Alistair Taylor

The Roaring Sporting 20s
India’s Digitally-Savvy Sports Market Leads the Way in Innovation and Engagement

Cover image for The Roaring Sporting 20s

Report by Tim Mulligan, Alistair Taylor and Srishti Das

18 Jan 2021

The 20,000 Foot View: Touted as the home of the next billion online consumers, India’s rapid adoption of digital media services has been driven by the explosion in smartphone adoption over the last few…

Why the NFL is targeting ‘cord-nevers’

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

14 Jan 2021

For decades, rights holders have prioritised (and relied upon) exponentially increasing broadcast revenues as a mechanism for sustainability and growth, a legacy approach that is in dire need of a review…

Line change for the NHL: COVID-enforced innovation arrives as ‘D-Day’ commences

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

7 Jan 2021

With 2021 commencing, the start of ‘ D-day’ or ‘ Year 0’ for sporting rights is upon us, as the major domestic sports rights start coming up for renewal. Nowhere is ‘D-day’ for sporting rights…

English Premiership Rugby gets set for a digital shake-up

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

17 Dec 2020

Tech major Amazon is reportedly looking to add to its burgeoning sports right portfolio, targeting the domestic broadcast rights for English Premiership Rugby. London Irish owner, Mick Crossan, confirmed…

Sports Rights
The Great Reset

Report by Alistair Taylor

16 Dec 2020

The 20,000 Foot View: COVID-19 exposed live entertainment as a vulnerable asset class during a global health crisis, rendering services overly reliant on live sports broadcasts as primary churn candidates.…

Discovery enters streaming race with discovery+ and Olympics offering

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

9 Dec 2020

Last week , Discovery announced it will launch discovery+, ‘the definitive non-fiction’ subscription-video-on-demand (SVOD), on January 4th, 2021. Consumers in the US can expect the largest-ever content…

DAZN launches globally with advent calendar offering of boxing contests

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

3 Dec 2020

DAZN’s global roll out is finally here , following an announcement to launch worldwide (including the UK) back in March. The pandemic-enforced postponement and cancellation of live sports scuppered its…

2021 Predictions
The Year of the Immersive Web

Report by Mark Mulligan, Tim Mulligan, Karol Severin, Alistair Taylor and Hanna Kahlert

23 Nov 2020

The 20,000 Foot View: In this report MIDiA Research analysts present their predictions for what will be the big trends in digital media and tech across music, video, brands, marketing, games and sports…

DraftKings is making its own strategic bet on the rise of the US sports betting market

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

19 Nov 2020

US-based sports betting company DraftKings’ stock value has grown 11% following a strong third-quarter performance in which its revenues increased 98% year on year (YoY) to reach $132.8 million, up from…

WWE Q3 Earnings – An innovative digital strategy helps WWE overcome COVID-19 disruption

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

12 Nov 2020

WWE’s Q3 2020 results provide a fascinating insight into how a live event-focused entertainment business has successfully navigated a global pandemic. In its financials for the quarter , WWE saw a 19%…

Why the sports broadcast model is now under threat

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

6 Nov 2020

The Sinclair Broadcast Group reported its Q3 2020 results earlier this week, which highlighted the detrimental impact sporting investments had on its balance sheet. A 37% year-on-year (YoY) increase in…

Foxtel, diversifying for reach, launches freemium Kayo service

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

28 Oct 2020

Australian pay-TV organisation Foxtel is launching a free version of its sport-centric streaming service Kayo in 2021. This follows a difficult year for the streaming service that saw its subscriber numbers…

Why DAZN is adapting to German consumer nuances with linear and digital bets

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

22 Oct 2020

DAZN’s recently-established position as the ‘Netflix of sport’ has been a hard fought one, requiring extensive rights investment in order to carve out a compelling proposition. In the markets where…

The Premier League going pay-per-view means a sucker-punch for sports fans

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

15 Oct 2020

English Premier League (EPL) clubs have agreed an ‘interim solution’ to allow fans to continue watching their teams live. EPL fixtures not selected for broadcast in October will be available to fans…

Q1 2020 UK Sports Betting Consumer Engagement Snapshot

Report by Tim Mulligan and Alistair Taylor

5 Oct 2020

Methodology: This mini report is a review of trends and data on sports betting from Q3 2019 to Q1 2020 in the leading English-speaking markets of the US, UK, Canada, and Australia, with a focus on UK sports…

German Bundesliga faces 20% decline in value for its international rights

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

1 Oct 2020

German business publisher Sponsors has announced the German Football League (DFL) is facing a 20% decline in the total value of its overseas’ broadcast rights for the 2020/21 campaign. This is down from…

DAZN 2019 Financials and Subscriber Deep Dive
Domestic Rights Key to Unlocking Audiences

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Report by Alistair Taylor

30 Sep 2020

The 20,000 Foot View: DAZN’s 2018 financials highlighted the difficulty in encouraging consumer adoption of a digital live sports proposition with a limited portfolio of sports rights. 2019 marked…

European Professional Club Rugby goes OTT, pressing business over the needs of fans

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

23 Sep 2020

Last Friday , European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR), the Heineken Champions Cup and the European Rugby Challenge Cup’s governing body announced the launch of its global over-the-top (OTT) streaming…

Creating the digital home of hockey - SportsPro Live panel

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

17 Sep 2020

Yesterday at SportsPro Live, I had the pleasure of moderating a panel discussing the creation of the digital home of hockey with Thierry Weil, International Hockey Federation (FIH)’s CEO and Jean-Luc…

Verizon Media announces platform to ‘evolve’ live streaming experience

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

16 Sep 2020

Verizon Media announced a series of new Media Platform improvements in a press release today (16th September), intended to ‘evolve the live streaming experience’. These features are all aimed at increasing…