PARQOR is the handbook every media and technology executive needs to navigate the seismic shifts underway in the media business. Through in-depth analysis from a network of senior media and tech leaders, Andrew Rosen cuts through what's happening, highlights what it means and suggests where you should go next.
In Q4 2022, PARQOR will be focusing on four trends. This essay focuses on the themes, "Linear channels seem doomed. What happens next?"
This week Disney management delivered a fun answer to the question behind one of PARQOR’s four trends for Q4 2022: “Linear channels seem doomed. What happens next?” It announced it will be airing the first two episodes of the Disney+ series “Andor” on a few of its other channels over the Thanksgiving holidays, including on linear TV channels ABC, FX, and Freeform. It will also be making the two episodes available on Hulu for two weeks.
Andor is a science-fiction, action-adventure series that is a prequel to the 2016 film “Rogue One”. It has a darker, more mature tone than previous Star Wars projects.
The move raises an obvious question: why is Disney doing this when Disney+ has been sold to customers and investors as the home of the Star Wars library and the future of Disney?
I think there are three obvious answers.
Disney's surprising "Andor" cross-network holiday tactic reveals how the company is quickly realizing the limits of its streaming strategy, and especially its need to keep its advertisers happy in a complex market moment.
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The first two are related to the advertising marketplace: a move like this gives advertisers who spent big at upfronts a Star Wars-themed event, something only Disney can deliver. It can also rustle up hidden demand in a fading scatter advertising marketplace. I learned while at Viacom that ...