05 Dec Jason Kilar on the Chaotic Streaming Wars – And How This Hollywood Story May End [Wall Street Journal]
BY JASON KILAR
December 5, 2022 | This is a short story about the business of telling stories, in three acts.
Not so long ago—2010, to be precise—Hollywood was enjoying a record financial year. Over 90% of U.S. households paid an average of $74 a month for what at the time was the dominant American entertainment product: the cable-TV bundle. The bundle brought in over $93 billion in subscription revenues, which was divided between distribution companies and entertainment companies. Advertising revenues from the bundle contributed an additional $60 billion.
There were other vibrant financial springs that year: Customers spent $19 billion to own or rent physical copies (on DVD and Blu-ray) of their favorite movies and series. And thanks to increased ticket prices, movie-theater revenues reached $10.4 billion, up to that point the second highest year on record. From a financial perspective, it was a good time to be in the storytelling business.
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