Broken Windows How Streaming Is Redefining the Movie Proposition

Our clients have full access to all of our reports. Clients can log in to read this report. Click here to become a client or, you can purchase this individual report.
The 20,000 Foot View: significantly reduced theatrical movie releases and has necessitated a shift to streaming premiers for studios, especially those with recently launched direct-to-consumer services. While Disney has stated that it will return to theatrical releases in May rival Warner Media has boldly decided to jump feet-first into combined same-day theatrical and streaming releases for its 2021 movie slate. Consumer sentiment against returning to theatres post-COVID has now combined with the newfound familiarity of first-window home streaming access. This means a permanent breach in the theatrical window. The increasingly impactful ROI on feature films versus episodic scripted dramas for video on demand coincides with a consumer decline in binge viewing, and will elevate the value of an exclusive movie slate for direct-to-consumer video services and consumers alike. The golden age of TV content which has been the engine of SVOD is now tipping back towards the shorter-form gold standard of the feature film, benefiting video services with a pedigree of delivering content at this level.
Key Insights
- The pandemic has made audiences retreat to home-based entertainment – of consumers plan to spend less time going to the cinema post lockdown
- SVOD users over-index for future cinema-going reticence, with of Disney+ weekly active users less likely return to theatres
- However, SVOD users also over-index for future cinema-going intention too: of Disney+ WAUs are more likely return to theatres, compared to consumer average
- Paid film downloaders are niche, making up only of all consumers
- Paid film downloaders are both digitally savvy and TV conservative, making premium video on demand a potential streaming subscription inhibitor
- Paid film downloaders over-index for SVOD weekly active use
- English-speaking markets lead for paid film downloader penetration, with nearly two thirds aged
- The year-on-year consumer decline in binge viewing from to underlines the importance of offering complete, single-viewing long-form content for retention
- Movie studio content IP will enable HBO Max and Disney+ to become prime beneficiaries of fandom leveraging for driving service adoption in a contested marketplace
- The streaming of movie premiers will enable media majors’ direct-to-consumer services to offset the broader content slate and bigger budgets of market-leader Netflix
Companies and brands mentioned in this report: Amazon, Amazon Prime Video, Comcast, Disney, Disney+, HBO Max, Netflix, Paramount, Paramount+, Peacock, Warner Bros., Warner Media