VOD : Netflix/Streaming Services

[muppetman11]

Sky extends multi-year programming partnership with WarnerMedia

https://www.skygroup.sky/corporate/m...th-warnermedia

[jfman]

Excellent news. A clear demonstration that the economies of scale and reach of incumbents will leave them in good stead for years, dare I say decades, to come.

[denphone]

Originally Posted by jfman

Excellent news. A clear demonstration that the economies of scale and reach of incumbents will leave them in good stead for years, dare I say decades, to come.

Absolutely despite our own forums Nostradamus and his sage like predictions.

[1andrew1]

Originally Posted by denphone

Absolutely despite our own forums Nostradamus and his sage like predictions.

HBO has always taken a pragmatic view and there's no point taking on Sky when it has a good deal in place that works for both parties. It's probably quite a good negotiating rool to have a streaming service up its sleeve though.

[Horizon]

I agree it's pragmatic, but the whole point of launching streamers was to take on Netflix and keep your own stuff on your own platform.

I see this as excellent news for Netflix, as there was no mention of HBO Max launching beyond the Americas and Europe, but is it really good for Warner/AT&T in the long term? I'm not so sure.

This does cement Sky's position as a pay tv linear provider for a long time to come, even if the other studios like Disney eventually remove their content from Sky. With Warner and Universal material to play with, Sky has plenty of stuff to keep them going.

---------- Post added at 10:29 ---------- Previous post was at 10:27 ----------

Originally Posted by OLD BOY

It's certainly very fluid at the moment, with some going down the direct to customer route and others selling the rights to others. It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the next few years.

Indeed. I had always assumed the other media companies would copy the Netflix way of doing things, but no, they're sticking to their old ways, for now.

---------- Post added at 10:32 ---------- Previous post was at 10:29 ----------

Obviously Disney will have their own streamer, but I wonder if the other Hollywood companies do a "Hulu" and join forces and launch their own combined streamer(s) at some point, or at least a few of them. This announcement seems to indicate that Warner is quite happy doing deals with its existing "partners" aka competitors.

[muppetman11]

I only see Disney going worldwide on its own in the short term but that's just personal opinion.

[Legendkiller2k]

Sonys tv streaming service Playstation Vue will shut down in January 2020.
https://www.polygon.com/2019/10/29/2...down-date-sony

[jfman]

Originally Posted by Legendkiller2k

Sonys tv streaming service Playstation Vue will shut down in January 2020.
https://www.polygon.com/2019/10/29/2...down-date-sony

Oh dear.

[Horizon]

Originally Posted by muppetman11

I only see Disney going worldwide on its own in the short term but that's just personal opinion.

I agree. The others seem to want to keep their existing arrangements going for as long as possible handing a massive gift to Netflix.

---------- Post added at 13:07 ---------- Previous post was at 13:05 ----------

Originally Posted by Legendkiller2k

Sonys tv streaming service Playstation Vue will shut down in January 2020.
https://www.polygon.com/2019/10/29/2...down-date-sony

I think the Japanese are getting tired of their entertainment and gaming assets as their performance, especially in their film division, hasn't been so great. I think Sony might sell their entertainment and gaming divisions next year and that will probably be snapped up by one of the existing players.

[muppetman11]

To be fair if you look at the wording in the press release it doesn't ever say exclusive so are media outlets just speculating that HBO Max won't launch in the Countries Sky operates in.

[jfman]

I find the use of “pragmatic” and “old ways” quite curious. Old ways could easily be described as tried and tested, established, profitable business models. Delivering content into tens of millions of homes.

I suppose pragmatism can be considered devoid of emotion. I suppose there’s some strong emotions going around that streaming must, at all costs be the future and all other delivery models must cease but when you leave that irrationality behind and follow consumer behaviour a deal with Sky makes business, dare I say economic, sense,

[Horizon]

Originally Posted by muppetman11

To be fair if you look at the wording in the press release it doesn't ever say exclusive so are media outlets just speculating that HBO Max won't launch in the Countries Sky operates in.

At the Warner presentation, they clearly say they have the deal with Sky to show their content and co-produce for HBO, so going by that and the fact that no mention was made that HBO Max would launch in the UK or Germany and Italy where Sky also operates, I reckon there is zero chance of seeing HBO Max here in the next few years. HBO Max will launch in South America and other parts of Europe, but clearly Warner don't want to upset Sky (Comcast) yet.

It was also disappointing that no other territories were mentioned. Netflix is global apart from China and a few other places, yet HBO Max (which looks great and has superb content) will only be available in some European countries and the Americas, not exactly a global streamer.

---------- Post added at 16:58 ---------- Previous post was at 16:57 ----------

Originally Posted by jfman

I find the use of “pragmatic” and “old ways” quite curious. Old ways could easily be described as tried and tested, established, profitable business models. Delivering content into tens of millions of homes.

I suppose pragmatism can be considered devoid of emotion. I suppose there’s some strong emotions going around that streaming must, at all costs be the future and all other delivery models must cease but when you leave that irrationality behind and follow consumer behaviour a deal with Sky makes business, dare I say economic, sense,

Think back to why this all started and why Rupert Murdoch sold out to Disney.

[jfman]

“Sold out” is another interesting turn of phrase. One definition of sell out is a betrayal of one's principles for reasons of expedience.

Another pragmatic was to describe what happened was “billionaire makes billions of dollars overnight in trading stocks and shares”.

[Horizon]

Murdoch was a businessman, pure and simple and his own words why he sold, "because I can't compete with the likes of Apple, Google, Netflix etc."

The old way of doing things is dead. Alright not dead yet and it may take decades, but it will be dead and old Hollywood, by all its recent announcements, have just given the crown to Netflix.

[muppetman11]

Warner Media have also signed a deal with Bell Media in Canada.

https://deadline.com/2019/10/hbo-max...ia-1202772410/