Alistair Taylor | MIDiA Research

Getting serious about esports
Identifying off-season digital engagement opportunities for sports

Cover image for Getting serious about esports

Report by Alistair Taylor

31 Mar 2021

COVID-19 has expedited the need for rights holders and teams to generate digital engagement beyond the pure play live broadcast. Games and esports became big attention economy winners during the early...

Is gaming the solution to sports’ Gen Z problem?

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

8 Mar 2021

gaming

Games

esports

It has been well-documented that Gen Z’s and Generation Alpha’s interest in watching live sports has waned . It is important to dispel the notion that the younger cohorts are less likely to engage...

Sports audiences
The Gen Z opportunity

Report by Alistair Taylor

8 Feb 2021

£3,000.00 excl. VAT

Activision Blizzard

Amazon

amazon prime video

Digital natives are more likely to consume non-live sports than older, traditional sports fans, which presents rights holders and broadcasters with untapped potential for monetisation by harnessing...

Watch Together: BT Sport adapts to lockdown, offering synchronised group streaming

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

4 Feb 2021

BT

BT Sport

telco

The pandemic-enforced prohibition of fans in attendance at sporting events has weakened the viewing spectacle, forcing rights holders and operators to experiment with the viewing experience. The NHL pioneered...

Football looks to build digital engagement through Fortnite collaboration

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

22 Jan 2021

endeavor

IMG

WME

Endeavor-owned IMG, acting as Epic Games’ licensing representative, has brokered deals with 23 football clubs to appear in the publisher’s free-to-play battle royale-style game Fortnite. Looking to...

The Roaring Sporting 20s
India 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

£3,000.00 excl. VAT

Video

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 years. While per capita...

Why the NFL is targeting ‘cord-nevers’

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

14 Jan 2021

Sports

Video

Covid-19

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

D-Day

Year 0

Sporting rights

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

English Premiership Rugby

Amazon

tech major

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

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Amazon

BT Sport

BT

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. A major overhaul...

Discovery enters streaming race with discovery+ and Olympics offering

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

9 Dec 2020

discovery

Eurosport

discovery+

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

SVOD

subscription video on demand

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

£5,000.00 excl. VAT

amazon channels

Amazon Prime

Apple One

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 in 2021 and beyond....

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

Blog post by Alistair Taylor

19 Nov 2020

DraftKings

Sportsbook

betting company

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

World Wrestling Entertainment

covid

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

Sinclair Broadcast Group

Sinclair

sports broadcast

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

foxtel

News Corporation

Kayo

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

AZN

sport-centric

SVOD

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

pay per view

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

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UK Sports Betting

sports better

sports betting

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...