The Five Biggest Stories in TV: HBO Max Is Back, NFL Goes Global, and Netflix’s Franchisification
May 16, 2025•33 min
Episode description
Matt is joined by CNBC Media and sports reporter Alex Sherman to discuss their five biggest takeaways from the TV upfronts, what the biggest platforms and streamers are prioritizing now, the rebranding of Max back to HBO Max and what it says about the new strategy for Warner Bros. Discovery, an NFL game on YouTube, how the NFL is distributing its media rights, ESPN’s new standalone streaming service costing $30/month, Netflix and Amazon’s heavy push toward franchises, and the growing dominance of YouTube (00:00). Matt finishes the show with a prediction about The Weeknd’s new movie ‘Hurry Up Tomorrow’ (00:00).
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Host: Matt Belloni
Guest: Alex Sherman
Producers: Craig Horlbeck and Jessie Lopez
Theme Song: Devon Renaldo
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