Sling TV says monthly subscriptions will increase to $35 a month from $30 beginning Aug. 27, matching the new subscriber fee for the Orange and Blue packages. A Reddit user posted the email received Tuesday. The Sling email attributed the price hike to higher content costs. The virtual MVPD noted recent enhancements including increasing DVR storage from 10 to 50 hours, the ability to pause live content, a redesigned app and local channel integration in the Sling guide with Locast. It also has a Watch Party. The Dish Network subsidiary didn’t respond to questions.
North American consumers returned to theaters in big numbers to drive Disney's Black Widow to an $80 million opening weekend, the best of the pandemic era, but it suffered a 68% box office drop in the second weekend due to streaming availability on Disney+, Colliers analyst Steven Frankel wrote investors Monday. Shrinking windows, premium VOD experiments and the recent spike in COVID-19 cases across the U.S. “increase the level of uncertainty around the shape of the box office recovery and what a ‘new normal’ will be," said Frankel. Noting two-thirds of Imax’s box office is generated outside of North America, Colliers said he believes Imax’s premium movie experience, strong ties to influential filmmakers and its large global network “set the stage for a rebound" in the second half 2021 and into 2022, when it will take advantage of pent-up demand. Imax reported better-than-expected Q2 box office results, at $108.6 million, above Colliers’ estimate of $80 million. The analyst modeled Q2 revenue of $45.3 million. Imax reports earnings Tuesday.
The push for Olympics eyeballs continued Wednesday, before the Friday opening ceremonies, with Hulu pitching its virtual MVPD service as a way for users to choose “the sports you love.” Hulu + Live TV plans start at $64.99 a month. Like Roku, which added an Olympics hub and a dedicated tab to its homepage Tuesday (see 2107200027), Hulu is giving users a way to personalize events by sport, it emailed. Hulu promoted watching the Tokyo games “live on the networks of NBCUniversal” and reminded viewers they can record events to a cloud DVR for watching “at your own convenience.” Supported devices include Apple and Android phones and tablets; Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Chromecast digital media players; Nintendo, PlayStation and Xbox game systems; and LG, Samsung and Android smart TVs. A Hulu + Live TV subscription includes access to the NBC Sports app and viewing on up to two screens at a time. Subscribers who want to watch on three screens “on the go” can get the Hulu Unlimited Screens add-on for a $9.99 per month premium, said a support page.
CoComelon and iFood.tv are on Vizio SmartCast TVs, said streaming content publisher Future Today Wednesday. The channels-as-a-service technology stack provider launched 13 ad-supported VOD streaming apps and four free ad-supported linear TV channels on SmartCast.
Netflix had 1.54 million paid net additions in Q2, beating the guidance of 1 million in its April 20 forecast, it reported Tuesday. COVID-19 “has created some lumpiness in our membership growth (higher growth in 2020, slower growth this year), which is working its way through,” said its shareholder letter. Asia Pacific generated about two-thirds of the global paid net adds growth in the quarter, it said.
Connected TV (CTV) is one of the fastest growing segments of the advertising market, Canaccord wrote investors Monday, citing strong advance commitments from the upfront marketplace. Legacy media companies with ad-based VOD platforms are bundling premium CTV ad placements with linear TV inventory for large advertisers, it noted. CTV advertising demand has caught up with supply growth for the first time in several years, resulting over recent months in low-double-digit growth in cost per thousand impressions, it said. Independent measurement and verification have become increasingly important for premium digital video advertising, with only about 70% of video placements viewable, it said. That makes DoubleVerify and Integral Ad Science “a critical part of the advertising tech stack.”
FuboTV agreed with The Cordish Cos. for a mobile Fubo Sportsbook in Pennsylvania, subject to regulatory approvals, it said Thursday. FuboTV plans to integrate gaming with its live sports content, enabling consumers to bet on sports events while they watch. The virtual MVPD has carriage agreements with regional sports networks NBC Sports Philadelphia for the 76ers, Flyers and Phillies and with AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh for the Penguins and Pirates. Scott Butera, president-Fubo Gaming, called the pact a “a significant accomplishment” for its forthcoming Fubo Sportsbook, which in the Pennsylvania market, can also include mobile casino games. Fubo Sportsbook is expected to begin state-by-state rollout in Q4, subject to regulatory approvals in the four states where it has accords.
Starz signed a multiyear agreement with Universal for the studio’s U.S. live-action films to become available exclusively across Starz platforms in the post pay-one window immediately after their pay-one windows, it said Thursday. The deal, which includes the Jurassic World franchise, wraps in select Universal library movies and titles from Focus Features and Blumhouse.
Cinedigm “successfully completed” moving from a “legacy” digital cinema equipment business to “high-growth independent streaming,” CEO Chris McGurk told a call for fiscal Q4 ended March 31. There’s a “huge potential market for our portfolio of enthusiast streaming channels,” said McGurk Wednesday. “This strategy and our channels are perfectly complementary to the big general entertainment subscription services like Disney+ and Netflix.” Cinedigm will soon launch the Elvis Presley Channel as an ad-supported VOD and linear streaming service in partnership with Elvis Presley Enterprises, said Cinedigm Networks President Erick Opeka. Cinedigm distributes 16 “enthusiast” streaming channels through 31 platforms, including TCL, Roku and Vizio, said Opeka.
Netflix is in for another quarter of “modest subscriber growth” when it reports Q2 results July 20, Canaccord Genuity wrote investors Wednesday. Net subscriber additions slowed due to the “strong pull-forward” of subscription VOD adoption during 2020's first half, when the company added 26 million new accounts, it said. “Investors likely will be focused on how much this metric can rebound during 2H21 as consumer behavior normalizes and the release schedule strengthens,” after months in which COVID-19 halted content production, the analyst firm said: “We expect the return of numerous popular original series and a slew of new titles across genres and formats to drive a notable uptick in subscriber acquisition.” Netflix's April 20 projection expected 1 million paid net adds for Q2, compared with 15.77 million in the 2020 quarter, when most of the world went into lockdown.