It was just a tiny blurb on a real estate news web site last week. Murder, the word, jumped out at me, of course. It turns out the item was actually about a new show greenlit by upcoming mobile-only streaming service Quibi about flipping houses where infamous killings occurred. But it told me more about Apple's billion-dollar streaming bet than Apple's event with wall-to-wall news coverage last week. It told me that one might be on the right side of a divide and the other might be on the wrong side. That divide is defined by the size of the screens we’re comfortable watching things on. Apple seems to be making a streaming service for an ill-defined future audience. While Quibi seems to be making one for a very real one. Apple’s painfully-lame-yet-clearly-expensive and well-oiled announcement of its new streaming service Apple TV+ last week had three clear takeways:
Movies and TV shows will only number around a dozenBig starsPremium aspirations
As the Times’ John Koblin explains, “It will offer much less content than its competitors…Apple TV Plus hopes to attract subscribers with a simple sales pitch: by claiming that its shows and movies will be of higher quality than what they’ll find elsewhere.”It’s a curious strategy considering that Netflix has famously won by going with quantity over quality - although, that perception may be out of date with shows like "Mindhunter" plus movies like Roma and the upcoming The Irishman and The King. And HBO, long the home of the highest-quality content in the entertainment business, is not only crowding the streaming space Apple hopes to horn in on but also shifting focus to quantity, too, by mandate from their new owners at AT&T. Apple TV+ is even more of a head-scratcher when you consider who actually watches TV now and who will - or won’t - in the future. The median age of TV watchers in the US is 56. But the median age of mobile and computer viewers is 40. Forty percent of those viewers are between 13 and 14.The size divide will only grow as platforms like YouTube and Quibi make content millennials and Gen Z actually want to watch.
YouTube's mobile viewership makes up 70% of time spent watching. There's little info yet of the content that Quibi will launch with in April, but the mobile-only service seems to be developing shows with a laser-like focus on finding gigantic new audiences. Consider "Murder House Flip." From Deadline:"Murder House Flip is described as an unconventional home-renovation show that takes on the country’s most infamous homes — the ones known for the mysterious murders and incredible intrigue committed within their walls. Homeowners turn to the colorful cast of forensic specialists, spiritual healers and high-end renovation experts to uncover the true crimes, shocking secrets and scandalous history of their homes. Then, cleansing renovations remove the stains of the past and take these homes from morbid to marvelous."True crime plus home renovation? Both genres are beloved by millions. Add the mobile-first aesthetic that Quibi is promising? Beloved by entire generations. The difference in approaches between Apple and Quibi are generational and aesthetic. Sure, there is star power in the Apple TV+ lineup. Jennifer Anniston. Steve Carrell. Reese Witherspoon, Jason Momoa. Oprah Winfrey.
But the shows have been rumored to be boring and middle-of-the-road for about a year. These big prestige shows and movies feel like they're made for a shrinking legacy culture, one that is already in love with Disney and Netflix and HBO content. Then again, maybe Apple TV+ doesn't even need to be good - Apple has enough cash, the service is only $5 a month if not free for purchasers of new devices and the enormous scale of Apple's user base means they have plenty of time to round fill the service out with more content. Still, on the other side of the size divide, the smaller screen-based Quibi might be nailing the types of content we'll be asking for.
The shorter stuff
J.J. Abrams was offered $500 million from Apple but took half to stay with WarnerMedia to make movies, video games and shows for HBO, HBO max and Warner Bros. (THR)
I have read Watchmen twice and I have no idea what is going on in the trailer for the upcoming series on HBO. Apparently it's a modern day interpretation following the events in the books. It's gotta be better than Zack Snyder's version. (Vice)
Update in the comfort-sitcom wars: Netflix snags "Seinfeld." Starting in 2021, you'll have to click the red square instead of the green one to watch it. They lost "Friends" and "The Office," but Netflix at least they got one. Your self-care binge-re-watching is expensive for these companies: Netflix reportedly paid $500 million. (NYT)
David Chase tells the story of why networks turned down "The Sopranos." (The Guardian)
There is no tech backlash. (NYT)
Dean Budnick interviewed over 75 people for his new podcast on the history of Phish. (Variety)
The dean of American rock critics, Robert Christgau, has started a Substack newsletter. Pay to get access o his famous reviews. (Substack)
Eddie Murphy's first Netflix movie actually looks good and the story of Dolemite is fascinating. (NYT)
Stefan Heck of the most influential Twitch stream in the universe, Go Off Kings, made news by single-handedly taking down Jeremy Renner's bizarre app. (NYT)
I tried for half a week to figure out the correct California rock analog to Post Malone after listening repeatedly to his downcast wealthy dude rock-rap-trap-indie pop smorgasbord of a new album. It's chill and bitter. Tense but perfectly palatable. Red Hot Chili Peppers? Definitely some of Californication is an emotional cousin to Bleeding Hollywood. 311? Sublime? I couldn't figure out who exactly he reminded me of - not in sound but in sentiment, in purpose, and in audience relative to era. Critic David Drake nailed it after a prompt from Times editor Willy Staley, though: the Eagles. I am not ashamed to listen to both the Eagles and this new Post album, a lot. (Twitter)
RIP Ric Ocasek. (YouTube)