When it comes to the latest and greatest on streaming, we’re pretty passionate here at Pocket-lint. From thebest moviestoTV shows we can’t stop obsessing over, there is a lot of entertainment to love in the streaming era. However, it can be tough to stay up to date with your favorite media, especially withrising pricesand a constantly-shifting constellation of apps and services to keep track of.
Enter"The Streaming Scene."
So without further ado, let’s talk streaming!
YouTube thinks it needs to be like Netflix to get its users to spend more money
YouTube’s upcoming TV app update will reportedly showcase paid shows from other streaming services on its homepage.
Disney+ axes all long-form animation
You can blame the success of Moana 2 for this one
Earlier this weekThe Hollywood Reporterreported that that Disney has scrapped all plans for a Tiana, a Disney+ animated series, which was set to follow the titular character after the events of 2009’s The Princess and the Frog. And unfortunately, this cancelation is part of a broader strategy shift by Walt Disney Animation away from animated long-form content created exclusively for Disney+.
Though I’m personally sad to see the Tiana project scrapped as I’m a huge fan of Princess and the Frog (especially as a hand-drawn animation enthusiast), this move away from content created specifically for Disney+ does make sense, especially in the wake of Moana 2, which was originally conceived as a Disney+ series but was converted into a theatrically-released movie that went on to gross over a billion dollars worldwide. Hopefully, something similar happens with Tiana, as I’d love to see what this project could have been, either as a theatrically-released film, a series of shorts, or something else.
Disney+ subscriber numbers sink following price hikes
Netflix is spending 18 billion on content this year
And they said they’re ready to spend more
During this week’s Morgan Stanley Tech, Media & Telecom Conference, Netflix CFO Spencer Neumann made the shocking revelation that the streamer was expecting to budget an eye-watering $18 billion in 2025 for new content, adding that Netflix was actually planning to spend more in the future and this number was “not anywhere near a ceiling."
In case you were wondering, this $18 billion content budget for this year is up around 11% from the $16.2 billion spent on content in 2024 perVarietyand comes as the streamer is facing increased criticism for its dialogue-heavy films and cheap-looking shows. Perhaps, with more money to spend in 2025 Netflix might cancel one or two fewer shows this year. Then again, they might just spend the extra money on theNFLinstead.
I’m worried about Netflix’s NFL plans
Netflix wants to bid on NFL games, and I’m already exhausted.
The Traitors wraps up its best season yet
A winning reality TV series
The Traitors (US)
I’m not the biggest fan of reality TV. However, even I can admit when producers find a winning formula, and I have been absolutely loving this latest season of The Traitors on Peacock. Broadly speaking, this competition series takes former reality game show contestants from the likes of Survivor, Big Brother and The Challenge and mixes them with a number of Bravo-lebirites (members of the casts of Real Housewives, Below Deck, Vanderpump Rules, etc.) and challenges them not only to participate in physical challenges to add to a prize pot, but also an overarching psychological game where they must figure out who among them are “traitors,” players that secretly eliminate others during “murder” rituals so they can claim the prize for themselves.
Though the show’s first season made for extremely watchable television, the second season faltered a bit as some unfortunate new elements were added to the game that altered the pace of play. However, season three has gone back to basics, and with an extremely strong cast that includes Survivor mainstay Boston Rob, Big Brother alums Danielle Reyes and Britney Haynes, Vanderpump Rules villain Tom Sandoval, and even Britney Spears' ex-husband Sam Asghari, this season has been must-watch TV for me. The final episode of the season drops tonight, and if you haven’t checked in with this show yet, do yourself a favor, and boot up thePeacock app, stay off the Internet (you definitely don’t want this season’s twists spoiled for you) and get ready to experience the most compulsively watchable reality TV in years.
It’s only February but this might be 2025’s best streaming deal
Even I’m jumping on this Peacock deal.
