club_mickey_mouse

club_mickey_mouse

You can tell that times are changing now, by how we consume content.  Most specifically how we are watching TV shows.   Club Mickey Mouse will now be streaming exclusively on Facebook and Instagram.  What’s more interesting, maybe, is that the show will have around 70 minutes of content per week.  According to Disney, it’s not about releasing a single 22 minute episode once a week.  According to Andrew Surgerman , “it’s a digital-first variety program that celebrates everything that was done in the original programs, but presenting [it] in the way that it’s consumed by today’s Gen Z audiences”.  which means you will get the content through Boomerangs, Facebook Live videos and Instagram Stories.

Facebook is expected to drop $1 billion on original video content next year, so you can expect to see more like this.  This kind of baffles me a bit.  I no longer use Facebook, and while this isn’t a direct reason, it certainly isn’t enticing me to come back.  I probably sound like a dinosaur saying these things, but I kind of like Facebook to stay as a social media platform.  That being said, I know that all the kids are into communicating in alternative ways than us old folks do.  (Note, I’m younger than I’m going to sound in this post).

Let’s back this up for a moment and talk about Facebook original content.  I kind of think this is getting out of hand.  Platforms are all now creating their own content? And studios are now all creating their own platforms?  While confusing in terms of what’s available, it’s going to be even more confusing once you have to decide which service you’re going to choose.

First of all, Facebook launched Watch to U.S. users this week.  It’s the new tab in Facebook that houses original shows from Facebook partners, including content from Freethink Media, MLB, Discovery Channel and more.  Facebook is hoping to drive more engagement on the platform with its original video content initiative.  Is this going to work?  Or are there too many options out there right now?

club_mickey_mouse

You have the heavy hitters like Netflix and Amazon.  And even Hulu.  But then you have a ton of other streaming options like HBO, for example.  Disney just announced that they were cutting ties with Netflix and launching their own streaming service.  So if you want anything Disney related you will have to go to their app.  Except, apparently the modern day version of the Mickey Mouse Club.

I have mentioned this before, but I think these kinds of services are going to create decision fatigue in people who are already confused about what’s available.  What options is best for them?  Which platform will they need to have in order to make all of these services work?  Which is going to have a negative impact on the services, I think.

But I also think that some of these companies will start buying other companies. Maybe not the big companies.  Maybe not any that I’ve mentioned in this article, but that’s how it goes in the tech industry – they just keep buying more smaller companies.  Until each company has it’s own division for everything.  Maybe I’ve gone too far down the rabbit hole with this one, but I just think that this is getting out of hand.  Who else will join the streaming industry next?

 

By Staff Writer

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