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Inside the Stream: Charter-Disney, Eluvio, Gracenote for FASTs, Hulu Ownership
Charter and Disney settled their dispute and on this week’s podcast we discuss the outcome. Last week we discussed the broader implications of the impasse. Colin is on his way to IBC in Amsterdam and we catch up on Eluvio and its blockchain-based streaming platform. Also in the news this week was Gracenote’s new metadata solution for FASTs. Last, we discuss recent news that Comcast and Disney have accelerated their timeline to resolve ownership interests in Hulu.
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Topics: Eluvio, Gracenote, Podcast
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Inside the Stream: Charter-Disney Dispute Breaking the Big TV Bundle
Blackouts have been commonplace in the pay-TV industry when operators and TV network owners are unable to come to terms on renewal terms. While the current dispute between Charter and Disney includes typical challenges like pricing and bundling, it also includes Charter’s desire to see its subscribers receive complimentary access to Disney’s DTC apps.
Disney is of course reluctant to do so because it is trying to build a parallel revenue stream as pay-TV declines. Yet, the “pay once, access anywhere” approach was at the heart of the TV Everywhere initiative from years ago, which was meant to provide an elegant solution for subscribers. But that industry effort faltered and TV networks have since invested billions in DTC.
Colin and I discuss what this dispute means for the future on the big TV bundle.
Listen to the podcast to learn more (27 minutes, 27 seconds)
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Topics: Charter, Disney, Podcast
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Inside the Stream: Broadcasters’ SVODs Struggle, But Their FASTs Flourish
This week on Inside the Stream, Colin and I discuss Comscore’s 7th annual State of Streaming report, which was just released. For CTV homes, Netflix leads with 74% reach, followed by YouTube, with 71%, though YouTube has 47 hours of viewing time per month, compared with 35 hours for Netflix. Despite billions of dollars of content and branding investments, broadcasters’ SVOD services lag in both metrics, though their FASTs, especially Pluto TV and and Tubi, are performing well.
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Inside the Stream: FASTs Everywhere: TCL, Fire TV, Google TV, Cox Media
FASTs are everywhere these days, and this week we discuss several new announcements/launches that caught our eye, from providers including TCL, Fire TV Channels, Google TV and Cox Media Group (with “Neighborhood TV”). We discuss the prospects for each of them, and why the trend toward more FAST launches is unlikely to slow down anytime soon.
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Inside the Stream: Linear TV and Pay-TV Decline; Subtitles; Roku Adds Local TV News
First up on Inside the Stream this week Colin and I discuss the latest data from Nielsen’s The Gauge report. While it said that “linear TV” viewing fell below 50% for the first time, we explain how a more accurate headline would probably be that broadcast and cable TV viewing fell below 50%. Viewership is following along with pay-TV adoption, which we also discuss fell further in Q2 ’23.
Also in this week’s podcast, new data shows that watching TV with subtitles has become quite popular, especially among younger audiences. Finally, The Roku Channel is going to stream local news from 30 CBS and FOX channels, further converging broadcast TV and streaming.
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Topics: CBS, FOX, Nielsen, Podcast, Roku
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Inside the Stream: Disney’s D2C Profitability Seems On Track, But At What Cost?
Disney reported its fiscal Q3 2023 this week, with Disney+ global subscribers (excluding Disney+ Hotstar) growing 800K to end at 105.7 million. Both ESPN+ and Hulu stayed approximately flat too. The sore point was Disney+ Hotstar, which lost 12.5 million subscribers to end at 40.4 million, primarily due to the loss of IPL cricket.
It is less clear what’s ahead for Disney+ subscribers with another $3 per month price increase planned, taking the ad-free tier up to $13.99 per month. With the ad-supported tier remaining at $8 per month, the company said it is guiding new subscribers to that tier. Meanwhile Disney will also begin imposing password sharing restrictions like Netflix has. Add in the strikes which will constrain new content, and it seems like elevated churn is on the way.
Colin and I discuss all of these changes and more, as Disney continues to evolve.
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Inside the Stream: WB Discovery Loses DTC Subscribers in Q2 2023
In Q2 2023 WB Discovery lost 1.8 million subscribers globally, including 1.3 million domestically and 500K internationally. On the other hand, ARPU increased to $11.09 domestically and $3.65 internationally, for a blended increase to $7.71. On this week’s podcast we discuss the results and what’s ahead, as the company moves forward with its HBO Max streaming service that now includes Discovery+ content.
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Topics: Podcast, Warner Bros. Discovery
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Inside the Stream: Bad News, Good News For Comcast’s Q2 ’23 Video Performance
In Q2 ’23 Comcast lost 543K domestic video subscribers, up from a loss of 521K a year earlier. In total, for the past 6 quarters, Comcast has lost almost 3.2 million subscribers, or nearly 18% of the 18.2 million subscribers it had on December 31, 2021, to bring it to just under 15 million currently.
On the brighter side, Peacock continues to make progress, adding another 2 million subscribers to reach 24 million. Comcast said some of Peacock’s gains are coming from Comcast video and broadband subscribers who lost complimentary access to Peacock.
Colin and I discuss these various moving pieces, along with the impact of the writers’ and actors’ strikes on both of the businesses.
Listen to the podcast to learn more (25 minutes, 58 seconds)
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Topics: Comcast, Peacock, Podcast