Streaming 101 – Building Out Your Viewing Options
Let’s review…
If you are new to this series, welcome. Previously we have talked about what streaming is, and why we shouldn’t fear it in the first blog. Then, we explored how to get started with streaming in the second blog. In the most recent edition of this series, we discussed many of the free platforms, with thousands of hours of free content in the Free Choices Galore entry. That catches us up for now. But the good news is you can pick them up any time you have a free minute and don’t necessarily need to read them in order.
Streaming = Big Business
Today let’s talk business. Streaming is big business. Whether it is on the free-to-you platforms we discussed or subscription platforms such as Paramount+, there is a calculated business model behind all of them. We often hear statements like “with all that free content, the networks better watch out.” Oh really? Not so fast. Let’s take a deeper dive into this.
We are all familiar with CBS and all of their hit series such as 60 Minutes, Survivor, NCIS and Blue Bloods. We may also tune into Paramount Network to watch favorites like Yellowstone, or Bar Rescue. In the last blog post we discussed the free service platform Pluto TV . What you need to know is that all three of these TV content sources are all the same company. They are all owned and operated by Paramount. Under this umbrella are all the CBS/Viacom channels, Paramount Network and Paramount+ Streaming platform as well as Pluto TV.
The networks saw the coming trend a few years ago and positioned themselves to continue as market leaders in this changing environment. CBS is not alone, as NBC-Universal owns Peacock, FOX TV owns Tubi and Hulu is partially owned by ABC. They saw the future and got themselves well positioned.
So, where do I go from here?
Ok, so now that you are armed with all this knowledge, how do you choose? If it helps, according to the Spring 2023 TiVo Video Trends report, the average U.S. household has up to 11 video sources in the home, with 7.5 of them being paid and 3.5 of them being free. While these numbers may seem high, so is the cancelling (churn) of these. Approximately 34 percent of respondents in the poll ADDED a subscription service in Quarter 4 of 2022, but 27 percent also DROPPED one.
While this may sound confusing at first, it is one of the benefits of streaming. No commitments, no strings. Pay for what you want to watch until you want something else, then switch! Finish watching The Handmaids Tale and The Bear on Hulu? Now everyone is talking about Billions and Yellowjackets on Paramount+ with Showtime? Switch! Switch!
There are legions of streaming fans out there that will subscribe to a streaming service, binge all the shows they would like to see and cancel that service until something new comes out. There is nothing wrong with that, it is the way video is consumed in 2023.
However, to keep subscribers engaged, we have seen an effort by content providers to consolidate their networks together to be able to offer a wider range of programming. One of the originals to do this was Disney with the Disney+/Hulu/ESPN bundle. Now Paramount+ can be bundled with Showtime and the newest offering MAX (no relation to HTC TV MAX) is a combination of the HBO/Discovery/Warner Brothers catalog of programming. By combining these services, the platforms are intending on giving viewers much more content to watch, therefore (hopefully) giving them less reason to leave. Time will tell if this approach will be successful.
There’s always something to watch
Lots of information here as we look deeper into the world of streaming, and we hope that it is all becoming a little clearer. TV has been around for decades, and Bruce Springsteen even warned us in 1992 there were 57 channels and nothing on. That said, we are here to tell you there are tens of thousands of hours of programming out there for you to consume.
All you need to do is decide what to watch.
