Over-the-top video services aiming to challenge market leaders Netflix, Amazon and Hulu need to feature a variety of programming, said Parks Associates Thursday. Ad-based OTT services have broadened their market appeal over the past few years by incorporating genre categories, with Crackle adding to its nonfiction content, Pluto TV bringing on sports channels and Tubi TV adding kids’ content. “We will see more bundling services emerge like AMC, which bundled together its niche services Shudder, Sundance Now, and IFC Films under the AMC+ service umbrella in order to give viewers more options,” said analyst Paul Erickson. Many niche services have been successful with genres including horror, religious, children’s, and anime content -- and services such as ESPN+, BritBox, and Crunchyroll are an important part of the ecosystem -- but they're unlikely to be the primary content source in a household, Erickson said. Some 44% of viewers who favor a particular genre spend three-quarters of their OTT viewing time on broad-based services, and about half of those spend less than a quarter of viewing time on niche services, said Parks data. Content looms large for consumers, but price is still the leading factor for choosing an OTT service, Erickson said. “A hybrid pricing approach meets consumers where they are,” he said, and maximizing revenue potential with hybrid pricing “will help services finance the growing cost of content library growth.”
FuboTV will carry Root Sports, with Seattle Mariners and Portland Trail Blazers regional games, said the virtual MVPD Thursday. The regional sports network will have coverage of more than 300 live regular-season games, including the Seattle Kraken NHL team's first season.
FuboTV is now on Vizio’s SmartCast platform, said the TV maker Thursday. Subscriptions to the sports-focused service start at $64.99 for up to six users. Sports “continue to be one of the most popular categories of programming on television,” said Katherine Pond, Vizio vice president-business development.
Hulu is raising the price of its ad-supported plan to $6.99 monthly Oct. 8 and its commercial-free version to $12.99, it told subscribers Tuesday. Customers subscribed to the $64.99 Hulu + Live, $13.99 Hulu/ESPN+/Disney+ bundle or through a discount or promotional offer won't be affected by the $1 fee hike, it was learned. In another sign of the ever-shifting streaming space, Amazon emailed HBO subscribers last week saying “HBO has decided to leave Prime Video Channels.” Subscriptions will end Sept. 15, Amazon said, “at which time we will cancel your subscription and issue a pro-rated refund for any remaining service from your last billing cycle.” Amazon is offering HBO subscribers two months of Starz and Paramount+ for 99 cents each through Sept. 17. The companies didn't respond to questions.
Sling TV added the Barstool Sports Channel as an exclusive feature, said the streaming company Friday. It features live content from the Barstool brand's portfolio of video podcasts, blogs and video series. New episodes will be available exclusively on Sling for two weeks.
Debuting new releases on Disney+ cuts off potential viewers who aren’t current subscribers and don’t pick up the service and pay the additional Premium Access fees, blogged Parks Associates analyst Liam Gaughan Thursday, commenting on Disney’s three-pronged strategy for releases via theaters, Disney+ and Premium Access. Parks data shows 44% of viewers are unlikely to subscribe to an online video service for access to an in-demand title, Gaughan said. Referencing comments Disney CEO Bob Chapek made on a July earnings call (see 2108130027), Gaughan said day-and-date release offers viewers more flexibility in viewing options, but it’s not clear at what loss to revenue. “Multiple viewers who could have purchased individual movie tickets may have ended up watching Black Widow together at home, depleting the potential box office revenue,” he said, citing Black Widow’s $367 million global box-office receipts through late August plus $125 million in streaming and download retail receipts and noting the film is one of the lowest grossing Marvel Studios titles released by Disney. A shortened window for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which premiered Friday, “should increase revenue from both anticipating viewers and casual moviegoers,” said Gaughan. A diversified approach lets the company continue experimenting with theatrical and transactional windowing as it observes changing viewing habits, he said. Disney didn't comment Friday.
FuboTV’s gaming subsidiary landed a management services provider certification from the Arizona Department of Gaming that, subject to additional regulatory approvals, would allow Fubo Gaming to offer mobile event betting within the state through a market access agreement with the Ak-Chin Indian Community, said the virtual MVPD Thursday. The integration of sports wagering and livestreaming on fuboTV will be available through the service’s Watching Now feature.
BBC and Netflix will for five years develop and fund new content featuring "disabled creatives both in front of and behind the camera,” they said Friday. Their goal is to “widen the range of stories produced and give disabled writers and creatives greater choice when it comes to the sort of stories they wish to tell,” they said: BBC will take the lead in accepting “project submissions and pitches.”
YouTube surpassed 50 million music and Premium subscribers, including trialers, after nearly six years since it started, blogged the Google streaming service Thursday. Lyor Cohen, YouTube’s global head of music, said music and Premium subscriptions are “key pillars” of YouTube’s monetization, referencing an August blog post outlining premium offerings creators can use to monetize their work. The streaming service paid out $4 billion to the music industry in the past 12 months, he said. Differentiators for YouTube Music include artist engagement, said Cohen, noting Lil Nas X fans were able to watch the premiere of his Industry Baby music video with Jack Harlow. They could also learn the song's lyrics, hear artists talk about its meaning, create a YouTube short with the track and listen to the rapper's back catalog and story. Touting benefits for premium members, Cohen said Tim McGraw hosted a virtual after-party for Premium subscribers following release of a music video.
Vizio added the HBO Max app to its SmartCast TVs, said the TV vendor Wednesday. Vizio will feature an HBO Max content discovery “carousel” on the SmartCast home screen, it said. The SmartCast carousel will include access to 13 HBO Originals programs, plus a rotation of new titles from the HBO Max library.