Future of streaming comes into focus
New world order of online TV emerges amid upheaval of business
Last week was a seminal one for the streaming television business, which is in the middle of a great upheaval. We are watching the undoing of Version 1.0 of the streaming landscape as Version 2.0 is being built. Pablo Picasso is credited with saying each act of creation begins with an act of destruction, and we saw both last week.
As content creators pull their shows and movies from services such as Netflix and Hulu, which have been aggregating them to launch services of their own, a new streaming world order is evolving. Here are three key events that will have a big impact on streaming TV going forward:
PlayStation Vue is out
Like Sling TV, AT&T TV Now (originally DirecTV Now), YouTube TV and others, Sony’s PlayStation Vue was designed to attract people who wanted to drop overpriced cable TV but still have the cable bundled-channel experience. The problem is that bundling is one of the reasons
why cable is so expensive, and so while most of these lookalike services started out cheap, they didn’t end up that way. For example, it was just two weeks ago that AT&T TV Now hiked its prices for the second time this year.
Sony announced last week that it would shutter Vue on Jan. 30. The increasing cost of providing all the channels was one of the reasons cited. Expect the number of players in this arena to shrink further.
Apple TV+ goes live
Despite some early issues with buyers of Apple hardware being unable to see their promised free year of service, the nine shows and one movie that are part of the initial Apple TV+ offering became available. Apple spent lots of money on these series, and the production values and big-name talent are a testament to that. But reviews have been mixed, and that may be putting it charitably. Throwing money at creativity doesn’t always result in compelling content. Sometimes, it just yields something pretty and boring. That said, so far we’ve seen only three episodes of most of Apple TV+ series. Maybe there are edgy surprises to come.
Apple TV+ lacks a catalog of older shows, something Disney+, NBC’s Peacock, TimeWarner’s HBO Max and others can boast. Old favorites — “comfort TV,” as it’s been called — are what have kept Netflix ahead of the game, but Apple is building something new from scratch. Is it worth $4.99 a month ($49.99 a year, free if you bought new Apple hardware recently) for fewer than a dozen “Apple Originals”? That’s the big question.
HBO Max unveiled
For $14.99 a month starting next May, you can get HBO Max, which includes everything on HBO, plus a bunch of comfortTV shows such as “Friends,” which is being pulled from Netflix, and “The Big Bang Theory.” This will be one of the most expensive new offerings, compared with the low cost of Apple TV and Disney+ ($6.99). AT&T customers will get a full year free.
What’s most interesting is that it’s the same price as HBO Now, the noncable offering for HBO, but it will have a lot more content. WarnerMedia’s CEO called it “an IQ test,” and it’s likely that HBO Now subscribers will make the leap.
By the middle of next year, the landscape for streaming TV will have completely changed. One thing is sure: It’s going to cost more to see all the things you want to see. What isn’t known is how it will all shake out or how this reconfiguration of the way we watch television will affect traditional cable TV. I don’t expect it will cause a sudden implosion, but you can count on an acceleration of cable’s slow withering.
The future of TV is different and being built before our eyes.