One of the big inflection points of pop culture and media research has been the ongoing noise about the transparency of information coming from Netflix about the performance of its content. As a subscription video on demand service, its business model relies strictly on whether people continue to pay for the opportuity to watch, not … Read more
Almost lost in the pre-Christmas rush of media and pandemic news was a report of a branding tweak that I believe represents a huge win for a perpetual insurgent that has even triumphed over Mickey Mouse. Disney announced this week that FX, the network I am proud to say I helped build that was acquired … Read more
Tonight two television shows originally written in the 1970s and 1980s will be performed live in front of a (fully vaccinated) studio audience on the cusp of 2022 helmed by a man who was born in 1922. And trust me, he will be very much alive and in front of a studio audience himself. Simply … Read more
Incredibly, the intersection between the world of Leblanguage and the world of Donald Trump is larger than logic would otherwise dictate. And I’ll offer that on many measures I could help him be better at what he tries to do. Yesterday it was reported by The Young Turks, a progressive-skewing online news network, that the … Read more
Once upon a time Mehmet Oz was an effervescent practicing cardiologist at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York who caught the eye of Oprah Winfrey and began contributing to her wildly popular daytime show. As Oprah’s clout and empire expanded, along with Phil McGraw (success) and Nate Berkus (miss) Oz got the opportunity for … Read more
If you haven’t yet read an oral history book by James Andrew Miller you really can’t consider yourself an expert on any subject he has written about. Miller is a consummate researcher and expert organizer of timelines that produce exhaustive recounts of media history through the words of those that produced them. After previously tackling … Read more
Through the courtesy of my roommate (someone else we give thanks for this week, BTW), I got to see GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE during its theatrical launch weekend, the first time I’ve ventured out to a movie theatre during its first few days since the before-times. As I spent my most recent corporate years in Sony’s employ … Read more
As we head toward arguably the most welcomed holiday season in our lifetimes, the annual ascension of The Hallmark Channel to #1 status among U.S. linear TV networks has taken place and will likely be truth through the end of the year. According to online trade ads taken this week, since its Countdown to Christmas … Read more
I’ve frequently lamented that the concept of overnight ratings for television shows has virtually disappeared, the victim of both measurement incompleteness and industry apathy. In a world where the very existence of facts is open to interpretation, the reporting of them is, at best, skewed and sporadic. I’ve often called out streaming services and the … Read more
Today the latest example of putting lipstick on a pig was foisted upon the world, as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg gleefully announced the rebranding of Facebook as “Meta”. An homage to the “Metaverse” it will attempt to service, Meta will be an umbrella title that will emcompass the company’s numeropus existing businesses, including What’s App … Read more