The Great Wave Of Consolidation is coming for all of our favorite streamers. Why? "Investment bankers are wishin’ and hopin’ for more of these deals in 2024, and marriages seem likely." - Wired
The "report, published Friday and looking at scripted TV seasons being ordered in the U.S., noted that the volume of U.S. series has nearly halved since 2019. The number of series titles fell to 481 last year, down sharply from the 633 releases in 2022 and 2021." - The Hollywood Reporter
As a matter of official policy, reactions are supposed to relieve you of the burden of writing out a full response. But all of those relieved burdens, taken together, add up to a new one: the duty to react to everything, one way or another. - The Atlantic
The special, tastefully titled “George Carlin: I’m Glad I’m Dead,” is one of the most unpleasant things ostensibly produced for entertainment purposes that I have ever sat through. - Los Angeles Times
WTVP has been in crisis mode since at least September, when the finance director resigned, the CEO committed suicide, layoffs were made, and investigators discovered "questionable, improper, or unauthorized spending." Amid public pressure, 11 of 17 board members have stepped down. - WCBU (Peoria)
Mindi Madison and Alicia Wilson, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, have been sentenced to three years' probation and ordered to pay $270,876 each in restitution. - Inside Radio
Eventually, TV’s contraction will yield a new Netflix, a new HBO, looking to exploit a desire for bold programming. In the meantime, this year’s Emmys felt like a party on the deck of the Titanic. - The New York Times
The international campaign argues that the independence and viability of the global screen industry will remain under threat unless mandatory quotas for local content are introduced in countries outside the US. - The Guardian
The Reliable Sauce podcast "sounds as if you are listening in to a conversation (the hosts) might have over a coffee, or on the tube back from work." The key to its success: it was conceived and is run by 20-something journalists, not executives in suits. - Nieman Lab
Supporters of the Law and Justice party, which lost the recent elections and had thoroughly politicized state media while in power, have stormed and occupied TV Poland's news building, forcing the news staff to squeeze into space (including bathrooms) in the network's entertainment building and go under police protection. - BBC
"The director and producer of a banned Malaysian film that explores the afterlife were charged Wednesday with offending the religious feelings of others in a rare criminal prosecution of filmmakers, slammed by critics as an attack on freedom of expression." - AP
David Chase, who wrote the HBO series about the New Jersey mafia that many credit with starting a golden age of television, said that era was now over. The 78-year-old said he was being told to “dumb down” his productions, and had been warned against making television that “requires an audience to focus”. - The Guardian
"Succession secured its legacy with its third best drama series award, The Bear feasted as the night’s top comedy, and the two shows about squabbling families dominated the acting awards at Monday night’s Emmys." - AP
The two- or three-word tags, meant to convey the gestalt of a show or movie, regularly help viewers choose a show from the service’s nearly endless library, the company says. The words are selected by about 30 employees — so-called taggers. - The New York Times
Chelsea Handler "went rogue" during the Critics Choice Awards, after Barbie won a bunch of awards during commercial breaks - including Best Comedy. Handler said, "Greta and Margot deserve the opportunity to make an acceptance speech," and invited Gerwig and Robbie onstage. - Variety
