Epix and Starz can barely keep up with HBO and Showtime, let alone increasingly abundant new streaming services

We live in an era of streaming. Whether you want to listen to music or podcasts, watch tutorials or talk shows, or cuddle up for original or classic movies, there are plenty of available services. The big names in movie and TV show streaming have been Hulu and Netflix for quite some time, but plenty of corporations want to get their hands on some of the industry’s bandwidth.

The hard hitters that everyone has been talking about are Apple, Disney, and WarnerMedia. All three companies have announced their respective new streaming platforms, further increasing the abundance of subscriptions available to consumers. Apple and WarnerMedia have yet to name their services, but Disney’s Disney+ has been well-known since late 2018; both Disney+ and Apple’s streaming services are expected to launch near the end of 2019.

All of these streaming services will have vastly different selections of media and will differ in minor details such as names and release dates, but what’s one thing they all have in common? Crushing cable. Writing for the latest edition of the Hollywood Reporter, Tim Goodman summed up a challenge that Epix and Starz, two premium cable services, face in light of these upcoming streaming services.

“Price point will be key in 2019 as Disney+, Apple and WarnerMedia all vie for your post-Netflix, post-Amazon and post-Hulu dollars. And obviously Starz and Epix have to keep churning out scripted fare that resonates with viewers. At this point, it’s a critical juncture for both of them. Zeitgeist-busting content is what everybody needs but especially non-Netflix and non-HBO channels.”

When it comes down to it, consumers are always going to want on-demand services – and with the ever-increasing availability of these services, cable TV just isn’t going to cut it anymore. Epix and Starz will have to get with the program if they want to continue to succeed in the visual media industry.

For more information on future prospects for Epix and Starz, check out Tim Goodman’s “Critic’s Notebook: The Curious Cases and Future Fates of Starz and Epix,” The Hollywood Reporter, (Feb 11, 2019).

-Ian