2024 will be a hard year for streaming. Increasingly investors are cutting back on the money they pour into unprofitable streaming services. A weak ad market is also bringing in lower ad revenues and, due to these factors, will likely force some unprofitable companies to be sold or shut down in 2024.
The ad-supported STIRR has already been sold by Sinclair to new owners. Vidgo has been down for months now but the company still says it is coming back. Will Vidgo make a comeback? It is anyone’s guess right now. So will we see others sold or shut down?
Here is our list of streaming services most likely to shut down or be sold in 2024.
Hulu
Disney has said it plans to keep Hulu its own service, but increasingly Disney has been merging its STAR content and its international version of Hulu into Disney+. This raises the question of for how long will Hulu on-demand remain its own service. Or will we see a day when Hulu becomes an exclusive live TV service, and the on-demand content moves into Disney+.
Fubo
Of all the remaining services that offer a full cable-like experience, Fubo is the one with the smallest backing from a major player. YouTube TV is backed by Google, and Hulu is backed by Disney. Fubo is still not profitable and, for now, may have investors helping cover the costs, but for how long? And when will Fubo become profitable?
Sling TV
Sling TV may have the backing of DISH, but Sling TV needs money. It is unknown how portable Sling TV is on its own. With DISH building out its 5G network, you must ask how long will it continue to focus on TV?
For now, in the short term, DISH is using its TV service revenues to help keep the company running as it builds out its 5G network. This makes Sling TV shutting down in the short term unlikely.
Free Ad-Supported Streaming Services
Look for some free smaller ad-supported streaming services to shut down in 2024. The soft ad market bringing in lower ad revenues will strain already unprofitable streaming services. Watch for a handful of services to be sold or shut down in 2024 because they can’t keep going with the soft ad rates.
There are hundreds of small ad-supported services—many unknown by most cord cutters. These are the services most likely to go under first.
There you go, our list of the streaming services most likely to go under or be sold first in 2024.
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