Streaming services are rethinking their strategies and increasingly focussing on licensing to ensure financial stability. Apple TV+ has extended the series "Silo" by two seasons and is therefore focussing on high-quality in-house productions. At the same time, AMC Networks is benefiting more from licensing its content to third-party providers such as Netflix instead of keeping it exclusively on its own AMC+ platform. With "Silo" alone, AMC generated around USD 56 million in licence income in 2023.

While some companies are benefiting from licensing, traditional media groups are under pressure. Warner Bros. Discovery suffered an enormous loss in value of USD 9 billion on its TV business, which underlines the challenges in the traditional television sector.

Disney, on the other hand, posted a quarterly profit of USD 321 million for the first time with its streaming services (Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+), after the company had previously recorded a loss of more than USD 11 billion in the streaming sector. This success is attributable to price increases, reduced production expenditure and a more targeted content strategy.

Lionsgate reported revenue of $970.5 million and operating income of $35.8 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2025, but continues to struggle with net losses.

The developments show that the streaming landscape is continuing to change: While Apple TV+ focuses on exclusive content, companies such as AMC are proving that licensing can be a lucrative alternative to exclusive exploitation on their own platforms. The key question remains whether pure streaming models are viable in the long term or whether studios will have to rely more on third-party providers in order to remain profitable.

FILMTAKE reports in detail.