We're Entering Untested Entertainment Territory
Andy Marken November 6, 2024
0 Comments
Ventress wants to face it. You want to fight it. But I don't think I want either of those things. - Josie Radek, Annihilation, Paramount, 2018
Depending on which segment of the film/show industry and your organization, things are good, pretty good or not so good but looking up according to the folks on Wall Street.
Theaters expect to bring in $42 B in revenue this year even though they still complain that their theatrical windows are too short.
Oh sure, the actual number of tickets sold were still off, but they still expect to gross $44B in 2026. No, the growth isn't magic or cooking the books. All you have to do is charge more for the tickets (especially for the big hitter projects), bump up the cost of concessions a little and sell more greasy popcorn and sugared water drinks.
Patient Care - Film production is suffering in the US, especially in Hollywood where shoot days are off dramatically. Greenlighted projects have smaller crews and lower budgets this year.
Even though movie production is down - again - in Hollywood from its peak TV levels by 40 percent; the home of the famous production companies, the US, will still manage to deliver 1,523 movies this year plus a wide assortment of TV shows.
India, the world's second-oldest film production country, delivered more films/shows - a lot more - followed by the UK, China (most available only locally and SEA -Southeast Asia), France, Japan, Germany, South Korea, Canada and Australia.
The slow decline of ticket sales never bothered studios before because they could count on booster shots from broadcast and cable networks.
You know, 500 channels to flip through but still nothing to watch.
But at least you didn't have to jump into and out of the different channels. You only had to scroll through the EPG (electronic program guide) to find the movie you heard was good, show you wanted to catch up on or the neat out-of-the-way project you were interested in.
Issues Hit Home - The cost of fixed TV bundles with a major amount of unviewed channels, the lack of new/interesting content and fixed programming have taken a toll on pay TV subscriptions as people move to more economic, flexible entertainment options. The bundles won't disappear but will be less important to younger generations.
But the bundle was taking too much out of the family budget and people wanted a better, less expensive option for their home entertainment.
On Demand - Consumers in developed countries quickly began to prefer streaming services that delivered entertainment when you wanted and where you wanted it. People in developing countries are increasingly moving from their pay TV as well.
VOD (video on demand) suddenly became the home entertainment resource of choice especially when you could watch what you wanted, when you wanted, on the screen you wanted, and the cost was less than 10 bucks a month (in the Americas).
A helluva deal.
No wonder Netflix grew from the tech company all of Hollywood looked down on - and were more than willing to make and sell content to - until the company became the clear and undisputed leader of streaming video that recently reported they had nearly 264.5M subscribers in 190 countries around the world.
Somehow, the stalwart Silicon Valley company had figured out how once film/show production shifted to digital that VHS, DVD, Blu-Ray were just stepping stones in the shifting entertainment landscape to personalizing content and entertainment delivery.
Of course, they also had a secret technical advantage.
Yep, they had data on the shows/movies people watched, how long they watched it and the screen they watched it on in every region of the globe.
Leader - Using regional and global viewer content interest and data, Netflix continues its streaming leadership by mixing movies, shows, live events and more to provide subscribers with local and international entertainment.
They continue to keep their foot on the gas to maintain their leadership in the streaming arena, constantly investing in new and acquired projects (shows/movies) until they slowed down.
It wasn't because they needed to show Wall Street profits because they have been and are.
They released 92 original seasons this year, down slightly from the prior year, along with a slew of acquired titles including a number of international titles that grabbed viewer interest/attention regardless of their home country.
In addition, they broadened their offerings with live events like boxing, WWE, wrestling and NFL football with more sports and live events sure to follow.
They probably would have liked to have some of the Euro 2024 and Copa America futbol action which was huge everywhere but North America where the sport is consistently misspelled.
Source - Paramount
Back for More - People may run through the shows/movies they've just got to see but live sporting events keep sucking them back into the various services they subscribe to. Some events are just too important to miss.
But there's always next year and other sport contests that suck people in who have to watch.
In addition, they surprised Wall Street (and the competition) by clamping down on password sharing, gaining subscribers rather than losing viewers. There's more work to be done in weaning folks off the sharing habit but they're doing it professionally and the content consuming public is coming around.
Actually, they are the only true streaming entertainment service but then:
We know YouTube is a streamer (and a huge one), but we still find it hard to view them as a real content development, creation, production, delivery company but rather an ad company that makes money from the stuff the creator generation puts up
Prime is a close number 2 to Netflix an
North America Stories
18/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/03/2026
SMPTE , the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, today unveiled its educational presentations for the 2026 NAB Show. This year SMPTE will ...
18/03/2026
Maxon, maker of powerful, approachable software solutions for creators working in 2D and 3D design, motion graphics, visual effects, gaming, and more, today ann...
18/03/2026
Digital Alert Systems
Preview
2026 NAB Show
April 19 - 22
Booth C3452
At the 2026 NAB Show, Digital Alert Systems will showcase Version 6.0 of its DASDEC ...
18/03/2026
Setplex today announced that it will showcase its complete, fully integrated Zapflex platform for the first time at the 2026 NAB Show, introducing powerful new ...
18/03/2026
COW Jobs: Seeking DP for Low Budget Dramedy - Chicago
Brie Clayton March 17, 2026
0 Comments
Seeking Director of Photography for Low Budget Dramedy Fe...
18/03/2026
COW Jobs: Seeking Gaffer for Low Budget Dramedy - Chicago
Brie Clayton March 17, 2026
0 Comments
Seeking Gaffer for Low Budget Dramedy Feature Film- I...
18/03/2026
COW Jobs: Seeking Location, Sound for Low Budget Dramedy - Chicago
Brie Clayton March 17, 2026
0 Comments
Seeking Location/Sound for Low Budget Dramed...
18/03/2026
COW Jobs: Seeking Child Wrangler for Low Budget Film - Chicago
Brie Clayton March 17, 2026
0 Comments
Seeking Child Wrangler for Low Budget Dramedy Fe...
18/03/2026
Calrec Redefines Broadcast Workflows at NAB 2026 with its Most Powerful Hardware...
18/03/2026
Oscar Nominated Two People Exchanging Saliva Posted with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton March 17, 2026
0 Comments
DaVinci Resolve Studio handle...
18/03/2026
Boston Conservatory Presents Celebrated Musical Satire Urinetown Performances for this Center Stage production will take place at Boston Conservatory Theater ...
18/03/2026
Charlie Puth Joins Switched On Pop at Berklee NYC The Berklee alum spoke with host and Berklee NYC professor Charlie Harding for a live taping, answering audi...
17/03/2026
NASA+'s Rebecca Sirmons and Brittany Brown offer unique look at live streami...
17/03/2026
The transition to IP has fundamentally reshaped professional media infrastructures. Video, audio, and increasingly metadata now circulate as independent, precis...
17/03/2026
Live sports streaming can push every element in your video delivery chain to its limit, exposing every potential weakness in seconds. When the Super Bowl, the O...
17/03/2026
Texas Athletics sought to modernize its media production, enhance fan experience...
17/03/2026
Ikegami USA will demonstrate the latest additions to its wide range of broadcast...
17/03/2026
TNA Wrestling and iHeartMedia announces a new multi-platform collaboration that will integrate iHeartMedia across TNA's premium live events, weekly televisi...
17/03/2026
The goal was to transform Hard Rock Stadium into a global leader in sports and e...
17/03/2026
Spectrum has announced the launch of its new Multiview feature in the Spectrum TV App, giving customers the ability to watch up to four NCAA men's or women&...
17/03/2026
Genius Sports deal also covers data technology, AI, fan engagement, and performance analysis....
17/03/2026
Net Insight is supporting the rollout of a new state-wide centralized operation with Rede Massa, which is an SBT affiliate, the Brazilian regional television ne...
17/03/2026
Featuring audio from practice sessions, qualifying races, and Grand Prix races, the film represents Apple's sports-media ambitions
At Sunday night's Ac...
17/03/2026
Live broadcast has always been one of the most demanding environments in media a...
17/03/2026
DirecTV is introducing several new viewing features, including a multi-screen March Madness Mix channel and an updated Sports Central mobile app hub, ahead of...
17/03/2026
Deltatre has announced a multi-year partnership with ATP Media, the media arm of the ATP Tour, covering broadcast graphics, data, and production across the 2026...
17/03/2026
The Detroit Pistons have announced a third consecutive season partnering with Sc...
17/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
17/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
17/03/2026
3D streaming infrastructure provider Miris today announced the launch of a public beta for its new 3D asset streaming platform. Miris is building the infrastruc...
17/03/2026
As media organizations face mounting pressure to produce more content, faster, while maximizing value and operational efficiency, Tedial, a leading provider of ...
17/03/2026
Brainstorm, a leading manufacturer of real-time graphics, augmented and virtual production, is launching the newest version of its platform, Brainstorm Suite 7,...
17/03/2026
Limecraft today announces the release of Limecraft 2026.2, the second platform update in its 2026 release cycle. Limecraft is an AI-powered production platform ...
17/03/2026
Broadcast Solutions, a leading system integrator and provider of innovative solutions for the broadcast and media industry, showcased its latest broadcast and V...
17/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
17/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
17/03/2026
QuickLink's Latest StudioEdge Models to Make North American Debut at NAB 202
Brie Clayton March 16, 2026
0 Comments
The Multi-platform Remote Gues...
17/03/2026
Frankenstein Graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton March 16, 2026
0 Comments
Sonnenfeld enhances the controlled interplay between warm and c...
17/03/2026
New Voyavox from Link Electronics with Real-Time Speech-to-Text Captioning to be...
17/03/2026
Berklee City Music Stewards META Fellowship Supporting Massachusetts Music Educa...
17/03/2026
Back to All News
Fantasy Action Series Agent from Above' Puts Contemporary...
17/03/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Presents the Trailer for the Final Season of Turn of the Tide
Entertainment
17 March 2026
GlobalSpainPortugal
Link copied to clipb...
17/03/2026
As AI native applications scale to more users, agents and devices, the telecommu...
We're Entering Untested Entertainment Territory 
