Netflix shocked most industry observers by receiving a leading 24 Academy Award nominations, more than any other distributor, including two for Best Picture.
After a lackluster Sundance in 2018, last year was full of mega-deals, especially by Netflix and Amazon. Buyers spent over $120 million acquiring rights to some 40 films.
There is a mad rush by the most significant content creators, especially streaming services, to utilize the production infrastructure in England as a base of European operations.
The box office in North America was down almost 5% from 2018 even after rising ticket prices, and despite a slew of mega-budget franchise films being released.
Netflix continues to publicize unsubstantiated claims that its original films and shows outperform third-party content contrary to all independent research.
Since first delivering DVDs to homes via the postal service, Netflix has come to dominate the SVOD market. The streamer has 67 million subscribers in North America, which takes its total to nearly 160 million worldwide.
After years of declining production activity for Made-For-TV movies, Netflix is accelerating the rate it licenses and produces lower-budgeted movies for its streaming platform.
Heavyweights Disney and Apple are offering free introductory offers to gain a head start over rivals. Select Verizon subscribers in the United States will get free access to Disney+ for a year.
AT&T’s WarnerMedia released details about its forthcoming streaming service HBO Max, which will officially launch in May 2020. The service will cost $14.99 a month, the same cost as HBO’s flagship service.
As multiple streaming services prepare for an intensifying battle over European subscribers, British-made content continues to surge. This content bonanza and bidding wars between buyers are driving up prices for shows.
Netflix missed its quarterly subscriber forecast for the second consecutive quarter in a row. The company’s slowdown ahead of the introduction of several new subscription services is a troubling sign.
Apple raised its commitment from $2 billion to $6 billion this year to fund original shows and films for its new subscription video service, Apple TV+.