Anecdotally, I’ve definitely heard/read a lot of anxiety about this, but specifically saying that there is a need to return to physical media in response. (So make sure you buy what you like when you can so you still have it when the streamer pulls it.) Do you think if streamers don’t demystify this issue, we could see a resurgence in blu-rays and DVDs?
Tbh, I think we will see a resurgence in any case, at least for a little while, as audiences are growing worried about being able to 'own' their content while studios need to increase revenues. Some of what we're seeing with Paramount Plus and Disney Plus right now indicates a renewed interest on the part of studios in the DVD and Bluray markets.
Streamers, imo, don't have a lot to gain at the moment from demystifying the issue, at leat to the public. Typically, letting the public know in advance of any new deals could potentially jeopardize those deals. So they prefer to announce stuff after the fact.
When it comes to general policy or strategy, I think WBD has sorta explained that in interviews but not in a way that's easily comprehensible.
I think, generally, I am always going to be concerned about disappearing content - because the decisions are made around money (whether cost saved or profits gained through reissuing). Some content we won't be able to access again except through illicit means. That could be the librarian and data hoarder in me talking though haha. That being said, I'm tremendously pleased to see how much of the content has been reissued - though I'm curious to think about it in my own Canadian context. I suspect a lot less content is being reissued here (but I could be totally off base).
I get it. I mean there's always the threat of content vanishing and that was even before the Streaming era. There are some shows I want to find that are almost impossible to locate today (eg. Joey Season 2) at least legally.
Nonetheless, I believe much of the doomsaying that followed the Max Streaming Purge was overblown and that most of the stuff removed from Streamers right now is being re-allocated and reincorporated into the older, pre-streaming business models.
Imo. next year will be one of content constantly re-appearing, shifting, being shared and moved around, quite simply because the Strikes have led to a lack of new material. And when new stuff is lacking, studios like to reach into their archives. Hence, the Max content that hasn't been reissued or found a new home yet could very well turn up in 2024. I woudn't be surprised if they end up finishing 'Batgirl' at some point down the line.
Regarding Canada - I don't know about homevid accessibility, but some of the former Max stuff has become exclusive to Canadian Streaming Service Crave, like 'Craftopia' and 'Love Life.' Potentially, more Max stuff could make its way there.
Oct 9, 2023·edited Oct 9, 2023Liked by Mikhail Skoptsov
All good points! Especially around disappearing content being nothing new.
I think the doomsaying came from a number of more intangible factors, like relationships and trust—i.e., what it means for creatives, like the one you quoted on Rise of the Pink Ladies, to see their works so unceremoniously cut without much more knowledge than you or I about reissues—or art vs profit—i.e., while the dust has started to settle and we are now seeing content get reissued, we can never trust that it will definitely happen, and the folks pulling the trigger on those decisions (like Zaslav) have built zero trust with artists.
Art is personal and, if I were at the forefront of discussions about disappearing content (as a writer or actor), I would be extremely vocal and angry too. Not to mention that this all started just before the strikes, at a time when we had reached an all time low in the relationship between entities like Max and the folks who create their content.
So, while I agree that it's great to see content come back, and that the panic around disappearing content might have been overblown (though I'd be curious to see what happens 5 years from now; will all this reissued content remain in reissued form, or will it eventually disappear even from places like Tubi more quietly), I think the panic was about something else—capitalism and art—and I don't think those concerns are overblown.
Oh, for sure! I mean, Zaslav an co. basically pulled a Jason Kilar 2.0. It's not so much that they decided to do this but rather the way they did. Many of the creatives, as Owen Dennis and others attested, got basically zero advance notice. The rug was suddenly pulled out from under them and bridges were burned with a lot of partners.
Not all of them though, because some discussions apparently did happen beforehand, and some folks chose to continue working with WBD (like in the case of 'Raised by Wolves.') I'm pretty sure WBD thought they needed to take drastic measures but they clearly didn't communicate things well enough to maintain good relationships with the content creators.
This was definitely informative. I knew something like this was going on but you definitely clarified many aspects of it. One that I don't think you mentioned but often bugged me is the show Riverdale.
They were produced by Warner Brothers for The CW network but when it was on Netflix, the credits would include the words "A Netflix Original". Which seemed kinda odd, though I think they might have invested in the show's production because it did well on Netflix.
Thanks! I didn't know that about Riverdale. I'll look into it. It could be another region-related distribution quirk. As in, maybe it is a Netflix Original in some territories, so they have to include it in the credits in general.
Well I’m based out of Canada. I do know that The CW had a deal for most of its content to go on Netflix the day after it aired on TV. At least up until they launched HBO Max. Then it became all about going on Max.
You mentioned Love Life and that was really disappointing for the WB to take it off the platform. I believe it was the very first show that HBO Max created exclusively for the platform. Plus I really liked the show.
I didn't know they had such deals. That's int-g. I suppose there was no official CW site there for next day on-demand streaming so they went with Netflix.
I really liked Love Life too, and I actually they think they liked it as WB as well. I mean, they put for a year or so on TNT and TBS in a program series called 'Front Row.' When they pulled it from Max, its own showrunner didn't seem to be aware that it was also available on video!
Btw, if you have a subscription to Crave, you should still be able to see Love Life on streaming. In fact, I think Crave might now be the exclusive streaming home of the show.
Well the CW did have a streaming app but it was geo-locked to the US so it had international deals but my understanding is that some places have it the day after while other places needed to wait months and got the whole season at once. I believe even in the US the CW app was only exclusively for a few months.
It’s certainly possible but I don’t have the money for more than one streaming service. Maybe if I had paying subscribers I would buy more streaming services. But even then, I am probably going to buy stuff on DVD since the streaming services have become unreliable.
I'd say Itunes is also a viable option as long as you have a hard drive to download stuff to. My hope is that the physical media like DVD might get a bit of a resurgence as the Streaming Rethink continues.
Anecdotally, I’ve definitely heard/read a lot of anxiety about this, but specifically saying that there is a need to return to physical media in response. (So make sure you buy what you like when you can so you still have it when the streamer pulls it.) Do you think if streamers don’t demystify this issue, we could see a resurgence in blu-rays and DVDs?
That's a good question.
Tbh, I think we will see a resurgence in any case, at least for a little while, as audiences are growing worried about being able to 'own' their content while studios need to increase revenues. Some of what we're seeing with Paramount Plus and Disney Plus right now indicates a renewed interest on the part of studios in the DVD and Bluray markets.
Streamers, imo, don't have a lot to gain at the moment from demystifying the issue, at leat to the public. Typically, letting the public know in advance of any new deals could potentially jeopardize those deals. So they prefer to announce stuff after the fact.
When it comes to general policy or strategy, I think WBD has sorta explained that in interviews but not in a way that's easily comprehensible.
I think, generally, I am always going to be concerned about disappearing content - because the decisions are made around money (whether cost saved or profits gained through reissuing). Some content we won't be able to access again except through illicit means. That could be the librarian and data hoarder in me talking though haha. That being said, I'm tremendously pleased to see how much of the content has been reissued - though I'm curious to think about it in my own Canadian context. I suspect a lot less content is being reissued here (but I could be totally off base).
I get it. I mean there's always the threat of content vanishing and that was even before the Streaming era. There are some shows I want to find that are almost impossible to locate today (eg. Joey Season 2) at least legally.
Nonetheless, I believe much of the doomsaying that followed the Max Streaming Purge was overblown and that most of the stuff removed from Streamers right now is being re-allocated and reincorporated into the older, pre-streaming business models.
Imo. next year will be one of content constantly re-appearing, shifting, being shared and moved around, quite simply because the Strikes have led to a lack of new material. And when new stuff is lacking, studios like to reach into their archives. Hence, the Max content that hasn't been reissued or found a new home yet could very well turn up in 2024. I woudn't be surprised if they end up finishing 'Batgirl' at some point down the line.
Regarding Canada - I don't know about homevid accessibility, but some of the former Max stuff has become exclusive to Canadian Streaming Service Crave, like 'Craftopia' and 'Love Life.' Potentially, more Max stuff could make its way there.
All good points! Especially around disappearing content being nothing new.
I think the doomsaying came from a number of more intangible factors, like relationships and trust—i.e., what it means for creatives, like the one you quoted on Rise of the Pink Ladies, to see their works so unceremoniously cut without much more knowledge than you or I about reissues—or art vs profit—i.e., while the dust has started to settle and we are now seeing content get reissued, we can never trust that it will definitely happen, and the folks pulling the trigger on those decisions (like Zaslav) have built zero trust with artists.
Art is personal and, if I were at the forefront of discussions about disappearing content (as a writer or actor), I would be extremely vocal and angry too. Not to mention that this all started just before the strikes, at a time when we had reached an all time low in the relationship between entities like Max and the folks who create their content.
So, while I agree that it's great to see content come back, and that the panic around disappearing content might have been overblown (though I'd be curious to see what happens 5 years from now; will all this reissued content remain in reissued form, or will it eventually disappear even from places like Tubi more quietly), I think the panic was about something else—capitalism and art—and I don't think those concerns are overblown.
Oh, for sure! I mean, Zaslav an co. basically pulled a Jason Kilar 2.0. It's not so much that they decided to do this but rather the way they did. Many of the creatives, as Owen Dennis and others attested, got basically zero advance notice. The rug was suddenly pulled out from under them and bridges were burned with a lot of partners.
Not all of them though, because some discussions apparently did happen beforehand, and some folks chose to continue working with WBD (like in the case of 'Raised by Wolves.') I'm pretty sure WBD thought they needed to take drastic measures but they clearly didn't communicate things well enough to maintain good relationships with the content creators.
This was definitely informative. I knew something like this was going on but you definitely clarified many aspects of it. One that I don't think you mentioned but often bugged me is the show Riverdale.
They were produced by Warner Brothers for The CW network but when it was on Netflix, the credits would include the words "A Netflix Original". Which seemed kinda odd, though I think they might have invested in the show's production because it did well on Netflix.
Thanks! I didn't know that about Riverdale. I'll look into it. It could be another region-related distribution quirk. As in, maybe it is a Netflix Original in some territories, so they have to include it in the credits in general.
Well I’m based out of Canada. I do know that The CW had a deal for most of its content to go on Netflix the day after it aired on TV. At least up until they launched HBO Max. Then it became all about going on Max.
You mentioned Love Life and that was really disappointing for the WB to take it off the platform. I believe it was the very first show that HBO Max created exclusively for the platform. Plus I really liked the show.
I didn't know they had such deals. That's int-g. I suppose there was no official CW site there for next day on-demand streaming so they went with Netflix.
I really liked Love Life too, and I actually they think they liked it as WB as well. I mean, they put for a year or so on TNT and TBS in a program series called 'Front Row.' When they pulled it from Max, its own showrunner didn't seem to be aware that it was also available on video!
Btw, if you have a subscription to Crave, you should still be able to see Love Life on streaming. In fact, I think Crave might now be the exclusive streaming home of the show.
Well the CW did have a streaming app but it was geo-locked to the US so it had international deals but my understanding is that some places have it the day after while other places needed to wait months and got the whole season at once. I believe even in the US the CW app was only exclusively for a few months.
It’s certainly possible but I don’t have the money for more than one streaming service. Maybe if I had paying subscribers I would buy more streaming services. But even then, I am probably going to buy stuff on DVD since the streaming services have become unreliable.
I'd say Itunes is also a viable option as long as you have a hard drive to download stuff to. My hope is that the physical media like DVD might get a bit of a resurgence as the Streaming Rethink continues.
Yeah, I don’t trust a place like Apple either. They have been known to delete content from people’s devices if their license expires.
I currently have access to a cable TV option though I don’t know how long it will be available to me. Someone else is paying for it.
I’ve never been one to trust streaming, especially since I only have access to one.