We’ve heard it a thousand times—movie theaters, very much like books, are done. With their humongous fixed costs and their conservative outlook, they are just not ready to survive the online streaming era. That general assertion is true—streaming platforms, available for anyone with a laptop or a TV set, are releasing world-class pictures. But, although […]
Streaming wars part II: the unbundling
When streaming platforms emerged in the late-2000s, they announced they had come to unbundle the bundled linear TV programming. Viewers got ordinary TV channels to watch sports programs, news shows as well as movies. They were unable to choose a show on-demand and had to wait for it to come up on the screen. Streaming […]
Disney+ and the value of knowing your customer
On Nov. 12, a new streaming platform entered the market, aiming to dethrone the incumbent—Disney+ is ready to take on Netflix. Since 2015, Disney’s CEO Bob Iger had been planning the launch of the company’s over-the-top service. For a time, the $236 billion empire had been licensing its content to Netflix, but in the streaming […]
Quibi, the new streaming platform for mobile devices
That smartphone usage is growing is a fact; that we want to stream 10-minute episodes anytime anywhere is a hypothesis. Quibi, a Hollywood-based streaming company, wants to prove the hypothesis is true. With high-quality content and a hefty budget, Quibi aims to produce 10-minute episodes of film and shows for smartphones. The idea sounds very […]
Apple TV Plus is here to fight for prestige
Apple TV Plus is only a few days away from launch, and we are excited to see the service. The new Apple product is set to start operating on November 1st, with nine original shows and movies. After launch, five new titles will be added to the list. But if you are anxious, don’t worry. […]
The deepfake, both beauty and beast
Last May, Nancy Pelosi appeared on a video slurring her words during a speech at the Center for American Progress. Although she sounded drunk, she wasn’t—the video was distorted and had been slowed down. As with Pelosi, thousands of other videos online are the result of video editing skills. They are fake, but it is […]
Nintendo Switch proves content is still king
Video gaming is no longer for the few, but the many. With a portable console and dozens of games online, Nintendo is proving that anyone can play video games any time at any place. With excellent quality content and mobile design, Nintendo Switch has dominated the market this year, and it was the best-selling console […]
Netflix, no longer the streaming leader in the US
Two weeks ago, Netflix revealed its 2019 second-quarter results. They didn’t look pretty and the stock plummeted as a consequence. For the first time since 2011, Netflix has lost subscribers in the United States. The company is still growing internationally, but it has added almost 2 million subscribers less than expected—2.7million vs. the 5 million […]
The Weekly, the NYT’s latest show, is all about branding
The New York Times has started the summer off by releasing its latest product—a docuseries called The Weekly. On June 2nd, the pay television channel FX, property of The Walt Disney Company, aired the first episode telling the story of the Louisiana school T.M. Landry College Preparatory and the moral struggles of the Times’ reporters […]
Second-screen usage, the perfect sales opportunity
Today, more than 77% of the US population owns smartphones, and 70.1% of the adults scroll online when they are watch television It’s called second screen usage. The rise of two-screen usage may undermine the attention paid to quality content, as viewers divide their capacity to focus between their cellphones and the TV. But it […]
