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Stanford vs. NC State Preview: Will Cardinal Keep Momentum Rolling?
Coming off a 34-7 win over Elon, the Cardinal host the Wolfpack on Friday night, looking to keep their bowl hopes alive.
RI Small Businesses vs. Costco, Foulkes and Raimondo
GoLocalProv.com is the “go to” local Web experience that breaks the biggest local stories – sports, news, business, weather, news, politics, arts,…
Supreme Court says New Hampshire student IDs can’t be used to vote in November
The high court said a federal judge should not have changed the rules so close to the Nov. 3 election by blocking guidance issued by New Hampshire’ secretary of state.
Netflix’s latest cliff-hanger? Where it’s headed as a business.
The streaming giant has shaken up its staffing and is looking to compete in an evolving entertainment landscape.
Netflix’s latest cliff-hanger? Where it’s headed as a business.
The streaming giant has shaken up its staffing and is looking to compete in an evolving entertainment landscape.
Ramaswamy’s ad splits the GOP in Ohio’s closing stretch: From the Politics Desk
Plus, Black voters play a crucial role in the battle for the Senate.
The One Chart That Explains Why Netflix Cleaned House
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) Yeah, I’ll be honest: I went with a clickbait-y headline today. One chart? That explains everything? That’s as clickbait-y as it gets. But let’s be real. I’m analyzing a dataset that I’ve built over six years, and c’mon, I never write articles which feature just one chart! If you think this article—which includes a level of data detail unheard of in journalism twenty years ago—is clickbait, fine by me. Really, what I’m doing is using data to explain Netflix’s recent strategy changes, since the story of the month is the turbulence at Netflix. First, head of content Bela Bajaria was fired. Then head of film Dan Lin followed her to the unemployment ranks. (Along with, sadly, 1,000 other Netflix workers.) And then Netflix delivered a “sub-optimal” earnings report, which continued their year-long stock price slide. Then came a flood of articles explaining why all this is happening. (Mine’s coming shortly, rest assured.) I realized I had the perfect chart to explain Netflix’s woes. Specifically, Nielsen’s weekly top ten charts. Usually I focus on one or two weeks in my Streaming Ratings Reports, but sometimes it’s worth stepping back to look at the larger story. And hoo boy, what a story. This article is my annual (plus three months) follow-up to one of my most popular articles of last year. (And a topic I’ve been visualizing for the last half decade.) Subscribe Netflix’s Share of The Nielsen Charts Continues to Decline
Pensacola area Week 10 scores and live updates
We have a full week of high school football again in the Pensacola area for the first time in three weeks. Bookmark this page for live updates.
Democrat running for Stefanik's seat says 'my identity is not in politics'
Upstate New York congressional candidate Blake Gendebien (D) joins Meet the Press NOW to discuss his campaign in New York's North Country and where his priorities fit into the Democratic Party's agenda.
Former USM linebacker Rod Davis to be inducted into MS Sports Hall of Fame
The Gulfport native won the 2002 Conerly Trophy and the 2003 Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year during his time with the Golden Eagles.
Top adviser to Kennedy resigns from Trump administration
Calley Means, a key advocate for the “Make America Healthy Again” movement, had grown frustrated with a lack of progress on his policy goals, a source familiar with his departure said.
Eagles to release E.J. Jenkins ahead of Cowboys matchup
The Eagles are releasing E.J. Jenkins, according to Mike Garafolo. The tight end appeared in all six games this season, making two starts
SpaceX and Tesla have high election stakes as Elon Musk pours $366 million into campaigns
Musk’s biggest political bet is on the Senate, where control could shape future investigations, federal spending and regulations affecting SpaceX and Tesla.
Trump’s shock-jock politics don’t work for everyone. An Ohio attack ad is proof.
Cheered by an online ecosystem, the GOP has rewarded “owning the libs” for a decade. But the blowback to an ad in the governor’s race suggests there are limits.
How well have past GOTY winners sold?
We’re less than two months away from 2026’s The Game Awards, and what a year it’s been for fantastic games, including Resident Evil Requiem, Forza Horizon 6, Slay the Spire II, the Blood of Dawnwalker, and Control Resonant – just to name a few. So as we approach the end of the year, we thought we’d look back on our estimates for the GOTY winners of the past four years. In terms of revenue, Elden Ring (2022 winner), Baldur’s Gate 3 (2023), Astro Bot (2024), and Expedition 33 (2025) have generated a combined $3.8B via 73M copies sold: Let’s have a look, then. Elden Ring has generated $2B in revenue Elden Ring is a phenomenon in every sense. It’s sold a whopping 36.4M copies across Steam (50%), PS5 (35%), and Xbox (15% across console and PC). Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe Elden Ring also just passed an astronomical milestone: $2B in revenue. While PlayStation and Xbox account for half of Elden Ring’s copies sold across these three platforms, they account for 57.5% of revenue. This – as ever – is due to regional pricing and the higher relative share of PC gamers in lower-priced markets. For example, around 17.4% of Elden Ring’s Steam copies sold were in China, where the game costs about 26% less than the price in the States. There’s an … interesting narrative going around these days that console gamers are only interested in ball-and-gun games and have the patience for little else. Well, Elden Ring’s impressive sales prove that is simply not true, and across all platforms. What’s more, over 9.8M people have played Elden Ring for over 100 hours, with nearly 3.5M people getting all of the achievements and trophies. For reference, 10.9% of Elden Ring’s PlayStation players have the platinum trophy, while 10.5% of players on Steam and 3.9% of Xbox players unlocked all the achievements. Git gud, Xbox players! Of the 1.5M people who played Elden Ring on PlayStation last month, 4% also played Dark Souls 3 last month, 4% played Bloodborne, and 3% played Sekiro. There’s those Soulsborne diehards for you. By many accounts, including my own, Elden Ring is one of the best games of all time. It’s an evergreen seller that will continue to be a cash cow for Bandai and FromSoftware for years to come. Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe Elden Ring has sold another 2M copies across Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox this year, generating almost $110M. This means it’s outperforming many of this year’s high-profile releases. Even Elden Ring’s standalone run-based PvE spinoff, 2025’s Nightreign, has sold 7.8M copies and generated $282M in revenue. Baldur’s Gate 3 is another billion-dollar-plus banger Another cross-platform phenomenon is Baldur’s Gate 3, which has sold 23.2M copies and generated over $1.2B in revenue. About 18.7M of these copies (80.6%) are via Steam, 2.9M via PS5 (12.7%), and 1.6M (6.8%) via Xbox. Around 1.3M folks on Steam bought BG3 before it hit 1.0. The PlayStation version launched about a month after the PC 1.0 release, while the Xbox version came four months later due to technical issues around developing local co-op on the Series S. Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe Across platforms, Baldur’s Gate 3’s monthly active users have never dropped below 2M, including 2.2M MAUs last month (68.5% on Steam, 21.9% on PS5, and 9.6% on Xbox). And it still regularly brings in 280K to 400K players every day: About 1% of BG3’s Steam player base has played for over 500 hours! That’s a little under 200K people. Astro Bot is also an evergreen seller, albeit a more niche, family one Astro Bot, 2024’s winner, has now sold 4.7M copies and generated $291M in revenue. The budget, including marketing, is almost certainly under $100M, given the small Japan-based core team and three-year dev timeline. You can really see why the tides are changing toward less expensive hubs. Astro Bot is the only first-party winner on this list, but follows other first-party winners of The Last of Us Part II (2020’s winner), God of War (2018), and Breath of the Wild (2017). Around 46.6% of Astro Bot’s copies sold have been physical, which is far higher than the typical game. This makes sense for a couple of reasons: There’s a large family audience for this one, and physical boxes are an item to wrap when giving Astro as a gift. Astro has collector value for the PlayStation core (this is nostalgia-fueled platformer celebrating PlayStation’s history) Want more free estimates and insights in your inbox twice a week? Subscribe below! Subscribe Astro is another one of those games that continues selling over time, regularly selling more than 100K a month. It’s sold around 1M more copies this year ($60M in revenue) and is a popular title with families. We can see this using the Alinea platform’s MAU crossover tool: Astro Bot’s top #2, #3, and #4 games by crossover in any given month this year are Minecraft, Fortnite, and Roblox – without fail. The #1 title every month, though, is Astro’s Playroom, a pack-in with all PS5 consoles. For every month this year, between 20% and 30% of Astro Bot players also played Astro’s Playroom that month. So the free pack-in is a noice funnel for converting players to a full paid product. Expedition 33 sells 8.7M despite Game Pass cannibalisation Finally, we have last year’s winner – Expedition 33. The turn-based-RPG banger has generated $366M via 8.7M copies sold, with 58.8% on Steam, 35.7% on PS5, and 5.5% on Xbox. Xbox’s share of copies sold is this low due to Expedition 33 launching on Game Pass, where 4.3M people across console and PC accessed the game. A little under 700K Xbox players used their subscription to play Expedition 33 this year. That said, the game’s 1.5-year Game Pass deal ended last week on October 16, and we’re already beginning to see a positive trend on Expedition 33’s copies sold via Xbox (but the jury’s still out!). There’s understandably a lot of French pride behind this one, as France is the game’s #3 market on both Steam and PlayStation. Vive la France! One thing that stood out to me is that the GOTY winners aren’t $300M Hollywood productions made in the US. They’re mostly mid-budget studios outside the traditional AAA cost centres. Lots to think about there. Also, good games sell well; who’d have thunk it!? And there’s a whole load of them this year, with GTA 6 still to come, too. GTA just made the cutoff point for the VGAs this year. What a coincidence! Loading... Cool links and other stuff Our physical games newsletter from Tuesday was picked up by GameSpot, Eurogamer, TweakTown, and a bunch of others. We’re offering a free trial of our platform for games companies. Send us a message here, or reply right here on Substack/email, and we’ll set you up. Next week, we’ve got some exciting news regarding the future of our newsletter, so stay tuned! The last word Reply to this email – or reach out here – if you have any feedback for the newsletter – or want to request a game for us to cover. Want to see why these companies (and many others) are subscribed to Alinea? Get a free platform trial! [Alinea Analytics boasts the most accurate PC and console estimates in the business. Game makers use our platform to understand their audience, keep an eye on the competition, monitor sales trends, and spot new opportunities. We equip game studios and financial institutions with accurate data and the confidence to make smarter, data-driven decisions. Want to talk about all things games market data? We’d love to chat!]
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine calls on Vivek Ramaswamy to take down ad featuring opponent’s estranged mother
DeWine, a Republican, said he still endorses Ramaswamy over Democrat Amy Acton in the race to succeed him as Ohio’s governor.
Goldman Sachs spends big to give small businesses an AI boost
The Wall Street giant is committing $500 million to expand its 10,000 Small Businesses program and launch an AI institute, partnering with Google, Meta, OpenAI and Anthropic to bring AI know-how to Main Street. NBC's Christine Romans spoke exclusively with Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon and with small businesses figuring out how to make AI work for them.
Judge directs President Trump to sit for deposition in his $10 billion lawsuit against the BBC
Trump had agreed to sit for a deposition on Oct. 16, but it was cancelled for what was described as a “matter of national importance.”
Witkoff faces backlash for praising Putin as a ‘humanitarian’
The comments were swiftly condemned by U.S. lawmakers who view Russian President Vladimir Putin as responsible for the brutal war in Ukraine.
Free Play Days – Dying Light 2, Riders Republic, Monster Hunter Stories, Let's Build a Zoo, and More
Clear your weekend – Free Play Days is calling! Dying Light 2: Stay Human – Reloaded Edition, Let’s Build a Zoo, and Tropico 6 are available this weekend for XBOX Game Pass Ultimate, Premium and Essential members to play from Thursday, October 22 until Sunday, October 25. Both Monster Hunter Stories and Monster Hunter Stories […]
JJ Watt gets deal as full-time CBS replacement for Tony Romo
J.J. Watt will be the full-time lead NFL game analyst for CBS Sports, filling the role previously held by Tony Romo.
Virginia State Senator L. Louise Lucas charged in public corruption case
The 82-year-old surrendered to authorities to face charges Thursday, the Justice Department said. She was charged along with a half-dozen others.
Metamora, Creve Coeur look to expand business development
East Peoria has already purchased the land on Route 24 and Centennial Drive to expand housing development, while Metamora is developing housing, and possible business development, on 135 acres on Route 116.
Vespexx Recognized as Finalist for the Digital Health Hub Foundation Digital Health & AI Awards 2026 at HLTH
Vespexx Inc., an AI-driven femtech company, today announced it has been named a Finalist for the Digital Health Hub Foundation's Digital Health & AI Awards 2026, held at HLTH. Competing in the Rising Star track under the Women's & Family Health category, Vespexx advanced from the Quarterfinalist stage announced earlier this fall, standing out among more than 1,300 submissions.
79% of Small Business Owners Put Personal Money Into Their Business in the Past Year, New Flute Report Finds
Flute, the payments platform for the everyday economy, released "The Cost of Waiting To Get Paid," a report finding that 79% of small business owners put personal money into their businesses in the past year.
Europe’s moderates must stop treating politics as a spectator sport
While centrists have retreated to myriad bubbles, extremists turn up, join up and organise
Replit Expands Government Business Worldwide, Taps Former Amazon Executive to Lead Corporate Affairs
Replit, the agentic software creation platform used by builders in 85% of the Fortune 500 companies, today announced the expansion of its government business and the appointment of former U.S. Treasury diplomat and Amazon Web Services (AWS) executive Michael Greenwald as President of Corporate Affairs.
Elanco Animal Health Appoints Jamie Preston as Chief People Officer
Elanco Animal Health Incorporated (NYSE: ELAN) today announced the appointment of Jamie Preston as Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer, effective November 3rd. Preston's appointment follows an extensive and competitive search as part of the company's commitment to attract, develop and retain an engaged global workforce while embedding inclusion, well-being and purpose into daily operations. Preston succeeds Dave Kinard, who intends to retire at the end of the year. Kinard will work
As companies move out of state, is California's $4.25 trillion economy really in trouble?
California continues to see companies large and small move to Texas and other states, citing taxes, high costs and regulations. Is the business environment really as bad as it seems?
How Caleb Williams' inner circle features Chicago star power
Bears QB Caleb Williams is part of a trio of young Chicago athletes whose friendship transcends sports.
Steelers' newest WR receives interesting Week 7 update
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy provided an important Week 7 update on whether or not Marquez Valdes-Scantling could play in Paris.
Massive Launch entertainment center opens in Pensacola
Launch Pensacola is finally open, offering trampolines, duckpin bowling, state-of-the-art interactive gaming, a restaurant and bar.
AI as the next political divide
We have a guest post today from our friends at Focaldata, with whom we have done polling before. They have been doing a lot of work on attitudes towards AI and how this is affecting politics on both sides of the Atlantic. In this post, they explore exclusive new polling – with a whole set of fascinating charts on how voters’ views are developing and why. In particular, the authors explore why the debate is currently so much more polarised by party in the US than in the UK, to the benefit of the Democrats. Subscribe Focaldata HQ is located in Shoreditch, east London. To access the office from the Shoreditch High Street Overground station, you have to walk under the bridge at Braithwaite Street. We mention this not as a navigational aid, but because the posters above caught our eye over the summer. Since June, the area has been the centre of a fiercely contested debate around the construction of a data centre on the Truman Brewery estate on Brick Lane, less than 200 metres from our office. It was one of the first ‘US-style’ protest movements around AI data centres the country has seen, and may not be the last. These protests served as the catalyst for our forthcoming report, examining whether AI could become the next political divide on both sides of the Atlantic. We wanted to understand what was driving the emerging politics of AI and whether the dynamics at play in the US offer clues as to how the British debate will evolve. Over the last month, we polled 3,851 people across the UK and US about their views on AI. Our research found striking similarities between the two countries: for instance, both electorates are evenly split on their views towards AI development, with just over a third in favour (37% in each country), a similar number opposed, and the remainder somewhere in the middle or unsure. Statistically speaking, there is no difference in overall sentiment towards AI between the UK and US. Under the hood, demographic patterns also look largely the same in the two countries, with millennials, degree holders, full-time workers and those who describe themselves as financially comfortable more pro-AI than the rest of the country. Despite this convergence in overall attitudes, there is a striking divergence in how much of a politicised issue AI has become. In the US, attitudes are increasingly split by political affiliation and the issue has become the latest front in the seemingly interminable culture war, playing a role in the upcoming midterms. This stark political polarisation of AI has not happened in the UK – at least not yet. In what follows, we test several hypotheses for why the two countries are so far apart on a political basis. Understanding which hypothesis is correct will give us an indication of where the British dynamics go next.
On Main Street, Goldman Sachs makes a big bet on AI
The Wall Street giant says it’s teaming up with OpenAI, Google, Meta and Anthropic to help small businesses embrace artificial intelligence.
In New Mexico governor’s race, Deb Haaland’s historic bid tests Democrats' political hold
If Deb Haaland wins New Mexico’s race for governor, she’ll make history as the first Native American woman to lead a state
Trump’s growing list of campaign pledges: From the Politics Desk
Plus, Witkoff’s praise for Putin draws bipartisan backlash.
Rice rescues Arsenal draw at Bayern in Champions League
Declan Rice scored a late equaliser to grab last season's runners-up Arsenal a 2-2 draw at Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday. Kane's second-half penalty, his 16th goal in 23 matches against Arsenal, extended his scoring streak to 10 straight Champions League games.
Business run by Republican in key House district hit with new safety fine
A Washington state agency issued a fine of nearly $13,000 against Braun Northwest, led by John Braun, the Republican candidate in a pivotal House race.
FAMU unveils new mural honoring business school’s founding dean during homecoming celebrations
Florida A&M University’s annual Homecoming is well underway, with fun, unique events happening all week.
Firestorm over US political ad featuring Democrat's estranged mother
Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican candidate for Ohio governor, faced a firestorm of criticism Wednesday over an ad featuring Democratic rival Amy Acton's estranged mother, whose husband was charged with...
US Embassy in Ottawa accuses Canada of election meddling
“Its ministers and premiers openly describe plans to influence American politics,” read a memo circulated by officials in Ottawa.
Bob Huggins family issues statement on legendary coach’s health
Legendary Bearcats basketball coach Bob Huggins is living with a progressive cognitive condition, his family announced Wednesday.
Critical GitLab Flaw (CVSS 10.0) Could Allow Unauthenticated RCE Across 12 Years of Releases
GitLab fixes CVE-2026-110264, a critical flaw that could allow unauthenticated code execution on self-managed versions dating back to 7.0.
Ohio bettor banned for alleged threats to Blue Jays manager
Ohio gaming regulators banned a man who allegedly made violent threats against Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider during the 2025 World Series.
Integris Health sold to Kaiser Permanente Division
Kaiser Permanente’s Risant Health would add the 16-hospital Oklahoma system to its growing nonprofit network
Steelers vs Saints: 4 big causes for concern this week
The Steelers and Saints square off in Paris this week and there are some serious concerns for this week's game.
Take a look inside Binghamton’s new mental health crisis center
Step inside the new Binghamton crisis center designed to provide a sanctuary for people experiencing a mental health crisis
New York congressional candidate Brad Lander says he was detained by IDF in the West Bank
Lander, the former New York City comptroller, wrote in a post on X that he was detained by the Israeli Defense Forces while harvesting olives with other volunteers.
Live updates: Trump to rally for Sen. Darline Graham in South Carolina
Live updates and the latest news as Trump rallies for Darline Graham in South Carolina and the candidates for Senate in Michigan and Kansas and governor in Wisconsin debate.
Eagles-Cowboys meet with matching records and mounting pressure
Eagles-Cowboys has become a desperation game for two struggling offenses
Trump’s biggest political trick may be wearing off
The president’s rallies and red-meat rhetoric can’t indefinitely distract voters from corruption.
Business Strategy: Re-Centering Ethics as Pharma's Competitive Advantage
By Dirk Brinckman Chief Compliance Officer, Johnson & Johnson Chair, IFPMA Ethics and Business Integrity Committee Chair, IFPMA Chief Ethics and Compliance Officers Roundtable Today is Global Ethics Day and this year’s theme is “Re-centering Ethics”. At a time when organizations face competing pressures and unprecedented change this theme serves as a call to intentionally...
‘Standing on Business,’ ‘Squabble on Day 1’ — NBA World Reacts As LeBron James Snaps Back at Knicks Heckler in 76ers Debut
The new NBA season saw LeBron James stealing some of the New York Knicks’ thunder during their championship ring and banner-raising ceremony. James played a solid all-around game to help the Philadelphia 76ers’ newly stacked team secure an impressive opening-night win at Madison Square Garden against a subdued, sloppy Knicks team that still looked hungover from celebrating their championship.
Congo’s Ebola outbreak leaves grieving families struggling with fear and stigma
The Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo is taking a psychological toll on families dealing with loss, fear and stigma
LeBron optimistic after launching Sixers era with win
LeBron James said the Philadelphia 76ers still had plenty of room for improvement after launching their NBA season with an impressive opening night victory over the New York Knicks on Tuesday.James, 41, launched his quest for a fifth NBA championship with 14 points and seven assists in a 106-100 defeat of the reigning NBA champions at Madison Square Garden.
A 'golden age' vs. 'we're working on it': Trump and Vance give different pitches on the economy
When Vice President JD Vance speaks on the campaign trail about the high costs Americans are facing, he often says he understands that people are hurting
The big business of personal shopping
From sourcing rare Hermès bags to organising last-minute gifts, independent personal shoppers will go to extraordinary lengths to keep wealthy clients happy
Suspects wanted for string of business burglaries in Fairfax County
Police are searching for suspects accused in a string of Fairfax County business burglaries.
AMC Entertainment vs. Roblox: Which Media Stock Is a Better Buy in 2026?
AMC generates negative free cash flow, while Roblox is experiencing monetization headwinds.
Justice Elena Kagan accuses Supreme Court’s conservative majority of undermining democracy
The liberal justice took aim at various recent rulings, including one that paved the way for rampant partisan gerrymandering of legislative districts.
Toy Story 5, Backrooms and The Breadwinner Vie to Become the Second Biggest Film This Year...
(Welcome to my weekly streaming ratings report, the single best guide to what’s popular in streaming TV and what isn’t. I’m the Entertainment Strategy Guy, a former streaming executive who now analyzes business strategy in the entertainment industry. If you were forwarded this email, please subscribe to get these insights each week.) Often, people blame “data” for ruining Hollywood, when I’d argue that hype (which can often be debunked by data) is often worse, as you can see in these two headlines. To use a common meme, here’s how it started: and how it’s going: Earlier this year, I read countless (and I mean countless) articles (in almost every mainstream media outlet) about how Heated Rivalry was a huge hit and that it “heated” interest in hockey. But Heated Rivalry wasn’t a huge viewership hit compared to the hype: [ ](https://entertainment.substack.com/p/you-cant-eat-buzzdid-heated-rivalrys) [ You Can’t Eat Buzz…Did Heated Rivalry’s Buzz Translate into Actual Viewership? ](https://entertainment.substack.com/p/you-cant-eat-buzzdid-heated-rivalrys) Entertainment Strategy Guy · Jan 22 [ Read full story ](https://entertainment.substack.com/p/you-cant-eat-buzzdid-heated-rivalrys) In this case, the hype (Heated Rivalry is really popular) belied the data (It didn’t make the top ten charts, meaning it wasn’t a huge hit.1) Even worse, every time I write about this, I get a lot of negative feedback, hence why I only sparingly mention the show these days or add lots of caveats when I write about it, but this just further cements the hype. But companies, and the executives leading them, have to determine strategy based on reality, not media coverage. The NHL committed real marketing dollars to a campaign that didn’t work. Sure enough, the latest NHL season opened to under a million viewers. At some point, you have to focus on what the data says, because real dollars are at stake. And that’s why we have the Streaming Ratings Report! To provide and analyze cold, hard data. Luckily, this week, I can be positive and take a look at a huge opening on streaming, along with a very buzzy horror film that customers kind of like, but don’t really love. And a comedy that tried to rebound on streaming. Today, I’m covering two weeks—21-Sep and 28-Sep—so we have a lot to discuss (nearly 5,000 words worth), including a series of film misses for Netflix, another argument for weekly-released TV shows on streaming, another sitcom tries to avoid the comedy curse, Netflix has two new game shows (one powered by AI), Reacher falling off the charts after a huge run, Prime Video tries its hands at the romcom game**,** a look at the WNBA’s big season, a big night for the VMAs on CBS and MTV, all the flops, bombs and misses, and a whole lot more. (Reminder: The streaming ratings report focuses on the U.S. market and compiles data from Nielsen’s weekly top ten viewership ranks, Luminate’s Top Ten Data, JustWatch and Reelgood interest data, Samba TV household viewership, company datecdotes, Netflix hours viewed data, Google Trends, and IMDb to determine the most popular content. While most data points are current, Nielsen’s data covers the weeks of September 14th to October 4th, 2026. You can find a link to my terminology here.) Subscribe Film - Two Hits and a Miss Come to Streaming… Three very interesting films came to streaming in one week, and I like comparing them since they show the range of theatrical films. One was a huge blockbuster, one was popular, and one was neither. One is a horror film, a buzzy genre; one is a comedy, a struggling genre; and one is an animated family film, the king of the box office. One went to a tiny streamer (HBO Max), one went to a second-tier streamer (Disney+), and one went to the biggest (Netflix). So… If you just went by box office, you’d expect Backrooms—the $197 million grosser, and partner of Obsession for “YouTube Horror Summer”—to dominate on streaming. If you read this report, though, you know that horror films don’t do great on streaming, and that’s the case again. Backrooms opened at 3.8 million hours according to Nielsen, and had 3.9 million hours in its second week. Here’s how that stacks up to other HBO Max films: We’re just getting started with this issue, but the rest is for paid subscribers of the Entertainment Strategy Guy, so if you’d like to find out… ...why I don’t buy Backrooms budget… …two new games shows arrive on streaming… …another sitcom struggles… ...another argument for putting out shows weekly on Netflix... ...and a whole lot more, nearly 5,000 words more... ...please subscribe! We can only keep doing this great work with your support. If you want an idea of just how much content you’d get in a full issue, check out this older issue. Coming Soon! Next week, I’ll be taking a look at the eighth season of Hulu’s The Kardashians, answering the question: will this show ever make the charts? If Mormon wives can make it, surely one of social media’s most popular families can as well. Also, Prime Video has a new horror show based on popular IP, Carrie, Netflix has a horror show starring Josh Hartnett, Below, and Apple TV has a UK import, Small Prophets. Plus a bunch of movies like Disclosure Day heading to Peacock, The Housemaid coming to HBO Max, Ben Affleck’s latest on Apple TV, Animals, and Matchbox the Movie on Apple TV, a John Cena action comedy inspired by Hasbro’s toy cars. The week after is even busier! I’ll look at another IP-based horror show, Crystal Lake, a new MCU show on Disney+, VisionQuest, season two of The Lowdown on FX/Hulu, the fourth seasons of The Diplomat on Netflix and Tulsa King on Paramount+, another season of Love is Blind, and four straight-to-streaming films: Netflix’s Sacrifice (starring Chris Evens, Anya-Taylor-Joy, Vincent Cassel, John Malkovich, Salma Hayek. Charlie XCX), Apple TV’s Tenzing (starring Tom Hiddleston and Willem Defoe), Prime Video’s Love of Your Life (Margaret Qualley) and Masterplan (Stanley Tucci) and a whole lot more, somehow. Long term, here’s some huge IP news: a Game of Thrones movie is coming to theaters, Game of Thrones: Aegon’s Conquest in 2029, while Jon Watts (who helmed three of the most recent Spider-Man movies) is directing the next Star Wars trilogy, to be written by Simon Kinberg. I’m cautiously optimistic for both. It feels obvious to say that making good movies matters, but for bets this big (Star Wars is on a swoon, Game of Thrones hasn’t been to theaters yet), the quality has to be there.
Nearby business bracing for impact after PepsiCo plant closure announced
Pepsi Co. is shutting down its South Knoxville bottling plant, laying off more than 100 workers.
The Senate map expands (again): From the Politics Desk
Plus, the secretary of state races to watch.
Scientists Find 46,000-Year-Old Bone Fragments in a Cave, Leading to Groundbreaking Discovery
Six ancient bone fragments found in a Spanish cave belonged to a male Neanderthal, and their well-preserved DNA could reveal new details about his life