Redundancy season hits Foxtel and NBCUniversal
As someone currently still out on the job hunt (the workplace slowdown over Easter/ANZAC Day here in Australia has not been helpful on this front), my deepest sympathies for the 100+ staff from Foxtel who were made redundant yesterday by new owner DAZN.
The impacted staff were largely from Foxtel’s marketing and engineering teams. DAZN has announced it will continue to support Hubbl. DAZN says Hubbl will continue on as a seperate business, under the leadership of current chief Patrick Delaney.
It’s worth reminding people that while the public face of Hubbl is its underpowered (but actually not too bad) set top boxes and 55 + 65 inch TV sets, it is also the parent company of streaming services Kayo Sports, Binge, everyone’s favourite news channel aggregator Flash, and Lifestyle, along with the WatchAFL and WatchNRL services in international markets.
The official statement:
“Our transformation is not new. We have been focused on efficiency for almost a decade, which has seen us successfully transform our business from being a single-product pay-TV operator to a modern Australian leader in streaming,” the spokesperson said.
“As part of the DAZN Group, we now have the opportunity to continue our transformation and take advantage of their global engineering and services. We are also working with DAZN to share our world-class product and technology expertise.”
The human cost of M&A.
Also: NBCUniversal loses staff
In the US, several dozen NBCUniversal staff are being laid off - mostly focused on Communications and junior programming staff. Read: Deadline
News Desk
The very dumb-sounding Einstein TV series (Albert’s grandson is also smart and teams up with the police to solve crimes) starring Matthew Gray Gubler has been pushed back a year by CBS. Read: THR
North of North has been renewed for a second season at Netflix. Read: Variety
Why no Jimmy Smits in Andor (he played Bail Organa in multiple other Star Wars films)? Timing (and money) made it hard with Smits also shooting the since-cancelled East New York. Read: EW
If you want to read Piers Morgan on the topic of his YouTube awakening… Read: The Guardian
YouTube has announced it will blur thumbnails for videos related to mature sexual content. Read: The Verge
Brutus Pink, the company that produces Big Mouth, has an order for a new show for Netflix called Mating Season. Read: Variety
Canadian show Geek Girl has been greenlit for season 2 at Netflix. Read: Deadline
UKTV has greenlit Bergerac for a second season. Read: C21
Channel 4’s content chief Ian Katz has admitted to his team that his future is uncertain with a new incoming CEO. Read: Deadline
Outgoing Channel 4 CEO Alex Mahon has revealed her next job. She will run live entertainment group Superstruct, which operates Cornwall’s Boardmasters festival, Barcelona’s Sónar and another circa-80 music festivals across Europe and Australia. That actually sounds like a more fun job. Read: Deadline
Shōgun will begin shooting season 2 in January next year in Vancouver. Hiroyuki Sanada and Cosmo Jarvis will return. Read: Deadline
The new Nintendo Switch upgrade readies users ability to seamlessly switch to the Switch 2. Read: Polygon
Trailer Park
JJ Abrams new show Duster debuts on Max May 15.
Tom Segura’s Bad Thoughts debuts on Netflix May 13.
A collection of hilariously disturbing stories that push the boundaries of decency in ways only Tom Segura could imagine.
The Better Sister debuts May 29 on Prime Video.
Chloe (Jessica Biel), a high-profile media executive, lives a picturesque life with her handsome lawyer husband Adam (Corey Stoll) and teenage son Ethan (Maxwell Acee Donovan) by her side while her estranged sister Nicky (Elizabeth Banks) struggles to make ends meet and stay clean. When Adam is brutally murdered, the prime suspect sends shockwaves through the family, reuniting the two sisters as they try to untangle a complicated family history to discover the truth behind his death.
Summer of 69 debuts May 9 on Hulu.
An awkward high school senior hires an exotic dancer to help seduce her longtime crush before graduation, leading to unexpected friendship and lessons in self-confidence, acceptance and adulthood.
Unscripted Japanese game show Now Get Lost debuts on Netflix May 13.
This expanded Netflix special follows comedians as they navigate a hilariously cursed village, enduring relentless taunts from angry villagers.
That’s the newsletter for today.
Consider becoming a paid supporter of Always Be Watching.
Connect with Dan on Bluesky. Connect with Dan on Letterboxd. Connect with Dan on Linkedin. Email Dan @ alwaysbewatching.com or just reply to this email.
