THB #412: Streaming Is Stuck (Not Just "Struck")

We are at a very important moment of transition… and yet, there is a shocking lack of industry news.

Why?

Well, that would be, in part, The Strikes. Television’s new season isn’t really new or filled with content.

HBO’s Bill Maher and John OIiver have returned to weekly shows. The former has transformed in the last 3 years into a political Ron Jeremy (famously one of the only porn stars who could ever service himself with his mouth… you know, before he became a serial rapist). But I still live in hope that I will have some kind of valuable interaction with his Friday night program. And Mr. Oliver and his team… Those Dudes (inc female staff) Abide.

But the reason I bring them up is not because they are back, but because no one seems to have bothered to tell us that they are back. HBO and MAX are not pressing the advantage. It is glorious (late) summer for those of us who engage these shows every week. But the only reason I knew John Oliver was back last week was because I looked for his show. It wasn’t even in heavy promotion on MAX. It’s return wasn’t promoted at the end of last Friday’s Real Time.

A big part of the whole re-bundling conversation is, aside from money, that most people don’t want watching TV every day to be an Indiana Jones adventure. And no one has really turned the corner on figuring this out.

I want “Must See TV.” I want CBS’s Saturday night block from the 70s. I want more than a 4-hour or 8-hour binge. I want my Sunday Night HBO back.

And I might be getting it again soon… cause Curb is coming back, right? Next week? In a few weeks? They haven’t delayed it, have they? Maybe I can check with 30 streaming sites that are really just using these known titles to get clicks and can almost never be trusted. (I trust Rick Ellis’ charts… though this is his 3rd mention in a month and it’s getting a little much. I mean, no one wants to be ShawLoni, constantly sniffing the same trough like horny frat bros.)

I love Billions and hope the spin-offs are as good, but as happy as I am to be able to see it on Thursday night on Paramount+ Showtime, I wouldn’t mind it being day and date specific… used to be a Sunday night show that I could get on Saturday. Is there a reason why it’s now available Thursday night? Is there a benefit to Showtime? How can it be a benefit if consumers don’t know it happened?

The #1 failure of Streaming in 2023 is still marketing and creating structures that make accessing what we want, via demand or on a weekly schedule, easier for the end-user… the TV viewer.

For all the talk of endless analytical analysis building Netflix, I am still here to say, “Bullshit.” Netflix did what every other content producer does… they see what succeeds and made more of that. Yeah, they had all kinds of new data to analyze. But seriously, R-rated TV for teens and middle-aged women, salacious docs, now, an increasing number of international shows all clawing to be the next Squid Game.

And side note… even Netflix… a new 7-season “season” of Lupin dropped… this was one of their big hits… did you know it arrived? It’s there on the “Only on Netflix” line, but its just kind of sitting there.

I digress…

Netflix’s secret sauce has really been making so much content that it worked to throw it all against the wall and letting the audience decide what stuck. When your drowning in content (metaphor switch!), details don’t mater so much. And be honest… if you talk to anyone for long enough, no matter how many data buzz words they obsessively repeat like religious mantras, you will get back to this reality.