YouTube improves TV App
YouTube is planning major changes to its TV app including usability and appearance improvements. Some new features will allow creators to organize their videos by episodes and seasons. YouTube is also adding “immersive previews,” such as cinematic video trailers that play when a user lands on a creator’s page. This will help users discover new content and encourage them to watch more. Other features including QR code generation from links in video descriptions will help creators grow their companies. Many of these features will be available later this year, with the remainder starting in 2025.
The Circana Take:
- Google is working from its leadership position in streaming and enhancing the creator and user experience to usurp even more share of time. And these developments will further blur the lines between professionally produced and user generated programming.
Google TV is integrating The Roku Channel
Google TV is expanding its content offering by integrating The Roku Channel into its search and recommendation tools, helping users discover new content. This comes after Google recently rebranded its free content offering to “Google TV Freeplay.” The Roku Channel offers free live channels and original movies and TV shows, which will help expand Google’s FAST presence. Besides offering free channels, Google TV includes curated recommendations, watchlists and access to numerous streaming apps.
The Circana Take:
- Advancements such as these will further draw viewers from cable TV to the free streaming ecosystem and concurrently increase these platform’s audience size for advertisers.
Charter’s carriage deal with Warner Bros. Discovery
Charter signed a long-term renewal agreement with WBD to continue carrying WBD’s linear networks including TNT, CNN, Food Network, HGTV, TLC, Discovery, Adult Swim, and Investigation Discovery. The deal also includes WBD’s DTC ad-tier apps. Max and Discovery+ with ads will be included in Spectrum Select TV packages for free to current pay TV customers. Furthermore, Charter will be promoting and offering WBD’s DTC streaming apps to its subscriber base. The distribution plan for DTC services will include separate pricing, packaging, and billing options to broadband customers.
The Circana Take:
- This deal is really all about Warner Bros. Discovery landing linear channel carriage despite losing the NBA rights to Amazon. While this may be a win for both Charter and Warner, it does demonstrate the level of concessions needed to keep the cable ecosystem alive.
- It’s also a milestone as HBO (Max) has never been available without a premium subscription. This new game changes from subscriber acquisition to viewer activation in order to realize the benefit of the ad revenues.