The Fast Changing World of The Video Market

Posted February 19, 2018

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The time was, not so long ago, that the biggest target for independent video content producers who really wanted to make money was cable.

And why not?

There were (and still are, at least so far), more than 2,000 cable channels in the US and more than 40,000 worldwide. They all need content and most of them acquire or commission their content from outside sources.

The very highest end of those cable networks, people like Discovery or TLC, paid in the range of $250,000 per show - and they bought them in blocks of 13.

That makes a good business.

But.... as with all things in the media world, the technology is generating a change.

In this case, the technology is the Internet.

More and more content online is video, and all of this was lead by Netflix, who started with DVDs but moved to online.  

The thing about the web is that there is no physical barrier to entry. Unlike cable, which requires a deal with an MSO carrier like Spectrum or Charter or Comcast; or broadcast which requires an FCC license, the web was and is open to anyone who wants to play.

And more and more people are playing.

And those people need content.

Lots of it -because it is endless - always there, always availalbe to be seen.

Netflix was soon joined by YouTube, which went from a 'platform' to a network in the making.  Then came Facebook's WATCH- with Instagram, Snap and everyone else moving in as well. I have no doubt that we will soon see an Uber Network and an Airbnb network. And why not?  The global TV market is worth $1.72 Trillion a year - that's a lot.  And broadcasting is ripe for a tech disruption.

Last week, Facebook, who has a lot of money, announced that they were prepared to spend as much as $500,000 to $750,000 per episode.  (PER EPISODE!) for original content.  

Snapchat is about to close a deal with Discovery for $100 million - and who makes the stuff for Discovery?  People like you and me.

Hulu, who lost $950m last year is committed to spend $2.5 billion on original content in 2018.  

And even that is not the whole story.

Check this out:

Netflix is slated to spend $8 billion on original programming 2018. That is more than Sky, Apple, Facebook, ITV, The BBC, HBO, CBS and Amazon are going to spend.  

But they are in play as well.

The market for original video content is exploding.

All you have to do now... is make it.