Something A Little Different -- Streaming Content -- Sunday, May 2, 2021

Of course I don't get "it" but it sure is fascinating. The "it" is this: who owns the James Bond franchise? And why is it on Pluto TV?

One of my favorite "networks" is Pluto TV, absolutely free with a gazillion channels.

Yeah, there are ads, but no worse than commercial television for which I used to pay Spectrum big bucks to get. 

If there are 500 horses in the Pluto TV stable, the front-runner is the James Bond franchise. The James Bond movies run 24/7. That is no exaggeration. It's possible there are periods when the James Bond franchise is replaced by another franchise for awhile, but in the big scheme of things, James Bond leads the herd. LOL. Enough of the metaphor. 

So, I was curious: who owns Pluto TV, who owns the James Bond franchise, and where is all this headed?

Here's the answer. Absolutely fascinating. 

From that link:

Universal

It says “Universal”, but it’s really Comcast. 

Universal Pictures already has its foot in the door with the international and physical home video rights for No Time to Die. And acquisition merely firms up that existing partnership with Eon. James Bond would join other adult-oriented franchises like The Fast and the Furious, Jurassic World, and Halloween on a more permanent basis.

Peacock also gets an infusion of additional content. 

The streaming service already has TV hits like The Office, SNL, and 30 Rock, or older classics like The Sting, Spartacus, and Psycho. 

Throw the MGM catalog in there and you have an excellent overall catalog, with something for everyone. And NBCUniversal gets the chance to craft spin-off TV shows and reboots for Stargate, RoboCop, or the Addams Family as Peacock Originals.

Comcast purchased DreamWorks Animation for $3.8 billion in 2016 and acquired Sky for $38 billion in 2018, so it’s not afraid to spend money to get what it wants. MGM is a good all-around purchase in terms of content for Comcast.

Amazon

This is the first of two companies with more money than God. 

Amazon has a strong task record of buying up brands in order to get people to care about Amazon Prime Video. 

The shopping megacorp spent $250 million to pick up the TV rights for The Lord of the Rings, with a potential price tag of around $1 billion for five seasons. It was looking to spend another billion on a potential three-season series based on The Three-Body Problem, but that deal fell through and Netflix picked up the rights.

Those price tags were for single properties. Amazon has money to burn.

The problem is Amazon doesn’t see much of a need for theatrical release anymore. It’ll do the limited theater engagement, but otherwise, its focus is streaming.

“We know our customers love movies. We’re just trying to shift — it’s not closing the door on theatrical release. We will continue to [make] and acquire movies that will embrace that strategy. But it really is trying to get these movies to our Prime subscribers as soon as possible,” said Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke back in 2019, prior to the pandemic gutting movie exhibition.

In contrast, Eon Productions producer and boss Barbara Broccoli has been heavily in support of the theatrical experience according to reports. That said, she’s open to changes in the future. “We make these films for the audiences,” Broccoli told Variety earlier this year.

“We like to think that they’re going to be seen primarily on the big screen. But having said that, we have to look to the future. Our fans are the ones who dictate how they want to consume their entertainment. I don’t think we can rule anything out, because it’s the audience that will make those decisions. Not us.” So, it could happen. 

Apple

The second option in the “tech megacorp” tier is Apple. Apple has even more money than Amazon. Apple’s problem is that no one really cares about Apple's Apple TV+, so it’s busy trying to buy up prestige and clout for the service. And MGM does indeed represent that prestige and historic back catalog.

More importantly, Apple has already come to the dance floor once before. An older Wall Street Journal story reported that Apple had “unsanctioned” conversations with former MGM CEO Gary Barber. Those talks involved Apple potentially acquiring MGM for “more than $6 billion.” Those talks actually led to Barber being ousted from MGM.

Above most of the other companies on this list, Apple needs MGM. It has users across 1.5 billion devices, but it doesn’t have the back catalog of Disney, Warner Bros, NBCUniversal, or the rest. It’s a tech company. It has to license stuff or reach out to new creators to make new shows. So MGM is a win for Apple.

That's the problem with Apple TV. It has no content. I subscribe to Apple TV (still for free. Well, almost free: one cent per month). Apple needs to do something and needs to do something this year if it wants to "save" Apple TV. Every month it waits, the gap between Apple and Amazon, and the gap between Apple and Netflix widens. At some point the moat may be too big for Apple to bridge. Especially if Amazon acquires the MGM catalogue.

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Good Ol' Freda

Good Ol' Freda