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Ben Affleck had been secretly setting up an AI company for filmmakers for four years. Netflix just got it

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Netflix has acquired InterPositivethe post-production AI tools company that Ben Affleck founded in 2022 and that was quietly developing tools. Its 16 employees go to work for the platform and the actor and director takes on advisory roles. The operation occurs just a week after Netflix will abandon the bid for Warner Bros. Discovery. What InterPositive is NOT. It is worth starting with what InterPositive does not do: it does not generate movies from a prompt of text. It’s not soraor anything similar. InterPositive starts from the already shot material of a series or movie (in any production, what is known as the dailiesthe raw footage that is recorded each day) and trains a specific AI model according to the characteristics of each production. This model then allows manipulate material during post-production: correct color, relight shots, add visual effects, reframe shots or redo shots that were not filmed. The company’s first model, for example, was trained to understand what Affleck calls “visual logic and editorial consistency”, respecting the real conditions of a shoot: the model solved common problems such as missing shots, details in the backgrounds that need to be corrected, incorrect lighting… All oriented towards filming techniques, not the actors’ performances. AI yes, but with nuances. At a conference in 2024, Affleck argued that AI “will eliminate the most laborious, least creative and most expensive aspects of filmmaking,” reducing barriers to entry. His stance is born from a specific concern for preserving what he calls “judgment”: the ability to make creative decisions that are only built with decades of experience. Affleck spoke to Netflix executives from InterPositive for the first time last fall, and acknowledged initially feeling “scared” at the idea of ​​computers playing a central role in production. Netflix, in favor. The acquisition fits into a strategy that Netflix has been defining with some consistency since 2024. At that time, the Argentine ‘El Eternauta’ included the first AI-generated scene in the final footagea sequence that was completed ten times faster than it would have been possible to do it with conventional effects. In ‘Happy Gilmore 2’ they used AI to digitally rejuvenate actors, and in ‘Pedro Páramo’ as well, with a total budget equivalent to what the visual effects of ‘The Irishman’ alone cost five years earlier. That timing Well. It’s very curiousand it is not clear if it means anything, that the purchase of InterPositive is announced just a week after Netflix withdrew from the bidding for the studios and streaming from Warner Bros. Discovery. Netflix saved, in the words of its financial director, “2.8 billion dollars.” The acquisition of InterPositive, although certainly of much smaller dimensions (although nothing is known about figures), indicates where it can direct part of those resources: basically, its own production. Disney, on the other side. Meanwhile, one of Netflix’s biggest competitors, Disney, has signed a three-year license agreement with OpenAI which allows Sora users to create short videos with more than 200 characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars. One billion dollars of investment that goes in the opposite direction to what Netflix intends, which is to make its own productions cheaper. Regardless of the position of each player in this game, Hollywood experiments more and more openly with AI in all phases of production, from pre-production to visual effects. A new landscape is opening up for film production and Affleck’s company is just one of the first chapters. In Xataka | ‘Critterz’ will be much more than the first AI-animated film: welcome to the new era of machine-made cinema

With Plenitude, the kWh will cost you the same 24 hours a day and, at the same time, you get a gift card for Netflix

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If you have an electricity rate with time slotsthe watch is your greatest ally. You probably try to organize yourself as much as possible to turn on the washing machine or dishwasher in the off-peak sections, thus saving money along the way. This creates stress in many homes.especially when unforeseen events arise or there are small children at home. What alternative do we have? A rate where the kWh has exactly the same price 24 hours a day. That’s just what it offers Plenitude’s Easy Ratethat now bring a gift with you in the form of a Netflix gift card. Of course, only if you hire before next March 2. A fee to be able to put on the washing machine (or whatever) without looking at the clock Although it may not seem like it, there is a fairly considerable difference between the price per kW between the cheapest and most expensive hours. If you can use the most demanding appliances at off-peak hours, there is no problem. But, What if you get home at 7 p.m. every day? There you will have to pay the most expensive price, which can make your electricity bill skyrocket. That does not happen with the Plenitude Easy Rate. with her, the price of electricity will be exactly the same all day (at the time of writing, 0.128306 per kWh). This way, no matter how many unforeseen events you have during the day, you won’t have to worry about how much electricity costs at a certain time of day. Furthermore, once you contract the rate, the price of kWh will remain stable for 12 months. This means that, if, for example, an energy crisis occurs that increases the price of electricity, you will continue paying the same. And it does not have any type of permanence, something that not all electricity rates on the market offer. Hiring can be done in several ways, although you have the option of doing everything through the Plenitude website. In this way, you will have a 100% digital process which will only take you a few minutes. We are talking about the Easy Rate for electricity, although Plenitude also offers the same for gas, as well as for having both supplies together. Now it’s time for the promo we mentioned above, active only until March 2. Any of these rates include a 50-euro Netflix gift card that we will receive after the first month of contracting. We can use this for both a new account and one we already have. If we do numbers, it’s great: It gives you almost four months of the Standard plan. Everything together gives us an opportunity to save every month, both on the electricity bill and by removing a subscription for a while. Although yes: only if you hurry and you contract the Easy Rate before March 2. Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | Patrick Schneider on UnsplashPlenitude In Xataka | What do you need (according to the EU) for your survival kit and how much will it cost you? In Xataka | Best power banks to charge your mobile phone. Which one to buy and recommended external batteries

with Plenitude it’s the same all day and, by the way, it gives you a Netflix gift card

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The electricity bill arrives and you start to tremble. Have you tried using the washing machine or the heating during the times of day where it is cheaper, something that is not always possible. All without forgetting that, for this, you have had to control the clock a lot (something exhausting). If this sounds like you, then maybe it’s a better fit for you. a rate where electricity costs the same 24 hours a day. That’s fair Plenitude’s Easy Rate. A rate to avoid scares on your electricity bill There are many electricity rates that depend on time slots. This means that, depending on the time we use an appliance, we are going to pay for one thing or another. The difference It is much bigger than one can imagine.but you can’t always stick to the cheapest hours. Plenitude’s Easy Rate takes that problem out of the equation. The idea is very simple: the price we will pay for electricity will be the same all daywhatever time it is. This will remove a worry from our daily routine and we will have a much easier time organizing ourselves to cook, put on washing machines or, in short, use any appliance. Once we contract this rate, we will have this price per kWh stable for 12 months guaranteed. The best thing is that No has any type of permanencesomething that not all market rates offer. Furthermore, although you can use other methods, you have the option of contracting the Easy Rate online: it is a 100% digital process through their website, fast and hassle-free. It will take you just over five minutes on its own. This rate that we indicate is for electricity, but Plenitude also offers an Easy Rate for gas and for both supplies together. And if we hire from February 17 to March 2, we will take a gift card for Netflix so we can enjoy our movies and series. For the Easy Rate for each energy or for the Easy Dual Rate (electricity+gas), we will take 50 euros in a gift card for Netflix: we will receive it after the first month of contracting. You can use it to create a new account or the one you already have, but in both cases this balance will go to your Netflix Wallet. From there, the subscription price will be automatically discounted. All you have to do is choose the Easy Rate that best suits you and take advantage of this great gift to save you Netflix for a few months. Of course: only if you hurry and take advantage of these two weeks that the promo lasts. Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | Plenitude In Xataka | What do you need (according to the EU) for your survival kit and how much will it cost you? In Xataka | Best power banks to charge your mobile phone. Which one to buy and recommended external batteries

When medical dramas seemed to be in the doldrums, ‘The Pitt’ appeared. And that has forced Netflix to make decisions

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The Pitt’ has become one of HBO Max’s biggest critical and popular successes in recent times. And Netflix has reacted to the discovery of its rival by incorporating the 15 complete seasons of ‘ER’ into its catalogue. It is not an isolated case. They have been released six new medical dramas during the 2024-2025 season on different networks and platforms. The pattern suggests that the long and intense format recovers part of the space that short seasons, in the style of HBO’s prestige series, had imposed in the last decade. The phenomenon. The series created by R. Scott Gemmill is sweeping: a 93% on Rotten Tomatoestwo Golden Globes (Best Drama Series and Best Actor), five Emmys (with thirteen nominations)… and the audience figures are just as strong: the first season averaged 10 million viewers per episode, but The second is multiplying that data by three.. Quite a bombshell that is generating a predictable shock wave. The reason for success. Its technical and artistic virtues, needless to say, are very notable, with its feverish portrait of a night in the ER, mixing inconsequential cases with authentic life-or-death medical challenges, seasoned with circumstances that complicate each season (shootings, avalanches of patients, blackouts). But the format also explains part of the success: each episode represents one hour within a 15-hour shift in the ER, that is, fifteen chapters for a single work day. The real-time structure, a reformulation of ’24’ in a clinical format, allows overlapping medical cases to be followed as staff deal with lack of resources and ethical decisions under pressure. Emergency professionals on websites that collect viewer opinions, such as IMDBhave highlighted the technical precision of the series, a rare detail in the genre. Casey Bloys, CEO of HBO Max, explained that the production model of ‘The Pitt’ allows seasons to be released twelve months apart, compared to the 24 months required by series like ‘The House of the Dragon‘. “This model could be applied to future productions,” he declared. ‘Emergencies’ on Netflix. In response, Netflix has added to its lineup the complete 15 seasons of ‘ER’. While its genuine successor reaches record figures, Netflix recovers the title that established the rules of the genre three decades earlier. ‘ER’ aired on NBC from 1994 to 2009 and Michael Crichton, a novelist and doctor, wrote the original script in 1974 based on his experience as a student at Boston General Hospital. Studios rejected it for years as too technical and fast-paced, but when it finally came to the screen thanks to Spielberg’s production, the show racked up 124 Emmy nominationsan all-time record for a series, and won 23 statuettes, including best drama series in 1996. The influence of ‘ER’ on later series is indisputable. ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ (on Disney+) adopted its structure of weekly cases combined with long dramatic arcs; ‘House’ (on Netflix, Prime Video, Movistar and SkyShowtime) took the procedural approach applied to complex diagnoses; and ‘The Good Doctor’ (on Netflix, Movistar and Prime Video) inherited the balance between medicine and personal drama. Avalanche of doctors. Until six new medical dramas have come to streaming in recent months, some thanks to the success of ‘The Pitt’, others being more or less contemporary with the premiere of the first season of the HBO Max series. Fox premiered ‘Doc’ (Movistar), which reached 15.6 million viewers in its first 11 days. NBC launched two proposals: ‘Brilliant Minds’ (Movistar), focused on complex neurological cases, and ‘St. Denis Medical’, a comedy in mockumentary format. CBS developed ‘Watson’ (Movistar), where Sherlock Holmes’ legendary sidekick investigates medical mysteries instead of crimes. Netflix produced ‘Pulse’, his first English-language medical dramaset in a Miami trauma center. The platform also premiered ‘Heroes on Guard’, a Korean series about a traumatologist who tries to reorganize a university hospital. Both projects arrived in 2025, the same year that ‘The Pitt’ was consolidated on HBO Max. Some analysts point out that the COVID-19 pandemic focused collective attention on health workers and health systems. Five years later, once the trauma is over, we can allow ourselves to frivolize the dynamics of ER with almost detective plots. Why they succeed again. Critics point to a couple of possible reasons for this type of drama to return to the grid. On the one hand, it is a alternative (especially ‘The Pitt’) to the predominant format in recent times of “complete story that unfolds in eight chapters.” Here we have, in many cases, a multitude of microstories/patients (in the case of ‘The Pitt’ sometimes they are almost sketches) that begin and end in the same episode, a traditional television structure but one that is not usually seen in successful series. The formula also allows for something rare on television today: watching competent professionals solving problems. Each episode features new medical cases while personal arcs progress in the background. The viewer knows that Dr. Robinavitch will save lives on the night in question, even though his personal trauma takes fifteen episodes to resolve. The combination of cases that are resolved immediately and the slow development of a secondary plot also draws on series like ‘ER’ or ‘House’. In Xataka | We thought that cortisol was the biggest enemy of sleep: it is actually the key to making your body perform better during the day

Netflix spends 17 billion on producing content and YouTube does it for free. And that’s why YouTube is winning the game

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Alphabet first revealed in its Q4 2025 earnings report that YouTube generated more than 60 billion dollars over the past year, adding advertising revenue and subscriptions. The figure is 33% higher than the 45,000 million that Netflix reached in the same period and places the video platform above all the entertainment giants except Disney, which had a turnover of 95.7 billion. The data confirms what many in the industry already sensed: YouTube is not simply another competitor in the online video market, but the main beneficiary of the transformation in audiovisual consumption habits. Paradigm shift. YouTube’s victory reflects a profound transformation in how we consume video. While subscription platforms opted for the Netflix model (closed catalogs of professional productions), YouTube added in July 2025 13.4% of total television viewing time in the United States. It expanded its lead over Disney (9.4%) to establish the largest difference recorded since these measurements began. Youtube on your TV. Time spent watching YouTube on television has grown 53% since February 2023. The traditional streaming market, meanwhile, is going through what is known as “subscription fatigue“: the average number of subscriptions per consumer in the European market has stagnated at 2.35 in both 2023 and 2024, after growing systematically for years. This saturation has caused structural changes: the number of original series released in the United States fell 11% in 2025third consecutive year of declines from the 2022 peak. The difference in the plan. Breaking down where the money comes from can point to the reasons for this triumph. Of the 60,000 million in YouTube revenue, we have: Advertising revenue in the last quarter of the year was 11.38 billion dollars, with a growth of 8.7% year-on-year 325 million paid subscriptions on all your consumer services, such as YouTube Music or YouTube Premium For its part, Netflix: It reported revenue of $12.05 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025, with a growth of 17.6% For the year as a whole, the platform reached $45.2 billion, with more than 325 million paid memberships The most notable difference lies in the business model. While YouTube maintains a hybrid model where advertising remains dominant, Netflix revealed its advertising figures for the first time: in 2025, its third year selling ads, advertising revenue exceeded $1.5 billion, multiplying by more than 2.5 compared to 2024. The company projects double that ad revenue in 2026. Why YouTube wins. YouTube’s competitive advantage lies in features that traditional platforms cannot replicate. On the one hand, the radical democratization of content creation: Netflix invests 17 billion dollars annually to produce, while on YouTube the creators assume the production costs. The base of 69 million creators generates a volume of content that is impossible to match: every minute 500 hours of video are uploaded to the platform The second differentiating factor is the algorithmic recommendation system. YouTube’s recommendation system uses large-scale language models that can handle massive amounts of data. This allows YouTube to do something that closed catalog platforms cannot: recommend videos based not only on general categories, but by fine-tuning suggestions based on specific interests. In 2025, YouTube’s recommendation system is the most sophisticated and user-focused. The third advantage is the absence of entry barriers for the public. While Netflix requires a mandatory subscription, YouTube offers free ad-supported access, with premium subscription as an option. This hybrid model maximizes potential reach: YouTube’s monthly active user base reached approximately 2.7 billion people in early 2025. This means that more than 25% of the world’s population uses YouTube in any given month. What it points to. YouTube’s triumph over Netflix in annual revenue represents more than a change in leadership: it signals a structural transformation in how audiovisual content is produced, distributed and monetized. The centralized studio model, a direct heir to the Hollywood system, is giving way to a decentralized ecosystem where millions of creators generate content for hyper-segmented audiences. And the implications for the industry are very profound. Header | Photo of NordWood Themes in Unsplash In Xataka | A YouTube video that lasts 140 years has gone viral. Nobody is clear why

13 premiere movies and series to watch in February 2026 on Netflix, Prime Video, HBO Max and streaming

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Christmas is definitely behind us and the platforms greet 2026 with a few powerful premieres, some expected returns and a resurgence of the platform fight. Choose your favorite, because we bring you the juiciest news of February in terms of streaming. The queen of chess If you think that ‘Queen’s Gambit‘ is among the best things Netflix has ever produced, check out this documentary that tells the true story of the legendary Hungarian chess player Judit Polgár. Overcoming the sexism of a space controlled by men, she challenged champions like Garry Kasparov to become a champion of the sport with a career that began when she was only 12 years old, as the result of her parents’ experiment to raise geniuses. On Netflix February 6 Samuel After a triumphant stint on RTVE, this acclaimed Franco-Spanish series comes to Netflix, consisting of a single season of 21 four-minute episodes. An endearing and sometimes somewhat crude vision of the transition from childhood to adolescence through Samuel’s personal diary, which narrates his concerns, fears, goals and feelings, including everything from unrequited love to experiences such as the death of a friend’s grandmother. The minimalist visual style has a spontaneous touch that tends towards graphic experimentation, and gives rise to a little gem that adds to the best of Netflix’s animation section. On Netflix February 5 Stargate SG1 By surprise and in anticipation of the new series that Prime Video will produce, this modern classic of television science fiction arrives on Netflix. Although the platform has not specified what we can expect from this recovery, we trust that we will have at our disposal the ten seasons of which it consisted, no less than 214 episodes in total. A year after Roland Emmerich’s 1994 film tells the story, it starts with the idea that Ra was not the only alien who used stargates to transport human slaves to multiple planets. Let’s hope things go well for Netflix and we can enjoy successive spin-offs like ‘Atlantis’, ‘Universe’ and even the two direct-to-DVD movies. On Netflix February 15 The deception The Russo brothers are behind the production of this film that recovers the trope of the expert assassin retired and far from the madding crowd, but in a pirate key: Ercell “Bloody Mary” Bodden thought she had escaped her violent past, finding peace in the Cayman Islands with her husband, her son and her sister-in-law. But when her infamous ex-captain arrives seeking revenge, her world falls apart and she is forced back into action. The cast is headed by Priyanka Chopra, whom the Russos already showed us in ‘Citadel‘ and the always reliable Karl Urban. On Prime Video on February 25 Ponies Emilia Clarke and Haley Lu Richardson star in this spy comedy that promises excitement and entanglement with airs vintage thanks to its setting in the late seventies. In Moscow, two ponies (“people of no interest”) work as secretaries at the United States embassy until their husbands are murdered under mysterious circumstances. That’s when they become CIA agents. One of them is the daughter of Soviet immigrants, speaks Russian and is overqualified. His companion, the complete opposite: a somewhat reckless village girl. Together, they try to uncover a great conspiracy in the middle of the Cold War. Now available on SkyShowtime Neighbors The trendy indie production company in Hollywood, A24, is behind this documentary series that sometimes seems like a sitcom and sometimes like a demented thriller: it examines stories of absurd, scandalous and dramatic residential conflicts, starring a fauna of extravagant characters spread across the United States. Each episode features a group of neighbors in conflict, with protests ranging from property lines to the use of pets or the appearance with which they go out on the street. Surviving Paradise: Beyond Jehovah’s Witnesses For a long time, Jehovah’s Witnesses have been part of the friendlier landscape of Spanish religion. But hidden behind absolute secrecy was what many former members of the organization describe as a much more disturbing reality. This documentary goes into the annulment methods typical of a sect that many former members claim are practiced in secret: three episodes that talk about the passage of these former Witnesses through the group, their abandonment of it and the subsequent organization until reaching the trials in 2022. Rafaela and her crazy world This new series from the Chanante universe, created by Aníbal Gómez and based on his own book ‘The amazing world of Rafaella Mozarella’, promises to be absolutely insane. It is directed by Ernesto Sevilla and on board are many of the usual suspects: Aníbal himself, Ingrid García-Jonsson, Carlos Areces, Joaquín Reyes and Arturo Valls. Surreal and hooligan, it will tell us the life of a teenager who lives immersed in a dysfunctional family accompanied by three friends and a poodle. At Atresplayer on February 15 The Muppet Show (2026) Let’s get rid of comebacks that don’t interest anyone. This is the most anticipated reboot in television history since ‘DuckTales’ returned: all the classic characters in a legendary program with, how could it be otherwise, a special guest. In this case, Sabrina Carpenter with the help of the great comedian Maya Rudolph. Produces a certified Muppet fan, Seth Rogen, on a roll since he made ‘The Studio’. If this turns out half as well, we have Muppets for a while. On Disney+ on February 4 In an instant (In the Blink of an Eye) He directed two of Pixar’s best films, ‘WALL-E’ and ‘Finding Nemo’, and the industry fell on him when he signed a box office disaster that almost took down Disney, the highly underrated ‘John Carter’. It seems that Hollywood has forgiven him, and Andrew Stanton returns with a film that exhibits declared influences from ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’, ‘Magnolia’ and ‘Interstellar’. The film features three interconnected stories spanning thousands of years exploring the entire history of the world, and was presented at Sundance, where it won the prestigious Alfred P. Sloan Award (awarded for the best representation of science, … Read more

Netflix presents all its new features for 2026, and there is a genre that is an undisputed winner

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We have had the opportunity to attend the presentation of Netflix’s plans in Spain for 2026. Except for a couple of very specific successes, such as the ‘Peaky Blinders’ movie or the fourth season of ‘The Bridgertons’, the presentation focused on Spanish productions. And two things caught our attention: the decisive commitment that the platform makes to blockbusters with technical and artistic equipment from here and the strong weight that the true crime in the set. Let’s review these news. Netflix and Spanish audiovisual Since Netflix took us to visit their sets and facilities on the outskirts of Madridit was very clear to us that the platform was not here to be a second dish in the panorama of cinema and series. At that time I was in the middle of filming.The snow society‘, a film that gave international prestige to the company’s productions in Spain. Netflix wants to sustain this fame and does so by putting films and series on the table with top-notch casts and crews. These were some of the projects presented: The final problem: With Jose Coronado, Maribel Verdú and Martiño Rivas, based on a novel by Pérez-Reverte. Thanks, team: Comedy with Maribel Verdú, Pedro Casablanc and Alexandra Jiménez Savior: Thriller by Daniel Calparsoro with Luis Tosar and Claudia Salas Berlin and the Lady with an Ermine: Second season of the spin-off of La casa de papel, this time set in Seville and with Andrés de Fonollosa, Inma Cuesta, Michelle Jenner, Joel Sánchez and Tristán Ulloa 53 Sundays: Film by Cesc Gay with Carmen Machi, Javier Gutiérrez, Alexandra Jiménez and Javier Cámara On behalf of another: Film by Oriol Paulo (‘Contratiempo’) with Mario Casas and Blanca Suárez. All the truth of my lies: Based on a novel by Elísabet Benavent, with Daniel Ibáñez and Itziar Manero reality bridge Before entering into the curious trend that many of Netflix’s Spanish productions are following, its immersion in the true crimelet’s stop at a documentary and a series firmly anchored in reality. Rafa: We were not able to see any trailer for this series, but it promises to be the definitive documentary of Rafa Nadalpresenting never-before-seen facets of his career and personality. That: Nothing less than Rafael He made an appearance before journalists, presenting a series that documents his career, with two actors, Javier Morgade and Carlos Santos, giving life to the interpreter at different ages. The singer himself gave official legitimacy to the series, and spoke of how satisfied he was with the result, the setting and what it tells. The appeal of true crime No platform is unaware that the true crime It is one of the most followed genres today. Netflix itself has already influenced the true crime Hispanic with series like ‘The Asunta case‘, ‘Where is Marta?’, ‘The body on fire‘ and many others. Aware of the commercial appeal of this type of story, many of Netflix’s 2026 proposals belong to the genre, including both fiction and documentaries. The crime of Pazos: Tristán Ulloa returns to Galicia after ‘The Asunta case’, although this time on the other side of the law. In it he will play a sergeant of the Vivil Guard convinced that a man has tried to kill his wife despite appearances that they were a perfect couple and that she has been the victim of an attempted robbery. Produces Bambú Producciones, which already did the same with ‘The Asunta Case’. The boy: Mariano Barroso signs this adaptation of the novel by Fernando Aramburu, where the author told the story of Nicasio, an octogenarian who usually goes up to the Ortuella cemetery on Thursdays to visit the grave of his grandson, one of the many children who died in a gas explosion at a school in October 1980. This event, which shocked the Basque people, will show how the accident changed many lives in its day. Miguel Ángel Blanco: The 48 hours that changed everything: A documentary film by Jon Sistiaga and Juanjo López, which will address the two days in which the entire Spain mobilized trying to stop the murder of Miguel Ángel Blanco, a delayed death that left a deep mark. This documentary remembers that moment and how it meant the beginning of the end for ETA. Wolf: We return to Galicia and Tristán Ulloa, although this time in a secondary role compared to the leading role of Luis Tosar. They will do so in a miniseries that will investigate the real case of Manuel Blanco Romasanta, an itinerant tailor who went down in history as the first documented serial killer in Spain, in rural Galicia in the 19th century. During his defense he claimed to be a werewolf, and the abundant documentation on the case supports the development of this new series. In Xataka | There are thousands of people hooked on true crime documentaries on YouTube. The only problem is that they are generated by AI

Netflix series are becoming more and more similar to each other and Matt Damon knows who is to blame: your cell phone

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Matt Damon has just confirmed one of the most widespread suspicions about Netflix. In one almost three hour conversation with Joe Roganwhere he appeared alongside Ben Affleck to promote ‘The Loot’, his new film, the actor revealed that the platform requires scriptwriters to constantly repeat the plot in the dialogues. The reason is that the platform assumes that the viewer is with their cell phone in hand while watching its content. Affleck went further and pointed out that streaming has built its entire business model on the assumption that no viewer pays full attention to the screen. Partial attention. Damon didn’t mince his words: if you write for Netflix, you assume from the beginning that your viewer has Instagram open in another tab or is answering WhatsApps. Affleck mentioned the concept of “partial attention,” a term that technology and behavioral studies have been dissecting for years and that now sets the rules for how to construct a dialogue. For the two actors, this has nothing to do with a conspiracy theory or union complaint: it is the real editorial policy of the platform. New era. The leap compared to traditional cinema is brutal. In a dark room there is no escape: the cell phone is silent (or it should be), the giant screen takes up the entire field of vision and the fact of being surrounded by people forces you not to get lost. Netflix plays in another league: it competes with notifications, with getting up to get something from the refrigerator, with someone commenting out loud about what just happened. And instead of standing up to this dispersion, it has chosen to adapt: ​​every five minutes someone recapitulates who is who and what the hell is going on. Netflix vs. Hollywood. This is not the first time that Hollywood has attacked streaming, although it is perhaps the most specific in technical terms. Spielberg already said in 2019 that Netflix movies should compete for Emmys instead of Oscars, and his argument was exactly this: that where you watch something determines what that something is. Scorsese went further that same yearjust as Netflix was paying him for ‘The Irishman’, and talked about the erosion of what he called the concept of “revelation”, those moments that only work if the viewer is completely immersed in the film. What Damon and Affleck bring to the table is the practical detail: we’re not talking about aesthetics or philosophy, but rather literal instructions that screenwriters receive in development meetings. In Rogan. Almost three hours of conversation where there is time for everything. Joe Rogan’s format (long conversations, no commercial breaks, no rush) allows two guys used to reciting friendly anecdotes on Jimmy Fallon’s shows to develop complex ideas. And therein lies the surprise: Affleck and Damon are not just familiar faces who sell movies, they have been inside the machinery for thirty years and know exactly how every gear works. The contrast with the usual promotional circuit is devastating: these two actors, whom many know mainly as movie stars, turn out to be sharp analysts of an industry in the midst of an existential crisis. A narrative change. What Damon and Affleck say is not an isolated case: it confirms a trend that the industry has been tracking for years. Deloitte documented in its annual report on digital trends Doing other things while watching a series is no longer the exception, it is the norm. The leap compared to the prestige television of two decades ago is evident: before the series constructed scenes without words, they left narrative gaps that the viewer had to fill in on their own, they introduced secondary characters whose importance was not clear until later seasons. David Simon, creator of ‘The Wire’, said who had designed the series like a visual novel: each episode required total concentration because crucial information could appear at any moment. The Netflix change. The platform works differently. Provides showrunners accurate data about the exact minute viewers leave a series or pause to do something else. Those metrics set the development notes: If the data shows that audiences lose interest in scenes without dialogue or complex subplots, subsequent seasons simplify the structure and multiply the verbal exposition. ‘Wednesday’ and the fifth season of ‘Stranger Things’ are recent examples of this process. Completion rate (how many users actually finish a series) has become the criterion that dictates creative decisions unthinkable a decade and a half ago. A paradox without a solution. What Damon says contains a contradiction: the technology that has allowed millions of people to access content previously reserved for movie theaters or physical distribution is changing what type of content is produced. Netflix reaches 260 million subscribers; HBO never went over 150 million in its best era. But this increase in audience comes at a cost: the narrative is simplified to accommodate viewers whose attention is divided. Can both models coexist? Recent series like ‘The Bear’ or ‘Succession’ have achieved million-dollar audiences without sacrificing ellipses, long silences or plots that demand attention. Damon’s comment perhaps functions more as a diagnosis than as a definitive sentence: it shows a tension that Hollywood has not resolved for years, the clash between the logic of streaming based on metrics and the persistence of narratives that demand concentration. If viewers look at their phones while watching series, Netflix simply recognizes that behavior and adjusts its production accordingly. But… do we want him to do it? In Xataka | lhe creative death of Marvel’s MCU left a huge hole. One that in my case is filling WWE on Netflix

Reed Hastings became a millionaire by conquering the couch with Netflix. Now he wants to turn the snow into a gold mine

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Reed Hastings is the co-founder and CEO of Netflix, one of the largest entertainment platforms in the world. If Hastings knows anything it’s how to have fun. The enterprising businessman started a project in 2023 designed for a handful of millionaires looking to have fun skiing on virgin snow through some private tracks that can only be used by a handful of members of a exclusive ski club in the mountains of Utah. ​An exclusive ski club for millionaires. Hastings has become the main investor and architect of an exclusive access ski community for high-net-worth individuals in Powder Mountain, northern Utah (USA). That private community is called Powder Haven and is conceived as a private ski resort reserved for the exclusive enjoyment of approximately 650 families, who ski in a highly controlled environment within a domain that covers approximately 4,860 hectares. high mountain. The private Hastings ski resort is planned as a kind of “VIP space” with access to the ski area that already exists at Powder Mountain and is still open as a public resort. The result is a hybrid model in which the fee of a few very rich people helps finance infrastructure that is also used by skiers who buy a conventional ski pass. Fees and millionaire houses. According to published Forbes, Hastings has already invested more than $100 million in the acquisition and improvement of the Powder Mountain private space, assuming debt equivalent to that of the previous owners. This new capital has been used to renew the lifts and to install new lines to other areas of the resort to expand the ski area. OK to what was published by The Wall Street JournalHastings is reportedly planning to invest $200 million more to improve services for wealthy homeowners. The station’s annual membership fee is $25,000, which is added to an initial contribution and, above all, to the purchase of a home within the community, a necessary condition to be part of the private club. The houses that make up the private ski complex start at 2 million dollars and the first phase, with 39 plots at an average price equivalent to about 2.4 million euros per unit, were sold out in just a few months. Arclodge and a new mountain neighborhood The project is not limited to building luxury villas. In the heart of Powder Haven, Arclodge is being designed, a large Swiss-style social and sports club with futuristic lines that aspires to become the center of the resort’s community life. As seen in the resort pagethe new 6,800 m2 building plans to include all the luxury services to which its millionaire members are accustomed: haute cuisine restaurants, thermal and sports pools, spa and treatment rooms, gym and spaces for cultural and sports activities. New neighborhoods have been planned around this new social nucleus to luxury homes of different sizesranging from large multi-hectare plots to turnkey luxury villas designed by high-profile architecture studios. Of course, all of them with direct access to the private ski slopes. There are only three private stations like this. The Powder Haven model that the Netflix founder is developing is not a pioneering project. In fact, it is the third private ski complex that exists in the US: Yellowstone Club in Montana, and Wasatch Peaks Ranchalso in Utah. In these three enclaves, access to the slopes does not depend on a ski pass open to the general public, but rather requires being a member-owner of a property in their luxury real estate complex. Reed Hastings is the only one that has been able to take advantage of this business model based on the exclusivity of private ski services for millionaires with almost total absence of queues and a certain coexistence with the public domain of Powder Mountain, so that the extension of its slopes is expanded at a very low cost. In Xataka | Ski resorts without snow at the end of the century: the most pessimistic models show what could happen in our high mountains Image | Unsplash (Republic GmbH), Powder Haven

The film industry has been stagnant for more than a century. Netflix wants to change it: Crossover 1×34

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Harry, Albert, Sam and Jack, all brothers, decided to open their first movie theater in Pennsylvania in 1903. Considering that the movie industry was in its infancy at the time, the bet was risky. Those brothers ended up being the most famous in that industryand in fact they made it clear in the name of their company: Warner Bros. They would soon buy more theaters and, over time, discover that distribution was important, but content was even more important. They ended up becoming a film producer that managed to be a pioneer with the famous ‘The Jazz Singer’, the first talking film. More films would arrive, and a 1948 ruling in the US meant that she and other production companies had to dedicate themselves only to generating content. It wasn’t a bad deal, and for more than a century the film industry has done really well and has strengthened that idea that content is king. Netflix also discovered it over time. Although it was also born focusing on distribution – with its famous DVD rental service by mail – its leap into the world of streaming caused it to even take steps from Warner Bros. and decide to create its own content. This is how series like ‘House of Cards’ or ‘Stranger Things’ were born, which have turned it into a true steamroller in the field of audiovisual content. So much so that after more than 100 years without major changes, Netflix could fully enter the “traditional” industry if he manages to buy Warner Bros.. The recent offer to have options to get ahead, but everything is to be decided. What is clear is that if that happens there will be a change of direction in this gigantic industry. We talked about all this in the last installment of Crossover, we hope you enjoy it! On YouTube | Crossover In Xataka | Netflix promised them very happy with their huge purchase of Warner. Until Paramount and Saudi Arabia appeared

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