Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Thursday, October 31st, 2024:
COMCAST: MAYBE THOSE CABLE NETWORKS AREN'T A CORE BUSINESS AFTER ALL
The big news that came out of today's Comcast earnings call was that Comcast President Mike Cavanaugh said the company was considering a plan to spin Comcast's cable networks off into a separate company.
“Like many of our peers in media, we’re experiencing the effects of the transition of our video business and have been studying the path forward for these assets,” Cavanagh said. “To that end, we are now exploring whether creating a new, well-capitalized company owned by our shareholders and comprised of our strong portfolio of cable networks would position them to take advantage of opportunities in the media landscape and create value for our shareholders.”
A new cable-network company would be owned by Comcast shareholders and wouldn’t include other assets in the company’s NBCUniversal unit, such as the NBC broadcast network, the Universal studio or theme parks.
There are a lot of questions around this today, and here's my take. Comcast is trying to keep from being in a situation like Warner Bros. Discovery or Paramount, which both were forced to take huge multi-billion dollar write-offs on their cable television assets. Comcast can spin the networks off into a separate company, which Comcast would fund in part by selling part of it to private equity. There will be some terms in place that would keep original content flowing to Peacock, so it doesn't lose things such as the Bravo programming, which is incredibly popular on Peacock.
I also wouldn't be surprised to see Comcast dump a bit of its debt into this new company, given that is an almost automatic move during media mergers and spin-offs in recent years.
The other attractive thing for Comcast about the idea is that if they are going to do it, these declining cable networks will never worth more than they are now. And at some point in the future, Comcast shareholders will decide the losses are substantial enough that it makes sense to sell off their majority share in the company and walk away.
AND LOOK, MORE PARTNERSHIP RUMORS
During the investor call, Cavanagh also said Comcast was open to streaming partnerships, implying that Comcast would be selective, telling analysts that reaching a deal would be “very complicated” and limited to “when a good idea comes along.”
I know that part of the reason for saying this is that investor analysts love the idea and that will boost the stock price. At least in the very short term.
But I struggle to see how a real partnership could work. Now, maybe when Cavanaugh says "partnership," he's really thinking of various bundles, which might lower subscriber churn a bit.
However, much of the press coverage today is arguing that when he said partnership, he really means merger. Which, from what I tell, is not in the cards right now.
Part of that is just driven by the idea that a Peacock merger with another streamer doesn't make a lot of sense. Just exactly is who Peacock going to merge with? Aside from all of the horrible UI problems plaguing Max, both Warner Bros Discovery and NBCU have all sorts of conflicting streaming platforms and partnerships internationally. For example, NBCU has a reality TV-only streamer Hayu available in a couple of dozen countries. And WBD has a dizzying array of various platforms and deals with other media companies and it's hard to see how all of that could be integrated.
MAYBE Peacock does a deal with Paramount+, but that pathway isn't much easier. And it's unclear that merging those two services helps either of them all that much. Netflix has no reason to merge with anyone. Disney+? Sorry, the last thing Disney needs is content from another streaming service.
I don't know what the future brings for Peacock. But I have trouble seeing a merger as one of the outcomes.
ANOTHER BONUS FEATURE FOR SUBSCRIBERS
While the TooMuchTV newsletter will always remain free to all subscribers, I continue to roll out some paid subscriber-only features and bonus content.
Beginning next Monday, paid subscribers will receive also receive a "TooMuchTV This Morning" email, which will include a 4-5 minute video podcast that features my take on some story of the day. Here is today's test video, which centers around the very old audience that watches cable news. And some thoughts about why the streaming news networks don't seem to be making any real efforts to appeal to younger viewers. You'll be able to easily opt-out if you're not interested. But I think you'll find them useful.
I'm still playing with the format this week, so the videos are a bit clunky. But my plan is to keep the videos loose and unedited. I sit down, turn on the camera and say what I am going to say. Back in the dinosaur days, I had a syndicated talk show and while I don't have the bandwidth to do a full-blown podcast each week, this is a good compromise.
ODDS AND SODS
* Sony Pictures Television, which makes Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, filed suit Thursday against CBS, which distributes both game shows, "for allegedly undercutting the value of the shows to serve its own interests." Among other claims, the lawsuit notes that CBS receives a 35% to 40% commission on the fees stations pay to carry the two shows. The typical distribution commission is about 15%.
* Netflix has released a trailer for season two of Squid Game, which premieres Thursday, December 26th. Here is the official logline: "Season 2 raises the stakes, with Lee Jung-jae reprising his role as Seong Gi-hun, also known as Player 456. With a hardened demeanor and the scars of past games, Gi-hun is on a desperate mission to expose the deadly truth of the competition. Yet, his warnings go unheeded, and tensions rise as fellow players question his intentions. The teaser also shows the return of Lee Byung-hun as the mysterious Front Man, whose true motivations remain cloaked in secrecy, while Wi Ha-jun’s Hwang Jun-ho is back, driving the narrative forward as the relentless detective on a mission of his own."
* Janko Roettgers has an in-depth look at Netflix's ambitious AI plans.
* For the second year in a row, Pluto TV will be broadcasting the Chicago Thanksgiving Day Parade LIVE starting at 9am ET on the Pluto TV Christmas channel.
* Josh Altman and Heather Altman are leaving the Bravo series Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles after season fifteen to spend more time with their children.
* "I Attended Google’s Creator Conversation Event, And It Turned Into A Funeral." Google invited some of the most vocal independent site owners who’ve been shadowbanned by their brutal updates of the last two years, and 20 of them came to pay their respects. We had no idea what the purpose of our visit was going in, but we knew by the time we left.
* Bob Costas has announced he's retiring as a Major League Baseball play-by-play caller after 44 years. He is also stepping away from his role as lead play-by-play voice on the MLB Network, a position he has held for 15 years.
* The two-hour holiday special A Motown Christmas will premiere Wednesday, December 11th on NBC. The special features performances from Motown icons Smokey Robinson, the Temptations and Gladys Knight as well as current stars like Halle Bailey, Ashanti and Jamie Foxx.
* The three-part documentary The Stanford Prison Experiment: Unlocking The Truth premieres Wednesday, November 13th on NatGeo.
* Season three of The Traitors will premiere Thursday, January 9th, 2025 on Peacock.
* Season eight of Love Is Blind will premiere Friday, February 14th, 2025 on Netflix. And yes, that is also Valentine's Day.
* CBS has announced that The Making of Gladiator II, a special examining the process of bringing the long-anticipated Paramount Pictures sequel to life, will premiere on the network on Monday, November 18th.
* Sugarcane, the Oscar-contending documentary about the horrifying legacy of Indian Residential Schools in North America, will make its debut on National Geographic on Monday, December 9th, followed the next day by a streaming launch on Disney+ and Hulu.
* BET+ had renewed The Ms. Pat Show for a fifth season.
* The Nation has a great profile of Jon Stewart.
TWEET OF THE DAY
WHAT'S NEW TONIGHT AND TOMORROW
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31ST:
* Apocalypse Z: The Beginning Of The End (Prime Video)
* Don't Come Home (Netflix)
* Finding Mr. Christmas Series Premiere (Hallmark+) - [premiere photos]
* Megan Thee Stallion: In Her Words (Prime Video)
* Mistletoe Murders (Hallmark+)
* Murder Mindfully Series Premiere (Netflix)
* My Sweet Austrian Holiday (Hallmark Movie Channel)
* Skin Hunters (Max)
* The Diplomat Season Two Premiere (Netflix)
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 1ST:
A Carol For Two (Hallmark)
Barbie Mysteries: The Great Horse Chase Series Premiere (Netflix)
Doc Of Chucky (Shudder)
Endurance (NatGeo)
Freedom [aka Libre] (Prime Video)
It's All Over: The Kiss That Changed Spanish Football (Netflix)
Let's Go (Netflix)
Music By John Williams (Disney+)
Prince William: We Can End Homelessness (Disney+)
The Contract (ALLBLK)
SEE YOU ON FRIDAY!