Stay-at-Home Offers OTT’s ‘Once-in-a-Generation Catalyst,’ Says Cinedigm Chief

COVID-19 stay-at-home mandates are a “once-in-a-generation catalyst” for over-the-top streaming, said Cinedigm CEO Chris McGurk on a fiscal Q4 investor call. It’s “vastly accelerating the dramatic and permanent cord-cutting consumer shift to streaming that was already underway,” he said. Cinedigm will phase out its “legacy” digital cinema business over the next two fiscal years, he said. “We are moving to become a pure streaming company with sustainable profitability.” Ad-backed viewership went from virtually zero 15 months ago to 9.7 million viewers in March, he said. Viewership March 31 to May 31, during the peak of the lockdowns, increased to 13.2 million, up 38%, he said Monday. The smart TV has emerged as the “next major battleground in the streaming wars,” said Cinedigm Networks President Erick Opeka, whom McGurk called the “architect” of Cinedigm’s OTT transition. “Just a few years ago, smart TV’s were not very smart, with outdated user interfaces, limited content and apps and very high prices.” More modern smart TVs “have become usable, fast and cheap with fantastic content options,” said Opeka. “With more than 250 million sets shipping annually worldwide, it is easy to see how this business scales.” The quarter ended March 31.