Summer is here. For many, this means reading a book at the beach, but maybe streaming a great series while enjoying the air conditioning is more your speed. If so, you’re in luck. This summer, several original series debut on video-on-demand.
And if you enjoy streaming programming, you’re not alone. During the first quarter of 2017, Netflix surpassed cable in the US for viewership. Netflix had 50.9 million subscribers in the quarter compared to cable’s 48.61.
Also during the quarter, 410,000 cable subscribers became cord-cutters.
Amazon Prime Video and Hulu also are going strong. This year, Amazon will have 85.3 million subscribers and Hulu will have 32 million, according to eMarketer.
Let’s look at five streaming trends to watch this summer by the numbers:
1: The number of shows that will debut on Facebook. The world’s largest social media site has been investigating starting its own streaming offering. The cancelled MTV show Loosely Exactly Nicole may be the fledging streaming service’s first show. Facebook also has signed deals with companies to produce content exclusively for Facebook, giving the network full ownership. Facebook has 1.9 billion active monthly users. Full ownership is expensive, but with that many users, the revenue potential is great. Source: Cinema Blend
166 million: The number of active users on Snapchat. Snapchat Shows, the social network’s version of television, signed deals with 13 media partners last year and the first show launched in January. Some programming sees as much as 7 million viewers. The platform is attracting some big names. Conan O’Brien and Elizabeth Murdoch are among the celebrities with programming in the works. Sources: Digiday and Variety
10%: The amount of its worldwide revenue, Dutch multinational media and telecommunications company Altice could be fined by the European Commission for implementing a merger with PT Portugal before receiving authorisation to do so. The purchase was made in December 2014 but all the steps laid about by anti-trust officials had yet to be completed. In November 2016, Altice was fined $89.5 million for beginning a merger before France had given its okay. Sources: Bloomberg BNA and Broadband TV News
50-50: The percentages of Ethiopia’s new Kana TV shows’ content; half is in Amharic, while half is dubbed foreign content. Research shows that much of the nation’s nearly 90 million people enjoy watching foreign TV. Calling itself a “free-to-air, satellite TV channel,” Kana TV plans to launch an over-the-top platform later this summer for beta testing. The platform would allow users to view content on mobile devices. Sources : NexTV News International and Huffington Post Canada
2-15: The number of minutes for films submitted to Amazon Studios for consideration. The submission process opened in May. Think you have what it takes to submit your own film? The submission fee is $10,000 with a 45-day option. Animation Guild and Writers Guild of America members are welcome to submit. As of May, Amazon Studios hosted 3,611 television series and 13,222 films. Sources: Deadline and Variety
Top photo: © Daviles / Getty Images
