Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Friday, December 13th, 2024:
VOTING CONTINUES IN THE GLOBAL TELEVISION AWARDS
This is my last opportunity to encourage you to vote for your favorite global TV shows and movies. It's been interesting for me to track the overall trends of the voting and I can tell you that are a couple of surprises so far. I think in part because about 1/3 of my newsletter subscribers come from outside North America. So there are a couple of titles that didn't get much attention in America because they streamed on smaller services. But outside the U.S., they had a higher profile and that led to more votes for them.
As a reminder, voting is limited to free and paid Too Much TV subscribers and you can only vote once. Vote in as many or as few categories as you like, odds are there are a lot of titles you haven't seen yet. And that's just fine.
The voting ends at 11:59 pm CT on Sunday, December 15th. The winners will be announced Monday, December 30th.
Here is the link for voting for your favorites: https://tinyurl.com/globaltvawards.
ANOTHER BLOW TO THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
The Hollywood Reporter editor-at-large Kim Masters is leaving the outlet to join digital news start-up Puck. Masters has been at THR for 14 years, and has arguably been one of the most recognizable faces of the outlet.
The move comes in the midst of a tumultuous time for The Hollywood Reporter. It recently replaced its co-editor in chief, and had rounds of cuts in June and August. I've been told that much of the freelance budget has been frozen until sometime early next year. And there have been some other things popping up that seem to indicate deeper problems at the outlet.
One small example of that was at the recent National Arts & Entertainment Awards, where THR had an uncharacteristic low profile. While Variety had an entire table of people attending, I was told THR had canceled its table at the last minute and was instead represented by two reporters who were finalists for awards.
I continue to hear all sorts of rumors from current and former THR employees and it feels as if there is much more to come.
For instance, I heard from more than one THR employee in recent weeks that they are "incredibly nervous" going into next week. Because there is a feeling among employees I've spoken with that another round of cutbacks is coming. And next week would be the last time to get them in before the end of the year.
YOU HAVE TO ADMIRE THE STONES OF THE BIG MEDIA COMPANIES
Remember Venu? That all-sports streamer from Fox, Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery that was set to launch in August?
It's been tied up in court after the sports-centric streaming service Fubo obtained a restraining order against the three media companies in August, alleging the companies cut themselves a special licensing deal in order to make it more cost effective for them to launch the sports-only streamer:
Fubo is suing under the antitrust laws over the industry practice of bundling channels and selling them only that way to video distributors like Fubo, known in legal lingo as tying. The tying allegation, and one for block booking – the practice of requiring distributors to air less desirable shows in return for higher-rated ones – are only charged against Disney and Fox. Fubo dropped WBD’s TBS and TNT in 2020.
And Fubo is suing all three over most favored nation clauses, which when embedded in carriage agreements, require the pay TV programmer, if they sign a deal with a competitor distributor at a lower cost, to adjust the fees downward for all with the MFN provision. Fubo alleges the programmers essentially build in discounts to favored distributors like Hulu, meaning Fubo pays more.
The two sides were back in court today for an all-day hearing, that included two times the courtroom was cleared so confidential contract details could be discussed:
At the crux of the issue lies bundling, which has survived previous antitrust assaults. One of the most well-known cases is the 2012 Brantley v NBCUniversal decision by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that dismissed such a bundling lawsuit from a group of cable subscribers over not being able to buy individual channels.
Judge Garnett noted during oral arguments the Fubo case does not involve subscribers but is between pay TV providers and distributors. Antony Ryan, an attorney for Disney, told her it makes no difference as the core issues remain the same: whether bundling is or not an antitrust violation.
But Judge Garnett, reading her opinion, said Fubo’s allegation is about licensing content from Fox and Disney, not what cable options are available for end-user customers.
In the end, Judge Garnett declined to dismiss the case, and now the case will focus on discovery, and the buildup to a scheduled October 7th, 2025 trial date.
LOOKING FOR A BLU-RAY PLAYER? GOOD LUCK
If you spend much time talking to people in Hollywood, you'll hear a lot of talk about physical media and how owning a physical copy of a show is better than relying on it being available for streaming.
But as this piece in Ars Technica notes, if you are looking for a new player to use with that recently purchased Blu-Ray, you might be out of luck:
LG has no plans to make more Blu-ray players, FlatpanelsHD reported on Wednesday. Its most recent players, the UBK90 and UBK80, came out in 2018 and are no longer available for purchase on LG’s website. You can still find them at third-party retailers, but when stock runs out, LG won’t be replenishing. Trying to access LG's "Blu-ray & DVD Players" webpage now results in a redirect to LG's 4K TVs. We can take a hint, LG.
Other tech companies have also shown reduced interest in the Blu-ray business. Panasonic, Sony, and Oppo also haven’t released a Blu-ray player since 2018. And Samsung stopped making new Blu-ray players in 2019. Video game consoles don’t even automatically include disc readers like they used too. The features are optional for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X consoles. And Sony said this year that it's ending the development and production of recordable Blu-rays for consumers.
SESAME STREET IS LOOKING FOR A NEW HOME FOR ORIGINAL EPISODES
Warner Bros. Discovery has declined to renew the agreement with Sesame Workshop, which covers original episodes of Sesame Street. That deal - first negotiated in 2015 - sent original episodes of the show to HBO first, before carving out a second run window on PBS Kids.
The two sides have apparently extended the deal to keep a selection of library programming on Max through 2027.
ODDS AND SODS
* Hallmark has reversed course and will now premiere season three of its original series Long Way Home on the linear Hallmark Channel, instead of moving it to its streaming service Hallmark+. Shifting a popular series to streaming three seasons in is always a risky move. But the original plan would have kept the season exclusive to Hallmark+ for months, angering loyal fans.
* NBC will air the first episode of The Day of the Jackal. The episode will air Monday, December 30th at 10 p.m.
* Malcolm In The Middle is set to return for a special 4-episode revival on Disney+, featuring original cast members Frankie Muniz, Bryan Cranston and Jane Kaczmarek.
* OWN has renewed the unscripted series Belle Collective.
* The Amazon Freevee comedy Dinner With the Parents, a remake of the British series Friday Night Dinner, has been cancelled after one season.
* Netflix has launched three virtual fireplace videos, each centered around one of their popular titles: Bridgerton, Squid Game and Spellbound.
WHAT'S NEW TONIGHT AND TOMORROW
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13TH, 2024:
Carry-On (Netflix)
Dexter: Original Sin Series Premiere (Paramount+ With Showtime)
Die Hart Season Three Premiere (The Roku Channel)
Disaster Holiday (Netflix)
Eva The Owlet Holiday Special (Apple TV+)
Hanukkah On the Rocks (Hallmark)
Invisible (Apple TV+)
Joe Bob's Christmas Carnage (Shudder)
Joe Mande: Chill (Hulu)
Love During Lockup Season Premiere (WE tv)
Mismatched (Netflix)
My Lottery Dream House Season Premiere (HGTV)
1992 (Netflix)
The Bravest Knight (Hulu)
The Jetty Series Premiere (Britbox/Hulu)
30 For 30: The New York Sack Exchange (ESPN)
Wonder Pets: In The City (Apple TV+) - [first look video]
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14TH, 2024:
Get Him Back For Christmas (Great American Family)
Mistletoe & Matrimony (OWN)
92nd Annual Hollywood Christmas Parade (The CW)
The Holiday Junkie (Lifetime)
The Santa Class (Hallmark)
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 15TH, 2024:
An Evening With Dua Lipa (CBS)
A Novel Christmas (UP tv)
Christmas In Scotland (Great American Family)
Christmas On The Alpaca Farm (Lifetime)
Dexter: Original Sin (Showtime)
Following Yonder Star (Hallmark)
Very Scary People Season Premiere (Investigation Discovery)
White House Christmas 2024 (HGTV)
MONDAY, DECEMBER 16TH, 2024:
Little Big Town's Christmas At The Opry (NBC)
The Chelsea Detective Christmas Special (Acorn TV)
What We Do In The Shadows Series Finale (FX)
SEE YOU ON MONDAY!