Blogs
-
The Home Team Scores
The year 2020 will go down in the history books as the year of COVID-19, a once-in-a-century pandemic that shut down the nation – the world – until scientists could figure out exactly what the hell was going on. It was also the year when all entertainment became home entertainment. With theaters dark, studios pivoted … Continue reading “The Home Team Scores”
-
Is Shine Off Online Pay-Television?
Lost in the hoopla of Disney+ surpassing 103 million subscribers in the second quarter (ended April 3) was the reality that the online TV market leader, Hulu + Live TV, lost 200,000 subscribers during the same quarter. The 5% decline from 4 million subs likely attributed in part to a $10 price hike Disney imposed … Continue reading “Is Shine Off Online Pay-Television?”
-
Is There Hope for Warner Bros. After Three Miserable Years Under AT&T?
The stunning announcement that AT&T wants to unload WarnerMedia and merge it with Discovery strikes me as a long overdue admission by the giant telecom that when it acquired what was then Time Warner less than three years ago, it had absolutely no idea what the hell it was doing. Similar to Verizon Communications ditching … Continue reading “Is There Hope for Warner Bros. After Three Miserable Years Under AT&T?”
-
Departing GameStop Executives Eyeing Lottery-Winning Paydays
July 31 can’t come soon enough for several GameStop executives, including CEO George Sherman, who are slated to exit the video game retailer at that time in a management reorganization driven by incoming chairman of the board Ryan Cohen, co-founder/CEO of online pet supply service Chewy.com. Sherman, CFO James Bell, chief customer officer Frank Hamlin, … Continue reading “Departing GameStop Executives Eyeing Lottery-Winning Paydays”
-
The Home Team Scores
The year 2020 will go down in the history books as the year of COVID-19, a once-in-a-century pandemic that shut down the nation – the world – until scientists could figure out exactly what the hell was going on. It was also the year when all entertainment became home entertainment. With theaters dark, studios pivoted … Continue reading “The Home Team Scores”
-
Is Shine Off Online Pay-Television?
Lost in the hoopla of Disney+ surpassing 103 million subscribers in the second quarter (ended April 3) was the reality that the online TV market leader, Hulu + Live TV, lost 200,000 subscribers during the same quarter. The 5% decline from 4 million subs likely attributed in part to a $10 price hike Disney imposed … Continue reading “Is Shine Off Online Pay-Television?”
-
Is There Hope for Warner Bros. After Three Miserable Years Under AT&T?
The stunning announcement that AT&T wants to unload WarnerMedia and merge it with Discovery strikes me as a long overdue admission by the giant telecom that when it acquired what was then Time Warner less than three years ago, it had absolutely no idea what the hell it was doing. Similar to Verizon Communications ditching … Continue reading “Is There Hope for Warner Bros. After Three Miserable Years Under AT&T?”
-
AVOD Surge a Result of Consumer Quest for All Things Free and Easy
The success, and rapid growth, of ad-supported VOD, particularly if it’s free, doesn’t surprise me. Nor is the expected comeback of the transactional business, which has been kept alive during the pandemic by inventive catalog and anniversary releases and marketing campaigns. As I’ve said on numerous occasions, consumers are primarily driven by cost and the … Continue reading “AVOD Surge a Result of Consumer Quest for All Things Free and Easy”
-
Churn Is OTT’s Great Challenge of 2021; Smarter Data Is the Solution
Every click, tap, and keystroke contains valuable information about the customer on the other side of the screen. Multiply those interactions by the 200 million streaming subscribers in the United States, and the result is a trove of data on how Americans are consuming, and abandoning, content. Media executives are turning to that data to … Continue reading “Churn Is OTT’s Great Challenge of 2021; Smarter Data Is the Solution”
-
Let’s Give Home Entertainment Teams the Respect They Deserve
One of the more disturbing trends in Hollywood is that while home entertainment teams played a key role in keeping the studios afloat during the height of the pandemic, they are now the target of consolidations and restructurings as studios seek to balance the books at a time when the theatrical business is just beginning … Continue reading “Let’s Give Home Entertainment Teams the Respect They Deserve”
-
PVOD, TVOD, Here I Come!
This month’s cover story in the February 2021 issue of Media Play News could’ve been written about me. I love movies. I’m prone to binge-watching episodic series. And I enjoy weird documentaries and concert videos. Since I tend to be a Type A control freak, I like to be in charge of what I watch … Continue reading “PVOD, TVOD, Here I Come!”
-
Older Content Is Streaming Gold
During this month’s virtual CES, Nielsen released its top 10 lists of titles streamed in 2020 in terms of minutes viewed. By far, the acquired titles streaming list was dominated by series that began more than a decade ago, led not unexpectedly by “The Office,” which premiered in 2005. Other 2005 debutantes included “Grey’s Anatomy” … Continue reading “Older Content Is Streaming Gold”
-
Niche Streamers Need to Innovate, Pivot, Consolidate to Compete with ‘Must Have’ Services
We are entering a new phase of hyper-competitive digital distribution that will make 2021 a critical year with massive growth for some, while many others will fight for survival. The primary factor driving this explosive period is well known, as the Hollywood studios have made a bold and dramatic commitment to the SVOD distribution business … Continue reading “Niche Streamers Need to Innovate, Pivot, Consolidate to Compete with ‘Must Have’ Services”