Blog: Business Strategy - Page 42

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.

Podcasts: a Netflix moment for radio (but perhaps not the future of Spotify)

Mark Mulligan

6 Feb 2019

Wednesday was a busy day for Spotify: it reported above-expected subscriber growth, hitting 96 million paid subscribers, strong total user growth reaching207 million MAUs, improved margins and its first ever profitable quarter, registering an operating profit of €94 million.

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Lessons from the disruption of news publishing

Zach Fuller

1 Feb 2019

Digital Media Media new publishing

At the 2019 DLD conference in Munich, various media commentators were suggesting that the attention economy paradigm of news mean ominous clouds are gathering not just over new media entities such as BuzzFeed, Vice and Vox, but also those with subscription businesses.

The video subscription challenge in 2019

Tim Mulligan

1 Feb 2019

Video subscriptions Critical Developments SVOD

Amid all the excitement in the media world around the 2019 launches of direct-to-consumer services from such illustrious content producers as Disney and Warner Media, one clear question remains unanswered – will the public pay for these additional subscription video on demand (SVOD) services? The ...

Eleven Sports loses Serie A rights as partnership with IMG ends

Alistair Taylor

1 Feb 2019

audience acquisition Eleven Sports IMG

Eleven Sports, the fledgling sports-centric streaming service has lost the UK and Irish rights for Serie A and Eredivisie, following a strategic decision to ‘amicably’ end its partnership with international rights agency, IMG .

Hulu takes aim at Netflix

Tim Mulligan

25 Jan 2019

hulu Netflix Online video

From February 26th, Hulu, currently the number three subscription video on demand (SVOD) service in the US, will reduce its ad-supported offering from $7.99 to $5.99. This comes one week after Netflix —currently the US SVOD leader — increased pricing for its membership plans.

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UFC’s debut on ESPN+ draws in record subs

Alistair Taylor

24 Jan 2019

DAZN Digital ESPN+

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) debuted on ESPN+ this past weekend, featuring the highly touted championship fight, which saw Henry Cejudo knockout current Bantamweight champion TJ Dillashaw in just 32 seconds to retain his Flyweight title.

Music tech and unintended consequences

Zach Fuller

23 Jan 2019

Media music business music industry

Recent discussions over how music will look in the app economy, with services such as TikTok effectively ‘meme-ing’ the concept of music and emphasising its social context, has led me to reflect on the second-order effects of technology on the arts - those unforeseen and often unpredictable cons...

Ad-supported strategies are playing a growing role in the digital economy

Mark Mulligan

21 Jan 2019

Critical Developments Business Strategy

2018 was a big year for subscriptions, across music (Spotify on target to hit 92 million subscribers), video (global subscriptions passed half a billion), games (98 million Xbox Live and PlayStation Plus subscribers) and news ( New York Times 2.

An alternative view: Why Apple will not be a service-based company

Zach Fuller

20 Jan 2019

Apple tech companies tech majors

Apple’s announcement of smartphone slowdown a few weeks back sent waves through the tech-centric investment landscape. Various requiems seem to suggest that with the stock price dropping 12%, the darkest day in the iPhone era means Apple will now have to focus on its service business if it is to r...

DAZN stepping up its domestic rights offering – insurgent come enforcer?

Alistair Taylor

17 Jan 2019

DAZN Eleven Sports live sports

Having grown its portfolio for premium international and domestic sporting rights, DAZN is now starting to graduate from a disruptor into an established part of the landscape. Emphasised by its latest plan, aiming to snap up domestic Bundesliga rights in Germany for 2021–2025 (provided the terms a...

Amazon, regional sports, and owning the local economy

Georgia Meyer

16 Jan 2019

Amazon Prime Media Regional Sports Networks

Amazon is reportedly bidding for all 22 US regional sports networks that Disney is putting up for sale (as part of its $73.1 billion deal to buy most of 21st Century Fox). Among the networks is the YES Network, that broadcasts New York Yankees games, as well as an array of professional NBA, NHL and ...

Amazon dives into ad-supported video with IMDB Freedive

Tim Mulligan

16 Jan 2019

IMDB IMDb Freedive Online video

Last week’s US launch of IMDB Freedive marks Amazon’s long anticipated move into ad-supported Video on Demand (AVOD). IMDB is the long-standing Amazon subsidiary which operates as a film data base on an estimated 5 million titles and has 250 million monthly users.

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Just who would buy Universal Music?

Mark Mulligan

14 Jan 2019

umg Universal Music Music

Vivendi continues to look for a buyer for a portion of Universal Music (per Rolling Stone ). Though the process has been running officially since May 2018, the transaction (or transactions) may not close until 2020 (according to Music Business Worldwide ).

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