📺 Axios PM: Streaming shows flounder

Plus: Paris is trashed | Tuesday, March 21, 2023

Open in app View in browser   Presented By Meta   Axios PM By Mike Allen · Mar 21, 2023 Happy Tuesday afternoon. Today's PM — edited by Kate Nocera — is 554 words, a 2-minute read. Thanks to Sheryl Miller for the copy edit.     📺 1 big thing: Streaming shows slump Data: Nielsen the Gauge. Chart: Axios Visuals Streaming's share of TV consumption dipped last month, as streamers struggled to capture attention with new hits, Axios Media Trends expert Sara Fischer reports. Many of the top streaming shows at the beginning of February were reruns, suggesting new shows are struggling to break through, Bloomberg notes. Why it matters: The dearth of big hits led viewers to retreat at a time when streamers are already starting to pull back on content spend and new, original shows. New, original scripted series hit a record high in 2022, but analysts say that was likely the peak. Netflix is still the top streamer in terms of profitability and global subscribers. But increased competition has forced it to reconsider its business strategy to mimic its legacy competitors. "The number of shows is down this year, and there is no reason to expect it to climb back to prior levels," said Michael Pachter, managing director of equity research at Wedbush Securities. A new report out today from leading media analysis firm MoffettNathanson predicts a "flattening in 2023" after two years of strong double-digit content spending growth. Under pressure to produce profits, media companies are beginning to pivot their strategies from producing a glut of original content for their own platforms to more cautious spending. Go deeper.     2. 🥖 Sub-scriptions Subway is selling 250,000 Footlong Pass subscriptions that can be used in April. Photo: Brandon Bell/Getty Images More restaurants are using subscription programs to build loyalty and drive sales, Axios' Kelly Tyko reports. Consumers often underestimate how much they're spending — and sometimes forget they signed up in the first place. That can help boost restaurants' bottom line. The latest: Subway is bringing back a limited run of its "Footlong Pass" subscription — 250,000 passes will give customers 50% off sandwiches for a month. Some restaurants are experimenting with memberships where diners prepay for their visits, AP reports. Panera, Taco Bell and P.F. Chang's have all introduced successful subscriptions that offer perks for a monthly fee. 🥊 Reality check: It doesn't always work out for restaurants. On the Border's Queso Club, which offered free cheese dip for a year for $1, ended after a year because the company wasn't making enough to cover costs. Share this story.     A message from Meta Augmented reality will help firefighters with search and rescue     One day, firefighters will use the metaverse to navigate burning buildings more quickly. The result: Crucial seconds can be saved when lives are on the line. The metaverse may be virtual, but the impact will be real. Explore more possibilities with the metaverse.     3. Catch me up Photo: Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images 🇫🇷 Above: Trash piles up on Day 16 of a strike by Paris garbage collectors. Workers are protesting President Emmanuel Macron's decision to raise the retirement age for sanitation workers by two years — from 57 to 59. Go deeper. A drug-resistant fungus has gained strength during the pandemic, with clinical cases tripling from 476 in 2019 to 1,471 in 2021, the CDC said. Go deeper. 🎒 Los Angeles schools are shut down for three days after tens of thousands of workers went on strike. Go deeper.     4. 🤢 Our ranch ice cream review Worth's first — and only — taste of Ranch ice cream. Video: Ronie Sparkman Axios NW Arkansas co-author Worth Sparkman taste-tested Van Leeuwen's limited-run spring flavors — including Hidden Valley Ranch. The result: Not great. It's dead-on for America's favorite salad dressing, with aromas of buttermilk, onion and garlic. 💭 Worth's thought bubble: There are three good use cases for this flavor: For a rousing game of truth or dare. To give a subtle hint to your kissing partner that they have bad breath. As an aversion therapy tool for those wishing to give up ice cream. Share this story ... Get Axios Local.     A message from Meta Field trips in the metaverse will take learning beyond the textbook     Students learning about prehistoric eras will use virtual reality to take field trips to the Ice Age and visit the woolly mammoths. What this means: Students will not only learn their history lessons — they'll experience them. Explore more possibilities with the metaverse.   Are you a fan of this email format? Your essential communications — to staff, clients and other stakeholders — can have the same style. 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