That would be very unfortunate if they went that route and dropped the live option with the channels list. Having to sort thru providers like that would be a pain. And then that means no local channels or sports.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Hulu on Disney+ Beta Launches for Bundle Subscribers
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Regarding FoX, PBS, Paramount, Peacock they all carry local live for SF Bay Area with sports as permitted. I see no reason why Disney can't provide the same. In the USA its always been weird not to have a dedicated app for ABC live that doesn't require a third party streaming app like Hulu, Sling, Youtube or a TV provider (Cable) that you need to authenticate to. Of course this is also not an issue if you have all the broadcasters using digital transmitters locally, you just miss that VCR capability.
Without Hulu Live I'd need to pay for a Sports package with Television thru Comcast. Disney+ won't integrate local Sports channels. I've got a few ways to watch local channels like that, but the Sports channels get you...
What could the EU do? Force companies to license content to any provider? I suspect that would result in some simply leaving the EU rather than lose control of their content; especially since it's easy to shutdown a streaming service compared to a physical service and restart it if the rules change.
You cn always go back to the cord.
Once content owners discovered they could sell their stuff separately, and potentially make more money, balkanization was inevitable. Unless streaming becomes unprofitable we're unlikely to see an reaggregation of content.
Hardly. Non-Disney content is available from a variety of sources and Disney certainly is free to charge whatever it wants for its content. Even some Disney owned content is available on other services.
Have you tried using a VPN if it is available out of area?
It's a figure of speech considering that EU fixed two major issues with Apple (USB C delay and Sideloading).
As for what EU could do is to regulate the Streaming market and introduce things like Super Streaming Platforms or Paying for only the content you like. Right now if you subscribe to every major platform you'll end up paying well over $200 a month. The average cable subscriber paid around $75 a month in 2010.
And don't forget the interest costs that you are paying to stream all the content.
Steaming subscriptions concerns paying for only some things you like, not only the content you like. Content owners will always have the final say legally for their works of art that subscriptions offer. This is not something that the EU have any legal authority over.
Last edited:
Well Apple Music and Spotify have all the music so why can’t content producers have similar deals with multiple Video Streaming Companies?
Its a real PITA to manage more than 3 subscriptions for just your video needs.
Maybe it was a bad idea to begin with, to allow content producers to become content distributors as well. Now none of them want to play nice and share their exclusive content with others or even let users manage the sharing bit.
The reason the music industry is way different then the TV and film industry has to due with a revenue crisis. Per CNN
=======
In 1999, the music industry was at its peak, bringing in more than $14.5 billion in domestic revenue. Most of that was thanks to CDs, which accounted for roughly 89% of that number, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.
At the industry’s low point in 2014, the music sales only brought in $6.7 billion domestically. Music downloads via iTunes and others had been growing for a decade, but that wasn’t nearly enough to make up the ground loss by the erosion of consumers buying physical media.
After years of declines, the music industry began to rebound around 2016 thanks in large part to music streaming.
========
Hollywood closest to that situation was during Covid19 but the content owners even if impacted by cinema chain revenue still found that utilizing subscriptions for premium releases via streaming was a worthy pursuit even if it was short lived, as it created the attraction of what various streaming services could provide in addition to the recent recovery of the box office. At no time was there ever a time that Hollywood and like needed to sign broad content distribution licensing like all the various music industry studios hierarchy.
Because they understand business (well part of it). You need differentiated content in order to make your streaming service stand out from the competition. Else, what happens when every service essentially runs the same shows? Commoditisation, leading lower prices (while still having to deal with massive costs).
The need to keep churning out content has also led to (in my opinion) lousy scripts and even poorer production values.
That said, if these CEOs truly understood the economics of video streaming, most would not have decided to enter the industry in the first place, because producing content is really expensive, and keep it exclusive on your platform means giving up the ability to monetise it in other ways (eg: theatres, budget theatres, hotels and airlines, pay per view, DVDs, cable, broadcast TV in that order). The idea that you will one day be able to earn back enough money via subscribers to offset the opportunity cost of giving up 7 potential different sources of revenue is honestly quite a tall order.
We will likely see more streaming services consolidate in the near future as these businesses realise that the market simply cannot support so many players.
Actually there is nothing wrong with that. Just look at the Asian productions via streaming it’s a lot more active and diverse with all the different genre‘s they cater to that I find online that is distributed by several services. But interesting enough I find a lot of it very equivalent to how the western entertainment business was decades ago focused on entertaining viewers in a fun way rather then scoring great reviews and revenue. You notice that Disney has been eyeing Netflix success as well as Amazon success with pursuing that content. So Disney has recently been hosting some of that content as well. You can also see Hulu has some representation also.
So as much we discuss possible consolidation it doesn’t mean big fish are swallowing all the smaller ones, it can mean success can be achieved by partnerships just as easily.
Last edited:
I guess what I am trying to say is that maybe Hollywood could take an example from Apple's TV+ service and start prioritising quality over quantity. I am happier paying for a couple of good shows each month rather than a veritable buffet of crappy content I won't bother clicking on. Plus, with ample ways of spending my time (YouTube, social media, podcasts), there is no need to constantly engage the viewer to keep spending time in your streaming service.
I'm not so sure they have given up that much in box office receipts. If you look at the numbers, the inflation adjusted box office has been relatively constant since 1995, except for the Covid period and is on a rebound in 2023. People still seem to like going to see a movie as an activity beyond just seeing the movie.
DVDs, on the other hand, are all but dead. Sales have tanked as people started watching content via streaming; which compared to DVDs is a lot cheaper if you watch more than a few movies or shows a month.
Of course, Hollywood was never about a movie making a profit...
I wish Fox would bring their app back or launch a new one. It’s the missing link in going all streaming without using a package like YouTubeTv. Their shows are on Hulu (and most are throwaway), but there is a local channel and sports gap that needs to get filled. I can go OTA, but I love the way the other network apps (Peacock, Hulu and Paramount) integrate with the AppleTV for up next, search et al. We use YouTubeTV and it doesn’t integrate for search and what not. Kind of frustrating. ABC has a similar gap, but there isn’t an NFL problem and everything is on Hulu to watch later.