Description
Welcome to Cordkillers! The world of entertainment has turned upside down, and we’re just trying to figure out how to watch what we want, where we want, whenever we want.
This week: Netflix’s growth is slowing, so Brian grades the company’s possible next moves—from live sports and channel bundles to social media, acquisitions, and AI. Plus: Avengers: Doomsday, Dune: Part Three, Netflix’s biggest titles, Disney+ considering a free tier, and a court temporarily blocking the Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery merger.
SUPPLY RUN
Netflix reported a 13% year-over-year increase in quarterly revenue, exactly as analysts expected. But its forecast for the next quarter came in below expectations—and analysts were already expecting growth to slow.
What should a heritage streamer do next? Brian grades Netflix’s possible strategies, and then we brainstorm some ideas of our own.
LIVE PROGRAMMING
• Live events accounted for six of Netflix’s ten biggest new-member signup days during the past five years.
• Live programming can carry advertising—even for customers who normally pay for ad-free viewing.
• Netflix is reportedly considering bidding for streaming rights to the 2030 and 2034 FIFA World Cups.
BUNDLES AND CHANNELS
• Netflix is experimenting with add-on services.
• It is already partnering with TF1 in France, with reports of possible discussions involving Peacock.
• Could Netflix launch FAST-style channels devoted to franchises such as Stranger Things or Avatar: The Last Airbender? The company has reportedly considered the idea, but has no near-term plans.
PARTNER VIDEO
• More podcasts and creator-led programming.
• Netflix will add videos from BuzzFeed, Condé Nast, People Inc., Hearst Magazines, PMX, and Tastemade in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Ireland.
• Netflix has also reached a deal with Vox Media.
GO SOCIAL?
• Netflix, Sony, and Paramount are reportedly looking into acquiring Letterboxd, the social platform for movie fans.
BUY ITS WAY OUT?
• Could Netflix acquire NBCUniversal, Lionsgate, or another major media company?
• Ted Sarandos says Netflix remains “primarily builders, not buyers” and maintains a high bar for major mergers and acquisitions.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
• Netflix says it is using AI to create more personalized, immersive, and interactive customer experiences, improve advertising tools, and enhance production.
• According to its shareholder letter, generative-AI workflows were used on roughly 300 Netflix titles in 2026, primarily during post-production.
SEARCH PARTY
• TRAILER: Avengers: Doomsday — coming to theaters December 18.
• War Machine was Netflix’s most-watched movie during the first six months of the year.
• His & Hers was Netflix’s most-watched limited series.
• Netflix will move to an annual “What We Watched” report, released during the first quarter of each year.
• TRAILER: Dune: Part Three — Denis Villeneuve’s Dune Messiah adaptation, coming December 18.
• Dan Trachtenberg’s untitled adaptation of Yehudi Mercado’s indie comic Freddy the 13th is scheduled for October 13, 2028.
• Netflix acquired the U.S. and Latin American rights to Danny Boyle’s Ink, about the early years of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire. The film premieres in competition at the Venice Film Festival on September 2.
• Netflix released a Stranger Things Season 1 “VHS” collector’s edition designed to resemble a videocassette.
BURIED TREASURE
Tom: World Cup in German
SCANNING THE HORIZON
• U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín granted a restraining order pausing Paramount’s merger with Warner Bros. Discovery until August 3. The judge wrote that evidence involving the market for wide-release theatrical distribution suggested the proposed merger was likely to violate antitrust law.
• Paramount offered Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders a “ticking fee” of an additional 25 cents per share for every quarter after September 30 until the deal closes.
• Paramount has offered concessions to address concerns from the European Commission, which extended its deadline to January 22.
• The United Kingdom’s culture secretary has also indicated that the government may intervene.
• The FCC will vote August 6 on whether enforcement of the National Television Ownership Rule—which generally prevents one broadcast-station owner from reaching more than 39% of U.S. television households—should be handled on a case-by-case basis.
• Disney+ is exploring a free, advertising-supported tier designed to attract more viewers.
• Peacock subscribers may soon be able to add a Starz subscription directly through the Peacock app.
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