“That will not be necessary. But I will need a separate Schedule C for each of these businesses because based on what you’re trying to deduct…you’re also a novelist and a chef, a teacher, a singing coach, and a “Watsu” technician. I’m sorry, what… what is “Watsu”?” – Diedre Beaueirdra, “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” A24, 2022
The other day, after driving home from work, we pulled into the driveway, watched the garage door open, drove in, closed the door and sat there for a few moments, so proud of ourselves.
Why?
We could actually park our car(s) in the garage unlike our neighbors who have no room in their garage for their cars.
As George Carlin observed so famously years ago, their garages were packed with stuff (https://tinyurl.com/yp3eaf99).
That’s what’s wrong with the “entertainment” industry today.
It’s not just streaming shows and movies. It’s linear TV. It’s video games. It’s social video. It’s social media.
And you wonder why folks aren’t checking out what’s being shown at the movie house?
There’s probably more stuff that you could include in that list–stuff that you simply can’t do without and want to have close at hand, even though you haven’t looked at the stuff for months, years.
And when you go to find, watch, listen to, play or use the stuff, you can’t find it anywhere.
The problem is your entertainment sources are almost limitless … Comcast, Spectrum, Cox, Netflix, Disney, Prime, WBD, Paramount, Peacock, Tubi, Pluto, Google YouTube, Facebook, X, ABC, NBC, CBS, the list could go on for pages.
But let us warn you … you can’t win. The deck is not stacked in your favor.
Back when we were a kid, there was a thrill when dad got home, we had dinner – at a table with real plates etc. – then, after cleaning everything up, the family would migrate to the living room and we’d watch whatever show dad wanted … yes, in living color.
Over the years, a few channels became a couple hundred, whoever got the remote first won and the cost edged up until home entertainment became a major household expense.
With fast, reliable and relatively economic internet and streaming services, people shaved, cut (or never had) a cable bundle – OTA (over the air) TV.
Getting out of the bundled “relationship” took time, perseverance and commitment.
There is a certain de rigueur with many households that still have their bundles … commitment/loyalty to a few “must-see TV” shows.
Ups, Downs – Traditional appointment TV has shrunk as people quickly realize the benefits of anytime, any screen viewing. Pay TV continues to be the entertainment of choice for older generations.
But the migration to anytime, anywhere, any screen was in full swing probably faster than Reed Hastings (cofounder of Netflix) and Jeff Bezos (founder of Amazon’s online book, products, video content, everything store) ever imagined.
Networks, studios and “others” quickly followed suit and “suddenly,” there were 200 streaming services determined to satisfy folks theoretical hunger for ad-free shows/movies.
Selections – Video stories that resonate with the consumer help tech-based streamers profitably stay ahead of the growing number of streaming entertainment options.
The first kid out of the gate – Netflix – was the only streamer turning a profit.
Amazon and Apple certainly pay attention to their entertainment P&L but …
Amazon has over 80 percent of their 310M users in the US while 136M people – 2B WW – in the US have Apple devices and use the Apple App Store weekly.
Global Reach – The number of streaming video services continues to grow as almost every video content organization realizes that virtually everyone wants choice on when/where/how they watch their news, information and entertainment.
Everyone else is struggling to gain a profitable share of the subscription market that is projected to reach 1.9B subscribers by 2028 and a value of an estimated $172B.
Suddenly, it’s gotten complicated and confusing.
SVOD services have added lower-cost ad-supported services.
AVOD (ad-supported) services have added tiers.
Internet service providers and telcos have added their bundled options.
MVPDs (multichannel video programming distributors) offer linear TV online rather than cable, fiber or satellite.
vMVPDs (virtual) have entered the picture with a range of linear and on demand program/show packages and prices.
Profitable Information – Smart TV manufacturers don’t just sell home viewing sets anymore. They are also adding streaming services that provide them with ready access to the household’s information or, as some call it, double-dipping.
Even smart TV companies like Samsung, LG, Vizio (Walmart) want to be the bridge between your living room, streaming services and advertisers.
And if you feel as though there’s still nothing for you to watch on your screen, FASTMaster tracks the recently emerging FAST (free ad-supported streaming television) channel arena. It recently reported that there are more than 2,000 unique FAST entertainment, music, movie, sports and news channels as organizations work to engage folks with their brand(s) of content.
Search – The leading complaint/frustration streaming video users have today is finding the show/movie they want to watch quickly and easily.
In other words, if you can’t find some video entertainment … you ain’t interested!
No single streaming service will satisfy everyone everywhere, especially when households want more than just movies and shows.
Today, folks also want access to “their” social video, streaming music, video games, podcasts, news and … stuff.
As Hub Research recently reported, it all starts with high speed, high reliability wired/wireless internet connectivity, which in the US means Xfinity, Spectrum, AT&T or Verizon.
Then, depending on their negotiation skills, they add a few streaming services to sweeten the deal.
It’s a benefit to both the internet and streaming services because now you don’t simply jump from one service to another (in the dark they all look the same) but you have to change your viewing habits.
Service Plus – Increasingly, consumers want a new bundle – high-speed wired or wireless internet, phone service and entertainment options.
Netflix leads the pack in the most desirable streaming service with an estimated 100M viewers (subscriber and ad-supported) this year and more than 200M globally.
The company earned the number one slot by relying heavily on its content/audience algorithms to determine which shows/movies it will introduce to its local and global audience with awe-inspiring regularity.
Defying Borders – With content being created and produced around the globe, Netflix has proven that people want, like and will watch great video stories regardless of their origin. And now, they’re expanding their libraries with live events and sports.
The expansions can still be frustrating because they retire projects at their peak – without advanced warning – and add a new show/movie that quickly gathers an audience to the frustration of studio bosses who are still struggling to anticipate consumers’ changing interests.
Netflix doesn’t have a decades-old vault of content to amortize, refurbish or rerelease so they have focused on developing and selecting films/shows from around the globe whose themes and storylines resonate with people in neighboring countries and across the firm’s global subscriber base.
The company has made a steady stream of commitments to projects developed, created and produced for local video entertainment that have also found eager audiences elsewhere.
The same is true of its move into live event comedy, reality, video games, entertainment streaming and most recently into sports.
To cast a broader net for home/personal entertainment, the company added video games a couple of years ago which are attracting a growing number of young and old subscribers.
Important?
According to Statista, the video game industry will surpass $189B this year which is more than the theatrical market – $85B – and the streaming market – $108B.
But if the internet service wants to become – and maintain – the leadership role, they need to add some more (at least in our opinion).
Our recommendation is to add Disney+, Hulu (fiscally part of Disney) and Prime Video.
A multinational entertainment giant, Disney has a ridiculously deep and rich vault of content extending from the studio’s earliest animation and live-action film/television days as well as the expanded popularity of Marvel, StarWars and Pixar projects.
Depth, Breadth – Disney has developed or acquired expertise in nearly every aspect of personal/home entertainment including shows, movies, games and social media.
The company also has more than 7,500 episodes of Disney-branded shows and a global focus on entertainment quality and quantity that it built under the leadership of Michael Eisner and today’s Bob Iger.
The company also owns ABC news/television show activities, ESPN sports, live-action remakes and a significant set of video game activities that will become increasingly important in the years ahead.
The company’s expansive vault of global IP will enable Disney to continue to add video stories that will attract young and old alike.
All Disney has to do to be a significant part of the streaming bundle is to increase its attention on the viewer’s bottom-line instead of its own.
While Amazon makes most of its money on cloud storage/distribution and ecommerce, it has surprised studios and its subscriber base with its commitment to original shows/movies and has refreshed/rereleased many of the projects in its acquired MGM library.
The global ecommerce powerhouse uses its robust technology foundation to its and the viewers’ benefits.
Their deep and broad user database has been put to good use in evaluating and greenlighting projects that will satisfy viewers’ entertainment interests–often when they don’t know them themselves.
What we don’t understand is why the wired/wireless services haven’t struck on the idea of offering volume show/movie streaming to drive more use of their service.
Maybe they’re smokin’ too much of the good stuff, but adding FAST services like Tubi and Pluto would be like … free.
Okay, they’re not going to have the latest and greatest show series or even movies that were released this year, but we’re always surprised how many good films/shows we never knew existed.
And if you never knew they existed, they’re new … to you.
Pluto has a good, easy to use interface and channels dedicated to specific shows/genres and genre movie channels.
Tubi has over 50,000 movies/shows in its library as well as local/network news and information channels.
Then, the only thing the wired/wireless services are missing in the new bundle is a fast, easy-to-use front end to make it less frustrating for folks to find the show, movie, news, entertainment they want without wasting 30-60 minutes and raising their blood pressure.
ReelGood and JustWatch are both no-cost services that we’re sure would be delighted to be a part of someone’s (everyone’s?) home and mobile bundle.
You simply enter the show/movie you want to watch and the service tells you where it is. And, if you’re like us and just turn on the TV in the evening to watch “something,” they will give you movie/show recommendations based on what other users have watched.
And the more you use them, the better their recommendations will be based on your viewing habits.
Adding the bundle leading with the most widely regarded streaming services and adding a front-end streaming service selection capability delivers a package that’s hard to beat – or leave.
Want to make it flexible for the service user?
Offer the bundle in two flavors – subscription (no ads) or ad-supported service.
Our guess? Most folks will choose the ad-supported option because people are beginning to understand the volume of ads – 2-4 min/hr. – is worth the time cost. And with services working more closely with their advertisers to help them only reach people who are potentially interested in the product/service, the ads are less abrasive and more readily accepted.
When the wired/wireless internet service offers that kind of content-viewing solution, people are less likely to tell them what Evelyn Wang told Alpha, “I saw my life… without you… I wish you could have seen it… it was beautiful.”
An intelligently developed total service reduces subscriber fatigue and frustration while reducing churn.
It’s amazing what happens when subscribers understand that the service listens and responds.
And the best thing is everything is in its place and the consumer isn’t just stuck with … stuff.
That means everyone can sit back and celebrate.
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Andy Marken – andy@markencom.com – is an author of more than 800 articles on management, marketing, communications, industry trends in media & entertainment, consumer electronics, software and applications. An internationally recognized marketing/communications consultant with a broad range of technical and industry expertise especially in storage, storage management and film/video production fields; he has an extended range of relationships with business, industry trade press, online media and industry analysts/consultants.
