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The battle to gain a foothold in the streaming age has prompted Hollywood studios to go on the defensive. After licensing movies and shows to Netflix and Amazon, Disney and WarnerMedia pulled their larger properties out of the competition to bolster their own platforms. Not to be outdone, Comcast-owned NBCUniversal is reportedly considering a similar strategy to support its new streamer, Peacock, reports. Bloomberg. The media conglomerate is currently paid hundreds of millions of dollars by HBO Max and Netflix for its Universal Pictures movies and popular animated films. But, with little room for new streaming services, senior executives would be wondering whether to forgo the lucrative rights deals when they expire at the end of the year.
The dilemma is among the larger seismic changes Hollywood reluctantly undergoes amid closed theaters and fierce competition from deep-pocketed streamers, including new entrants such as Apple. Disney – which previously shot its Netflix movies – has been commuting between its theatrical films, including Pixar’s Soul and the upcoming Marvel blockbuster Black Widow, at Disney +. AT & T’s WarnerMedia took a similar approach by simultaneously releasing its films in theaters and on HBO Max.
Peacock, meanwhile, put on the beloved sitcom Office in the foreground and relied on a mixture of sport and nostalgia to attract customers to its service. But NBCU senior executives are now wondering if movies and shows rented to others could be used to increase Peacock’s 33 million customer base. However, dismantling centuries-old business models is not easy, and a decision has yet to be made. Executives are also apparently considering a hybrid strategy for Peacock to share the rights with another service, in the vein of its deal with Disney’s Hulu for Modern family.
Universal’s enviable catalog includes franchises such as Jurassic Park, Fast & the Furious, and popular Illumination Entertainment animated films such as Despicable Me and The Secret Life of Pets. While the older material may not match the series of new shows and movies that Netflix is pumping up, the hope is that it will allow people to subscribe between the originals.
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