I am generally skeptical of any idea that a new CEO floats an idea that promises to be revolutionary. Half the time, the project never quite moves past the idea stage. And the rest of the time, when the project launches, it doesn’t much resemble the original concept.
So when I read the reporting in Bloomberg that new Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro is exploring the idea of launching a “super app” that would combine Disney+ with theme park access, gaming, merchandise and travel services.
This is one of those ideas that sounds great in the abstract, but the execution is going to be both expensive and complex to pull off.
While a super app would likely appeal to Disney super fans, I suspect this is less about serving the streaming customers and more about creating a giant sales funnel for the theme parks, which is where the bulk of Disney’s revenue is coming from.
But given everything that Disney+ already has crammed into it - including whatever is left to be ported over from Hulu - it’s hard for me to see how that will be a pleasant experience for anyone.
As an example, both the Fox Sports app and ESPN Ultimate have so many live games, linear channels and special programming crammed into them that they can be difficult to navigate. Imagining that experience, but with theme parks and streaming programs, already makes my head hurt.
There is this belief that the larger the streaming platform and app, the more likely it is to appeal to the biggest audience possible. My experience has been that the opposite is true and that you are likely to end up with a huge mess of content that no user enjoys navigating unless forced to do so.
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Building a profitable independent newsletter
On Saturday, I presented a session at Minnebar, which was celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. The one-day event takes place inside the massive Best Buy Headquarters just south of Minneapolis. The building’s open-air atrium is massive - more mall than office space. Multiple huge cafeterias, a stage and conference big enough for more than 1,000 people, a full-sized Caribou Coffee, all of it surrounded by around 50 conference spaces, ranging for a massive theater to small tables stuck in guest bedroom-sized cubicles.
My session was entitled Building A Profitable Independent Newsletter and I think I have the track record to speak about the topic with some credibility. With more than 180,000 free subscribers, I suspect I might be the largest one-person media and television industry newsletter around. I am certainly the biggest one that is sending out five 1,800-2200 word newsletters a week.
I have also made every possible mistake along the way. So I can present a pretty clear-eyed look at the challenges involved in building a business.
So I passed along a few topline thoughts I’d like you to consider if you have a newsletter and are trying to grow it into a business:
I read a lot of television and movie newsletters being written by journalists who have lost their full-time job. And they are writing a newsletter that is essentially an extension of what they used to do before they were laid off. Some reviews, maybe some news tidbits. A very traditional approach to the topic.
But who is the audience for this? Yes, some people will pay for a subscription because they respect the work you’ve done over your career, or read you at your old job. But it’s rare that is a big enough group to provide a livable income. At $40 a year, 1,000 paid subscribers earns you $40,000 a year before expenses. And getting to even 1,000 paid subscribers is not easy for many journalists.
So who is the audience for what you are writing? What are you doing that would resonate with readers who have no idea who you are or why they should listen to you? And what are you doing that is distinctly you?
I’m Pretty Sure This Isn’t ‘All Of America’
Fox & Friends has set off on what the show describes as a “For All America” RV road trip across the country to celebrate America250.
The RV will make six stops and I’ll just the locations seem to be focused on a very specific part of the country. The tour kicked off this past week at the Armadillo Palace in Houston, Texas and will visit five additional cities over the next six weeks, including:
The Big Biscuit in Lenexa, Kansas, on May 6th
Fudpuckers in Destin, Florida, on May 15th
Tortuga Jacks in Jekyll Island, Georgia, on May 28th
Lulus in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on June 5th
Duffer’s Restaurant and Homemade Ice Cream Parlor in Wildwood, New Jersey, on June 12th
Odds And Sods
The newsletter Animation Obsessive has a great look at the animated stop-action movie The Adventures Of Prince Achmed, released in 1926. It is the oldest surviving animated film and it was released more than a decade before Disney’s Snow White.
The BBC’s news operation, home to about a quarter of all BBC staff, has been told to expect job cuts of up to 15%.
The documentary If I Could Stay/Si Pudiera Quedarme premieres Monday, June 1st, 2026 on PBS. Here is the official logline: "Set in Colorado, If I Could Stay/Si Pudiera Quedarme follows two undocumented mothers, Jeanette and Ingrid, as they face deportation and the threat of being separated from their young children. In a life-altering decision, they choose to seek sanctuary inside local churches in defiance of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Filmed over several emotionally charged years, their journey unfolds amid constant uncertainty, legal battles, and the quiet bravery of life in refuge. Throughout their struggle, their courage inspires powerful alliances within the predominantly white faith communities that host them."
Xfinity has dropped the NFL Network from its lineup.
If you are looking for a free newsletter that provides a wealth of ratings and data information about your favorite TV and streaming shows, Ted Linhart’s Ted On TV is a must-read. He has a couple of decades experience in the television business and it shows in his nuanced and deeply impressive observations.
It’s the World Series of quarterly earnings numbers this week: Paramount Skydance reports earnings after the bell Monday. AMC, after the bell Tuesday. Disney, before the bell on Wednesday. Warner Brothers Discovery, after the bell on Wednesday. News Corp, after the bell on Thursday.
The stand-up special Wanda Sykes: premieres Tuesday, May 19th on Netflix. Here is the official logline: “Wanda Sykes returns to her roots for her fourth Netflix stand-up special, Wanda Sykes: Legacy, filmed live at her alma mater, Hampton University, and directed by acclaimed filmmaker Julie Dash. With the trademark wit and fearless insight that have earned her multiple Emmy wins and nominations, Sykes delivers an hour of bold, smart, and laugh-out-loud comedy that cements her legacy as a comedy icon.”
What’s Premiering Tonight And Tomorrow
MONDAY, MAY 4TH:
Dr. Seuss's Horton! (Netflix)
Lord Of The Flies (Netflix)
Margarita: Make Your Story Count (HBO Max)
TUESDAY, MAY 5TH:
Milky Way Series Premiere (The Network)
Soccer's American Dream (Vice)