Some 300 over-the-top video services are operating in the U.S., doubled from 2014, said Parks Associates Tuesday, citing the impact of theater closures due to COVID-19: Six streaming services ceased operations this year vs. one in 2018. “The decision to delay the latest James Bond film No Time to Die hit the theater industry hard, and Disney’s announcement to move the Pixar film Soul to Disney+ shows studios are putting more emphasis on streaming as many theaters remain closed or at limited capacity," said analyst Steve Nason. Disney leveraged its position as a content creator and streaming service by experimenting with different transactional and windowing options, taking Mulan directly to Disney+ in September, he noted. The NBCUniversal-Roku partnership is a “win-win” for both parties, with NBCU able to distribute its content on a leading streaming video platform and Roku getting a “revenue bump” from Peacock's advertising, he said.
An additional 72 Pluto TV channels are available on the TiVo+ network, said TiVo Thursday, bringing the number of channels to 144. TiVo+ is also adding 13 Spanish-language channels, said the company. TiVo+ unique viewership has grown 90% from March to September, and viewer engagement rose 165%, said the Xperi subsidiary. Pluto TV channels are available now on TiVo Stream 4K boxes and rolling out to select TiVo DVR customers.
Nielsen will start measuring YouTube viewership to help media buyers and sellers “better understand and verify audiences,” said the service Thursday. The initial phase will be enabled in the first half of 2021, beginning with YouTube TV and extending to the YouTube app on connected TVs in the U.S. shortly thereafter, it said. “TV is becoming more digital.” With more than three-quarters of U.S. homes owning at least one connected device and streaming accounting for 25% of total TV usage, the ratings tracker said “it's more important than ever to account for audiences across all platforms.”
Cloud technology is “changing every industry,” including content creation and distribution, MovieLabs Senior Vice President-Technology Craig Seidel told a Digital Entertainment Group webinar Thursday on reducing “friction” in the content supply chain. “If cloud isn’t part of your strategy, it’s time to take a look.” Besides being “absurdly scalable,” the cloud contains “an incredible collection of tools, and it keeps getting better,” said Seidel. In researching cloud-based messaging services for a past project, “we found one that cost $100 per year for up to a million messages a month,” he said. “This was far cheaper and more scalable than anything we could consider doing ourselves. It was a no-brainer.” Seidel’s message for the content supply chain: “If you’re not already using cloud technology, you likely will be soon, and so will your partners.”
Subscription VOD penetration of U.S. households hit new highs in Q1 at around 75%, but the penetration rate has seemingly flattened out, MoffettNathanson's Michael Nathanson wrote investors Wednesday. He said price continues to be a key reason viewers substitute subscription VOD for pay-TV subscriptions, and that trend should continue during the difficult economy.
Disney Music Group debuted a “dedicated destination” on Apple Music Friday with a collection of more than 30 playlists, plus “classic soundtracks” from the Disney, Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars franchises. Disney said it will feature Halloween themes at launch but will update the offering regularly.
Disney should reject the suggestions of “activist investor” Dan Loeb with Third Point Management to redirect the company's $3 billion dividend toward over-the-top content production, Cowen wrote investors Thursday. “While we do expect Disney to announce increased investment in OTT products at its next investor day, we caution that drastically scaling content spend effectively would likely be difficult.” The analyst firm has been “bullish” on Disney+ because it thinks the service can reach “significant scale without overwhelmingly high content spend, due to the quality of Disney's evergreen library.” This "suggests the service could operate at significantly higher margins than competing services that rely on heavy ongoing investment in average quality content to combat churn.” Loeb appears to be under the “implicit assumption” OTT streaming will “devolve” to the model in which one or two dominant players “squeeze out everybody else,” said Cowen. “The history of content doesn't suggest that is likely, because it is far more difficult to monopolize content creativity than technological standards.” A Third Point spokesperson declined comment. Disney didn’t respond to questions. It hasn't announced a date for the next investor day.
The diversity of Netflix’s portfolio and its pace of new content give the streaming video service “an advantage over its peers" and traditional broadcast, Piper Sandler's Yung Kim wrote investors Tuesday. The streaming video leader has a “solid grip” on a category with “massive multi-year growth potential” as more content shifts online, said Kim: Despite increasing competition and unforeseen hurdles, the market will support multiple large players behind Netflix. Its viewing share among teens inched up a point to 34% in fall vs. spring despite competition from new services, the analyst said. YouTube’s share moved up to 32% from 31%, as newcomers Disney+ and Apple TV+ slipped to 6% and 1%. Cable's viewing share declined to 9% from 11%.
Peacock will debut two original shows Monday on its news channel The Choice, featuring MSNBC contributors Mehdi Hasan and Zerlina Maxwell, said the streaming service Friday. “We will continue to expand news content on Peacock with a focus on aggregating varied perspectives and diverse voices," said Jen Brown, senior vice president-topical programming and development. "News is a key differentiator for Peacock."
Disney’s thrice-postponed theatrical release, Mulan, will make its Vudu debut Tuesday, said the streaming service Thursday. The live-action remake is streaming on Disney+ through Nov. 2 at $29.99, the same price it’s commanding on preorder at Vudu and FandangoNOW in SD, HD or 4K. Customers who preorder Mulan on Vudu will get a $3 credit toward other movies and TV shows on the platform when the film is released. At Disney+, subscribers will have access to the title on Dec. 4 at no additional cost (see 2009040049). Disney Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy told a Citi conference last month that fast-tracking the Sept. 4 release of Mulan on Disney+ was “not an easy decision” due to “so many factors at play” (see 2009100020).