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My pieces on Netflix and the ongoing desperate efforts to close its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery have been receiving a nice bit of attention. I’m doing another podcast tomorrow, looks like I have a Reddit AMA coming up and my piece on Netflix being the streaming industry’s Costco received a nice mention by Liz Shannon Miller in Consequence.
Hopefully, I can take a break from all of this in tomorrow’s newsletter and highlight several really interesting interviews I’ve done recently.
Just Because A Story Is Exclusive, That Does Not Mean It’s True
No matter what you think of David Ellison and the Scooby gang of Paramount execs attempting to close this merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, they know how to use the press.
On Sunday, Semafor published their “exclusive” piece that Paramount was considering a move out of California to someplace more friendly to its merger ambitions.
And then there is today’s “exclusive,” a piece in The Hollywood Reporter headlined Tennessee Is Courting Paramount - And The Studio Is Considering It.
You will be shocked that the story doesn’t actually support the headline, which seems engineered to be passed around by people who Hollywood who don’t bother to read the actual report.
First of all, the word “courting” seems to be doing a lot of work, given that all that seems to have happened is that on July 2nd, Tennessee Deputy Governor Stuart McWhorter sent a letter to David Ellison urging him to relocate the studio’s corporate headquarters amid a rift with California over its $111 billion takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. And as far as I can tell, that’s the extent of the courting. Which is a bit like claiming you’re courting Sydney Sweeney because you sent her a letter asking her to move to your home town.
And the phrase “studio is considering it,” is a wildly exaggerated description of what is actually in the story:
Leaving California isn’t optimal considering Paramount relocated out of New York last year, but a longtime adviser to Ellison tells THR that “everything is on the table.”
It’d be a major blow to production in the state and Los Angeles, where filming levels are near historic lows, if the studio were to reallocate much — or even any significant chunk — of its $30 billion in spending to competing regions like New York, New Jersey, the U.K. or Canada. The studio has several productions shooting in the state, including Matlock, NCIS and Tracker.
A Paramount spokesperson verified the authenticity of the letter but otherwise had no comment.
There is a massive amount of distance between “everything is on the table” and “we are considering moving to Tennessee so David Ellison can become the movie and television head of Nashville.”
None of these stories has the slightest chance of coming true. But the stories spread chaos and that benefits Paramount.
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It Wouldn’t Kill CNBC’s David Faber To Ask A Follow-up Question
Paramount’s lead trial lawyer Jeffrey Kessler did an interview with CNBC’s David Faber today and it offered up the opportunity to speak with the network’s Wall Street-centric audience while not having to answer any substantially difficult questions.
And given that Faber is not known as a journalist who asks uncomfortable follow-up questions, he allowed Kessler to say this when asked if he thought the 12 state AG’s who filed a lawsuit to block the merger would be able to convince a judge to grant a preliminary injunction, a move which could delay the final merger close past October 1st. And that would force Paramount to pay a “ticking fee” of $650 million each quarter as long as the deal remains pending.
Here was Kessler’s answer:
We do not expect them to be able to get a preliminary injunction. This is an antitrust case. To stop a merger, the merger has to be anti-competitive. This merger is pro-competitive. Anybody who knows the entertainment industry knows it is in deep trouble. Linear television is in deep trouble because of streaming and because of cord-cutting. Theatrical is in deep trouble because of the advent of streaming and what it has done. This merger is designed to make a stronger linear television company and to make a stronger theatrical producer and to create a true competitor in streaming that can go toe to toe with a Netflix or a Disney or a Prime [Video].
That’s something that consumers should want, labor should want, theaters should want. That’s why I don’t think the courts are going to let them stop it.”
That sounds great, but I have so many questions. Is Paramount’s argument that in this case, bigger is more competitive? And how exactly does that happen. How is a combined Paramount and Warner Bros. releasing 30 theatrical movies a year (an insanely unrealistic figure) more industry and consumer friendly than two separate companies releasing fifteen movies each?
Why should the industry feel positive about this deal given the $6 billion worth of cuts David Ellison is promising Wall Street, given that at least some of that is going to result in job cuts? And what about these stories that Paramount is considering moving out of California?
When you say the “merger is designed to make a stronger linear television company,” you are talking about the post-merge company owning a larger number of cable channels, which will provide it additional leverage and the increased possibility of rate hikes during carriage negotiations. Given those price increases will be passed on to consumers, how is this a net positive for the public?
And in streaming, what data underlies your contention that a larger combined company will be more competitive with Netflix, Amazon and Disney? While the history of the streaming industry is still young, one thing we do know is that profits and market strength come from increased revenue, not size. So how will this merger increase overall revenue? Is there a way to do that without combining the two companies and raising the subscription price?
I think there is a good reason why Paramount doesn’t want me anywhere near their executives. It’s pretty easy to execute a press strategy if you only talk to reporters who ask you gentle, softball questions.
Odds & Sods
Mayday, starring Ryan Reynolds and Kevin Branagh, premieres Friday, September 4th on Apple TV. Here is a first look at the trailer. And here is the official logline: “Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh team up in a genre-bending, action-packed buddy comedy that flips the spy thriller on its head. When hot shot U.S. Navy pilot Lieutenant Troy “Assassin” Kelly (Reynolds) is sent on a top-secret mission into Russian territory at the height of the Cold War, the operation implodes, leaving him stranded behind enemy lines. Discovered by Nikolai Ustinov (Branagh), a gruff ex-KGB agent with a penchant for American culture, Troy thinks he’s toast - but could an unlikely alliance between the two lead to Troy’s rescue, and a bond neither saw coming?”
Based on the description, I don’t know that the world needs another show in this genre, but the Ryan Murphy series The Shards is premiering Wednesday, August 5th on FX. Here is a first look at the trailer and here is the official logline: “Based on the acclaimed bestselling novel by Bret Easton Ellis, and set against the vivid backdrop of 1980s Los Angeles, the series follows a group of privileged high school seniors at an elite prep school as they navigate identity, sex, jealousy, obsession and the dangers lurking beneath the surface of American adolescence.”
Starring Robert De Niro, Michelle Monaghan, and Adam Scott, The Whisper Man premieres Friday, August 28th on Netflix. Here is a first look at the trailer and here is the official logline: “Based on the New York Times bestselling novel by Alex North. When his eight-year-old son is abducted, a widowed crime writer looks to his estranged father, a retired former police detective, for help, only to discover a connection with the decades-old case of a convicted serial killer known as "The Whisper Man."
If you need a laugh, it’s Star Trek, but the Borg are Australian.
The syndicated game show Scrambled Up has been picked up for a second season and the season order has been doubled to 160 episodes.
I've been fascinated with the creator deals Netflix is making, especially the ones that include day-and-date releases with their YouTube channel. Today's deal is with "Good Mythical Morning," "Last Meals" and "Mythical Kitchen," which is fairly huge news. Under the terms of the deal, all three s
Fox Announces Its Fall Premiere Dates
Fox announced its fall primetime premiere dates and the most notable thing is that it is all game shows, reality programs and sports, except for one night of two scripted dramas and the now traditional Sunday animation block:
Monday, Sept. 21
8:00-9:00 PM Celebrity Name That Tune (Season Six Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM Celebrity Weakest Link (Season Two Premiere)
Tuesday, Sept. 22
8:00-9:00 PM Best Medicine (Season Two Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM Doc (Season Three Premiere)
Wednesday, Sept. 23
8:00-9:00 PM The Floor (Season Six Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM 99 to Beat (Season Two Premiere)
Thursday, Sept. 24
8:00-9:00 PM Hell’s Kitchen (Season 25 Premiere)
9:00-10:00 PM Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test (Season Five Premiere)
Fridays (Beginning Sept. 4)
8:00 PM-CC ET/ Fox College Football Friday
Saturdays (On Going)
7:00-10:30 PM ET/ Fox Sports Saturday
Sunday, Sept. 27
7:00-7:30 PM NFL On Fox
7:30-8:00 PM The OT / FOX Animation Encores
8:00-8:30 PM The Simpsons (Season 38 Premiere)
8:30-9:00 PM Animal Control (Season Five Premiere)
9:00-9:30 PM Universal Basic Guys (Season Three Premiere)
9:30-10:00 PM Grimsburg (Season Three Premiere)
What’s Coming Tonight And Tomorrow
TUESDAY, JULY 14TH:
Homestead Rescue: Intervention Series Premiere (Discovery)
Quarterback Season Premiere (Netflix)
Return To Paradise Season Premiere (BritBox)
The Real Wolf Of Wall Street (Paramount+)
WEDNESDAY, JULY 15TH:
Lucky Series Premiere (Apple TV)
MasterChef Season Premiere (Fox)
Nation's Dumbest Series Premiere (Fox)
911: Did The Killer Call? Season Premiere (Investigation Discovery)
Ride Or Die Series Premiere (Prime Video)
The Ultimatum: Marry Or Move On Season Premiere (Netflix)
2026 ESPY Awards (ABC)
Worst Yard On The Block Series Premiere (HGTV)