Cordkillers 50 – State-sponsored Satire

Cordkillers / December 23rd, 2014

What should Sony do with The Interview? Will anyone watch Vessel? Do you want a wristband to pause your TV?

 

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CordKillers: Ep. 50 – State-sponsored Satire
Recorded: December 22, 2014
Guest: Justin Robert Young

Intro Video 

Primary Target

  • You Will Get to See “The Interview,” Sony Lawyer Says
  • -Sony lawyer David Boies told Meet the Press Sunday:
    -“Sony has been fighting to get this picture distributed. It will be distributed.”
    – “What Sony is trying to do is to get the picture out to the public but at the same time to be sure the rights of its    employees and the rights of the movie going public are going to be protected.”

Signal Intelligence

  • Former Hulu CEO Jason Kilar Pulls Back the Curtain on Vessel, His YouTube Rival
  • – Jason Kilar posted 12/17 Vessel last week trying to encourage creators to apply.
    – Creators give Vessel a 3-day exclusive
    – Creators paid out of a pool of 60% of subscription revenue PLUS 70% of ad revenue (YT shares out 55% of ad revenue)
    – Has Shane Dawson and Ingrid Nilsen and Alec Baldwin
    – Has Time Inc. and Warner Music Group deals
    – Subscribers pay Vessel $3 a month plus watch ads
    – Free tier has ads too but not the early access
    – Vessel still won’t go live until next year.

Gear Up

Front Lines

Under Surveillance

2014 Winter Movie Draft
draft.diamondclub.tv

  1. Scott: $362,056,280
  2. Tom: $299,168,428
  3. Brian: $201,148,554
  4. Brett: $129,002,243
  5. John: $57,795,715
  6. Justin: $55,114,516

Dispatches from the Front

I think HBO will offer a two tier pricing structure. A 24.99 per month plan and a 19.99 per month plan with a 12 month contract. They will do this to discourage people from signing up just to watch a season of a particular show. I would guess there is more overhead if a lot of people subscribe to watch Game of Thrones and then cancel. Then they resubscribe to watch True Detective and again cancel when that season is over. This type of behavior will happen a lot more with a streaming service as I am sure it will be easier to cancel than trying to cancel from a cable company.

 

Ken

 

 

OK, so as your boss, I thought it would be a good idea for us to have this little chat. You see, as I look at my Patreon, I’ve been your supervisor now for 368 days… you know what that means? It means several things:

1.) I’m not a crappy boss, because you’re still here

2.) I need to give you more work, (see #1)

3.) It’s time for our annual employee performance review – please see attached, sign, and have back on my desk by close of business today.

Also based on you’re scores (if budget allows for it in 2015) there will be a Merritt increase for cost of living allocation, congratulations.

Thank you for your service to the organization, and let’s make 2015 a very successful year.

Your Boss

BigJim <>

 

 

 

Hi guys,
My wife and i just finished watching all episodes of Marco Polo ,we really enjoyed it, well, much more than you guys did. We were really looking forward to your spoilers on Marco Polo, , we agree with your initial critique of the 1 st ep , story really gets better after 3rd ep.

After watching it, what a disappointment the MP segment of spoilers was. you actually dd not even spoil anything. You guys became Shwood & Meritt @themovies, and proceeded to thrash the heck out of MP. Calling it a netflix flop ( maybe to those who didnt watch the entire show) , no story, etc. what bothered me, was you actually formed your opinions, not on 1 ep , but what you assumed the whole movie would be after only watching 45 min of a 500 min movie, wow, i could understand if you watched 5 or 6 eps and give up on it, .
I Just feel you were very harsh on MP, especially, since you spent so little time viewing it.

In past eps, you guys would want to stop watching certain show, but was told by the other, “just stick with it” it get better. imo, MP does get much better., Not games of thrones better, but what show right now does.?

you still might come to same conclusions of MP even if you had watched all episodes , now, that’s fair, but bashing a entire show based only 1 episode, i think thats a disservice to your viewer. But then again, i might be way off .

Some shows/ documentaries we loved an you might want to checkout, or not. Damages, The Killing, Happy Valley, Luther, Ripper Street, Peaky Blinder, Black Fish, Altman, Cray Love, Hot Coffee, Talhotblond, and one the best reality docs ‘Dear Zachary’.

thanks for your time.

cordially,
John G

Oh yeah, love the show

 

 

 

 AHEM! -> “Black Mirror: White Christmas
This feature-length special of Charlie Brooker’s dark drama series stars Mad Men’s Jon Hamm and consists of three interwoven stories. In a mysterious and remote snowy outpost, Matt and Potter share a Christmas meal, swapping creepy tales of their earlier lives in the outside world. Matt is a charismatic American trying to bring the reserved, secretive Potter out of his shell. But are both men who they appear to be? With Rafe Spall and Oona Chaplin
Channel 4 9:00pm Tue 16 Dec”

I guess you’ll have to wait to watch it since you don’t believe in VPN’s 😉

Carlos

 

 

 

Hey guys,
Last summer I wrote in to share my experience of reading the Game of Thrones books after having seen the show. After finishing the last book (and getting depressed when searching for info on the book 6 release) I decided to rewatch the series.
My wife had never expressed any interest in the show and had repeatedly told me that it wasn’t the type of genre she likes. I convinced her to at least watch the first episode with me and told her that she could go back to her other shows afterward. When the credits rolled on that first episode she grabbed the remote and immediately started episode 2. Now she makes me call her Khaleesi.
I thoroughly enjoyed the rewatch. The scenes have so much more meaning to me and I knew who everyone was and where everyone came from. Sharing it with my wife I immediately became that guy, the one who would pause the show every 10 minutes to fill her in on who people were and their back story. I also took great pleasure in seeing her reaction to the big series moments.
Now we both anxiously await the next season and it’ll definitely be a show that’s been added to the “don’t commit TV adultery” list.

Thanks,
Scott from Houston

 

Links

patreon.com/cordkillers
Dog House Systems Cordkiller box

Cordkillers 47 – The Sports is a Lie

Cordkillers / December 2nd, 2014

Will ESPN’s choke hold kill online viewing or itself? Plus our holiday gift picks! 

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CordKillers: Ep. 47 – The Sports is a Lie
Recorded: December 1, 2014
Guest: None

Intro Video 

Primary Target

  • ESPN’s Long-Term TV Sports Rights Deals Chart
  • -Chart from MoffettNathanson analyst Michael Nathanson
    – ESPN Sports rights plotted out to 2024.
    – ESPN will pay $3.8 billion for those games this year, and $5.1 billion by 2017
    – $6 per subscriber paid to ESPN expected to hit $8 by 2018 (SNL Kagan)
    – Dish has ESPN on its web service, Sony does not yet.
    -Q: Can an online-only service make it without sports?
    -Q: Can ESPN continue to afford to pay for games when non-sports fans have more of a choice?

Signal Intelligence

  • More Than 70 Percent of Netflix Viewers Watch Original Shows
  • -Poll from Centris Marketing Science
    – More Netflix viewers (72 percent) say they watched the service’s original programming Q3 compared to Q1 (57 percent).
    – The younger the viewer the more likely to have watched original programming
    Q: Are we starting to think of Netflix as HBO more so than as an all you can eat TV catch up service?

Gear Up

Front Lines

Under Surveillance

2014 Winter Movie Draft
draft.diamondclub.tv

  1. Scott: $314,255,040
  2. Tom: $225,680,904
  3. Brian: $72,237,610
  4. Brett: $58,210,090
  5. Justin: $38,686,869
  6. John: $14,857,390

Dispatches from the Front

To: All employees of Cordkillers, LLC
From: Manager Joe

To whom it may concern:

On episode 46 of your show, entittled “Cultural CliffsNotes,” feedback was discussed which divulged details of the film Interstellar. The subject matter involved age variance between characters played by the American actors Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway.

In the future, please ensure that divulgences of protected information be limited to the “It’s Spoilerin’ Time” portions of the broadcast.

I trust this is the final mention of this topic.

Your Boss,

Joe 
 

 

Hey Brian and Tom 

Anecdotally I might have an answer for why Amazon streaming is becoming more popular. Recently I debated with my wife for us to switch from Netflix to Amazon. We have no reason for two streaming services and since they are approximately the same cost per month, I thought this would be an easy switch. My pitch was to switch to Amazon because of free shipping and music, but she insisted we stay on Netflix because of the exclusives. Amazon’s rise in popularity could be linked to people like me who want to watch streaming occasionally, but don’t want to pay for two services. If I have to choose one, Amazon wins because of all the perks (free shipping, kindle library, music, etc.).

Just a thought, thanks!

Dominic

 

 

Brian and Tom!

If you have not yet seen Gortimer Gibbons Life on Normal Street on Amazon Prime, you are missing out! This is a smart, sweet, funny kids show and an Amazon original. It is not the flashy, over the top, laugh track shows from Disney Channel, which is a refreshing change of pace.

So great to see smart kids content coming from these online providers.

Your Boss,

Maxwell

 

 

I’ve noticed it on the podcast every now and then, but Hulu+ gets downplayed a lot on the show. I’m confused as to why. I think by implying it’s not a good service is actually a disservice to potential cordcutters who want to drop their cable/satellite TV services.

Hulu+ is the only streaming service that allows people to watch the latest episodes in about 6-12 hours from when they first air. These are shows from NBC, CW, ABC, FOX, and even from some cable networks like Comedy Central or Nickelodeon, also new Anime from Japan.

Their back catalog of TV shows isn’t anything to ignore either, with stuff from CBS, FX, etc… International programming from the UK, Korea, and Mexico, also can’t be discounted. Then there’s the movie catalog, with several that aren’t even available on Netflix.

Hulu+ with a Chromecast/Roku (and maybe including CBS all access) is simply the most affordable and most convenient method to watch time-shifted programming on a TV, that is “Grandparents Friendly.” I know that everyone I know who cut the cord rely on Hulu+ more than Netflix or Amazon, for their current TV fix.

So why the hate on Hulu+?

Still a fan though ;-P
Albert 
 

 

Another great show. Really liked Dana Brunetti insights as well, although I completely disagree with his assessment that viewing numbers don’t matter in your discussion of Nielsen and Netflix. Dana is right that Netflix does not have to release that info and all that matters to Netflix is how well they feel a show is doing since they are the ones who ultimately benefit or don’t, plus they have already paid for the content so no is left empty handed. But as the OTT business gets more competitive and the Netflix’s of the world continue to produce, buy and sell content around the world these viewing numbers will generate a perceived value (as Tom said), which in some case will work for and against Netflix, Amazon and others. Although it is a brave new world, let’s not forget – the more things change, the more things stay the same (making money).

Thanks again. Your show continues to get better all the time.

Frank

 

 

As someone who works in TV for a living I was surprised to hear you guys dismiss Nielsen numbers for Netflix. I was literally yelling at my phone watching until Tom brought up Amazon using the numbers. I calmed down and thought okay here we go, Tom is getting to my point but then got mad because Dana dismissed them and you guys let it go. Now I can see Dana dismissing them as a producer who has a deal with Netflix because he is getting paid but anyone not working for Netflix or “House of Cards” should care. Amazon will almost certainly care about them. HBO will care about them. As a broadcaster I can say the broadcast networks will also care. If any of the networks companies I mentioned see a show is getting higher numbers on Netflix then some of their shows, they will either…

A, consider bidding on the show.
B, consider making a show similar in nature.
C, drop a show similar in nature that is getting less viewers.

Jay

 

 

Please explain how youtube channels work like I’m five. I’ve been using Youtube since the beginning of time and for the life of me I have no clue how find channels/subscribe, etc. For me its to confusing. Help me out or you’re Fired!

Keep up the good work, bonuses are in the mail. You guys like one year memberships to the Jelly of the month club don’t you?

Mike

 

 

Hi Tom& Brian 
I have a question for you. I buy most of my movies digitally now, but the problem is they are scattered all across Google Play, Amazon, VUDU and iTunes. Is there any tool or software to maintain all this so that when I want to see something I can find out if I own it and if so where. I actually bought a movie on two different services because I forgot I owned it on the other one.

Thanks for your help guys!!!

Josh

 

 

Brian,

This is your boss, and in your end of year appraisal I call BS on your “how many names can you remember” test as a measure of viewing enjoyment.

I had to listen to you regularly forget every single name in Transparent, yet it was one of your favourite shows of the year. You only had to remember a Moppa and 3 kids!

Your boss

James in the UK

 

 

Hey Brian and Tom.
I wanted to add some things you missed about the story about korra coming back to television.
1st it will be on nicktoons not nick proper most kids wont search out for a channel that is buried in deep cable or might be in a different package all together. (also they did this for book three already)

2nd as far as I am aware the creative team behind korra is the same and I think one of the reasons the show might have gotten pulled is it got dark for being on a kids network. if it was on teennick it would have been fine but maybe not on a network that also plays spongebob.

just my thoughts,
Greg 

 

 

I’m happy to report that as a Canadian our VPN settings stopped working and we didn’t even notice we were using Canadian Netflix for over a month. Now that our VPN service has been restored, we’ve actually switched back to finish watching certain shows you guys don’t have.

Anyway, I’d like to issue a challenge to all cord killers North of the Wall: switch off the VPN, if it’s not 100x better than the last time you were on Canadian Netflix, I owe you a double double.

Ken

Links

patreon.com/cordkillers
Dog House Systems Cordkiller box

Cordkillers Ep. 46 – Cultural CliffsNotes

Cordkillers / November 25th, 2014

Dana Brunetti joins us and talks about his cord-cutting experience and whether Nielsen rating Netflix and Amazon is a good idea. 

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CordKillers: Ep. 46 – Cultural CliffsNotes
Recorded: November 24, 2014
Guest: Dana Brunetti

Intro Video 

Primary Target

  • Watching shows online is more common now, Flurry says, but TV’s hardly dead yet
  • -Flurry does analytics on mobile apps
    – US citizens spend more than 10 minutes more a day on mobile devices than watching TV
    – 2 hours 48 minutes on TV: 2 hours 57 minutes using mobile
    – Combines Flurry analytics with ComScore and US Bureau of Labor Statistics on TV usage.
    – Nielsen numbers report a much larger number for time spent on TV: 4 hours 36 mins. a day
    – Survey in UK in April by Ofcom what device you would miss most. Older respondents chose TV. 16-34 chose smartphone.

Signal Intelligence

  • Nielsen will finally start tracking Netflix and Amazon video
  • Nielsen to Measure Netflix Viewing
  • – WSJ says Nielsen will begin tracking non-mobile viewers of subscription online video services like Amazon and Netflix
    – Scans audio of the programs to identify shows.
    – Important for content producers when striking deals with the services.
    – TV viewership down 7% yoy in October 18-49
    – 40% of households subscribe to streaming video service.
    – Subscribers watch around 20% less TV

Gear Up

Front Lines

Under Surveillance

2014 Winter Movie Draft
draft.diamondclub.tv

  1. Scott: $256,679,469
  2. Tom: $121,897,634
  3. Brian: $57,729,445
  4. Justin: $29,983,069
  5. John: $10,950,001
  6. Brett: $0

Dispatches from the Front
When you covered the new CBSNews online initiative, I immediately installed the Roku app.
Content is very traditional TV, but the presentation is pretty painless.
Gives me a quick way to make sure I didn’t miss any stories the masses are talking about.

There are a couple of small flaws:
Ads are often much louder than the content
Ad repeat often (Not too surprising since it’s new ad inventory for them to sell.)

But I deleted my app this morning. [STORY ABOUT HOW HIS ROKU GOT STUCK PLAYING 5 ADS IN A ROW AND HE HAD TO REBOOT]

I’m a big supporter of ad-supported free media. It drives me crazy when publishers do it so wrong.

I fear they will count this experiment in online as a failure – not realizing it’s the experience, not the format that failed.

Lon

Hey Tom and Brian, Love the Show(tm). Just wanted to let your audience know that the MPAA’s new wheretowatch.com website doesn’t discriminate between online and offline content. I got super-excited when I searched for “CHiPs” (don’t judge me) and saw it was available on Netflix. Well, my joy was quickly dashed when I went to Netflix and saw that it was available only on DVD. So while the MPAA is taking a step in the right direction, so far this site isn’t a replacement for canistream.it.

Keep up the great work,
Your Boss

Rob

 

According to wheretowatch.com there are no legit places to watch House of Cards Season 2. No legit places to watch Game of Thrones Season 5.

I know this is still officially in “beta” but I’m not going to take the effort to come back and check every month until they get this right. This brand is ruined for me.

John
 

While the same actor who plays Spike in Buffy also plays Braniac in Smallville, that actor is James Marsters, not James Marsden. Love the show, but without careful attention to those last names starting with M, I could be confused with Tom.

Tom

 

In regards to Spoilering Time for Interstellar, Anne Hathaway and Matthew McConaughey are roughly the same age. As they are using the black hole for a gravity assisted slingshot, Hathaway exclaims “you look pretty good for 120 years old” (or something along those lines). I think we are to believe that the time dilation through the black hole is negligible which leaves Anne Hathaway and Matthew McConaughey the same age. Love the show!

Brian

Links
patreon.com/cordkillers
Dog House Systems Cordkiller box