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posted by
martyb
on Wednesday September 18 2019, @10:06AM
from the obviously,-Sheldon-Cooper-was-the-better-negotiator dept.
from the obviously,-Sheldon-Cooper-was-the-better-negotiator dept.
Just one day after Netflix secured the streaming rights to Seinfeld in a deal reportedly worth more than $500 million, WarnerMedia’s HBO Max has gone one step further, acquiring the rights to The Big Bang Theory in a deal reportedly worth more than $1 billion.
The deal gives WarnerMedia’s HBO Max the exclusive domestic streaming rights for five years, according to The Hollywood Reporter. That means another streaming service could carry the show in global markets. The deal also extends the syndication deal between Warner Bros. Television and TBS through 2028.
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HBO Pays Over $1 Billion for "The Big Bang Theory" Streaming Rights
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F.S. Fitzgerald to Hemingway:
"Ernest, the rich are different from us."
Hemingway:
"Yes. They have more money."
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Wednesday September 18 2019, @01:08PM (7 children)
Moves like this one and acquiring the streaming rights to Seinfeld read like an exit strategy for cable. Who would be interested in TBBT? Anyone who is a fan of that show has already watched all the episodes and probably won't again, except for one or two. Same with Seinfeld. Same with any other series that people have already watched. Maybe they'll pick up one or two new viewers who have already binged everything else in the streaming catalog, but those numbers are small.
So there must be deeper reasons to bring such content over for such sums. I surmise they're doing it to make current cable customers comfortable with the idea of dropping cable and coming over to the streaming service. They are trying to transition those audiences to streaming by bringing in older shows that were popular back in the day in order to bring over older audience cohorts who enjoyed those shows back in the day.
I give traditional cable three years before that industry falls off the cliff.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 18 2019, @01:18PM (3 children)
So, you found the reason? And maybe you've met my mother? Watching the same shows over and over again ... kind of like watching STNG over and over again for those fans ;)
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Wednesday September 18 2019, @08:35PM (2 children)
You know, part of me wonders whether passive consumption of video a la television hasn't run its course. I read Millennials and younger don't really watch TV, preferring to spend their time on social media instead. I'm Gen-X and the bloom is definitely off the rose; you mentioned Trek, which I loved for decades, but now can't be bothered.
Maybe TV will really die with the Baby Boomers?
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Wednesday September 18 2019, @09:15PM (1 child)
I don't watch TV anymore: I search for "Best British comedies", etc, and then acquire them...errrr...with ways.
Watching Misfits currently.
When I do watch TV now....oh Dog, the COMMERCIALS! KILL ME!
Shows acquired with...ways...I'd sit through some commercials.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 3, Informative) by Phoenix666 on Thursday September 19 2019, @12:49PM
I hear you. Commercials killed the goose that laid the golden eggs. The way the jacked up the volume to top-notch was the straw that broke the camel's back for us. We asked DirecTV several times to stop it, but of course they didn't. So we cut the cord, got fiber & Netflix streaming, and never looked back. They spent the next 6 years begging us to come back.
Actually the fiber company reps were mystified when we told them clearly and directly and with an increasingly firmer tone that, no, we did not want Cable bundled into our package, even if it only cost $5/mo more, because we did not want that crap coming into our home.
Voting with your feet and dollars is the only kind of voting that still matters.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday September 18 2019, @01:21PM (2 children)
I find it strange that so much is being spent on old shows too. A billion dollars could be used to make really good new content to draw people in.
However, I'm not sure I would trust HBO with new content after what happened with Game of Thrones.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Wednesday September 18 2019, @02:33PM
I'm not sure that a billion dollars could create new content. There's little talent out there, and what there is, is usually stabbed in the back by management. Management doesn't WANT talented people around, because they might expose management as a bunch of posers and losers.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Phoenix666 on Wednesday September 18 2019, @08:42PM
What show has wrapped up nicely, in the last decade? I didn't watch Game of Thrones, because the nihilism turned me off from the beginning, but now that everyone panned the end I am doubly sure I never need waste my time. However, I don't think Game of Thrones was unique in that. I remember the remake of Battlestar Galactica with the hot Asian cylon ending with a whimper. Lost was panned. Breaking Bad was depressing. Babylon 5 had a great story arc that they lamely tacked another season onto when the studio threw money at them to keep it going. Buffy the Vampire Slayer was so strong for so long, and then had a sucky ending.
British shows seem to have a better track record. They end shows when they should end, because the story dictates it. American TV treats everything as a mere vehicle to push more ad time.
Washington DC delenda est.