Stephanie Prange
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A Fading Studio System
When Disney bought Fox a few years ago, we lost one of the venerable studios among the group that founded the studio system at the beginning of the last century. Now, Warner Bros. is on the verge of being bought by Netflix or Paramount Skydance, depending on what the shareholders decide and how the regulatory … Continue reading “A Fading Studio System”
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Losing Out on the Pop
As the streaming wars kicked off, Sony Pictures was widely praised for taking a different tack in the streaming space. While Paramount, Warner Bros. and Disney took on Netflix by launching expensive proprietary services that generated financial losses, Sony executives decided to become a streaming content arms dealer of sorts and not take on the … Continue reading “Losing Out on the Pop”
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A Fading Studio System
When Disney bought Fox a few years ago, we lost one of the venerable studios among the group that founded the studio system at the beginning of the last century. Now, Warner Bros. is on the verge of being bought by Netflix or Paramount Skydance, depending on what the shareholders decide and how the regulatory … Continue reading “A Fading Studio System”
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Losing Out on the Pop
As the streaming wars kicked off, Sony Pictures was widely praised for taking a different tack in the streaming space. While Paramount, Warner Bros. and Disney took on Netflix by launching expensive proprietary services that generated financial losses, Sony executives decided to become a streaming content arms dealer of sorts and not take on the … Continue reading “Losing Out on the Pop”
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The New Venu
The old saying “If at first you don’t succeed …” must be the mantra for media executives trying to create a streaming sports empire. It was announced that the new ESPN DTC subscription streaming service launching Aug. 21 will be available with the new Fox One SVOD service (also bowing Aug. 21) for a bundled … Continue reading “The New Venu”
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Merchandising in the Digital Age
Most people have probably noticed that things at the supermarket needed all the time, such as milk and eggs, are way at the back of the store, forcing shoppers to walk past loads of items before getting those necessities. Usually at the front of the aisles — on the endcaps — are specially promoted items, … Continue reading “Merchandising in the Digital Age”
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Trouble at Theaters
The box office is in trouble. The March 14-16 tally was the worst overall domestic weekend box office of the year and the slowest theatrical start for the month of March in 29 years. The 2025 theatrical market is off to a terrible start, with year-to-date North American ticket sales down 7% to $1.34 billion … Continue reading “Trouble at Theaters”
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If You Can’t Beat ’em
The biggest fight yet over sports streaming has ended. Disney, Fox Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery have ended plans for the Venu sports streaming app. First announced last February, Venu was slated to shake up the sports distribution ecosystem, offering a one-stop subscription service streaming ESPN, ABC, Fox and TNT sports content, accounting for 50% … Continue reading “If You Can’t Beat ’em”
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Putting the Video Disc on the Shelf — Like a Buggy Whip
In recent years, the video disc has been treated like the proverbial buggy whip, swiftly being supplanted by streaming. Indeed, retailers have been increasingly putting disc on the shelf metaphorically, instead of physically. Best Buy reportedly is getting out of the market next year. Distributor Ingram in September announced it would ditch disc. Target has … Continue reading “Putting the Video Disc on the Shelf — Like a Buggy Whip”
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AI Hailed as Discovery Solution
At last month’s OTT.X Summit, speakers bemoaned the clunky discovery mechanisms for the vast and growing volume of streaming content. Philippe Guelton, chief revenue officer of Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, called the current FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV) system “a big mess.” “I think we need to give the user a better experience … Continue reading “AI Hailed as Discovery Solution”
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Will Streaming Shift Be Palatable?
In the latest quarterly call, Disney CEO Bob Iger hailed the company’s new recipe for profit in the streaming marketplace — raising prices and inserting ads — two things that may be hard for consumers to swallow. The company Aug. 9 announced a $5 increase in the price of its popular ad-free Disney+, Hulu and … Continue reading “Will Streaming Shift Be Palatable?”
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The Subscription Dance
I recently asked several of my acquaintances, friends and relatives if they had subscribed to and canceled a subscription streaming service (i.e. had they churned in and out of a platform)? It may not come as much of a surprise to anyone to learn that many of those I asked said they had. Many of … Continue reading “The Subscription Dance”
