To great fanfare, Netflix unveiled its new viewership metric report on a press call hosted by Ted Sarandos himself this week.
In days past, the introduction of new data would be something relegated to an SVP in research that might attract the attention of an unknown analyst or two. Today, the rollout of new numbers, by the world’s biggest streamer no less, is in itself significant and receives blanket coverage across the trades and the mainstream press.
It’s not just that we’re looking for new data to chew over; everyone is desperate for a framework — any framework.
Our team put the rollout and subsequent hoopla in context, analyzing the numbers, but also revealing the unacknowledged forces reshaping the narrative we work within. It’s the core of our mission at The Ankler — to turn a gimlet eye to the stories we’re fed. To that end, we pored over the new numbers on our weekly podcast, and Richard aired some thoughts in his weekly Jamboree edition.
As always, take a look at The Ankler not just for our breaking news (Richard’s big scoop on the new James Carville doc had a nice place atop Drudge — and a sweaty Rudy Giuliani — for several days), but for a richer understanding of the why and what of an increasingly confusing time in the industry.
Also, for an even deeper sense of what’s shaking our world, check out Janice in a fun new interview about the business as she stopped by the Mediaite podcast.
Then here, in case you missed it, is the rest of what we’ve been up to this week.
What Ails Animation
Are audience sick of it? Are bloated budgets the real problem? And should you spend on originals or sequels? Entertainment Strategy Guy has the data explaining how Disney and Netflix have stumbled — and how to fix it:
Conflicts of Interest
In this week’s Jamboree edition: Richard revealed not just the new Carville doc, but also rips THR and Variety’s strange new role as the cheerleading marketing arm for the Golden Globes now that they share the same owner:
Meanwhile, May We Suggest…
Gregg Kilday smartly analyzed the nominations for the new for-profit Golden Globes for our awards season Prestige Junkie newsletter: “While insisting they are still fun, they also want to be seen as respectable. But a respectable Golden Globes? Now, that’s an oxymoron”:
Richard’s Year-End Naughty List Begins
After a year fraught with labor turmoil, legacy studios in pain and internecine warfare, Richard unsparingly offers his appraisal:
A Comedy Writer Outs Her Identity
Our formerly pseudonymous TV comedy scribe reveals herself to extol the return to work — even when it feels like the Stanford Prison Experiment:
☀️THE WAKEUP
🎧 PODCASTS
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THE ANKLER
The team’s takeaways from the Netflix data and an interview about drugs with Narcos and Hotel Cocaine creator Chris Brancato with Claire Atkinson:
MARTINI SHOT
Rob Long’s advice for doing the least amount of work for the most amount of money:
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
Transcript here
👓 THE OPTIONIST
IP Picks🔎: A Time-Traveling Cat Saves the World Plus, a murder mystery set in an alt 1920s America where Native Americans have power
FINAL HOUSEKEEPING!
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