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
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
18/05/2026
Despite a bumpy start to the year, the provider of event-production support and ...
18/05/2026
Daktronics has partnered with the University of North Carolina to manufacture and install 11 LED displays totaling more than 10,000 square feet and more than 14...
18/05/2026
CBS LA has announced a multi-year partnership with the Los Angeles Rams, covering exclusive local broadcasts of Rams preseason games, weekly year-round programm...
18/05/2026
Skyline Communications has announced an integration between its DataMiner xOps p...
18/05/2026
eCLUTCH, the hybrid esports platform powered by iKOMG, has announced an expansion of its distribution across Europe, MENA, Africa, and Asia, along with new cont...
18/05/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
18/05/2026
With 22 games this season, the production team looks forward to tweaking and enhancing the coverage
After 8,660 days off the air, the WNBA returned to NBC yest...
18/05/2026
(L-R) Midori Francis and Natalie Erika James attend the Saccharine premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 22, 2026, in ...
18/05/2026
Last night, the Spotify Podcast Awards in Mexico returned to the country's capital. Now in its second year, the evening honors creators whose voices are hel...
18/05/2026
ZEN-Core synth goes mobile
Roland's powerful ZEN-Core software synthesizer has just been introduced to the iPad, offering a convenient entry point into ...
18/05/2026
Versatile new limiter plug-in announced
Based in Sheffield, UK, fedDSP offer a range of plug-ins that span the music production, live sound and high-end med...
18/05/2026
A new use for convolution?
Viiri Audio's debut plug-in aims to do something a little different with convolution processing, allowing users to adjust all...
18/05/2026
Delta Goodrem shines for SBS as more than 3.27 million Australians tune in for E...
18/05/2026
The Australian Defence Force uses L3Harris T4 and T7 robots for explosive ordnan...
18/05/2026
Continued investment across Europe and Germany is expanding local teams and improving access to stock, regional expertise, and specialist broadcast support.
CV...
18/05/2026
18 May 2026
Dubai and New York, May 18, 2026 - VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON), a glob...
18/05/2026
Monday 18 May 2026
Sky News offers ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes for just...
18/05/2026
Comscore March 2026 Consumer AI Chatbot Usage Rankings Show Claude Gaining Share OpenAI's ChatGPT maintains lead while Anthropic's Claude continues to c...
17/05/2026
Delta Goodrem's Eurovision Eclipse marks end of a stellar run
17 May, 2026
Media releases
Bulgaria wins Eurovision 2026
Relive every spellbinding mome...
17/05/2026
Back to All News
Oasis Premieres on Netflix June 19
Entertainment
17 May 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Summer, sunshine, the beach, parties. T...
16/05/2026
Helps to deliver a clean, balanced midrange
Developed alongside Newfangled Audio, the latest plug-in in Eventide's software collection has been designed...
16/05/2026
Brings onboard stem rendering to RANE System One
Engine DJ have just released Engine DJ 5.0, a free update for their Engine DJ OS embedded hardware and Engi...
16/05/2026
Boris FX Continuum Pairs AI Precision and Advanced Creative Controls
Jessie Electa Petrov May 16, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic de...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Seattle Sounders FC and Seattle Reign FC, in partnership with RAVE Foundation an...
15/05/2026
Dan Brumm has served as sound designer on Bluey, the Australian children's t...
15/05/2026
The Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance (PAMA) and Shure Incorporated are accepting applications for the 6th annual Mark Brunner Professional Audio Schola...
15/05/2026
Netflix has announced an expanded NFL schedule for 2026 and beyond under a four-year partnership extension with the NFL through the 2029-30 season. Each season,...
15/05/2026
Ateme is supporting TVRI (Televisi Republik Indonesia) with a contribution and d...
15/05/2026
Concacaf has announced the launch of a new website and mobile app built on Deltatre's FORGE platform. Concacaf.com and the mobile app, available on iOS and ...
15/05/2026
Eutelsat has announced the launch of QBC Business Economic Channel by Qatar Media Corporation, broadcasting in 4K/UHD via Eutelsat's 7/8 West video neighbo...
15/05/2026
Major League Soccer has announced four original content series timed to the 2026...
15/05/2026
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) has announced it will exhibit and present at InfoComm 2026, taking place June 13-19 at the Las Vegas Convention Cente...
15/05/2026
InfoComm 2026 will take place June 13-19 (exhibits June 17-19) at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The show will include sessions and exhibits covering broadcas...
15/05/2026
Tracy McGrady's Ones Basketball League (OBL) and FuboTV Inc. have announced ...
15/05/2026
Disguise has partnered with Creative Technology (CT) to deliver visual playback ...
15/05/2026
Sony Electronics has announced two new products for professional imaging: the Alpha 7R VI full-frame mirrorless camera and the FE 100-400mm F4.5 GM OSS super-te...
15/05/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
15/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
15/05/2026
For sports organizations, the most valuable assets are often the most sensitive:...
15/05/2026
The NFL's broadcast partners released their 2026 regular season schedules ye...
15/05/2026
Besides drawing on experience with boxing, the production integrates specialty c...
We're Entering Untested Entertainment Territory 
