Netflix yesterday announced a multi-year partnership with former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama to produce original content for the streaming service. The Obamas created production company Higher Ground Productions for the Netflix deal, which is reportedly valued in the high eight figures. According to Netflix, the partnership may include scripted, unscripted and docu-series, in addition to documentary and feature films. Two months ago, the Obamas signed a joint book deal with Penguin Random House worth a reported $65 million for their respective memoirs. Continue reading The Obamas Are the Latest to Sign Production Deal with Netflix

Netflix’s latest quarter showed subscriber growth exceeding its own forecast and Wall Street expectations. Wall Street analysts predicted Netflix would add 6.5 million new subscribers in Q1; in fact, it added 7.41 million subscribers in that quarter, of which 5.46 were international. In response to the news, shares rose 4.9 percent to $322.85 in after-hours trading. This follows a 1.2 percent decline during regular hours on Monday, representing shareholder concern over the imminent announcement of stalled growth. Continue reading Netflix Marks Strong Q1 Subscriber Growth, Beating Forecasts

AT&T just unveiled its new Facebook Messenger chatbot, dubbed Atticus, that’s full of interesting trivia about a range of broadcast television programs, including “Modern Family,” “How to Get Away with Murder,” “The Big Bang Theory,” “American Horror Story,” “Pretty Little Liars,” and “The Office.” Described by AT&T as a “goofball,” Atticus has been known to say, “If the Dunphy family is looking for another kid, I’d be happy to join them. I’d be no trouble. Especially since I don’t physically exist. We’d be a real ‘Modern Family’.” Continue reading AT&T Unveils Atticus Chatbot to Answer Questions About TV

Netflix’s research shows that, after binge-watching a TV show, 61 percent of subscribers (accounting for 36 percent of all Netflix members) watch a movie, after nearly all of them (59 percent) take at least a one-day break. More granular research shows that the TV-movie pairings are often logical: Those who watched the “Pretty Little Liars” series next watched “Bring It On” and “Mean Girls,” and “Breaking Bad” viewers turned to “Full Metal Jacket” and “Pulp Fiction.” Horror series viewers, however, often turned to comedy. Continue reading Netflix Finds That TV Binge Viewing Often Followed by Movies

In the 2013-2014 television season, CBS had five of the top ten broadcast shows, but none of them were among the top ten most-tweeted, possibly because it has the oldest median viewer age. In a report released by Nielsen Social, “Breaking Bad” and “The Walking Dead” were the two top series on Twitter over the last year, with “Pretty Little Liars,” “The Bachelor” and “Game of Thrones” following close behind. The ranking includes specials and moments that engaged the most fans. Continue reading Nielsen Breaks Down Rankings of TV-Related Twitter Activity