The struggle to swim in a crowded stream

Want to keep up with the latest plays in the streaming game? You practically need a scorecard and the guidance of a fast-talking play-by-play announcer. For proof, consider just some of the latest streaming service bombshells to hit the news in the past few weeks:

• Viacom purchased Pluto TV, an AVOD service. 
• Sinclair introduced Stirr, featuring content from its 191 TV stations 
• Amazon debuted IMDB Freedive, an AVOD service. 
• Netflix and Hulu raised subscription prices. 
• NBCUniversal is prepping a free, ad-supported video on demand (AVOD) service available to anyone who already subscribes to a pay-TV plan or for $12 to those without pay-TV. 
• WarnerMedia decided its forthcoming streaming service will feature some content supported by ads. 
• The Criterion Channel debuts in April. 
• Disney continues to ramp up its Disney+ streaming service, expected to launch later this year. 

All of these moves speak, of course, to a larger and evolving trend: Anybody and everybody in the media business seems to be getting in on the OTT act and taking their product direct to the consumer via an AVOD or SVOD (subscription-supported video on demand) model. And that’s creating an increasingly crowded field of competitors.

Learn more by reading my newest article published at Digital Content Next, available here.