Streaming services decline for first time!

[XIII]

Except it's not "dead" space.  It's supposed to be like that when you see it on a 16:9 frame.

Believe 2:1/18:9 is the standard for 4k production.  If the TVs available can't display the full height because its a wider picture then it will always have black bars.  whether 8k TVs will "fix" this remains to be seen.

For years films/movies were made typically in 1.85:1 or 2.35:1 aspect ratio.  This generates massive black bars top and bottom on a smaller screen like a TV.  TV is just sort of catching up to that.  Before widescreen was a thing a lot of this when seen at home was the so-called "formatted to fit your TV" bodge, which just boiled down to a 4:3 cut-out pan-and-scan.

18:9/2:1 is no more wasteful than 4:3 material on a widescreen TV, surely?

18:9 is the happy medium of 1.85:1 and 2.35:1 Given you the width of 2.35:1 without losing the height of 1.85:1

[procrastination]

For me, it's not only a matter of money, but of time.

I only subscribe to streaming services if I have the time to watch what's on them. In the months when I don't have time, I don't subscribe to streaming services.

I don't watch a lot on streaming services and usually the only reason I've signed up for them is so I can watch a particular programme. For instance, I am currently signed up to Amazon Prime so I can watch "Star Trek Picard". Previously I've signed up for Netflix (I'm currently not subscribed to it).

I don't know if people are unsubscribing for the same reason as I though (i.e. no time).

[Neil Jones]

Nobody has time to watch everything on every service, its not possible.  Six hundred broadcast channels, the major catch-up services, half a dozen streaming services each having literally thousands and thousands of hours of content... 

Netflix (it says --> here ) <-- had 38k hours of content up to last April.  That's 1,583 days, or 4.3 years.  And that's if you do nothing else with your life but binge watch Netflix 24/7, so no sleeping, no eating, no showers / toilets, no going to work...  The reality is probably closer to 20 years since sleep is mandatory and going to work is sort of a requirement to be able to pay for it...

[Humphrey Hacker]

The increase in streaming services has resulted in a situation where the likes of Amazon etc have been thriving on streaming income for the past several years and then a series of events has come along which has ripped a huge hole in their revenue. Now no-one could have forecasted what’s happened over the past 2 and a bit years but I would hazard a guess that the streaming services have been left wrong-footed

I also think that some of the streaming services will fail as a result in both proliferation and reduced income. I don’t know how many services are officially available in the UK but I would be surprised if more that half are still here in2024.


NB The link below is just for illustration not my view:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...andal.html

[CantGetIn]

Surely anything that surged in popularity during covid and lockdowns is going to decline?

This is not the correct quote I selected, wanted to quote

simpfeld

think you are totally on the money here. Everything is SO Hollywood. No problem with some things being like this, but this all seems very one note. The house style is identical for every programme, everyone is sassy (doesn't matter the genre or type of program), the plot lines are very Hollywood and it's all overly glossy with virtually no depth.

Didn't they joke Netflix wrote it scripts with AI! Couldn't help but think of this.

[Keith]

The increase in streaming services has resulted in a situation where the likes of Amazon etc have been thriving on streaming income for the past several years and then a series of events has come along which has ripped a huge hole in their revenue. Now no-one could have forecasted what’s happened over the past 2 and a bit years but I would hazard a guess that the streaming services have been left wrong-footed

I also think that some of the streaming services will fail as a result in both proliferation and reduced income. I don’t know how many services are officially available in the UK but I would be surprised if more that half are still here in2024.

Already we've had ITV announce that they're effectively planning to rebrand ITV Hub+ as ITV X, and then merge Britbox into this. Similarly across the pond there's been the announcement of CNN+ closing, and presumably it's only a matter of time before HBO Max and Discovery+ are merged.

In terms of streaming services in general I guess a lot will depend on whether the target audience is national or global, and whether the service is 'free' of subscription. National UK based streaming services such as iPlayer, ITV Hub, All4, and My5 I envisage should still survive as they offer a free version, and are provide a catch-up service for their linear channels.

I'd have thought Amazon Prime Video will survive due to their Prime delivery benefits, and the showing of live sport. Similarly I think Disney+ should be fine due to it's huge back-catalogue, thanks in part to various acquisitions over the years.

Perhaps more dubious is Apple TV, which I won't be too surprised if over time transforms into a portal for other streaming services. The fact that Barclaycard customers can get 5 months for free slightly raises an eyebrow as to how generous a period that is. It's also worth noting that a number of streaming services now have (or soon will have) an ad-supported version of their platform at a cheaper subscription price. Whilst this is clearly an attempt to gain more subscribers I wonder if this could backfire as some customers may downgrade from their premium ad-free subscriptions.

[XIII]

I think streamers with a targeted audience will survive. The National Theatre launched NT at Home which lets you stream plays for a monthly cost or you can rent single plays for £7.99.

I suspect Netflix will likely cut back on their spending of content, they'll spend big when they can but the days of throwing money at creatives is over.

[telebox2001]

I do agree that quality over quantity is the way to go. For every Man In The High Castle or The Crown there's a truckload of utter turkeys.

I wonder if having a "shop window" linear outlet for Netflix and to a lesser extent Amazon would be helpful - a lot of the content you never know about as it either doesn't get advertised so if you dont stumble across it you miss it. The other issue of course is that without linear TX you've lost the whole "water cooler" aspect - so you lose the word of mouth aspect.

Often there's enough decent movies on iPlayer (and the other PSB streamers) if you can live with a 2.0 soundtrack.

[James2001]

This was going to happen sooner or later, there's too many streaming services with content spread too thin and people having to pay lots of money to subscribe to all of them, but you have to subcribe to several services to get access to everything you want. And HBO Max and Paramount+ haven't even launched in the UK yet, which will only make things worse. People aren't going to keep paying for multiple services indefinitely, especially once they've seen everyone on one service they're interested in. There really needs to be a consolidation of services, maybe also something like a platform where you can get access to multiple streaming services with one subscription, and for less than it would cost to subscribe to them all individually.

[telebox2001]

Aggregation is the way forward IMO.

The market's so fragmented, so much easier if you could search for a show or film and, whammo, here's where to get it.

[XIII]

I do agree that quality over quantity is the way to go.  For every Man In The High Castle or The Crown there's a truckload of utter turkeys.

I wonder if having a "shop window" linear outlet for Netflix and to a lesser extent Amazon would be helpful - a lot of the content you never know about as it either doesn't get advertised so if you dont stumble across it you miss it.  The other issue of course is that without linear TX you've lost the whole "water cooler" aspect - so you lose the word of mouth aspect.

Often there's enough decent movies on iPlayer (and the other PSB streamers) if you can live with a 2.0 soundtrack.

I can't see Netflix launching a linear service but I wonder if they might down the AVOD route like Amazon has with IMDb TV/Amazon Freevee to monetise their older content.

[Humphrey Hacker]

It’s a hackneyed old phrase but “content is king” and based on that rather flimsy premise I think that the survivors from this downturn will be (in no specific order)
Disney+, Now TV, Amazon and Netflix.

[Neil Jones]

It’s a hackneyed old phrase but “content is king” and based on that rather flimsy premise I think that the survivors from this downturn will be (in no specific order)
Disney+, Now TV, Amazon and Netflix.

Far more likely the content library of the smaller ones will be sold/merged and will expand the library of who it gets sold to. Lovefilm back in the days of when DVD rental was a thing what they didn't already run/power they went and bought, hoovering everybody else out the market, and then it all ended up in the hands of Amazon.

If the same thing happens in the streaming market then the likely winner will be either Disney or Amazon, since both have deeper pockets than Netflix but I feel we may be getting ahead of ourselves. Reading the initial reports anybody would think the company didn't have two pennies to rub together.

[Humphrey Hacker]

It’s a hackneyed old phrase but “content is king” and based on that rather flimsy premise I think that the survivors from this downturn will be (in no specific order)
Disney+, Now TV, Amazon and Netflix.

Far more likely the content library of the smaller ones will be sold/merged and will expand the library of who it gets sold to.  Lovefilm back in the days of when DVD rental was a thing what they didn't already run/power they went and bought, hoovering everybody else out the market, and then it all ended up in the hands of Amazon.

If the same thing happens in the streaming market then the likely winner will be either Disney or Amazon, since both have deeper pockets than Netflix but I feel we may be getting ahead of ourselves.  Reading the initial reports anybody would think the company didn't have two pennies to rub together.

I think some kind of consolidation or aggregation will come along in the future but an Amazon Vs Disney battle to suck up other providers contents will be an intriguing one.

[telebox2001]

I suppose it's like the old ITV model, or commercial radio. There were too many groups and with hindsight it's obvious they'd have to come together eventually. And I think that's true here. There's simply too many providers and the market is too fragmented. In the way that Global and Bauer have taken the lead in eating the smaller fish in commercial radio, two or more providers will have to take the initiative in the streaming arena.

My gut says that might end up being Disney and Amazon. Meanwhile, I believe BritBox will ultimately split with ITV X and the BBC iPlayer taking over in the end. There's still a (not entirely unfair) argument with BBC content that you've already paid for it once anyway!

Certainly if ITV were to acquire Channel 4, that puts ITV in a *very* strong position with a very rich catalogue free of charge.

On that note, one wonders if free ad-supported models are a potential way forward? If you watch a recording on your PVR, you can fast forward through the ads. With streaming, you have to watch them - no option. I'd have imagined that advertisers would much prefer to part with cash in the latter scenario - not to mention that geographic targeting is also then made very easy, and thanks to IP all the data and insight they can eat on impacts etc. I could certainly live with ads in the middle of Bridgerton or The Crown if it saved me £14 a month!