There’s a mixed bag of stories revealed in the charts that caught my eye during this rather slow Summer month.
Bottom line:
- The shift to streaming is gathering pace: consumers are putting a blowtorch to the “melting icecube” of legacy broadcast and cable media.
- The data asks a big question: Do Discovery, Peacock, Paramount, and other latecomers, even including Disney, have the scale and momentum to succeed?
Read on below…
My Upcoming Podcast & Webinars
- True Crime
- Ed Hersh, senior consultant and veteran channel executive, discusses what producers need to know about the changing world of True Crime storytelling.
- Read Ed’s recent popular analysis and part 1 of our survey of the latest projects in the genre.
- (Podcast will be posted in Documentary Business. Week of August 29.)
- Developing Your Concept
- Tom Jennings is the Peabody & PGA award winning producer for leading channels & platforms worldwide.
- In our Desktop Documentaries webinar, Tom will answer your questions about how to take a concept to winning pitch.
- The webinar is for subscribers to my Desktop Documentaries course. Watch for more details!
- Thursday, September 8, 1pm/ET.
- Netflix & the streamers: the latest on what they buy and what they pay
- I join Show&Tell‘s Keith Ochwat to discuss the streamers’ evolving content needs.
- Webinar is for Show&Tell subscribers. Watch out for details.
- Thursday, September 15, 345 pm/ET.
1. Streamers Grab a Larger Share of Viewing
Graphic retrieved from Nielson
- According to Nielsen, the U.S. streaming audience grew 22.6% year-to-year.
- Broadcasters and cable channels lost nearly 10% each.
- Meanwhile, the largest PayTV services lost about 1.9 million net video subscribers in Q2 2022.
- That’s almost 700,000 more than the same time a year ago.
- Key Takeaway: Traditional networks are losing viewers, advertising revenues and subscription fees to the streamers, and the rate of loss is accelerating.
2. Netflix Dominates the Streaming Audience
Graphic retrieved from Nielson
- Audiences watched an average of 191 billion minutes of streamed content per week.
- Netflix gained 8% share, boosted by the nearly 18 Bn minutes watched of Stranger Things, complemented by the nearly 11 Bn minutes of combined viewing of Virgin River and The Umbrella Academy.
- Movies The Gray Man and The Sea Beast contributed over 5 Bn minutes.
- Note that YouTube viewing consists of consumer uploads versus commissioned and acquired programs offered by Netflix, Disney +, etc.
- Discovery +, Paramount+ and Peacock are counted in the ‘Other Streaming’ category, and don’t meet the 1% threshold.
- We are reading calls to shut down or merge these struggling services. (Is Peacock the “New Quibi?” Wall Streeters say “Stop! Put a bullet in it!”)
3. FAST’s Are Rising
Graphic retrieved from Hub Entertainment Research
- Advertiser-supported streaming channels continue to gain consumer acceptance and viewers.
- FAST Usage Was Up 9 Points in the first five months of 2022
- Read more here from HUB Research.
- Listen to my recent podcast with Wendy Bernfeld: “Selling Your Documentary to the Streamers: Opportunities beyond Netflix and the Big 5.”
4. Market Caps Tell a Story
- Market cap is a measure of scale, and therefore of the strategic resources that may be available to expand existing services, compete for suppliers, and acquire new services.
- The content market involves tech giants who exploit the power of video story-telling to add revenues and brand value.
- Apple has more or less retained its market cap despite the 2022 tech bloodbath.
- Alphabet (YouTube) and Amazon (Prime) retain dominant scale, though have been hit harder by investors.
- Netflix is a pure content player, and has lost two thirds of its value since 2021. (Below)
Screenshot of Netflix Market Cap
- Legacy media players Disney, Comcast and Paramount have also been hit hard by the market. (See table above).
- I have read speculation that Paramount may be an acquisition prospect for Walmart as the retail giant escalates its commitment to video.
- Discovery merged with Warner Bros to achieve scale, but Warner Bros Discovery still lags far behind Netflix and is dwarfed by the tech giants. (Below)
- Watch out for my upcoming analysis of what’s going wrong for WBD.
Screenshot of WBD Market Cap
Update Coming!
- I will update the Netflix guide in October.
- Buy now and you will automatically receive my new Netflix data and analysis as soon as it is published…
- Plus a complimentary download of my STREAMERS & DOCUMENTARIES: A Snapshot Guide for Producers