I’ve been a reporter and a writer for a long time, the vast majority of that time in staff jobs — first at a couple of small newspapers, then at a couple of now-defunct websites before landing in my current post at The Hollywood Reporter.
I have mostly enjoyed those staff gigs — freelancing, for those of us who didn’t get paid $16-plus per word at a glossy magazine in the 1990s, is not an easy route to take. But as I’ve seen more and more former colleagues and friends launch independent ventures, I got the itch to join them. So here goes.
What I plan to do here at The Data Stream is focus on what I do best: I’m a pop culture nerd, and I was hired at THR largely because I’m a stats geek and filled a need they had in that realm. I also ran the late TV by the Numbers for three years before coming to THR, and before that I did ratings coverage, blogging and loads of episodic recaps and reviews at the late and often great Zap2it.
All that will come to bear here. I’ll give you the numbers and interpret what they mean, I’ll analyze what’s happening in the industry, and I’ll have some fun in a way that a regular job doesn’t always allow.
A couple things I won’t be doing here is full-fledged criticism or episodic coverage — that’s being done really well in a lot of other places, and I haven’t regularly reviewed shows since the early 2010s — or breaking news scoops. But if you’re reading about the TV business and thinking, “Why’d that happen?,” I hope to provide you with some answers.
Here’s the schedule to start:
On Mondays, you’ll get a rundown of premieres, finales and big on-screen (and occasionally off-screen) events for the next seven days, along with links and other bits to get you ready for what’s coming in a week.
On Thursdays, I’ll provide ratings numbers for streaming, broadcast and cable, along with some analysis of what’s performing well, what isn’t and why it might matter.
On weekends, you’ll get original essays and data-based reporting, along with links to some other good reads from the past week.
The Monday and Thursday posts will arrive free to every subscriber, but the weekend ones will be just for paid subs. The money I earn from subscriptions will cover the cost of the newsletter and web platform (Beehiiv), hosting services and other tools I might need. And, with luck and your help, this might turn into something more.
Subscriptions will run $7 monthly or $75 annually (a savings equivalent to about a month and nine days over the monthly rate). For the first 90 days, annual subscribers can save 20 percent and pay just $60 for the first year (renewals will be at the normal rate).
Hit the subscribe button and let’s nerd out together.