Inside the big trend seen at the global content market this year, of mixing the new tech future with traditional past basics, we have the international distribution of the big Hollywood studios as one of the best examples. When the big global SVOD were launched, 5-6 years ago, most of the big studios set up product exclusivity for their best or total content. Now they are progressively back in distribution to third parts, and every market we check steps ahead about.
This year the LA Screenings, the event where the Hollywood studios launch their new films and new season series to 1500 worldwide buyers (in Los Angeles, USA, every May) was relatively quiet in terms of back to distribution announcements. Though, it was more important what they implied, than what they said. Disney, the icon of OTT exclusivity, for the first time since the launch of Disney+, threw a party for buyers and restored the importance of distribution, signaling a shift back to more traditional business models. During their screenings, the message was clear: “Our content moves through windows from platforms to Pay TV and free TV,” as if this had always been the plan.
Paramount emphasized that top series like Kevin Costner’s Yellowstone and Harrison Ford’s 1923 were being moved from Paramount+ exclusivity to wider distribution. Amazon MGM, meanwhile, continued increasing the number of Amazon Originals available for distribution. Now after Mipcom 2024, the studio has almost 100 titles —half movies, half series— vs. 16 in May 2023, 32 last October and about 60 in May 2024.
Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) is the other OTT exclusivity flag. From its 4 big labels —HBO, Turner, WarnerBros and Discovery— the HBO/Max Originals, both films and series, are the only lines closed to other distributions, just for punctual exceptions as the deal WBD made with Netflix in 2023. The Theatrical releases have 15 months of Max windows and the big rest, thousands of hours, are virtually open to anybody. Now the studio is pushing great classic series as The Big Bang Theory, Two and a half men, etc, to other platforms, even the hit Friends is offered for pay or free TV, as much as new big screen hits every year, mainly to free TV, as Barbie and Wonka for 2025.
Disney at Mipcom 2024 made a strategical big move, that was not commented on the mainstream. For the first time opened Disney Junior original branded content, that is usually emitted in its pay TV channels, with preschool focus: The Mickey Mouse house, Marvel Spidey, Minnie’s bow-toons, etc. The studio also continues opening Theatrical blockbusters to distribution, usually in 12 films slates, mixing recent successes as Cruella with animated classics as Moana, etc.
The Disney Junior change is important because so far, there was a strict policy that the iconic branded content was just for Disney+, while the no branded product —former Star+, regional biopics, etc.— is for sure available to distribution, after 9 months windows. Now also this is changing. The strategy could continue with original branded product per region with global success that so far was not offered to third parties, as for instance Latin teen hits as Violetta or Luna, to be sold by the EMEA and APAC sales divisions to their regions. Let’s see if this happens, but the opening road is set up and broadening.
Nicolás Smirnoff
