Flixed Newsletter 1 - Dec. 30/2019

Flixed Newsletter - 3 Streaming Predictions for 2020

Issue 58: December 30, 2019

The new year is on its way, and 2020 is likely to have a few surprises for the streaming market. This week, we share three predictions we have for potentially major shake-ups in the streaming market.Read on to find out more in this week's Stream Report.

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Streamer's Spotlight: 2020 Streaming Market Predictions

2019 was a major year for the streaming market. Disney+ launched with massive fanfare. DirecTV Now changed its name to AT&T TV Now. And of course, PlayStation Vue completely went belly-up. But what will 2020 have in store for cord-cutters and streamers?

Peacock Will Stumble Out of the Gate, But...

NBC's

launches in April 2020. NBC is hoping the service will be able to carve out a niche for itself, and more specifically, to compete with the popular CBS All Access streaming service.

Unfortunately, NBC is likely to struggle to carve out that spot an increasingly over-crowded on-demand streaming market. NBC's line-up of older content is not as strong as that offered by CBS. Some of its reboots, especially

Battlestar Galactica

and

Save by the Bell

, will definitely draw in nostalgia-seeking crowds. But the service won't have as wide appeal as a Netflix or Disney+.

That said, NBC is currently planning to have a free, ad-supported viewing tier. This may help the service survive in such a crowded market.

Brace Yourselves: Price Increases are Coming

2019 will was already a year of price increases. Every major live TV streaming service had modest to large increases in prices. YouTube TV, Hulu with Live TV, AT&T TV Now, and fuboTV all bumped up pricing. Even low-cost option Philo had a

by dropping its $16 pricing tier.

For 2020, expect more modest increases in pricing, even among some of the services that had one in 2019. We were originally going to predict this for Sling TV, but the company announced its pricing increase plans at the beginning of last week (

).

No New Shut-Downs for 2020

This may surprise some people, but it's unlikely any of the major on-demand or live TV streaming services will shut down in 2020. From our perspective, even those that are struggling slightly to keep up are still making a viable case for themselves.

The only exception here is AT&T TV Now. That service will likely be "shutting down", but not really. AT&T is already planning to

into its upcoming HBO Max service, so we're not counting that one as a complete exit from the market. Which is to say, AT&T TV Now is dying, but AT&T is going to find a way to salvage some of it, unlike Sony with its PlayStation Vue service.

This Week's Streaming Guide

1. 'Doctor Who' Season 12 Available this WEDNESDAY

American Doctor Who fans, rejoice! Doctor Who makes its way to BBC America this Wednesday, January 1. -

2. 'Anne with an E' Season 3 Available this FRIDAY

While Canadian fans have been enjoying the final season of Anne with an E since November on CBC, the US and everyone else can start streaming the show on Netflix starting on January 3. -

News and Industry Developments

1. Here's Everything Coming to Netflix in January

Netflix has a solid line-up for the first month of 2020. Here's everything you'll be able to stream starting this week. -

2. Here's Everything Coming to Hulu in January

Hulu's line-up grows larger and more interesting next month. Here's everything coming to Hulu in January. -

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