20231213

Montenegro Extends Do Kwon Detention on US, South Korea Requests

Montenegro’s High Court extended the detention of Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon, at the request of the US and South Korea, court spokeswoman Marija Rakovic told Bloomberg.

The court in Podgorica ruled that the term in custody, which would have expired on Friday, be prolonged by two months to Feb. 15, Rakovic said. Both the US and South Korea are seeking the crypto entrepreneur on charges related to the 2022 implosion of TerraUSD, an algorithmic stablecoin.

The High Court ruled last month that Do Kwon may be extradited, leaving it to Montenegro’s justice minister to decide to which country. His defense, however, appealed the decision, which is now being considered by an appellate court, also in Podgorica, Rakovic said.

EK: Do, you should go to the U.S. 🙂

Netflix Posts Viewer Data on Every Show, Film for First Time

Netflix Inc. is ready to tell the world how many people watch its shows.

On Tuesday, the company released global midyear viewer data for every title on its service, the first of what Netflix said will be regular reports.

The political thriller The Night Agent was the most-watched title globally in the first half of 2023, generating 812.1 million hours of viewing, Netflix said. That was followed by Season 2 of the family drama Ginny & Georgia and the debut of The Glory, a South Korean series. Ginny & Georgia delivered the biggest audience if you consider all seasons of a show.

The disclosure by Netflix — the most-detailed ever for any streaming service — follows a months-long fight between Hollywood labor unions and major studios. In the wake of two strikes, writers and actors won more compensation for their work in streaming, and their pay hinges in part on greater disclosure of US viewer data by services like Netflix.

For years, Netflix refused to disclose viewership figures, with other major streaming services following suit. And Hollywood’s creative community initially appreciated not being subject to the Nielsen audience ratings that shows live and die by on broadcast and cable television.

More recently, writers and producers have criticized Netflix, arguing it was hiding audience data to avoid paying more for its most successful programs.

The streaming giant has begun disclosing more data. Its reporting includes audience figures for a handful of popular titles and weekly top 10 lists revealing the most-watched movies and TV shows in English and other languages.

EK: Data going public can reinforce the reward system for creators.