In an effort to increase revenues, some companies are discovering that limiting their properties solely to their own distribution platforms is a limiting proposal.
The game is changing for the big streamers. The days of everyone being locked in their homes, starving for content appears to be behind us. The big dogs like Netflix, Disney+, and HBOMax know that they have to work for every dollar they can get. As we have covered many times on That Park Place, many shows fail to find an audience on streaming and that content just goes to waste if it sits there, unused on a server.
David Zaslav, the CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, made waves when he announced that WBD would be pulling large collections of content off of HBOMax. Some of it will most likely never be seen again. Some of it will be placed on a new, yet-to-be-finalized FAST (Free Ad-Based Streaming Tier) product from Warner Bros. Discovery.
Among the “specially selected” content were the early seasons of Sesame Street, the entire run of HBO’s Westworld, Joss Whedon’s The Nevers, Ridley Scott’s Raised by Wolves, and the charmingly named FBoy Island. Some of this content will be moved to an ad-based platform, which could possibly be a non-paid tier of HBOMax (or its successor rumored to be called “Max”) or maybe even a new streaming product altogether.
These ad-based options can provide a revenue stream for content that is unpalatable to pay for on a regular basis, and long-running children’s shows like Sesame Street can make much more than a simple once-a-month subscription fee if content providers can pull in ad revenue from every single episode that a child watches, often endlessly, through-out the day.
Recently, it is apparent that David Zaslav is employing an additional strategy to bring in the cash: content licensing.
As of Thursday, Cartoon Network favorites Dexter’s Laboratory; Ed, Edd, n Eddy; long-running action-comedy Chuck, and even Teen Titans have been non-exclusively licensed to Amazon’s Prime Video service. In addition, Prime Video appears to be the exclusive place to stream the Justice League Action animated series.
Farming out the Teen Titans and the Justice League to Amazon is especially surprising, as many consider DC to be one of Warner Bros. pillar brands along with Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings.
Today, Amazon Prime Video now has:
– Teen Titans
– Ed Edd n Eddy (including the holiday specials & movie)
– Dexter Laboratory (including the movie, ‘Ego Trip’)
– Justice League Action pic.twitter.com/9k3uwKh8WQ— ToonHive (@ToonHive) December 31, 2022
While DC has struggled to find its footing over the last few years, David Zaslav’s approach to business appears to be very direct. Zaslav has been willing to terminate entire departments within Warner Bros. in his quest to make the company profitable, or even dismiss entire cinematic universes’s worth of actors.
Time will only tell if more of DC ends up at a competitor’s streaming service. If Zaslav and Disney make a deal, we might even find the old TGIF lineup over on Disney+…
So, is nothing sacred in the eyes of David Zaslav, or is just doing everything he can to keep the lights on at Warner Bros. Discovery? Let us know in the comments.
As always, keep reading That Park Place for all the latest news that should be fun!
