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This image released by Turner Classic Movies shows FilmStruck, a multi-device subscription streaming service. FilmStruck closes its doors after two years of activity. (Turner Classic Movies / AP)
Steven Zeitchik
Reporter covering the entertainment industry in the United States and beyond
On Friday morning, Warner Media announced the closure of FilmStruck, the classic movie service that sparked a keen interest during its two years of existence.
At noon, this suite had spoken. And he was angry.
"Nothing but scorn for Mr. Potters shutting down FilmStruck," wrote Richard Brody, a New York journalist, is part of an unusually near unanimous reaction from the merger of professionals and film specialists known as the Twitter Movie.
FilmStruck was launched in November 2016 at the initiative of Turner Classic Movies. The idea was not only to bring together a wide range of renowned library films, notably Criterion Collection and Janus Films ("Spartacus", "8/12", "The 39 Steps" and modern classics such as that "Mullholland Drive" were available). but also to provide an organized experience of comments and recommendations.
Turner and WB Digital Networks issued a statement stating that they "were incredibly proud of the creativity and innovation produced by the talented and dedicated teams who have worked on FilmStruck for the past two years."
This sparked reactions from users as well known as Rian Johnson, the director of "Star Wars: The Last Jedi." "FilmStruck was too good to last. Unfortunately, I see him moving away from the brownfield fallow of 2018, at Lorax, "Johnson tweeted shortly after the announcement. Barry Jenkins, director of the best movie "Moonlight", has been likewise angry.
And the fans of the base did not hide their dissatisfaction. "Terrible, terrible, terrible. The service has barely been lucky enough to find its place before the costumes can cope, "it was written.
User numbers were not available – Warner Media said they were not many – but fans of the service were passionate about their love. Many said it was the only streaming service they would subscribe to, while others said they would gladly pay more than the monthly $ 11 or $ 99 a year fee to subscribe.
Warner Media did not explain the closure but suggested that the fact that the service was not calling for more broadly was an important factor. "Although FilmStruck has a very loyal fan base, it remains largely a niche service," he said in a statement announcing the closure.
Given that the company, as a new owner, AT & T, has asked HBO to invest more in volume and to close the SuperDeluxe digital service recently, this is not really surprising.
But it is revealing and challenging one of the key assumptions about streaming since its inception – and even bodes a wave of larger, more business-oriented changes.
Since the beginning of the era of original content on streaming services a little over five years ago with "House of Cards" from Netflix, a major assumption has supported it: that the niche can and will survive. The idea is that traditional entertainment requires marketing and distribution of bandwidth (and costs), and therefore usually requires a broad base of consumers. But the costs of streaming are much lower and its ability to find a much easier and more accurate audience – a seismograph instead of a listening ear. So bring the niche.
Niche and high quality are not always synonymous, of course. But they often go hand in hand, excellence at the expense of the demands of large numbers of sales. For years, commercial Hollywood has been trying, uncomfortably, to provide both at the same time. The argument of streaming – not just FilmStruck, but other services and dozens of Netflix broadcasts – was that it was not necessary to do so. He could go for quality without considering general successes.
As a result, consumers found themselves with such a wide range of good-quality, but often eccentric, broadcasts. Of course, from time to time, a "strange object" is detached from the Netflix streaming pack. But most often, a "Santa Clarita diet" has remained tucked inside.
The new phase of streaming, with companies such as Disney, operating through properties such as Marvel, will be different. There is more money and more expectations and less room for niche services in conglomerates.
The franchise model that has permeated the traditional entertainment is presented as well. And it's a tsunami that could erase much of what has gone before. Indeed, Warner Media is planning its own service next year. Clearly, the likes of FilmStruck and SuperDeluxe do not belong to it.
If the move is about the end of many technology-based eras that ended in a wave of corporate dominance, it should: other big brands or high-quality journalism sites banding together for the benefit of video and their same rich in ads.
"Filmstruck's official statement about its service outage reads as follows:" We have found that, even though we have loyal human users, the algorithm shows that what our customers really want, that's what they're saying. is to be [hogwash] nobody really likes. "This is the next phase of pivoting," wrote former vice and MTV contributor Kaleb Horton.
Next month, Netflix will launch the last season of "House of Cards". These past five years have been rich in high quality programming that entertainment has only seen a few times in its history. There is no doubt that new services will continue to offer good and interesting exhibitions, and companies will find a way to offer complete libraries at affordable prices. But as money grows and expectations increase, idealism about form can be more of a compromise than Frank Underwood's social program.
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