Golden Globes SVOD highlights
Netflix (5):
- Beef (3): Best Limited Series, Best Female Actor in a Limited Series, Best Male Actor in a Limited Series;
- The Crown (1), Best Female Supporting Actor on Television;
- Ricky Gervais (1), Best Stand-Up Comedy on Television.
Max (4):
- Succession (4): Best Drama Series, Best Female Actor in a Drama Series, Best Male Actor in a Drama Series, Best Male Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Hulu (3):
- The Bear (3): Best Television Comedy, Best Female Actor in a Comedy, Best Male Actor in a Comedy
The Circana Take:
- Winning awards certainly boosts the careers of the winners, and the SVOD services that produce the content will also take their respective victory laps to generate extra viewing mileage out of the wins.
- Winning may also be a proxy for finding quality content. As discoverability continues to challenge streaming consumers, award-winning shows may gain audience from people looking for content they may not have considered otherwise.
Hulu rolled into Disney+ is working
Soon after completing the buyout of the remaining 33% share of Hulu from Comcast, Hulu launched a beta version that appears within the Disney+ app experience. And, according to Disney President of Global Advertising, Rita Ferro, the beta launch “has far exceeded every metric we had planned for it in the short period of time that we’ve had it.” Ferro noted that increased engagement was seen within the combined experience. Ferro expects that engagement will be a major driver of growth for the future of SVOD under the Disney umbrella.
The Circana Take:
- The combination of Disney+’s brand equity (Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic) plus the value proposition of Hulu (current television with ‘day after’ viewing) creates a unique and powerful viewing experience for the consumer and is sure to strengthen both platforms.
- Consolidating the Disney and Hulu brands into one place creates synergies across content discovery and viewer experience.
Streamerless Sony promotes video game adaptations
Sony is one of two major Hollywood studios that has not developed a SVOD app (Fox is the other). As such, Sony’s major play in the SVOD landscape is that of licensor of its own IP. At CES 2024, Sony took the stage to promote the successful SVOD adaptations of many of their video game franchises. The Last of Us is easily the most successful, having won numerous Emmy awards, becoming the second most watched HBO series premiere in 13 years. The Last of Us was quickly renewed for a second season based on its early success. Twisted Metal was released on Peacock and became a top five original on that platform and also secured a second season renewal. Gran Turismo follows the true story of a video game player who transitioned from driving in the video game to actually becoming a professional race car driver. Sony also announced future projects in development, including a God of War adaptation coming to Prime Video, and a Horizon Zero Dawn adaptation for Netflix.
The Circana Take:
- Sony’s decision to license their IP and sidestep developing their own SVOD platform has been scrutinized for years. But, as the industry has continued to evolve and profitability remains elusive, Sony’s ability to compete on their own terms has proven successful.
- Video games are a rich source of IP content, and Sony has been able to produce hits across multiple streaming platforms using their various IP resources.