Streaming’s homage to traditional TV
S08E02: Game of Streams (Streaming’s homage to traditional TV)
Our Media Solution Specialist, Magnus Svensson, is sharing his reflections on the online streaming industry in this post. This is part of a monthly series so make sure to follow us here if you do not want to miss an episode.
The streaming revolution initiated by Netflix promised a departure from traditional television’s constraints, offering an on-demand utopia free from schedules, advertising, and bundled packages. Yet, as the industry matures, streaming services are increasingly adopting strategies that resemble the blueprint of traditional TV. But as time goes by, streaming is starting to look a lot like the TV we’ve always known. This isn’t about stepping back; it’s about recognizing what has worked for TV for so long.
Traditional TV has been around for ages because it knows how to keep viewers happy and make money at the same time. It brings us shows and ads at certain times, charges subscription fees, and sometimes sells popular shows to other channels. This mix keeps things running and makes sure there’s always something new to watch. Plus, watching TV together has been a big part of our culture, giving us shows and moments that everyone talks about.
The proven traditional TV business model
Streaming services are now picking up the same tricks from the TV playbook. Just like cable companies put together bundles of channels, streaming services are merging or bundling offerings to offer more variety. The merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery and the Disney bundle of Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN are just examples of this trend, and discussions of several more are ongoing.
The adoption of ad-supported tiers by streaming giants pays homage to traditional TV’s dual-revenue model. Netflix and Disney+ both added advertising as a complementary revenue model. All streaming services globally have launched a tiered model that includes a free, ad-supported option, further bridging the gap between streaming and traditional broadcast models. This approach allows platforms to diversify revenue while offering consumers a choice in how they pay for content.
With advertising comes live sports
When a service partly relies on advertising the strive for viewing time increases. Binge-watching on-demand content is not enough anymore. And nothing else drives viewing than live sports. Services are getting into live sports and events, places where traditional TV used to be the only option. Amazon streaming NFL games and Netflix’s move from live reality shows to WWE underscore this trend and are making streaming feel more like the TV schedule we’re used to.
Just as cable networks curated channels for news, sports, movies, and children’s programming, streaming platforms are expanding their libraries to include a similar mix. The success of live reality TV shows on Netflix, such as “Love is Blind,” which releases episodes in a scheduled format, mimics traditional TV’s episodic releases and fostering communal viewing.
The best of both worlds
This move towards traditional TV business ways doesn’t mean streaming is losing its edge. It’s getting better, taking the best parts of TV, broad content offerings, mixed revenue models, and live event broadcasting and adding its own twist with new technology. Streaming can offer personalized curation, easy searching, and watching from anywhere, things traditional TV can’t do. Streaming TV offers superior user interfaces and global accessibility.
In conclusion, as streaming starts to look more like TV, it shows they’re learning from each other. The future of watching shows and movies is probably going to be a mix of the old and the new, taking the reliable parts of TV and mixing them with the cool new things streaming can do. This way, viewers get more of what they want, how they want it, in a modern way.
The future of entertainment lies in a blend of tradition and innovation, leveraging the strengths of both to meet the evolving preferences of a diverse, global audience.
To watch out for the coming months…
The new sports platform announced by Disney (ESPN), Warner Bros. Discovery, and Fox is the big news in the world of sports television, planned to start in the autumn of 2024. It’s aiming to be a one-stop-shop for sports fans, moving away from traditional TV to a streaming-first approach.
This announcement raises several questions, especially the broader implications for the sports broadcasting ecosystem potentially affecting negotiations with sports leagues, altering the competitive landscape among streaming services, and influencing the strategic directions of the involved companies.
It also raises questions about ESPN’s future direction reportedly still moving forward with its plans to launch direct-to-subscriber. For Fox, this joint venture represents a strategic move that aligns with its existing business model, as it currently does not have a paid streaming service.
With the earlier discussion about broader content offerings and mixed revenue models, will such a service attract enough subscribers for the relativly high price that is expected?
Magnus Svensson is a Media Solution Specialist and partner at Eyevinn Technology. Eyevinn Technology is the leading independent consulting company specializing in video technology and media distribution.
Follow me on LinkedIn and X (@svensson00) for regular updates and news.
