Commentary

New Streamers Push Theatrical Movies, Ads

Want to play catch up to Netflix?

Think of big movies and lots of them. While major movie studios talk up releasing movies simultaneously in theaters and on streaming platforms, the streaming secret is out for everyone to see: Big theatrical debuts also push to streaming subscriber business.

NBCUniversal’s Peacock, which has been a bit behind other major media companies' streaming efforts, witnessed a major spike with its recent “Halloween Kills” both in streaming and theatrical.

Though WarnerMedia is hedging back some here, overall the HBO Max move -- which is mostly responsible for this radical change in business -- continues to see good results for its “day and date” streaming/theatrical release of movies, when it comes to the 17 launched in 2021.

Subscribers do tend to hang around. Streaming platform executives believe there is a certain amount of inertia once subscribers are in the house to keep paying that relatively small monthly fee.

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This would be somewhat like premium cable networks a la HBO and Showtime. That said, there can be “churn” issues. And that is why cable networks keep big productions coming -- “Sex And the City,” “The Sopranos” and then “Game of Thrones” for HBO and  “Dexter,” ‘The L Word” and “Billions” for Showtime.

This isn’t to say new big series aren’t a pull for modern day streaming. It’s just that theatrical movies have been a big deal -- when it comes to advertising.

Now riding the coattails of all that dual-purpose movie marketing money -- theatrical and streaming -- around $20 million to $25 million in TV advertising -- can do a lot for fast-moving modern entertainment consumers.

Netflix doesn’t spend the same sort of money on its original movies -- in part because there isn’t generally a theatrical showing. But legacy media companies -- with big movie studio marketing money -- spend plenty. That gives them some hype and awareness.

Just $10 to $14 a month for a big new Hollywood movie for me and my family -- and “The Office” reruns? Keep those paper sales and office supplies moving.

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