Summer 2023 marks Hollywood’s retreat from the Streaming Wars. And now, both strikes (real and threatened) and a brutal run of show removals highlight one of the era’s most significant casualties: transparent ratings data. Sean McNulty, Elaine Low and Richard Rushfield discuss the challenge of the guilds’ residuals demands and the impossibility of apples to Apple comparisons (global Netflix shows vs. a small streamer? Nope, can’t do it), as well as whether the idea of content living forever was just a streaming fantasy. Also: a fun history of Fourth of July weekend box office (17:15), including Richard’s role in Burbank teen mayhem during a showing of Independence Day.
Transcript here.
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The Murky Definition of a Hit Show