Weekly Rewind
Crackle’s original push: Sony’s ad-supported streaming service announced some major content deals this week. Snatch, the TV successor to Guy Ritchie’s classic heist film, is getting a second season, along with the Miami tech scene drama StartUp, while the stop-motikon animated comedy SuperMansion has been renewed for a third season. Crackle has also made a deal with Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson for two original series, including one about gang subcultures, and another about a user car salesman doubling as a getaway driver.
The pattern here is that Crackle is pushing further into original drama for a younger audience, just as it’s been saying it would. I haven’t spent much time on Crackle’s originals–the first episode of Snatch didn’t really grab me–but I’m encouraged to see the service developing an identity beyond the place to watch Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee (which is heading to Netflix soon anyway).
CBS All Access adds movies: As TechCrunch reports, CBS has quietly added a small selection of movies to All Access, its $6 per month streaming service. Still, it’s an interesting move in theory. One might interpret it as a sign that CBS aspires to compete more directly with premium streaming services like HBO Now, Starz, Amazon Prime, and Netflix.
But an HBO-like offering this is not; there are only 18 films in total, none of which are even remotely new. Beyond the collection of old Star Trek films, which might count as hype-building for All Access’ upcoming TV series, it’s hard to say why CBS even bothered.
More Catch-Up
|
