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Issue link: https://digital.macdirectory.com/i/1505412
users totaling nearly .5B this next year. Having reached nearly total penetration in the Americas, streaming services realized they could carry out an endless (and expensive) struggle for growth by “borrowing” subscribers from another service only to see the process reversed later. They could also reach subscribers in other countries who were ready to shed their “old-fashioned” broadcast/pay TV services for new, fresh, unique content. Expansion into Europe came at what initially appeared to be a penalty, 30-40 percent of the content shown in the country which had to be locally produced and the services had to further invest in additional content creation activities. Historically, US content dominated the world stage but increasingly, streamer management is beginning to understand what content creators/producers have long advocated … a well-developed, well- executed video story doesn’t recognize borders . Today, nearly 30 percent of the world’s 100 most popular titles were made outside the US, often with a far smaller budget. In addition, advanced translation and facial manipulation (which we’ll be looking at soon) have made titles “feel” remarkably home grown because most folks don’t want to dissect their movies/shows. According to Hub Research, they simply want content that: - helps them relax, unwind – 32.8 percent - lets them laugh, be entertained – 26.3 percent - distracts – provides instant gratification to fill time, counter boredom, take a break (18 per cent) - enables them to escape from daily life – 6.8 percent That is exactly what today’s movies/shows do. Or as an anthropologist once observed, “Video storytelling is nothing but data with a soul.” The increased availability of internationally produced content that folks everywhere enjoy has given streamers the breathing room they need with the US industry shut down because of guild/union negotiations. In addition, the more we realize the world’s population is the same, the more content creators/distributors understand the differences/preferences. The streamers track viewer trends to determine which movies/series click with a decent majority of subscribers as well as which genres have the best chance of attracting even more subscribers. We may click from our go-to service if it seems like there is heavy dose of horror, romcom or fantasy movies/shows and settle in with number two or three when they highlight action/adventure, drama or sci-fi. If it happens often enough, long enough, we’ll drop the service for “something better.” We were brainwashed in the old days that 20 minutes of ads in exchange for 40 minutes was a reasonable price to pay for our entertainment, on top of our expensive 900 +/- channels they were offering us all tied up in a neat little bundle. The con worked, until it didn’t. Even the titans of streaming – Netflix, Disney+, Max/WBD – have found that a less expensive service offering a few ads makes sense as folks look at reducing their entertainment budgets, even if the shift costs you something. Often you shift from watching shows in 4K to catching them in 1080p or worse yet 720p. Don’t they think you’ll see the difference? In addition, if a movie or series is gathering a lot of eyeballs it may not be available to you until … later. Rather than being “penalized” for choosing the service’s less expensive option, folks are saying they’re perfectly happy with the rapidly expanding fr