Streaming is the New Cable Bundle?

Streaming is the New Cable Bundle?

Ahh streaming… the revolutionized way to watch all your favorite TV shows and movies for a fraction of the price of the dreaded TV bundles. But will this bliss continue into the future?

With the success of Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, the video streaming industry is becoming more crowded as more competitors are trying to enter into the market. There has been quite a bit of talk around Disney’s new streaming service, Disney+, to be released on November 12, 2019 in the US. With Disney’s massive recent acquisitions of Fox, Hulu and ESPN, Disney+ will include a large portfolio of studios and content ranging from Star Wars, Marvel, Pixar, and even the Simpsons. Warner has also announced an upcoming streaming service, WarnerMedia, that will include content from Turner, Warner Bros and HBO.

Currently in the streaming industry, if streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime don’t own the TV show it airs; those shows have to be massive hits to justify the expense of licensing them. In fact, Netflix signed a massive deal spending $100 million just to keep Friends, the classic ‘90s sitcom for one more year. As more competitors enter the market, like Warner, we can expect the beloved Friends and other TV shows to transfer over to the respective owners on their streaming services.

So, what does the mean for customers? Does it mean we’ll have to pay a monthly fee for 3, 4, or 5 streaming services just to watch the shows we’re addicted to?

In response to this , Disney has already announced that it will offer a bundle package of its three streaming services – Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+. That’s right… a bundle. Sound familiar?

The streaming industry is beginning to look a lot like a traditional TV bundle comeback. The streaming industry that was once breaking down of barriers in the TV industry is now beginning to build up these barriers back up once again. To get access to everything you are interested in, you will essentially be subscribing to multiple bundles across multiple streaming platforms.

Seems like history repeats itself, even in the most revolutionized industries.

– Jocelyn van der Geest, Research Analyst