This article doesn't really explain the "why". The title is very misleading.
In particular, why remove existing shows from streaming services. How does that affect accounting?
The great cancellation: why megabucks TV shows are vanishing without a trace
31–40 of 88 posts
Re: The great cancellation: why megabucks TV shows are vanishing without a trace
#32In their list of examples of historical cancellations-before-airing, they missed one of the most baffling. "Heil Honey I'm Home!" was a 1990 British sitcom, stylistically parodying 1970s US sitcoms (over-the-top canned laughter, applause whenever characters enter the room, etc), about Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun as a suburban couple, along with their Jewish neighbours. Somehow, eight episodes of this were made (though…
Ade Edmondson's character in Bottom was named Eddie Hitler and no-one batted an eye
Re: The great cancellation: why megabucks TV shows are vanishing without a trace
#33How much of this tax reduction is based on convoluted Hollywood accounting? If the tax on the value of the show is higher than the streaming revenues, doesn’t that imply that the valuation is bogus? Can someone explain how the numbers add up here?
I think you can monkey around with “Hollywood accounting” for profit sharing purposes as those are all civil offenses with private citizens suing, etc. But I suspect that studios play it straight with taxes as the IRS doesn’t mess around, it’s criminal investigations, officers are liable, and there’s whistleblower laws where the snitch gets 15-30% of what the IRS recoups [0]. So I bet the only way we find the true co…
> So the studio doesn’t want to do this, it’s just less bad.
Less bad than what? Apologies if it was outlined in the article, I can't get it to load over my crap connection.
Re: The great cancellation: why megabucks TV shows are vanishing without a trace
#34How much of this tax reduction is based on convoluted Hollywood accounting? If the tax on the value of the show is higher than the streaming revenues, doesn’t that imply that the valuation is bogus? Can someone explain how the numbers add up here?
The write off is based on the cost of creating the show. I think the article is wrong/sloppily phrased in its line about the value of the company. If they remove a show then it will never generate any future revenue so they can write the cost of producing it off as a loss. The real scandal here is how little viewership streaming shows get and how little revenue they generate off of that viewership. Particularly for h…
Why is it the bean counters need to perfectly pair the cost of show A with views of show A? And then cheaper B to B? There’s a synergy in having the whole platform.
Your advice would be telling Apple to ditch the $10 headphone dongle because it has a low ROI, and they should be using the factory to crank out more iphones…
Re: The great cancellation: why megabucks TV shows are vanishing without a trace
#35Another reason not mentioned for cancelling those shows: no one watched them?
Not that I'm representative, but there was only one in there that I watch: Severance.
Re: The great cancellation: why megabucks TV shows are vanishing without a trace
#36So just like the software industry story https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35614313 from a few months ago, is this a case where the accounting illusion of amortization (preventing companies from deducting expenses as they occur, and instead spreading out already-incurred expenses into the future) is creating a short-term incentive to destroy real products and services? How is this better than simply working on a c…
It sounds like you may need to drink the coolaid about how an endless cycle of debt financing is the only way to survive as a business
Re: The great cancellation: why megabucks TV shows are vanishing without a trace
#37"...2021’s Ultimate Slip ’N Slide was cancelled after the crew all came down with a highly infectious variant of explosive diarrhoea that can be spread through tainted water." Wait, why didn't we get an article on just that?
You’re asking the right question here. We need to hear more about that.
It was a shit show.
Re: The great cancellation: why megabucks TV shows are vanishing without a trace
#38"...2021’s Ultimate Slip ’N Slide was cancelled after the crew all came down with a highly infectious variant of explosive diarrhoea that can be spread through tainted water." Wait, why didn't we get an article on just that?
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Re: The great cancellation: why megabucks TV shows are vanishing without a trace
#39´ based on a legendary piece of intellectual property. ´ I’d have said ´ book´ instead, but IP and the associated business idea seems to be the new normal for culture. I find it a bit sad.
"Content" is uninteresting unless it can be monetised. I mean, why would anyone write a blog post or piece of software, much less a book or a song if there were no money attached?
Re: The great cancellation: why megabucks TV shows are vanishing without a trace
#40How much of this tax reduction is based on convoluted Hollywood accounting? If the tax on the value of the show is higher than the streaming revenues, doesn’t that imply that the valuation is bogus? Can someone explain how the numbers add up here?
The write off is based on the cost of creating the show. I think the article is wrong/sloppily phrased in its line about the value of the company. If they remove a show then it will never generate any future revenue so they can write the cost of producing it off as a loss. The real scandal here is how little viewership streaming shows get and how little revenue they generate off of that viewership. Particularly for h…
Is there any sort of time limit for writing off the production costs?
I guess it makes some sense when you scrap a project completely and take a loss in exchange for a write-off, but some of these shows have been available for years.