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Roku Promises to Outdo Cable TV in Reaching Primetime Audiences with Advertising

Roku has announced that it can guarantee advertisers a larger audience during primetime hours compared to some of its traditional cable rivals. While streaming services offer viewers the flexibility to watch their preferred content whenever they want, the hours between 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. are still considered primetime for reaching potential customers, as customers are no longer occupied by work and in a relaxed state during this period. Roku aims to make the delivery of ads a priority during this period, allowing advertisers to connect with a larger audience during these relaxed hours.

Traditional TV programming has retained its appeal to advertisers due to its ability to reach a large simultaneous audience. However, Roku's new offering aims to provide advertisers with a unique advantage by delivering specific ads to individual households based on data and interactive technology. Roku plans to prioritize the delivery of commercials during the chosen date across its Roku Channel and top 100 channels on its platform.

Roku's ability to deliver targeted ads to its 70 million active accounts has attracted advertisers, who could potentially seek to do business with non-traditional players like Roku or Amazon due to their strong connection with consumer households. And Roku makes its offer as the media sector prepares for its annual “upfront” market, where U.S. TV networks try to sell the bulk of their advertising inventory for the next programming cycle. A pilot program conducted in conjunction with a financial-services advertiser by Roku resulted in 15% greater total household reach during primetime than an average program on a top-five cable network, according to the company. (Word count: 271)

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HBO Max and Discovery+ will be combined as Max

Last Wednesday, Warner Bros. Discovery has introduced its new streaming service, Max, which will combine programming from both the original HBO Max streaming service and Discovery+, and go live on May 23. The ad-free version of Max will cost $15.99 per month ($149.99/year), while the ad-supported tier will be $9.99 per month ($99.99/year). A third "ultimate" ad-free version will also be available for $19.99 per month ($199.99/year), featuring 4K UHD resolution, 100 offline downloads, and Dolby Atmos sound.

It is anticipated that the launch of Max will help address glitchiness that has long been a concern for viewers of HBO Max, by ensuring that start times are 20 to 30 percent quicker. In addition, Max will provide users with personalized recommendations across platforms after they finish watching a TV show or film, which were only available on the HBO Max home page. Existing HBO Max subscribers will maintain their access to the rebranded Max at the same price, while Discovery+ subscribers will not be impacted by the launch of Max, though they will be given the opportunity to upgrade their subscriptions to Max.

The launch of Max comes a year after WarnerMedia and Discovery completed their $43 billion merger. They hope to compete with Netflix and Disney+ by combining the best of HBO’s high-brow scripted fare with Discovery’s more low-brow but profitable lifestyle and reality programming.

In order to appeal to a wider audience, Max has been rebranded without HBO's name to distance itself from the high-brow reputation and higher price point that may have deterred some viewers, and Warner Bros. Discovery has announced a range of new programs to promote Max, including Harry Potter and The Conjuring TV shows, a new Game of Thrones spinoff, and a new Big Bang Theory spinoff. Currently, Warner Bros. Discovery has 96.1 million streaming subscribers across HBO, HBO Max, and Discovery+. (Word count: 317)

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Amazon Will Relaunch MGM Streaming Services in Europe as MGM+ International, with Lionsgate Content

Last year, Amazon acquired MGM for a reported $8.45 billion. In January, MGM relaunched Epix, previously owned by Viacom and Lionsgate, as MGM+ in the US. And last week, Amazon announced that MGM's streaming services will be rebranded as MGM+ International in key European countries, and Amazon has signed a “strategic content deal” with Lionsgate for “a significant package of premium films and television series” in support of the change.

With this agreement in place, MGM+ International will stream leading premier series from Lionsgate and Starz, such as the Power franchise, Black Sails, Black Mafia Family, Mad Men and Nashville, in Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain and The Netherlands. And subscribers can watch popular TV shows and movies without incurring any additional charges on their current subscription which is available through Prime Video Channels and costs 3.99 euros or $4.37 per month.

Moreover, customers who subscribed to Lionsgate+ through Prime Video Channels will now have access to MGM+ International streaming service instead, which corresponds with Lionsgate's earlier statement about discontinuing its Lionsgate+ streaming service in several European markets and Japan.

Chris Brearton, VP of Prime Video Studios Corporate Strategy at Amazon, stated that there has been notable growth in the number of subscribers after the U.S. relaunch of MGM+. As a result, MGM's international streaming services will also be revamped and released as MGM+ International in certain countries where additional content investments will be made, to leverage the influence of the distinguished brand and enhance the growth of the premium international SVOD service.

The strategic partnership between Amazon and Lionsgate serves as a testament to Amazon's commitment to the MGM+ brand. By partnering with Lionsgate, Amazon has gained access to a vast array of high-quality content, which will enable the company to further enhance its content offerings on MGM+ International. And this deal has been beneficial to both companies, as Lionsgate's President of Worldwide Television Distribution, Jim Packer, highlighted that the programming agreement confirms the substantial value of their content. (Word count: 331)

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Disney Streaming Strategy: Marvel, Star Wars, Disney And Pixar Titles Will Stay Exclusive, But Others Could "On Occasion" Be Licensed To Third Parties

On Monday, Bob Iger, the CEO of Disney, announced that the company has entered a new phase in its streaming development and may occasionally consider licensing some of its titles to third parties.

The reason for this change should be the increase in operating losses. Their content sales/licensing and other revenues for 2023 Q1 only increased 1% to $2.5 billion and operating loss increased by $114 million to a loss of $212 million. The increase in operating loss was due to lower TV/SVOD distribution results, higher overhead costs and a decrease in home entertainment distribution results. And the decrease in TV/SVOD distribution results was primarily due to reduced sales of film and episodic television content reflecting the shift from licensing content to third parties to distributing it on their own DTC (direct-to-consumer) services.

Having exclusivity to many tentpoles drove early demand for Disney+, which reached 100 million subscribers just 16 months after its November 2019 launch. But right now exclusivity cannot bring enough revenue and subscribers to the company, and they require a path to profitability. As a result, they will consider on occasion licensing other products to third parties. But major products such as Marvel, Star Wars, Disney and Pixar will still be exclusive to the company to offer a unique value proposition to its subscribers, differentiate itself from competitors, and create a loyal user base.

Moreover, according to Disney’s 2023 Q1 report, their direct-to-consumer revenues increased 13% to $5.3 billion, but operating loss also increased $0.5 billion to $1.1 billion. The increase in operating loss was due to a higher loss at Disney+ and a decrease in results at Hulu, partially offset by improved results at ESPN+. Results at Disney+ reflected higher programming and production costs which would not be supportable. From 2021 to 2022, Disney's content spending increased from $25 billion to $33 billion. Therefore, Disney also plans to prioritize quality over quantity by reducing costs on films and TV shows to reach profitability. (Word count: 334)

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Dish Network and Its Customers are Still Dealing With the Aftermath of Cyberattack

Dish Network, a satellite TV provider in the United States, and its customers were impacted by a cyberattack that occurred last month. The attack left some customers unable to access their accounts or certain features for several weeks.

According to a spokesperson, Dish Network restored its website mydish.com last Thursday evening, which allows customers to manage their accounts. Dish also announced that its Boost Mobile service and Sling TV streaming service are both functioning normally. And the company has been signing up and installing new services for customers for several weeks. Dish stated that most of its websites, customer care functions, self-service applications, and payment systems are operational now. However, the company has not confirmed whether any personal data, including billing information, was compromised in the data breach, which has been criticized by customers and cybersecurity experts.

A serious result caused by this cyberattack is the rise of cord-cutters. Lise Brown of Peoria, Ariz., said she has had several service issues with Dish TV. Now, she doesn’t plan to replace Dish with another cable-TV provider. Instead, she would stick with streaming services.

According to analysts at New Street Research, Dish Network's financial performance could be negatively affected by the fallout from the recent data breach. The hack prevented Dish from adding new subscribers for almost a month, resulting in an estimated loss of 75,000 potential new pay-TV customers. This comes as the pay-TV industry is already struggling due to cord-cutting and the rise of streaming services, with Dish losing 268,000 pay-TV subscribers in the last quarter of 2022. The analysts predict that the hack could cause Dish's 2023 revenue to fall by $325 million to $16.2 billion. Dish's shares have fallen by around 23% this month and dropped 1% last Friday, trading at their lowest level since the 2008 financial crisis.

The incident highlights the growing threat of cyberattacks and the need for companies to invest more in cybersecurity measures and response plans. And it also accelerates the process of cord-cutting throughout the pay-TV industry. (Word count: 345)

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The Rise and Fall of Newsmax Ratings Shook Fox News

Newsmax, a relatively new conservative cable-news network, experienced a surge in viewership and ratings following the 2020 U.S. presidential election, which appeared to threaten Fox News' dominant position in the conservative media landscape. This surge in popularity was driven in part by Newsmax's coverage of election-related controversies and its alignment with former President Trump, who was a vocal critic of Fox News during his time in office. Allies of Trump had even planned a buyout of Newsmax.

However, Newsmax's ratings have since declined, and the outlet is struggling to maintain its audience. One reason for this is that Newsmax's initial success was largely driven by its coverage of the 2020 election, which has now faded from the headlines. In addition, Newsmax faces competition not only from Fox News but also from other conservative cable network such as OAN and the Daily Wire. In January, DirectTV even dropped Newsmax, which further undermined its influence.

Moreover, Newsmax's rise has had a significant impact on Fox News, which has had to contend with a loss of viewership and criticism from conservative viewers who feel that the network has not been sufficiently supportive of former President Trump. This has led Fox News to shift its programming in a more conservative direction, with hosts such as Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham becoming more vocal in their support for Trump and his agenda. In addition, because of the higher ratings of some Newsmax programming, Fox News has also made adjustments in the content, programming time, and host of certain programming.

The rise and fall of Newsmax ratings raise interesting questions about the future of the cable-TV landscape and the role that new entrants such as Newsmax will play in shaping it. The shrinking of the overall cable-TV business and the aging of its audience are biggest challenges for cable-news networks. And while Newsmax's initial success suggests that there may be appetite for a more Trump-friendly conservative news outlet, its subsequent decline highlights the challenges of sustaining an audience in a highly competitive and rapidly evolving media landscape. (Word count: 348)

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NBCUniversal Signed A Major Film/TV Deal With Germany’s SevenOne Entertainment

NBCUniversal Global Distribution has inked a major licensing agreement for several thousand hours of programming with German broadcasting group Seven.One Entertainment. The deal is the largest of its kind for the two companies in the territory. It gives Seven.One broadcast, streaming and pay-TV rights to current and upcoming NBCU films and series, including 'Fast X,' 'Jurassic World Dominion,' and ‘Oppenheimer.’ Seven.One has also secured rights to hit library films from the studio, including ‘Inglourious Basterds,’ ‘Notting Hill, ‘and ‘Back to the Future.’

The deal is multi-platform, so Seven.One can stream NBCU films and series on its BVOD service Joyn, broadcast networks Pro7 and Sat.1, or other pay-TV and AVOD channels. “For the first time in a deal with a major studio, we can flexibly decide in which order we play out the strong content – whether first on linear TV, AVoD or SVoD on Joyn,” said Seven.One Chief Content Officer Henrik Pabst. “Classic TV and on-demand will benefit from this approach. In this way, we play out content from Hollywood optimally and precisely in line with our strategy across all platforms and achieve maximum reach.”

Among all these channels of Seven.One, Joyn’s model of service is a comprehensive one fitting most of the audience. It offers three types of content: broadcast content, AVOD, and SVOD. Its broadcast content represents its local aspect, which cannot be delivered by an international streamer. So facing the fierce competition, Joyn offers an alternative to the content offering of international competitors like Netflix and Amazon. Besides, Joyn offers live TV, which is a good driver for getting people onto the platform as well. And on Joyn, AVOD provides free videos for users who don’t want to pay, with SVOD offering content with higher quality and popularity, which helps Joyn to achieve maximum reach as well. As it stands, Joyn has over 70 TV channels available and more than 15 content partners, and that aggregation strategy has worked really well for it. (Word count: 332)

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Showtime Merges with MTV Entertainment Studios

Before being integrated into Paramount+, Showtime has undergone a significant change in the leadership structure: Showtime co-presidents Jana Winograde left the network, and two-decade Showtime veteran Gary Levine stepped down to an advisory role. Several other leaders have joined Jana Winograde in exiting Showtime, including COO and CFO Michael Crotty, exec vp nonfiction Vinnie Malhotra, exec vp and general counsel Rob Rosenberg, and vp and entertainment counsel Kent Sevener. 

What’s following the personnel change is the combination of Showtime and its sister brand MTV Entertainment Studios. Chris McCarthy, the president and CEO of Showtime and Paramount Media Networks, announced that they were going to have a united leadership team for both networks, with Nina L. Diaz as the chief creative officer & president of content and Keith Cox as the president of scripted. 

Even if the leadership structure is altered unimaginably, Amy Israel will stay on at Showtime and continue as exec vp scripted, now reporting to Diaz. And the president of music and tentpole events Bruce Gillmer will continue to oversee all music across the company inclusive of Showtime. McCarthy plans to keep some of the bones of Showtime’s former structure with Levine remaining on board in an advisory role. And there are no changes to Nickelodeon Networks.

To get more support for the merger of MTV and Showtime, McCarthy also stated that these creative powerhouses make some of the biggest hits in TV: From Yellowstone to Yellowjackets, Dexter to The Daily Show, Billions to Beavis, The Chi to The Challenge, Jersey Shore to Tulsa King, Drag Race to The Department, Love and Hip. As a linear and streaming platform in previous days, Showtime is now being integrated into Paramount+ and rebranded to Paramount+ With Showtime. (Word count: 289)

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My Sector is Video Streaming

My sector is Video Streaming and I will be following the Wall Street Journal, Hollywood Reporter, and Screen Rant.