Anyhow, sub-$20 million opening weekend.
But I’m not promising ten bucks of it won’t be mine.
–Mike
MovieLeagueMike
On Cordkillers episode 180, Brian mentioned that Wonder Woman had overtaken Guardians of the Galaxy 2 at the box office. Consider that the current top two movies of the year are Wonder Woman and live action Beauty and the Beast, with The Last Jedi likely to join them. If that comes to pass then the top three movies of 2017 will feature female leads. I enjoy watching the Hollywood suits get reality checked. Kudos to the fans for serving that check: women can star in and open blockbusters.
– Roy
Links