Streaming Services and the Olympics Highlight Viewing Trends posted: 24/02/2018
by Andy Marken
Even though you're doing your part, TV viewing is slipping. Forrester's Jim Nail recently reported that the ratings of top shows have declined an average of 25 percent over the past five years. Even NBC reported that TV viewing of this year's Winter Olympic Games was down six percent, compared to the viewing audience numbers from 2014. We have to look behind the gross numbers to explain the apparent downturn.
Rationalizing the decreases in different ways, Nail and NBC used their unique interpretation of Chris Anderson's Long Tail distribution discussion he popularized back in 2004 in Wired magazine.
Selection Rules - All of the video content services, including YouTube, place a premium on material that attracts large volumes of users. Netflix expands its customer base by having exclusive content people just have to watch and YouTube rewards channels with greater ad income by viewership. But now, there's a world of content available for mainstream and niche content producers and viewers.
Simply stated, the industry suffers from an embarrassment of overabundance:
The old cable formula still offers something like 1,000 channels, even though folks only visit seven or eight.
OTT (over the top) streaming content has 100s, 1000s of free/paid channels.
300 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute, 1M videos are uploaded to Snapchat every day.
There are 7.6B plus people on the planet, roughly half of them (3.6B) have an Internet connection, about 80 percent of the world's households have a TV and there are 2.5B smartphone users worldwide.
According to Nielsen, contrary to TV viewing dying, the audience is up about five percent, compared to four years ago.
Rather than watching just one or two channels per day, the number of channels viewed has almost doubled and the method used for viewing shifts throughout the day.
Online Tracking - With streaming content, people can grab a quick video fix between/during classes or boring meetings or catch-up on shows they missed on the ride home on the device in their hands and can still have a chance to watch news, sports or the new releases when they get home.
The People are watching fewer channels, but they're choosing their channels from a much larger pool.
That hustle to become a top dog in the viewer selection race has shaken the M&E (media & entertainment) industry to its very core.
It's a poorly kept secret that FAANG (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google) and BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent) are in town (that's Hollywood for the non-glams) and are determined to take the best talent from the networks/studios to build their title inventories quickly.
They haven't been shy about their commitment to dominate tomorrow's viewing with big, multi-year contracts.
Folks like Ryan Murphy, Reese Weatherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, Shonda Rhimes, Todd Haynes, Richard Linklater, Jill Soloway, David Letterman, Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld, Jennifer Salke, Steven Spielberg, Elizabeth Olsen and other name players have signed on with FAANG and BAT firms.
Talent agents are being prodded to get their clients in front of the right people!
To constantly feed their growing global subscriber base, Netflix will spend $8 billion this year on programming.
Amazon will invest $4.5 billion, Hulu $2.5 billion and $1 billion for Apple.
Disney responded by pulling its programs from Netflix and will roll out its own paid streaming service later this year.
Of course, Igor is keeping all of his options open:
Offering $52B to acquire most of 21st Century Fox
Planning an ESPN streaming channel
Investing about $15B in programming this year
VOD Opportunities - TV and content development/production organizations view the growing streaming audience as a way to attract more viewers to their unique content whether on a subscription or ad-supported basis.
Peter Rice, Fox president, isn't overly impressed with the Netflix programming budget, noting that it's a reasonable sum for someone trying to compete.
Look at the expanse of Hollywood, Rice said. Maybe Netflix is spending 10 percent of the overall content spend of Hollywood. That's not a monopoly.
Still, we know a lot of folks who want to see their titles added to the FAANG/BAT lists.
To offset the loss of hit shows and talent to streaming companies, network and cable companies are focusing on what they do best - live events (news, sports, awards) - and leveraging them across all channels.
The best example of the shift to cover all of their bases is NBC's $12B investment in the TV, mobile, internet streaming rights to the Olympic Games through 2032.
Even with a decrease in the number of people watching the Games and $900M of ads on NBC and its cable nets, the TV viewing will still beat out it's on-air competition over the 18 nights by a huge margin.
They've been streaming coverage of every Olympic event since the 2012 Summer Games in London.
Every two years, they've seen a major growth in their online audience.
And every year, the streamers have been younger.
NBC said 76 percent of the online viewers for Pyeongchang are between the ages of 18 to 49, up from 61 percent for the 2016 Summer Games in Rio when the median age was 52.
This year, NBC changed the Olympics viewing rules by streaming live coverage in prime time when the most viewers are available to watch at home.
When the games end, they don't care how you watched - smart phone; tablet; internet-connected streaming device such as Amazon Fire, Roku; smart TV or their regular network.
That wasn't possible in in previous Olympics because of time zone differences.
While we stuck with the big screen, the kids went cross-platform - iPhone, iPad, TV.
As with Rio, we had a
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
03/05/2024
An innovative learning tool to help media and civil society better understand ho...
03/05/2024
PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 21: (L-R) Actors K stutis Cic nas and Greta Grinevi i t , Director Marija Kavtaradze and Producer Marija Razgute attend the 2023 Sunda...
03/05/2024
If you aren't familiar with Danny Ocean's music, it's only a matter ...
03/05/2024
Spotify has an unwavering commitment to supporting emerging artists across all genres, to helping them launch and thrive in their careers, and to connecting the...
03/05/2024
Como uno de los sonidos de mayor expansi n en el mundo, la M sica Mexicana va m ...
03/05/2024
As one of the fastest-growing sounds worldwide, M sica Mexicana is more than jus...
03/05/2024
NEW YORK FuboTV reported that it lost 110,000 subs in Q1 2024 but it exceeded its guidance for the quarter with double digit year-over-year increases across key...
03/05/2024
Only 3 Weeks Left To Enter The Creative Industries Most Award
Brie Clayton May 3, 2024
0 Comments
Creativepool is giving a last call to the creative i...
03/05/2024
WePlay Studios Transforms the Future of Live Event Storytelling with AJA Gear
Brie Clayton May 3, 2024
0 Comments
By 2032, the esports market is expec...
03/05/2024
WASHINGTON Shannon Bream, Fox News Sunday anchor and chief legal correspondent, sat for a keynote chat at The Business of TV News, with Tom Umstead, senior co...
03/05/2024
WASHINGTON Asked how important is local news, Martha Raddatz, who has covered foreign conflicts for decades and moderated presidential debates for ABC News, s...
03/05/2024
Sony Pictures and Apollo Global Management have made a $26 billion cash offer fo...
03/05/2024
CBS announced its 2024-2025 primetime schedule, which features the new dramas NCIS: Origins, Matlock and Watson, and new comedies Poppa's House and Georgie ...
03/05/2024
Sports-focused streaming service Fubo said it reduced its red ink in the first quarter, despite losing 110,000 subscribers since the end of the year....
03/05/2024
Walmart is reportedly about to release a new 4K streaming box/smart speaker hybrid device for Google TV that could retail for as low as $50, according to a repo...
03/05/2024
Enhancements to its Delivery Workspace solution provide increased content delivery robustness and security
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: May 3, 2024
Enha...
03/05/2024
According to reports, if the bid is successful, Sony would be the significant majority shareholder of the new private company
By Jenny Priestley
Published: M...
03/05/2024
Located in Manchesters Spinningfields district, the course aims to equip students with the skills, knowledge and industry insight for a career in the creative s...
03/05/2024
Lightbridge has created a new Cine Reflect Lighting System kit, dedicated to enabling artistic lighting with consideration of today's productivity practical...
03/05/2024
Broadcast media systems integrator BeckTV and Lawo worked together on a large-scale AES67 build of radio control rooms at KPBS, San Diego's NPR and PBS memb...
03/05/2024
Raleigh, NC, April 12, 2024 SmallHD announces PageOS 6, a powerful software update free for owners of SmallHD monitors, featuring increased functionality, exp...
03/05/2024
SmallHD announces the Quantum 32 a new 31.5 OLED monitor designed to provide reference HDR/SDR images for post-production final color grading, as well as cri...
03/05/2024
By 2032, the esports market is expected to grow to $9.29 billion, bolstered by a global player count and fan following that both continue to climb. The 2023 Lea...
03/05/2024
Amagi, the global leader in cloud-based SaaS technology for broadcast and connected TV (CTV), today announced that the 11th edition of the Amagi Global FAST Rep...
03/05/2024
Riedel Communications today announced that Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) is relying on a media and intercom network based on Riedel technology for the renewal of...
03/05/2024
Broadpeak , a leading provider of content delivery network (CDN) and video streaming solutions for content providers and pay-TV operators worldwide, announced t...
03/05/2024
Media technology innovator Limecraft will exhibit the latest updates to its online platform on stand G79 at the 15-16 May 2024 Media Production & Technology Sho...
03/05/2024
Audio interface specialist Prism Sound is partnering with console manufacturer Solid State Logic, professional monitor manufacturer PMC and acoustic panel and d...
03/05/2024
Intinor, Sweden's leading developer of products and solutions for high-quality video over the internet, is set to join forces with its UK partner Zest Techn...
03/05/2024
NAKIVO Inc., a fast-growing software company dedicated to protecting physical, virtual, cloud, and SaaS environments, announced its Q1 2024 financial results to...
03/05/2024
Hiltron Communications announces an addition to its range of satellite communication products and systems: a field-upgradable motorisation kit specifically desi...
03/05/2024
Visit LiveU at Stand D30
With this year an exceptional one for major sporting events alongside multiple, key elections, the power and flexibility of LiveU'...
03/05/2024
Agile Content, the leader in the development of technology and solutions for the provision of television services over the Internet, announces Koldo Unanue as i...
03/05/2024
Eight co-signers representing streaming services, pay TV operators and public interest groups have sent a letter to Congressional leaders urging their Committee...
03/05/2024
BOSTON Brightcove has announced that it has implemented Amazon Q Business, a new generative AI assistant on Amazon Web Services (AWS)....
03/05/2024
NEW YORK CBS has declared that it will finish the 2023-24 season as Americas Most-Watched Network in primetime for the 16th consecutive season....
03/05/2024
A new survey indicates that U.S. businesses and consumers had an overall positive attitude towards their technology spending plans in the first quarter of 2024,...
03/05/2024
Sony and Apollo Global Management have sent an offer letter to Paramount Global's board of directors making an $26 billion all cash offer for Paramount Glob...
03/05/2024
EMG / Gravity Media has appointed Charlie Cubbon chief operating officer (COO) and Jamie Hindhaugh regional CEO for the U.K., U.S., Australia and the Middle Eas...
03/05/2024
Final 2024 Season Games to Air Saturdays on WRAL at 10:30am in May, Championship on June 1
Taping for the final episodes of the 2024 season of WRAL-TV's Br...
03/05/2024
Estrella MediaCo said it is expanding its connected TV portfolio by launching three new channels with Curiosity that will first appear on Samsung TV Plus....
03/05/2024
Nielsen said that actors' union SAG-AFTRA has selected Nielsen as its third-party provider of streaming content measurement....
03/05/2024
Cineverse said it has released a public beta version of cineSearch, its artificial intelligence-based system designed to help users find content to watch....
03/05/2024
Court TV said that its series Accomplice to Murder with Vinnie Politan is returning for a second season beginning May 5....
03/05/2024
Paramount Advertising said it is working with Mastercard and research and analytics company EDO to measure the impact of advertising campaigns and improve their...
03/05/2024
WASHINGTON The panel The Growth of Local Programming happened at The Busines...
03/05/2024
Katz Media Group said that Craig Broitman will become president of the company, succeeding Leo MacCourtney, who announced that he is retiring effective July 1....
Streaming Services and the Olympics Highlight Viewing Trends posted: 24/02/2018 
