The big news last week was that Warner Media decided to launch Wonder Woman 1984 in theaters and on HBO Max (for no additional cost) on Christmas Day. Theaters were pissed – this wasn’t just a shortening of the window for a pricey PVOD release, but a complete day/date release, eliminating the window entirely. IndieWire called it a kick in the teeth to exhibitors. But I’d say it’s a kick in the teeth to fans and shows the absurdity of our current film universe and its crazy exclusivity models.
In a letter to theaters (posted on IndieWire), Jason Kilar the CEO at Warner Media explained the decision process like this:
“There are many things that factor into a decision like this:
• The pandemic.
• Our belief in the theatrical experience and, to that end, the importance of exhibitors.
• Our mission to be strong and supportive partners to Patty, Gal, producer Chuck Rovner and the entire Wonder Woman 1984 team.
• And finally, the fans, which is where important decisions like this should always start and should always end.” (emphasis added)
and went on to say:
“The first and most important benefit is to the fans in the form of unprecedented choice from day one.” (emphasis added again). Patty Jenkins also tweeted that this decision was “for the fans.”
Are you f-n kidding me?!? If you cared about fans, you wouldn’t release this in two places fans aren’t going – theaters during another Covid-19 outbreak, and on HBO Max, which no one is subscribing to (yet) because it sucks (and costs $14.99 a month at that).
The HBO Max launch was one of the most confusing in history; one that was so bad that it was labeled the New Coke of 2020. Wall Street isn’t too happy about it, and it hasn’t been attracting a ton of subscribers, which The Ankler pointed out recently, and has led to a lot of layoffs (always a sign of success). Some 70% of HBO subscribers can’t even be bothered to sign up for HBO Max, and they get it for free! Sure, maybe this move – and a few more like it – will bring those subscribers to the service, but my bet is there will be significant churn (watch what you want, and unsubscribe again). It’s also a bit of a joke to claim you’re opening in theaters when everyone knows we won’t have many, if any, open come Dec 25th thanks to the increase in Covid-19 cases now, which are projected to increase substantially through January, in no small part because of people celebrating Thanksgiving.
But my bigger issue here is with the absurdity of the new reality we’ve created in the film world. No one wants the version of SVOD competition that we’ve built. Fans – read all audiences – want access to all movies quicker, and in a convenient place. They don’t want to have to subscribe to multiple services, at a higher price than they paid for the cable bundle, and they don’t want to have to figure out which services have their favorite content.
Could you imagine if you could only listen to your favorite artist on iTunes, but not Spotify? Or only buy your favorite book from Powell’s but not Amazon? No, because that would be a shitty consumer experience, and if you build something that doesn’t fulfill a consumer need, and makes it worse for them, you are bound to fail. It’s also a way to leave Millions, perhaps Billions, of possible revenues on the table. I’m betting many fans are just like me – they’ll either skip the film instead of subscribing, or pay for a month and churn away. But if I could buy the film on PVOD on my preferred service, I’d do it in a heartbeat. Or if I could subscribe at one decent price to a universal jukebox of cinema…you know, like Netflix used to be, or how we all imagined the internet would work by now.
I get it - subscriptions are the present and future. But exclusive content makes sense for niches, expertise, and even to support your favorite artist on Patreon or via a VHX subscription. Subscriptions for mass media needs to be expansive, and give me access to everything I want.
This house of cards (pun intended) is gonna fail. Sure, a few might last, but there’s no way that audiences will keep subscribing. It may take 3-5 years, but we’ll see a big shake-out, and a collapse, and then we’ll see 1-2 companies offering a smart bundle or universal jukebox, and 1-2 niche services (like Criterion) for obsessive fans. I just wish we could get there sooner.
|
|
Film
Blacktag is a New Streaming Service for Black Creators: The LAT reports on Blacktag, a new streaming service geared towards Black creatives and their (multiple) audiences. "The New York company, set to launch in the second quarter of next year, will offer free user-generated content from brands and videos from 1,000 handpicked creators, as well as studio-produced shows and movies available by subscription (the price hasn’t been set but will be in the $5.99 range). Blacktag said it will give 75% of the ad revenue generated on user-generated videos back to its creators." They acknowledge they aren't the first or only companies in this space, but they have some good ideas, solid investors and some early collaborations in the works with top talent. This is one to watch.
The DOJ is probing the Penske Acquisition of Hollywood Reporter - I commented on this merger awhile back, noting it was strange that so few people were paying attention to the ramifications. Well, turns out the DOJ is investigating whether it stifles competition when one org owns the main trades in this sector. Should get interesting. The NYPost reports.
IDFA Checks in on Different Doc Release Models - Screen Reports on a panel on doc distribution from the IDFA, taking place now in Amsterdam/online. The panel featured Elissa Federoff of Neon, Philip Mordecai, the former director of digital ventures for UK-based Curzon who recently launched his own consultancy Florido, and Anke van Diejen, managing director of Dutch streaming platform PICL, and the chair was Wendy Bernfeld, a global VoD expert who runs Amsterdam-based consultancy Rights Stuff. The article gives a good break-down on some of the new models- from fests moving online to PVOD and virtual cinema premieres. Key takeaways- collaboration is key (as I always say); no one models fits every film; and the audience - and their interest - will vote with their virtual feet.
Film at Lincoln Center employees vote to Unionize - Big news from festival/venue land, as the employees of the FSLC voted to unionize. Deadline was among the many reports. This is one of the first film fest/orgs to unionize, but expect to see a lot more of this - is your institution ready? Cultural organizations are becoming unionized fast (The MFA, Boston just yesterday), at the same time that many face severe financial issues. I think it's a good thing, but it's going to cause a lot of (much needed) re-thinking in the space.
|
|
Branded Content
Is Internet Advertising About to Implode? That's a question I've often wondered, but Tim Hwang has thought about it a lot more, and written a book about it called Subprime Attention Crisis. His theory is essentially that contrary to popular wisdom, programmatic, online advertising doesn't work, it doesn't really capture our attention, there's too much fraud and not enough transparency in how its working, and that it's a bubble that will burst and destroy many companies. It's a provocative theory, and one that sounds about right to me. It also makes an indirect argument for good brand funded content even stronger (because it does capture attention). I first learned about the book in this TechCrunch article, but it's behind a paywall, and you can read an excerpt from the book in this Harper's article he wrote that is an excerpt from the book. I read the book in one sitting - it's a pretty quick read, if you're into these things.
|
|
Miscellany:
The National Book Awards Event Sets the Standard For Zoom Ceremonies/Events - All arts orgs and presenters take note - and I'm looking at you, Film Festivals - the National Book Awards online Zoom ceremony was excellent, and sets the standard, or new lowest bar to clear (a high one that should become quaint if people do their jobs). You can watch it here on their site, or on YouTube. And you don't even have to actually watch it; you can just skim it for tips. They made it very professional and exciting, and made sure (almost) all presenters and recipients had good lighting and sound. It was produced, something too few organizations really take the time to do. Full disclosure - outgoing ED Lisa Lucas and I used to work together at Tribeca, and she's done a great job (and leaves for Knopf Doubleday soon). Every presenter/arts leader should take note, and every reader can get some hints for their end of year reading.
|
|
|
Like This Newsletter? Subscribe & Past Issues
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
