Studios In Big Demand As Streaming Skyrockets

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Your favourite movie hall may serve the best popcorn in the metaverse universe but unless there's something interesting playing on the screen, chances are, you're gonna give that snack a pass. 

With a rapid rise in people turning to video streaming services (also called OTT - over the top, top is short for a set top box), the Netflixes of the world are frantically looking for fresh content (like movies and multi episode series). 

And that means the world suddenly needs more studios. 

The Appetite For Studio Real Estate

Per S&P Global, as competition for content production is driving up spending, private real estate investment firms are finding a way to put money in the studio game.

Most recently, Hackman Capital Partners LLC and Square Mile Capital Management LLC agreed to acquire ViacomCBS Inc. Studio City in Los Angeles for USD 1.8 billion.

It doesn't stop there, beyond the Television City and the reported Studio City deals, Hackman acquired Silvercup Studios in New York for USD 500 million. 

Hackman also recently joined a group acquiring Sony Group Corp.'s Sony Pictures Animation campus in Culver City, Calif., for USD 160 million, and a group that acquired two Irish studios, Ardmore and Troy, for an undisclosed amount.

Netflix, You There?

Netflix has struck a renewed long-term agreement with UK production facility Shepperton Studios.

The site’s owner, Pinewood Group, also said that the site will be significantly expanded, with the new development totalling approximately 1 million sq. ft. of new production accommodation, and comprising 17 additional sound stages, adding to the 14 that already exist.

Construction is set to be completed by 2023.

Netflix also recently struck a deal to occupy a new site set to be opened in Enfield, North London. 

Other countries deep into movie making are privy to a similar renewed love for studio real estate. While in other news, the iconic RK Studios at Chembur, Mumbai, is now a residential apartment complex. 

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