Second Streaming Surge Wilder Than First

Michael Hedges December 7, 2020 Follow on Twitter

Surge is a common term these days. Coronavirus COVID-19 infections are surging again after a bit of a respite from the first surge earlier in the year. That’s not all. There’s been a surge in interest in chess and other board games. Online shopping is surging, but that’s not necessarily new, along with delivery services. Housing prices and costs are surging in some locales, notably distant from urban centers, but not always. Silver and copper prices are surging, perhaps related to housing and solar panels. Psychiatrists are seeing a surge in anxiety symptoms. Unemployment is also surging.

Streaming media surged and now it is surging again. Several audio and video streaming platforms have been available forever, or so it seems. Spotify launched in 2008, Apple Music following in 2015. Netflix popped up in 1997, followed by Amazon Prime Video and Hulu (Disney) in 2006 and 2007, respectively. These services attracted considerable public attention as digital transition moved into its own new phase and consumer behavior moved into stay-at-home mode. More recently there have been new entrants. often led by legacy media operators and, of course, telecoms.

Warner Brothers’ HBO Max streaming platform is soon to become the first to simultaneously release new productions in theaters. For the US market, the presumptive blockbuster Wonder Woman 1984 will appear on Christmas Day (December 25), always a big movie day for the public. Thereafter, all 2021 film releases - about a dozen - will release to the HBO Max platform and theaters on the same date. After a month, the new releases disappear from HBO Max and become available exclusively in theaters.

Warner Brothers (Warner Bros) is the legacy US film production house, a subsidiary of WarnerMedia, itself a subsidiary of US telecom AT&T. Subscription video on demand (SVoD) service HBO Max was launched last May. HBO Max has a large catalogue, mostly from the HBO pay-TV platform, and distribution relationships with other WarnerMedia subsidiaries.

In the entertainment world, the news was received with the same schizophrenia as every digital revelation. Oh, what a nice disruptive surprise, said some. What took them so long, asked others. Theater operators are quite upset but, in the US, they have deeper issues with a second surge of coronavirus.

US media watchers suggest this “hybrid” release model will only be available for a year. And it is clear the decision came from the marketing side and a bit defensive. “(Our content) is extremely valuable, unless it's sitting on a shelf not being seen by anyone,” said WarnerMedia chief executive Jason Kilar, quoted by CNET (December 4), who added the he had not “spent one brain cell on what the world looks like in 2022.” The HBO Max theatrical releases are not available, so far, to international customers.

Into the streaming fray in the new year comes Discovery (formerly Discovery Communications) with Discovery Plus, effectively relaunching its DPlay service, reported CNBC (December 2). It will be partly ad-funded, hence free to customers, and partly subscription. Its hook is for “super fans” of reality TV personalities like on the Food Network, said chief executive David Zaslav, and, obviously “Shark Week.”

There is a plan for Discovery Plus to enter 25 countries, the US streaming market being quite saturated. Discovery markets itself as an international brand and operates either independently or through joint ventures in 170 countries. Discovery and ProSiebenSat.1 launched the Joyn streaming joint venture in 2019. Earlier Discovery acquired Scandinavian broadcasting assets from ProSiebenSat.1.

Nordic Entertainment Group (NENT) is offloading production and distribution subsidiaries to apply the cash to its streaming video platform Viaplay. NENT Studios UK is up for sale. The plan next year is to bring Viaplay to Poland, the Baltics and the US. Viaplay focuses on sports and international series. NENT is based in Stockholm and derives from broadcast assets split from Modern Times Group in 2018.

Some streaming video services have faced monumental birthing pains. Salto, a joint venture of French public broadcaster France Televisions, TF1 and M6 (RTL), arrived in October to bring French-language competition to the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney Plus, all of which have secured subscribers in France. Unsurprisingly, Salto faced almost continuous regulatory scrutiny, including competition authorities preventing the owners from cross-promoting the service. Salto also is unable to benefit from exclusivity, even on shows and films it produces. It finally launched just as Netflix brought its linear TV product to France.

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