This week I’m joined by Matthew Ball, CEO of Epyllion, former global head of strategy for Amazon Studios, and the author of The Metaverse and “The Streaming Book,” which you can read at that link there. And you should read it if you want to understand how we got where we are in the streaming wars, why it’s early yet in the contest between the companies vying for your attention, and where we’re headed as consolidation occurs.
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The section on ads making a comeback was depressing. I'll hold out in the ad-free tier as long as possible but it looks like the economics are against me on that one.
Great episode, Sonny.
There is a strategic piece to the streaming bundles issue that i think will tell someone a lot about where to position for 2030: by offering the option to subscribe to other services through their own services, Amazon and Apple generate huge data streams about their own customers who choose to use that convenience. I don’t think the aesthetics work well yet - I, for one, find it much less confusing to avoid dealing with the clutter of the “entry” screens on either site and deal directly with each streamer, but 1) I may be an anomaly; 2) Amazon and Apple might focus on some clean up to encourage data availability; and 3) they might offer some bundling discounts to encourage the same. Or????? I am fascinated by what Amazon/audible is doing, both in the auditory-only and in its (still minimal) integration with Amazon the parent through Kindle and, I spy, with streaming through the books-coming-to-screen. Does it make it easier for me to buy? Maybe. Does it make it easier for them to know what to offer me for sale? You betcha! Think of what that can do for their advertising rates, especially when we don’t DEMAND discounts for offering up our data-nakedness!
Absolutely a must re-book guest! As I have commented before, I’m all-in on Apple TV but I could “churn” everyone else. My budget is sub-30 per month and factoring in the yearly cost of MLS I’m spending about 14 now on Apple. Who gets the rest of the budget depends on what my kids want. They say Netflix (they love the anime) but I’m not paying up yet... one kid is a college student and gets an obscene discount on Hulu. How anyone makes money is the question, especially with cheapo customers such as me!
I'm glad they spoke on consolidation at the end. I'm not sure why a company can't make deals with individual streaming companies and then do bulk packaging to the consumer. This to me is what cable was for several years. I'm sure there's more to it behind the scene. But I could imagine Comcast/Xfinity branding themselves, as they do with cable, saying they made all these deals and you just have to keep track of one account. I honestly don't feel like constantly auditing all my viewing habits month to month if this streaming service is useful to me.