Streaming service wars news and trends 4 4

[Bosco685]

Cinemax's Banshee is going to be on HBO Max

[Bosco685]

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The family-friendly Hollywood giant bets that more adult programming will help boost subscribers — at the risk of brand confusion.

When Disney launched streamer Disney+ in November 2019, it leaned on the global recognition of Luke Skywalker, Iron Man, Moana and Buzz Lightyear to great effect. The service attracted 95 million subscribers in a little more than a year. Soon, Disney will find out what happens when characters like Olivia Pope, Betty Suarez and Jack Bauer crash its streaming party.

 

On Feb. 23, Disney began adding programming that skews more adult to Disney+ in such markets as Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand under the new streaming brand Star. The entertainment giant’s plan to feature Star as a content hub within Disney+ alongside Lucasfilm, Marvel, Pixar and National Geographic is designed to help fuel sign-ups overseas, but it also stands to create confusion for the family-friendly Disney+ brand.

 

“Everybody knows Marvel and Star Wars and Pixar, but Star is kind of a nebulous general entertainment thing, so it’s much harder to have an obvious value proposition for people,” says Cowen media and entertainment analyst Doug Creutz. “I don’t know that having Star will incentivize somebody who wouldn’t have bought Disney+ by itself to then go buy Disney+.”

 

Edited February 24, 2021 by Bosco685

[media_junkie]

Ok, I am not going to lie, I am loving, LOVING, movies hitting streaming platforms the day of release.  Warner/HBOMax is spoiling me big time, and to a lesser degree Disney/Disney+.  I sure hope this carries forward into next year and beyond, because I never want to go to a theater again.

[▫️]

I love the streaming wars too because we are the only winners. Everyone is trying to get new and better content to us faster. Except Disney. It’s ok, Disney will learn as Black Widow starts to get stale on the shelf. I was excited last year and now if it were to drop on Disney+ next month (it won’t) I would get around to it eventually. No Time to Die is starting to get stale as well. This coming from one of its biggest cheerleaders. But everyone else is upping their game. Not just the big two; Netflix and HBO, but smaller ones like Apple and Hulu. But the theater experience is still the best. Nothing beats big booming moving surround sound bass to add power to the picture. Crowd reactions, applause and even that annoying guy with the phone which I will call out. Call out someone with a phone and it will be like starting that slow clap. Suddenly other voices will start popping in. 

[Bosco685]

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Paramount+, the new subscription service from ViacomCBS, launched Thursday, further crowding the competitive streaming battlefield. It's the last remaining service to launch from a big entertainment company for the foreseeable future.

 

Why it matters: Data shows that most consumers are likely to pay for at most 3-4 services per month. Not every streamer will emerge a winner.

 

Catch up quick: "Paramount+," "Disney+," "Discovery+," NBCUniversal's "Peacock," AT&T's "HBO Max," and "AppleTV" have all launched in the past year and a half, in an effort to catch up to Netflix's dominance.

• Disney's "Hulu" got a head start, launching more than a decade ago, and is now hitting its stride. Other specialized services — like Starz and Showtime operate as standalone properties — for now, at least.

Details: Paramount+ launches in the U.S. and Latin America on Thursday for $9.99 monthly without ads. Come this summer, an ad-supported tier will be available for $4.99 per month.

• The service is essentially a rebranded version of CBS All Access — which includes live sports, news and entertainment — combined with thousands of shows and movies from Viacom's Paramount Pictures and its cable networks, like MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, BET and Paramount Network.
• Paramount+ will boast 36 new original series, including a few classic reboots and spinoffs, like a refreshed “Frasier” series starring Kelsey Grammer, new "Rutgrats" and "iCarly" shows for kids, and a bunch of planned "Avatar" spinoffs.
• Some of Paramount's biggest blockbusters, including "Mission: Impossible 7” and “A Quiet Place Part II,” will appear on the service after just 45 days of airing in theaters. Others will hit the service even sooner.

Be smart: The crown jewel of the Paramount+ portfolio is live sports — its strongest differentiator among other entertainment streaming platforms out there.

• The service will include the NFL, new exclusive international soccer games and more. In a presentation to investors last week, CBS Entertainment Group CEO George Cheeks said football was the top driver of new subscriptions to CBS All Access, followed by European soccer.

Yes, but: Paramount+ launches with a similar challenge to many of its competitors: Some of its best content is licensed to other streamers.

• This includes one of Paramount Networks' top hits, Yellowstone, which the company has licensed exclusively to NBCUniversal's "Peacock" service.

Be smart: Most streaming executives concede that at this point, the goal is to become a viable third or fourth option next to Netflix and Disney+, which are ahead on the streaming battlefield.

• In a little over a year, Disney+ has accrued about 95 million subscribers, nearly half the number of subscribers Netflix has accumulated over the past decade.
• According to the latest Video Entertainment Study from research firm Magid, the average number of services a consumer is willing to subscribe to is 4, and they are willing to pay on average $40 a month.

 

[Bosco685]

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WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar talked about expanding the world of Harry Potter for HBO Max and Warner Bros. during an appearance at an investors conference Thursday.

 

"There's this little thing called Harry Potter, which is one of the most beloved franchises. And we're incredibly thankful to be able to partner with J.K. Rowling and so I would argue there's a lot of fun and potential there as well," Kilar told the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecommunications Conference during a session that was webcast.

 

And that trajectory continues to be bound up with HBO Max as WarnerMedia parent AT&T has placed a big bet on streaming with its direct-to-consumer offering. Kilar pointed to HBO and HBO Max now standing at a combined 41.5 million subscribers to date, well ahead of projections.

 

"It's early days, but given my experience in the industry, we are so far ahead of pretty much any metric, whether it's engagement, usage-per-day, our absolute number of subscribers," Kilar said as HBO Max gets set to launch in Latin America in June.

 

And Kilar addressed inserting advertising into a cheaper version of HBO Max. "It turns out that most people on this planet are not wealthy. If we can wake up and use price and be able to kind of invent and do things elegantly through advertising to reduce the price of the service, I think that’s a fantastic thing for fans," he argued.

 

Kilar also talked about the comprehensive reorganization at the studio to allow WarnerMedia studios to become pipelines to its networks, especially HBO Max, rather than wholesalers of content. "We've been in a business that's largely been defined by wholesaling, by licensing to others. And that's a good business. But I can tell you what's a better business, which is when you get to scale on a global basis with owner economics, and you're able to both produce and develop and distribute where you're in control. That's a better business," Kilar argued.

 

And when asked about how WarnerMedia will handle theatrical releases and other windows post-pandemic, Kilar said he agreed with Disney CEO Bob Chapek telling the Morgan Stanley conference two days earlier that he anticipated shorter theatrical-to-home release windows.

 

"I do tend to agree with Bob Chapek when he says it's hard to imagine going back to 2015 in terms of the windows that existed for theatrical and everything that happened afterwards," Kilar said. But he quickly added there was an industry consensus on moving forward with theatrical releases and expanding streaming options.

 

[media_junkie]

3 hours ago, Bosco685 said:

 

I do Netflix, Disney+ (with the Hulu/ESPN+ add on), HBOMax, and Amazon Prime.  I cannot imagine doing any more of the streaming services as the price adds up fast.  Defeats the whole purpose of ditching cable.

[Bosco685]

35 minutes ago, media_junkie said:

I do Netflix, Disney+ (with the Hulu/ESPN+ add on), HBOMax, and Amazon Prime.  I cannot imagine doing any more of the streaming services as the price adds up fast.  Defeats the whole purpose of ditching cable.

Like I've posted before, I bet this is the same cycle that happens in different consumer-focused industries (cable, telephone, food), is these services are going to be forced after a while to recognize consolidation makes you more competitive.

No way are they going to be super-profitable all trying to build standalone services.

[▫️]

I just checked out Paramount+ and don’t see enough to warrant 10 bucks a month. I got Disney+ for one year at a great rate and may consider keeping it if the rate stays the same. Also have Netflix, HBOMAX, Amazon Prime, AppleTV+ and AMC+.  Will probably drop one or two of those soon. I have enough content for the year.

[Bosco685]

 

[Bosco685]

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AT&T  said Friday that it now expects to reach 120-150 million HBO Max and HBO subscribers worldwide by the end of 2025, well above its October 2019 forecast of 75-90 million.

 

It expects to end 2021 with 67-70 million subscribers worldwide, up from about 61 million at the end of 2020.

 

The telecom giant also said that its WarnerMedia entertainment arm plans to launch a previously announced advertising-supported version of the streamer in June. And it shared further details on the global rollout of the service, saying: "AT&T expects to launch HBO Max in 60 markets outside the United States in 2021."

 

Further details will be shared during the company's Analyst and Investor Day, which will be webcast beginning at 10 a.m. ET. Presenters will include John Stankey, CEO of AT&T, and Jason Kilar, CEO of WarnerMedia.

 

"We’re being deliberate and strategic with how we allocate capital to invest in our market focus areas of 5G, fiber and HBO Max, while being committed to sustaining the dividend at current levels and utilizing cash after dividends to reduce debt," said Stankey in a statement before the event. "Our number one priority in 2021 is growing our customer relationships. It’s about more than just adding to our customer base. It’s about expanding the growth opportunity in our three market focus areas and also increasing our share within each market."

 

And he said: “We’re focused on creating deeper relationships with our current customers to increase their daily engagement with our products and services, enabling us to gather more meaningful insights, drive loyalty, and stay ahead of their rapidly changing preferences. As demand for connectivity and content continues to grow, we are well positioned to deliver."

Competition driving streaming services and expanding coverage! 

[Bosco685]

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Grab some mini-cupcakes: Every episode of NBC's The Office is now streaming for free. Just not for long.

 

NBC's streaming service Peacock is offering all nine seasons of the Emmy-winning comedy for one week starting Thursday.

 

The content includes The Office: Superfan Episodes – extended cuts that include never-before-aired footage, beginning with season three. There's also behind-the-scenes bloopers, featurettes, and interviews (basically, the content you typically get if you buy a full season DVD of a series, except now on streaming).

 

Previously, Peacock snatched The Office away from Netflix, where it sometimes ranked as the streamer's most popular show. You can watch the episodes here.

 

Of course, plowing through 201 episodes of The Office is essentially a full-time job. But if you want to keep watching, you'll have to buy a Peacock subscription for $4.99 and not even think about using somebody else's password because, after all, identity theft is not a joke.

 

[Capn17]

I am like others, I have Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Hulu (free via mobile provider), and HBO Max (started as a trial, yet still hasn't expired or been sent a bill).

I will say the HBO Max app on my SmartTV is horrible.  Captions work/then don't work. Lots of times where I have to re-start the application to get back to the main menu.

I do like the streaming release on the same day as theatre release.  Pretty cool to have something to look forward to each month (assuming it is something I want to watch).

[Bosco685]

 

[Capn17]

Netflix Inks Deal for Rights to Sony Movies, Including Coming ‘Spider-Man’ Films

Netflix Inc. has reached a multiyear agreement with Sony Pictures Entertainment for domestic streaming rights to the studio’s theatrical movies, the companies said Thursday.

The deal will start with Sony Pictures’ 2022 movie slate. As part of the pact, Netflix will have a first-look option to pick up movies Sony is making or licensing specifically for streaming platforms. Netflix has committed to ordering an undisclosed number of those films, the streaming giant said.

Among the releases that will land on Netflix after their theatrical runs are future “Spider-Man” movies and other films based on Marvel characters that Sony has the rights to, including Morbius and Venom. Netflix will also license older movies from Sony’s library. Sony Pictures Entertainment is a unit of Sony Group Corp.

Terms of the five-year deal weren’t disclosed. People familiar with the deal said it would be worth several hundred million dollars annually and more than $1 billion over the course of the agreement. The precise figure will depend, in part, on the box office performance of the films. The Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. -owned pay-TV channel Starz has rights to Sony movies through the end of this year.

Getting access to Marvel titles was a key incentive for Netflix, which is no longer getting fresh Marvel content from Walt Disney Co. as those movies and TV shows moved to the Disney+ streaming service.

 

 

Edited April 9, 2021 by Capn17

[Bosco685]

Amen at least we aren't getting yet another streaming service. 

[@therealsilvermane]

11 hours ago, Capn17 said:

Netflix Inks Deal for Rights to Sony Movies, Including Coming ‘Spider-Man’ Films

Netflix Inc. has reached a multiyear agreement with Sony Pictures Entertainment for domestic streaming rights to the studio’s theatrical movies, the companies said Thursday.

The deal will start with Sony Pictures’ 2022 movie slate. As part of the pact, Netflix will have a first-look option to pick up movies Sony is making or licensing specifically for streaming platforms. Netflix has committed to ordering an undisclosed number of those films, the streaming giant said.

Among the releases that will land on Netflix after their theatrical runs are future “Spider-Man” movies and other films based on Marvel characters that Sony has the rights to, including Morbius and Venom. Netflix will also license older movies from Sony’s library. Sony Pictures Entertainment is a unit of Sony Group Corp.

Terms of the five-year deal weren’t disclosed. People familiar with the deal said it would be worth several hundred million dollars annually and more than $1 billion over the course of the agreement. The precise figure will depend, in part, on the box office performance of the films. The Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. -owned pay-TV channel Starz has rights to Sony movies through the end of this year.

Getting access to Marvel titles was a key incentive for Netflix, which is no longer getting fresh Marvel content from Walt Disney Co. as those movies and TV shows moved to the Disney+ streaming service.

 

 

And so ends Spider-Man's time in the MCU after No Way Home. Disney isn't going to make anymore Spidey movies for Sony if they can't show them on Disney+.

[Bosco685]

 

[media_junkie]

2 hours ago, Bosco685 said:

 

Guess there goes the "One, Two punch" of Top Gun and Black Widow that a certain someone has been saying will "Save Theaters, and give everyone unicorns and rainbows!".

[@therealsilvermane]

1 hour ago, media_junkie said:

Guess there goes the "One, Two punch" of Top Gun and Black Widow that a certain someone has been saying will "Save Theaters, and give everyone unicorns and rainbows!".

Looks like Black Widow's going to have to save the movie theater industry all by herself again.