Sony's Bet on Sticking With Web Shows
LOS ANGELES — At first Hollywood raced to make original Web programming. NBC Universal trumpeted a site called DotComedy; the Walt Disney Company created a digital studio called Stage 9; and Time Warner backed SuperDeluxe, another comedy site.
Context & Ripple Effects
Sony's decision to keep making original Web shows is the latest step in an arc it started early: its site for videos by aspiring filmmakers, launched in July 2007, was one of the first studio efforts at Web-native programming, and in April 2009 Sony struck a deal putting its studio content on YouTube. It then trimmed its distribution footprint to YouTube and Hulu while walking away from Joost, concentrating rather than abandoning the bet.
What makes this story notable is the divergence it captures: NBC Universal built DotComedy, Disney created Stage 9, and Time Warner backed SuperDeluxe during Hollywood's initial rush into original Web programming, yet Sony stands out as the confirmed holdout still producing while that first wave recedes.
First-order effects
- Sony alone continues to absorb the production costs of original Web shows, accumulating a Web-native catalog while rivals' digital studios sit idle.
- Sony Pictures content keeps flowing through the two distributors it retained — YouTube and Hulu — after dropping Joost, so its persistence compounds an already-placed distribution bet.
Second-order effects
- With NBC Universal, Disney and Time Warner pulling back, platforms like YouTube face a thinner slate of willing studio suppliers, which strengthens Sony's leverage in licensing talks.
- The retreat thins competition for Web audiences and talent, letting Sony's output define the benchmark other studios would have to match if they re-enter.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, studios that persisted through the retreat enter any future shift toward TV-format Web series with production experience their competitors would have to rebuild from scratch.
- The episode points to studio Web-video strategy consolidating around a handful of committed producers, with distribution partnerships mattering more than the standalone destination sites of the first wave.
The trend: Original Web programming is consolidating around a small set of committed studios, and Sony is wagering that persistence through the retreat phase converts into advantage once the format matures beyond short-form comedy clips.