Entertainment
Will Netflix and Other Streaming TV Services Be Commercial Free in 2023
Before this year, Netflix’s decade of unstoppable streaming TV subscriber growth enticed nearly all of Hollywood’s major entertainment companies (as well as some major tech companies) to embrace streaming as the future of television.
In 2019, Disney and Apple both launched streaming services. In 2020, HBO Max and NBCUniversal’s Peacock will join the fray. In 2021, Paramount Plus and Discovery Plus joined forces.
Consumers benefited greatly from the so-called streaming wars. New services launched with big-budget content at low prices, eager for your membership. Some companies provided additional discounts. Throughout much of the pandemic, a slew of theatrical films were streamed the same day they were released in theatres, sometimes for free.
However, subscription prices are increasing: the latest increase hit Disney Plus members on Thursday, followed by Apple TV Plus and Hulu in October and Netflix raising US prices earlier this year. New crackdowns on password sharing are on the way. Ads are also appearing on streaming services where binges were previously commercial-free.
This year brought the costs of combat to light. The first casualties from the battles between these titans will likely be revealed next year. The question is how much you might suffer as well.
It’s a high-stakes battle for the companies involved. New competitors poured billions of dollars into rival services to catch up with Netflix’s now $17 billion annual budget for shows and movies.
According to Jason Kilar, the CEO of both Hulu and HBO Max, spending $10 billion per year on original programming is essentially the entry fee for streaming’s big leagues.
But, this year, Netflix’s freight train of growth jumped the tracks, dragging the rest of Hollywood with it. Then everything started going off the rails all at once.
Netflix’s reversal
Netflix reported its first subscriber losses in a decade in the first half of 2022. When Netflix reported 200,000 lost accounts in April, 30% of the company’s market value vanished overnight. Another 970,000 subscribers left three months later.
Netflix dealt with a sort of corporate identity crisis by launching itself headlong into dramatically different strategies, some of which it had dismissed for years.
Before revealing its shrinking membership, Netflix began testing password-sharing fees in a few counties. Its crackdown will become more widespread next year to get an estimated 100 million people to pay up after using someone else’s account.
After establishing ad-free viewing as the de facto model for streaming, Netflix introduced a new, cheaper tier with advertising only six months after reporting subscriber drops. Another first is that it is experimenting with live programming. It has a live Chris Rock comedy special scheduled for early 2023, and Netflix is reportedly considering adding live sports.
Netflix
Nonetheless, losses had already been reversed before new measures could impact its subscriber. New members who have joined since June have more than compensated for those who left in the first six months.
Although Netflix’s streaming subscriber growth is expected to be the slowest since the days when DVDs-by-mail were still a significant part of the company’s business, the company’s programming is attracting massive audiences: three of its top-five most watched shows ever were released this year. (The other two will be released in late 2021.)
However, greater harm was done. Netflix’s shrinking membership sent shockwaves through Hollywood, knocking the legs out from under the assumption that a big bet on streaming would result in a big payout later.
Disney’s binge has gone too far.
Disney
Disney had long warned investors that its streaming bet would be costly, but the CEO did not expect it to cost him his job.
Disney Plus, the crown jewel of the company’s streaming strategy, emerged as the most successful combatant in the streaming wars. As of early October, it had more than 100 million members, outnumbering any other new service. “It has only taken three short years for Disney Plus to transform from a nascent business to an industry leader,” said CEO Bob Chapek in November. He was fired less than two weeks later.
Chapek’s perceived sins varied. Analysts, investors, and Disney customers have pointed to a variety of issues, including Disney Parks price increases and fees that felt like gouging amid record inflation, an internal restructuring that harmed morale and complicated bureaucracy, clumsy responses to contentious issues such as an anti-LGBTQ bill in Florida, and sluggishness in dealing with cord-assault cuttings on ESPN’s business, which was once a profitable engine of profit for Disney.
However, Chapek’s flaws included a failure to adapt Disney’s streaming business so that it could begin earning returns on the billions of dollars invested in it. The company had planned for Disney Plus’ peak losses to occur in its fiscal year 2021. However, Disney’s total streaming losses in fiscal 2022, which ended in October, were more than double those in fiscal 2021. The losses had not reached their apex last year; they had only scaled a portion of the ascent.
In an unexpected move, Disney’s board fired Chapek last month and recalled his predecessor, Bob Iger, to lead the company again.
Nonetheless, Chapek was fired just weeks before two of his planned Disney Plus profitability measures went live. The service launched its ad-supported tier on Thursday, pricing it at the $8-per-month level that members could previously stream ad-free while raising the ad-free tier by $3 to $11 per month.
It won’t be the last time you see a price increase on your streaming bill.
HBO Max
HBO Max is in disarray after its ownership changed yet again. HBO Max was acquired by the newly formed company Warner Bros. in April. Discovery is a merger of cable-channel behemoth Discovery and WarnerMedia, which AT&T purchased for $85 billion less than four years ago.
Warner Bros. has a mountain of debt and is led by Discovery’s famously frugal CEO, David Zaslav. Discovery has cancelled many HBO Max shows, including a nearly finished Batgirl film that reportedly cost $90 million.
And the costs will eventually be passed on to you.
HBO Max and Discovery Plus will merge into a single service next year. Aside from pairing prestige fare like House of the Dragon with basic-cable reality hits like 90-Day Fiancé, combining $15-per-month HBO Max with $7-per-month Discovery Plus may result in a price increase for some subscribers.
If this is the case, it will join price increases at Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney Plus, Hulu, and Apple in the last year. Only Paramount Plus and Peacock have recently raised their prices among the major US streaming services.
And, at least according to Kilar, to be a profitable winner in the streaming wars, services will eventually need average global subscribers to pay around $15 per month.
That may appear to be the price you’re already paying for many of them. However, if you live in the United States, your price will almost certainly need to be raised to compensate for lower subscription fees charged elsewhere. Netflix’s standard tier – its most popular plan – costs $15.50 per month in the United States.
However, in Brazil, Latin America’s largest economy, the same plan costs half as much. In India, the standard tier of Netflix costs $6, and a mobile-only plan costs less than $2.
Subscription prices must rise everywhere for any global service to reach a $15 average.
Some of 2022’s challenges, such as Netflix’s new ad-supported tier, appeared to benefit streaming customers. It was launched in November and is the cheapest way to access its service in years.
Even so, a sharp right hook is poised to land shortly after. Netflix will begin charging new fees for password sharing early next year. After years of relatively lax enforcement, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarados said Tuesday at a UBS conference that the new account-sharing charges “will be a big focus” in 2023.
“That, like a price increase, doesn’t make anyone happy,” he admitted.
So binge while you still have the money. And if you can’t, at the very least, you’ll get some sleep.
(VOR News) – The “Merc with a Mouth” will return to the big screen in Deadpool & Wolverine this weekend, and his contribution to Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe extends beyond his R rating.
“Deadpool & Wolverine,” the third standalone feature film featuring Ryan Reynolds as the regenerative reprobate, is expected to gross between $160 million and $180 million in its opening weekend at the domestic box office.
The movie has already surpassed the greatest number of ticket pre-sales in 2024, according to data provided by Fandango. It is anticipated that it will break numerous records during its opening weekend.
Most noteworthy among these accomplishments is the most successful premiere for an R-rated film in history, as well as the largest domestic opening of 2024.
Disney and Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” has achieved the highest opening of the year with a total of $154.2 million, as per the data provided by Comscore.
Additionally, the first “Deadpool” film has achieved the highest début for any R-rated feature film with a total of $132.4 million.
Mike Bowers, the president and CEO of Harkins Theatres, a theatre corporation located in Arizona, stated, “I am confident that this will be the largest R-rated film to ever be released if it is released.” Furthermore, it is already one of the most successful presale films in the annals of our company.
“Deadpool & Wolverine” was initially rated R because of its trailer.
It is also the 34th Deadpool & Wolverine film to be released under the Marvel Cinematic Universe banner. The two Deadpool films that preceded it, both of which were rated R, were produced and distributed by 20th Century Fox.
The reintroduction of the X-Men and Fantastic Four into the broader Marvel catalogue was the consequence of Disney’s acquisition of the corporation in 2019.
Similar to other Marvel Cinematic Universe films, “Deadpool & Wolverine” is benefiting from the enthusiasm of its audience.
Audiences are anxious to view the film during its opening weekend in order to prevent spoilers. Disney has maintained the confidentiality of the majority of the film’s content, and only a limited number of press screenings have been conducted prior to the film’s release.
Bowers anticipates that individuals will continue to return for additional viewings in the weeks following the film’s premiere.
He made the observation that “this is a film that there is so much happening, so many jokes and funny sequences that no one is going to be able to eat just one, you know, they’re going to be back.”
Ellis Jacob, the president and chief executive officer of Cineplex, the largest cinema theatre operator in Canada, echoed Bower’s viewpoint. Jacob asserted that “Deadpool & Wolverine” is replete with Easter eggs and that viewers will revisit the film to attempt to locate them all.
Furthermore, he stated that a substantial number of moviegoers are purchasing tickets for premium screenings, such as IMAX, Dolby, and ScreenX, which are more expensive.
Additionally, Marvel has collaborated with movie theatres to grant licenses for items such as collector popcorn tubs and drink containers, which the theatre operators anticipate will be in high demand.
Historically, concessions have been the most profitable revenue source for movie theatres, and the presence of limited-edition products can result in even greater sales of food and beverages.
” Deadpool & Wolverine” is an essential Marvel release.
Shawn Robbins, Deadpool & Wolverine the inventor and owner of Box Office Theory, announced that Disney had “slowed down the pace” and had scheduled fewer films in the series that has dominated the global box office for over a decade. Box Office Theory is also associated with Robbins.
He stated that Disney is making an effort to correct the course after a series of theatrical errors and poor box office performance, as well as a flood of streaming content that overwhelmed even the most devoted fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Robbins pointed out that “in the end, despite the fact that this is a Marvel movie, it may be viewed equally as a midsummer action comedy that stars personalities and brands that are loved by both die-hard fans and casual viewers.”
The fact that Reynolds and Jackman have both made a name for themselves in Deadpool & Wolverine popular culture and have maintained a cordial relationship through interviews and social media makes them an ideal pairing.
Likewise, there is genuine curiosity regarding the first R-rated film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and whether it will retain the qualities that made the first two Deadpool films and [Jackman’s 2017 Wolverine film] Logan so successful.
SOURCE: CNBC
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Turner Sports hopes to continue its long-standing relationship with the NBA.
On Monday, Warner Bros. Discovery informed the league that it will match Amazon Prime Video’s $1.8 billion annual bid. Turner has had an NBA package since 1984, and games have been broadcast on TNT since the network started in 1988.
“We studied the offers and accepted one of them. This will allow fans to continue to experience our unequaled coverage, including the greatest live game productions in the business and our legendary studio shows and talent, as we build on our proven 40-year commitment for many more years,” WBD stated. “We submitted our matching paperwork to the league today.” We are looking forward to the NBA completing our new contract.”
Warner Bros. Discovery Informs NBA It Will Match Amazon Prime Video’s Offer To Carry Games
The NBA Board of Governors approved the league’s 11-year media rights deals with Disney, NBC, and Amazon Prime Video on Tuesday at its meeting in Las Vegas. WBD received all three contracts on Wednesday, beginning the five-day clock for deciding whether to match.
The new deals, for $76 billion, will begin with the 2025-26 season and entail a game being shown or streamed nationally every night during the second half of the season.
The Prime Video package would have offered games on Thursday night after it finished carrying NFL games. The other nights were Friday and Saturday.
TNT would air games on Thursday, with the other nights being streamed on Max.
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav warned at an RBC Investor Conference in November 2022 that Turner and WBD “don’t have to have the NBA.”
Warner Bros. Discovery and the league could not negotiate an agreement during their exclusive bargaining period, which ended in April. Zaslav and TNT Sports Chairman/CEO Luis Silberwasser have recently announced that they intend to match one of the agreements.
“During our four-decade collaboration with the NBA, we have consistently provided exceptional coverage for basketball fans. WBD stated that they behaved in good faith to offer strong proposals that were fair to both parties throughout exclusive and non-exclusive negotiations to maintain their long-standing collaboration. “Regrettably, the league notified us of its intention to accept other offers for the games in our current rights package, leaving us to proceed under the matching rights provision, which is an integral part of our current agreement and the rights we have paid for under it.”
NBC and WBD would alternate broadcasting one of the conference finals series. ESPN and ABC will continue to broadcast the league’s top package and will host conference finals and the NBA Finals each year.
According to people familiar with the negotiations, Amazon’s offer contained a mechanism for paying many years in advance into an escrow account, which many thought would be difficult to match. However, WBD has informed the league that it has the financial resources to do so.
“The Ringer’s” Bill Simmons originally mentioned the Amazon provision on “The Town” podcast.
People talked to the AP anonymously because they were not at liberty to discuss such serious topics.
Warner Bros. Discovery Informs NBA It Will Match Amazon Prime Video’s Offer To Carry Games
WBD pays $1.4 billion per season under the existing nine-year contract, which expires after next season.
WBD is making a large financial investment, but it is necessary. Without the NBA, it would have struggled to charge its present subscriber fees to cable and satellite companies.
Retaining the NBA would also ensure that the popular “Inside the NBA” show will continue. Charles Barkley was dismissive of WBD’s negotiation position and did not believe it would match. Barkley revealed at the end of this season that he planned to retire following the next season.
SOURCE – (AP)
Celebrity
American Who Made Social Media Threats Against Taylor Swift Detained Ahead Of German Concert
BERLIN — An American man who made threats against Taylor Swift on social media was seized before her first concert in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, and will be held in custody until her gigs there end, authorities said Thursday.
swift | AP news Image
American Who Made Social Media Threats Against Taylor Swift Detained Ahead Of German Concert
According to police, the accused stalker, a 34-year-old whose name has not been disclosed, had a ticket to Taylor’s concert at Gelsenkirchen’s Veltins-Arena on Wednesday. They stated that he was detained at event admission checks because an early assessment could not completely rule out a risk.
According to police, the man threatened Taylor and her partner on social media. They say he was detained after receiving tips from the event’s organizers.
The American superstar will perform in Gelsenkirchen on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday as part of her Eras tour. According to authorities, a local court has ordered that the suspected stalker be detained until Saturday.
They went on to say that Swift and the audience were always safe. The event drew approximately 60,000 people on Wednesday evening and went off without incident.
American Who Made Social Media Threats Against Taylor Swift Detained Ahead Of German Concert
Before the concerts, Gelsenkirchen temporarily renamed the town “Swiftkirchen” and honored the singer on a “Walk of Fame” dedicated to local luminaries.
Taylor has plans to perform in two more German cities after Gelsenkirchen: Hamburg and Munich.
SOURCE | AP
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