Established streaming industry leaders like Netflix and Amazon are facing more competition than ever. Now legacy entertainment giants are in the game with their own subscription services, like Peacock, HBO Max, Paramount Plus, and the Disney Plus / Hulu / ESPN Plus bundle, while Apple TV Plus attacks around the edges. Meanwhile, the rise of ad-supported free platforms like Roku Channel and Pluto TV has attracted enough attention that Plex, YouTube, and Amazon’s Freevee are trying to get a chunk of the action too.
The streamer announced its next TV game, called straightforwardly Netflix Minigolf, which is described as pinball meets minigolf, and features courses based on shows like Stranger Things and Squid Game. It launches on July 28th, and follows other recent experiments like the interactive horror game Unhinged.
As Polygon reports, buying something from Crunchyroll’s store will require a Mega or Ultimate subscription, which got a price increase earlier this year. The basic Fan subscription tier isn’t included. Crunchyroll also says its updated store will focus more on convention-style products, like “collectibles, curated drops, and limited-release products.”
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According to the Hollywood Reporter, the partnership also includes new episodes of Mythical Kitchen and Last Meals, and follows similar deals to bring other YouTube shows to Netflix, like content from digital media brands. Mythical Entertainment’s shows will begin premiering on the same day on both platforms starting September 7th.
[The Hollywood Reporter]
Google started testing Ask YouTube earlier this year, and YouTube CEO Neal Mohan says it’s now rolling out on the web for users in the US starting this week.
As YouTube starts to look more and more like TV, the company now lets Partner Program creators make playlists that function as “shows,” which offer a “polished TV experience for your series.” YouTube has been working on them for a while.
Fubo, which is now controlled by Disney, has appointed Alisa Bowen as its CEO. Bowen has led Disney Plus since 2022.
As noted by Variety, it’s not clear whether Disney plans to fill Bowen’s role or just leave it to Joe Earley and Adam Smith, the co-presidents of Disney’s combined streaming business.
It will also block “most video ads” outside YouTube, according to a blog post. DuckDuckGo’s browser will switch on the feature by default across Windows, Mac, and iOS devices, while users on Android will have to enable it manually from the Settings menu.
In what feels very much like a response to the way Avatar Aang: The Last Airbender leaked online last month, Paramount has bumped the movie’s streaming premiere date up from October 9th to July 25th.
Did you see that Bloomberg report yesterday about the Netflix shows that fall way off in their second season? Our friend Ryan Broderick over at Garbage Day has a good take on what’s going on — and why it’s about more than just production times.
Even though a Netflix show isn’t supported by the same revenue model as a YouTuber like MrBeast, the (losing) formula for producing content appears to be the same. They’re both using historical data to iterate and pump out videos that are, at first, equally popular, but eventually less sticky culturally and then eventually less popular.
[Garbage Day]
The gen AI psyop known as Tilly Norwood is reportedly going to be in a movie produced by Particle 6. Put more plainly: the company that created Tilly Norwood in the first place is making an elaborate commercial about one of its products.
[Los Angeles Times]
In hopes of winning its ongoing legal battle with Disney, Universal, and Warner Bros. Discovery Midjourney is trying to force the studios to reveal the extent to which they use artificial intelligence internally. This would establish whether “they are doing exactly what they are suing Midjourney for doing.”
One Piece, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Beef, and The Night Agent have experienced big season 2 slumps, with some losing up to 70 percent of their audience, according to Bloomberg.
Netflix is reportedly trying to figure out the reason for the dip, which The Guardian has linked to the streamer’s binge-release model and a focus on subscriber growth. What do you think is contributing to the dropoff?
ITV is selling its media and entertainment business, including the ITVX streaming platform and free-to-air channels, to Comcast-owned Sky for up to £1.6 billion ($2.13 billion). The acquisition excludes ITV’s studio operations and will create the UK’s largest commercial broadcaster, better positioning it to compete with YouTube and streaming rivals like Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and Netflix.
The team behind Silo talks about managing the series as it gets even bigger in season 3.
Good news for those of you who didn’t catch Project Hail Mary in theaters — it’ll finally be available to stream on Prime Video on July 3rd. Unless you have something better to be doing this weekend…
Last week I wrote about Unhinged, a fascinating horror experience from Netflix that’s part of the streamer’s push into TV-based games. Well, now you can experience it for yourself, as it launches today.
If you’ve ever found yourself wondering how course-peddling hustlebros manage to convince their followers that they’re selling enough subscriptions to galavant around the world in private jets, you need to check out this excellent 404 piece that highlights one of the trade’s shadiest tricks: fake dashboards.
If you missed the second Super Mario movie in theaters, it’s hitting Peacock on July 30th, which is a good amount of time to jump into the games if you haven’t.
Fresh off the reveal of Persona 6 comes a report that Netflix is working on a live-action adaptation of the series. There aren’t many details yet, and the streamer has yet to confirm, but Christopher Monfette — who has worked on series like Picard and the upcoming VisionQuest — is attached as writer.
As promised, Netflix has released the first trailer for the sequel to its Cyberpunk 2077 anime Edgerunners. The new season will tell a standalone story, and the first look is full of blood, guitars, and some delightfully retro shots. No specific premiere date yet, but it’ll start streaming in the fall.
If you’re trying to cut down the amount of time you spend on YouTube, there’s at least one more video you should watch. Modder Throaty Mumbo has built a custom cartridge that can search and stream YouTube on a Game Boy Color. The quality and experience look awful, but it works.
For this weekend’s Stepback, Emma Roth highlights that ad-free streaming is now priced like a luxury. You were all very quick to jump to the comments section and point out that there is a cheaper option.
4NDREW:
Viewers on a budget absolutely have an alternative: sail the luxurious, ad-free high seas. For many, piracy becomes increasingly enticing as the paid options continue the enshittification.
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Steady price increases are pushing viewers toward cheaper, ad-supported tiers.
