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This deal is actually a clever move by Roku.

Interesting article, I happened to come across. It describes how an award winning director's documentary about the crown prince of KSA was rebuffed by, pretty much every major streaming platform out there. At the root cause-- the quest for maximum profits from deals made abroad, even in countries where oppressive regimes are in control. The following quote, in a nutshell describes this aspect. Someday there's got to be an honest discussion about Hollywood over-dependence on franchise movies, in addition to focusing on almost exclusively on making corporate profits, and this has inevitably weakened film culture in America.

It's really interesting to see that, after years of animosity between aspects of Hollywood and the streaming companies, many production companies and studios are opting to release some of their movies on those same streaming platforms, particularly rom-coms, which probably can likely make an easier transition to home viewing than a big budget spectacle. Does this pandemic have the potential to change the balance of power between the movie industry and streaming platforms? Or will there be a return to 'business as usual' once the pandemic ends (although Dr. Fauci has intimated that coronavirus could become a season thing, which sounds horrifying on its face). Movie theaters were already losing business (which many blame streaming platforms for) for non-comic book blockbuster movies. Also, according to this article, there will likely be permanent damage to the industry.

Honestly though, I can't get excited about this at all because it still seems as though they plan to keep their soaps moth-balled.

Interesting article that discusses the newest entrants to the streaming market and how they could end up forcing Netflix to reconsider their pricing strategy. Netflix has missed its financial and subscriber projections, sending its stocks lower. Some believe that this is due to recent price increases, while others believe that the announcements of other streaming services and their offerings have caused consumers to rethink Netflix's status as the most attractive streaming option. Netflix's subscriber drop-off is mainly domestic and it has just entered the Indian market (interesting though that in India, Netflix's subscriber fee is lower priced) but that could change with more competition entering the international markets as well. Netflix's biggest challenges in the US and internationally are bubbling to the surface

This article mainly discusses how a show like This Is Us has generated a healthy percentage of ad revenue from streaming, which is still uncommon for the traditional broadcast network show. We Have Streaming Revenue, Too, Says NBC. And We Can Prove It. Also, the chairman of NBC Entertainment, Robert Greenblatt claims that there is still no "third-party objective measuring system" for digital streaming. So I guess Nielsen still lacks consistency, reliability and trust from networks and advertisers. I'm not sure why the digital streaming platform still lacks a system that everyone can trust to measure and report metrics.

Just a warning that this discussion at the Paley Center was quite lengthy. I wish I could condense the video but it was take a bit of work that I don't want to do. Debra Lee of BET did offer some interesting nuggets, some of which I wasn't aware of some of which I already knew. I already posted her about interest in Underground in the dedicated thread but cancelled shows (on air and online) are a big topic of discussion as well as the murky ratings system that determines their fates. One thing that stood out from this discussion was that Debra Lee discussed how networks that produce shows get little to no credit for time-shift viewing. For example, one of theshows that BET produces Being Mary Jane, itself a cancelled show from CW, has the first few seasons streaming on Netflix. According to Lee, BET only gets "credit" for the show when it does it's first run on BET (during "appointment viewing) during the regular weekly timeslot. The show/producer does not get "credit" when people binge-watch the series on Netflix. * my question was what about cord-cutters and never cable people who only use Roku/Netflix/Hulu?* She also made it sound as if BET didn't get much benefit from DVR viewings since people often skip the commercials, which is how TV shows pay for themselves. Lee also griped somewhat about the Nielsen system being stuck in her opinion. I was surprised that she only recently learned how the Nielsen system worked. Having spent a brief amount of time being a "Nielsen Family", I can agree that the system is antiquated and needs to recognize the various ways in which we watch shows. (TV, online, DVR, etc). I was 'offered' the chance to do Nielsen for online viewing but I found the apparatus more intrusive and cumbersome than I liked with having to install software instead of say, inserting a removeable flash drive or opening and closing a window in a browser. Oh well, here is the discussion if your interested. Also, I'd love to hear thoughts on any or all of this.

Hulu's live streaming option will now include all four major broadcast networks. Hulu CEO Says It Will Have CBS On Live Streaming Service