U.S. households belonging to a subscription VOD service from Netflix, Amazon Prime or Hulu are holding steady year over year in 2021 at 78%, reported Leichtman Research Group Tuesday. Just over 40% of adults stream a top SVOD service daily vs. 40% last year and 33% in 2019, it said, citing a survey of 2,000 households. Those using any of the services daily leveled off “after being pulled forward last year due to the coronavirus pandemic,” said President Bruce Leichtman. “While the breadth of households with a major SVOD service is similar to last year, those with multiple top SVOD services continued to expand.” About 27% of households report having five or more SVOD or direct-to-consumer services. Some 54% of adults watch video on non-TV devices; 58% of U.S. households have more than one of the top three SVOD services vs. 55% in 2020. Ages 18-34 make up 41% of adults using SVOD daily; ages 18-44 are 67%.
FuboTV subsidiary Fubo Gaming got approval from the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission to offer advance deposit online sports wagering within the state through a market access agreement with Casino Queen, it said Tuesday. The virtual MVPD called it an “important next step” for Fubo Sportsbook, due to launch in Q4.
Memberful customers can share paid podcasts directly to the Spotify platform via private RSS feeds, Spotify said Monday. Memberful provides tools and support for monetizing content through customizable software. Artists’ audiences have to be able to access their content “on the platforms and apps they use most frequently," said Tiffany Perko, Memberful marketing head, noting Spotify’s podcast listening hours grew 30% year on year in Q2.
Over-the-top video subscriptions will rise from about 230 million this year to 277 million in 2026, blogged Parks Associates Tuesday. In Q1, the average OTT subscription in U.S. broadband households was roughly 2.5 years. Subscriptions had a strong correlation with age, with younger consumers holding on to a subscription for a much shorter time. Younger consumers may subscribe to a larger number of services “but are more likely to churn through them,” said the report. “Information providers can design support services that appeal to consumers at different life stages, who prefer different channels, and adapt as their needs evolve,” said Everise President Dave Palmer.
Virtual MVPD fuboTV bought exclusive rights for Coppa Italia and the exclusive English language rights in Canada for Serie A in multiyear agreements, said the company Thursday. The agreements are part of fuboTV’s strategy to differentiate its sports-focused programming with exclusive soccer rights, it said.
Redbox inked a deal with Digital Media Rights to add the 24-hour anime-based RetroCrush channel to its ad-supported VOD service, it said Wednesday. Redbox will also add “hundreds” of movies and TV series to its ad-based VOD offering, it said.
YouTube will start adjusting the default upload setting for users ages 13-17 to the most private option available, over the coming weeks as part of new safety and digital well-being options it announced Tuesday for YouTube and YouTube Kids. "Take a break" and "bedtime" reminders, plus autoplay set to off, will be by default, it said. James Beser, director-product management, kids and family, blogged that the company will begin to remove overly commercial content from YouTube Kids such as videos that directly encourage children to spend money.
The Suicide Squad, shot entirely with IMAX cameras, opened to a “disappointing” $26.5 million box office last weekend, Colliers analyst Steven Frankel wrote investors Monday. It’s unclear if the lower than expected turnout was due to “franchise burnout,” the film's availability on HBO Max for no extra charge, an “R” rating or “rising COVID-19 cases,” said the analyst. Jungle Cruise, available on premium VOD for $30 through Disney+, “held up better than expected,” reporting a 55% decline to $15.7 million since its July 30 release in theaters, “despite PVOD availability," said Frankel.
Roku is adding four original TV shows Friday that are exclusive to the Roku Channel for viewers in the U.S., U.K. and Canada: Eye Candy with Josh Groban; Squeaky Clean, a cleaning competition hosted by Leslie Jordan; season two of Thanks a Million; and What Happens in Hollywood, it said Monday. In total, it’s launching 23 new Roku Originals this month, joining 30 that launched in May. Roku Originals were the top five television programs streamed on The Roku Channel this summer (May 20-July 18) by unique views, said the streaming platform.
With results showing the movie business recovering from COVID-19 theater closures at a “faster rate than we expected,” Cinemark CEO Mark Zoradi is bullish on the long-term “stability of theatrical exhibition,” he told a Q2 call Thursday. (See materials here). “Theatrical moviegoing provides a premium, out-of-home entertainment experience that people simply love,” he said. The “unique” experience “has not changed even as in-home delivery technologies have advanced,” he said. “A successful theatrical release is complementary and additive to the overall content owner’s revenue pie, and elevates the perceived value of the movie in subsequent release channels.” Zoradi, who’s retiring as CEO at year’s end and staying on the board, believes in feature films' “exclusive theatrical window” because it’s “critically important to the overall media landscape.” Q2 revenue increased 324.3% to $294.7 million, including a 414.7% increase from theatrical admissions to $153.48 million. Global revenue from theatrical admissions was $37,000 in the year-ago quarter.