“The streaming wars” are real, and 2019 looks to be the year that they finally start becoming a real issue. While “cord-cutting” continues to rise (we’re even about to drop our Xfinity TV subscription here at Rock Father HQ), consumers are quickly seeing their monthly savings shrink as they buy into new services that offer exclusive content a la carte. Netflix, Hulu and Amazon’s Prime Video continue to dominate, but Apple’s new streaming service is on the horizon along with Disney+ and offerings from studios such as Warner Bros. These majors ride alongside smaller standalone services like DC Universe, WWE Network and many others. Now comes news that DHX Media has inked a deal with Apple to create new series, specials and short-form content based on PEANUTS – the iconic characters created by Charles M. Schulz. If you love Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the gang and can’t live without seeing their new adventures, get ready for another bill when Apple’s as-yet-unnamed new streaming service comes online.
Additional details are scarce right now aside from word that there will be short-form STEM content, some of which will feature Snoopy as an astronaut, the result of a NASA partnership.
We live in a time when there’s just so much great content out there in so many places, consumers are getting priced out and will have to start choosing their services more carefully to decide what they need and what they can do without. No details yet on if the new deal will affect the traditional seasonal airings of the classic PEANUTS holiday specials that have most recently been seen nationally via ABC.
