Paul Lazenby could be starring in the video being streamed at this exact moment.
Actors and stunt experts Appeared in numerous TV shows and moviesincluding blockbusters dead pool movies and the present Superman & Lois series.
Sometimes, when people can’t find a way to stream that content, Lazenby finds himself in a different role. He’s the one who helps people figure it out.
“I have been asked several times [where to find things]”said Lazenby, whose viewing habits combine streaming and physical media.
Whether or not you turn to on-screen stars to answer the question of where to watch, it seems that the more you want to stream, the more services you need.
Consumers may complain about increased spending on these services, but industry watchers say it won’t get any cheaper.
In other words, people at home need to consider what they really want to see and what they want to see off.
“Consumers really have to decide where to spend their time and where to spend their money,” said Dan Rayburn, a streaming analyst who has followed the industry for years.
More Choices, But More Bills
The world of streaming is becoming increasingly fragmented, with consumers having many services to choose from. Although the cost is added when consecutive subscriptions are done together.
For Sandy Reynolds, she about 3 payments What she did for her Netflix subscription in the first place was part of her decision to “step back” and assess which streaming services she really needed to pay for.
“If you’re around $20 a month, you shouldn’t worry too much,” Reynolds said, noting that monthly bills can add up if you’re on the go with several subscriptions. pointed out.
Beyond the cost of the subscription, Reynolds said, it’s also a matter of the value you get from these services.
“After all, how long does it take you to watch these services and how much do you need?”
But some consumers may weigh the cost of these services against the costs of alternatives, says Ricardo Gill, associate professor of business economics at Queen’s University Smith School of Business in Kingston, Ontario. says. Movies—and conclude that they aren’t necessarily too expensive.
But when big streaming companies change their prices and practices, they make headlines.
Many services, many subscribers
Streaming providers and media companies seem reluctant to disclose subscriber numbers, but news reports and public statements offer a partial glimpse of where the larger players stand.
In 2019, Netflix reportedly had 6.5 million paying Canadian customers. The company saw an uptick in subscriptions early in the pandemic and late last year, so that number may be high now. The current snapshot is unknown.
Meanwhile, Bell Media’s Crave has more than 3.1 million subscribers in final tally. According to the parent company’s latest quarterly report.
Amazon offers Prime Video to everyone who pays for broader customer membership privileges, so you can probably count Canadian streamers in large numbers. A spokesperson declined to disclose subscriber numbers, citing company policy.
According to the numbers, CBC’s Gem counts 5.5 million downloads of its app publish onlineThe app is free to download and has several levels of membership, one of which has a monthly fee. CBC’s head of public relations, Chuck Thompson, said in an email that the CBC “does not publish subscriber numbers because we believe the most important metric is the number of Canadians accessing our service.” I have not shared it with anyone,” he said.
Corus-owned STACKTV has “grown year after year” since its launch in 2019, said Corus Entertainment’s public relations manager Vanessa Obeng, but declined to disclose the overall total. 2020, Chorus 200,000 subscribers said I had signed up for the service.
Will content cost more?
With so many companies fighting for their customers, so much money is being spent on content and consumer loyalty.
Netflix says it plans to prevent customers from sharing accounts unless they pay an additional $8 per month. Streaming services say account sharing hurts profits in an increasingly competitive market.
One notable example is the nine-figure amount reportedly paid by Netflix to secure the two. knife out Sequels—only one of them has ever hit the screen.
Queen’s University’s Gill said acquiring this kind of marquee content helps Netflix build and retain subscriber interest.
“This will actually help them attract new customers, but also keep them,” Gill said, noting that the streaming giant spent “much more money” to secure these sequels. I was even able to justify spending.
But more generally, streaming and media companies are facing rising costs for content, said Daniel Shea, an investment analyst for the media and communications sector at T. Rowe Price.
Some of them stemmed from the challenges of trying to produce content during the pandemic, when TV and film projects had to deal with COVID-19 concerns and related production delays.
But these companies are facing widespread cost increases for content, including rising costs stemming from competition for key talent to create content, he said.
Integration? aggregation? maybe not.
With so many players participating in streaming games, the industry is questioning whether the day will come when consumers will be able to watch more content with less effort.
Veteran streaming analyst Rayburn doesn’t believe there’s a lot of aggregation going on. At least not in such a way that a single platform can display most media.
“Will there be a bundling where all these services come together in what we call aggregation?
Queen’s University’s Gill said large companies may be less likely to consolidate their operations given the inherent complexity, funding involved, and potential regulatory hurdles in consolidating organizations. I’m here.
He sees consolidation most likely to occur when certain platforms are shut down, resulting in “buying content that otherwise wouldn’t be exposed to customers.”
