WarnerMedia Reveals First Details on the Streaming Subscription Replacing FilmStruck

November 30, 2018

Cinephiles were rather upset that WarnerMedia was shutting down the movie streaming subscription service FilmStruck, many of them prominent filmmakers like Steven Spielberg, Guillermo del Toro, Edgar Wright, Barry Jenkins, Kathleen Kennedy, Christopher Nolan and more. But the media giant reassured movie lovers that they would have a new iteration of FilmStruck coming sometime in 2019, though it might not go by that name.

Now the first details have emerged on the FilmStruck replacement, which WarnerMedia is creating as a way of reaching back out to cordcutters who have turned away from the traditional cable and satellite television services. But will it offer the kind of movies that FilmStruck subscribers loved?

The Hollywood Reporter has details on the FilmStruck replacement from WarnerMedia after AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson gave a presentation to analysts about the company’s future endeavors. Stephenson said:

“You must develop a direct relationship with your viewers. And if you’re a communications company, you can no longer rely exclusively on oversized bundles of content.”

The plan is to launch the new streaming subscription service sometime in the fourth quarter of 2019, and customers will have three different subscription tiers to choose from.

The first tier will be an entry level bundle that has what is called “a starter movie package.” The second tier will be a premium service that features both original programming and blockbuster movies. And the third tier will give access to the content available in the first two tiers, and it will also have more library content from WarnerMedia and “eventually more content licensed from third parties.”

More than likely, that third tier is where the kind of movies that cinephiles are really concerned with will be offered. Of course, it’s not clear how satisfying this new streaming subscription will be for those who have come to love FilmStruck. Will the new service restore access to classics and films from the Criterion Collection? Or will they be forced to sign up for the Criterion Collection’s own recently announced subscription service?

WarnerMedia will really need to have a huge library of content in order to convince fans to sign up for this service. There’s already so much competition out there for streaming with Netflix and Hulu leading the way. Plus, Disney is about to get into the streaming game with Disney+, and there’s all the cable networks like HBO, Showtime and Starz with their own services. Hopefully they’ll bring back everything fans loved about FilmStruck and more.

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