Happy Friday! Welcome to Issue 74 of Rerun by Axonista!
In this week's Top Pick we look at storytelling-as-a-service, the model used by both Netflix and Amazon, and what it means for the future of storytelling.
Also this week a lot of TV news, Hulu drops its free content and Yahoo View picks it up; the President of FX is wary of a Netflix monopoly; NBC's coverage of the Olympics is ruffling some feathers and Disney is launching an ESPN streaming service. We also a look at a great Simone Biles interactive feature by the NYT, take a look at some AR marketing by Legendary Pictures and a squirrel picks up a GoPro!
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Let's get straight to it!
Top Pick
Netflix and the future of entertainment
Industry analyst Ben Bajarin believes that the Storytelling-as-a-service model a la Netflix, makes for better storytelling overall. We agree - the amount of quality TV shows available to view today has never been higher. In fact, we're headed towards quality content overload!
Competition from new market entrants with subscription models and deep pockets (Netflix and Amazon) has kept TV networks on their toes in the race for eyeballs.
Having a clear vision to the resolution of a story, and being able to drop hints along the way is what makes for great storytelling.
This is of course, much easier to do when you're not relying on weekly TV audience feedback to influence what happens to which characters, or stretching plot lines to fit to a traditional TV series window.
What made Stranger Things interesting was that it felt like a story that could have been a two-hour movie but was made better from a storytelling perspective by being made into an eight-hour series. Stranger Things could end now or go another year, but either way, it had a satisfying end.
Future of TV
Hulu to drop the last of its free TV and launch own live service
TV companies really don't want to give away their best stuff for free, so Hulu's site and apps will be going subscription-only. Also next year will see the launch of Hulu's new live online service. Fans of Hulu's free content will have to go to Yahoo View, which will have the past five episodes of ABC, NBC and Fox shows available, eight days after their TV airing. The episodes on Yahoo View are also not currently available on mobile, although Yahoo have said they're working on it.
So it's a bit of a shuffle, but at the end of the day is the viewer any better off? We think check back in six months when Hulu's live online service is in sight and Yahoo View has caught up with other streaming services.
With 500 scripted shows set to air next year, FX president says we still haven't hit peak TV
FX president John Landgraf was speaking at the Television Critics Association conference on Tuesday, commenting on the current era of 'Peak TV' and what he sees as a potential problem with a Netflix monopoly. His argument is that algorithms can't determine what constitutes good TV, and that Netflix can't keep up their current rate of production, which he feels is a focus on quantity over quality.
A counter point might be Netflix's 54 Emmy Nominations this year, compared with FX's 56, suggesting that Netflix is at least on par for quality. Netflix also has no need to rely on ratings and advertising for funding, giving them licence to fund more traditionally risky and niche storytelling that otherwise might not see the light of day.
Time will tell if John Landgraf's predictions come true, but for now we think he's just getting used to there being another gorilla in the room.
Disney is making an ESPN streaming service without ESPN's best content
Much has been written about ESPN's plans for its straight to consumer OTT offering this week, and Disney's billion dollar investment in BAMTech, which will be the technology used to power it.
What we do know is that the OTT offering will launch sometime before the end of this year and won't be competing with ESPN's TV content, at least not initially.
It will be a destination for viewing niche sports and lower tier leagues that are already licensed by ESPN but typically get buried in the main TV schedule.
With the strength of the ESPN brand behind them, these sports can gain new viewers.
Great for sport and sports fans overall.
NBC has spoiled the Olympics …by pretending they won’t be spoiled
M.G. Siegler, Google Ventures partner and former editor of TechCrunch, recently took to Medium to express his displeasure with NBC's coverage of the Olympics. The factual but colorfully written article was sparked by Siegler having to wait four hours between Michael Phelps winning his record 19th gold medal and actually seeing the feat on NBC. Given Rio's proximity to the U.S. timezone-wise, there's really no excuse for a four hour delay, but Siegler thinks he has the answer...
"We all know why NBC is delaying the presentation of the main events in their coverage. It’s about women. And making the games more like reality television. I mean, they actually said this. But really, it’s obviously about advertising. A shit ton of advertising. If my feed was indicative of all feeds, I think there was actually far more minutes of advertising than actual Olympic events. It’s a god-awful experience all around."
Storytelling
How Channel 4 News grew its monthly Facebook video views to 200 million
Last January Channel 4 News' Facebook videos generated around 5 million views per month, today that number is over 200 million. This level of engagement outdoes just about all of their competitors, including BBC who recorded 165 million Facebook views in the month of June.
What's helped them achieve such growth is their strict focus on video content on social media—95% of their Facebook posts are now videos—nearly eliminating static text and photos entirely.
"When it comes to what format to shoot video in, it has a simple rule: if it’s a story about a protest, which requires sweeping shots of large distances, it won’t work on Facebook. Instead it prioritises what will look visually good in the square size suitable for the Facebook news feed, that tends to be interviews, or people talking or narrating."
The fine line: What makes Simone Biles the world’s best gymnast
This is a beautifully designed interactive storytelling piece that we ❤️ .
It comes from the NY Times digital team, and is as much a pleasure to watch on mobile as it is online. Enjoy!
Virtual Reality
VR will be huge in China
The yearly ChinaJoy conference in Shanghai is always a great look into the technology market in Asia. Amitt Mahajan visited this year and has written up his insights around VR adoption and the VR market in China, which is very different to Europe and the U.S. For a start, Oculus Rift is non-existent there. HTC Vive is the biggest player while there are a whole array of Chinese companies selling hardware that isn't available in the U.S.
Arcades are also big in China, and targeting them has become a way for VR companies to reduce the friction and high-cost of entry of VR for customers. They can go into an arcade and pay-per-play on a number of unique VR experiences using WeChat or AliPay on their phones.
"While visiting China Joy, I saw dozens of examples of suits, guns, bicycles, and other physical accessories that pair with custom software to offer immersive experiences. ... Chinese urban culture gravitates towards indoor entertainment in the winter; people like to hang out at malls in their free-time. VR is a whole new category of entertainment in this context."
Microsoft HoloLens lets you experience 'Warcraft' in augmented reality
Legendary and Microsoft HoloLens have created a partnership that will bring characters from popular films like Warcraft and Pacific Rim to life—through AR of course.
Storytellers are increasingly buying into the idea that fans enjoy the immersive feeling that VR and AR experiences can bring, placing them at the heart of their favourite fantasy worlds (it's a great way to promote an upcoming release). This can be demonstrated by the Ghostbusters VR experience that was opened in New York just last month.
Inside of the article is a pretty awesome video that gives you a close look at what the experience and technology behind it is like.
Briefs
- Snapchat will air first NBCUniversal show on Discover on August 22
- Twitter to attack Instagram and Snapchat Stories with Moments
- New Publisher Tools for Facebook 360 Video
- Microsoft gets in the game and buys live-streaming start-up Beam
- TV companies resist Facebook video deals
A squirrel stole a GoPro and the footage is surprisingly good
A squirrel mistook a GoPro for a giant acorn and carried it jumping through the trees. What more is there to say? The resulting footage is like something from Avatar or The Jungle Book. Happy Friday!