Peacock’s Post

🎬 Get ready for a potential blockbuster merger that could reshape the entertainment landscape! Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global are in early talks about joining forces, and it's creating a major buzz! 👀 🤝 Imagine the powerhouse that would emerge, bringing together iconic IPs like Star Trek, DC Comics, Harry Potter, and more, all under one roof! This move aims to strengthen their streaming game vs. Netflix and Disney+, but challenges loom, especially in aligning legacy studios. 💡 What are your thoughts on this mega-deal in the making? How might it impact the ongoing streaming wars, and what iconic crossovers would you love to see? Share your insights! 🚀🎥 #entertainmentnews #media #streamingwars #warnerbrosdiscovery #paramountplus #mergersandacquisitions

🚀 Exciting News in the Streaming World! 🎬 I've just published a new article on Medium exploring the most recent Disney+ and Hulu merger. This isn't just another corporate shakeup – it's a pivotal moment worth studying. 💡 I've included some key takeaways and strategic implications of this union, offering insights on how it's setting new standards in content diversity, user experience, and innovative business models. 👤 It's about thinking bigger, pushing boundaries, and always keeping the customer at the heart of your decisions. 👀 Check out the article and let me know what you think of this merger in the comments below. https://lnkd.in/gbYH-_mp #StreamingServices #DigitalStrategy #businessinnovation

My comment on Warner Bros Discovery Q4 earnings: Warner Bros Discovery continues to improve short-term financial prospects at the expense of long-term potential. This may improve balance sheets for when the M&A lockup period expires in April, but it raises difficulties about how its product can elevate. Axing completed projects and removing hit shows makes streaming appear profitable on paper while stunting growth possibilities by alienating consumers, angering producers, and devaluing prestige entertainment brands. WBD's slight streaming subscriber gain this quarter doesn't change the fact that it had more domestic subscribers at the end of 2022 than it did at the end of 2023. WBD's position in the sports streaming joint venture could become advantageous as the linear TV model crumbles. But the sports venture will need to survive legal challenges and ego checks, which isn't given.

From the Journal: Walt Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery this past week announced a new sports-only #streaming joint venture that will offer viewers content from all the major college and pro sports, bundling together ESPN , ABC, Fox, TNT, TBS, and an assortment of other sports-focused networks. So far, the new venture has no name, and the companies haven’t unveiled a leadership team or provided details on pricing. But this new service—if launched as planned this fall—could shake the already rickety foundation of the U.S. television market to its core. With this deal, #TV shifts from evolution to revolution. Effectively, the three companies are building a sports-based version of services like YouTube TV and Sling TV that offer digital alternatives to old-school cable. They’re removing news and entertainment programming from the cable bundle, leaving only sports behind. Michael Nathanson, an analyst with MoffettNathanson, described the plan as “the skinny sports bundle that we’ve been waiting for,” a service that “strips out the bloat.” This is a problem if you run linear news or #entertainment channels, i.e., “the bloat.” And that is hardly the only complication. “Whether you are #Paramount, Comcast , National Football League (NFL) Network, AMC Networks, A&E Networks, or station groups with large numbers of NBCUniversal or CBS stations, the successful launch of [the sports] bundle is your worst nightmare,” wrote Lightshed Partners analyst Rich Greenfield. Cord-cutting will accelerate: Since 2018, a quarter of all U.S. households have dropped their pay-TV services, as viewers cut the cord and refocused on streaming services. One of the main reasons for keeping that cord has been sports, but the new bundle could offer a non-cable, cheaper alternative to sports fans. The Walt Disney Company and Fox Corporation have said the offering is focused on “cord-nevers” rather than cord-cutters, but that feels like wishful thinking. There has been little reason to hang on to conventional pay-TV services other than #sports and news content. And now a big part of that reason is going away.

I hate to say it, but Sky and Paramount won't be the only ones to cut jobs; there will be more this year. Peacock is losing too much money and can't continue to burn billions in cash, and Comcast will need to reign in costs more. If the NFL invests in ESPN, redundancy across both companies will require a reduction in head count. DISH, Comcast and Verizon are losing too many pay-TV subscribers to keep the headcount for those divisions what they are. Any merger of content assets in the industry across Paramount, WBD, AMC Networks, Lionsgate etc., will result in layoffs. For all the talk of consolidation, I don't think merging content assets makes any sense until companies figure out how they will monetize content with profitability. Joining two debt-laden companies to create one with more considerable debt is not a "consolidation" strategy. Strategy aside, 2024 is going to get a lot worse for layoffs across the video industry, streaming, pay TV, vMVPD, broadcasters and content owners. Many thought we were done with the massive layoffs we saw in 2023, but that's not the case. Balance sheets tell the story. https://lnkd.in/eRsyq-_F - #streamingmedia #SVOD #AVOD #techlayoffs #mediajobs #ctv #paytv #cordcutting #paramount #sky

Scoop: Ahead of its 1Q 2024 separation as a publicly traded company (with Lionsgate), Starz is laying off more than 10% of staff and is exiting the UK. Starz has about 12m domestic streaming subs and 20m if you include traditional pay TV customers. The premium network has aspirations to grow in scale after its separation, using its equity as currency for a potential deal with another media and entertainment company such as A&E Networks or BET. Story here: #media #entertainment #cnbc

I couldn't agree more with Jason Kilar, CEO of WarnerMedia prior to the Discovery takeover: the #streaming business can be incredibly attractive for media companies and investors. Kilar recently quoted Charles Darwin, stating, “It’s not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change." We see this natural selection playing out in the #Media industry today. Some companies are adapting, while others are leaning back. To be clear: there is a path to growth, scale, and attractive margins for legacy media companies in streaming. But it requires leaving behind many old management practices and thinking and embracing change and innovation. #Strategy #BusinessGrowth #Innovation #DigitalTransformation #MediaEconomics #Netflix #Leadership #Investing

Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) has initiated a new round of layoffs that have directly impacted the marketing team responsible for HBO and Max streaming services... Read More At:- https://lnkd.in/dwg3-T9E Warner Bros. Discovery #marketing #team #hbo #max #streaming #services #news #media #newsupdate #newsfeed #newsflash #newsmedia #trendingnews #latestnews #dailynews #todaynews #breakingnews #englishnews #dailynewsupdate 

In the streaming wars, how are our viewing habits & the media landscape changing? This week on Austin Next, we explore these shifts & Austin's rise as a key player in media and technology. Joining me is Blake Sabatinelli, CEO of Atmosphere, guiding us through the transformations in consumer expectations, the evolving streaming industry, and Austin's quiet rise as a mediatech powerhouse. Episode Highlights: 📺 Public Viewing Evolution: Atmosphere's innovative content aims to transform communal experiences, currently engaging 137 million viewers across 65,000 businesses. 🌪 Era of Churn: During streaming's turbulent times, with likely consolidation ahead, Netflix is uniquely thriving with its vast content library. 🚀 Austin Ascends: Roku's relocation, new film studios, and pioneers like Atmosphere mark Austin's accelerated growth at the intersection of creativity and technology. ⬇️ Find links to the full episode in the comments below. We have seen brands like Yeti & Tito's export Austin's culture and narrative, what impact might we see when the Austin spirit is shaping the entire media landscape? What's Next? #Streaming #Austin #Media #AustinNext

"Cable providers can see the shift happening. It’s why companies like Comcast are now taking an “If you can’t beat them, join them” approach, announcing streaming-service bundles—like a forthcoming Netflix-Peacock-Apple package—that will cut them into the profit flow. Whether they’re pivoting to meet the realities of the moment or contributing to their own eventual obsolescence remains to be seen." Comcast was quick to announce this bundle in response to the upcoming Disney-Warner Bros Discovery streaming-service bundle (as well as the soon-to-be Disney-Fox-Warner Bros Discovery sports streaming bundle called Venu Sports). #livesports #streamingbundles #sportsstreaming #netflix #nfl #comcast