10 Ways To Save Streaming Services
8. License Out Original Content
The subscriber model is what made streaming services such a huge success, but that doesn’t mean that hoarding content is how to stay that way. Some shows like Daredevil and Orange Is The New Black are available on DVD, and The Handmaid’s Tale airs on More4 in the UK, but this is surprisingly rare for original content from streaming services.
If you’re almost completely global like Netflix, the potential of this approach is limited, but if a streaming service mostly focuses on the domestic market, it’s a way of generating additional income at no real cost. Since CBS’s streaming service wouldn’t really have any pull outside of the US, it licensed Star Trek: Discovery to Netflix for distribution in other countries, and the reason that The Handmaid’s Tale gets a TV broadcast in the UK is because Hulu isn’t available there.
Even if someone isn’t going to become a subscriber, by releasing a show on DVD or on TV in another country, you’re still potentially creating fans and getting their money. Especially since it’s surprising how well certain shows can do overseas. 2 Broke Girls splits opinion in the US, but really struck a chord with Chinese audiences after being put on video hosting website Youku, and quite often it’s the global market that can help an under-performing film or series make a profit.