MacDirectory magazine is the premiere creative lifestyle magazine for Apple enthusiasts featuring interviews, in-depth tech reviews, Apple news, insights, latest Apple patents, apps, market analysis, entertainment and more.
Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/1491529
While they only have 66M global subscribers, Viacom/CBS’s Paramount + saw that bundles were going to be back in vogue with consumers and joined forces with Walmart, making Paramount+ a perk of the company’s struggle for solid, major growth. Matching up against Amazon Prime, Walmart + is bundling free shipping, local delivery, gas discounts and Paramount +; and there’s plenty of room for growth if you understand Amazon Prime has more than 200M global members and Walmart+ has a little more than 11M. Paramount+ management recognizes that they need to grow membership and grow it quickly. You can spend a lot of money/time to get the eyeballs or join a partner with a potential audience just waiting for a good deal on your content--a bundle with value and potential. Apple TV+ has been an often overlooked, misunderstood streaming player since it was unveiled a couple of years ago. It was initially rolled out with a surprisingly reasonable cost ($4.99/mo.) with a limited/appealing project slate and zero library. But they also had a global Mac/iPad/iPhone fan base of more than 1.2B folks and a beautiful, closed garden. Apple TV+ (and Prime Video) has long valued theatrical distribution as an integral marketing strategy, with the earning an Oscar win (CODA) right out of the chute as well as critical acclaim (reviewers and viewers) for content such as Ted Lasso, Severance, Velvet Underground, Selena Gomez and more. They’re not pumping out a ton of video stories; but most of those that appear on the service are **** good. We don’t care what the Academy says, Will Smith has consistently been a darn good actor, delivering great stories and messages. Emancipation is one of the few films we watched several times and hated the fact that it made us think …and feel. The company also had a built-in bundle – Apple One – that included music, news, iCloud, games and fitness that kept subscribers involved--even when they increased the Apple TV+ price to $6.99/mo. in the Americas. The combination of Apple One, a steady selection of audience-winning projects and ad-free viewing have made Apple TV + one of the best values in the streaming bunch; and according to Parrot Research, one of the more widely used and retained by viewers around the globe. Of course, there are still a couple of other streaming contenders that folks are considering as to whether they’ll stay in their entertainment budget mix--especially since everyone (but Apple) is working on economic ad-supported plans. Prices have been announced but the exact placement, as well as mix of ads and content, is still a work in progress. It takes delicate handling to satisfy advertisers, consumers and shareholders. The important thing from the advertisers’ perspective is getting their hands on all that rich viewer data.