WBD back to flirting with Paramount as cuck Netflix watches on. ALSO: The Colbert spat with CBS
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US late night chat shows are always the most interesting when there’s tension between the host and the network. But the current CBS / Stephen Colbert fracture is very different to the days when Dave Letterman would criticise the pinheads at GE.
Colbert, whose show has been cancelled by CBS, announced on his show yesterday that CBS lawyers pulled the pin on a planned interview with State Representative James Talarico of Texas. Talarico is competing against fellow Democrat Jasmine Crockett in a primary election to be the state’s Democratic nominee in a runoff election to be held in late May.
He says that CBS lawyers advised that the interview would contravene FCC guidance warning media companies to abide by equal airtime to candidates competing for the same office. The interview was instead published to The Late Show YouTube channel where it has generated 2.8 million views and counting.
More people have actively watched the clip than ever would have paid attention to it on the broadcast of the TV show.
CBS has now pushed back, saying that the network didn’t prohibit the show from running the interview, but rather were providing legal guidance. As per the NYT:
CBS said it then presented the show “options for how the equal time for other candidates could be fulfilled.”
Sometimes “guidance” can be like seeing pornography… you know it when you know it. Even if the network wasn’t explicitly saying not to run the interview, it was likely very clear what the position being expressed was.
Regardless of whatever happened, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is going to be a powder keg over the next three months in the lead-up to the final episode. With the show cancelled for reasons that many have deemed to be politically motivated and airing on a network with a new division that is quite clearly taking a major lurch to the right, friction with its left of centre host is only going to intensify.
The equal time rule is generally a pretty good idea on public airwaves. It might feel out-dated in the current media environment, but as far as I’m concerned, if you have the privilege of broadcasting on public airwaves, then you should meet public expectation. While this is a mild concern, the rules are there to prevent a network (say, I dunno, CBS itself later this year) from broadcasting nothing but extensive interviews with representatives from one side of the political spectrum.
The equal time rules are being weaponised right now. But it doesn’t mean they’re not a good idea in principle.
Netflix grants WBD a 7-day waiver to flirt with Paramount
Netflix, which has an agreement in place to acquire Warner Bros Discovery’s movie and TV studios and the HBO Max streaming service, has given WBD a seven day period to engage with Paramount “to fully and finally resolve this matter.”
It’s the will-they, won’t they romantic triangle that has frankly gone on for too long.
Netflix has the signed deal, but Paramount is still making noise in an effort to sway shareholders ahead of an upcoming vote.
From the Wall St Journal:
In a letter to Paramount’s board of directors reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, Warner said Netflix has agreed to allow it to discuss Paramount’s latest proposal during a negotiating period that will end on Feb. 23. Warner said it is the board’s understanding that Paramount’s final offer will be higher than $31 per share.
The letter said the potential higher per share price was communicated orally to a Warner board member by a senior representative on behalf of Paramount.
Warner Discovery Chief Executive David Zaslav said in the statement that the company is engaging with Paramount “to determine whether they can deliver an actionable, binding proposal that provides superior value and certainty for WBD shareholders through their best and final offer.”
It seems to me that Netflix is understandably very interested in keeping its deal alive and that this is more a process around reducing likelihood of (successful) lawsuits post-deal based on claims of an unfair process. Netflix can’t afford not to make a deal – it has considerable library value, reduces licensing expenses, keeps the door open to licensed content from the WB library, and creates tremendous opportunity to diversify its media holdings.
The special meeting for the shareholder vote will take place on March 20.
Losing interest in MrBeast’s YouTube
I’ve never seen a MrBeast video. I did eat a branded Feastables chocolate bar once and that was pretty flimsy and bland and it seemed to encapsulate what I have always assumed his videos are like.
I was interested by Patricia Hernandez’s look at MrBeasts YouTube output in 2026. Her contention is that he’s desperate to leave YouTube behind and that the videos he is publishing to the platform are too heavily calculated so as not to lose audience. He’s also stacking videos with celebrities who seem to have little interest in taking part:
Donaldson seems to be the only person interested in putting on a show. When asked to rate participants in a cooking contest, Paris Hilton rates every dish, no matter how foul, a 10. Elsewhere, Kevin Hart is tasked with contacting the most famous person he knows, only to go on and reveal himself. Near the end of the video, Ajey “CarryMinati” Nagar is knocked out of the proceedings with a shrug, only for Donaldson to butt in and forbid him from leaving: what if the Indian market stops watching?
The most damning attack on MrBeast:
Some of this disinterest is undoubtedly the result of a miscalculation by Donaldson about his audience. But if people aren’t watching like they used to, Donaldson isn’t doing much to persuade them to stay, either. Every five minutes, the video will cut to a promotion of something else Donaldson is hawking. He reminds viewers to go out and buy his beef jerky sticks, his chocolate bars, and most of all, to go watch his Amazon TV show.
The entire concept of the video, Donaldson reveals, is inspired by Beast Games, the challenge-driven spectacle where he awards $5M to victors. Actually, he reminds viewers of the Amazon show repeatedly, as if to suggest he’d prefer you watch that instead of his YouTube uploads.
For the king of a medium that prizes authenticity, Hernandez’s piece on MrBeast reads as brutal, but completely justified.
RIP Matchbox Pictures
Universal International Studios has announced it will shutter Australian production company Matchbox Pictures. It will close after an 18 year run (it was purchased by NBCU 12 years ago), delivering quite a number of Australia’s better drama series.
Productions included Devil’s Playground, The Slap, The Straits, My Place, Nowhere Boys, Deadline Gallipoli, Glitch, The Family Law, The Heights, and Class of 07. I was a big fan of its drama series Secret City.
Matchbox Pictures made more than 55 movies and TV shows through that 18 year run.
Bundled into the closure was off-shoot company Tony Ayres Productions. I thought it was a bit odd at yesterday’s Netflix showcase event in Sydney when Tony Ayers mentioned on stage during a Q&A that he is shifting towards just working as a writer because “I was always a bit of a shit producer.”
I’m curious where this leaves Toxic, the ABC production based on the Erin Patterson murder trial. The announcement had this being made for the public broadcaster by Tony Ayers Productions.
Read more: ABC News
News Desk
McKenna Grace will star as Daphne Blake in the new Scooby-Doo live action show for Netflix. Grace also voiced Daphne in animated film Scoob!. Read: Variety
Damon Wayans Jr will lead new NBC pilot Puzzled about a man with a brain injury that gives hin Acquired Savant Syndrome, so naturally he starts solving crimes with the local police. Again, I ask why TV shows can’t just be about people good at their jobs without needing some sort of mental superpower? Presumably the new show won’t impact too heavily on his ongoing supporting role in Apple TV comedy Shrinking. Read: Deadline
Former Baywatch star David Chokachi will reprise his role in a recurring role on the reboot series. Read: Deadline
Former Bones star Emily Deschanel will lead a new NBC drama pilot about a criminal profiler. Read: THR
Industry stars Ken Leung and Myha’la believe both of their characters on the show are Trump supporters. Leung also says the show spent a lot of money digitally erasing a Trump figurine he placed on his character's computer monitor. Read: THR
Myley Cyrus will be interviewed for Disney+’s Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special. Read: Variety
In a survey of 2000 UK TV and film professionals, 74% of respondents said they are considering leaving the industry due to financial worries. Read: C21
With Warner Bros Discovery announcing a New Zealand launch for HBO Max, Sky NZ has said it decided not to pursue a co-exclusive attangement with the company. Read: Content+Technology
Disney is unveiling a new short-form series Locker Diaries, which features characters from different Disney franchises, including Zombies, Descendants, and Phineas and Ferb. Stories are told from the perspective of school lockers, with the show distributed across Disney+, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.
Fox Nation is cancelling the Sean Hannity interview show Sean, but in its place will be a new podcast Hang Out With Sean Hannity. The pod is to be recorded from Hannity’s set in Florida and feature “long-form, unfiltered conversations with compelling and influential figures across culture, business, sports, politics, and beyond.” I can think of very few people I’d ever want to hang out with less, to be honest. Read: THR
MS NOW has reached a deal with Crooked Media to produce a weekly compilation show for the cable opinion channel. Crooked on MS NOW will air Saturday nights at 9pm. Read: Deadline
The Guardian will launch a daily video podcast later this year to compete in the US market against The Daily and Up First. Read: Semafor
Trailer Park
I have been thoroughly not into any of the footage we’ve seen so far for The Mandalorian and Grogu… until now. The first full-length trailer for the film actually looks pretty fun and has a visual scope far bigger than the TV show. It looks great and I’m disappointed my kid is probably just that little bit too young to take along to see it.
RJ Decker debuts on ABC March 3. It’s an old-school network throwback PI detective show. Yes please.
RJ Decker is a disgraced newspaper photographer and ex-con who starts over as a private investigator in the colorful-if-crime-filled world of South Florida.
Heartbreak High returns for the third and final season on Netflix March 25 (and not March 2 as international outlets and ABW yesterday reported).
Sofia The First: Royal Magic debuts Feb 27 on Disney+.
Deadloch is back for season 2 on Prime Video March 20.
Fatal Seduction returns for season 3 on Netflix March 20.
Je m'appelle Agneta debuts April 20 on Netflix.
The best-selling novel by Emma Hamberg, "Je m'appelle Agneta," finally becomes a film. It is a tender, life-affirming story about rediscovering yourself, stopping feeling wrong, and never saying no to dancing.
That’s the newsletter for the today.
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