Tag: subscription streaming

Netflix is doubling down on its streaming-first film strategy, with Dan Lin saying the company won't work with filmmakers who require traditional theatrical releases. Netflix is instead prioritizing mid-budget comedies, rom-coms, and literary adaptations that fit subscription-driven economics. While select…

Short form won't kill long form, but it’s changing what long form needs to do. Short form now drives discovery, frequency, and habit formation, while long form still builds attachment, franchise value, and subscription justification. The real advantage sits with…

From the Archives revisits how Rhapsody launched the subscription streaming model years before consumers, devices, and infrastructure were ready to support it at scale. The piece argues that while Spotify eventually dominated the category, Rhapsody helped establish the core mechanics…

Scripted streaming hits aren't doing the same job they used to. With season gaps stretching from 12 months in 2020 to 21 months in 2025, returning originals are becoming customer win-back campaigns instead of retention engines. That’s great for premiere-month…

Spotify signed a licensing deal with Universal Music Group that lets Premium subscribers create AI-generated remixes and covers using UMG’s catalog through a paid add-on tier. The agreement gives artists revenue shares while positioning Spotify as a licensed AI music…

From the Archives revisits how Major League Baseball’s MLB.TV launched in 2002 as an early direct-to-consumer streaming model that bypassed traditional distribution and solved out-of-market access. It paired centralized rights control with in-house infrastructure while preserving regional broadcast economics through…

Netflix is positioning creator programming as a commerce and engagement engine, not just incremental viewing, with Mark Rober’s debut driving measurable CrunchLabs sales and showing it can extend creator businesses beyond content. At the same time, its push into video…

From the Archives revisits UltraViolet’s rise and collapse as Hollywood’s failed attempt to modernize digital ownership through a cross-retailer rights locker. Backed by most major studios, UltraViolet aimed to preserve transactional revenue and portability, but fragmentation, retailer instability, Disney’s launch…

YouTube brought in over $60 billion in revenue in 2025, outpacing Netflix and rivaling Disney, thanks to a combined ad and subscription model now disclosed for the first time. This dual-engine approach, ads plus 325 million paid subscriptions, positions YouTube…

From the Archives revisits Microsoft’s early attempt to make the Xbox a digital media hub with the launch of the Xbox Live Video Marketplace in 2006. Long before streaming took over, Microsoft pushed digital ownership through its ecosystem of Xbox,…