HBO Max and Netflix to Lose Universal Movies from Platforms

Universal might soon take down its movies from streaming platforms Netflix and HBO Max. The renowned film company has produced franchises like Jurassic Park, Fast and Furious, and Shrek. However, currently, all of its films are under contract with other streaming services.

According to Bloomberg, Universal might be looking to take this opportunity to boost its newly launched streaming service, Peacock. Introduced in April of last year, Peacock is an extension of NBCUniversal and a subsidiary of Comcast.

However, ever since its launch, Peacock has not been doing well against the massive competition with other services. In January, Universal announced that the site had gained 33 million users since its debut.

However, another report said that ninety percent of them are only free-tier users and do not go past it. One from February states that there are only 11.3 million households who use the platform on a daily basis.

Even though Universal themselves have never confirmed this data, it’s unlikely they ever will since they haven’t even confirmed the number of active subscribers. But given that the contracts of its biggest movies with streaming services HBO Max and Netflix are about to come to an end by the end of this year, they will probably shift their focus on their own ventures.

The plan could bring in a lot of profits for Peacock by bringing home originals to its sister service for exclusive streaming and could also garner more subscriptions from audiences. As for how this would affect the other two services, it could go both ways.

Considering HBO Max’s lineup of films plus more being released from its partnership with Warner Bros., the removal of Universal films might not cause it too much harm. However, it will take a significant toll on Netflix, whose most-watched content is under license, which, if taken away, raises the question of whether viewers will stick around or not.

As more and more studios are launching their own services, streaming is set to be the cinema industry’s future. But how will new and upcoming releases like Peacock survive amongst hordes of others, remains to be seen.

Source: Bloomberg