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YouTube TV shed subscribers in Q1 2024, for the first time ever, after the NFL season ended

William Coulman

“YouTube TV” might sound like something of an oxymoron — with many turning to YouTube for short hits or highlights — but, since its launch in 2017, the premium service from YouTube had grown steadily to some 8 million subscribers. At least, until Q1 this year, when it took its first backward step.

Estimates from MoffettNathanson, reported by Variety’s VIP+, reveal that YouTube TV experienced its first quarterly loss of subscribers, dropping 150K paying members, as the virtual pay TV service begins to grapple with the seasonality of live sports offerings. The end of the football season — live TV's largest draw — makes Q1 particularly challenging for pay TV and this year the exodus wasn’t just limited to traditional cable.

YouTube execs will be hoping that the lost subscribers return once the season picks back up again come September, as YouTube TV holds the exclusive streaming rights to Sunday Ticket games… particularly because the company is still in the early years of a 2023-2029 deal that’s reportedly worth an eye-watering $2 billion a year. That is, as Variety points out, if the Sunday Ticket still exists following last week’s bumper antitrust trial verdict, in which the NFL was ordered to pay $4.7 billion to plaintiffs.

For years, YouTube TV was big tech’s answer to cord-cutting, but its latest quarter proves that consumers don’t exactly care how they get access to the content… once it stops being a draw, they will cancel.

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Will critics and audiences go out of this world for Steven Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day”?

Legendary director Steven Spielberg is back with his first film in four years.

While 2022’s Oscar-nominated “The Fabelmans” was a semi-autobiographical film, it looks like he’s back to his sci-fi roots with the upcoming release of Universal Pictures’ “Disclosure Day.”

The movie stars Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson, and Colman Domingo, and follows a cybersecurity whistleblower (O’Connor) and meteorologist (Blunt) who work together to uncover government secrets and expose the truth about extraterrestrial life.

Some first reactions out of early screenings shared on social media have been praising the film so far. Germain Lussier, a senior entertainment reporter at Gizmodo, posted on X that the movie is Spielberg’s “best film in 20 years,” while many have praised Blunt’s performance as one of her best. Others have said it is reminiscent of the filmmaker’s other sci-fi classics like “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.”

To be considered “fresh,” movies have to receive at least 60% on Rotten Tomatoes. While the global embargo for formal reviews doesn’t lift until Tuesday, June 9, at 12 p.m. ET following more advance screenings in Los Angeles, New York, and other cities ahead of the June 12 release date, traders on prediction markets are currently betting there is a 68% chance that the movie will score above 85% on the site.

(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)

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‘Disclosure Day’ First Reactions Call Steven Spielberg’s Sci-Fi Epic ‘His Best Film in 20 Years’ and Praise Emily Blunt’s ‘All-Time’ Performance

‘Disclosure Day’ First Reactions Call Steven Spielberg’s Sci-Fi Epic ‘His Best Film in 20 Years’ and Praise Emily Blunt’s ‘All-Time’ Performance

The movie stars Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson, and Colman Domingo, and follows a cybersecurity whistleblower (O’Connor) and meteorologist (Blunt) who work together to uncover government secrets and expose the truth about extraterrestrial life.

Some first reactions out of early screenings shared on social media have been praising the film so far. Germain Lussier, a senior entertainment reporter at Gizmodo, posted on X that the movie is Spielberg’s “best film in 20 years,” while many have praised Blunt’s performance as one of her best. Others have said it is reminiscent of the filmmaker’s other sci-fi classics like “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.”

To be considered “fresh,” movies have to receive at least 60% on Rotten Tomatoes. While the global embargo for formal reviews doesn’t lift until Tuesday, June 9, at 12 p.m. ET following more advance screenings in Los Angeles, New York, and other cities ahead of the June 12 release date, traders on prediction markets are currently betting there is a 68% chance that the movie will score above 85% on the site.

(Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.)

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