Sony Pictures Entertainment Confidential
Decoding Digital: Module Three
Distribution
Outline Overview
- Film Theatre
- Non-Theatrical
- Overview of the living room, devices, models
- Transactional
- Films
- TV
- UV
- Subscription
- Syndication
- Authentication
- Ad Supported
Appendix Details
Film Theatre Outline
- Changing landscape
- Digital screen conversation at 60% in North America, 50% Worldwide
- Sony along with all major studios supporting transition
- Higher quality presentation with digital over analog media
- Film vs. digital (every print is a show print)
- 2K vs. 4K resolution
- Higher frame rates
- New Theatrical Formats:
- 3D display technologies (active, passive, silver screens): RealD, Master Image, Dolby, XPanD
- 4D Technologies: DBox, 4DPlex, MediaMation
- New Theatrical Presentations
- Alternative content
- More efficient distribution model
- Types of feature digital delivery (hard drives, satellite, fiber)
- How theatres ingest and program a digital movie, trailers and manage this new technology. Digital project system.
- Multiple version in single package (subtitled, dubbed, captioned, etc.)
- Greener technology
- What happens to the movie after it is done in the movie theatre
- Carbon footprint
- Security and encryption
- Improved access control to our content. Access is controlled by decryption key instead of protecting physical media
- More advanced forensics
The Changing Living Room Outline
- Setup/Back-story
- Linear: Broadcast channel pioneers (ABC, NBC, CBS)
- In the beginning there was not choice, people watched what was on when it was on
- Cable: Emergence of consumers choice in 80s/90s
- 100s of networks launched, growing to over 500 today
- Targeted audience, targeted programming, targeted advertising
- VOD/DVR: Rise on –demand
- High penetration of pay TV HH/high penetration of VOD
- Choice and control – consumers seek time-shift viewing, not linear
- On Demand Behavior = Digital – the same behavior that is driving VOD on TV also is driving consumer spending on digital entertainment and media
- Digital scale through Broadband Penetration: Ability to reach 50 million users became a reality
- Radio – 38 years -> TV – 13 years -> Internet – 4 years
- Facebook (750MM users), YouTube (3BN streams/day), Apple (15BN apps downloaded in three years)
- Digital Platforms
- PC: The new entertainment alternative
- Evolution of the PC; Growth driver of the internet in the past decade
- Mass penetration of PC ushered in new uses for internet in the home
- Work productivity tool – entertainment portal (YouTube, Hulu, Facebook, Zynga, and the rise of Netflix) and media management (e.g., iTunes)
- Mobile/Tablet: Taking the living room with you
- Mobile
- Global Smartphone growth
- App market
- iOS and Android
- Tablet
- Room-shifting; Legitimate alternative to TV
- Dual screen usage with the TV
- OTT: What’s old is new (back to the living room with uber-choice and control)
- Behavior and implications: Brings “Blockbuster” to your home
- Long tail and short tail now available through digital services
- Lean-back and forward: choice to passively consume or consume on demand
- Save money – concept of “cord- cutting” (and some stats on what’s really going on)
- Devices overview
- Smart TVs (examples of interfaces and offerings e.g. Bravia, Samsung)
- Blue Ray (examples)
- Game console (PS# and Xbox offerings)
- Digital media player (e.g., Roku)
- Summary graphic detailing penetration by device 2006A-2014E U.S. only
- 1% HH penetration in 2014: Smart TVs (81%), Pay-TV STB/DVR (70%), Blu-Ray Player (50%), Game Console (48%) Digital Media Player (10%)
- The Cloud
- Able to manage all of your media in the home our outside
- Operating systems overview and implications: iOS, Android, Windows
Transactional Business Outline
- Theatrical product (Smurfs) as a new release
- Background – films typically come to the home entertainment/transaction window between 90 -120 days from theatrical release. The date of release is called “Street Date”. Window in non-exclusive and is premised on wide distribution.
- Physical – SPHE makes new release title available via DVD and Blu-ray for rental and sale on “Street Date”
- Key retailers – Walmart, Best Buy, Target, Amazon
- Key Rentailers – Redbox, Netflix, Blockbuster
- Digital – Electron Sell –through (EST)
- Definition – a digitally delivered file to which the customer has the right to watch as many times as they want with no expiration date
- Titles typically released for EST on “Street Date”
- Recently SPHE has become the first studio to experiment with EST release two weeks before “Street Date”. Early results are very encouraging.
- SPHE makes product available in Standard Definition (SD) and High Definition (HD)
- Typical retail pricing $12.99 - $14.99 (SD) and $17.99 - $19.99 (HD)
- Key retailers – iTunes, Xbox, PSN/Video Unlimited, Amazon, Vudu (Walmart)
- Availability – once made available for EST, titles stay continuously available
- Status – this model is growing, but has not yet to really take off. SHPE research shows that to-date key inhibitors have been
- Price
- Desire to access EST file on the televisions set
- Device interoperability
- Cloud storage
- We believe that all of the above issues either have been or are in the process of being solved – segue to Rich/Mitch discussion of UV, cloud storage, interoperability etc.
- Ultraviolet
- Movie industry faces disruption
- Technical
- Behavioral
- Digital theft
- Millennial are driving this disruption
- Digital sell through has not reached its potential
- Sales are flat
- Consumers are dissatisfied
- Cannot share with family
- Feel loss if HDD crashes
- Cannot switch device brands
- Cannot keep track of what you own
- Media Industries (Content and Technology) have come together to form DECE
- Ultraviolet was created to address consumer dissatisfaction with DWP
- Valuable use model
- Web based account system
- Open technical specs
- UV logo and Marketing
- Ultraviolet functional roles
- Content Provider
- Digital Service Provider
- Locker Access Service Provider
- Client implementer
- Retailer
- Ultraviolet coordinator
- Consumer surveys confirm UV value proposition
- They would pay a premium
- Consumers would switch retailers to find UV branded content
- ITunes is the most vulnerable retailer for switching
- Consumers will buy more vs. rent and buy more often
- Digital Video on Demand
- Definition – A digitally delivered file to which the customer has the right to watch for a limited period of time (24-48 hours)
- Market segments
- Residential VOD (RVOD) – largest portion of the business. VOD delivered by a platform operator (e.g. Cable, Satellite or Telco provider)
- Electronic VOD (EVOD) – smaller but rapidly growing segment delivered over the internet to the PC or TV through “over the top” OTT providers
- Key retailers
- RVOD – Comcast, Time Warner Cable, DirecTV, Dish Network, Verizon, Fios, AT&T Uverse
- EVOD – iTunes, Xbox, PSN/Video Unlimited, Amazon, Vudu (Walmart)
- Titles typically released for VOD (RVOD and EVOD) on “Street Date”, although some key titles (e.g. Smurfs, The Social Network) are released two week after street date
- SPHE makes product available in Standard Definition (SD) and High Definition (HD)
- Typical retail pricing $3.99 (SD) and $4.99 (HD)
- Availability – once made available for VOD, titles typically stay available for about 90 days and then come down for the duration of the first pay window
- Status – this segment has grown rapidly over the past few years largely due to the move by most studios to “day and date” availability and consumer awareness /familiarity
- Catalog
- Physical – Titles stay continuously available and are re-priced as they age.
- Increasingly difficult to maintain retail “shelf space” as titles age
- Studio compete aggressively on price in order to gain retail space
- Digital EST – Titles made continuously available and are re-priced as they age
- SPHE currently has approximately 1,600 titles available
- Typical retails pricing $9.99 and $14.99 - $17.99 HD
- Digital VOD – Title availability post pay 1 is largely dependent on negotiated TV holdbacks
- SPHE currently has approximately xx titles available for RVOD
- SPHE currently has approximately 600 titles available for EVOD
- Typical retail pricing $1.99 - $2.99 (SD) and $2.99 - $3.99 (HD)
- Television Product (e.g. Justified) as a new release
- Physical
- DVD and BD release of full season typically released one year after airing. For example DVD/BD of Season 1 typically released in advance of Season 2 airing
- Digital – EST
- Episodes released on a “Next Day TV” basis (i.e. episodes can be purchased the day after airing). Typical pricing is $1.99 per episode for SD and $2.99 per episode for HD
- Consumers can also buy a “Season Pass” where each episode is automatically downloaded the day after airing
- Sometimes promoted vs. “sum of episodes”
- Catalog
- Physical
- Previous seasons are available on DVD and BD
- Aggressive price promotions
- Digital EST
- Previous seasons are available ($20 – $25 for SD, $30 -$35 for HD)
- Often promoted at a discount vs. “sum of episodes”
Digital Distribution: Subscription, Syndication, TV Authentication and Ad Supported Outline
- Intro on Digital Distribution
- THEN: Traditional distribution paths for TV shows and movies
- Have been linear cable networks and TV stations
- Needed approximately 100 episodes to be able to air reruns and this process would begin after a show aired for four to five years on a broadcast network
- These traditional platforms also needed stand alone self contained episodes
- NOW: Digital distribution services/platforms offer different business models to consumers and open up new and different distribution paths for content creators
- Include no money paid by consumers
- Advertiser supported
- Subscription supported
- Offers new paths, qualifications and timing for product
- Takes episodes with as little as one season at a time and these services thrive on serialized product and as opposed to a four to five year building up a library
- These services will begin airing episodes as soon as next day after the network broadcast
- Accelerates distribution of product, requires less episodes produced and buys serializing programming
- Business models to consumers
- Amazon
- offers video streaming of movies and TV series to consumers that sign up for $79 a year shipping to promote e-commerce on Amazon
- The video offering is both an incentive and reward for signing up… consumers spend no extra money for the video (Amazon also offers rental and sell thru of video)
- Hulu
- Offers consumers the freshest (next day) video content for TV and library movies on a split model (1) Ad vod and (2) SVOD
- Ad vod is advertiser supported video and consumers don’t have to pay anything but need to watch ads
- SVOD is an expanded offering where consumers need to pay to subscribe to Hulu+
- Netflix
- Has the largest video offering of films and TV series and is a SVOD service where consumers have to subscribe to see the video
- Television – Network
- NBC catch-up rights
- During the original broadcast season for “Community”, NBC has the right to stream up to five episodes at a time on NBC.com, Hulu and other NBC partner websites (with ads).
- Episodes are periodically refreshed. Once a new episode is posted, the oldest of the five episodes is actually pulled down
- Episodes can be available on-demand for a maximum of 30 days
- Sony’s current season digital rights
- SPT has EST rights the day after an episodes premieres on NBC
- Television – Syndication
- Sony’s digital rights in syndication
- Once “Community” goes into syndication, Sony can license episodes from prior season in broadcast and cable syndication, as well as to Internet subscription and free video-on-demand services
- Hulu
- SPT has struck an innovative deal with Hulu for “Community” that includes SVOD and FVOD
- SVOD – starting immediately, Hulu will have the right to stream library and current episodes on Hulu Plus subscription offering
- FVOD – once the traditional syndication window starts in Fall 2013, Hulu will also have the right to stream a limited number of library episodes on a FVOD basis on Hulu “classic”
- Basic Cable
- SPT has also licensed “Community” to Comedy Central for a linear cable telecast plus FVOD on a TV Everywhere basis and via the Comedy Central website.
- Five episodes may be streamed at any one time
- Streaming episodes must be selected from episodes aired on the network during a trailing 14 day period
- Episodes can’t be streamed for more than two continuous weeks
- Crackle
- SPT has a FVOD streaming rights for Crackle follow an exclusive cable and Hulu window.
- Crackle will have the right to stream up to five library episodes at a time, refreshed periodically
- TV Authentication
- TV Everywhere
- How the cable and satellite companies are providing greater value for their customers and serves as a tool to combat cord cutting for SVOD services
- Perception/reality is that consumers are dropping cable and satellite subscriptions because they can get enough content for less money and enjoy out of home/multi screen experiences with services like Netflix
- TV everywhere offers consumers the ability to watch everything they pay for on any device anywhere for both linear and vod viewing experiences
- A consumer logs in their customer id number and they get all of their content thru their connected devices
- By consumers getting this content, they are less likely to drop their cable/satellite services to get SVOD services
- Ad Supported
- Size of online ad market
- Total US
- For video
- Role of “Comscore” as a primary metrics platform (akin to ratings)
- Revenue drivers in the ad supported market
- Uniques
- Ad impressions
- CPM
- Definition of ad units
- Pre-roll/mid-roll
- Sponsorship
- Competitive landscape for digital ad-supported video players
- Who are the players?
- YouTube
- Hulu
- Yahoo
- Overview of offerings
- Movies
- TV
- Competitive landscape for digital offerings of Networks (US)
- Relative sale of players (e.g., NBC, ABC, MTV, Comedy Central)
- Role of TV “Catch Up/streaming of TV shows
- Role authentication (e.g. HBO GO, TBS using Adobe Pass)
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