The will be no Merger between Paramount and Warner Bros Discovery
The hot story before the turn of the New Year was a potential merger between WBD and Paramount. Don’t hold your breath on that one. First of all both companies only very recently finished their own respective mergers. On top of that, both companies still seem to be figuring out how all the pieces play together. WBD has been all about debt reduction and write-offs since it came together. It just doesn’t seem like the time for those two massive groups to come together. If you begin to see multiple pieces of each get sold off all bets are off.
Bally Sports will fold completely
The handwriting is on the wall for this one. Bally Sports, which was born as part of a spinoff after the Disney/20th Century Fox merger has just not caught on as a stand alone offering. The move to a Direct to consumer (DTC) model was born out of necessity because so many TV providers stopped offering the linear channel in their packages. It turns out that the most expensive programming on TV, Regional Sports Networks, are not coveted by enough people to stand on their own. Maybe we will see more teams with contracts through broadcast stations again.
Ad-supported streaming will grow
Amazon is not the first major streamer to push ad-driven streaming but its latest move is definitely the most aggressive one. Companies may be willing to bet that increasing the cost of ad-free services while keeping costs low on ad-supported tiers will drive people to the cheaper option and let them double dip. We will see about that. Never underestimate the appetite of the American public to overpay for things. BC while I always get comments after articles like this from readers saying they are done and gone, for the most part, the big services continue to grow. On top of that cell phone companies are again bundling ad-supported streaming packages as part of their data plans. I think it will eventually be the norm to have ads on Netflix and Disney+ the same as it is on Hulu which began as an ad-supported service in the first place. Not necessarily over the next year but eventually.
Fewer original Shows and movies
So many services launched after Netflix became the standard that in order to differentiate themselves they often launched with a couple of major series to anchor them. CBS All Access (Now Paramount+) pushed Star Trek Discovery and Picard and others, Peacock hailed A Brave New World, Punky Brewster and a Saved By The Bell update, and on and on it went. You might not have noticed but every time I turned around it seems like I read that most of these shows got canceled after one season. Others that were promised have never materialized (I’m looking at you new Battle Star Galactica). A lot of shows have been made hoping to cash in on nostalgia but for every Fuller House, there are 10 examples of intellectual property basically peaked in high school. Well, when Gen X was in high school. And original fare has for the most part struggled to gain footing as well. Can you think of a few successful non-Marvel or Star Wars shows on Disney+? Bob Iger has said Disney made too many movies and TV shows to keep up with the quality they needed to deliver. Other will learn that lesson too.
More interactive advertising
Who are the ad wizards that came up with this? It’s a classic cliche. The days of inexpensive ad-free streaming have passed. And to get people more comfortable with paying for advertisements in paid services companies will start getting more creative. So expect to see more poll-based advertising ahead of programming as a choice between pre-ads and ads that interrupt things. Getting key info on likes and needs will likely prove more important to advertisers than a 30-second spot. More product placement such as what we saw in season two of Loki and shoppable ads are probably in our future. Ready to see Dare Devil go to Pizza Hut?
Further crackdowns on piracy
Piracy is and has been a prevailing issue in streaming pretty much since people first started streaming. But over the past few years not only have law enforcement agencies around the world been cracking down on it leading to arrests and prosecutions. This doesn’t mean that guy won’t be at the fair or TV show this year, but he might not. As the major studios focus more and more on streaming as a profit center they will be more aggressive on this front.
Surprise cancelations
You may not be surprised to see a favorite show canceled this year. Some of us feel like its personal :). Does Ryan like it? CANCEL. But in reality, they are not trying to break your heart or mine…I think. But there is going to be a hangover from the long work stoppage from writers and actors. Shows and movies were scheduled and then never started or stopped in their tracks with other projects worked in later. Which ones will be prioritized by studios, actors, and directors is anybody’s guess. This problem saw the end of a premature end for a number of shows in 2023 and it is not over yet.
