televisionStronger focus on local content. This approach led to a strong increase in viewing numbers on Streamz last year, and it should happen again next year. The streaming platform – which is still making losses – will launch a new Flemish title every two weeks. It's not yet clear whether HBO will stay on board for a full year now that it wants to launch its HBO Max platform in Belgium. “Their titles account for only 7 percent of viewing time.”
“Fair Trade 2”, “Zillion: Lost Tapes”, “The Last of Us”, “Exen”, “De Expeditie: Groenland”, “Boris”, “2DEZIT”, “Love Island”, “F*** You” “Very, very much” and “déjà vu.” These were, in this order, the most viewed Streamz titles last year. Striking: With the exception of the HBO title “The Last of Us,” they're all local programming. This is no coincidence, because last year the streaming service announced that it was fully committed to Flemish content. This has paid off. Viewing figures (number of hours watched) rose by 47%, and three-quarters of these subscribers watched Flemish programmes. It is a successful strategy that Streamz will also continue in 2024, because the platform will launch a new Flemish title every two weeks. On Friday, the fantasy series Styx will premiere, which will later include new seasons of Billie vs. Billie. Benjamin, Under Fire, Nonkels, Belgium's Next Top Model, and the new fantasy series Kameleon.
The third largest streamer in Flanders
In addition to collaborating with local media companies VRT, DPG Media, Play Media and Studio 100, Streamz will collaborate with global producers Paramount, Universal, Videoland, Prime, Sony and Lionsgate in the coming year. Also on that list: HBO. After parent company Warner Bros. Discovery announced last year that it would launch its streaming service HBO Max in our country, but it remained unclear whether its HBO titles (such as: “Successsion,” “Game of Thrones,” and “The Last of Us”) would also be shown. On Streamz. To stay. For now, yes, is the answer. “We are in discussions with them to see how we can continue to work together,” said Dorien Rausch, director of content at Streamz. Although they also want to stress that collaboration does not mean “make or break” for their platform. “HBO provides gems that we can show on Streamz, but on the other hand, its titles only account for 7% of total viewing time. That's not a very big bite.”
After Netflix and Disney+, Streamz is the third largest streaming company in Flanders. The platform was created as a local alternative to popular global players and has the ambition to become the second largest platform in our language field in the shortest possible time. The company is still making losses at the moment, but shareholders Telenet and DPG Media continue to invest. Last year they provided a capital increase of €33.5 million. The Board of Directors also approved the future “Streamz 2.0” plan, with more investments in content and more investments in employees. “We then presented a business plan and are still ahead of our goals,” says Rausch, who does not want to clarify when they want to break even.
Finally, subscription prices will remain the same in 2024. This means €5.95 per month for Streamz Basic with ads, €8.95 for Streamz Premium, and €13.95 for Streamz Premium+.
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