Videoage International March-April 2020

14 March/April 2020 V I D E O A G E TCA Press Tour Review acquiring and supporting many of the other great entertainment brands. Our [former] chairman and CEO, Bob Iger, has proven over and over that brands matter. Nothing demonstrates that more clearly than Disney Plus, an instantly beloved consumer offering in which outstanding design and streaming technology rests on the foundation of five great brands.” Landgraf described Disney, Star Wars , Pixar, Marvel, and National Geographic as some of the most successful and well-known entertainment brands in the world, and noted that bringing their past, present, and future together all in one place on the Disney Plus platform could only bring more success. “This has instantly made it one of the most impressive streaming services available to con- sumers, as proven by the public’s extraordinary response from day one,” he said. “One of the reasons Disney has chosen to program its entertainment platforms, specifically Disney Plus and Hulu, through multiple brands, is to maintain centers of creative excellence, run by experienced executives, each operating at a human scale that allows for the intimate relationships and collaboration that underpin great storytelling.” He added: “It takes a lot of volume to create a must-have streaming platform, but I think Disney has found a way to marry the volume and value consumers crave with the quality they will continue to cherish for years to come.” Paul Telegdy, chairman, NBC Entertainment, spokeabout thenewrealityof theTVbiz, by saying that “shows are being successfully developed outside of pilot season. We’re never going to give up pilot season, but our development is really, really year-round now. So we’re working closely with creators and asking them what works best for you and what works best for the storytelling.” He continued: “They’re open to the idea that there are multiple pathways to success. And this has been a bit of the business everyone’s obsessed about, but it feels very natural to us.” Telegdy mentioned that the “excellent off-cycle development” would not have been implemented if the network hadn’t been open to thinking differently. One show that falls into that category is the still untitled project from Tina Fey and Robert Carlock that’ll star Ted Danson, Holly Hunter, and Bobby Moynihan. “Tina and Robert came to us with a version of the show, and over time, it morphed into something that last July we were able to pick up straight to series for next season,” he concluded. FOX didn’t offer an executive session. It did, however, host panels for some of its TV series, featuring cast members and executive producers. During the day, FOX reps sent out a few press releases about The Masked Singer spin-off, The Masked Dancer , which will have Ellen DeGeneres as a co-executive producer. TheCBSTVnetworkwasalsopresent at theTCA, but ViacomCBS chose to focus on its streaming service, CBS All Access, and its premium services, Showtime and Pop TV, instead. “We have always looked at the so-called streaming wars as being anything but a zero-sum game,” said Marc DeBevoise, chief digital officer, ViacomCBS, and CEO/president, CBS Interactive. “Andconsumerbehavior is continuing toprove that point. As we’ve previously shared, independent studies show today’s SVoD user has more than three services on average. Actually, about three and a half. This has grown meaningfully over the last few years and is something we expect to continue to grow.” The network recently implemented a research study to look at these types of trends within its own subscriber base, finding that “nearly 80 percent of CBS All Access subscribers are also getting TV via a multichannel service, like from a cable company or a virtual MVPD, demonstrating that we’re truly a premium add-on service, an additive to the overall market.” DeBevoise said that All Access subscribers are spending an average of $50 amonth on other SVoD services, and their overall average spend on digital subscriptions, including multichannel services, is $120, “meaning it’s already not a zero-sum game, and there’s plenty of room for us to grow.” He was equally enthusiastic that CBS All Access continues to do well. “We’re now more than 10 million subscribers combined between All Access and Showtime OTT and are in a great position to hit our goal of 25 million combined subscribers in 2022.” DeBevoise was also elated that CBS All Access is growing at the same 60 percent rate and off of a bigger base than last year. “That’s an even bigger deal. We’re engaging our subs even more, with streaming growth at 80 percent, and originals being a key driver of that, with 100 percent growth on original series. And all of this is reducing churn and extending the life of our subscribers. And 65 percent of those subscribers continue to be in the demo sweet spot of 18-to- 49, with an average age of 44, roughly split 50/50 between male and female,” he explained. When it was Showtime’s turn, Jana Winograde, president of Entertainment, Showtime Networks, said: “Showtime has had an incredible year from bothaprogrammingandabusiness standpoint. For the first time in Showtime history, we had three- and-a-half hours of original scripted programming every Sunday in the fourth quarter.” With its “rich and diverse” content, the network has increased to 27 million total subs, “including a 35 percent year‑over‑year increase in streaming customers,” said Winograde. “And this December was the largest sign‑up month since the launch of our OTT service, with 52 percent growth in sign‑ups,” she concluded. Pop TV was on the calendar, as well, and presented its TV series with panels that featured the casts and executive producers of some of its shows. Its executive session, however, did not present anything worthy of note. (Continued from Page 12) NBC Entertainment’s Paul Telegdy The Langham Huntington hotel in Pasadena was the headquarters of the winter edition of the Television Critics Association Press Tour. Network programming heads discussed their plans ahead of the upfront presentations, which will be held in May in New York City. Some 300 participants, including journalists and TV executives, were in attendance.