Once again, I spoke with Kevin Tran, Morning Consult’s entertainment and media analyst, about his latest memo, which explores why video streaming services are leaving money on the table by not catering enough to the tastes of conservative audiences. (And be sure to give Kevin a follow on Twitter.)
Morning Consult data suggests U.S. conservatives are underserved in the video streaming market. What made you want to take a look at this particular demographic?
When we’re thinking about the streaming wars these days, the focus is on new audience growth that can come from domestically as the U.S. market has become so saturated. For me, it was about highlighting a new audience that streamers could find growth from and an audience that they haven’t really won over previously. I personally haven’t seen too much about how streamers can grow through appealing to consumers of a specific political ideology.
And looking at the data, there’s a big difference in household penetration among consumers depending on what side of the aisle they’re on. I thought it was just important to highlight that opportunity for video streaming companies in this being a path for them to grow in the next phase of the streaming wars.
The data also shows that the share of conservatives who said they don’t subscribe to or use someone else’s password for any of the major streaming services in August was higher than the shares of liberals and all U.S. adults who said the same. Why do you think that is?
I think there’s a two-part reasoning to that, with the first being the lack of specific content that is on the major streaming services to begin with. I think there’s probably a portion of the conservative respondents that feel like major streaming services don’t have content that particularly caters to their interests. Second, there’s probably a portion of conservative respondents that feels the type of content being pushed or heavily promoted on a lot of major streaming services isn’t in line with their core values. Because of that, there are certain less widely known streaming services that are going after a more-politically conservative audience. Those players are there and can serve some conservative consumers that aren’t paying for the subscriptions of major streaming services. So I think that all this would speak to why there is a gap between liberal and conservative usage of some of these major streamers.
You mention that sports is a way for media companies to attract conservative audiences. What are other ways these media companies can target this group?
I think expanding on the sports a bit would make sense. Sports-betting content could help. In my memo, I refer to sports rights and live sports content, but taking that a step further, I think adding sports-betting content and informing how conservative viewers might be able to place certain good bets on leagues that are in-season could be helpful and complementary to the sports rights that media companies are securing.
On top of that, boosting the awareness of services in general, after certain rights are acquired, could help. I point out in my memo that our data shows that in the month of August, more conservatives said that they listened to linear radio than liberals did. I think getting awareness through more traditional media and marketing on things like traditional radio could be something to help major streamers gain mindshare for certain programs among the conservative audience.
Now, for the major news from last week:
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20th Century Studios’ horror-mystery “Barbarian” debuted at the top of last weekend’s box office with $10 million in ticket sales, while Bollywood film “Brahmastra Part One: Shiva” came in second with $4.4 million during another slow weekend for movie theaters. Sony Pictures’ “Bullet Train” finished third with $3.2 million, while Paramount Pictures’ “Top Gun: Maverick” came in fourth with $3.17 million in its 16th week in theaters.
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HBO and HBO Max dominated the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards with a total of 38 trophies, including best drama series for “Succession” and best limited series for “The White Lotus,” while Apple TV+’s “Ted Lasso” won best comedy series for a second year in a row. Hwang Dong-hyuk and Lee Jung-jae of Netflix Inc.’s “Squid Game” made history as the first director and actor, respectively, of Asian descent to win in the drama categories, while Quinta Brunson and Sheryl Lee Ralph scored trophies for ABC’s “Abbott Elementary” in the comedy categories for writing and supporting actress, respectively.
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Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish confirmed the report that the company has held early discussions over potentially shutting down its Showtime streaming service and folding its content, which includes “Billions” and “Yellowjackets,” into Paramount+.
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Walt Disney Co. could combine Hulu with Disney+ into a single streaming service in the United States so all of its content can live in one place online, CEO Bob Chapek said during a conference. Disney, which has seen success selling Hulu and Disney+ as a bundle, would have to buy the one-third of Hulu owned by Comcast Corp. before merging the two platforms.
- Academy Award-winning producer Jonas Rivera has reportedly been promoted to the role of executive vice president of film production at Walt Disney Co.’s Pixar Animation Studios, where he will oversee the studio’s film and streaming production. Since joining Pixar as an intern in 1994, Rivera has won Oscars as a producer on films such as “Up,” “Inside Out” and “Toy Story 4.”
