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YouTube Shorts builds in popculatiry with content creators; Media Man head Greg Tingle tests

Inside the Documentary Cash Grab
(The Hollywood Reporter)

*click here for full article

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Greg Tingle

The Hollywood Reporter with a deep dive into the quests of quality vs production output and the bottom line. Fans of Hollywood movies, docos and series are receptive to both but want the quality and a better than average standard in my view. Will the studios and bean counters listen? THR putting the business in show business. Now, will studios add a bit more creative and raise the quality bar as consumers have dozens of streaming media options, not to mention the YouTube and own/self content production equation. Stay tuned to your streaming provider for more real life 'Game Of Throans" meets 'The Hunger Games' Hollywood backlot style. It's going to more epic than a flop in my view. That's a rap.

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Netflix to launch cheaper plan with advertising and fewer shows after subscribers drop -
14 Octoctober 2022

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Netflix will launch a cheaper option with adverts next month after its first drop in subscribers in more than a decade.

In Australia the new plan will cost about a third less than the video streaming service's current entry-level, ad-free option, at $6.99 a month.

The plan, set to launch on November 3, will have four to five minutes of ads per hour, and users will not have the option to download shows and movies to watch offline. A "limited" number of programmes will not be available.

Netflix's 15-year-old streaming service decided on a new direction six months ago after reporting its first decline in subscribers in more than a decade.

A captive lockdown audience led to a surge in subscribers in 2020 but the stream giant's growth has since stalled, recording its weakest annual growth in 2021.

Netflix lost 1.2 million subscribers in the first half of the year, leaving it with nearly 221 million.

It is also facing stiff competition as more rivals enter the market, including Amazon, Apple and Disney, as well as free streaming platforms like ABC's iview and SBS (which also has ads).

Then there is account-sharing, with Netflix putting the number of households watching for free at about 100 million worldwide.

"Account-sharing as a percentage of our paying membership hasn't changed much over the years, but, coupled with the first factor, means it's harder to grow membership in many markets — an issue that was obscured by our COVID growth," Netflix said in a letter to its shareholders earlier this year.

The service's stock price also took a hit, wiping out up more than $US200 billion ($317 billion) in shareholder wealth in the past 11 months.

Shares rallied after Thursday's announcement, but still have lost about two-thirds of their value after peaking last November when the service was still growing.

Inflation has also put households under pressure to reign on discretionary spending like video-streaming.

Media Man

It’s been a tough time for movie theatres around the world with a number of factors contributing to the decline in the number of people heading to the cinema to watch movies. In a world that is embracing digital technologies, the movie industry is in danger of getting left behind unless they quickly embrace the technologies available that will get people excited to return to movie theatres and get the enjoyment of the cinema experience once again.

The rise of the video game industry

Whilst there are plenty of factors that are influencing people’s decision to visit the cinema, there is no doubt that the rapid rise of the online video game industry is a large contributing factor. People are starting to look elsewhere for their entertainment and online video gaming provides a lower-cost alternative to a trip to the cinema.

A report by MarketWatch in 2020 found that the video game industry is now bigger than the sports and movie industry combined. Just take a minute to digest that. Bigger than movies and sports - that’s big.

The news outlet reported that global video game revenue is expected to increase 20% in 2020, making $179.7 billion, according to data from IDC.

The biggest gain is expected to come from mobile gaming, according to the news outlet, which is expected to surge 24% to $87.7 billion. Part of this is due to China recently lifting a ban on gaming consoles.

Game console revenue is expected to soar to $52.5 billion this year, while PC and Mac games are expected to make $39.5 billion.

In their most recent report, MarketWatch reported that whilst overall revenue was expected to grow by 11% in 2021 to $251.39 billion, the forecast for 2022 is just a 2% growth and a flattening out of that rapid growth over the past two years.

Is this a potential opportunity for cinemas to reclaim some of that lost audience share?

Early signs look good for cinemas in 2022

If the latest movie releases in 2022 are anything to go by, it looks as though the movie theatre industry is not ready to give up just yet. Spider-Man: No Way Home became the biggest grossing movie of the past two years, grossing over $US1 billion ($1.38b) in the first two weekends. It is the second-fastest film ever to reach the $1 billion mark and suggests that this could be a big year for cinema-goers.

Following in its footsteps is another 2022 release, The Matrix Resurrections, a movie that grossed $US12 million in its opening weekend.

Whilst this is a great start to the New Year for movie theatres around the world, it remains to be seen whether this is a trend that continues throughout the year. With a number of high profile movies due for release in 2022, this could be a time for cinemas to really cash in.

The impact of streaming and long-form content

It is unlikely that cinemas will have it all their own way in 2022. Whilst it is great to see people returning to movie theatres to watch the latest releases on the big screen, there is no question that home viewing is here to stay.

As more studios and media distributors are developing their own direct-to-consumer streaming services, this starts to eat into the revenue of major studios.

Studios derive almost half of their revenues from theatrical releases. Although the average number of movie tickets purchased by Americans each year has declined from 4.2 in 2009 to 3.4 in 2019 (Source: Deloitte), studio revenues are driven more by box office tickets now than they were 20 years ago.

Streaming is having the biggest impact on people going to the movies. As televisions have improved, where you can now watch movies at home in 4K high-definition on screens with sizes up to 100”, with surround sound, people have become more willing to wait for the latest release movies to become available on streaming services including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, and Stan.

Another major impact on the cinema industry is the consumer switch to long-form content in the form of series. Many people feel there is more depth to a series that contains anywhere from six episodes upwards. Game of Thrones was one of the groundbreaking series to really capture the audience’s attention, however, there are so many amazing series now that it is becoming more difficult for movies to compete with the depth and the character development that a series can bring.

Huge series like Breaking Bad, The Sopranos and more recently, Succession, have really captured the attention of audiences around the world and this is something movie producers need to consider.

The entertainment factor

It’s not just video games and streaming that are competing for people’s attention. Another industry embracing technology is the online casino and betting sector. Here, we have seen huge advancements in the way people are able to game online. One company leading the way in the sector is Betway, “Developed by our exceptionally talented people, Betway creates market-leading, cutting-edge interactive gaming experiences. We bring people closer to the action – putting them at the centre, making them feel a part of it.”

From the introduction of in-game betting to the development of new and exciting interactive games, these online gaming sites are leading the way when it comes to embracing new technologies that can lead to better experiences for customers.

The movie industry is at a real crossroads. With competition coming from every direction within the entertainment industry, studios and distributors need to find a way to either a) get more people back into movie theatres or b) look at alternative ways to ensure that movies can compete with online gaming, live sports streaming and online casinos for a share of customer eyeballs.