I forgot this was a thing.
I also forgot Vessel was a thing.
I forgot this was a thing.
I never forget! (pls ignore the part in that post where I said I forgot about go90)
Was Vessel ever a thing?
Sometimes I wonder how these platforms like Fullscreen and Seeso could possibly be making any money. There's no way, right? The only time I even hear them being spoken about is when a comedian is talking about some new deal they have there. Anytime I see that a new streaming platform "for millennials" is launching, I know exactly what it'll turn into. They'll grab a bunch of Youtubers and have them create very cheap and uninteresting content, and then burn them off after a few months and scramble at something else. Most of these Youtube/Instagram/Vine comedians are bottom of the barrel hacks. You got some folks who have done super creative things, but the vast majority are amateur hour. And when you give them a slightly bigger spotlight it becomes glaringly obvious.
Seeso is a little better and gets "real" comics and people that can actually write. But with them I don't think it's even an issue of quality, it's time. I have Netflix, Hulu, HBO Now, Starz, and Amazon Prime Instant. You could literally give me a great streaming platform for free and I probably wouldn't watch it. There isn't enough time or attention span. These platforms need to chill. And if you're gonna take a shot at it, have something like Broad City or Search Party at least so theres a chance people might get interested.
Yeah I think this is fairly accurate. It kind of ignores the segment of the population which don't subscribe to Netflix/etc. but are ardent youtube watchers.
Now this is where things get a bit more complex than just "targeting millennials". I'm sure that they have market research and they're just giving a simplified message to media/investors but millennials aren't a cohesive hivemind (shocking, I know), and the millennial who binges every single show Netflix puts out and the millennial who subscribes to 50 different youtubers (and follow them on every social media outlet imaginable) are not the same audience and are not going to want the same things.
The youtube audience is the trickier one, and I think it is the one which a lot of major media outlets is failing to "get". There is a willingness in this audience to spend money (a lot of youtubers sell a lot of tat, patreon, etc.), but I'm not sure they want to spend it on a streaming service where they might just like one show/person. Which is the second problem, youtubers aren't a cohesive thing either. If you're going to go with hiring youtubers, you should hire people with audience overlap because, as I said before, I'm not sure they want to spend money if they like one show/person.
It's interesting that announcements of stuff for e.g. Fullscreen can reach a pretty "wide audience". As long as it's the creator tweeting about it, but then it's the question if it only reaches the hardcore fans and how many of those retweets end up being subscribers.
The problem with Seeso might not be the quality of their stuff, but I think it's fair to say that Seeso is at best doing so-so (get it? I'm so funny, give me a show Fullscreen). And I'm not even sure that time is the problem, the biggest problem is that comedy isn't a unique selling point. Netflix has original comedies and original stand up specials, so what you need to get is a stand out show to break through the noise and I don't think they have one (or are very likely to ever get one). It doesn't help that their branding is fucking terrible ("hand-picked comedy", "
artisanal mix of new comedies")
Bingo. Millennials aren't clamoring for another streaming service because they already have one. It's called Netflix and it's truly more than enough for the average person. (and if it's not, there are a host of other very strong alternatives/supplements like you said.)
Now, a streaming service geared towards another demographic might work, like one aimed at seniors or conservative/religious people, but even then...
Dammit, someone already made the CBS All Access joke.
But niche streaming platforms are definitely the way to go if you don't have the funds to take on Netflix/Hulu/Amazon.
Acorn TV went from 195,000 to 430,000+ subscribers in 2016, and I think they have the right idea and the right price point to be a compliment to Netflix/Hulu/Amazon rather than a competitor.
Also regarding conservative/religious streaming there was this religious streaming service which would edit out content (e.g. swearing) in films and shows based on the preferences of its subscribers but they got sued (and lost). And I think Pureflix is doing a streaming service, so that ground is getting covered.
I just assume they're created to show "losses" on the balance sheet of their parent corporations to reduce their tax burdens. That or to launder money.
This is way more plausible than it should be.
