News updates

 As generative AI accelerates, media companies are discovering an unexpected revenue windfall: licensing vast archives of video, audio, and imagery to large language models. Once considered low-value “long-tail” assets, these libraries are now in high demand as hyperscalers race to acquire exclusive training data. 

 Is streaming king? Most Americans (83%) say they watch streaming services, with Netflix and Amazon Prime Video being especially common. Far fewer – 36% – say they currently subscribe to cable or satellite TV at home, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. 

Remember cable TV? Those days when people would rush home to catch their favorite show at 8 PM sharp or miss it entirely. Well, those days are pretty much history now. Streaming platforms have completely flipped the script on how entertainment gets consumed. And they’re not stopping at just letting viewers binge-watch shows whenever convenient.

 Over the last ten or more years, streaming services have transformed the entertainment industry. This remarkable and dramatic change has brought us closer to a “new golden age” of film and television. As more platforms join the industry, from giants like Disney+, Amazon Prime, and Netflix to global and niche newcomers, viewers are treated to a seemingly never ending assortment of content. 

Bundling, password crackdowns and price increases will only go so far for subscription streaming platforms. Up next may be a return to aggregating content from different providers, like traditional pay TV packages did.

People still want the TV and movie experience offered by traditional studios, but social platforms are becoming competitive for their entertainment time—and even more competitive for the business models that studios have relied on.  

In a shocker to no one, the streaming revolution isn’t slowing down any time soon.

In November, streaming viewership increased by 7.6% year over year, according to Nielsen, and households devoted an average of nearly 42% of their TV time streaming shows and movies. 

Exponential advances in technology have changed entire industries, especially over the past 10 to 15 years. In media and television, for example, the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney, and other digital channels or streaming services have acted as massive disruptive forces.

It’s fair to say Peacock won a gold medal in streaming for the 2024 Olympics. The NBC-backed streamer brought its platform to the next level for the international sporting event, offering subscribers new ways to keep up with their favorite sports and teams, all while delivering access to more events than ever before.

The television continues to evolve, the NBA’s new media rights agreement is indicative of the future direction of the medium. Last month, the NBA added NBC/Peacock and Amazon Prime Video as media partners and dropped TNT which had been televising games since 1988.

 As the daybreak of the metaverse quickly approaches, the lines between real life and virtual reality are getting thinner by the minute. When it comes to web eminence and popularity, “realness” is no longer a need for eager fans and adherents. From social media influencers to livestreamers, virtual avatars are taking the world by storm. 

 In the digital age, where entertainment is but a click away, a silent yet powerful transformation is underway. Streaming companies, the vanguards of this digital entertainment era, are not just delivering content; they're crafting experiences, and artificial intelligence (AI) is their most adept tool. Let us explore how AI is not just changing, but revolutionizing the way we consume media. 

Vying for subscribers, streaming services are reshaping the media landscape through mergers and "bundling." In the latest episode of Generating Buzz, Abhi Deshmane, an assistant professor at the Scheller College of Business, shares how this could benefit both corporations and consumers, and what the future of streaming holds.

The proposed “click to cancel” provision takes aim at those horror stories that everyone seems to have, where the “cancel subscription” button seems to be hidden behind a maze of URLs, or when you finally get a live person on the phone who proceeds to inundate you with last-minute offers if you stay.

Canadian creative unions, including the Writers Guild of Canada and Canadian Media Producers Association, are generally supportive of the bill, but have some concerns that its language could create a two-tiered system that would mean Canadian broadcasters are being held to higher standards than foreign streamers.

For decades, when cable TV owners were negotiating retransmission fees with multichannel video programming distributor (MVPDs), they were leveraging their top rated and must-have networks with lower rated networks and start-ups to gain distribution. Eventually the average cable household would have nearly 200 channels receivable but watched only a handful of cable networks.

The rising cost of living is forcing Canadians to prioritize the streaming subscriptions they enjoy the most, the Angus Reid Institute says.  New data released by Angus Reid Thursday shows one in three residents of Canada have cancelled at least one streaming service in the past six months. When asked the reason behind that decision, at least half of the responses cited the cost of living crisis. 

It's time for our monthly summary of notable new programming coming to streaming services and TV channels in Canada. As is typical for September, there is lots of new and returning programming this month, as the traditional fall TV season gets underway.

Forced to stay at home due to COVID-19 restrictions, people around the world suddenly found a new hobby—streaming content. Streaming trends indicate that the technology has been reaching new heights during the pandemic. The convergence of new technologies, Internet penetration, expanding mobile usage, and ubiquitous lockdowns are the driving forces behind this development.

Filming season will soon begin in earnest in Toronto and its surrounding areas with major productions expected to set up in the city. The industry said it expects a busy summer as streaming services like Netflix lead a boom for the local filming scene.

The federal government has signalled it is open to MPs tweaking a bill that would subject streaming companies, such as Netflix, to the same rules as traditional Canadian broadcasters. Chris Bittle, parliamentary secretary to the heritage minister, said in the House of Commons on Tuesday there is "room" for MPs to amend the bill after it goes to committee for scrutiny.

The Motion Picture Association’s annual theme report shows what is readily apparent across the industry: The impact of streaming. The U.S. and Canadian box office reached $4.5 billion, up 105 percent from 2020, but still lower than pre-pandemic levels. But the combined theatrical and home and mobile market was $36.8 billion in 2021, surpassing the pre-Covid figure of $36.1 billion in 2019.

For the first time in two years, the streaming wars should carry on at full strength in 2022. After the pandemic threw productions into havoc in 2020, with delays lingering through 2021, the pipeline for new series and movies is finally becoming unclogged. And that’s a good thing, because the major streaming services will spend an estimated $230 billion-plus on new content next year, according to a recent report by Ampere Analysis. 

DETAILS ON NEW WINTER PROGRAMS, PLUS A MAJOR DEVELOPMENT ON FX PROGRAMMING IN CANADA.

It's time for our summary of notable new programming coming to streaming services and TV channels in Canada in the first month of 2022.