Blog: CBS

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.

Is gaming the solution to sports’ Gen Z problem?

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Alistair Taylor

8 Mar 2021

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 with sports, but rather to appreciate that they just consume them differently .

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Why the NFL is targeting ‘cord-nevers’

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Alistair Taylor

14 Jan 2021

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 with ‘ D-day’ for sporting rights upon us in 2021.

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Line change for the NHL: COVID-enforced innovation arrives as ‘D-Day’ commences

Cover image for Line change for the NHL: COVID-enforced innovation arrives as ‘D-Day’ commences

Alistair Taylor

7 Jan 2021

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 more important than for the NHL, with 2021 shaping up to be the most significant year in the league’s 103-year history.

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To be Silent is to be Complicit – On Which Side of History Will the NFL be Remembered?

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Alistair Taylor

3 Jun 2020

Blacklivesmatter

blackouttuesday

Yesterday, social media went silent as it observed #BlackOutTuesday . Following George Floyd’s killing by a Minneapolis police officer, athletes and teams have all spoken up in solidarity, demanding justice and change for a system that disproportionately impacts the black population in the United States.

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Joining the D2C Streaming Wars Is a Do-or-Die Moment for ViacomCBS

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Tim Mulligan

12 Feb 2020

Last Thursday CNBC reported that the newly-merged ViacomCBS is planning to launch its own direct-to-consumer (D2C) service, with a formal announcement to be made during the company’s forthcoming fourth quarter earnings conference call on February 20 th .

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Peacock Goes for Gold

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Alistair Taylor

23 Jan 2020

On the 16 th of January , Comcast (owner of NBCUniversal) unveiled further details of its direct to consumer (D2C) proposition, Peacock. Peacock is set to debut on the 15 th of April exclusively for Comcast’s Xfinity X1 and Flex customers, before being rolled out nationally across the US on July 15 th .

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NFL Tackles Gen Z through Social Media Platforms

Amanda Stears

17 Sep 2019

5 September marked the kick-off of the 2019 National Football League (NFL) season – its 100th season to-date. This will be particularly relevant for broadcasters and sports rights holders alike, as the CBS broadcast of Super Bowl LIII back in February recorded its TV audience at an all-time low since 2008.

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CBS, Viacom and Media Mergers: Is It Different This Time?

Zach Fuller

15 Aug 2019

Media mergers have a storied history, and one that is often not too positive. Whether it is Time Warner or AOL, talk of synergies often fades when confronted with consumer appetite – but at the risk of sounding like a broken record, perhaps it is worth considering how this time it may be different.

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Is Cricket the New ‘Greatest Show on Turf’?

Alistair Taylor

19 Jun 2019

21st Century Fox

addressable audience

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 increasingly stream) to watch the showpiece for the world’s most valuable league .

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Fox News to ‘New Fox’: What is Left After Disney Deal

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Alistair Taylor

1 Apr 2019

On the 20th March 2019 , The Walt Disney Company’s acquisition of Rupert Murdoch’s 21 st Century Fox became official. What did Disney acquire? The $71.3 billion merger significantly strengthens Disney’s value proposition as a service, solidifying its position as the world’s largest media conglomerate.

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Super Bowl Ads 2019: The Death Wish of Playing Safe

Georgia Meyer

31 Jan 2019

Over the last few years, brands have been taking increasingly political stances. Whether Heineken’s ‘Open Your World’ 2017 ad, or Gillette’s ‘We Believe: The Best Men Can Be’ spot at the start of 2019, there has been a growing trend for brands boldly (and some say, haphazardly), entering the ‘political’ sphere.

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CBS Launches International SVOD Foray with All Access in Canada

Tim Mulligan

25 Apr 2018

Amazon Prime Video

Yesterday, April 24, CBS launched CBS All Access in Canada. This the first international market for the US network’s subscription video on demand (SVOD) service and represents a clear statement of intent by CBS to compete internationally with its own brand content offerings for non-US digital audiences.

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Game of Thrones Is Not The Most Popular TV Show

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Tim Mulligan

27 Oct 2017

Game of Thrones

The TV industry is currently undergoing a period of disruption as profound as what the music industry experienced in the first decade of this millennium, and it has all been led by the streaming revolution.

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Netflix Is Now The Fifth Highest Ranked TV Network For Show Fandom

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Tim Mulligan

28 Sep 2017

We are proud to announce the inaugural results of our new TV Show Brand Tracker. The findings reveal how streaming is impacting TV show audiences and which networks are performing best. Based on data from more than 60 TV shows across the US, Canada, Australia and the UK, CBS’s The Big Bang Theory is the leading TV show in terms of audience fandom, followed by NCIS (also CBS), with the BBC’s Sherlock in third place.

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Can Twitter Successfully Transition Into A Live Streaming Destination?

Tim Mulligan

4 May 2017

At yesterday’s first ever Digital Content NewFronts, struggling social media platform Twitter made a bold play for relevance in the video-centric world of digital content. With much fanfare, Twitter unveiled a slew of 16 separate live streaming partnerships with premium media providers across Sports, News and Entertainment.

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TV Content Owners Start To Rethink Their Netflix Relationship

Tim Mulligan

5 Nov 2015

Yesterday Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes in his company’s Q3 earnings call made a statement which the emerging SVOD (Subscription Video On Demand) industry and Netflix in particular didn’t want to hear.

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