Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

If, as I believe, ITV is about to be taken over this year and if it's taken over by someone like Disney or Liberty, it will be very hard for the BBC to justify why its putting money into a joint venture with an American company.

And besides, as the article says, the BBC have iplayer already, so how much do they want to prop up this commercial venture and in turn, prop up their ailing competitor?

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

I severely hope not , we already have to many American influences on our media industry.

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

The BBC won't want a Pay/Subscription part to iPlayer, they'll know people won't like it. It would make iPlayer confusing if nothing else, with walls/segregated areas. Better it's under a different brand with known partner.

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

If the BBC needs to raise extra revenue for viewing services within the UK, then does it need to be backed by an Act of Parliament? In which case I think its highly unlikely to happen.

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

I was simply saying I thought it more likely that the BBC would continue with BritBox rather than change iPlayer radically.

British broadcasters need services they control to succeed, including ones that use the Netflix model.

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

Disney shows will continue to be available for broadcasters to buy, even with the launch of Disney+ shortly. This should be a relief to those operating pay tv channels, at least for the time being.

However, whether other streaming services will follow this line is uncertain at the moment.

It does make financial sense because everyone in this line of business will want to maximise their assets.Some shows will be reserved for their OTT service as exclusives, however, at least for the first years following release.

https://tbivision.com/2019/05/24/tbi...-disney-might/

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

It's interesting that HBO Now (the OTT service) in 2018 had only 5 million subscribers in a country the size of the USA with increased competition it's not beyond the realms of possibility to see some struggle to make any impact whatsoever.

HBO is well known in the USA I can't see a similar service attracting many over here.

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

Some people view many of these OTT Services launched by broadcasters as mainly existing as a bargaining tool on wider deals. One often cited in thia respect is CBS All Access, the home of Star Trek Discovery, The Good Fight and The Twilight Zone.

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

We await to see what AT&T do with regards to streaming, but if HBO content is bolted onto the wider Warner library, it should be a success considering the many decades of content they have and licensing rights to future stuff.

However, I still think we will have more media/telco/tech mergers to go besides the obvious recombination of CBS with Viacom. If Disney felt the need to bulk up its content by buying most of Fox, then I expect to see the same thing happen again with the other media companies.

---------- Post added at 19:21 ---------- Previous post was at 19:18 ----------

Apple seems to be in a similar position with its streaming service.

It could go all out and spend mulitple billions on content and it may still do so, but it seems more interested in having a value added service for existing customers and as bargaining chip with other companies to get Apple services on other devices and distribution systems.

---------- Post added at 19:23 ---------- Previous post was at 19:21 ----------

That's my understanding too, which is why I don't see how the BBC needs permission from Ofcom to extend iplayer services, but has already been given the green light to go ahead with Britbox by the regulator.

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

I really doubt it will attract significant numbers when up against the traditional platforms and streaming services from the likes of Netflix , Amazon and Disney.

In fact I'd go as far as to say some of these services will still choose to do content deals internationally.

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

Presumably UKTV will morph into BritBox as part of the BBC's and ITV's plans. I don't see how UKTV's streaming services, let alone channels, will survive when BritBox is around.

---------- Post added at 19:29 ---------- Previous post was at 19:26 ----------

That seems to be the sort of consensus among various analysts too, but the whole reason of Netflix's success, in part, is due to the data collected on its customer's viewing habits.

If some companies like CBS/Viacom never choose to release international streamers and rely on the likes of Amazon and Netflix to distribute their shows internationally, they lose that vital data.

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

Britbox is another streaming service likely to struggle in my opinion.

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

I wasn't worried about whether our broadcasters would all end up under American/foreign ownership, but after a certain show I saw a bit of on Netflix, I am now.

Netflix's Sex Education is the prime example, in my mind, of what may go wrong when a American company tries to do a British show, but with a eye on how it plays out in the States and elsewhere around the world. I was really looking forward to the show, but after viewing 15 minutes of it last month, I could take no more of it. It's more American than British and I hope it doesn't signify how British "broadcasting" may go in the new streaming world.

---------- Post added at 20:03 ---------- Previous post was at 19:33 ----------

Our broadcasters don't need to spend many billions on making shows. Remember the BBC's radiophonic workshop? Things can be done well, but cheap.

Look at how many shows there are from the past (depending on your age) which could be remade for today's audience, there's tons of stuff, but there's been loads of new stories since, as we have great authors. Imagine if a British company had the film/tv rights to Harry Potter. There will be other opportunities.

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

The Sky and HBO co production of Chernobyl seems to have done ok for them both , it's currently rating at 9.7 on IMDB.

https://news.sky.com/story/chernobyl...chart-11727888

Re: Linear is old tech - on demand is the future
 

Yes, it has, and hat's off to them for that. It would be good if we could actually list these shows that are being shown or coming soon, but sadly, these are isolated examples.

Compared with the choice we had just a few years ago, the situation is becoming increasingly dire, because scheduled channels are simply not able to bid for shows that are now destined for the various streaming services.