6/20/2023 0 Comments Deskovery iii![]() Same for those who are sports fans, news junkies (OK, maybe not Fox News viewers), and reality fans. Incorporating cross-company genre options is requiredĬonsumers who want kids programming want it all – not just Disney’s. Some content and some networks won’t make the cut for enough consumers to be viable, but this is the only way to sustain a system consumers will buy into. ![]() Any streaming bundling will require multiple price points with multiple content choices. It doesn’t matter who’s to blame – programmers demanded all their services be carried on the basic bundle that kept expanding for decades, but cable operators also used every new channel as justification for raising rates. Tiering flexibility is essentialĬable’s biggest problem was the inflexibility of the bundle. It’s disingenuous to think or act otherwise. Consumers have lived with this in some fashion for 40 years and they accept that this is part of the bargain moving forward. But to sustain original, top-quality content creation and distribution, multiple revenue streams from subscribers and advertisers, as well as those from theater ticket buyers and merch purchasers, are essential. The FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV) world – led by platforms such as Fox’s Tubi and Paramount’s Pluto TV – has demonstrated its consumer appeal with its “TV comfort food menu” of access to massive content libraries. Beyond these hurdles, a new era of streaming bundling would require some key elements to work, all hard but not insurmountable: The dual revenue stream is foundational Regulators will likely need some well-navigated handholding. The new alignment of media companies will have to forge a financial partnership that works, from equity ownership to incorporating the understandably frustrated demands from creative stakeholders. I’m frankly skeptical Netflix, Amazon and Apple AAPL will jump onboard here at all. The institutional challenges of a re-bundling are not insignificant. These machinations, plus each actual and potential partner for too long expecting years more growth in the linear business, put just out of reach the collaboration necessary to figuring out an integrated streaming approach. And Disney’s purchase of Fox meant Hulu was no longer a partnership but a Disney-controlled property. ![]() Viacom and CBS spent years battling each other before ultimately reuniting. AT&T T purchased Time Warner, and promptly lost interest in a Hulu investment. Comcast CMCSA purchased NBCU and consequently accepted limits to NBCU’s ability to actively engage in Hulu decision-making. Several subsequent corporate maneuverings ultimately undermined the notion of Hulu’s partnership. It was to be a one-stop streaming destination for premium TV content from all its partners, a group they hoped would only expand. I was part of the original outside team that helped launch Hulu, which was the offspring of Fox FOXA and NBC Universal (David Zaslav was part of this), shortly thereafter joined by Disney and Providence Equity. The irony is the media business already tried this and kind of let it slip through their fingers. ![]()
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