[ad_1]
Turner and Warner Bros. Digital Networks announced Friday the closing of the streaming service of independent subscription films, art films and classic and independent films.
WarnerMedia, owned by AT & T, appears to be the latest in streamlining its operations by narrowing its activities to niche markets. Two sources close to the decision said that the plan to kill FilmStruck had been put in place before the conclusion of the contract between Time & Warner by AT & T; In any case, the strategy is consistent with WarnerMedia's new model of transferring resources to mainstream entertainment services.
The activity of FilmStruck will cease operations in the United States and internationally on November 29, 2018 and will cease to accept registrations on October 26. A representative of Turner refused to specify how many employees will be affected by the closure or provide information on the number of employees. work on FilmStruck.
In a statement, Turner and WB Digital Networks said, "We are extremely proud of the creativity and innovation produced by the talented and dedicated teams who have worked on FilmStruck for the past two years. Although FilmStruck has a very loyal fan base, it remains largely a niche service. We plan to learn from FilmStruck's key lessons to help guide future business decisions in the area of direct sales to consumers and to redirect this investment into our group portfolios. "
Related
RELATED: Directors and fans react to FilmStruck's shutdown
The FilmStruck shutdown, which began in November 2016, comes after two other WarnerMedia digital units have had the ax.
DramaFever by Warner Bros. Digital Networks, a subscription video-on-demand service specializing in Korean drama, was suddenly closed on October 16th. A week ago, Turner announced that he was ending the television studio and Super Deluxe digital content.
Earlier this month, AT & T announced its decision to restructure WarnerMedia's streaming video portfolio. As part of the announcement of a broad subscription-based streaming entertainment service, anchored by HBO and aimed at extracting content from other parts of WarnerMedia, AT & T has announced that It would "consolidate the resources of D2C, a subscale system. [direct-to-consumer] efforts."
A source close to AT & T's strategy said the telecommunications company was looking to eliminate peripheral projects that are not major revenue producers. "They felt that Time Warner had overall too many initiatives," said the executive. "[AT&T] have their hands full. They do not have time to think about "what are we doing with this growing property?" "
FilmStruck offered a selection of 1,800 independent, classic and foreign, cult and contemporary, classic and contemporary art and experimental films, as well as the exclusive Internet-based distribution of the Criterion film collection. Earlier this year, he added the Warner Bros classic movie library. WB stopped the Warner Archive service and transferred the customers to FilmStruck. The service cost $ 10.99 per month with access to the Criterion Collection Library and $ 6.99 per month without it.
FilmStruck was developed and managed by Turner Classic Movies (TCM) in collaboration with Warner Bros. Digital Networks, under the supervision of Coleman Breland, president of Turner's content experiences and president of TCM and FilmStruck. The companies declined to disclose the number of subscribers registered by FilmStruck.
FilmStruck titles include "Casablanca", "Rebel Without A Cause", "Sing in the Rain", "Citizen Kane", "The Music Man", "Bringing Up Baby", "The Thin Man" and "Who has Afraid of Virginia Woolf? "From Warner Bros. Of the other films available on FilmStruck, there had previously been" Babette's Feast "," Blow Out "," Boyhood "," Morant Breaker "," Chicago "," A Hard Day & # 39; s Night "," My dog life "," Our song "," The player "," A room with a view "," Seven samurai "," The seventh seal "," Thelma and Louise "," The Times of Harvey Milk "and" The umbrellas of Cherbourg. "
On Friday, the FilmStruck website posted the following message: "We regret to inform you that FilmStruck will close. Our last day of service will be November 29, 2018 and we will register more new subscribers. All current FilmStruck subscribers will receive an email containing your account details and the refund process, if any. Please see the options below for more information or send an email to the Customer Service Team at [email protected]. "
Turner and WB Digital Networks launched FilmStruck internationally this year. The first launch took place in the UK, where it was deployed jointly with curzon movie operator. In June, FilmStruck was launched in France and Spain with local films and titles from Warner Bros. Libraries. and Criterion. Turner had appointed Kerensa Samanidis, formerly of the British Film Institute, to lead the service internationally.
– Stewart Clarke contributed to this report.
Source link
