Why does DC/WB go full bore instead of tip toeing? Swamp Thing is fantastic and its cancellation will cost you thousands of subscribers.
I doubt thousands of subscribers will leave because of Swamp Thing. I do, however, wish that WB would put more effort into supporting DC Universe than they seem to be doing. But I don’t think Swamp Thing’s cancellation had anything to do with that. Titans, Doom Patrol, and Young Justice were all renewed for new seasons, so WB is clearly willing to continue shows. That makes me think that Swamp Thing must have been cancelled for different reasons. It’s not like WB has an aversion to money or anything. Swamp Thing was popular. If they could make a second season, they would. So it must be something else. That’s just my theory though.
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@raconteur Considering the service is still going, considering the rest of the shows got renewed, I find your hypothesis highly questionable.
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@Awesome_squid
I’d argue the inverse case. All the shows that got second seasons got picked up for international distribution which means money.
I think WB taking an $80 million risk on ST was supportive of the service. Even if first seasons of Titans and Doom Patrol (and eventually Stargirl) came in at $50 million each, and YJ and HQ at $10 million each (and that is the low side of estimates for cost) That’s a qtr of a billon dollar investment in purely original content they committed and are delivering to the service. That doesn’t even count the costs licensing the other video content & comics. And 3 of the four shows they’ve done so far are getting a second season.
I think WB/DC have provided a lot of support to DCU. With exception of YJ S3, everything else is completely new content ideas they didn’t know if they would get picked up. Even at $100 a year, it would take 200,000 subscribers (and I doubt the subscription numbers are that high) to make up only $20 million in subscription revenue. That would likely just cover the YJ season 3 and HQ Animated (on their lowest estimate)
A qtr of billion is literally 1% of the entire AT&T market capitalization. That is a noticeable chunk of AT&T’s entire company in a niche service that has been around a year. I don’t see putting in place a rule that any show has to come in at or under budget and get picked up for a secondary revenue stream to warrant a second season.
How are they not providing a serious and notable effort to support the service? I’m honestly curious as to understand why to think they aren’t seriously supportive of the service?
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DeSade, thanks for the numbers. Definitely, a meaningful financial commitment. It would also be nice to have an idea what international distribution and DVDs bring in.