Julia Alexander
Hollywood’s most authoritative streaming industry expert and Director of Strategy at Parrot Analytics, where she advises clients on the tectonic shifts in tech, media, and telecom.
THE LATEST ARTICLES
HOLLYWOOD
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December 6, 2022
The Great Netflix Hit Factory Paradox
Netflix pumped out more megahits in 2022 than any time in recent history, so why is subscription growth petering domestically as its stock limply recovers? Hollywood may be a hits business, but streaming is a little more complicated.
HOLLYWOOD
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November 29, 2022
The Sports-Streaming Mess Is Just Starting
The World Cup was supposed to promise soccer fans a plethora of streaming options. Instead, it demonstrates just how far the industry has to go to nail live sports.
HOLLYWOOD
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November 22, 2022
The Iger+ Streaming Strategy
Bob Iger was legendary for big ideas—Marvel, Star Wars, the pivot to streaming—at a time when the economy, and Disney’s stock, only went up. Now, upon his return amid a brutal market correction, Iger’s success or failure will depend on sweating the small stuff, too.
HOLLYWOOD
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November 15, 2022
Netflix Paralysis & the Pivot to Live
After years spent running away from linear TV, consumers are rediscovering the mindless pleasure of browsing YouTube TV and Hulu, among others. With ad tiers launching and Apple and Amazon testing the water with live sports, could Netflix be far behind?
HOLLYWOOD
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November 8, 2022
Bob Chapek’s New Streaming Moneyball
‘Hocus Pocus 2’ has become perhaps the quintessential title for understanding modern Hollywood’s identity crisis. If a movie this successful on streaming isn’t going to theaters, what does that mean for other films coming down the pipeline at Disney?
HOLLYWOOD
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November 1, 2022
Netflix’s ‘Seinfeld’ Strategy
Girls5Eva, a Tina Fey-produced comedy that struggled to break into the zeitgeist at Peacock, was the perfect target for Netflix as it down-shifts from high-budget originals to ad-friendly comfort food. It’s also evidence of a new and sophisticated audience retention tactic to turn network castoffs into global hits.
HOLLYWOOD
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October 25, 2022
Disney’s Star Wars Streaming Puzzle
Andor, one of the best reviewed and most ambitious Lucasfilm projects in years, is also one of its least watched. But as Disney+ looks to expand the Star Wars audience, there’s more to success than just ratings.
HOLLYWOOD
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October 18, 2022
The New Netflix Age Has Arrived
Netflix naysayers suggest that the forthcoming ad-supported tier will cheapen the brand, lead subscribers to downgrade, and lower the ARPU. But it’s actually an opportunity for the company to accelerate its pivot to its own O&O sitcoms, procedurals, and other content that its users already crave and its future ad partners lust over.
HOLLYWOOD
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October 11, 2022
Peacock Curiosity, Paramount’s Future, & the Great Streaming Rebundling
The inside conversation surrounding the biggest unanswered questions in the industry: can NBCUniversal’s streamer make it, what happens to Paramount, the future of Disney+, and much, much more.
HOLLYWOOD
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October 4, 2022
Ryan Murphy Streamonomics & Rings vs. Thrones, Part II
A midseason assessment of streaming’s favorite competition. Plus, an analysis of Murphy’s belated Netflix triumph and what it means for the future of the overall deal in the O.T.T. age.