Are the Content Vaults Opening?
Have you noticed a jump in the number of movies and TV series that are now emerging on services other than the one that originally produced it? Shouldn’t be a surprise. Revenue-hungry content producers are loosening the Scrooge-like hold they’ve held on their branded content for their own streaming offerings.
Data from Ampere Analysis indicates that profitability is increasingly back in vogue. (https://www.streamtvinsider.com/video/profit-quest-drives-content-licensing-deals-between-rival-svods) Content producers are now licensing content for access on other streaming platforms, including some that may compete with their own streaming offerings. While some of this shift includes short-term licensing deals, essentially promotional efforts to reach new audiences, much of the activity is simply acquiescing to economic reality. If a series or movie isn’t pulling its ROI or viewing weight on a creator’s own service, moving it to a streaming service that has greater audience scale and reach can potentially breathe life into a stale brand.
The success of Suits on Netflix offers a great example. While the show initially aired on NBCUniversal’s USA Network from 2011 to 2019, the series gained a new audience and new life during the summer of 2023 on Netflix. Since the deal was non-exclusive, NBC’s Peacock is able to enjoy the benefits of the higher profile for the show and the unanticipated bump in the long tail value of the show.
This boost for NBCUniversal, and Netflix, begs another question (for another blogging day) about the long tail for content. Traditionally, as shows and movies enter their twilight years, their ability to drive revenue declines into a long-long plateau (thus, the “long tail”). Generally, companies haven’t had, or needed, a marketing or release strategy for their library content. It’s largely been a matter of get-what-you-can for what is often filler on their own streaming service. Now? With new potential audiences and low cost methods to potentially re-introduce and test content brands (hello, social video!!), expect invigorated research around long tail content and related strategies.
#Profitability #Streaming #Syndication # Licensing #LongTail #SappingtonMedia
