☀️ YOUTUBE vs. NETFLIX by the 💰 Numbers

Mornin! This is Sean McNulty (connect with me on LINKEDIN here if ya like or email me at seanmcnultynyc@gmail.com), and here’s the Hollywood + Media news to know on Thursday, July 23, 2026.

Where I’m very happy for all of you who are at the start of San Diego Comic-Con today — and even happier that this column does not require me being there with you (as much as I do miss my annual stop to Rocky’s Crown Pub).

SO: The Odyssey has done just over $40M on Monday and Tuesday combined this week in the U.S. alone.

OH: Here is your Venice Film Festival lineup, with Casey Affleck’s Company, A24’s Primetime with Robert Pattinson, SEARCHLIGHT’s Wild Horse Nine from Martin McDonagh, SPC’s Bunker from Florian Zeller and the DISNEY Oasis doc Don’t Look Back in Anger.

THEN: As NETFLIX keeps experimenting with “video podcasts,” PAR+ will soon be introducing microdramas to the platform according to BI, doing some testing R&D later this quarter.

YAH: And AMAZON is coming for NETFLIX’s gaming ambitions, adding video games in a new “Games” tab in the PRIME VIDEO UI for folks using AMAZON FIRE devices. Games will mainly be driven by existing IP (Clue, Who Wants to Be A Millionaire, Hogwarts Legacy, etc.).

HMM: Just for the record here — CBS NEWS leadership chose to completely blow up the show that was up notably YoY in TV audience this year in 60 Minutes . . . continues to make changes it seems no one was asking for in its CBS NEWS London bureau . . . but continues to do nothing about its CBS Mornings show that has now had its lowest rated week ever. Definitely sounds like stellar management choices to me.

YEAH: Ya gotta love companies needing to disclose in their sales offers that they’re using your online personal data against you in setting the prices they offer you — with one WSJ subscriber being offered a renewal at $19.25 a week when the regular price on the website was $16.25.

BUT: The Florida teen suing META over alleged mental health issues deriving from social media use has dropped the lawsuit. TIKTOK, SNAP and YOUTUBE had already reached settlements.

ALSO: SIRIUSXM is adding a WWE channel that will broadcast live audio coverage of its events, among other programming.

AH: NYC appointed former FTC official Lina Khan as Chair of the NYC Economic Development Corporation, which promotes NYC as a place to do business and supports neighborhoods to make sure there’s sustainable infrastructure.

AND: A shout out to a Jersey film festival happening in my hometown of Red Bank, New Jersey — the 11th annual Indie Street Festival will kick off on Aug. 17 with Marc Maron’s In Memoriam. Tickets and schedule are here.

HMM: I dunno, think this 👇 might go up again come late October / on the doorstep of an event that some politicians may care about in November? Eh, maybe we’ll get a leader for the CDC or a U.S. Surgeon General by then at least (the positions are currently empty).

THEN: SONY made its Cinerama Dome deal official in L.A. The re-opening of the Arclight movie theater complex is planned for early 2028 after a period of renovations, under the management of SONY’s ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE (although it won’t have the dine-in experience).

FINALLY:

I’ll be back at NYC lunchtime with the breakdown of how COMCAST/NBCU’s Q2 numbers add up (or don’t) from the earnings call this morning.

Yes, “PEACOCK hits a profit” is getting the headlines you’re seeing so far (despite not pointing out that this is a blip, not a trend) — but there are far greater things afoot in the Q2 numbers at COMCAST, including that big NBA paycheck finally coming home to roost.

WAKEUP Box Office Prediction

I predict The Odyssey will still do very well this weekend (let’s take the weekend off).

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