Few key things that happened around the Ad Tech & Media Tech world this week.
TV Streaming accounts to break billion barrier in 2020
The company’s latest report, Thematic Research: Internet TV, said that this potential watershed in the history of TV consumption would illustrate how what it called a streaming revolution has changed the way that people consume TV content forever. Looking doing at the fundamental dynamics driving the changes, the analyst said that the shift towards subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) has been accompanied by a race among large media firms to establish themselves in this new world. It noted that the last year has seen the introduction of SVOD platforms from what GlobalData called ‘historic’ media industry leaders such as Comcast (Peacock), AT&T (HBO Max) and Disney (Disney+) in order to knock industry-leader Netflix off its perch. And this transition added the analyst was not only being driven by the cost benefits of switching to cheaper SVOD platforms, but also the flexibility and range of content offered by these providers. “Internet TV will be the single most important technology driving earnings in the film and TV industry over the next two years,” commented Danyaal Rashid, thematic analyst at GlobalData. “There has been a rise in the number of users cutting the cord on their traditional pay-TV subscriptions and opting instead for a range of SVOD services. The increased competition in this space has led to a content war. Players are building up their content libraries in an effort to outperform the rest, but this has come at a high price. For example, Netflix spent $15bn on content in 2019.”…More
Pirate Streaming Service With Two Million Customers Shut Down
An illegal streaming service with two million customers worldwide has been busted by European police. According to police coordination agency Europol, 11 suspects have been arrested for offering illegal access to over 40,000 streaming services, subscription television channels and films from, for example, Netflix, Amazon and HBO. Sixteen more have been questioned. The arrests were made in Spain, Denmark, Sweden and Germany. Property, luxury cars and jewelry, cash and crypto-currencies worth around €4.8 million have been seized, with another €1.1 million frozen in various bank accounts. The group’s profits are believed to have totaled around €15 million. The group’s servers have now been shut down, and their IP addresses disconnected.”The criminal organisation operated mainly from Spain, using various websites in the EU and third countries to grant customers access to television channels and online providers for prices well below market value, by illegally tapping into the signal of established copyright holders,” says European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust)…More
AMC+ is a big new streaming service, but it’s only on Comcast for now
AMC Networks introduced two new streaming video services this week that are likely to appeal to a large audience. But for now, they’re only available to Comcast customers. AMC+ includes original series from AMC and sister networks like SundanceTV and IFC, ad-free with early premieres on demand, along with the streaming services Shudder, Sundance Now and IFC Films Unlimited. The package also includes an ad-free linear network. AMC+ is priced at $4.99 per month to match AMC Premiere, which it is replacing. WE tv+ features programming from AMC’s reality network WE tv and the UMC (Urban Movie Channel) streaming service and is also priced at $4.99 per month. Both streaming bundles are currently only available to Comcast Xfinity TV and Xfinity Flex subscribers. However, an AMC Networks spokesperson said the company is in conversations with other distributors about offering the new bundles.Given AMC Premiere’s widespread distribution – customers who have the AMC channel through more 400 different cable, satellite and other pay TV providers can subscribe to AMC Premiere – there’s reason to believe that AMC+ will eventually get around to a wider audience, too. Both new services will be searchable with the Xfinity voice remote and will be available across multiple devices through the Xfinity Stream app…More
Streaming Is Laying Bare How Big ISPs, Big Tech, and Big Media Work Together Against Users
HBO Max is incredible. Not because it is good, but because of how many problems with the media landscape it epitomizes. If you ever had trouble seeing where monopoly, net neutrality, and technology intertwine, well then thanks, I guess, to AT&T for its achievement in HBO Max. No one knows what it’s supposed to do, but everyone can see what’s wrong with it. For the record, HBO Max is a streaming service from AT&T, which owns Warner Bros. and, of course, HBO. HBO Go, by contrast, is the app for people who subscribe to HBO through a cable or satellite provider. And HBO Now is a digital-only subscription version of HBO. HBO Max is, somehow, not HBO. It’s a new streaming service, like Disney+, offering both the back catalogs of HBO and Warner Bros. and new exclusives. The name, which emphasizes HBO and doesn’t alert people that this is a service where they can watch Friends, has been a marketing problem. But the marketing problem, while hilarious, is not where the biggest concerns lie. The real problem is with AT&T offering HBO Max for free to customers with certain plans, not counting it against data caps for its mobile customers, and launching without support for certain TV devices…More
76% Of U.S. Households Have OTT Services, Vs. 62% With Traditional Pay TV
Three-quarters (76%) of U.S. households had OTT video service subscriptions, versus just 62% with traditional pay-TV services, as of the end of March, according to a new analysis from Parks Associates based on a survey of 10,000 U.S. broadband households. With movie theaters closed and cinematic productions and live events cancelled or postponed due to the pandemic, “services are lacking some high-dollar content at the same time overall video consumption is accelerating,” says Steve Nason, research director, Parks Associates. “OTT services responded by adding new releases and extended free trials. As a result, OTT subscriptions have increased, while the churn has declined slightly since last year.” “But we will see, as lockdowns ease, if these strategies lead to sustainable growth or if the OTT industry needs to adjust again to new viewing patterns,” he adds. Of the 41% of households that took trial subscriptions for at least one OTT service in the last 12 months, 69% adopted at least one paid subscription, according to the survey. “Trial offers can be successful in attracting new users, but as competition increases and household budgets shrink, providers will need to explore new service models, such as making a portion of content free or offering discounts to longer-commitment subscriptions,” Nason asserts…More
