If you’re in the media & entertainment, you’re probably well aware of the slippery landscape that has formed since the pandemic started back in January 2020. The theatrical exhibition business is in trouble, studios are losing millions of dollars and artists/agents are not happy with what’s unfolding.
Since the pandemic started, theaters shut down and the industry was devastated. Major studios launched their own SVOD/AVOD services and because were no theaters operating, they put their theatrical releases on their own streaming services. Taking advantage of the situation and in an effort to turn lemons into lemonade, the studios figured releasing their theatrical movies direct to their streaming services would increase subscription to their services. That part worked. However, the math didn’t add up. Their titles lost a ton of money vs. releasing only in theaters, which charges by the ticket per each person. There is more to that and I’ll cover it in this article.
After almost a year of closures, the vaccines we’re out and things slowly began to open up. Studios started releasing in theaters with limited capacities and simultaneously on their own streaming services. Well, that hybrid model also didn’t work! For the groups staying at home, paying the $14 – $30 was much less of a bite compared to going to the theater to pay per-person. So, many people decided not to go. Avid moviegoers showed up but that wasn’t enough to excite bosses and shareholders. Movies that would rake in $100m plus opening weekend under normal circumstances we’re bringing in fractions of that number thanks to Covid.ccc
Another thing called piracy and torrent sites are truly affecting the landscape. Studios pushing their movies direct to their streaming services made is super easy for content to get pirated in top quality and out onto the web. Same day as release, movies like ‘F9’ and ‘Jungle Cruise’ were available on torrent sites in top quality for free. Forget paying for a monthly subscription and then a premium. Couple clicks and viola! Is it that hard to believe that young tech savvy consumers opted for this option? I certainly believe they did and still do. I mean c’mon let’s not be naive! Almost every young person from middle school to college knows how to use torrent sites. Putting these movies on “PVOD” has created a field day for pirates and that means even more losses to the studios. When studios lose revenue on a movie, so does everyone else involved.
Most recently, the Covid 19 Delta variant hit the world stage like a Mike Tyson left hook. It is quickly becoming a nightmare and bringing back mask mandates, closures and worst of all, hospitalizations. In the U.S., as government officials, doctors, virologists, the CDC and health officials try to figure things out; the studios and exhibitors are closely watching the slippery landscape. Some things we can be certain about are; exhibition can’t withstand another year long closure. Studios can’t continue to lose money on their major theatrical releases by putting them on their streaming services as bait. Consumers aren’t biting and Hollywood talent is not happy. Lawsuits for breach of contract are forthcoming from numerous artist and their agents. Most popular is the current legal battle between Disney and Scarlett Johansson for the simultaneous release of ‘Black Widow’ in theaters and Disney+. There needs to be a solution for this chaos!
Cue the music… enter XCINEX, a California based startup building the first ever streaming exhibition marketplace and ecosystem rightfully called VENUE.
The VENUE streaming app lives on the VENUEx media player. It can be on other devices as well. Using computer vision and AI, the VENUE streaming app replicates exhibition in the home. This means exhibitors and studios can expand the ticketed window into the home and expand their audience exponentially. If consumers can’t go to theaters due to Covid or any other reason for that matter, then let’s bring the theater to them! VENUE makes this possible and more. In addition to movies, VENUE can bring all forms of ticketed entertainment to the home e.g. concerts, comedy, musicals, action sports, fashion shows, festivals and so much more. We at XCINEX as working diligently and passionately to bring a new age to streaming and save the industry we all love so much. With VENUE, the consumers, artists, exhibitors, studios and everyone else involved will win. You can’t spell revenue without venue and that’s a fact!
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