“The media is the most powerful entity on Earth.” Malcom X summarizes April best, from big-time final season premieres airing, to comeback championships and more competitive streaming services, our industry continues to rule.
The Final Season is Here
Game of Thrones (GOT), aired on HBO, has become a top-tier television show. Their eighth and final season premiered earlier this month, and the ratings were record-breaking. A total of 17.4 million viewers tuned in to the season premiere alone. To compare how popular the show has become, their first season overall had roughly 9.3 million viewers per episode.
HBO told news sources that their April 14th premiere was the biggest streaming night in HBO history. Even if you missed the premiere, social media users didn’t stay silent. Live tweeting and other social media posts poured onto every platform’s news feeds.
As the season continues to air each week, the number of viewers will continue to rise. An estimated 22 million people are expected to watch the series finale. Will you be watching?
Same Dream
Golfers across the world dream of winning a professional golfing tournament. Many dream of winning the Masters; they dream of putting on the symbolic green jacket in front of millions. Tiger Woods won his fifth Masters tournament in mid-April, totaling at fifteen professional golfing championships. Tiger’s past scandals have been on the radar since the first mishap in 2009. Since then, almost all his endorsements dropped him as a client, but one always stuck around; Nike.
Moments following Tiger’s win, Nike, released a new video to their “Crazy Dream” campaign, titled “Same Dream” featuring the professional golfer in his past and present. Through his ups and downs, Nike stuck by Tiger’s side. Not only was Nike able to promote a campaign, sources believe that because of Tiger’s championship rebound, golf ratings will grow as the season continues.
Disney Enters the Streaming Business
Disney previously announced their new creation, Disney+, a streaming service that will have all Disney affiliated movies and television shows including Marvel and Star Wars. At this month’s Investor Day event, Disney announced the official Disney+ release date will be premiering this November.
Netflix and Hulu are two of the largest streaming services with a history of raising monthly costs, but Disney+ plans to “keep the price substantially below where services are.” Disney+ will cost a monthly fee of $6.99 or a yearly fee of $69.99, and be available on Roku, Amazon Firestick, AppleTV, and more.
As of now, Disney affiliated programs will still be available for streaming on Hulu and Netflix. Netflix will run until their current contract until it ends, unless they come up with a renewal agreement with Disney. On the other hand, Hulu is working with Disney to potentially create Marvel spin-off shows.
Sources: Ad Age, Toms Guide, CNN