Tim Mulligan

Tim is MIDiA's research director and senior video analyst. His research focus is streaming TV, and the intersection between established and emerging monetisation and engagement models for consuming TV and film. Underpinning this is a focus upon the business strategy and financial environment around which video services compete. Supporting this supply side coverage is a detailed overview of the consumer dynamics driving engagement from fandom to subscription challenges and video ad responsiveness.

D-Day for sports has finally arrived (in Italy)

Tim Mulligan

29 Mar 2021

sports rights live sports DAZN

Last Friday the sporting world moved one pivotal step closer to a streaming-first future. Sports video subscription service DAZN has now secured the rights to broadcast all Serie A matches for the next three years.

Cover image for D-Day for sports has finally arrived (in Italy)

The billion-dollar content play: Why Amazon is intentionally overpaying for its NFL rights

Tim Mulligan

22 Mar 2021

SVOD Sports content sports rights

In March 2021, the sports ecosystem breathed a collective sigh of relief. The NFL, the world’s most valuable sports league, secured an 11-year broadcast deal worth a staggering $100 billion (via CNBC ).

Cover image for The billion-dollar content play: Why Amazon is intentionally overpaying for its NFL rights

Disney+ at 100 million: The second shockwave of the D2C big bang moment has begun

Tim Mulligan

10 Mar 2021

Disney+ Disney D2C Shockwave

At its annual shareholder meeting yesterday, Disney announced that Disney+ had reached the 100 million subscriber mark in the 16 months since it first launched. For comparison, global subscription video on demand (SVOD) leader Netflix has taken 14 years to reach 203 million subscribers.

Cover image for Disney+ at 100 million: The second shockwave of the D2C big bang moment has begun

Cover image for Q4 2020 US D2C deep dive

Q4 2020 US D2C deep dive
An attention recession looms

Tim Mulligan

28 Feb 2021

Netflix Netflix hulu

The US market is starting to see initial signs of fatigue as the D2C disruptors begin to reduce monthly user engagement among the three dominant incumbent subscription video on demand services. Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu all saw modest dips in weekly active use in Q4 2020.

Cover image for Peacock

Peacock

Tim Mulligan

28 Feb 2021

Video Comcast Sky

US communications behemoth Comcast, owner of NBCUniversal’s D2C strategy, is led by Peacock. Of the big four D2C services that launched in a 12-month period, between H2 2019 and H2 2020, Peacock was the late entrant. Potentially, it may have the biggest disruptive impact because Comcast owns the second largest cable pay-TV business and the larges...

Paramount + gets ready to compete outside the traditional video streaming lane

Tim Mulligan

25 Feb 2021

Paramount+ paramount plus d2c

Yesterday was a big day for ViacomCBS. The year of integration and uncertainty following the merger of Viacom and CBS in December 2019 has finally ended. The core rationale behind both key constituents of the National Amusements media empire to join together is now coming to fruition.

Cover image for Paramount + gets ready to compete outside the traditional video streaming lane

Cover image for OTT Distribution and Partnerships

OTT Distribution and Partnerships
StreamTV Growth Summit 2021

Tim Mulligan

16 Feb 2021

Free Report

Streaming Fandom Audience Insight

OTT Distribution and Partnerships A MIDiA Research Presentation for StreamTV Growth Summit 2021

Hulu + Live subscriber losses point to intensifying US video attention battle

Tim Mulligan

16 Feb 2021

SVOD hulu Hulu Plus Live

On February 11th, Disney released its results for Q4 2020. The focus was on the continuing growth for the media major’s direct to consumer (D2C) business. Although still loss-leading, the D2C segment has halved its operating income losses from -$1.

Cover image for Hulu + Live subscriber losses point to intensifying US video attention battle

Is sci-fi about to have its Game of Thrones moment?

Tim Mulligan

11 Feb 2021

Streaming Television SVOD

We are only just into the second month of 2021, and already the TV engagement landscape environment is starting to transform into something distinctly different from 2020. The sci-fi genre, long seen as a category with niche TV appeal (in much the same way fantasy was up until 2010), has suddenly co...

Cover image for Is sci-fi about to have its Game of Thrones moment?

TV advertising vs. lockdown hiatus: Welcome to the Super Bowl LV

Tim Mulligan

2 Feb 2021

Online video Sports advertising

This coming Sunday will see the most financially important domestic sports event on the planet take place when the Super Bowl LV is hosted in the Florida city of Tampa. The Raymond James Stadium will see defending champions Kansas City Chiefs taking on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (which is the first ti...

Cover image for TV advertising vs. lockdown hiatus: Welcome to the Super Bowl LV

Cover image for The Great Reaggregation

The Great Reaggregation
Lockdown, Demand and Consolidation

Tim Mulligan

29 Jan 2021

Amazon Amazon Apple TV

COVID-19 removed the constraints imposed by peak attention, leading to a surge in home-based entertainment consumption and streaming adoption. Fortuitous timing, enforced home working and the end of the commute, tied in with the need to entertain home-bound children, has greatly accelerated direct-to-consumer (D2C) adoption.

Why FuboTV is going big on Sports Betting

Tim Mulligan

25 Jan 2021

Online video SVOD sports betting

On January 12th, the six year old US-based subscription streaming service FuboTV announced that it was acquiring sports betting and gaming specialist Vigtory. This followed on from company announcements made at the end of last year about the importance of sports betting becoming a significant new re...

Cover image for Why FuboTV is going big on Sports Betting

Netflix as blockbuster behemoth?

Tim Mulligan

19 Jan 2021

Netflix Netflix Q4 Results SVOD

Today Netflix announces its Q4 2020 results. Widely recognised as one of the standout business winners of 2020, Netflix avoided any D2C ‘Big Bang ’disruption by seeing its dominant streaming video position enhanced through the 1 5% of additional entertainment time which suddenly became available...

Cover image for Netflix as blockbuster behemoth?

Cover image for The Roaring Sporting 20s

The Roaring Sporting 20s
India Leads the Way in Innovation and Engagement

Tim Mulligan, Alistair Taylor and Srishti Das

18 Jan 2021

Disney Disney vodafone

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 smartphone penetration still significantly lags behind developed markets, India’s 1.

Cover image for Dream11

Dream11
Dream11 offers monetisation strategy for emerging market fandom

Tim Mulligan, Alistair Taylor and Srishti Das

18 Jan 2021

Video investment Fandom

Fantasy Premier League was first introduced in India via the English Premier League. However, it was niche and was played only by the urban, English-speaking viewers. Over the last decade, many additional sports began to use the Fantasy Leagues to engage with their fans.

Does the video streaming world need Struum?

Tim Mulligan

11 Jan 2021

Video

This spring, a new start-up will arrive on the scene for US video streaming consumers. Called Struum , it plans to offer a solution to an ongoing challenge of the streaming era – the need for reaggregation.

Cover image for Does the video streaming world need Struum?

2021 TV show demand starts with a very familiar look

Tim Mulligan

4 Jan 2021

As 2020 drew to a close the top in-demand shows by Wikipedia page views in the US were dominated by direct-to-consumer (D2C) disruptors Disney+ and HBO Max ,with streaming video hegemon Netflix displaced to third position.

Cover image for 2021 TV show demand starts with a very familiar look

Disney+ and HBO Max tip Netflix’s crown

Tim Mulligan

22 Dec 2020

Video

As 2020 draws to a close, the year that was always going to be defined for the TV industry by the streaming direct-to-consumer ‘big bang moment ’exceeded even the most ambitious demands of the new streaming entrants.

Cover image for Disney+ and HBO Max tip Netflix’s crown

Cover image for Broken Windows

Broken Windows
How Streaming Is Redefining the Movie Proposition

Tim Mulligan

21 Dec 2020

Amazon Netflix Disney

COVID-19 significantly reduced theatrical movie releases and has necessitated a shift to streaming premiers for studios, especially those with recently launched direct-to-consumer services. While Disney has stated that it will return to theatrical releases in May 21, rival Warner Media has boldly decided to jump feet-first into combined same-day th...

While Disney+ grabs the D2C limelight, Amazon Prime continues its steady expansion

Tim Mulligan

18 Dec 2020

Disney+ spent last week being the centre of attention in the direct-to-consumer (D2C) space with its Investor Day presentation on December 10th . During the four-hour presentation, Disney rightly made a big thing out of the target-beating growth of Disney+ , which comes at the end of its first year ...

Cover image for While Disney+ grabs the D2C limelight, Amazon Prime continues its steady expansion

© 2025 MIDiA Research Ltd. All Rights Reserved.