3 ms·
This feels like a contract issue. Rumor has it the issue is residuals but on the face of it that doesn't make sense. Why? Because you would expect residuals on
by cletus 4y ago
This feels like a contract issue.
Rumor has it the issue is residuals but on the face of it that doesn't make sense. Why? Because you would expect residuals on a streaming service to have somethign to do with how many people watched the show.
If that were the case, there'd be no reason to remove it. So the obvious answer is that's not how it works. My guess is that HBO is paying residuals for having the show available regardless of whether or not people watch it. The problem then is that not enough people were watching it. That makes sense given it was also cancelled recently.
Another potential reason is the way residuals are structured. Writers' residuals decay over time. That is you might get $1000 for writing a show that you wrote a year ago and is broadast/streamed. If it's a 10 year old show you might get $100 for the same audience. Residuals for writers for streaming service is one of the big issues threatening to boil over into another writers guild strike.
Given that though, HBO might be removing Westworld while residuals are the most expensive and it could come back in a couple of years.
Yes, there's a lot of speculation here.
I agree it does feel like HBO is breaking their viewer expectations by removing one of their own originals.
- Izkata 4y ago> The problem then is that not enough people were watching it. That makes sense given it was also cancelled recently. Ouch, apparently the writers were even planning on the next season being the final one.
- Guvante 4y agoFirst of all this move is enough for me to never subscribe to HBO Max so don't take my defense as positive, just explanatory. > If that were the case, there'd be no reason to remove it If the deep parts of the catalog don't generate subscriptions they are a money hole. Remember you don't want to supply users with everything they want when paying residuals. You want to give them exactly enough content to justify the subscription cost and nothing more. The ideal user is one that only watches a single show and nothing else. Of course the problem with this perspective is it assumes users ignore such actions. Hopefully the user base proves them wrong. > Given that though, HBO might be removing Westworld while residuals are the most expensive and it could come back in a couple of years. That isn't necessarily true, it could be that by pulling the content the residuals are frozen or even worse (as someone suggested on an article on the topic) reset when you begin streaming again. > I agree it does feel like HBO is breaking their viewer expectations by removing one of their own originals. Honestly I would bet a lot of money viewers were ignored for this discussion. It is exactly the kind of "short term profit at all costs" play that has become more popular.
- VanTheBrand 4y agoresiduals for streaming are not based on viewership (because the streamers won’t release actual streaming numbers to the unions)