After last years GreatNetflixCorrection, thestreamingsector in 2023 entered a decidedly more pragmatic phase.
Profitability for all players has become the new North Star.
In-house bundles like those deployed by Disney and Paramount have been proven winners.
Subscription streamingCourtesy
If we dont do it to ourselves, I think it will be done to us, Warner Bros.
Discovery CEO David Zaslav said at a recent Wall Street conference.
It will be Amazon who does it, or Apple who does it, or Roku who does it.
‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’Disney+
AlthoughKillersandNapoleonlost money theatrically, that doesnt make them misfires.
Apples goals in backing original films are quite different from those of most rivals.
2023 Lowlight:Inflation.
Challenge for 2024:Getting into a groove with film-release windows.
It wasnt that long ago that the library-starved service was licensing catalog film favorites to line its virtual shelves.
Winning armloads of Emmys while also transfixing pandemic-weary viewers the show will be a hard act to follow.
Disney+
2023 Highlight:Stopping the bleeding.
While Disneys streaming business is still operating at a loss, the Mouse House deficits have been shrinking.
2023 Lowlight:Cuts, cuts, cuts.
Disney has remained committed to its 2024 profitability projections, but at what cost?
Challenge for 2024:Finding freshness.
This months arrival of an episodic take onPercy Jackson and the Olympianscould provided a needed breath of fresh air.
Hulu
2023 Highlight:Ownership clarity.
(Ultimately,an $8.5 billion checkwas written by Disney.)
2023 Lowlight:User unfriendliness.
Challenge for 2024:Hulu boasts a robust library of original content including FX on Hulu titles.
2023 Lowlight:Labor.
Removing the platinum HBO name from the streamers title also didnt do it any favors.
Challenge for 2024:The Warner Bros.
Discovery streaming service has been buoyed by HBO content since it launched.
Biggest question:How will Warner Bros Discoverys significant amount of debt continue to impact its streaming decisions?
Backlash to the password crackdown was more muted than had been expected, even by the companys own account.
Challenge for 2024:Showing ROI from video games.
But its crowded out there.
Can Netflix break through or is this all a cash-siphoning distraction kind of like, well, DVDs?
2023 Lowlight:A lack of buzzy original titles.
On the latter, embracing live and linear in streaming may hold the key.
Biggest question:What would a new corporate owner do with Paramount+?
A joint venture could also be an option.
Premier League and WWE have been major tentpoles for viewers.
How much will Peacocks content strategy continue to lean into live sports?
Strategically, that may not be a bad thing.
But that fact can sometimes make Prime originals a little tricky to define.
The NBAs current rights deal with Disney and Warner Bros Discovery is set to expire after the 2024-25 season.
