The Hub in trouble?

[nakak]

Apparently so, according to Deadline Hollywood.

Discovery Communications seems to be preparing the Street for bad news about The HUB -- the kids channel it co-owns with Hasbro. In a $500 million debt filing at the SEC this morning, Discovery says that last month the companies amended their partnership agreement to create an undescribed "trigger event" that could lead to a writedown indicating the property is worth less than they had thought. The filing adds that "The HUB’s management is in the process of conducting a fair value analysis to support goodwill impairment testing," with the results expected in 3Q. The companies also agreed to an unspecified change in the license fees that The HUB pays for its cartoons. The channel, which targets ages 6-12, has struggled to grow since October when Discovery and Hasbro re-branded Discovery Kids. It has attracted an average total day audience of 23,000 so far in the second quarter, down from 24,000 in the first quarter.

[King_of_doom]

Oh boy, hope this won't affect much on the shows of the Hub but don't know what to say by reading that article......

[Peter Paltridge]

If they weren't expecting a loss for the first few years, they have no experience launching a new network before. They all do that.

[aegisrawks]

I hope the situation Improves soon....

Cmon Maggie, You helmed Fox Kids, you can do this!

[The Huntsman]

If they weren't expecting a loss for the first few years, they have no experience launching a new network before. They all do that.

But they didn’t launch a whole network from scratch. It launched off of an already existing network. It should be getting more than the paltry average of 23,000 viewers. The Hub was rather aggressive with its marketing when it launched, and it has quality shows, but it isn’t doing any better than Discovery Kids.

[StellaMagic]

Don't fret. It's their first year. Besides, most people who can;t get the channel are probably going to watch vids on their network site.

[The Huntsman]

Don't fret. It's their first year. Besides, most people who can;t get the channel are probably going to watch vids on their network site.

I wish. It’s most powerful fanbase, the bronies, just resort to piracy. The network is to blame for that because they don’t get the episodes pulled from certain video sites, allowing them to rack up several hundred thousand views a piece. One episode is nearly at a million views. If you don’t respect your copyright, people aren’t going to respect it either, and Hasbro is letting people walk all over them. Some people say it’s free advertising, but it’s not. It’s killing The Hub more than anything. I’ve tried contacting the network about that but they weren’t too interested in the matter. Their loss.

[King_of_doom]

. I’ve tried contacting the network about that but they weren’t too interested in the matter. Their loss.

Indeed, if they won't listen to reason let's see if this will wake them up.

[The Huntsman]

Indeed, if they won't listen to reason let's see if this will wake them up.

People are cheap. It’s in our DNA. If you can get something for free, you’re not going to pay for it. I tried to convince the bronies, early on, that they should watch the episodes on The Hub’s website because it allowed the network to get some revenue. That idea wasn’t too well received. I did succeed in getting one fan site to stop supporting the illegal streams, and point people to the official website, but that fan site wasn’t as big as the others. It pisses me off. Somebody mentioned in another thread that nobody has The Hub because it’s really expensive and you have to be rich in order to get it. That’s malarkey. It’s on the second lowest programming package on most providers, which usually only costs a few dollars more than the cheapest one which is considered the default.

[nakak]

Knowing that the show is based on a toyline, I'm guessing Hasbro was hoping to make money from the toy sales rather than the show itself.

It didn't quite work out that way...

[The Huntsman]

Knowing that the show is based on a toyline, I'm guessing Hasbro was hoping to make money from the toy sales rather than the show itself.

It didn't quite work out that way...

That is ironic. At least their shows are airing on Cartoon Network's worldwide, so they should get some decent money out of that.

[trance2009]

During the week I only really watch it at night for that one hour of G.I Joe and TF, but the weekend is when I try to catch some of the rest of it.

[Tay the Cat]

Knowing that the show is based on a toyline, I'm guessing Hasbro was hoping to make money from the toy sales rather than the show itself.

It didn't quite work out that way...

This is true, which is why they haven't targeted any users who've uploaded episodes.

Also, in response to The Huntsman:

What about those in other countries who don't have The Hub? Heck, the show has a sizable fanbase in the UK and it won't even premiere there until July. Not to mention, The Hub's official website has issues. The streams stop to buffer every 5 seconds, plus they're region-locked. AND they don't have all the episodes on there anyway. I must agree with a user on Rainbow Dash Network when he says, it's like they're not even trying.

He makes an excellent point.

[mobo85]

As (currently) an outsider who's been following the whole pony phenomenon, I must admit that both The Huntsman and 20PctCooler make valid points re: the astronomical success of My Little Pony, especially with a non-target demographic, and piracy's contribution to same. It's a very interesting catch-22 which brings up a lot of questions regarding the future of media as it shifts to the internet age. From what I've seen, it is true that a number of bronies resort to piracy, due to reasons that both The Hunstman and 20PctCooler brought up along with others, the fact that The Hub has a very small viewership base and is so far only available in the United States being one of the major ones. As well as the fact that, as The Huntsman mentioned, Hasbro is taking a laissez-faire approach to the unauthorized redistribution of their content on popular video-sharing sites. We seem to be approaching an era where on-demand entertainment is poised to eventually take over standard forms of content distribution such as TV broadcasts and DVDs: 30% of all North American peak download traffic comes from Netflix, sites such as it, Hulu, and YouTube have entered deals with studios to provide on-demand content either free or via subscription, DVD sales are going down, and four major studios (Lionsgate, Fox, Disney, and Warner) have had sizable layoffs in their home entertainment divisions in the past month. Not surprisingly, however, some studios have not yet caught on to the trend.

What Hasbro- as well as other studios- must do in order to avert piracy as well as create a source of income in this rising trend is to crack down on unauthorized redistribution of their content on popular video-sharing websites as well as make their content readily available- either ad-supported or via subscription- on popular sites such as Hulu, Netflix, or YouTube or their own sites. Hasbro has taken the first step by making some content available on The Hub's website, but they could go farther with it, as could a number of other studios. These measures would by no means put an end to all piracy- that would be impossible- but it's quite possible it would put a major dent in it. The best way to prevent people from pirating your content is to make it readily available. That's something that both Hasbro and other studios need to learn.

[Pogorikifan24]

I'm hoping The Hub will be alright. Now i am worried about this.

[The Huntsman]

What about those in other countries who don't have The Hub? Heck, the show has a sizable fanbase in the UK and it won't even premiere there until July.

Since when is that an excuse to break the law? They should wait until the episodes come to their countries legally. They are doing a disservice to the show.

What Hasbro- as well as other studios- must do in order to avert piracy as well as create a source of income in this rising trend is to crack down on unauthorized redistribution of their content on popular video-sharing websites as well as make their content readily available- either ad-supported or via subscription- on popular sites such as Hulu, Netflix, or YouTube or their own sites. Hasbro has taken the first step by making some content available on The Hub's website, but they could go farther with it, as could a number of other studios. These measures would by no means put an end to all piracy- that would be impossible- but it's quite possible it would put a major dent in it. The best way to prevent people from pirating your content is to make it readily available. That's something that both Hasbro and other studios need to learn.

I agree. Granted, I’m no businessman and I’m not sure how fair these partnerships are or how much revenue they actually generate, but the layman in me believes that some compensation is better than no compensation. I used to help Mondo Media get episodes of Happy Tree Friends pulled from YouTube. I reported so many that they sent me some autographed swag and thanked me for helping them out. However, no matter how many episodes I reported, people just kept reuploading them. That changed the day that Mondo Media officially partnered with YouTube. Now, Mondo Media’s legally uploaded episodes have millions of views and nobody is uploading episodes illegally because there isn’t a point. In some ways, it sort of feels like the companies are being blackmailed into partnering with YouTube because that is the only way to stop the piracy, but if you can’t beat them… you know how the saying goes.

[Bloody Marquis]

Since when is that an excuse to break the law? They should wait until the episodes come to their countries legally. They are doing a disservice to the show.

And you fail to understand that some countries never get the chance to legally see the episodes, correct?

[The Huntsman]

And you fail to understand that some countries never get the chance to legally see the episodes, correct?

In the example provided, it clearly would come to that nation. It’s going to many nations. Hasbro signed a deal with Cartoon Network to distribute the series internationally and they’ve signed deals with other foreign networks as well. Most of the world will be getting the series in due time.

[Spaceman]

Somebody mentioned in another thread that nobody has The Hub because it’s really expensive and you have to be rich in order to get it. That’s malarkey. It’s on the second lowest programming package on most providers, which usually only costs a few dollars more than the cheapest one which is considered the default.

Lauren Faust herself linked to a YouTube upload of the first episode of MLP:FiM on her deviantART, wanting to freely advertise her new show to her followers (and this was before there was such a thing as a brony) and acknowledging that many people won't have the Hub... the exact same reasons you claim are "malarkey" and not true. Are you going to accuse her of killing The Hub as well?

The Hub's video site should at least try to have more than two episodes per show (five would be good) and have the latest premieres up the morning after instead of six days later. That would stave off some of the infringing viewership... keyword is "some", because online infringement (of any media) will NEVER stop. It might not be legally correct, but it's a basic reality of the internet era that requires far more careful handling than treating everyone who views infringed material as criminals. That would do nothing but harm to the show's fanbase and the network's public image (especially considering the FiM fandom is endorsed by both the show's crew and the network).

The MLP:FiM fandom is a potential goldmine for revenue if Hasbro produces t-shirts and other merchandise targeted at them... and before you bring up Snakes on a Plane again, I don't recall that movie having a fanbase that raised $15,000+ for Japan earthquake/tsunami relief to get their hands on concept sketches. The bronies are a bunch of selfish thieves, aren't they?

[Sketch]

Well I'd be bummed if The Hub doesn't stick around but I'm sure they could find homes for their newly produced shows if it comes to that. Dan Vs., My LIttle Pony and Transformers would all surely find homes on other networks at any rate.