Consumers Want Content on Demand Same Day as Theaters, Survey Finds
By Movieguide® Staff
According to The Hollywood Reporter, recent poll findings confirmed that WarnerMedia’s controversial deal with HBO Max for same day-and-date releases paid off.
According to the THR consult poll, U.S. adults happily accepted the $13 and $17 per month cost for a streaming service that offers new blockbuster movies the same day those movies hit theaters.
THR reported:
In one survey of 2,200 people conducted Feb. 25-28, 90 percent of respondents who subscribe to HBO Max said they would be more likely to purchase a subscription to a streaming service if it included newly released films the same day they are in theaters for no extra cost. Meanwhile, 64 percent of people who are not HBO Max subscribers said the same.
An earlier survey, conducted from Feb. 18-21, found that movies would also be a big draw for ViacomCBS’ Paramount+, which rolled out March 4. Only 29 percent of Americans said they are likely to subscribe to Paramount+, but 35 percent said they would be more likely to subscribe to Paramount+ in order to watch Mission: Impossible 7. Access to Top Gun: Maverick and A Quiet Place Part II would also make around a third of Americans more likely to subscribe to the service.
Although exhibitors and analysts questioned Warner Bros. studio’s decision to offer their theatrical releases on streaming, their strategy could become the norm for the post-pandemic box-office.
The move could leave some studios scrambling as theater windows change and consumer habits potentially veer toward their couch rather than cinema seats.
Read Also: All 2021 Warner Bros. Movies Will Debut on HBO Max and in Theaters
Disney CEO Bob Chapek recently announced that the company planned to roll out a similar strategy.
Movieguide® previously reported:
Walt Disney Company chief executive Bob Chapek revealed that the entertainment conglomerate would consider a new strategy for movie releases and not return to pre-pandemic theatrical windows.
“I think the consumer is probably more impatient than they’ve ever been before,” Chapek said during a recent Morgan Stanley Technology, Media, and Telecommunications Conference. “Particularly since now they’ve had the luxury of an entire year of getting titles at home pretty much when they want them. So I’m not sure there’s going back, but we certainly don’t want to do anything like cut the legs off a theatrical exhibition run.”
Chapek noted that Disney is still committed to its commitment to theatrical releases, which earned over $13 billion in 2019 across a record-setting 11 movies. While Chapek acknowledged that those movies “will continue to be a big deal” to Disney, he also recognized how COVID-19 could result in “profound” audience changes.
“I don’t think they’ll have much of a tolerance for a title, say, being out of theatrical for months, yet it hasn’t had a chance to actually be thrown into the marketplace in another distribution channel, just sort of sitting there getting dust,” Chapek said.
In 2020, WarnerMedia revealed that their upcoming slate of movies would stream on HBO Max while showing in theaters.
The move shocked investors, but consumers jumped on board. According to THR, The streamer ended the year with twice as many activated users as it had at the start of October.
Read Also: Paramount Plus To Replace CBS All Access and Enter Streaming War
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