HBO Max/Discovery+ Merger

[ncted]

Eventually the stock market demands a company or a division of a company MAKE A PROFIT. Streaming doesn't (except for Netflix)

Fun fact: Hulu has been profitable since at least 2021.

Hulu Is Already Profitable, Will Grow to 65 Million Subscribers By 2024, Analyst Predicts

Craig Moffett comes up with a compelling case for why Disney should buy Comcast out today

www.nexttv.com

That said, if I were a Wall Street investor in these media companies, I'd want to know how the heck DTC costs so much more than working with a middleman distribution partner like cable or satellite. What is their cost model? It must be terribly inefficient. Yes, actually delivery of bits over the internet is more expensive than broadcasting it over a piece of coax or even a DBS sat, but not THAT much more. Where is all the money going?

 

[Bruce]

They have no choice. Eventually the stock market demands a company or a division of a company MAKE A PROFIT.

While true, but if you keep raising them, you also drive people away, look at what is happen with DirecTV, a high of 22 Million Satellite Subscribers, now under 9 Million and looking at being unprofitable in a few years, why are they affected more by this current trend of cord cutting then Dish Network, the price.

Comcast and Charter are now feeling it, people do not find any value in keeping the service at the prices they are charging.

I feel the same about certain streaming services also, AMC+ is not worth the $9 a month, so I do not not have it, Peacock is not worth the $120 for the year, if I do not get another offer close to the $50 I paid, dropping it.

The same for YTTV, it is a great service, but unfortunately it is affected more by less and less new content being available for Live TV, even before the strikes.

Specially since the vast majority of content is on streaming services anyways, just do not need a live TV service anymore expect for a few months when College Football is on, but will be changing within 2 years also.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

How do you propose to pay for programming?... its not free...maybe crowd funding will do it

Why do I want my price to go up for sports that I won't watch?

 

[Juan]

Why do I want my price to go up for sports that I won't watch?

Why do I want my price to go up for sports that I won't watch?

It's every thing...with cable and satellite the cost was spread out..now with streaming fewer people pay for a service or channel ( not bundled).. but the production costs haven't dropped..without linear services subsidizing streaming services the cost of streaming is going to sky rocket..Disney is already in trouble and the rest will follow

 

[navychop]

Spreading the cost of a nature documentary over X people will be a far smaller cost to each subscriber than the cost of big name sports.

 

[Bruce]

Disney is already in trouble and the rest will follow

Disney is not in trouble, they are still a profitable company and they are up this year from last, Net income reported was $1.2 Billion for the last quarter reported, up from $470 million from a the same quarter a year ago, $2.5 Billion profit the last 2 quarters, while not as good as 2019, still on the way back up.

With the final two quarters, looking at an estimated profit of between $4-5 Billion this year.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

It's every thing...with cable and satellite the cost was spread out..now with streaming fewer people pay for a service or channel ( not bundled)..

And thats why the system is failing.

 

[SamCdbs]

Fun fact: Hulu has been profitable since at least 2021.

Fun fact, Hulu is a section of the Disney streaming bundle,

Disney, Bob Iger, Bob Chapek Hit With Another Investors Suit Over “Fraudulent” Streaming Costs

There seems no legal end to the Mouse House's woes when it comes to the fallout of the Chapek regime & the streaming wars

deadline.com

Which loses BILLIONS of dollars. Saying Hulu is profitable is significant is like saying a Sears store in Peoria is, so Sears is.

 

[SamCdbs]

And thats why the system is failing.

The system is failing. Because no one thing, not named NFL (which is 95% tied to OTA television for many years to come) is popular enough to justify making. The ratings prove this. Simple math. The bundle protected the consumer. Every one got what they wanted, be it live sports, a nature documentary, or whatever.

The hole in streaming is that it simply cannot fund the creation of new content in a profitable manner. That is what is failing. And the loser is the consumer. Reruns, cheaply acquired foreign content, etc.

 

[ncted]

Fun fact, Hulu is a section of the Disney streaming bundle,

Disney, Bob Iger, Bob Chapek Hit With Another Investors Suit Over “Fraudulent” Streaming Costs

There seems no legal end to the Mouse House's woes when it comes to the fallout of the Chapek regime & the streaming wars

deadline.com

Which loses BILLIONS of dollars. Saying Hulu is profitable is significant is like saying a Sears store in Peoria is, so Sears is.

So they made Disney+ look like it was losing less money than it was by combining it with their profitable venture: Hulu.

 

[ncted]

Every one got what they wanted, be it live sports, a nature documentary, or whatever.

That was the problem for me. So little if what I watched was on cable/satellite. If it had been, I wouldn't have minded paying quite as much.

 

[Yespage]

The system is failing. Because no one thing, not named NFL (which is 95% tied to OTA television for many years to come) is popular enough to justify making. The ratings prove this. Simple math. The bundle protected the consumer. Every one got what they wanted, be it live sports, a nature documentary, or whatever.

The hole in streaming is that it simply cannot fund the creation of new content in a profitable manner. That is what is failing. And the loser is the consumer. Reruns, cheaply acquired foreign content, etc.

As long as we ignore the DVR and its impact on revenue, consolidation, how programming on channels began transitioning from niche to banal (see Bravo, etc...), writer strikes and the cost of creating good programming getting expensive, and generational gaps we can pretend the bundle wasn't in trouble to begin with.

 

[DaveKL69]

Hulu+ Live TV+Disney+ Espn+ will keep me as a subscriber due to their great DVR, which is much, much better than YouTube TV. If YouTube TV would get a DVR like Hulu+Live+..., Dish, etc. then I might switch back, but kind of doubt that, unless YouTube TV is ever much less than Hulu+Live+ Etc.

 

[ncted]

Hulu+ Live TV+Disney+ Espn+ will keep me as a subscriber due to their great DVR, which is much, much better than YouTube TV. If YouTube TV would get a DVR like Hulu+Live+..., Dish, etc. then I might switch back, but kind of doubt that, unless YouTube TV is ever much less than Hulu+Live+ Etc.

I haven't used the current Hulu+Live DVR (I am going to get my chance to try it out when I visit my parents in a couple of weeks). What do you prefer about it compared to other options?

 

[ncted]

Warner Bros. Discovery CFO on Streaming Prices: “Quality Content Has Been Given Away Well Below Fair Market Value”

Gunnar Wiedenfels told an investor conference how the giant decides on licensing programming to give it more "oxygen," the Disney-Charter carriage deal, Hollywood strikes, the ad market and potential 'Barbie' theme park offerings.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

 

[Bruce]

Warner Bros. Discovery CFO on Streaming Prices: “Quality Content Has Been Given Away Well Below Fair Market Value”

Gunnar Wiedenfels told an investor conference how the giant decides on licensing programming to give it more "oxygen," the Disney-Charter carriage deal, Hollywood strikes, the ad market and potential 'Barbie' theme park offerings.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

Now is not the time to be talking pricing too low, with very little new content coming because of the strikes, all those shows they announced are years away.

If they priced too low, does that mean they are pricing too high now with hardly any new content.

House of Dragon Season 2 is in post, but Last of Us Season 2, for example, would be at least 2 years away if they settle the strikes today ( that is not happening).

The Harry Potter series has not even started casting, I have no idea if they can use U.K. writers only, would they would be allowed to do so, I know a lot of actors there are under a different union.

Movies are being delayed, Dune Part 2 is close to summer release date now.

I renewed my year because there is a lot of older stuff, like Succession, I have never watched , but the majority of new content coming looks to be from the Discovery side, which I have no interest in.

 

[Joe The Dragon]

now will curb your enthusiasm Season 12 last?? be out this year?

 

[Bruce]

now will curb your enthusiasm Season 12 last?? be out this year?

Filming is well underway on Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 12, with production expected to finish sometime in the next month or two.Jul 5, 2023

‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ Season 12: Cast, Crew, Release Window, and Everything We Know So Far

If this is the last season, hopefully, it will be a pretty, pretty, pretty good send-off.

collider.com

If they had a month or two left, doubtful they had many episodes done before the strike.

 

[lakebum431]

Got an email from Max today:

Starting October 5, you’ll have access to live sports on us with the B/R Sports Add-On. A $9.99/month value, included for a limited time on all plans. Watch over 300 live games and matches from the NBA, NHL, NCAA March Madness, MLB, and U.S. Soccer. Plus, fan-favorite shows and events like Inside the NBA, The Match, and more. See what’s first on the lineup:​

October 7: MLB National League Division Series October 11: NHL regular season October 24: NBA opening night

 

[Bruce]

Got an email from Max today:

Starting October 5, you’ll have access to live sports on us with the B/R Sports Add-On. A $9.99/month value, included for a limited time on all plans. Watch over 300 live games and matches from the NBA, NHL, NCAA March Madness, MLB, and U.S. Soccer. Plus, fan-favorite shows and events like Inside the NBA, The Match, and more. See what’s first on the lineup:​

October 7: MLB National League Division Series October 11: NHL regular season October 24: NBA opening night

ummm……..nope, no interest at all.

I am really regretting my yearly renewal two months ago, stll need to watch Succession , after that, it is slim pickings.

Content from the suite of Discovery Channels does not count as new content, specially since it airs on the cable channels first.

Ever since Paramount+ added Showtime for only $2, been watching more of that lately.

Paramount+ is my favorite streaming service, Netflix #2, Disney+ a much lower #3 .

Peacock is #53.