When DC and Warner Bros. announced their plans for their streaming service DC Universe, I was skeptical. Not only is there an increasing glut of streaming services to keep up with, but their flagship show Titans looked absolutely dreadful in the promotional pictures and embarrassing first trailer. For a while, it looked like my pessimistic predictions were coming true, with industry analysts claiming that the premium network was struggling to pick up subscribers and that it may not be long for this world.
There were some faint glimmers of hope, though. Titans was eventually released and turned out to actually be one of the better superhero shows on TV. The series worked as a kind of introduction to a new televised universe, including many other heroes who might receive their own spinoff series.
Of course, that’s led directly into Doom Patrol. Heavily based on the classic Grant Morrison run from the early 90s, the show’s been a critical and audience success so far, with fans debating with each other as to the significance of the cosmic farting donkey (I wish I could say it makes more sense in context).
Anyways, Business Insider has released a report that paints a cautious yet positive picture for the service. They claim that the mobile app has passed 1 million installations on the App Store and Google Play, that revenue is up 53% in January compared to December, that the premieres of each new series have driven a wave of sign-ups, that 7 million comic books have been read on the service and that their strategy of niche exclusive content may help them carve out their own corner of the market.
Interestingly, they say one of DC Universe’s key differences from Netflix might be one of its best qualities – that they release one episode of new series each week rather than all at once. Given the quality of Doom Patrol, I hope DC Universe ends up a roaring success and if nothing else, this gives me high hopes for the much anticipated Swamp Thing show.