Warner Bros. CEO and chairman Kevin Tsujihara suggested the company is looking into strengthening direct-to-consumer distribution options, citing DC Entertainment's “rabid” fanbase as one of the reasons, during an investors conference Q&A Tuesday. The Wrap reports Tsujihara specifically hinted at a service dedicated to DC Comics.
"We’ve been working on that quite feverishly over the last 12 months," Tsujihara said regarding the direct-to-consumer focus, according to The Wrap. “If you look at what’s happening with the quality of the television product, the movies that are breaking through are the big franchises.”
Tsujihara also spoke on a change in viewing windows after noting early viewing for Westworld is ahead of the first season of Game of Thrones.
“We’re working with them [distributors] to create a new window,” he said. “We have to offer consumers more choices earlier.”
There’s been a market for a DC Comics TV streaming service ever since The Flash premiered back in 2014. The CW’s DC Extended Universe took off after the success of Arrow and the ‘Berlantiverse’ back in 2012 . Marvel and Netflix capitalized on what DC first started on network television with hit shows like Daredevil and Luke Cage . In that respect, Warner Bros. has now fallen behind. The CW’s most popular shows move to Netflix after seasons end and there are few places to watch them online live as they air.
This year, Warner Bros. did not renew their contract with Hulu for in-season streaming of Arrow, The Flash and Legends. The reason was unclear until the network launched The CW App this fall, which gives fans a free, next day viewing option. However, many fans without cable have said they’d still rather fork up a few bucks to be able to watch live and without advertisements.
Warner Bros. has already tested the water with CW Seed, a separate website and streaming app which hosts shows unrelated to what’s airing on The CW. There’s a lot more content than you’d think – in addition to original programming, the free service has every episode of shows like Whose Line Is It Anyway and NBC’s take on DC’s Constantine. CW Seed is also home to the original web series Vixen, which is part of the current DC Extended Universe. The service also has a ‘DC Spotlight’ rotation. Right now, there’s two animated movies: Justice League: Doom and Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths.
Warner Bros. also recently acquired Machinima, a geek culture programming service. The CW also has the perfect model to get a streaming service that includes the DC TV lineup off the ground. The CW’s second parent company, CBS, has already adapted to cable-cutting with a successful paid streaming service. CBS All Access costs less than Netflix and Hulu at just $6 a month. Subscribers have access to live TV and on-demand programming with no cable-log in necessary.
While a lot of networks have certainly adapted to fans’ new viewing preferences, there’s never been a standalone Marvel or DC service. The hard part would be having enough content to DC fill a Netflix-style platform. The platform could even be home to the recently announced Young Justice Season 2, which is rumored to be on Netflix. But even with all of DC’s animated and live action movies and TV shows, having enough content could prove to be a difficult task if the service is only dedicated to DC Comics.
Do you think Warner Bros. should have a DC focused streaming service or something more general like CW Seed? Let us know in the comments below.
