Read our latest daily deep dives, hot takes, and exciting updates about the entertainment world. Check out the latest insight from your favourite analyst, or search by coverage areas - music, entertainment and fandom, creator economy and social.

How Spotify Can Become A Next Generation “Label”

Mark Mulligan
One of the themes my MIDiA colleague Tim Mulligan (the name’s no coincidence, he’s my brother too!) has been developing over in our online video research is that of next generation TV operators. With the traditional pay-TV model buckling under the pressure of countless streaming subscriptions services like Netflix (there are more than 50 services in the US alone) pay-TV companies have responded with countless apps of their own such as HBO Go and CBS All Access.
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Why Scheduling Has Come To Facebook Live

Tim Mulligan
Today’s rollout of live video scheduling on Facebook is both a strategic move of vision and a tantamount recognition that the current iteration now requires modification. From today verified page administrators on the social media site will be able to schedule a live video broadcast up-to one week in advance and provide an embeddable link and a virtual waiting room for interested Facebook users to utilize in advance of the live stream.
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Is SVOD Destined To Remain Niche?

Tim Mulligan
This week is a significant week for SVOD (Subscription Video On Demand) services. On Monday Netflix announced its third quarter numbers which have highlighted the slow down in growth in domestic subscriber acquisitions (which arguably reached saturation at beginning of the year with close to 50% US household penetration via multiple device usage of the same account- six devices can be registered per account and two devices can simultaneously stream on one account.
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Has Snapchat Learned From Twitter’s IPO?

Zach Fuller
Snap Inc, the parent company of messaging app Snapchat, have hired Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley for a seemingly imminent IPO. In addition to being one of the first app generation unicorns (alongside Spotify and Uber) to go public, the company is doing so at a time when fellow social media giant Twitter is in the process of selling itself, having seemingly been stalled by acquisition discussions with Disney, Google and Salesforce.
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Disney and Netflix: A Full-Stack Media Dream

Zach Fuller
Previously linked as being one of many suitors for Twitter, Disney additionally emerged this week as a rumoured buyer for video giant Netflix. Only last month, Disney CEO Bob Iger declared his company had ‘cracked the code for keeping moviemaking profitable’, but through this triumphalist narrative, these are uncertain times for content monetisation, especially as ad-dollars both migrate from television or in some cases are blocked completely.
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