In the context of the rise of streaming, some companies love linear TV –

When the network returns to New York after a two-year pandemic hiatus in mid-May, television will likely play a supporting role. While ABC, NBC and CBS still have their moment, Disney will likely introduce support for Disney+ ads, while Paramount will launch ads for Paramount+ and NBCUniversal Peacock. After years of preparing to switch to streaming, linear is no longer a corporate priority for Hollywood giants.

But at least some companies are bucking the trend and betting on linear TV in hopes it will help them stand out in a world where everyone seems to be trying to keep up with Netflix, which is having a tough time due to subscription growth. Slows down. “You have to be prepared, sometimes a little against it, to go against some rules,” said Peter Olsen, president of advertising sales at A+E Networks.

Companies like A+E, Univision, Fox and AMC Networks are betting that while the pay-TV package is slowly and steadily declining, considering that the linear side of the business can still be profitable and help them bridge the gap between the uncertain present . And a safer future. “There is always a lot of discussion in our business. “It’s dead, it’s new,” says Olsen. ‘Things don’t die, they just evolve’. “Yes, traditional distribution is a difficult trend, isn’t it? But there’s still a way to reach people through a creative distribution partnership and that’s it.”

Predicting the future of Linear TV is difficult and no company wants to make big announcements just to ask questions. “Older viewers can cut the cord, but younger viewers are increasingly asking the question: what is a cord? Michael Nathanson, an analyst at MoffettNathanson, in a March report.

However, Discovery Inc. by the SEC on March 4, ahead of its merger with WarnerMedia, sheds some light on the short- and medium-term future of pay-TV. The statement says Discovery expects revenue from the US line-of-sight television business (Food Network, Discovery Channel, HGTV, etc.) to decline 4% annually through 2025, with revenue expected to increase. At WarnerMedia, linear domestic revenue is expected to decline by just 2% per year through 2025, possibly from the company’s sports rights portfolio, including NBA, MLB and March Madness basketball.

Sports remain a major driving force behind linear television, even as companies like NBCUniversal and Disney are experimenting with more live event broadcasts, and Warner Bros. Discovery has the potential to do this in the future.

Fox Corp. Chief Executive Lachlan Murdoch told his company’s annual meeting in November that trends are making Fox “more valuable to the cable team because what people watch on cable is news.” and “live” sports,” he said. “Our assets are most valuable in this package, and over time we will get a larger share of the cable bills that we can get from our dealers.”

“Lifeless time has plummeted and dropped an average of -8% per year for the past 10 years,” Nathanson wrote in his television programming report. “However, watching live is normal, although there are several million cheaper TV houses. Sport, and to a lesser extent the news, is where pay TV continues to excel and find a lifeline. ”

But many companies are betting that there’s more to it than just sports and news. In fact, they believe that the strategic steps taken by many of the biggest companies in the industry can work in favor of smaller, more convenient players.

Critical issue: Giants exploiting the subscriber video-on-demand space are actively converting their online channels to cheaper channels, seeking the best entertainment fare, and turning them into exclusive streaming services.

This was announced by Disney on April 8. dancing with the starsABC’s reality mainstay (and sought-after marketing favorite throughout the family show) is moving exclusively to Disney+ later this year, just as the ad-supported level of streaming is set to debut. Paramount, likewise, does this itself. yellow stone Spin-offs are exclusive to Paramount+ and NBCUniversal The new Prince of the Belle Nation The reset is unique to Peacock. The best content for these companies is being streamed more and more.

“The big consolidation trend has probably given people the scale to have strong streaming services, subscriptions or mixes, and people who have these subscription services on a large scale are having a hard time pushing that,” said Kevin Crim, executive director of advertising technology. . and Analysis. EDO subscription. “And those who are not so good have to live with what they have. These are still strong linear networks that have an audience.”

And, paradoxically, this can help strengthen the linear movements of competitors. “A breakthrough that launches certain content directly onto its streaming platform makes that possible,” says Olsen, noting that A+E is aggressively moving toward food television. “So you look at these opportunities, you find these gaps, and you say, you know what, we can find a way to do this.”

To some extent, the overarching effort by NBCUniversal, Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount and Disney on streaming creates new windows for companies that don’t have the same scale, especially through their audience linearly around maximizing their revenue.

That doesn’t mean these companies neglect streaming. All in these sandboxes, to varying degrees. AMC has an SVOD service called AMC+ and a set of free ad-supported streaming channels (called FAST channels in industry parlance: some apps, some channels on streaming services, but all free-support and ad-supported). A+E has its own stake in FAST channels and negotiates to sell its content on other broadcasters. Fox owns the Tubi FAST service and has a niche subscription offering with Fox Nation.

The bet is that, as long as the program is of the highest quality, the public will watch it, whether on the FAST channel or, yes, on online TV. “We’re an original content company, we’re not known for replicating other people’s stuff, so when you create your own stuff, you own your own stuff, that gives you maximum flexibility, use it in the future and then use it in any platform.” . Either way, your customers want to use it,” said Rob Charnow, president of programming at A+E Networks.

New technologies such as targeted advertising, which brings targeted digital advertising capabilities to TV, can make linear TV a little more efficient, making it a better choice for marketers looking for scale and specificity. “I feel like television is becoming much more exciting, more dynamic, much more efficient,” said Kim Kelleher, president of advertising sales for AMC Networks.

Even better, linear audiences still enjoy the refreshing effect of live television, which holds up even in the context of the shrinking package, but it’s even more complicated.

“There’s still a community aspect to seeing something live on the same day,” Kelleher said. “You’re seeing Twitter explode, and it’s not just a scripted drama, we’re seeing it. love after confinement Series. It’s funny, you feel part of something, like you’re in a bar full of people enjoying the same moment, the same joy, the same anger.

But linear is, to some extent, the glue that holds them together, and these “opposite” companies, to use Olsen’s phrase, believe they can remain not just viable companies, but exceptionally strong companies for the foreseeable future. Kelleher adds, “From a viewer perspective, this is an adventure of your choice, and many of our viewers are still cable subscribers.”

A version of this story first appeared in the April 27 issue of The Gossipify. Click here to subscribe.