Weekly Rewind
More standalone streaming services: I’ve written several times before about the rise of niche streaming services, and how they represent a new kind of a la carte TV. This week, a couple more of these services emerged: BritBox provides TV shows from BBC and ITV the day after they air in the U.K. for $7 per month, while Boomerang will offer classic cartoons and new originals for $5 per month. They join existing options like NBC’s SeeSo comedy service, Turner’s FilmStruck for critically-acclaimed movies, and AMC’s Shudder for horror films.
Notably, all of these services are ad-free, and provide all of their content on-demand. In other words, they’re following the Netflix model instead of recreating cable’s habits. A slow but steady transition is now underway, where more people acclimate to life without cable, and these types of services become the norm. To wit: A new study this week found that more than half of U.S. homes now have Netflix, eclipsing DVR usage and live TV viewing.
Sling DVR goes public (for a price): Meanwhile, in the world of streaming bundles, Sling TV just announced plans to charge for its DVR service, even while it’s still in development. Unlike the free private beta that launched in December, a new public beta costs $5 per month for 50 hours of recording time. For now, you’ll need an Amazon Fire TV, Fire TV Stick, or Fire tablet to sign up, but once you’re on board, you can also set and access recordings via Roku, Android TV, and Android mobile devices.
Why the added cost? Sling is likely shouldering higher infrastructure costs for storage, and may even have to pay more to TV networks for cloud DVR licensing. A separate fee arguably keeps prices low for people who mainly care about sports or on-demand video. Still, the act of nickel-and-diming only underscores how these bundles are not the future, but merely a transitional step away from cable.
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