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Apple TV+ Continues Growing Its Family Content

Since its launch in late-2019, Apple TV+ has seen steady but slow growth compared to other streaming platforms. Launched with star-studded The Morning Show, Apple TV+ has grown a small but notable library, including Ted Lasso and See. However, Apple TV+ also has a less well-known element to its content library – Apple Kids. According to Deadline, this holiday season Apple TV+ will release "its first original Peanuts holiday special, For Auld Lang Syne." This was made possible through Apple's partnership with WildBrain, the company behind popular kids' content such as Caillou, Arthur, and Teletubbies, to name a few. However, the special is just one of many Apple TV+ kids' shows and movies that have come out since the service was launched.

This past fall, Apple TV announced "announced its fall lineup of series for kids and families, with Joseph Gordon-Levitt's animated series "Wolfboy and the Everything Factory," premiering on Sept. 24, "Get Rolling With Otis" launching Oct. 8, and "Puppy Place" on Oct. 15. "Wolfboy and the Everything Factory," according to Variety. On top of this, Apple TV+ is also currently airing a Harriet the Spy reboot and is slated to premiere a Fraggle Rock reboot in early 2022. Clearly, Apple TV+ understands the power of children's content in the entertainment and streaming space. While Disney+ certainty offers a robust library of family content, Apple TV+'s strategy shows that they are aiming to compete directly with the Walt Disney Corporation.

In a way, Apple TV+ will likely benefit from bringing in both older and younger audiences by keeping their platform diversified. Additionally, older audiences who may be unattracted to Disney+'s brand of kid-friendly content may find themselves gravitating to Apple TV+, as their kid's department isn't as widely known or indicative of their overall brand.

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Churn Rates Expected to Increase in 2022

With more and more streaming services emerging at a rapid rate, companies are battling for more subscribers. However, they also have to worry about keeping current subscribers, which may prove to be more difficult than originally expected. A recent Deloitte report predicted that “more than 150 million people will cancel a paid streaming subscription in 2022, with a global churn rate of 30 percent,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. The churn rate is even higher in the US at 38%. This trend is largely a result of Gen Z, who “make up a majority of so-called churn and return subscribers.” The vastness of these numbers is certainly on the minds of streaming services who will now need to bring in vast amounts of subscribers in order to make up for people canceling their subscriptions.

Recent Black Friday deals across multiple streaming platforms highlights the mad dash for subscribers. According to Forbes, Hulu’s Black Friday deal was offering the service for just 99 cents for a full year “an 85% discount from the regular monthly price of $6.99 and a $72 savings over the 12 months.” Disney is already struggling with subscriber growth following their November earnings report, which showed slow growth across Disney+ and Hulu. Additionally, Peacock was 50% off, and Paramount+ was offering one month free. While Deloitte’s report could prove to be wrong, streaming services will likely amp up their acquisition efforts in the coming months.

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Broadcast Champions Over SVOD in the U.K.

Netflix’s ‘Squid Game’ received widespread acclaim when it premiered this past September, quickly rising to Netflix’s most-watched show in history. Recently, a BARB upgrade showed that the popularity of ‘Squid Game’ wasn’t enough to beat out popular shows in the U.K., according to Variety. BARB takes television audience measurements from across the U.K. This new upgrade enables the service “to measure the reach and total time spent viewing SVOD services” and “report the audiences to programs viewed on TV sets on the most-watched SVOD services in BARB panel homes.” BARB is able to access this data through router meters that are installed in panels on homes. Due to this, BARB doesn’t need to rely on data from the services they are tracking, making them a valuable third party when it comes to consumer data collection.

The finding showed that “‘Squid Game’ ranked 10th with 5.7 million viewers, after BBC One’s ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ (10.4 million), Channel 4’s ‘The Great British Bake Off’ (8.8 million) and ITV’s ‘The Larkins’ (6.5 million) in the top three spots respectively.” On top of tracking SVOD viewers, BARB can also see user data from their broadcast and video-sharing use. These findings are particularly interesting as they directly show that broadcast channels are still heavily in play in the U.K. According to The Guardian, “Aside from ‘Squid Game’, there were only four other programmes produced by a streaming service that cracked the top 100 most watched programmes on British television sets in October.” While it’s largely thought that streaming is taking over many broadcast channels, it appears that broadcast is underestimated in the grand scheme of the television industry.  

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Streaming Giants Plan to Spend Billions More in 2022

As more and more streaming services emerge, many prominent players in the industry are shelling out billions to produce original content. According to the New York Post, Disney is planning to spend “$33 billion on new movies and shows for its streaming services, Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+” in 2022. Disney spent roughly $8 billion less on content in 2021 ($25 million), proving that they are ready to compete heavily against other streaming giants in the new year. Netflix plans to spend “$17 billion in 2022,” putting them significantly under Disney when it comes to content spending. However, spending more money doesn’t necessarily equate to more subscribers. During Q3 of this year, Disney “added just 2 million customers, while Netflix was able to ride the momentum of its big hit “Squid Game,” giving it 4.4 million new customers for the period for a total of 213.6 million global subscribers.”

According to Realscreen, Disney plans to use the $33 billion to “produce or commission 60 unscripted series, and 15 docuseries or limited series, in 2022 across the company’s linear and streaming distribution platforms.” On top of this, Disney is also slated to make “30 comedy series, 25 drama series, 10 animated series, five made-for-TV movies, and “numerous specials and shorts.” On the other hand, Netflix is making moves into Asia by announcing new foreign language projects following the success of “Squid Game.” While it will take time to see which service will lead in 2022, it is very clear that the industry will continue to get more costly in the future.

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Netflix vs. Sports: How the Streaming Wars Impact Australia

The streaming race continues to ramp up in Australia, according to a recent Variety article. Between January and September of 2021, Australia streamed “20 billion minutes of premium online video” with “SVOD platforms accounting for 70% of premium video streaming, and so-called broadcaster-VoD operations (BVODs) taking 30%.” Netflix has a strong lead in this territory in both subscribers and total minutes streamed. Out of the total SVOD subscriptions in the country, Netflix made up 33% with 19.3 million subscribers, followed by Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ with 15%. However, Netflix’s lead is being threatened by the sports streamers Kayo and Stan.

Kayo currently has “1.2 million subscribers and streaming rights to some 50 sports and 13 live channels,” making it a powerful force in the sports-dominated country. Additionally, Stan, which is comprised of content from “deals with ViacomCBS and NBCU” and has “exclusive rights to the Champions League (soccer) and Rugby Championship,” makes up 18% of all SVOD viewing time ahead of both Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video.

Sports streaming services have been rising in popularity in recent years, mainly due to the fact that they offer live viewing. According to The Ringer, “as league licensing deals expire, megacorporations consolidate, and video quality improves, a new front has opened up on the streaming battlefield” for sports. In countries like Australia, sports will likely continue to challenge Netflix's reign. That is until Netflix fully enters the live sports arena.

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Peacock Moves into International Territories

NBCUniversal’s Peacock is making significant moves into the international market this week. On November 16th, Peacock will be available as a free add-on for Sky TV and Now customers in the U.K. and Ireland, “representing a base of close to 20 million households,” according to Variety. As with other services, the U.K. and Ireland will have access to different than what’s available in the U.S. This expansion marks Peacock’s first move into international territories as they attempt to gain more traction for their relatively young service.

Comcast is clearly making strategic moves to dominate streaming in Europe and the U.K. Just this past August, Comcast and ViacomCBS announced a joint venture to create a new streaming service in Europe, SkyShowtime. According to Deadline, the service is slated to be released in 2022 across 20 European countries, including “Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Kosovo, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden.” The service will combine content from both ViacomCBS and Comcast’s large libraries, including Paramount+ and Peacock. With so many different streaming services, users have more options than ever. This joint venture could prove to be a compelling offer for many in Europe looking to get a good deal for a large amount of content.  

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ViacomCBS Acquires Additional Sports Streaming Rights

According to a recent article by The Streamable, CBS Sports has acquired broadcast and streaming rights to the Barclays FA Women’s Super League, a leading women’s soccer league in Europe. The deal is set to go through 2024, and matches will be streamed on Paramount+ and aired on CBS’s Sports Network. Sports have dominated the cable landscape for years, and with the rise of streaming services, it is likely that more deals will be made across various platforms. The Barclays FA Women’s Super League is “the BFAWSL is now the 16th soccer league ViacomCBS has added to its linear and streaming platform,” making CBS a dominant force in the sports world.

While CBS certainly has a stronghold when it comes to international sports, Disney’s ESPN+ remains a dominant force. According to Digital Trends, ESPN+ offers “select live events, including MLB, NHL, NBA, and MLS games as well as college sports, PGA golf, Top Rank Boxing, and Grand Slam tennis matches.” Additionally, the service is also home to the “United Soccer League, cricket, rugby, Canadian Football League, English Football League, and UEFA Nations League games.” While both Disney and CBS have their foot in the game when it comes to streaming sports, Paramount+ has an advantage by being not solely sports-based. It is likely that more streaming services will start acquiring streaming rights for sports in the coming years.

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Mubi Go Streaming Service Aims to Help Theaters

The introduction of streaming services and the recent global pandemic have put movie theaters at risk of extinction in recent years. Many consumers prefer to stream content from the comfort of their own homes rather than going in person to a theater. However, a recent New York Times article highlights a streaming service that is attempting to help movie theaters: Mubi Go. Launched ten years ago, Mubi is a streaming service that specializes in indie and art-house-style films. Their new initiative, Mubi Go, allows consumers to see one movie a week in person from their content library at a partnering theater. The goal is to help smaller theaters stay afloat while simultaneously garnering new subscribers for the service.

According to Yahoo! Finance, “14% of adults say that they prefer seeing a movie for the first time at a movie theater,” while 36% of adults reported that they would rather stream them at home. The pandemic accelerated the steady downfall of theaters with HBO Max and Disney+ streaming films on their platforms at the same time that they were shown in theaters. It’s unclear if Mubi Go’s business model will prove to be successful as it’s currently only available in New York, Britain, and India. The company has plans to expand into Los Angeles in the coming years as well. Only time will tell if movie theaters can bounce back from the devastation of the pandemic.

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Mobile Games Are Coming to Netflix

Netflix is beginning its push into the video game sector. According to a recent Hollywood Reporter article, Netflix released a variety of mobile games related to their hit show Stranger Things on Android devices. Users can now open the Netflix app on Android devices to “see a dedicated games row where they can select games to download and play.” Notably, Netflix only enables this feature on adult profiles so parents can better monitor what their children are engaging with on the site. While the new feature is currently only available on Android products, the services will be bringing games to IOS products soon.

Netflix is clearly aware of the fact that video games encompass a much larger industry than television and film. According to Zippia, the video game industry had a global market value of $173.70 billion in 2020. This new push is into mobile games is likely only the beginning of video streaming services incorporating other sectors into their business models. Additionally, the mobile games allow Netflix to further advertisers and profit off of their original content. It will be interesting to see how the mobile game feature plays out when it eventually reaches the masses through Apple products.

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Disney+ Moves Into Asia

Disney recently unveiled its plan to bring 18 local-language originals to Disney+ in an effort to boost subscribers in Asia and the Pacific. According to The Hollywood Reporter, titles will be included from “South Korea, Japan, greater China, Indonesia and Australia.” One of the titles announced is a documentary about the mega K-pop group BLACKPINK, which is sure to amass many viewers across the world. Disney is planning on launching its Disney+ service in South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan this coming November. Disney also announced its new Star streaming bundle, which includes “a larger library of content from Disney Television Studios, FX, 20th Century Studios, 20th Television and Touchstone” aimed at increasing its content in Asia.

The recent success of Netflix’s “Squid Game” has opened the door for other services to include international and foreign language content on their platforms. According to CNBC, streaming services will be able to save large amounts of money if Americans begin streaming global content. This is due to the fact that “studios save millions of dollars by hiring local talent instead of Hollywood stars, collecting tax credits and rebates from hungry nations looking for bumps in tourism and recognition, and avoiding strict American union regulation.” Shifting into the Asian market is not only necessary for streaming services to continue to grow, but it could also pave the way for more foreign language content on our screens for years to come.

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Amazon Prime Video Dominates in Japan

As the streaming wars continue to rage on, many companies are beginning to transition their focus to overseas audiences. In a recent Variety article, it was found that Amazon Prime Video is the top streaming service in Japan. Not only does Prime Video have the most streaming minutes in Japan compared to other services, but it also has the “largest share of paying subscribers.” Japan has 44 million SVOD users, with Amazing making up 33% of those consumers. Netflix followed behind with 14%, and “Nippon TV-owned Hulu Japan” coming in next with 6%. Prime Video’s lead is thought to be from “a large library of long-tail content; a bundled e-commerce service; satisfactory platform functionality; distribution partnerships with NTT Docomo and KDDI; and competitive pricing.” Additionally, viewers in Japan tend to watch local content and anime over American series.

In an effort to increase Japanese consumers, Netflix recently announced the “Netflix Festival Japan 2021.” According to Nasdaq, this event will showcase “a wide genre of upcoming titles, star-studded titles from all across the world, Japanese live-action and anime titles, films, series, unscripted shows, documentaries, and more.” Notably, Netflix is focusing on Japanese content to bring in new subscribers that prefer watching content that relates to their country and culture. It will be interesting to see if this new initiative will boost Netflix’s subscriber count in the region; however, it would take a lot to push Netflix ahead 19% to compete directly with Amazon Prime Video.

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Tony Awards Move to Paramount+

After being postponed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tony Awards are back this year but with a strange twist. This year, the award show will be streamed mostly on Paramount+. According to Vulture, the show will implement a hybrid model in which awards will be presented live exclusively on Paramount+ for the first half of the show, and then a series of performances will be aired on both Paramount+ and CBS. Interestingly, the second half of the show will include the “top-three awards of the night: Best Play, Best Revival of a Play, and Best Musical,” so viewers without a Paramount+ subscription can still tune in the discover the nights biggest winners.

Just this past weekend, CBS aired the entirety of the Emmy Awards both on cable and Paramount+. It is interesting to note that this year’s Tony Awards seem to be a test pilot to incorporate Paramount+ as a vital streaming service for audiences. If viewers can no longer watch CBS content with their cable subscription, Paramount+ seems like a valuable alternative. By splitting the broadcast into two parts, CBS may prosper or fail depending on how eager audiences are to watch the Tony’s.

However, award show viewership has steadily been declining. According to the Los Angeles Times, the 2021 Grammy and Golden Globe Awards ratings “dropped more than 50% from 2020 levels.” Clearly, CBS aims to curb a rating drop by giving viewers an alternative watch method while simultaneously garnering a greater audience for Paramount+. It’s hard to tell if this will work out in favor of CBS, but I know that I wouldn’t personally get another streaming service to watch an award show that I can follow through social media instead.

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Welcome to my blog! I will be tracking business news surrounding streaming services.