With the 2019-2020 season looming, I decided to change the formula of my Cineguru Matinée, which will be focusing on occasional musings and comments, and to make dedicated room for these Cinema and Streaming Chronicles. I hope this will please the few but good readers I have, seeing how this season will mark the first chapter of the Streaming Wars, a debate that is already redefining the television and cinematic landscape, so an overview of the main moves and countermoves might be useful to everyone.

23-26/8 – This year’s D23 was not only an opportunity for Disney to show its impressive line-up packed with contents for both movies and Disney+, but also to give a taste of the service to its most passionate fans. In addition to the previews of The Mandalorian and other productions (here you’ll find a recap of all the contents shown at D23), fans and journalists were given the opportunity to try out the service for the very first time, which obviously received enthusiastic reviews: it clearly offers less contents compared to its main competitor, but it’s more elegant.

During the convention, Disney also confirmed another important, albeit seemingly marginal, rumor: the episodes of its Disney+ Originals will be released once a week, and not all at the same time like the formula first introduced by Netflix that spawned the binge watching craze. A decision I agree with, and a subject matter that I will revisit for the same reasons that I mentioned during the Serial Chiller episode where we talked about the Game of Thrones finale.

20/8 – Spider-Man is out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, at least for now. The bombshell came right after Ferragosto and revealed the “in-Marvel separation” between our beloved neighborhood spider and what is left of the Avengers or, in broader terms, the Disney-Marvel cinematic universe, just as they regained the rights to the X-Men and other Fox properties. The rumored reasons behind the separation are plenty and varied but the bottom line is, Disney and Sony couldn’t come to a financial and rights-based agreement, so the narrative development of the characters – which continued to be interwoven with the last phase of the MCU, reaping the benefits at the box office – is destined to resume parallel, if not divergent, tracks. The news was greeted with mixed feelings by the fans and, to put it mildly, it’s hard to take a stance on it. What’s certain is that many thought Spider-Man was the only one capable of taking over Iron Man’s legacy, and it will definitely be challenging to find a new storytelling cornerstone for the quintessential comic book experience.

19/8 – Disney revealed which devices Disney+ will be streamed on at launch next fall. In the war of announcements that marked this long summer warm-up, a new component is added to the information that makes up the offer from the various streaming operators, with the confirmation of the devices the streaming service of the House of the Mouse will be available on at launch. The list is extensive, although at the moment the exclusion of both Fire and Amazon devices stands out, notably Fire TV, which is a platform that should not be neglected.

• Apple TV (tvOS)
• Android mobile devices
• Android TV
• Chromecast
• Desktop web browsers
• iPad (iPadOS)
• iPhone (iOS)
• PlayStation 4
• Roku streaming players
• Roku TV
• Xbox One

What’s even more interesting is that we got a first confirmation of the bundles that Disney will offer with its different streaming services, in particular the creation of a $ 12.99 bundle with Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+, which is more convenient than Netflix’s premium offers. Considering that the basic Disney+ offer includes four simultaneous 4K HDR streamings (which are optional in the most expensive Netflix subscription package) at the starting price of $ 6.99 a month, it’s clear how aggressive Disney plans to be.

15/8 – Wattpad has surpassed 80 million monthly users, a 23% increase from the previous year. A fascinating result, and not just because it confirms that there is a whole world of people who loves reading and writing. Aside from their business model – they certainly don’t spend astronomical figures as far as content production goes – they are a huge source of stories with a template of selection that works, even with the limits imposed by a popularity-based model. I don’t know if anything will ever come out of it, but I think Mediaset did the right thing by closing a deal with them.

13/8 – The merger between Viacom and CBS was made official. This does not come as a surprise to anyone, it’s been talked about for months – if not years – and it became a hot topic again after the monster acquisitions of WarnerMedia and FOX. The industry is zeroing in, it’s eat or be eaten: Mortal Engines is the most fitting representation of what’s going on in the entertainment industry.

13/8 – According to an article by the Financial Times (paywall), Apple has invested more than six billion dollars in its original contents. It’s a competitive amount compared to what other first movers in the war of streaming have done and, more broadly, to the investments made by other major players. The one billion investment that was initially announced could’ve suggested a marginal commitment from the Cupertino company, especially when compared to the amount of liquid assets it generates.

12/8 – In just a few days, Netflix has canceled eight of its Netflix Originals, including The OA, at its second season, and Tuca & Bertie, just three months after its debut. According to their showrunners, these are shows that would never even have the time to find their audiences, and it’s all because of the algorithm, while the general consensus of the commentators focuses on how Netflix is consolidating its modus operandi: new additions to its original slate attract new subscribers, keeping them interested is a relative problem, one that shows like Friends usually solve, as long as NBC will allow them. Which is precisely what the film industry does: the goal is to bring people to the movies by creating hype, but once they get there it’s a whole other ballgame. It’s easy to fall victim of what we call the carbonara effect.