Архив метки: Warner Bros

Disney+ and Hulu content to combine into one streaming app

In a significant move made by Disney, the company announced Wednesday that U.S. customers are getting a new app that combines Disney+ and Hulu content.
The company also announced that it is raising the price of the Disney+ ad-free tier later in the year.
During Disney’s quarterly earnings call, CEO Bob Iger revealed that the new streaming option will launch later this year. However, the company also plans to keep Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ as standalone platforms.
The news comes after Disney+ lost 4 million subscribers in the second quarter of 2023. Hulu gained 200,000 subs.
“While we continue to offer Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ as standalone options, this is a logical progression of our [direct-to-consumer] offerings that will provide greater opportunities for advertisers while giving subscribers access to more robust and streamlined content, resulting in greater audience engagement and ultimately leading to a more unified streaming experience,” Iger stated during the earnings call.
Many of us saw this announcement coming since former Disney CEO Bob Chapek hinted at the plans in September 2022.
“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 in an interview last year.
This also appears to support the reports that Disney is planning to buy Comcast’s stake in Hulu by 2024. Currently, Comcast owns 33% and Disney owns 66%.
The integration follows other moves made by competitors, such as Paramount+ combining with Showtime, as well as Warner Bros. Discovery announcing its new streaming service, Max, which merges HBO Max and Discovery+ into one platform.
Subscribers in select countries outside of the U.S. already have Hulu content bundled with Disney+.
When the streamer launched its ad-supported plan in December, the cost of its premium tier went up to $10.99/month, compared to $7.99. Disney+ will get yet another price hike for its ad-free subscription. Soon, subscribers will have to pay even more to get content with no ads.
“The pricing changes we’ve already implemented [have] proven successful, and we plan to set a higher price for our ad-free tier later this year to better reflect the value of our content offerings,” Iger added. “As we look to the future, we will continue optimizing our pricing model to reward loyalty and reduce churn to increase subscriber revenue for the premium ad-free tier and drive growth of subscribers…”

Disney+ loses subscribers for second quarter in a row, drops 4M subs

Disney+ and Hulu content to combine into one streaming app by Lauren Forristal originally published on TechCrunch
Disney+ and Hulu content to combine into one streaming app

Lawmakers ask Department of Justice to investigate Warner Bros. Discovery merger

Four Democratic lawmakers have written to the Department of Justice to investigate Warner Bros. Discovery and launch an inquiry into alleged anti-competitive behavior. Democratic representatives Elizabeth Warren, Pramila Jayapal, David Cicilline and Joaquin Castro wrote that the merged company has harmed workers and reduced consumer choice. Warner Bros. Discovery was formed after WarnerMedia merged with Discovery Inc. in April 2022.
“We respectfully urge the Justice Department to investigate the state of competition in affected labor and consumer markets following consummation of this merger, which appears to have enabled Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) to adopt potentially anticompetitive practices that reduce consumer choice and harm workers in affected labor markets,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter.
Warner Bros. Discovery did not respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment.
The lawmakers argue that Warner Bros. Discovery’s new ownership is “hollowing out an iconic American studio.” The letter outlines that many projects were cancelled by Warner Bros. Discovery not long after the merger, including “Batgirl,” which was canceled even though filming for the movie had already been completed. The letter also refers to the cancellation of popular shows like “Gordita Chronicles” and “The Time Traveler’s Wife.”
In addition, the lawmakers note that Primetime Emmy Award winner J. J. Abrams is now shopping elsewhere for a home for his TV show “Demimonde” which was initially picked up by HBO and then canceled before production began on the project.
The letter notes that consumers will likely never be able to watch shows purchased then cancelled by the company, and that Warner Bros. Discovery’s conduct amounts to a “catch and kill” practice that limits consumer choice.
The lawmakers also outline that the company’s actions are leaving workers with fewer choices for employment and advancement.
“Shortly after the merger was finalized, WBD began realizing a number of cost synergies that were used to justify the merger in the first place—including cuts to hundreds of jobs for working people,” the letter reads. “First, WBD cut the streaming platform CNN+. The CNN+ cut affected about 350 employees, and four months later, CNN laid off an additional 400 employees. WBD also enacted 100 layoffs in its company’s ad sales department as another cost-cutting effort related to the merger. In total, the aforementioned cuts affected thousands of people. Notably, WBD still has $3.5 billion in planned cuts—which does not bode well for workers.”
The letter ends by asking the Department of Justice to take another look at the transaction and take into consideration the actions that the company has taken since the merger was finalized a year ago. The lawmakers write that they hope the guidelines for the merger are updated to ensure they reflect the needs of workers, consumers and content creators in the media and entertainment industry.
The letter comes as Warner Bros. Discovery is expected to hold a press event sometime this week regarding its new direct-to-consumer streaming plan.

Warner Bros. Discovery continues to lose money despite success of ‘The Last of Us’ and ‘Hogwarts Legacy’

Lawmakers ask Department of Justice to investigate Warner Bros. Discovery merger by Aisha Malik originally published on TechCrunch
Lawmakers ask Department of Justice to investigate Warner Bros. Discovery merger

Warner Bros. in talks about a Harry Potter TV series for HBO Max

Warner Bros. is in talks about a Harry Potter Max Original series on HBO Max, a source with knowledge of the matter confirmed to TechCrunch. The company is nowhere near striking a deal yet, the source tells us.
Bloomberg was the first to report about the potential deal. Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) CEO David Zaslav and HBO chief Casey Bloys have apparently been trying to convince author J.K. Rowling to approve the series.
Potterheads everywhere will likely be excited about a future series, being that Harry Potter is overall the best-selling book series, with over 600 million copies sold. In total, the eight films based on the series generated $7.7 billion in worldwide ticket sales.
The Harry Potter brand has turned into many products and spinoffs, with the most recent being the video game Hogwarts Legacy, which Warner Bros. published in February and has sold more than 12 million copies so far. There’s also a stage production called “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” that had its official opening night on June 19, 2022.
Warner Bros. has wanted to do more with the popular book series for a long time. The company previously said it would take “full advantage” of its IP, including Harry Potter, noted Zaslav during the Q4 2022 earnings call.
“I believe that we have an overwhelming advantage in the marketplace with the IP that we own,” Zaslav said. “We have the strongest hand in the industry, with the most complete portfolio of assets and globally renowned franchises, personalities and storytelling IP across sports, news, nonfiction and entertainment, in virtually every region of the globe and in every language.”
Other plans include new films based on The Lord of the Rings franchise, a prequel series for Stephen King’s “It,” and more “Game of Thrones” projects. WBD has also brought on filmmaker James Gunn and producer Peter Safran to reboot the DC Universe.
Next week, the company will hold a press conference to announce its new streaming strategy, which will see a new streaming service that combines HBO Max and Discovery+ content.

Warner Bros. Discovery plans to keep Discovery+ as a standalone streaming service in the US

Warner Bros. in talks about a Harry Potter TV series for HBO Max by Lauren Forristal originally published on TechCrunch
Warner Bros. in talks about a Harry Potter TV series for HBO Max

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 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