Blog: Business Strategy - Page 38

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.

HBO, Game of Thrones, and the Warner Media D2C dilemma

Tim Mulligan

26 Jun 2019

Game of Thrones HBO Online video

May 2019 saw the controversial final episode of HBO’s flagship scripted drama series, Game of Thrones (GoT) . With the final season alone taking up an estimated quarter of HBO’s entire original content budget, Warner Media’s premium TV network invested heavily in transforming a niche TV show i...

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Libra: A reckoning for crypto – or for Facebook?

Hanna Kahlert

25 Jun 2019

cryptocurrency Facebook libra

Last week Facebook and its network of partners, including Spotify, MasterCard and Uber, announced the development of a new cryptocurrency, Libra , planned to go live next year. As the first tech major backed and (ideally) stable cryptocurrency, the implications are as numerous as they are extensive ...

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Libra and the media: What does Facebook’s move into cryptocurrency mean for content monetisation?

Zach Fuller

20 Jun 2019

Blockchain content monetisation Facebook

Zuckbucks have landed, albeit by a different name. The simply named Libra (MIDiA is still holding out for Jeff’s Pesos being Amazon’s official coin) is Facebook’s first venture into the world of crypto.

Is cricket the new ‘Greatest Show on Turf’?

Alistair Taylor

19 Jun 2019

Sports cricket Video

Even before the St. Louis (now LA) Rams were setting records in the NFL during the 1999-2001 seasons, earning the nickname ‘The Greatest Show on Turf’, the Super Bowl was viewed as an unrivalled opportunity to advertise brands, products, and movie trailers to the masses that tune in (or increasi...

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The classical music market - Streaming's next genre?

Dara Jegede

19 Jun 2019

classical music idagio Music Subscriptions

When IDAGIO commissioned MIDiA to explore the classical music audience globally, we were excited to validate the hypothesis that a classical music resurgence was possible in today’s on-demand music streaming world.

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The content we need, the distribution we don’t: Why HBO needs to up its game to stay relevant

Hanna Kahlert

17 Jun 2019

Video HBO streaming tv

Game of Thrones (spoilers) – to the relief, disgruntlement and/or (dis)satisfaction of millions – has ended. Eight years of global rapture (well, five to six followed by two of tolerance) finally sent us all on our ways, be that sailing west to the unknown, ruling what we’ve fought for, or sim...

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The battleground for the background: Why music companies are investing in soundscape start-ups

Zach Fuller

13 Jun 2019

background music Spotify Streaming

In a haunting scene from Tony Scott’s 1995 film Crimson Tide, Navy officer Denzel Washington and his commander Gene Hackman are holding an intense discussion on the work of Prussian general and military theorist Carl von Clausewitz.

Spotify takes aim at radio, again

Mark Mulligan

13 Jun 2019

ad supported streaming Radio Spotify

Spotify has launched a radio-like feature set for premium subscribers in the US calledYour Daily Drive (via The Verge ). Although it is only positioned as a playlist, the content mix includes podcast news content and plays musi c the lis tener already likes with a sprinkling of new tracks.

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Battle of the docuseries: Who mirrored who?

Alistair Taylor

13 Jun 2019

SVOD Video streaming tv

Leeds United are set to become the latest soccer club to feature in an original documentary series, with tech major Amazon securing a deal for a behind-the-scenes look at Argentinian manager Marcelo Bielsa’s dramatic first season in charge of the English Championship side, according to the Daily M...

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Why LA’s Finest could be Pay-TV’s House of Cards moment

Tim Mulligan

12 Jun 2019

tv shows LA's Finest house of cards

When an irresistible force comes along there are two options: either get out of the way, or go with the flow. Charter Communications, the third largest US traditional pay-TV operator, has decided to do just that by buying for its Spectrum cable service the exclusive rights to Sony Pictures productio...

New MIDiA Research Report on the Direct to Consumer Big Bang Moment for Video

Tim Mulligan

10 Jun 2019

Business Strategy

2019 will see the launch of a wide number of heavily backed direct to consumer (D2C) video services led by Disney+, Apple TV+, and the as-yet-unnamed Warner Media D2C offering. Each of these new players have very different strategic motivations for going direct, as well as significantly different at...

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How drama can underpin reality in the age of post-truth

Tim Mulligan

6 Jun 2019

Video drama reality TV

Some of the most impactful scripted dramas of the last five years have been led by narratives infused with the overlapping uncertainties of conviction-driven truth versus the messy reality of everyday life.

Spotify goes full radio with the launch of stations in the US

Zach Fuller

6 Jun 2019

Spotify Music streaming music industry

It had to happen. Spotify has announced that it is launching a lightweight listening app called Stations across the US in a move that doubles down on its much-vaunted ad-supported strategy. The Stations app is being promoted as a specialised UX for those who want a more ‘radio-like experience’.

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Here’s why Apple just killed off iTunes

Mark Mulligan

4 Jun 2019

iTunes News Music

Apple has announced that it is closing iTunes and replacing it with three new apps: Apple Music, Apple Podcasts and Apple TV Apps (via Forbes ).While this doesn’t (yet) mean the end of the iTunes Store, it is a major development for Apple.

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Things to watch out for at E3 2019

Karol Severin

3 Jun 2019

e3 Business Strategy

E3 is approaching fast, and it’s shaping up to come out with a number of announcements which will significantly impact the games landscape as the platform- and device-agnostic games streaming revolution unfolds.

Heavyweight battle for premium sporting rights is dependent on three factors

Alistair Taylor

3 Jun 2019

broadcast rights Pay TV Premium Sports Rights

The sports rights landscape has changed fundamentally with the emergence of streaming subscription video on demand (SVOD) services. Digital and broadcast rights used to be separate deals entirely, but now the lines are blurred, and competition is heating up for exclusive coverage of the most sought-...

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Profit didn't disappear, it just moved

Mark Mulligan

31 May 2019

profit Music Video

One of the recurring themes in analysis of tech businesses is the role of profit, and most often, the apparent lack of it – or at the very least, the way in which it plays second fiddle to growth. Amazon, one of the most successful global businesses in today’s global economy, famously sacrificed...

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Quick Take: The Bull argument for music publishing acquisitions

Zach Fuller

30 May 2019

Music Business Strategy Music publishing

The music rights landgrab continues. This past week alone has seen Primary Wave take a stake in rights to Culture Club, having already inked a deal with the Whitney Houston Estate. Meanwhile, Hipgnosis Song fund have added to their recent acquisition of Eurythmic’s writer credits by taking a stake...

Sports SVOD services: The underdogs’ game

Hanna Kahlert

29 May 2019

SVOD Sports Business Strategy

Cord cutting and “the attention economy” are the trends reshaping everything video in 2019, and sports television – despite its reliably existent fanbase – is no exception. New sports proposition streaming video on demand (SVOD) entrants face hefty competition on all sides, from regionally e...

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How ByteDance could drive the next streaming paradigm

Mark Mulligan

24 May 2019

Social Music music industry

Streaming music is approaching a decision point. Right now, music subscriptions are doing a fantastic job of monetising consumption, but next we need to learn how to monetise fandom. Global streaming revenues were up 30% in 2018 to reach $19.

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