Get all in on Fox - YASS (Yet Another Streaming Service)!!!
Also: Where is HBO's Tales From The Crypt?
Fox had planned to launch a new sports streaming service in the US in partnership with Disney and Warner Bros Discovery. The service, Venu Sports, was killed before it was able to launch.
The reasons for the dissolution of Venu Sports (pronounced Venue Sports) have been discussed in this newsletter a bunch and elsewhere, so I won’t bother going into that. But it is worth remembering that Venu was a way to deliver the sports channels owned by Disney/Fox/WBD on a digital platform. It wasn’t sports on-demand as much as it was access to, say, the ESPN channels, the Fox Sports channels, TNT, etc.
My theory with this wasn’t that the three companies wanted to launch a sports app and the only way it could be negotiated with rights holders was to offer it via the linear channels - rather, my thinking is that by creating the digital product that the linear channels plug into, when it comes time to sell off those linear channels (likely within the next 2-3 years) they will have greater financial value to them.
But now Venu Sports isn’t happening. And Fox still needs to create value around its linear offer.
By the end of this year, Fox is set to launch a new Fox-centric streaming service that will carry News, Sports, and other Fox content. If this is all built around the linear experience, don’t be surprised.
Fox Corporation expects to launch a new stand-alone subscription-based streaming service by the end of 2025, as the company, which has resisted the call to plunge millions into developing premium content for broadband audiences, sees new allure in the business. The plan, said Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch, would be to launch a new broadband outlet that helps “put our content in front of everybody who wants it on any platform,” and would be “‘holistic of all of our content, sports and news.”
This is largely a life raft to prop up value in the Fox Sports channels. It delivers nothing to the Fox broadcast network or (especially) Fox News which already has a digital product in the form of Fox Nation.
Where for art thou, Tales From The Crypt?
In the mid 90s in Australia, my pals and I discovered some compilation VHS tapes at the local video store branded as “Vault of Horror.” What I later realised was that this was a rebranded, repackaged collection of episodes of HBO’s Tales From The Crypt.
I’m not sure exactly what the deal was with this VHS collection - there were just a handful released. Was it just an assortment of Crypt episodes, or were they specifically episodes that were based on issues of the 1950s EC Comics horror comic The Vault of Horror?
[Most of the Crypt episodes were based on comics published in 50s EC Comics horror anthology books - The Haunt of Fear, The Vault of Horror, Crime SuspenStories, Shock SuspenStories, and Two-Fisted Tales. And, of course, the EC Comics title Tales From The Crypt.]
As far as I’m aware, we never got Tales From The Crypt here in Australia. The kids cartoon Tales From The Cryptkeeper got a run on Foxtel. And I do remember going along to the cinema to see both Crypt feature films - Demon Knight and Bordello of Blood.
As a result, I have seen very little of the TV show. The same can be said for anyone younger than me as the show is one of those gems that never made its way to streaming.
Tales From The Crypt ran on HBO for the original seven season, 93-episode run. The show was a who’s who of Hollywood names from the late 80s going through the 90s. Here’s a list I’m just going to screenshot from Wikipedia, because it’s bonkers:
The series was no slouch in the Director department either, with the show boasting episodes helmed by: Robert Zemeckis, Walter Hill, Howard Deutch, Tom Holland, Arnold Schwarzenegger (yeah, really), Stephen Hopkins, Tom Mankiewicz, Michael J Fox (again, yeah, really), Tobe Hooper, Russell Mulcahy, Tom Hanks, William Friedkin, John Frankenheimer, Bob Gale, Jeffrey Boam, and Bob Hoskins.
It was a mix of name directors, journeymen, and opportunities given to name writers and actors.
Tales From The Crypt also gave mega producer Joel Silver his one directing credit.
You can’t find the show on the HBO streamer Max. Nor was it on previous incarnations HBO Max or HBO Now. The rights to old episodes are a bit of a mess and those same rights issues are holding up any chance of a revival show. The estate of comics publisher William Gaines (who published all those EC Comics in the 50s) seems to be what is holding it all up.
You can read Jon Kassir, the voice of The Cryptkeeper, talking about the rights issues at a convention via horror site Bloody Disgusting.
Oh, fun facts about William Gaines… his father was Max Gaines, a hugely influential figure in American comic books. It was Max that first packaged comics for sale on news stands (which saw them explode in popularity) and he was also responsible for giving the green light to William Moulton Marston's proposal for a book called Wonder Woman. William Gaines didn’t plan to enter the family business, but when his father died he took over EC Comics and subsequently also oversaw the launch of Mad Magazine.
While you may not be able to watch the show legitimately anywhere (outside of a DVD release back in the day), all of the episodes are available (for the moment) on YouTube. Here’s a random episode from the fourth season of the show.
Married couple Fred and Erma (Christopher Reeve and Bess Armstrong) are the owners of a failing restaurant with a squid-only menu. One day, Fred and Erma's luck is soon changed when Gaston (Judd Nelson), a mysterious drifter who works as the restaurant's janitor, gives them some steaks that turns out to taste delicious, so much so that the restaurant gets a huge boost in both sales and popularity. However, Fred discovers that Gaston's steaks are made of the flesh of his landlord, Chumley (Meat Loaf), who Gaston killed and butchered. The sight leaves Fred to be torn between going to the police or allowing more people to be killed so they can be put on the menu and save the restaurant.
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News Desk
There’s a good deep dive article at the NYT on what a sale of TikTok might look like. My assumption is that if there is a US buyer, it’ll be Oracle. An agreement to sell and a buyer must be found by March 31, 2025, 11:59 PM ET.
Brian Murphy, the star of Man About The House and George and Mildred, has died aged 92. Read: Radio Times
A new report from management consulting firm Bain & Co is highlighting the need for media companies to acquire evergreen IP. It says “Own the consumer, own the intellectual property (IP), or own nothing.” Read: THR
Mark Strong will star in the Neuromancer TV series for Apple TV+. Read: Deadline
Viewership for the Grammys was down 9% this year, with 15.4 million viewers. Read: NYT
Would you like to read the least-inspired 2025 TV preview list? Paste have you covered with this hastily cobbled together list from their lazy intern.
Constance Zimmer, who was recently on Craig Ferguson’s podcast talking about how little work there is of late, has been cast in season 4 of The Lincoln Lawyer. Read: Deadline
Trailer Park
Counterstrike debuts on Netflix Feb 28.
When a hostage rescue mission creates a new enemy, Capt. Guerrero and his elite soldiers must face an ambush by a ruthless drug cartel.
Plankton: The Movie debuts on Netflix later in the year.
That’s the newsletter for today.
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Check out Dan’s video podcast Best Movie Year, currently looking back at the films of 1987. Was it, in fact, the best year for movies? This week’s movie: Evil Dead 2.
And remember, the world really is wonderful!
Talking Yass, with MAX due to launch I find it strange that all seasons of WBs Gilmore Girls has appeared on Disney+