Netflix CCO Ted Sarandos said that Netflix’s strategy makes it very unlikely that one particular show would have its ratings affected by running on Netflix. Said Sarandos:

“People’s taste are so diverse that no specific program or network has such high viewing concentration that you’d see that cause and effect on ratings,”

Sarandos claims that if anything, Netflix has been helping the ratings of the programs that it runs:

“In the gap between season 4 and season 5 we brought maybe a million new viewers to AMC for the new season of ‘Mad Men’. . . People had four years to watch this show and didn’t; then we gave them the opportunity to watch the show in a well-priced and well-distributed model. In that way we’re quite additive.”

Something tells me this controversy will not be settled any time soon. What do you think, Insiders?

[via Reuters]

• Netflix CCO: “Cable Channels Are Becoming More Like Us”
• Netflix Scores Major Content Deal With BBC Worldwide
• Netflix Forms New Partnership to Reduce Bandwidth Usage

Dish’s new ad-skipping tech, called “Auto Hop”, lets users skip an entire set of commercials with just one click of a button. Fox, NBC,and CBS have filed separate suits against Dish, which has in turn sued all of the major networks.

Leslie Moonves, CEO of CBS, summed up his network’s feelings with the following:

“How does [Dish chief] Charlie Ergen expect me to produce ‘CSI’ without commercials?”

Dish, for its part, is claiming that its tech is a natural evolution of DVR time-shifting capabilities and that Auto Hop only allows viewers to skip ads a day after a show airs live.

Who do you think will come out on top in this legal tussle?

[via PaidContent]

• Dish Chairman: Netflix “Devalues” Content
• Dish Network: Studios Will Decide Which Blockbuster Stores Survive
• Carl Icahn, Dish Network Place Blockbuster Bids

Will Smith returns to the big screen after a multi-year absence in Men in Black III this weekend. His triumphant return to theaters got us thinking about our favorite Will Smith flicks. To enter this week’s contest, answer the following question in the comments section below:

What’s your favorite Will Smith movie and why?

You’ve got no shortage of choices: Independence Day, I am Legend, The Bad Boys movies, The Pursuit of Happyness, Hitch, and that’s just for starters.

On Monday the 28th we will pick three winners at random from the submitted comments. Each winner will receive five free Redbox rentals! Multiple comments will disqualify you, so please respond just once.

Good luck, Insiders!

• Freebie Friday: Win 5 Free Redbox Rentals! *UPDATED WITH WINNERS*
• Freebie Friday: Win Free Redbox Rentals! *UPDATED WITH WINNERS*
• Freebie Friday: Win Free Redbox Rentals! *UPDATED WITH WINNER*

Will THIS be the weekend that The Avengers finally falls from its perch atop the box office? Previews and the official trailers for Men in Black III and Chernobyl Diaries are after the break.

Men in Black III

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyaFEBI_L24

It’s been ten years since J and K suited up and protected earth from the scum of the universe. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are back in black as the series attempts to revive itself with a time travel plot. Our heroes have returned, but will their audience? Rated PG-13.

Chernobyl Diaries

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pp9xuquibQc

Oren Peli, who shot to overnight success with the no-budget Paranormal Activity and its sequels, brings us a horror/thriller set in the ruins of Chernobyl. A group of American tourists explores the abandoned city. Surely they’re all alone and perfectly safe, right? Right… Rated R.

Will either of this week’s wide releases get you out to the theater this weekend, Insiders?

• Preview Review: Theatrical Releases for the Week of August 12
• Preview Review: Theatrical Releases for the Week of September 2
• Preview Review: Theatrical Releases for February 3

Redbox interim president Gregg Kaplan is enthusiastic about the new expansion:

“Historically, a pretty good rule of thumb, what we’ve seen in other businesses is that Canada can get to roughly 1/10 the size of the U.S. market . . . We’re not projecting that yet because we haven’t had the experience there, but it feels like it could be sizable.”

Redbox’s Canadian pricing will reportedly come in 50-cents higher than U.S. pricing for DVD, Blu-ray and video game rentals.

How well do you think Redbox will fare north of the border?

[via Benzinga]

• Canadian Broadcasters Want to Regulate Netflix Like a TV Network
• Best Buy Launches Movie Rental Kiosks in Canada
• Redbox Revenue Increases 38%, Video Game Expansion Coming

Smith’s comments were specifically about Warner Brothers, a particularly difficult studio for Redbox to deal with over the years. Warner and Redbox are currently at odds over Warner’s demands for a 56-day delay on new release titles to Redbox. Said Smith:

“Studio relationships are very important to us, but we’re always balancing that with what’s best for our business, and ultimately what’s best for the consumer . . . With Warner, there’s simply a different view of the world, where they want to have this on a longer delay than we think is right for either our business or our consumers.”

Smith went on to say that he sees no decline in sight for Redbox’s physical media rental business:

“Our store is 12 square feet . . . We represent, today, 2% of the square footage that’s there for physical rental, and yet we had 34% of the [physical disc] units rented last year. It’s a nontraditional approach. We think that for the foreseeable future, we’ll be able to drive consumer behavior to rent from us, and grow that share. We think physical has a much longer life than the rest of the world thinks.”

Are Smith’s sly allusions to Warner being less focused on consumers accurate, Insiders? Is Redbox’s view more closely aligned to consumer preferences?

[via Home Media Magazine]

• Redbox, Universal Agree on 28-day Delay Deal Extension
• Warner Exec: Delay Windows ‘Helpful’
• Redbox and Warner Agreement Expires

Here’s the brand new trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7DonhNflsw

Every half-decade or so, Baz Luhrmann emerges from whatever bedazzled cocoon he hides in and releases a new film. This Christmas, that film is a big-screen rendition of the classic F. Scott Fitzgerald novel The Great Gatsby, with Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan bring Fitzgerald’s characters to life on the silver screen. Can the director of Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge successfully pull off a film version of the beloved classic?

The Great Gatsby swings its way into theaters this December. Will you be there?

• The Amazing Spider-Man Preview and Trailer
• J. Edgar Trailer and Preview
• News from Redbox – New Releases for November 6

Viewdini acts as an aggregator to allow users to search for content across a variety of major services such as Netflix, Hulu Plus and TV sites. Viewdini will launch on 4G LTE Android devices on Verizon’s network later this month, and will be coming to other device platforms soon.

The timing of Viewdini’s unveiling is a bit curious. Just as Verizon has announced that upgraders will lose their grandfathered unlimited data plans going forward, the company releases a service guaranteed to encourage users to gobble up data. Major additional data usage plus high fees for data overages equals a nice chunk of change in Verizon’s pocket. Or perhaps the company has something in mind that will exempt the service from data caps when it launches later this month?

What do you think of Verizon’s new service and the motives behind its launch?

[via CNET]

• Netflix Upset Over Cable Provider Data Caps
• Redbox/Verizon Streaming Venture to be Cheaper than Competition?
• New AT&T Data Plans Could Increase Video Streaming Costs

Here’s the brand new teaser trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24mTIE4D9JM

After a four-year absence from the big screen, 007 is back in his latest adventure. Daniel Craig once again dons the tuxedo and icy stare of James Bond as he once again attempts to preserve his country and a scrap of his own soul, if possible. After the outstanding Casino Royale and the disappointing Quantum of Solace, with the intriguingly named Skyfall measure up?

Skyfall slips into theaters this November. Will you be there, Insiders?

• News from Redbox – New Releases for February 5
• ‘The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn’ Preview
• Redbox New Releases for week of March 23, 2010

Interestingly, NPD also reported that just 14 percent of consumers planning on buying a flat-panel TV in the next six months called 3D capability a “must have.”

Ben Arnold, director of industry analysis for The NPD Group, said the following about the rise of 3DTV:

“3D has been a success for the television market from a sales perspective . . . However, few consumers cite watching content in 3D as a reason for purchasing a TV, indicating that other factors such as screen size, resolution and Internet connectivity hold more importance.”

It would seem that 3D capability may still just be considered “gravy” to a majority of purchasers.

Arnold summed up his firm’s feelings towards 3DTV adoption thusly:

“Our research suggests ownership of 3DTV doesn’t necessarily mean consumers have adopted the technology . . . Getting owners to put on glasses and watch content is the real measure of 3D’s success.”

Could it simply be that 3DTV sales are rising because a higher percentage of TVs come with 3D capability standard? Do you own a 3DTV, Insiders, and if so, have you put its 3D capabilities to use?

[via Home Media Magazine]

• Report: More than 20% of American Households Own Connected TVs
• Report: Redbox Grabs 37% of Movie Disc Rental Market in 2011
• Survey: Consumers Prefer 3D Content to DVD/BD