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In full transparency, COVID just kicked my butt this time around. I’m two weeks into this and still feel as if I’ve been repeatedly run over by a truck. And my work days have been much shorter than I prefer.
The week leading up to the 4th of July tends to be a bit slow and I don’t mind that at all this year. It will give me a couple of days to rest and hopefully shake this thing. I can’t imagine what I would feel like if I wasn’t vaccinated and hadn’t taken Paxlovid
Farewell To The ‘Triple Play’ Bundle
You may recall that a few weeks ago I wrote a piece complaining about the obsession media reporters and analysts have about M&A’s. Every time a media company splits itself in two or is struggling to become profitable, the mergers and acquisitions crowd jump in and speculate about all sorts of possible deals.
And you are certainly seeing this trend following the news that Comcast is splitting itself in half, separating the entertainment business from the tech side of the company. It seems like every media writer on Monday was cranking out some variation of “who is going to buy Comcast’s entertainment assets” story.
And that may well happen here. But I want to talk to more people before I begin making the “Netflix is totally going to buy the Comcast spin-off” argument.
What this deal will do is eventually mark the end of the long-running Xfinity double or triple-play bundle, which has been around for a couple of decades.
The bundle offered customers a discount on broadband and television services if they bundled them together. That bundle was eventually expanded to Comcast’s wireless services, as those began to roll out.
The bundle was designed to slow down churn on the television side of Comcast’s business. As the cable bundle began to disintegrate, the theory was that whether or not you were a cord cutter, you were going to need a broadband provider. And until recently, most areas in the United States only had a couple of options for Internet service. So why not offer those broadband customers a discount in hopes they’ll continue their TV package?
The problem with that theory is that while the bundle price was cheaper, Xfinity’s various addons meant that it was still an expensive option. And bundling TV with broadband cut into the margins for Comcast’s internet business.
This separation will mean Xfinity can aggressively price its broadband without having to be concerned with propping up a wounded cable TV business. On the other hand, I’ll be interested to see if this change accelerates the losses on the TV side.
America250: The PBS Story
I am old enough to vaguely remember the Bicentennial celebration in 1976 and the contrast between that celebration and the one for America250 is striking - and maybe a bit depressing.
The Bicentennial year was filled with festivals and celebrations of America. Along with commercial tie-ins and promotions that lasted the entire year. A Republican was President then as well, but none of the events felt like some janky and sad effort that was all about boosting the President’s ego.
A few weeks ago, I decided that I wanted to do something optimistic for America250. I wanted to celebrate the best of who we are and what we can accomplish. And that inevitably led me to a decision to celebrate PBS.
As you know, this is a challenging time for PBS and its local station partners. Last year’s federal recission cutbacks and the resulting elimination of the Corporation For Public Broadcasting (CPB) has left a massive hole in the budgets of local stations. And on a national level, the cutbacks have necessitated production reductions on many of the network’s flagship programs.
This comes at the same time as PBS is facing ongoing political pressures from political critics who argue that PBS is “too woke,” and/or is somehow politically biased. And that doesn’t include the critics who have argued for decades that the federal government should not be providing funding for public media at all.
The other challenge for PBS is the marketing and promotion side of the business. Federal cutbacks led to layoffs at PBS and the local stations and those losses heavily impacted the ranks of people who were tasked with promoting the network and it’s programs.
Those cutbacks happened as the ranks of television reporters continues to thin and the journalists who are left struggle to convince wary editors they should be writing about The American Experience instead of Silo.
And that’s where this newsletter comes in. I am a big supporter of the PBS mission and one of the advantages of working for yourself is that I get to decide what I want to cover. So beginning on Wednesday, July 1st, you are going to see a month-long celebration of PBS. I’ve created a section on the main TooMuchTV newsletter to post the coverage and much of it will also be cross-posted on AllYourScreens.com.
And the pieces will be linked to from the newsletter and I’ll excerpt portions of some of the coverage. So while TooMuchTV won’t become “All PBS, All The Time,” you’ll be able to stay on top of things.
There is a flood of PBS-centric pieces coming this month. Extended interviews with PBS executives, as well as people working at local stations. Looks back at classic PBS programming, coverage of new programs premiering this month and a lot of other surprises.
This is one of those situations in which I think this newsletter can punch above its weight and I look forward to seeing what you think.
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What started as a newsletter platform has evolved into something much bigger: a place where creators and brands can grow, monetize, and own their audiences without stitching together half the internet to make it work.
The next chapter starts live at the Summer Release Event.
Join us to see what’s coming next.
Odds & Sods
“Kitchen Undercover,” which looks a lot like the old series “Mystery Diners.”
On Saturday, Prime Video held its first Obsessed Fest for fans of its young adult programming. The Hollywood outlets were there, but they were limited to trying to cover the event while fighting off the crowd. While a group of content creators were flown into the event by Amazon and then given access to a private meet-and-greet party the night before the public event.
One of the best things about the Internet has always been the goofy little web sites people create for no other reason than that it amuses them. Such as this Mad Men Inflation Calculator, which shows you what any dollar amount from the show — salaries, accounts, the famous checks — is worth in today's money, matched to each season's year.
The new series Kitchen Undercover premieres Tuesday, July 28th on the Food Network. Here is the official logline: “The show follows chef Antonia Lofaso and sous-chef Nestor Milian as they go undercover to help failing restaurants that are one more bad review away from total collapse. While Antonia watches the drama unfold from a secret command center— monitoring every meltdown, mistake, and questionable choice —Nestor embeds with the staff, stirring the pot and uncovering what is really happening behind the scenes. From toxic team dynamics to tragic food, nothing stays hidden for long. When the truth about why customers aren’t coming back is exposed, Antonia steps in to shake things up, calling out the chaos and whipping these teams into shape. With the clock ticking and closure looming, only time will tell if Antonia can turn these hot messes into hot spots.”
Las Vegas Aces guard Chelsea Gray is joining Amazon Prime Video’s WNBA on Prime pregame show as a player contributor.
YouTube channel Carwow is launching its own FAST channel on Samsung TV Plus.
The Moderator Is Not The Star
Moderating a panel at ATX or for some FYC campaign requires a certain deft touch. The last month has brought some viral examples of what not to do, and in fairness, it is not easy to keep your ego out of the process while also highlighting the panelist and topics which might not be the obvious choice.
Adam Spiegelman has a fascinating piece on what the qualities that make a good moderator and I think he defines the issue quite well.
The best example I saw this season was a panel for I Love LA.
The moderator, Tracy Gilchrist, host and executive producer of Holding Space with Tracy, did a fantastic job getting to everyone on stage and finding stories that highlighted their work.
She spent time with the costume designer. On paper, discussing costumes for a contemporary show set in Los Angeles sounds like a dead end. But Gilchrist got the designer, Christina Flannery, talking about how the lead character’s wardrobe evolved throughout the season — and how every choice reflected where the character was in her life.
Suddenly we weren’t talking about clothes anymore.
We were talking about storytelling.
She also spoke with True Whitaker, who played the entitled best friend. By the end of the conversation, you understood how much work had gone into the performance — and how different the actor was from the character.
Those moments help people appreciate the work. They help voters see things they may have missed while watching the show.
She gave the audience reasons to vote for the show and the cast and crew.
What’s Coming Tonight And Tomorrow
TUESDAY, JUNE 30TH:
Bang My Box: The Robin Byrd Story (HBO)
ComicView: Rooftop Series Premiere (BET)
Frontline: The Crown Prince And The President (PBS)
Jay & Pamela (TLC)
Lot Patrol Series Premiere (BET)
Louis C.K.: Ridiculous (Netflix)
Ms. Pat Settles It Season Premiere (BET)
Presidential 1776 Award (CBS)
The Oblivious Saint Can't Contain Her Power Series Premiere (Crunchyroll)
Tyler Perry's Ruthless Season Six Premiere (Paramount+)
Zorro Series Premiere (MHz Choice)
WEDNESDAY, JULY 1ST:
Abandoned Series Premiere (Disney+/Hulu)
Christmas At Sea (Hallmark+)
Elle Series Premiere (Prime Video)
Enola Hughes 3 (Netflix)
Forged In Fire Season Premiere (History)
Hana-Kimi (Crunchyroll)
Renovation Resort Showdown Season Premiere (HGTV)
Summer '36 (Netflix)
The Kimberley: Australia's Wild West Series Finale (PBS)
The Villager Of Level 999 Series Premiere (Crunchyroll)
Worst Neighbor Ever Series Premiere (Netflix)
X-Men '97 Season Premiere (Disney+)