Media is consuming us more than we could imagine. Media conglomerates are continuing to compete to bring awareness to their top services. Streaming services created a revolution of how people consume media. They need to think creatively and provide a lot of content, it shapes a whole aspect of media landscape. It states, “The media mindscape used to be straightforward: Content companies- studios- made stuff- Tv shows and movies- and sold it to pay TV distributors, who sold it to consumers” (Kafka, Molla). This has completely changed and these companies are making a vast amount of their own material. The famous Emmy Awards had a lot of shows winning from steaming services. Even significant companies as in Google, Amazon, and Apple are having to step up to closer action.
The major media conglomerate that will succeed the most in 2020 is Disney. Disney CEO Bob Iger is praised for his ideas to bring together all the conglomerate’s key brands like Pixar and Marvel. He states, "Bringing the past, present and future together all in one place on Disney+ has instantly made it one of the most impressive streaming services — as proven by the public's extraordinary response on Day 1" (Landgraf). This is showing how Disney is connecting to a wide audience range with new and exciting content. Disney plus has opened up a new light to what can be done streaming. It brought a lot of attention to their company. Hulu also has award-winning shows. “Hulu’s value is likely to grow in the next few years, now that Disney effectively owns the service” (Lawler). Hulu has top- award shoes and a wide range of genres. Disney is clearly creating a huge impact across the world. As the competition is rising many seem to face some struggles. The organization that will face the most challenges in 2020 Is Netflix. This is because all of the money they are spending on TV. Even though they are one of the original streaming services, they seem to fall out of fashion. They are dealing with massive media companies around them. Also, they have a big cash gap which leaves it hard to tell if it will close in 2020. Connecting to this, the article states, one key question is when Netflix can get to a point where it can self-fund its spending — including a record $15 billion budget for content this year — which is set to exceed the company's cash generation by $3.5 billion, an all-time high for the Reed Hastings-led firm” (Szalai). This can effect an organization heavily especially with all the services around them. Netflix needs to continue to have a good foundation and focus on certain content.
Therefore, media organizations are taking over. This new entertainment is creating a huge impact on our daily lives. I am looking forward to seeing how this continues to grow in the future.
Works Cited Goldberg, Lesley, and Bryn Elise Sandberg. “FX Chief John Landgraf Touts Hulu Partnership as ‘Transformative Opportunity.’” The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Jan. 2020, www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/fx-chief-john-landgraf-touts-fxs-hulu-partnership-as-transformative-opportunity-1268366.
Lawler, Kelly. “Disney to Apple TV to Netflix: All the Major Streaming Services, Ranked.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 12 Nov. 2019, www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2019/10/29/apple-tv-netflix-disney-all-streaming-services-ranked/2484448001/.
Molla, Rani, and Peter Kafka. “Here's Who Owns Everything in the Media Today.” Vox, Vox, 5 Dec. 2019, www.vox.com/2018/1/23/16905844/media-landscape-verizon-amazon-comcast-disney-fox-relationships-chart.
2020 will be a very interesting year for the major media conglomerates. Once again, These companies are going to be very competitive with one another trying to get the attention of consumers around the world. Being able to put out the best content and services will be crucial for each of these companies. It is going to be very interesting to see how this year is going to pan out for these companies. It seems as though any move they make is a calculated response to something else another company is doing for their audience. When looking at which company I think will be the most successful in 2020 I think it will go to Disney. Not only does Disney have the most invested in other companies but the content they own is the most popular. Having ownership of Lucasfilm and Marvel Studios will continue to make them huge amounts of money. Star Wars is a very popular and established brand and Marvel has become unbelievably successful since they have rolled out their MCU last decade. They have the next phase planned out as well and I predict that those movies will continue to be wildly popular. In fact, "Disney acquired Fox, effectively merging the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the X-Men Cinematic Universe" (Docterman) I expect the next phase of MCU films to continue to dominate worldwide .The other reason why I think Disney will be the most successful is because of their streaming service, Disney +. It seems as though every company is getting involved with streaming because it has proven to be very lucrative and popular. Disney's streaming service is going to challenge the other streaming sites because it "offers its classic films paired with original series from its biggest brands: Star Wars, Pixar and Marvel" (Lawler). Their headline original "The Mandalorian" has already proven to be a smash hit with fans. I think Disney will be the most successful company in 2020 because they hold the rights to the most popular characters and content right now and their new streaming service has the content to compete with Netflix and Hulu.
When looking at which company is going to have some struggles I could see Apple having some difficulties keeping up with the others. When comparing them to the other companies they seem like they are behind. Apple TV+ seems to have taken a back seat to Netflix, Disney+ and Hulu. The reason why I think this is happening is because they do not have the content to compare with the others. All the other services have incredibly established content unlike Apple's services. Even though I think they can get some viewers with their original content the fact that it "does not include a back catalog of any kind" is going to make its ability to compete with other services such as Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu and Disney+ difficult. Personally, the reason why I got Disney+ was to watch the movies I watched as a kid. I know what kind of content I am getting and that is not the case with Apple. It can almost make it feel like a risk because you are not sure what kind of content you are getting. Even though it will be a challenge it can be thought Apple will still have a decent following due to brand loyalty. It has already shown that "2019 launches of both Disney+ and Apple TV+ did not immediately inflict significant damage to the streaming market structure" (Vlessing). With the content Disney+ has it can be thought that this will soon change but I cannot foresee apple doing the same. At the moment, they just do not have the content to compete with the others.
Works Cited: Mayo, Benjamin, et al. “Apple TV Plus Guide: Here's All the Apple TV Shows and Movies Available Now.” 9to5Mac, 19 Jan. 2020, 9to5mac.com/2020/01/17/apple-tv-plus-tv-shows-movies-guide/.
Vlessing, Etan. “Disney , Apple TV Are No Netflix Killers, Says Analyst.” The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Jan. 2020, www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/disney-apple-tv-are-no-netflix-killers-says-analyst-1270642.
Dockterman, Eliana. “A Complete List of Upcoming Marvel Movies: Dates, Casts.” Time, Time, 14 Jan. 2020, time.com/5167535/upcoming-marvel-movies/.
Lawler, Kelly. “Disney to Apple TV to Netflix: All the Major Streaming Services, Ranked.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 12 Nov. 2019, www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2019/10/29/apple-tv-netflix-disney-all-streaming-services-ranked/2484448001/.
Over the past 20 years the amount of media that we consumer as a population has increased more and more by the year. With this immense amount of media that we consume everyday, the way we consume this media has also changed. In the early 2000’s we used services such as Netflix and would receive DVD’s in the mail once a week to watch different movies, or would rent DVD’s from different stores. We then moved into the age of streaming, which was originally a huge step /risk that was taken by Netflix that had them decrease their number of DVD’s and increase the number of movies that were able to be streamed online. This was all before high-speed internet had become readily accessible to everyone and was a huge risk by Netflix. This changed the entire construct of how we consume our media and would still be affecting it for years to come. This new streaming based media became a huge hit and completely took over our culture breeding media giants like Spotify, Hulu, and Disney+.
I believe that the media conglomerate that is best positioned to succeed in the future is Disney+. Disney+ is new to the streaming game, as it was only released about 3 months ago, but it made its impact known right away. As of right now, the vast majority of the media that is streaming on Disney+ is “old” media or shows or movies that had already been released. Besides the few standalones like the Mandalorian, Disney practically just recycled all of their old media and put it all in one new platform for its consumers. By barely tapping into their immense amount of IP characters and using Star Wars to create the Mandalorian they helped explode Disney+ and they will continue to create new media, while still using any of the IP’s that they own. In the article Disney Over The Top the author says, “With its plan to distribute directly to consumers, Disney is a key instigator of what has exploded into an all-out war for streaming dominance.” (Jarvey 2019) This shows just how intense the “Streaming wars have become and for such a power like Disney it will make it much easier on them with all of the IP that they have gathered over the years to attract consumers. It was also said later in the same article, "Disney is betting the whole company on streaming," says Jeffrey Cole, director of the USC Annenberg Center for the Digital Future. "You can feel [them putting] pedal to the metal." (Jarvey 2019) Disney has just scratched the surface of streaming and with the amount of money and resources they have it is clear they are the company with the biggest upside in this new streaming world.
As for the company that will face the most challenges in 2020 I think it is Hulu. Hulu to me has always been like Netflix’s little brother and was never truly able to surpass Netflix in original content and has clearly fallen behind in terms of that. They tried to gain ground by adding a live sports package, but with a hefty price and the release of ESPN+ it doesn’t seem like it was a huge hit. I think Hulu is going to have a lot of issues in the upcoming year unless they make some big changes. I believe that Hulu is a part of Disney and ESPN so I picture Hulu being absorbed and consolidated into one of those services. Which was discussed in the article Here’s Who Owns Everything In The Media Today saying That’s one of the reasons older media companies are trying to compete by consolidating. Disney, for example, recently completed its purchase of 21st Century Fox.” (Moalla 2019)
Molla, Rani, and Peter Kafka. “Here's Who Owns Everything in the Media Today.” Vox, Vox, 5 Dec. 2019, www.vox.com/2018/1/23/16905844/media-landscape-verizon-amazon-comcast-disney-fox-relationships-chart.
Jarvey, Natalie. “Disney Over the Top: Bob Iger Bets the Company (and Hollywood's Future) on Streaming.” The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Oct. 2019, www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/bob-iger-bets-company-hollywood-s-future-streaming-1247663.
The current climate of intellectual property in regard to ownership of characters is dominated by streaming services. Seldom is the buzz around prime-time television content; streaming giants like Netflix, Hulu, and Disney Plus are ripping the carpet out from underneath cable television. However, with more and more streaming services unrolling and releasing exclusive content strictly to their own platforms, it can be difficult to gauge which reigns supreme from the rest.
The major media conglomerate that will be most successful in 2020 is Disney. Kevin Mayer, chairman of the company's direct-to-consumer and international division, put Disney’s streaming scheme into perspective saying “We've collected some of the most preeminent brands in the entertainment sphere and we're using them aggressively. We have the timing. We have the right price point” (Jarvey, 1). Mayer is right too; Disney has acquired much of the intellectual property that dominates the box office and pop culture today, with Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic all on their toolbelt.
With all of its prior existent content aside (classic Disney, Star Wars, and Marvel movies), Disney is also paving the way for original content, all bundled up int the form of “Baby Yoda”, specifically in the new show, The Mandalorian. “Baby Yoda”, dominated the internet when his first appearance aired, instantly becoming “memeable”. As Rebecca Keegan of The Hollywood Reporter puts it, “Instead, audiences are drawn by — in a legal phrase that robs anything creative of its sense of magic — a piece of intellectual property” (Keegan, 1). “Baby Yoda’s” intrigue definitely aided in the show’s success: within just weeks after its premiere, The Mandalorian was officially “the most in-demand television series in the United States across all platforms, according to data provided to Observer by research firm Parrot Analytics (Katz, 1). With season two of The Mandalorian slated for fall of 2020, as well as the promise of 35 originals in the first year, Disney is very capable of becoming the most successful media conglomerate in 2020.
A media conglomerate that’s projected to have some pitfalls in 2020 is Apple TV. Where Disney excelled in acquiring and having troves of content at the ready in its library, Apple TV pretty much has none. Apple currently has no library of content other than its original content (Lawler, 1). Binging content that has been made so popular due to the sheer amount of content a streaming service has is essentially impossible on Apple TV (or at the very least very short lived). However, with the success of originals like The Morning Show, and a new deal that allows Apple product buyers a free one-year subscription, Apple could be on the mend. Still, without an extensive backing of content that many of Apple TV’s competitors have, it will struggle to keep up.
Works Cited Jarvey, Natalie. “Disney Over the Top: Bob Iger Bets the Company (and Hollywood's Future) on Streaming.” The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Oct. 2019, www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/bob-iger-bets-company-hollywood-s-future-streaming-1247663.
Katz, Brandon. “Is Disney+'s 'The Mandalorian' More Popular Than Netflix's 'Stranger Things?'.” Observer, Observer, 25 Nov. 2019, observer.com/2019/11/the-mandalorian-timeline-disney-plus-ratings-viewership-netflix/.
Keegan, Rebecca. “In Baby Yoda, Hollywood Sees Its Past, Present and Meme-Able Future.” The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Dec. 2019, www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/baby-yoda-represents-past-present-future-hollywood-1263588?utm_source=Sailthru&%3Butm_medium=email&%3Butm_campaign=THR%27s%2BToday%2Bin%2BEntertainment_now_2019-12-19%2B07%3A18%3A10_ehayden&%3Butm_term=hollywoodreporter_tie.
Lawler, Kelly. “Disney+ to Apple TV+ to Netflix: All the Major Streaming Services, Ranked.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 12 Nov. 2019, www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2019/10/29/apple-tv-netflix-disney-all-streaming-services-ranked/2484448001/.
Media conglomerates are getting bigger, more powerful and more influential in our daily lives. While many of us see streaming platforms as a fun and convenient way to consume content, these companies are looking at them as prime opportunities for business expansion and tapping into new markets. There are some companies that will succeed and some that will tank in 2020. At this point, it’s all speculation but there are some clues that we can use to assume the future success of these companies.
One media organization that will succeed in 2020 and beyond is the powerhouse, Netflix. Netflix has been around for a long time and was the first company to take streaming by the horns and build the industry up from nothing. They are pioneers and display great risk management that often works in their favor. With the release of platforms like Disney +, Apple TV+ and NBC’s “Peacock,” it would be easy for one to think that Netflix would be put out of business by these companies with larger backings than the streaming giant. However, according to MoffetNathanson analyst Michael Nathanson, the introduction of these services in the 4th quarter of 2019 had no negative effect on Netflix’s ratings (hollywoodreporter.com). I feel that this is due to Netflix’s spectacular ability to create enticing and entertaining original content. While they are losing a lot of important assets to these new streaming companies such as “The Office” and “Parks & Rec,” the content that Netflix creates, their brand recognition and their excellent new age marketing is enough to keep them competitive.
I believe that Disney will have trouble in 2020. While this doesn’t mean that the Disney corporation will go out of business, it does mean that their hand in the streaming market is going to wear thin. Bob Iger of Disney has gone all in on Disney+. He says that the company is going all in on streaming, and holding content to a very high standard. “The risk would have been essentially maintaining a status quo approach to how we were managing our content”(hollywoodreporter.com). However, I feel that the nostalgia factor behind Disney+ will wear out fast. More than half of the appeal to Disney+ is that people would get to stream movies and shows from their childhoods and relive those times. This is not an appeal that lasts forever and once the novelty wears off, people will return to content that is actually better than that of Disney+.
Jarvey, Natalie. “Disney Over the Top: Bob Iger Bets the Company (and Hollywood's Future) on Streaming.” The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Oct. 2019, www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/bob-iger-bets-company-hollywood-s-future-streaming-1247663.
Vlessing, Etan. “Disney , Apple TV Are No Netflix Killers, Says Analyst.” The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Jan. 2020, www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/disney-apple-tv-are-no-netflix-killers-says-analyst-1270642.
If you want to talk about media conglomerates, there are multiple things to consider when breaking down the strongest and weakest conglomerates out there today. One must consider revenue stock and where it’s coming from, one must consider new releases and services it offers to its consumers, one must consider its different horizons on the media landscape, one must also consider history and relationships that the conglomerate maintains with its fanbase and the noise that it is making worldwide with the products that they are either investing in or creating. The one media conglomerate that has positioned itself for glory in 2020 must be the Walt Disney Company. The shape that Disney has taken is allowing itself to grow bigger and bigger year in and year out with its new renovations on the screen and on the ground. According to Keith Noonan of The Motley Fool, he claims that in 2018, “The company's television segment accounted for roughly 42% of sales and 49% of operating income in the March-ended quarter” (Noonan, “How Walt Disney World Makes Most of Its Money). Now in 2020, Disney has yet again expanded their horizons to create their new streaming platform, Disney+. This new land of opportunity for Disney gives its consumers a library of movies and Disney-sanctioned television shows to watch at their will, whether it be from decades ago or today. The Star Wars movies, Marvel, Pixar, and National Geographic are included in the Disney+ vault. Disney + also has offers to allow consumers access to their other networks, like Hulu, and ESPN+. It’s immediate impact had people thinking that Disney+ could be the next best streaming service with its reputation and its arsenal. MoffettNathanson Research Analyst, Michael Natthanson, was quoted by the Hollywood Reporter saying that “The run-up to Disney+ launching was preceded by Wall Street forecasts that U.S. consumers would drop Netflix to view content like The Mandalorian and Star Wars movies on Disney+” (Vlessing, “Disney+, Apple TV+ Are No Netflix Killers, Says Analyst”). Because of Disney’s high reputation worldwide, it’s family-friendly culture allows Disney to attract a lot more consumers with families and younger children. Finally, one must look at Disney as an owner and see what other outlets it controls. According to Vox Magazine, two writers reported on media conglomerates and what they own along with total net worth. In a graph that they created, the reporters show that Disney contains $267 billion of total worth, with 21st Century Fox, and it controls ESPN, Lucasfilm, Marvel, ABC, 20th Century Fox Studios, and a 67% stake in the $15 billion streaming platform known as Hulu (Molla, Kakfa, “Here’s who owns everything in Big Media today”). So, the new year has started, and based off of the information above, Disney is in the front-seat to succeed.
Noonan, Keith. “How The Walt Disney Company Makes Most of Its Money.” The Motley Fool, The Motley Fool, 1 June 2018, www.fool.com/investing/2018/06/01/how-the-walt-disney-company-makes-most-of-its-mone.aspx. Vlessing, Etan. “Disney+, Apple TV+ Are No Netflix Killers, Says Analyst.” The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Jan. 2020, www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/disney-apple-tv-are-no-netflix-killers-says-analyst-1270642. Molla, Rani, and Peter Kafka. “Here's Who Owns Everything in the Media Today.” Vox, Vox, 5 Dec. 2019, www.vox.com/2018/1/23/16905844/media-landscape-verizon-amazon-comcast-disney-fox-relationships-chart.
Media is consuming us more than we could imagine. Media conglomerates are continuing to compete to bring awareness to their top services. Streaming services created a revolution of how people consume media. They need to think creatively and provide a lot of content, it shapes a whole aspect of media landscape. It states, “The media mindscape used to be straightforward: Content companies- studios- made stuff- Tv shows and movies- and sold it to pay TV distributors, who sold it to consumers” (Kafka, Molla). This has completely changed and these companies are making a vast amount of their own material. The famous Emmy Awards had a lot of shows winning from steaming services. Even significant companies as in Google, Amazon, and Apple are having to step up to closer action.
ReplyDeleteThe major media conglomerate that will succeed the most in 2020 is Disney. Disney CEO Bob Iger is praised for his ideas to bring together all the conglomerate’s key brands like Pixar and Marvel. He states, "Bringing the past, present and future together all in one place on Disney+ has instantly made it one of the most impressive streaming services — as proven by the public's extraordinary response on Day 1" (Landgraf). This is showing how Disney is connecting to a wide audience range with new and exciting content. Disney plus has opened up a new light to what can be done streaming. It brought a lot of attention to their company. Hulu also has award-winning shows. “Hulu’s value is likely to grow in the next few years, now that Disney effectively owns the service” (Lawler). Hulu has top- award shoes and a wide range of genres. Disney is clearly creating a huge impact across the world. As the competition is rising many seem to face some struggles. The organization that will face the most challenges in 2020 Is Netflix. This is because all of the money they are spending on TV. Even though they are one of the original streaming services, they seem to fall out of fashion. They are dealing with massive media companies around them. Also, they have a big cash gap which leaves it hard to tell if it will close in 2020. Connecting to this, the article states, one key question is when Netflix can get to a point where it can self-fund its spending — including a record $15 billion budget for content this year — which is set to exceed the company's cash generation by $3.5 billion, an all-time high for the Reed Hastings-led firm” (Szalai). This can effect an organization heavily especially with all the services around them. Netflix needs to continue to have a good foundation and focus on certain content.
Therefore, media organizations are taking over. This new entertainment is creating a huge impact on our daily lives. I am looking forward to seeing how this continues to grow in the future.
Works Cited
Goldberg, Lesley, and Bryn Elise Sandberg. “FX Chief John Landgraf Touts Hulu Partnership as ‘Transformative Opportunity.’” The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Jan. 2020, www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/fx-chief-john-landgraf-touts-fxs-hulu-partnership-as-transformative-opportunity-1268366.
Lawler, Kelly. “Disney to Apple TV to Netflix: All the Major Streaming Services, Ranked.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 12 Nov. 2019, www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2019/10/29/apple-tv-netflix-disney-all-streaming-services-ranked/2484448001/.
Molla, Rani, and Peter Kafka. “Here's Who Owns Everything in the Media Today.” Vox, Vox, 5 Dec. 2019, www.vox.com/2018/1/23/16905844/media-landscape-verizon-amazon-comcast-disney-fox-relationships-chart.
Cooper Brown
ReplyDelete2020 will be a very interesting year for the major media conglomerates. Once again, These companies are going to be very competitive with one another trying to get the attention of consumers around the world. Being able to put out the best content and services will be crucial for each of these companies. It is going to be very interesting to see how this year is going to pan out for these companies. It seems as though any move they make is a calculated response to something else another company is doing for their audience. When looking at which company I think will be the most successful in 2020 I think it will go to Disney. Not only does Disney have the most invested in other companies but the content they own is the most popular. Having ownership of Lucasfilm and Marvel Studios will continue to make them huge amounts of money. Star Wars is a very popular and established brand and Marvel has become unbelievably successful since they have rolled out their MCU last decade. They have the next phase planned out as well and I predict that those movies will continue to be wildly popular. In fact, "Disney acquired Fox, effectively merging the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the X-Men Cinematic Universe" (Docterman) I expect the next phase of MCU films to continue to dominate worldwide .The other reason why I think Disney will be the most successful is because of their streaming service, Disney +. It seems as though every company is getting involved with streaming because it has proven to be very lucrative and popular. Disney's streaming service is going to challenge the other streaming sites because it "offers its classic films paired with original series from its biggest brands: Star Wars, Pixar and Marvel" (Lawler). Their headline original "The Mandalorian" has already proven to be a smash hit with fans. I think Disney will be the most successful company in 2020 because they hold the rights to the most popular characters and content right now and their new streaming service has the content to compete with Netflix and Hulu.
When looking at which company is going to have some struggles I could see Apple having some difficulties keeping up with the others. When comparing them to the other companies they seem like they are behind. Apple TV+ seems to have taken a back seat to Netflix, Disney+ and Hulu. The reason why I think this is happening is because they do not have the content to compare with the others. All the other services have incredibly established content unlike Apple's services. Even though I think they can get some viewers with their original content the fact that it "does not include a back catalog of any kind" is going to make its ability to compete with other services such as Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu and Disney+ difficult. Personally, the reason why I got Disney+ was to watch the movies I watched as a kid. I know what kind of content I am getting and that is not the case with Apple. It can almost make it feel like a risk because you are not sure what kind of content you are getting. Even though it will be a challenge it can be thought Apple will still have a decent following due to brand loyalty. It has already shown that "2019 launches of both Disney+ and Apple TV+ did not immediately inflict significant damage to the streaming market structure" (Vlessing). With the content Disney+ has it can be thought that this will soon change but I cannot foresee apple doing the same. At the moment, they just do not have the content to compete with the others.
DeleteWorks Cited:
Mayo, Benjamin, et al. “Apple TV Plus Guide: Here's All the Apple TV Shows and Movies Available Now.” 9to5Mac, 19 Jan. 2020, 9to5mac.com/2020/01/17/apple-tv-plus-tv-shows-movies-guide/.
Vlessing, Etan. “Disney , Apple TV Are No Netflix Killers, Says Analyst.” The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Jan. 2020, www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/disney-apple-tv-are-no-netflix-killers-says-analyst-1270642.
Dockterman, Eliana. “A Complete List of Upcoming Marvel Movies: Dates, Casts.” Time, Time, 14 Jan. 2020, time.com/5167535/upcoming-marvel-movies/.
Lawler, Kelly. “Disney to Apple TV to Netflix: All the Major Streaming Services, Ranked.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 12 Nov. 2019, www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2019/10/29/apple-tv-netflix-disney-all-streaming-services-ranked/2484448001/.
Brown Cont. ^
DeleteJoe Zukauskas
ReplyDeleteOver the past 20 years the amount of media that we consumer as a population has increased more and more by the year. With this immense amount of media that we consume everyday, the way we consume this media has also changed. In the early 2000’s we used services such as Netflix and would receive DVD’s in the mail once a week to watch different movies, or would rent DVD’s from different stores. We then moved into the age of streaming, which was originally a huge step /risk that was taken by Netflix that had them decrease their number of DVD’s and increase the number of movies that were able to be streamed online. This was all before high-speed internet had become readily accessible to everyone and was a huge risk by Netflix. This changed the entire construct of how we consume our media and would still be affecting it for years to come. This new streaming based media became a huge hit and completely took over our culture breeding media giants like Spotify, Hulu, and Disney+.
I believe that the media conglomerate that is best positioned to succeed in the future is Disney+. Disney+ is new to the streaming game, as it was only released about 3 months ago, but it made its impact known right away. As of right now, the vast majority of the media that is streaming on Disney+ is “old” media or shows or movies that had already been released. Besides the few standalones like the Mandalorian, Disney practically just recycled all of their old media and put it all in one new platform for its consumers. By barely tapping into their immense amount of IP characters and using Star Wars to create the Mandalorian they helped explode Disney+ and they will continue to create new media, while still using any of the IP’s that they own. In the article Disney Over The Top the author says, “With its plan to distribute directly to consumers, Disney is a key instigator of what has exploded into an all-out war for streaming dominance.” (Jarvey 2019) This shows just how intense the “Streaming wars have become and for such a power like Disney it will make it much easier on them with all of the IP that they have gathered over the years to attract consumers. It was also said later in the same article, "Disney is betting the whole company on streaming," says Jeffrey Cole, director of the USC Annenberg Center for the Digital Future. "You can feel [them putting] pedal to the metal." (Jarvey 2019) Disney has just scratched the surface of streaming and with the amount of money and resources they have it is clear they are the company with the biggest upside in this new streaming world.
As for the company that will face the most challenges in 2020 I think it is Hulu. Hulu to me has always been like Netflix’s little brother and was never truly able to surpass Netflix in original content and has clearly fallen behind in terms of that. They tried to gain ground by adding a live sports package, but with a hefty price and the release of ESPN+ it doesn’t seem like it was a huge hit. I think Hulu is going to have a lot of issues in the upcoming year unless they make some big changes. I believe that Hulu is a part of Disney and ESPN so I picture Hulu being absorbed and consolidated into one of those services. Which was discussed in the article Here’s Who Owns Everything In The Media Today saying That’s one of the reasons older media companies are trying to compete by consolidating. Disney, for example, recently completed its purchase of 21st Century Fox.” (Moalla 2019)
Molla, Rani, and Peter Kafka. “Here's Who Owns Everything in the Media Today.” Vox, Vox, 5 Dec. 2019, www.vox.com/2018/1/23/16905844/media-landscape-verizon-amazon-comcast-disney-fox-relationships-chart.
Jarvey, Natalie. “Disney Over the Top: Bob Iger Bets the Company (and Hollywood's Future) on Streaming.” The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Oct. 2019, www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/bob-iger-bets-company-hollywood-s-future-streaming-1247663.
John McMahon
ReplyDeleteBlog 1
The current climate of intellectual property in regard to ownership of characters is dominated by streaming services. Seldom is the buzz around prime-time television content; streaming giants like Netflix, Hulu, and Disney Plus are ripping the carpet out from underneath cable television. However, with more and more streaming services unrolling and releasing exclusive content strictly to their own platforms, it can be difficult to gauge which reigns supreme from the rest.
The major media conglomerate that will be most successful in 2020 is Disney. Kevin Mayer, chairman of the company's direct-to-consumer and international division, put Disney’s streaming scheme into perspective saying “We've collected some of the most preeminent brands in the entertainment sphere and we're using them aggressively. We have the timing. We have the right price point” (Jarvey, 1). Mayer is right too; Disney has acquired much of the intellectual property that dominates the box office and pop culture today, with Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic all on their toolbelt.
With all of its prior existent content aside (classic Disney, Star Wars, and Marvel movies), Disney is also paving the way for original content, all bundled up int the form of “Baby Yoda”, specifically in the new show, The Mandalorian. “Baby Yoda”, dominated the internet when his first appearance aired, instantly becoming “memeable”. As Rebecca Keegan of The Hollywood Reporter puts it, “Instead, audiences are drawn by — in a legal phrase that robs anything creative of its sense of magic — a piece of intellectual property” (Keegan, 1). “Baby Yoda’s” intrigue definitely aided in the show’s success: within just weeks after its premiere, The Mandalorian was officially “the most in-demand television series in the United States across all platforms, according to data provided to Observer by research firm Parrot Analytics (Katz, 1). With season two of The Mandalorian slated for fall of 2020, as well as the promise of 35 originals in the first year, Disney is very capable of becoming the most successful media conglomerate in 2020.
A media conglomerate that’s projected to have some pitfalls in 2020 is Apple TV. Where Disney excelled in acquiring and having troves of content at the ready in its library, Apple TV pretty much has none. Apple currently has no library of content other than its original content (Lawler, 1). Binging content that has been made so popular due to the sheer amount of content a streaming service has is essentially impossible on Apple TV (or at the very least very short lived). However, with the success of originals like The Morning Show, and a new deal that allows Apple product buyers a free one-year subscription, Apple could be on the mend. Still, without an extensive backing of content that many of Apple TV’s competitors have, it will struggle to keep up.
Works Cited
Jarvey, Natalie. “Disney Over the Top: Bob Iger Bets the Company (and Hollywood's Future) on Streaming.” The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Oct. 2019, www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/bob-iger-bets-company-hollywood-s-future-streaming-1247663.
Katz, Brandon. “Is Disney+'s 'The Mandalorian' More Popular Than Netflix's 'Stranger Things?'.” Observer, Observer, 25 Nov. 2019, observer.com/2019/11/the-mandalorian-timeline-disney-plus-ratings-viewership-netflix/.
Keegan, Rebecca. “In Baby Yoda, Hollywood Sees Its Past, Present and Meme-Able Future.” The Hollywood Reporter, 20 Dec. 2019, www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/baby-yoda-represents-past-present-future-hollywood-1263588?utm_source=Sailthru&%3Butm_medium=email&%3Butm_campaign=THR%27s%2BToday%2Bin%2BEntertainment_now_2019-12-19%2B07%3A18%3A10_ehayden&%3Butm_term=hollywoodreporter_tie.
Lawler, Kelly. “Disney+ to Apple TV+ to Netflix: All the Major Streaming Services, Ranked.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 12 Nov. 2019, www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2019/10/29/apple-tv-netflix-disney-all-streaming-services-ranked/2484448001/.
Media conglomerates are getting bigger, more powerful and more influential in our daily lives. While many of us see streaming platforms as a fun and convenient way to consume content, these companies are looking at them as prime opportunities for business expansion and tapping into new markets. There are some companies that will succeed and some that will tank in 2020. At this point, it’s all speculation but there are some clues that we can use to assume the future success of these companies.
ReplyDeleteOne media organization that will succeed in 2020 and beyond is the powerhouse, Netflix. Netflix has been around for a long time and was the first company to take streaming by the horns and build the industry up from nothing. They are pioneers and display great risk management that often works in their favor. With the release of platforms like Disney +, Apple TV+ and NBC’s “Peacock,” it would be easy for one to think that Netflix would be put out of business by these companies with larger backings than the streaming giant. However, according to MoffetNathanson analyst Michael Nathanson, the introduction of these services in the 4th quarter of 2019 had no negative effect on Netflix’s ratings (hollywoodreporter.com). I feel that this is due to Netflix’s spectacular ability to create enticing and entertaining original content. While they are losing a lot of important assets to these new streaming companies such as “The Office” and “Parks & Rec,” the content that Netflix creates, their brand recognition and their excellent new age marketing is enough to keep them competitive.
I believe that Disney will have trouble in 2020. While this doesn’t mean that the Disney corporation will go out of business, it does mean that their hand in the streaming market is going to wear thin. Bob Iger of Disney has gone all in on Disney+. He says that the company is going all in on streaming, and holding content to a very high standard. “The risk would have been essentially maintaining a status quo approach to how we were managing our content”(hollywoodreporter.com). However, I feel that the nostalgia factor behind Disney+ will wear out fast. More than half of the appeal to Disney+ is that people would get to stream movies and shows from their childhoods and relive those times. This is not an appeal that lasts forever and once the novelty wears off, people will return to content that is actually better than that of Disney+.
Jarvey, Natalie. “Disney Over the Top: Bob Iger Bets the Company (and Hollywood's Future) on Streaming.” The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Oct. 2019, www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/bob-iger-bets-company-hollywood-s-future-streaming-1247663.
Vlessing, Etan. “Disney , Apple TV Are No Netflix Killers, Says Analyst.” The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Jan. 2020, www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/disney-apple-tv-are-no-netflix-killers-says-analyst-1270642.
-Matt Halpin
DeleteIf you want to talk about media conglomerates, there are multiple things to consider when breaking down the strongest and weakest conglomerates out there today. One must consider revenue stock and where it’s coming from, one must consider new releases and services it offers to its consumers, one must consider its different horizons on the media landscape, one must also consider history and relationships that the conglomerate maintains with its fanbase and the noise that it is making worldwide with the products that they are either investing in or creating. The one media conglomerate that has positioned itself for glory in 2020 must be the Walt Disney Company. The shape that Disney has taken is allowing itself to grow bigger and bigger year in and year out with its new renovations on the screen and on the ground. According to Keith Noonan of The Motley Fool, he claims that in 2018, “The company's television segment accounted for roughly 42% of sales and 49% of operating income in the March-ended quarter” (Noonan, “How Walt Disney World Makes Most of Its Money). Now in 2020, Disney has yet again expanded their horizons to create their new streaming platform, Disney+. This new land of opportunity for Disney gives its consumers a library of movies and Disney-sanctioned television shows to watch at their will, whether it be from decades ago or today. The Star Wars movies, Marvel, Pixar, and National Geographic are included in the Disney+ vault. Disney + also has offers to allow consumers access to their other networks, like Hulu, and ESPN+. It’s immediate impact had people thinking that Disney+ could be the next best streaming service with its reputation and its arsenal. MoffettNathanson Research Analyst, Michael Natthanson, was quoted by the Hollywood Reporter saying that “The run-up to Disney+ launching was preceded by Wall Street forecasts that U.S. consumers would drop Netflix to view content like The Mandalorian and Star Wars movies on Disney+” (Vlessing, “Disney+, Apple TV+ Are No Netflix Killers, Says Analyst”). Because of Disney’s high reputation worldwide, it’s family-friendly culture allows Disney to attract a lot more consumers with families and younger children. Finally, one must look at Disney as an owner and see what other outlets it controls. According to Vox Magazine, two writers reported on media conglomerates and what they own along with total net worth. In a graph that they created, the reporters show that Disney contains $267 billion of total worth, with 21st Century Fox, and it controls ESPN, Lucasfilm, Marvel, ABC, 20th Century Fox Studios, and a 67% stake in the $15 billion streaming platform known as Hulu (Molla, Kakfa, “Here’s who owns everything in Big Media today”). So, the new year has started, and based off of the information above, Disney is in the front-seat to succeed.
ReplyDeleteNoonan, Keith. “How The Walt Disney Company Makes Most of Its Money.” The Motley Fool, The Motley Fool, 1 June 2018, www.fool.com/investing/2018/06/01/how-the-walt-disney-company-makes-most-of-its-mone.aspx.
Vlessing, Etan. “Disney+, Apple TV+ Are No Netflix Killers, Says Analyst.” The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Jan. 2020, www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/disney-apple-tv-are-no-netflix-killers-says-analyst-1270642.
Molla, Rani, and Peter Kafka. “Here's Who Owns Everything in the Media Today.” Vox, Vox, 5 Dec. 2019, www.vox.com/2018/1/23/16905844/media-landscape-verizon-amazon-comcast-disney-fox-relationships-chart.