Netflix + Sirius XM
Techcrunch reported yesterday a new partnership between Netflix and Sirius XM with a Netflix-branded Sirius XM comedy station (channel 93). The station will be titled, “Netflix is a Joke” and will convert stand-up comedy specials exclusive to Netflix to an audio format that will be aired throughout the day on Netflix’s Sirius XM channel. There will also be a daily comedy show where celebs and comedians will drop by to participate in the show, and other comedy specials derived from Netflix’s programming.
This is a really interesting move for a few reasons. First of all, as Techcrunch points out, this is the first time Netflix has partnered with another subscription service, and is likely doing so because Sirius XM is not perceived as a competitor by Netflix. This is a mutually beneficial partnership, as Netflix exposes the comedy arm of its offering to potential XM listeners not currently subscribed to Netflix who might be unaware of the breadth of comedy on Netflix. Sirius XM gains the inverse, especially considering that Netflix will be airing certain comedy specials on XM before it even airs the specials on Netflix itself, driving the most die-hard Netflix comedy fans toward XM.
Since I started the daily update a month ago, one of the most frequent topics of the daily postings have been around the explosion of audio content and the underlying reasons behind this boom. I think Daniel Ek, Spotify CEO, summed up best what’s going on in the “Audio First” letter he issued after Spotify acquired Gimlet Media and Anchor:
“To really understand, take the current value of the video industry. Consumers spend roughly the same amount of time on video as they do on audio. Video is about a trillion dollar market. And the music and radio industry is worth around a hundred billion dollars. I always come back to the same question: Are our eyes really worth 10 times more than our ears? I firmly believe this is not the case. For example, people still spend over two hours a day listening to radio — and we want to bring that radio listening to Spotify, where we can deepen engagement and create value in new ways. With the world focused on trying to reduce screen time, it opens up a massive audio opportunity.”
“Are our eyes really worth 10 times more than our ears?”
That’s the question that I think more and more content producers are asking themselves as they start to dip their toe in the audio-based content business. With the rapid adoption of hardware conducive to audio consumption, namely smart speakers & displays and true wireless earbuds (AirPods), it would seem that more and more companies are going the way of the ear with their content strategies to either augment or supplement their video strategies.
-Thanks for Reading-
Dave
