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What each streaming service has up its sleeve in 2023

Major streaming services have upped their game in 2022 with the launch of ad-supported tiers, new live sports deals, hugely successful original series and more. As the streaming wars continue to heat up, media companies have no choice but to raise the stakes. From the HBO Max/Discovery+ merged streaming service to Netflix’s password-sharing offering, here’s what SVOD (subscription video-on-demand) streaming services have planned for next year and beyond.
What HBO Max/Discovery+ is planning for 2023
Earlier this year, Discovery acquired WarnerMedia to form Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), becoming one of the biggest media companies in the United States.
As TechCrunch has reported many times, HBO Max and Discovery+ are combining in 2023. This spring, WBD will launch a merged streaming service that pairs HBO originals and Warner Bros. films with Discovery+’s content library of unscripted shows, documentaries and more. In total, subscribers will have access to nearly 200,000 hours of programming and over 100 brands, such as CNN, TBS, TNT, TruTV, Cartoon Network/Adult Swim, Food Network, TLC, HGTV, ID, Animal Planet and many others.
The streaming service will reportedly be called just “Max,” and will make its debut in the U.S. before launching in Latin America and then in Europe in 2024. While there will be an ad-free and ad-supported option, its ad-free offering will likely cost more than what subscribers pay now for HBO Max’s premium plan, which is $14.99/month.
“Max,” or whatever the company decides to call it, will be a major contender in the streaming wars. HBO, HBO Max and Discovery+ ended Q3 2022 with a combined total of 94.9 million global subscribers.
WBD is also busy planning a free ad-supported streaming (FAST) service to keep up with competitors in the FAST market, including Peacock, Pluto TV, Tubi and Amazon Freevee, among others.
Recently, the company pulled over a dozen HBO originals from HBO Max that will soon move to third-party streaming services. This includes “Westworld,” “The Nevers,” “Raised by Wolves,” “The Time Traveler’s Wife,” “Love Life,” “Made for Love,” “Minx,” “Finding Magic Mike,” “Head of the Class,” “FBOY Island,” “Legendary,” “Gordita Chronicles” and “The Garcias.”
We predict that once WBD launches its FAST offering, it will offer these titles.

Combined HBO Max/Discovery+ service gets an earlier launch date, price hike is to be expected

What Netflix is planning for 2023
Netflix had an eventful 2022. The company launched its $6.99/month ad-supported tier, giving consumers the ability to save a few bucks on their streaming habits. The move validates a common trend in the industry right now — ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) is in. In 2023, Netflix’s “Basic with Ads” plan is predicted to have 7.5 million domestic subscribers, according to J.P. Morgan analyst Doug Anmuth.
Netflix’s subscriber base also rebounded in Q3 2022 after increasing by 2.41 million subscribers, bringing the total to 223.09 million. The company previously experienced two bleak quarters, losing a total of 1.2 million global subscribers.
As far as we know, the streamer has three notable projects in the works for 2023 and beyond.
In early 2023, Netflix will launch an “Extra Members” feature to monetize password sharing. The feature will prompt account members to pay an extra fee to add a sub-account for people sharing the streaming service.
The company has already launched a “Profile Transfer” feature, which lets a member on an existing account transfer their profile to a brand-new account and a “Manage Access and Devices” feature, which allows account owners to remotely log out of devices they don’t want to be signed in to the account.
Also coming to the streaming service next year is a livestreaming capability, with Chris Rock to be the first to test the offering for his upcoming comedy special. Live content could help the streamer attract new subs.
Unfortunately, Netflix is not planning to launch a live sports offering. During the UBS Global TMT Conference, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said, “We’ve not seen a profit path to renting big sports.”
Beyond next year, the company is continuing its investment into gaming. At TechCrunch Disrupt 2022, Netflix VP of Gaming Mike Verdu revealed that a cloud gaming offering is on the horizon. This is a smart move for Netflix as the global cloud gaming market had $1.6 billion in revenue in 2021.
Similarly, there’s a possibility that Netflix will get into PC gaming since it’s looking to hire a game director who’ll be in charge of launching a AAA PC game.
Netflix’s mobile gaming library continues to expand. Entering 2023, Netflix will have launched 50 mobile games so far.

Netflix to expand into cloud gaming, opens new studio in Southern California

What Disney+ is planning for 2023
Looking back on 2022, Disney+ experienced a lot of major changes, including the launch of its ad-supported tier as well as the unexpected return of Bob Iger as CEO.
The “Disney+ Basic” plan is $7.99/month and was launched in order to give Disney+ more subscribers. The company wants to reach 230-260 million Disney+ subscribers by 2024. In the fourth quarter of 2022, Disney+ reported 164.2 million global subscribers in total.
However, there is one major issue with the ad launch: Disney+ Basic is unavailable on Roku devices. TechCrunch estimates that Disney and Roku will reach an agreement to change that sometime in late 2023 — but that’s just a guess.
Alongside Disney+’s new subscription plan, the streamer introduced changes to the Disney Bundle as well as a price hike to its ad-free plan.
In November 2022, Bob Chapek stepped down as CEO of Disney and was replaced by Bob Iger, the former CEO, who had only vacated the spot in 2021. Hopefully, Iger can help the company achieve profitability by its fiscal 2024. In Q4 2022, when Chapek was still CEO, Disney’s direct-to-consumer division lost $1.5 billion in revenue.
In 2023, Disney+ is planning an international expansion to 30 additional countries, which would bring the total to over 160 countries. Over the summer, the streamer launched in 42 countries and 11 territories.
Also, beginning next year, Disney+ will be the exclusive international home for new “Doctor Who” episodes.
One significant feature coming to the streaming service is an exclusive shopping experience for Disney+ subscribers. The online shop, which is currently in the testing phase, offers users merchandise from Disney-owned brands, such as Star Wars, Marvel, Disney Animation Studios and Pixar. The company is also reportedly exploring the idea of a membership program similar to Amazon Prime. There are no official launch dates for either feature.

Disney+ launches its ad-supported tier to compete with Netflix

What Hulu is planning for 2023
Not much happened for the Disney-owned streaming service Hulu this year, apart from annoying price increases and losing titles to rival Peacock. The streamer did however reach a milestone of 58 Emmy nominations. Hulu is also beginning 2023 with 47.2 million subscribers.
If you’ve been following the Disney/Comcast spectacle, then you know that Disney is expected to buy Comcast’s stake in Hulu by the end of 2024. Comcast owns 33%, whereas Disney owns 66%. However, when Chapek was still CEO, he alluded in a Variety interview that Disney could buy the rights sooner than that — perhaps in 2023. This depends on if Comcast “is willing to have discussions that would bring that to fruition earlier,” Chapek said.
Whenever Disney ends up buying Comcast’s stake in Hulu — either by 2023 or 2024 — the company may be planning on merging Hulu with Disney+ and ESPN+. “You know the term soft bundle and hard bundle, right? Soft bundle is, hey, buy all three services for the low price of X. The hard bundle is when things become seamless and without friction. Right now, if you want to go from Hulu to ESPN+ to Disney+, you have to go out of one app to another app. In the future, we may have less friction,” Chapek told Variety.
If Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ were to live inside one platform, many subscribers who already have the Disney Bundle would be overjoyed. While it most likely won’t be a full integration like HBO Max and Discovery+, it will still be an amalgamation of epic proportions. Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ have a combined total of 235.7 million subscribers.

Hulu raises its subscription prices today

What Amazon Prime Video is planning for 2023
Prime Video had a successful 2022, becoming the exclusive home of the NFL’s “Thursday Night Football,” which had its first game watched by 15.3 million viewers, and its “The Lord of the Rings” spinoff was the most-watched series with over 100 million viewers worldwide. “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” is confirmed for a second season.
It’s fair to say that Amazon is heavily investing in content and will continue doing so for the next few years. For instance, the streaming service keeps putting money toward live sports. In 2023, the company will be the home of an exclusive NFL Black Friday game, the first Black Friday game for the league.
Amazon may also take a gamble with theatrical movies, according to Bloomberg. The publication wrote that Amazon might begin spending more than $1 billion a year to produce 12 to 15 films that will premiere in theaters before they make their debut on the streaming service. This would be a notable yet expensive gamble for the company, as it has yet to invest this much into original movies.
The streamer has various original series in the pipeline, including the greenlit limited series “Blade Runner 2099,” a “God of War” live-action series and even at least one “Warhammer 40,000” title that will have “Man of Steel” actor Henry Cavill as the lead.
Speaking of DC actors, Amazon is in the process of closing a deal with Warner Bros. to develop animated DC series for Prime Video. At the Content London conference, the Chairman of Warner Bros. Television Group, Channing Dungey, said, “We are in the process of closing a big deal with Amazon that’s going to feature some of our DC branded content in animation.” For HBO Max to share IP, especially DC content, is extremely notable and will likely boost subscription growth for Prime Video.

Amazon acquires film/TV rights to ‘Warhammer 40,000′ IP

As more SVOD streaming services shift to AVOD, we wouldn’t be surprised if Prime Video considers launching a cheaper ad-supported tier. It’s possible that such an offering would pay off big for Amazon. It’s estimated that Netflix will see $600 million in advertising sales in 2023 alone.
The move makes sense for Amazon as it already has an ad-supported service, Freevee. Amazon Prime Video is also testing an ad format called virtual product placement, which the company announced in May.

Amazon Prime Video’s ‘Thursday Night Football’ starts strong with 15.3 million viewers

What Apple TV+ is planning for 2023
Apple TV+ announced its first foray into live sports this year. We suspect Apple TV+ will keep up with the trend in 2023.
In March 2022, Apple TV+ closed its first live sports deal with Major League Baseball, bringing fans “Friday Night Baseball” games as well as a live show “MLB Big Inning.” The company is launching its subscription service for Major League Soccer fans, “MLS Season Pass” in February 2023.
Like Amazon, rival Apple TV+ would benefit greatly from an ad-supported tier. Apple TV+ recently increased its subscription price to $6.99/month or $69/year.

Apple to launch ‘MLS Season Pass’ subscription on February 1

What Paramount+ is planning for 2023
Paramount+ is ending 2022 with 46 million global subscribers, which was mainly driven by the new partnership with Walmart+, which has a reported 16 million subscribers, as well as offering its premium subscription on The Roku Channel and YouTube. More recently, Paramount+ reported a record number of subscriber sign-ups in November when it premiered its latest hit series “Tulsa King,” starring Sylvester Stallone.
Looking ahead, Paramount+ plans to reach 100 million subs by 2024 and increase streaming content spending to $6 billion, up from $2 billion in 2022. It also has plans to expand international growth, which includes 150 international original titles by 2025.
With the release of high-budget films like “Top Gun: Maverick” and Paramount+ continuing to rely on popular IP, the streamer will likely achieve substantial subscriber growth in 2023. Plus, Paramount+ recently launched an in-app Showtime bundle, giving subscribers access to more content.
That being said, a merger between Paramount+ and Showtime is likely imminent. During Goldman Sachs’ Communacopia + Technology Conference, CEO of Paramount Global, Bob Bakish, confirmed that talks of a merger had taken place internally. While a decision hasn’t been made yet, integrating Showtime into Paramount+ would be the best move for the company.
A price increase is also in the future plans for Paramount+. During the company’s third-quarter earnings call, Paramount Global Executive Vice President and CFO, Naveen Chopra, said that “opportunities to increase price on Paramount+” is to be expected.

Paramount+ offers US subscribers in-app Showtime bundle

What Peacock is planning for 2023
Peacock had a big win in 2022 as it doubled its number of paid subscribers to 18 million this year alone. This was mainly thanks to NBC and Bravo next-day episodes that it pulled from Hulu earlier this year. Peacock was also the Spanish-language streaming home for all World Cup games.
In terms of other content coming to the streaming service in 2023, Peacock will premiere the “John Wick” prequel series, “The Continental,” as well as original series like “Poker Face,” starring “Russian Doll” star Natasha Lyonne. The streamer also recently announced its first original adult animation series, “In the Know,” which will feature “Beavis and Butt-Head” creator Mike Judge and “Silicon Valley” actor Zach Woods.
Beginning in 2023, Peacock will be the exclusive streaming partner of JetBlue, marking a notable deal that will broaden its service to more subscribers.
While things are looking up for Peacock next year, some non-paying subscribers might be very disappointed in the next 12 months or later. NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell stated that “at some point” the company wants to convert Xfinity users to paid subscribers of Peacock. This means customers of Comcast’s Xfinity cable and internet services might not be able to get the streaming service as a free perk anymore. However, this move would make sense for Peacock since 30 million monthly active users can access the streaming service at no additional cost.

Peacock adds live TV from all local NBC stations to its Premium Plus tier

What each streaming service has up its sleeve in 2023 by Lauren Forristal originally published on TechCrunch
What each streaming service has up its sleeve in 2023

HBO/HBO Max and Netflix are top streamers among Golden Globe nominees

Nominations for the 2023 Golden Globe Awards were announced this morning, with HBO, HBO Max and Netflix tied for the lead in the TV category, getting 14 noms each. Major contenders include HBO’s “The White Lotus,” “House of the Dragon” and “Hacks,” as well as Netflix’s “Wednesday,” “Ozark” and “The Crown.”
While the two streaming giants are neck and neck overall, HBO Max had one more TV show on the list. Seven HBO series had a total of 14 nominations, whereas just six Netflix shows made the cut.
HBO/HBO Max shows include “The White Lotus” with four noms, “Hacks” with three, “House of the Dragon” with two, as well as “Euphoria,” “The Staircase” and “The Flight Attendant” with one nomination each. “Barry” also made the nominee list with two.
Netflix, on the other hand, received four Golden Globe nominations each for “The Crown” and “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,” three for “Ozark,” two for its latest hit “Wednesday” as well as “Better Call Saul.” Plus, “Inventing Anna” actress Julia Garner was nominated for best performance by an actress in a limited series.
On the film side, Netflix had nine nominations, including movies “Blonde,” “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” Guillermo del Toro’s “Pinocchio,” “Where the Crawdads Sing,” “The Good Nurse,” “White Noise” and German film “All Quiet on the Western Front.” HBO Max’s parent-company Warner Bros. nabbed three Golden Globe noms for its biographical film “Elvis.”
Last year, Netflix had the most Golden Globes nominations out of any streamer, with 17 total. The company received its first-ever Best Motion Picture (Drama) Golden Globe for “The Power of the Dog.”
HBO and HBO Max earned 10 nominations in the TV category of the 2022 Golden Globes. Earlier this year, the company earned the most Emmy wins overall for shows like “Succession,” “Euphoria” and “Hacks.”

Netflix gets its first Golden Globe for best motion picture (drama) in a bizarre, live-tweeted event

Hulu’s TV shows performed well this year, with 10 Golden Globe nominations. Hulu series that were nominated include “Pam & Tommy,” “The Bear,” “The Dropout,” “The Patient” and “Only Murders in the Building.”
Selena Gomez, who stars in the hit Hulu series “Only Murders in the Building,” picked up her first-ever Golden Globe nomination for acting. Her co-stars, Steve Martin and Martin Short, are also nominated for best performance. In total, “Only Murders in the Building” has four noms.
Earlier this year, Hulu broke its own record by getting 58 Emmy nominations, which was mainly thanks to its series “Only Murder in the Building” and “Dopesick.
The FX series “Abbott Elementary” was by far the most nominated TV show, with five noms in total. The workplace comedy has its streaming rights shared between HBO Max and Hulu.
Apple TV+ pulled six TV noms, including Best Drama Series for “Severance” and Best Limited Series for “Black Bird.” The two shows got three nominations, respectively.
Disney had 3 films nominated, including “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” “Avatar: The Way of Water” and “Turning Red.” The Disney+ show “Andor” was nominated for Best TV Actor with Diego Luna, who plays the lead role as Cassian Andor. The company had six total nominations across four titles.
Both Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures pulled seven films on the Golden Globes nominees list, which will all likely premiere on their respective streaming services, Paramount+ and Peacock. Paramount’s “Top Gun: Maverick” was nominated for Best Picture (Drama) and Best Song and is set to make its streaming debut on Paramount+ on December 22.
“Yellowstone,” a Paramount Network series that streams on Peacock, was nominated for Best TV Actor (Kevin Costner, who plays John Dutton).
Dark comedy “The Banshees of Inisherin” was the most nominated film for this year’s Golden Globes, with eight nominations. It will stream on HBO Max starting tomorrow, December 13. Other major films in contention for awards are “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” “The Fabelmans,” “Tár,” “Babylon” and “Triangle of Sadness.”
NBC and Peacock will stream the 80th Annual Golden Globe Awards on January 10, 2023. This year marks the ceremony’s return to television after it was criticized for lacking diversity. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) noted in today’s announcement that this year is the first time there were 103 international voters, making the total Golden Globe Awards voting body “51.8% racially and ethnically diverse,” HFPA wrote.

HBO and HBO Max nabbed the most wins at this year’s Emmy Awards

HBO/HBO Max and Netflix are top streamers among Golden Globe nominees by Lauren Forristal originally published on TechCrunch
HBO/HBO Max and Netflix are top streamers among Golden Globe nominees

HBO Max comes back to Prime Video Channels

Today, Warner Bros. Discovery and Amazon announced that HBO Max is back on Prime Video Channels in the United States after it left as an Amazon offering in 2021.
Prime subscribers can sign up for HBO Max for $14.99 per month via the Prime Video app or at amazon.com/channels/hbomax. The channel can be canceled at any time.
The companies also noted in an announcement that customers would have access to the upcoming “enhanced” streaming service when it launches in 2023, which will combine HBO Max and Discovery+ content.
“Now, with the addition of HBO Max again, customers can easily add this subscription and enjoy even more award-winning and fan-favorite entertainment on Prime Video,” said Cem Sibay, vice president of Prime Video, in a statement.
“Warner Bros. Discovery is committed to making HBO Max available to as broad an audience as possible while also advancing our data-driven approach to understanding our customers and best serving their viewing interests. Today, we are thrilled to take an important step forward by announcing that HBO Max is returning to Prime Video Channels,” added Bruce Campbell, chief revenue and strategy officer, Warner Bros. Discovery.

Amazon offers more details about why HBO Max isn’t on Fire TV

HBO Max launched in May 2020 without support for Amazon devices because former WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar wanted the streaming service to be available as a dedicated app on Fire TV devices rather than available through Prime Video Channels. A dedicated app gives Warner access to all customer data and subscription revenue as opposed to sharing it with Amazon. Despite this, however, HBO Max became available as a Prime Video Channel months later, likely so more consumers would subscribe to the service.
The streaming service then left Prime Video in 2021 due to the former parent company, AT&T, failing to reach an agreement to extend distribution. WarnerMedia lost 1.8 million subscribers that quarter due to no longer being available on Prime.
Aside from WBD CEO David Zaslav’s questionable content strategy, HBO Max’s return to Prime Video Channels is a smart move for the company. WBD fell short last quarter, missing Wall Street expectations after many titles disappeared from HBO Max.
While the reasoning behind the latest deal wasn’t disclosed, we guess that Zaslav wanted to strike a new deal with Amazon in order to gain new subscribers for the upcoming combined streaming service, which is rumored to be called “Max.”

Warner Bros. Discovery falls short of expectations in Q3 despite success of ‘Game of Thrones’ spinoff

HBO Max comes back to Prime Video Channels by Lauren Forristal originally published on TechCrunch
HBO Max comes back to Prime Video Channels

Chris Rock is set to be the first to perform live on Netflix

After Netflix’s historic launch of an ad-supported tier, a very unexpected move from the streamer, Netflix will make history again with its first-ever livestreaming event starring comedian Chris Rock. The company announced on Thursday that Rock’s live comedy special is set to stream in early 2023, with more details to be announced later.
“Chris Rock is one of the most iconic and important comedic voices of our generation,” Robbie Praw, Netflix vice president of Stand-up and Comedy Formats, said in a statement. “We’re thrilled the entire world will be able to experience a live Chris Rock comedy event and be a part of Netflix history. This will be an unforgettable moment, and we’re so honored that Chris is carrying this torch.”
Netflix confirmed in May that it would roll out a livestreaming capability. The company said it would focus on unscripted content, competition shows, reality reunion specials, live comedy shows and a future “Netflix is a Joke” festival.
Rock is an easy choice for the streamer as he will likely draw in thousands, if not millions, of viewers. This will be his seventh stand-up special overall and his second Netflix special after “Tamborine” premiered in 2018. He also made an appearance at the 2022 “Netflix is a Joke” festival.
Plus, many people will want to tune into Rock’s live comedy special to hear all the Will Smith-related gossip. Rock has yet to talk about the Oscars slap incident with Smith. During a show in London, the comedian told the audience, “People expect me to talk about the bull****, I’m not going to talk about it right now. I’ll get to it eventually, on Netflix,” Deadline reported.

Netflix subscribers may be getting a livestreaming option for unscripted shows and stand-up specials

However, livestreaming tech is complex and typically more unreliable than video-on-demand. A few months ago, many live TV apps crashed across the sports streaming space. If Netflix’s first test with Chris Rock goes well, it will potentially clear the way for dozens of Netflix titles to get the live treatment.
Netflix will also get to compete head-to-head with other live TV streaming services. Most recently, Disney+ had its first-ever live TV show when it debuted Season 31 of “Dancing with the Stars.” While Disney+ didn’t experience any major crashes, there were still reports of the app crashing as well as minor delays and lags.
Now that Netflix has ads and eventually livestreaming, it’s a no-brainer that Netflix should invest in live sports next. Earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal reported that the streaming giant is “warming up to the idea” of live sports coming to the platform.

Netflix is not yet considering live sports — but here’s why it should

Chris Rock is set to be the first to perform live on Netflix by Lauren Forristal originally published on TechCrunch
Chris Rock is set to be the first to perform live on Netflix

Peacock adds live TV from all local NBC stations to its Premium Plus tier

Peacock announced that on November 30, its Premium Plus subscribers will get 24/7 access to their local NBC station in all of NBC’s 210 markets, including live TV programming like local news, sports, weather and entertainment.
Subscribers will soon be able to livestream popular programs like “The TODAY Show,” “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and “Saturday Night Live” without paying for cable. As part of yesterday’s soft launch, some Premium Plus subscribers already gained access to their NBC local affiliate channel livestream.
“With Peacock’s local affiliate livestream, our subscribers are getting the unique combination of the ad-free on-demand content they love with the local news and NBC programming that is already part of their daily life,” Kelly Campbell, president, Peacock and Direct-to-Consumer, NBCUniversal, said in a statement.
NBC’s local affiliate stations join brands and channels like NFL, Golf, Premiere League, NBC News, Sky News, TODAY, Hallmark, WWE and others.
Peacock is likely including more live TV options to compete with rival Paramount+, which has always included local programming on its platform. Paramount+, with its 46 million subscribers, brings live TV to 99% of the United States, the company claims on its website.
After experiencing a slowdown in subscriber growth, it’s also possible that Peacock is urging more of its subscribers to upgrade to Premium Plus. Peacock recently revealed that its total paid subscriber base jumped from 13 million paid subscribers to over 15 million in the third quarter.
While it’s unlikely that many Peacock subscribers of its free ad-supported plan will switch over to the $9.99/month Premium Plus tier, its possible subscribers paying $4.99/month for the Premium plan will want to switch over to get 24/7 access to their local NBC station.
Plus, $9.99/month is a better deal than paying the hefty price for cable or live TV streaming services like Sling TV.
“This is an exciting new offering that expands our best-in-class broadcast and local programming to new audiences,” added Philip Martzolf, president, NBC Affiliate Relations.

Peacock grows its paid subscriber base to 15 million after pulling back shows from Hulu

Peacock adds live TV from all local NBC stations to its Premium Plus tier by Lauren Forristal originally published on TechCrunch
Peacock adds live TV from all local NBC stations to its Premium Plus tier