streaming

smart-tvs-are-like-“a-digital-trojan-horse”-in-people’s-homes

Smart TVs are like “a digital Trojan Horse” in people’s homes

ads, FCC, ftc, generative ai, Policy, streaming, Tech, TVs / /

Similarly, the report’s authors describe concerns that the CTV industry’s extensive data collection and tracking could potentially have a political impact. It asserts that political candidates could use such data to run “covert personalized campaigns” leveraging information on things like political orientations and “emotional states”:

With no transparency or oversight, these practices could unleash millions of personalized, manipulative and highly targeted political ads, spread disinformation, and further exacerbate the political polarization that threatens a healthy democratic culture in the US.

“Potential discriminatory impacts”

The CDD’s report claims that Black, Hispanic, and Asian-Americans in the US are being “singled out by marketers as highly lucrative targets,” due to fast adoption of new digital media services and brand loyalty. Black and Hispanic communities are key advertising targets for FAST channels, per the report. Chester told Ars:

There are major potential discriminatory impacts from CTV’s harvesting of data from communities of color.

He pointed to “growing widespread racial and ethnic data” collection for ad targeting and marketing.

“We believe this is sensitive information that should not be applied to the data profiles used for targeting on CTV and across other platforms. … Its use in political advertising on CTV will enable widespread disinformation and voter suppression campaigns targeting these communities,” Chester said.

Regulation

In a letter sent to the FTC, FCC, California attorney general, and CPPA , the CDD asked for an investigation into the US’ CTV industry, “including on antitrust, consumer protection, and privacy grounds.” The CDD emphasized the challenges that streamers—including those who pay for ad-free streaming—face in protecting their data from advertisers.

“Connected television has taken root and grown as an unregulated medium in the United States, along with the other platforms, devices, and applications that are part of the massive internet industry,” the report says.

The group asks for the FTC and FCC to investigate CTV practices and consider building on current legislation, like the 1988 Video Privacy Protection Act. They also request that antitrust regulators delve deeply into the business practices of CTV players like Amazon, Comcast, and Disney to help build “competition and diversity in the digital and connected TV marketplace.”

Smart TVs are like “a digital Trojan Horse” in people’s homes Read More »

“a-total-lump-of…-”:-customer-frustration-as-isp’s-smart-tvs-won’t-turn-on

“A total lump of… ”: Customer frustration as ISP’s smart TVs won’t turn on

Software, streaming, Tech, TVs, United Kindgom / /

Glass TVs —

Problems with UK Sky hardware started Thursday, seem partially fixed.

–

Sky Glass TV

Sky

Hundreds of owners of smart TVs and streaming devices from United Kingdom telecom Sky reported that their hardware stopped powering on Thursday. Sky hasn’t confirmed the cause of the problem, but a botched update is largely suspected.

Sky, a Comcast company that sells Internet, mobile, and satellite TV service in the UK, got into the streaming hardware business in 2021. Its proprietary Glass TVs and Stream pucks let people access TV channels offered through Sky via the Internet instead of a dish. As of this writing, Glass TVs range from 600 pounds (about $800) for a 43-inch set to 1,199 pounds (about $1,600) for 65 inches and include quantum dots and Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG HDR support. To order a Glass TV, people have to sign up for a Sky Entertainment subscription that includes the same type of channels offered through Sky’s satellite TV services but via streaming, plus Netflix (with or without ads). If you don’t buy/renew your Sky Entertainment subscription, “access to TV apps like Netflix won’t be available,” Sky says. The Stream puck, meanwhile, supports various streaming apps but doesn’t work without a Sky subscription.

As of yesterday, paying subscribers and owners of Glass and Stream devices reported that their devices were unable to power on. Users reported only being able to see a blank screen, with some saying the problems lasted for hours.

As noted by the BBC, problems started on Thursday night. Per Downdetector, the situation seemed to peak at around 3: 10 pm UTC with 377 incidents reported, but the overall number of affected devices could vary. A thread on Sky’s community forum about the problem is currently 141 pages long.

This morning, some people were still complaining about broken devices online; although, some reported that their devices were functioning again. As of this writing, DownDetector is showing 142 reported incidents.

With no TV to watch, Glass and Stream users had plenty of time to go online to try to troubleshoot with each other and share their disappointment in Sky. Some have called for Sky to pay for the cost of a new TV, while others are wondering if they will get financial compensation for their troubles. Sky hasn’t made any public mention of refunds or credits, though.

A user going by larky+marky on Sky’s community forum wrote:

What a total lump of st.

I have been thinking of cancelling my subscription altogether, so now this has made my mind up.

Yesterday, a Twitter user claimed that their TV was bricked “for the best part of 11 hours.” The user, going by MattHudson81, wrote, “We pay a lot of money each month for the use of your services and understand at times faults happen, but 11 hours so far with no end in sight, it’s not good.”

On Sky’s support forum, an employee said that Sky was working on the problem throughout Thursday night. “We continue to work on the problem in the background,” the employee going by KevNewMedia wrote today.

Sky also acknowledged the problems on Thursday via its Twitter account, saying:

Some Sky Glass/Stream customers are currently experiencing technical issues when trying to switch on their devices. Our technical teams are working hard to fix this. We’re sorry for any inconvenience caused.

Today, the Twitter account posted another apology along with a link to a support page with steps for getting the hardware to work (basically by resetting it). However, at least some people on Sky’s support forum have said that the fix hasn’t worked for them.

“Yet this isn’t working for everyone though. You’re essentially just tell[ing] people to turn it on and off again,” PaulRC1963 wrote. “Sky is acting very incompetent.”

Sky hasn’t confirmed the cause

Sky declined to answer questions from the BBC about the cause of the problems or when they’d be totally resolved. Without further explanation, a poorly executed software update issued via the Internet seems to be the most obvious reason for hundreds of people concurrently reporting broken devices.

The situation, which led to missed sporting events and hours of boredom, is a reminder of the risks of buying hardware from companies, like ISPs, that aren’t traditionally in the technology game. Sky first unveiled its Glass TVs in 2021, ostensibly as an attempt to save its business amid a massive shift to streaming over satellite dishes and cable and to drive subscription revenue. It’s possible that in its haste to jump on the streaming bandwagon, it has overlooked some of the intricacies and complexities in mass, web-issued updates. Notably, Sky’s set-top boxes have reportedly been unaffected.

If a botched update didn’t break the smart TVs and streaming sticks, it would be prudent of Sky to inform customers of the root of the problem. Otherwise, it can be hard for customers to have confidence that the problems won’t repeat and that their subscriptions and Sky hardware are worthwhile.

“A total lump of… ”: Customer frustration as ISP’s smart TVs won’t turn on Read More »

leaked-disney+-financials-may-shed-light-on-recent-price-hike

Leaked Disney+ financials may shed light on recent price hike

Disney, Disney Plus, streaming, Tech / /
woman shot in black and white against color background fluffing 1960s bouffant

Enlarge / A shot from Agatha All Along, an upcoming Disney+ exclusive.

Marvel Studios/Disney+

A leak of data from Disney points to the Disney+ streaming service making about $2.4 billion in revenue in its fiscal quarter ending on March 30. Disney doesn’t normally share how much revenue its individual streaming services generate, making this figure particularly interesting.

Leaked data

In August, Disney confirmed that it was investigating the leak of “over a terabyte of data from one of the communication systems” it uses. In a report this week, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) said it looked over files leaked by a hacking group called Nullbulge that include “a range of financial and strategy information,” apparent login credentials for parts of Disney’s cloud infrastructure, and more. The leak includes over “44 million messages from Disney’s Slack workplace communications tool, upward of 18,800 spreadsheets, and at least 13,000 PDFs,” WSJ said.

“We decline to comment on unverified information The Wall Street Journal has purportedly obtained as a result of a bad actor’s illegal activity,” a Disney spokesperson told WSJ.

$2.4 billion

According to WSJ, financial information came via “documents shared by staffers that detail company operations,” adding, “It isn’t official data of the sort Disney discloses to Wall Street and might not reflect final financial performance for a given period.” That means we should take these figures with a grain of salt.

“Internal spreadsheets suggest that Disney+ generated more than $2.4 billion in revenue in the March quarter,” WSJ reported, referencing Disney’s fiscal Q2 2024. “It underscores how significant a revenue contributor Hulu is, particularly as Disney seeks to buy out Comcast’s stake in that streaming service, and as the two sides spar over its value.”

The publication noted that the $2.4 billion figure represents “about 43 percent”—42.5 percent to be more precise—of the direct-to-consumer (DTC) revenue that Disney reported that quarter, which totaled $5,642,000,000 [PDF]. In its Q2 report, Disney put Disney+, Hulu, and Disney+ Hotstar under its DTC umbrella. DTC revenue in Q2 represented a 13 percent increase compared to the same quarter in the prior fiscal year.

Further, subscriber counts for Disney+ and Hulu increased year over year in Q2. The leaks didn’t specify how much revenue Disney’s streaming businesses made in Q3, but Disney reported that DTC revenue increased to $5.8 billion [PDF].

Right before announcing its Q3 numbers, though, Disney announced price hikes across Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ by as much as 25 percent. As we wrote at the time, the price hike seemed like an attempt to push people toward bundle packages offering a combination of Disney+, Hulu, and/or ESPN+ (bundles are supposed to make subscriber churn less likely). Disney CFO Hugh Johnston tried convincing us that Disney’s streaming catalog meant that it had “earned” the streaming price hikes.

But the recently leaked numbers shed a little more light on the situation.

Leaked Disney+ financials may shed light on recent price hike Read More »

espn’s-where-to-watch-tries-to-solve-sports’-most-frustrating-problem

ESPN’s Where to Watch tries to solve sports’ most frustrating problem

Apple TV, ESPN, ESPN Where to Watch, sports, streaming, Tech, TV / /

A Licensing Cluster—

Find your game in a convoluted landscape of streaming services and TV channels.

–

The ESPN app on an iPhone 11 Pro.

The ESPN app on an iPhone 11 Pro.

ESPN

Too often, new tech product or service launches seem like solutions in search of a problem, but not this one: ESPN is launching software that lets you figure out just where you can watch the specific game you want to see amid an overcomplicated web of streaming services, cable channels, and arcane licensing agreements. Every sports fan is all too familiar with today’s convoluted streaming schedules.

Launching today on ESPN.com and the various ESPN mobile and streaming device apps, the new guide offers various views, including one that lists all the sporting events in a single day and a search function, among other things. You can also flag favorite sports or teams to customize those views.

“At the core of Where to Watch is an event database created and managed by the ESPN Stats and Information Group (SIG), which aggregates ESPN and partner data feeds along with originally sourced information and programming details from more than 250 media sources, including television networks and streaming platforms,” ESPN’s press release says.

ESPN previously offered browsable lists of games like this, but it didn’t identify where you could actually watch all the games.

There’s no guarantee that you’ll have access to the services needed to watch the games in the list, though. Those of us who cut the cable cord long ago know that some games—especially those local to your city—are unavailable without cable.

For example, I live within walking distance from Wrigley Field, but because I don’t have cable, I can’t watch most Cubs games on any screens in my home. As a former Angeleno, I follow the Dodgers instead because there are no market blackouts for me watching them all the way from Chicago. The reverse would be true if I were in LA.

Even if you do have cable, many sports are incredibly convoluted when it comes to figuring out where to watch stuff. ESPN Where to Watch could be useful for the new college football season, for example.

Expansion effort

ESPN isn’t the first company to envision this, though. The company to make the most progress up until now was Apple. Apple’s TV device and app was initially meant as a one-stop shop for virtually all streaming video, like a comprehensive 21st-century TV Guide. But with cable companies being difficult to work with and Netflix not participating, Apple never quite made that dream a reality.

It kept trying for sports, though, tying into third-party offerings like the MLB app alongside its own programming to try to make the TV app a place to launch all your games. Apple got pretty close, depending on which sport you’re trying to follow.

ESPN’s app seems a little more promising, as it covers a more comprehensive range of games and goes beyond the TV app’s “what’s happening right now” focus with better search and listings.

ESPN execs have said they hope to start offering more games streaming directly in the app, and if that app becomes the go-to spot thanks to this new guide, it might give the company more leverage with leagues to make that happen.

That could certainly be more convenient for viewers, though there are, of course, downsides to one company having too much influence and leverage in a sport.

ESPN’s Where to Watch tries to solve sports’ most frustrating problem Read More »

chick-fil-a-plans-to-launch-streaming-service-with-original-shows

Chick-fil-A plans to launch streaming service with original shows

Chick-fil-A, streaming, Tech / /

What the cluck? —

Fast-food chain is paying up to $400K for unscripted content, Deadline reports.

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a Chick-fil-A meal is displayed at a Chick-fil-A restaurant on June 01, 2023 in Novato, California.

Enlarge / Would you like a streaming subscription with that?

Look out, Peacock. There’s reportedly a new video streaming service that’s avian-themed.

The fast-food chain Chick-fil-A plans to launch a video streaming service, Deadline reported today, citing anonymous sources. The streaming service is expected to focus on “family-friendly” content and include original TV shows, the publication said.

Chick-fil-A declined to comment on Deadline’s report.

Deadline reports that Chick-fil-A is in discussions to license and acquire content but is also working with numerous “major production companies, including some of the studios” to make family shows. It’s also reportedly recruited TV show producer Brian Gibson to head programming.

Chick-fil-A is reportedly particularly interested in unscripted shows. The poultry chain has a budget “in the range of $400,000 per half-hour” for unscripted content, Deadline said. Chick-fil-A is already looking to license an unnamed “family-friendly game show” from the production company that makes The Wall, a Chris Hardwick-hosted trivia game show that airs on NBC, per Deadline.

Chick-fil-A also reportedly ordered 10 episodes of an unnamed show from Sugar23. The production company has experience producing shows for streaming services like Netflix (examples include Maniac and The OA) and Apple TV+ (Dickinson).

A fast-food company entering the video streaming business is an unusual development. Food delivery companies, like Grubhub and DoorDash, have been peddling bundled streaming packages in combination with their own services. But a company known for fried chicken looking to launch an original hit on its own streaming service is a new one for the streaming industry.

Of course, this isn’t the first time that a known, non-entertainment company has sought to produce original shows. As Deadline pointed out, Airbnb produced the Gay Chorus Deep South documentary that aired on MTV. Companies like Lyft and Chick-fil-A have also produced their own web series before. But this new venture would hatch a whole new type of business for the fried chicken joint.

A Chick-fil-A streaming service could give the company new product placement opportunities. Chick-fil-A already uses clothing, accessories, and games to promote the restaurant. But for people to actually stomach yet another streaming service, Chick-fil-A would have to offer much more than half-baked shows with people eating chicken sandwiches in the background.

Chick-fil-A’s purported streaming attempts come as the broader industry faces a boiling point. An influx of options, price hikes, and changing terms of use have left many customers rethinking their subscriptions and frequently canceling. Ultimately, Chick-fil-A’s ability to stand out during this tumultuous time is dubious, especially when there are already streaming services offering family-friendly content (like Disney+). A killer Chick-fil-A streaming exclusive and low (or free) pricing could pique some interest. But we don’t expect Netflix’s millions of subscribers to fly the coop for Chick-fil-A-Plus (or whatever the streaming service would be called).

Chick-fil-A plans to launch streaming service with original shows Read More »

judge-calls-foul-on-venu,-blocks-launch-of-espn-warner-fox-streaming-service

Judge calls foul on Venu, blocks launch of ESPN-Warner-Fox streaming service

antitrust, competition, ESPN, Fox, Policy, sports, streaming, syndication, warner bros. discovery / /

Out of bounds —

Upcoming launch of $42.99 sports package likely to “substantially lessen competition.”

–

Texas losing to Alabama in the 2010 BCS championship

Gina Ferazzi via Getty

A US judge has temporarily blocked the launch of a sports streaming service formed by Disney’s ESPN, Warner Bros and Fox, finding that it was likely to “substantially lessen competition” in the market.

The service, dubbed Venu, was expected to launch later this year. But FuboTV, a sports-focused streaming platform, filed an antitrust suit in February to block it, arguing its business would “suffer irreparable harm” as a result.

On Friday, US District Judge Margaret Garnett in New York granted an injunction to halt the launch of the service while Fubo’s lawsuit against the entertainment giants works its way through the court.

The opinion was sealed but the judge noted in an entry on the court docket that Fubo was “likely to succeed on its claims” that by entering the agreement, the companies “will substantially lessen competition and restrain trade in the relevant market” in violation of antitrust law.

In a statement, ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros Discovery said they planned to appeal against the decision.

Venu was aimed at US consumers who had either ditched their traditional pay TV packages for streaming or never signed up for a cable subscription. “Cord cutting” has been eroding the traditional TV business for years, but live sports has remained a primary draw for customers who have held on to their cable subscriptions.

Fubo TV was launched in 2015 as a sports-focused streamer. It offers more than 350 channels—including those carrying major sporting events such as Premier League football matches, baseball, the National Football League and the US National Basketball Association—for monthly subscription prices starting at $79.99. Its offerings included networks owned by Disney and Fox.

ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros said Venu was “pro-competitive,” aimed at reaching “viewers who currently are not served by existing subscription options.”

Venu was expected to charge $42.99 a month when it launched later this month. It “will feature just 15 channels, all featuring popular live sports—the kind of skinny sports bundle that Fubo has tried to offer for nearly a decade, only to encounter tooth-and-nail resistance,” Fubo said in a court filing seeking the injunction.

Venu was expected to aggregate about $16 billion worth of sports rights, analysts have estimated. It was not expected to have an impact on the individual companies’ ability to strike new rights deals.

Analysts had questioned its position in the marketplace. Disney plans to roll out ESPN as a “flagship” streaming service in August 2025 that will carry programming that appears on the TV network as well as gaming, shopping and other interactive content. Disney chief executive Bob Iger said he wants the service to become the “pre-eminent digital sports platform.”

Fubo shares rose 16.8 percent after the ruling, but the stock is down 51 percent this year.

© 2022 The Financial Times Ltd. All rights reserved Not to be redistributed, copied, or modified in any way.

Judge calls foul on Venu, blocks launch of ESPN-Warner-Fox streaming service Read More »

redbox-app-axed,-dashing-people’s-hopes-of-keeping-purchased-content

Redbox app axed, dashing people’s hopes of keeping purchased content

redbox, Roku, streaming, Tech / /

Roku kills Redbox app —

Customers uncertain as app remains downloadable after company’s Chapter 7 filing.

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Redbox app axed, dashing people’s hopes of keeping purchased content

Roku has finally axed the Redbox app from its platform. Redbox parent company Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June and moved to Chapter 7 in July, signaling the liquidation of its assets. However, the app has remained available but not fully functional in various places, leaving customers wondering if they will still be able to access content they bought. This development, however, mostly squashes any remaining hope of salvaging those purchases.

Redbox is best known for its iconic red kiosks where people could rent movie and TV (and, until 2019, video game) discs. But in an effort to keep up with the digital age, Redbox launched a streaming service in December 2017. At the time, Redbox promised “many” of the same new releases available at its kiosks but also “a growing collection” of other movies and shows. The company claimed that its on-demand streaming service was competitive because it had “newest-release movies” that subscription streaming services didn’t have. The service offered streaming rentals as well as purchases.

But as Cord Cutters News pointed out this week, people can no longer open the using the Roku version of the Redbox app. When they try to use the app, they reportedly see a message reading: “Redbox is currently not supporting this app. For questions about the service on your account, please contact Redbox” and recommends other streaming apps, like Apple TV+.

Roku’s move suggests that Redbox customers will not be able to watch the stuff they bought. Barring an unlikely change—like someone swooping in to buy and resurrect Redbox—it’s likely that other avenues for accessing the Redbox app will also go away soon.

Interestingly, the Redbox app is still downloadable elsewhere. For example, I was able to download the app from the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, and PlayStation Store today. In the case of the former two, the app’s contents, including shows, wouldn’t load. On PlayStation, the app asked me to sign up for an account, which did not work due to an “error.”

Looming questions

Ahead of Redbox’s bankruptcy announcement, people noticed a decline in Redbox’s services, including fewer kiosks and less promotion of new and upcoming titles.

Since Redbox filed for bankruptcy, though, there has been some confusion and minimal communication about what will happen to Redbox’s services. People online have asked if there’s any way to watch content they purchased to own and/or get reimbursed. Some have even reported being surprised after learning that Redbox, owned by Chicken Soup since 2022, was undergoing bankruptcy procedures, pointing to limited updates from Redbox, Chicken Soup, and/or the media.

There is also uncertainty about what will happen to the 24,000 remaining Redbox kiosks and their DVDs. As Chicken Soup filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, it’s expected that the kiosks will be taken down, but we don’t know when or how they’ll be disposed of.

Last month, CVS filed a motion [PDF] asking the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (where Chicken Soup filed for bankruptcy) to allow it to “dispose of” thousands of Redbox kiosks. In its filing, CVS said that its contract with Redbox ended in 2023, at which point Redbox was obligated to remove “over 2,500 kiosks” from CVS stores, but many remained. The legal filing reads:

Throughout that time, [Redbox] has generally behaved as though the Kiosks were abandoned, although it did remove a very small number of them once it was threatened with a preliminary injunction in a state court lawsuit.

Redbox’s failure to remove the Kiosks has caused and continues to cause CVS substantial and unjustifiable economic harm, as well as damages for loss of use and enjoyment of its premises that are not readily financially compensable.

7-Eleven has also previously alleged [PDF] that Redbox failed to remove kiosks from its stores after their contract expired. 7-Eleven also claimed that Redbox owes it about $270,000 in commissions.

As Chicken Soup sorts through its debts and liquidation, customers are left without guidance about what to do with their rental DVDs or how they can access movies/shows they purchased. But when it comes to purchases made via streaming services, it’s more accurate to consider them rentals, despite them not being labeled as such and costing more than rentals with set time limits. As we’ve seen before, streaming companies can quickly yank away content that people feel that they paid to own, be it due to licensing disputes, mergers and acquisitions, or other business purposes. In this case, a company’s failure has resulted in people no longer being able to access stuff they already paid for and presumed they’d be able to access for the long haul.

For some, the reality of what it means to “own” a streaming purchase reality, combined with the unreliability and turbulent nature of today’s streaming industry, has strengthened the appeal of physical media. Somewhat ironically, though, Redbox shuttering meant the end of one of the last mainstream places to access DVDs.

Redbox app axed, dashing people’s hopes of keeping purchased content Read More »

“so-tired”:-disney+,-hulu,-espn+-prices-increase-by-up-to-25-percent-in-october

“So tired”: Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+ prices increase by up to 25 percent in October

Disney, Disney Plus, ESPN, streaming, Tech / /

The cycle continues —

Not even ad tiers are safe as Disney looks to coax people into bundle packages.

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The Doctor and Ruby in 1960s

Enlarge / A scene from the new season of Doctor Who, which is streaming on Disney+.

Disney+

Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ will get more expensive as of October 17, whether users have a subscription with or without ads. After most recently jacking up streaming prices in October 2023, The Walt Disney Company is raising subscription fees by as much as 25 percent, depending on the streaming service and plan.

Here’s how pricing will look in October compared to now:

Now As of October 17
Disney+ with ads $8/month $10/month
Disney+ without ads $14/month

$140/year		 $16/month

$160/year
Hulu with ads $8/year

$80/year		 $10/month

$100/year
Hulu without ads $18/month $19/month
Hulu and Live TV with ads $77/month  $83/month
Hulu and Live TV without ads $90/month $96/month
Disney+ and Hulu with ads $10/month $11/month
Disney+ and Hulu without ads $20/month No change
ESPN+ $11/month

$110/year		 $12/month

$120/year
Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ with ads $15 No change
Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ without ads $25 No change

Disney didn’t announce any pricing changes for the bundle that contains Disney+, sister streaming service Hulu, and Warner Bros. Discovery’s rival streaming platform, Max.

Based on the updated pricing, Disney is seemingly trying to coax people to sign up for one of its streaming bundles, which combine multiple services for a lower price than if the services were each subscribed to individually. Streaming companies have been trying to use bundles to deter people from frequently canceling their streaming subscriptions. But as we’ve written before, streaming bundles don’t address subscribers’ complaints around incessant price hikes, content quality, confusing packages, or features.

Another price hike

One of the biggest problems that streaming subscribers, especially long-term ones, are facing is ever-rising prices. Disney already increased prices in October 2023, meaning Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ are facing their second price hikes in about a year.

Early reactions online, including on forums like Reddit, show people dissatisfied with streaming price hikes that don’t seem to align with the quality of content available. For example, Reddit user Montysucker wrote: “easy[,] cancel now,” adding:

“The enshittification of media in the last few years is insane and it’s wild how seemingly no one cares anymore about making something that is actually enjoyable to watch and not their egotistic[al] pipe dream.”

Of course, many expressed being overwhelmed with continuing to see streaming prices rise, as Slow_Investment_2211 wrote:

On October 12, 2023, as Variety summarized, Disney+ without ads went up by 27 percent, from $11 to $14 per month. Hulu without ads went up 20 percent ($15 to $18/month). Hulu with Live packages each also increased by $7 at the time, while ESPN+ pricing increased by $1.

Disney paired the price hike announcement with the revealing of new upcoming features for Disney+. However, the new linear channels are little comfort for people who don’t use Disney+.

The new channels will be ABC News Live, which Disney+ users can access on September 4, and channels “focused on preschool content, featuring TV series and shorts available on Disney+.” Disney+ will also get four more channels (or as Disney’s calling them, playlists) that show: 1) “Seasonal Content” from Disney+; 2) “Epic Stories” from big franchises like Marvel and Star Wars; 3) “Throwbacks” with “nostalgic pop culture”; and 4) “Real Life” documentaries.

It’s possible that Disney will introduce more channels to appeal to more users. But with all the price hikes that streaming subscribers have endured over the past few years, many would prefer avoiding price bumps that are partially for extra channels that they may never watch. Charging for unwanted content in media packages that are already priced questionably is reminiscent of cable, something that streaming was initially supposed to replace, not replicate.

Subscribers to Disney’s trio of streaming services will be unlikely to be alone in facing price hikes for long; analysts suspect Netflix pricing will also increase this year.

“So tired”: Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+ prices increase by up to 25 percent in October Read More »

netflix-is-kicking-us-subscribers-off-its-cheapest-ad-free-plan-soon

Netflix is kicking US subscribers off its cheapest ad-free plan soon

ads, netflix, streaming, Tech / /

It was only a matter of time —

Subscribers will have to pay $15.49 for commercial-free Netflix.

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cobra kai

Enlarge / Ad-free Basic subscribers will be crane-kicked off the plan soon.

Netflix/YouTube

Netflix today confirmed suspicions that it will stop letting people pay $12 per month to stream without commercials.

The ad-free Basic plan was the cheapest way to watch Netflix without commercials. The plan limits users to 720p resolution and one device and lets people download content. Netflix stopped offering the Basic plan to new subscribers in January. In June, Netflix started booting subscribers in the UK and Canada off the plan and automatically put them onto a cheaper subscription plan with ads.

In a letter to shareholders today [PDF], Netflix confirmed publicly for the first time that it “will now start” to phase out the ad-free Basic plan in the US and France. This will make the cheapest commercial-free Netflix plan $15.49/month in the US. That Standard plan supports up to two devices, downloads, and 1080p resolution.

Netflix thinks killing the Basic plan will help it gain more subscribers who watch commercials, which, on average, generates more revenue for the company.

As expected from a streaming company these days, Netflix touted its ad tier to shareholders, noting that the $7 tier now represents “over 45 percent” of new sign-ups in areas where it’s sold. Per Netflix’s letter, ads will only be an increasingly larger part of its strategy, as Netflix aims to “achieve critical ad subscriber scale for advertisers in our ad countries in 2025, creating a strong base from which we can further increase our ad membership in 2026 and beyond.”

The news comes as streamers grapple with increasing streaming subscription costs. Netflix most recently hiked pricing in October. In January, the company suggested to shareholders that more price hikes were possible, saying that it would “occasionally ask our members to pay a little extra to reflect” platform improvements.

Not cozying up with competition

If today’s news makes you hope for a convenient streaming-only deal that lets you subscribe to Netflix and another video streaming service for cheaper, you’re out of luck. Netflix today said it’s not interested in streaming-only bundles.

Bundle deals, which combine streaming and other services for a cheaper subscription rate, have become the streaming industry’s answer to high cancellation rates among subscribers, including those who quickly cancel and resubscribe depending on what’s available to stream that month.

In its letter, Netflix noted that although cable or mobile providers or device-makers may offer deals combining Netflix and another streaming service, Netflix does not make deals that bundle it with another rival streamer, like Disney+ or Max. The company claimed that Netflix is already “a go-to destination,” which “limits the benefit to Netflix of bundling directly with other streamers.”

That means if you’re hoping to save money on your Netflix subscription, which keeps getting more expensive, the only options are to watch Netflix with commercials or get a cable-reminiscent bundle that includes a different kind of service, like Comcast or Verizon Wireless.

We know which option Netflix would like you to pick. But for frustrated streamers, finding a reasonable way to watch all the stuff you want online the way you want keeps getting harder.

Netflix added 8 million subscribers in Q2 2024, it said today. It’s still the biggest video streaming service by subscriber count at 278 million. Amazon Prime Video, which claimed “over 200 million” users in April, follows.

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Report: Apple TV+ will soon get a lot more movies made by studios other than Apple

Apple, Apple TV, culture, films, movies, streaming, Tech / /

Streaming services —

Apple TV+ series have made an impact, but its films have been less successful lately.

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A photo of a TV showing the landing page for Argylle in the Apple TV+ app

Enlarge / Apple seeks to continue to augment its library of original films like Argylle with films from other studios.

Apple TV+ has carved a niche for itself with strong original programming, and while it’s still far behind the likes of Netflix in terms of subscribers, it has seen a fairly strong initial run. To build on that, Apple is talking with major studios about ways to complement its slate of original programming with films from other companies in order to expand and extend the service’s appeal.

That’s according to Bloomberg reporters Lucas Shaw and Thomas Buckley, who cite people familiar with Apple’s workings. Those sources say Apple is “having discussions” with more than one large film studio about bringing more movies to the service.

Apple previously experimented with this by licensing around 50 movies and making them available on the service for limited runs over the past several months. That experiment seems to have gone well, leading Apple to begin laying the groundwork for expanding on that.

That test run was just in the United States. Bloomberg claims the focus this time is international, with the possibility of new films not just in the US but in other regions, too.

Hollywood studios have reportedly been anticipating this move. As you may have noticed amid the numerous subscription service price hikes, media companies have begun putting greater emphasis on profitability after the conclusion of a long period where subscriber growth at any cost was the goal. Licensing deals like this can help with that new goal.

It’s worth noting that while Apple has found some big successes in terms of series (Ted Lasso, Severance, The Morning Show) it has struggled to make as much of an impact with its movies. Despite big stars and budgets, the films have not always made as much cultural impact as the shows.

That means that bringing in films from studios with a more proven record can be a win-win: It will help Apple bolster the TV+ subscription service while generating revenue for film studios that are struggling to keep up in the new era.

Services like TV+ are a growing part of Apple’s business, which has historically been focused on hardware sales. In the second quarter of its 2024 fiscal year, the services bucket accounted for $23.9 billion in quarterly revenue, which is more than half the revenue generated by iPhone hardware sales.

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Streaming’s bundling obsession ignores the real problem with subscription costs

streaming, Tech / /
scrambled tv TV with human hand with TV remote control

Video streaming providers have a big churn problem. While many streaming companies are not profitable yet, the entire industry is grappling with high and fast cancellation rates.

Users who sign up for streaming services only to cancel a few months later, likely because they watched what they wanted to already or are trying to save money, has created huge churn concerns for streaming companies. Those companies are largely responding with packages that bundle their services with other services, including rival streaming platforms. But with streaming subscribers already pushed to their financial limits, it’s time for streaming providers to earn their keep, not piggyback on others.

This week, media research firm Hub Entertainment Research published its 2024 Monetization of Video report with findings from June interviews of 1,600 TV viewers ages 16 to 74. The respondents reportedly each watch at least one hour of TV weekly, and the sample is “US census balanced,” per Hub. When Hub asked respondents if they will “still have/use” their video streaming services a year from now, 85 percent of those using ad-free services said they definitely or probably will, compared to 74 percent of subscribers of streaming services with ads. Further suggesting that ad-free subscription tiers garner more loyalty, 15 percent of ad-free subscribers said they “might/might not” or “probably/definitely won’t” have their subscription next year versus 26 percent of ad subscribers.

Hub Entertainment Research

“Those paying extra for ad-free services say they are more likely to keep that service than cheaper ad-supported plans,” the report says. “The act of paying more potentially increases perceived loyalty to that expense.”

Streaming providers charge less for subscriptions that show commercials because they’re able to make up the lost revenue through ad sales. Streaming firms like Netflix say they get higher monthly average revenue per user (ARPU) from ad subscribers than those who pay more for commercial-free plans. Despite the lower prices, Hub’s research found that 25 percent of respondents associate “excellent” value with paid streaming video on demand (SVOD) services with ads compared to 22 percent who think the same of SVOD without ads.

Churn troubles

Hub’s report also highlighted high streaming cancellation rates, noting that 50 percent of respondents “sign up, cancel, then re-subscribe to the same service.” Earlier this month Ampere Analysis also detailed high churn rates, saying that 42 percent of US streaming subscribers “regularly subscribe, cancel, and resubscribe” (Ampere said it examined “anonymized subscription receipt data from a panel of 3 million opted-in US email users” between February and March 2024 for its survey).

“As the SVOD market in the US has become increasingly saturated, new subscribers are harder to find, which makes retention all the more important,” said Daniel Monaghan, research manager at Ampere Analysis, said in a statement accompanying the findings.

Streaming providers have largely adopted bundling to combat high cancellation rates, with the idea being that people are less likely to pull the plug on one service if it’s tied to others. In Hub’s report, 37 percent of respondents said they’re “less likely to cancel and then resubscribe to a bundle of multiple services compared to an individual service.”

Bundles also carry price savings, a key driver for streaming subscriptions. Per Hub’s report and following a slew of streaming price hikes, people are approaching the limit of what they’re willing to spend on streaming subscriptions:

Hub Entertainment Research

But streaming services could better prove their value if they went beyond pricing and tried building loyalty through improved selection and features.

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DVDs are dying right as streaming has made them appealing again

Blu-ray, dvd, streaming, Tech / /

RIP Redbox —

You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.

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A Redbox kiosk

Enlarge / A Redbox movie rental kiosk stands outside a CVS store.

Since 2004, red DVD rental kiosks posted near entrances of grocery stores and the like tempted shoppers with movie (and until 2019, video game) disc rentals. But the last 24,000 of Redbox’s kiosks are going away, as Redbox’s parent company moved to chapter 7 liquidation bankruptcy this week. The end of Redbox marks another death knell for the DVD industry at a time when volatile streaming services are making physical media appealing again.

Redbox shutting down

Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, which owns Redbox, filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy on June 29. But on Wednesday, Judge Thomas M. Horan of the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware approved a conversion to chapter 7, signaling the liquidation of business, per Deadline. Redbox’s remaining 24,000 kiosks will close, and 1,000 workers will be laid off (severance and back pay eligibility are under review, and a bankruptcy trustee will investigate if trust funds intended for employees were misappropriated).

Chicken Soup bought Redbox for $375 million in 2022 and is $970 million in debt. It will also be shuttering its Redbox, Crackle, and Popcornflix streaming services.

DVDs in decline

As a DVD-centric business, Redbox was living on borrowed time. The convenience of on-demand streaming made it hard to compete, and bankruptcy proceedings revealed that Redbox was paying employees more than it was earning.

Overall, the past year hasn’t been a good one for DVD or Blu-ray devotees, as many businesses announced that they’re exiting the industry. In August, Netflix quit its original business of mailing out rental DVDs. Now the king of streaming, the remaining DVD business was so menial that Netflix gave away DVDs as it shut down operations.

Once industry disruptors, DVDs and Blu-rays have been further ushered out the door in 2024. In April, Target confirmed that it will only sell DVDs in stores during “key times,” like the winter holiday season or the release of a newer movie to DVD. The news hit especially hard considering Best Buy ended DVD and Blu-ray sales in-store and online this year. Disney is outsourcing its DVD and Blu-ray business to Sony, and Sony this month revealed plans to stop selling recordable Blu-rays to consumers (it hasn’t decided when yet).

Bad timing

It’s sensible for businesses to shift from physical media sales. Per CNBC’s calculations, DVD sales fell over 86 percent between 2008 and 2019. Research from the Motion Picture Association in 2021 found that physical media represented 8 percent of the home/mobile entertainment market in the US, falling behind digital (80 percent) and theatrical (12 percent).

But as physical media gets less lucrative and the shuttering of businesses makes optical discs harder to find, the streaming services that largely replaced them are getting aggravating and unreliable. And with the streaming industry becoming more competitive and profit-hungry than ever, you never know if the movie/show that most attracted you to a streaming service will still be available when you finally get a chance to sit down and watch. Even paid-for online libraries that were marketed as available “forever” have been ripped away from customers.

When someone buys or rents a DVD, they know exactly what content they’re paying for and for how long they’ll have it (assuming they take care of the physical media). They can also watch the content if the Internet goes out and be certain that they’re getting uncompressed 4K resolution. DVD viewers are also less likely to be bombarded with ads whenever they pause and can get around an ad-riddled smart TV home screen (nothing’s perfect; some DVDs have unskippable commercials).

Streaming isn’t likely to stabilize any time soon, either. Team-ups between streaming providers and merger/acquisition activity make the future of streaming and the quality of available services uncertain. For example, what’s ahead for Paramount+ and Pluto now that Paramount is planning a Skydance merger?

There’s also something to be said about how limiting reliance on streaming can be for movie buffs and people with unique tastes. Treasured content, like older movies or canceled TV shows, isn’t always put on streaming services. And what is put on streaming is sometimes altered, including with new music and controversial scenes/episodes or embarrassing moments at live events removed.

A DVD company like Redbox closing was years in the making. There are people who believe it’s prudent to maintain a physical media library, but renting one is even more niche. Still, places that offer DVDs have gotten significantly rarer recently, and relying solely on an increasingly cable-like streaming industry for home entertainment is a scary proposition. Seeing an alternative option in the form of a red, slender box outside my grocery store actually sounds nice right now.

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