Blog: cord cutting

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.

BT Sport’s Key Ingredient for Competing in an Increasingly Saturated Landscape

Alistair Taylor

22 Nov 2019

American football

basketball

broadcast audience

The strategic dilemma as to whether rights holders should seek revenue over reach when allocating domestic rights is inevitably impacted by how dependent services are on premium rights for securing subscriber revenue.

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Could a Recession Change the Tide for Sports Rights Allocation?

Alistair Taylor

24 Sep 2019

additive services

all-encompassing offering

AppleTV+

Revenue remains rights holder’s priority qualifier for allocating rights. However, with an impending recession, we are likely nearing an inflection point whereby rights holders may start to look towards prioritising reach over revenue.

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Is Cricket the New ‘Greatest Show on Turf’?

Alistair Taylor

19 Jun 2019

21st Century Fox

ad skippers

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 increasi...

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Sports SVOD Services: The Underdogs’ Game

Hanna Kahlert

29 May 2019

addressable audience

binge -viewing

carriage partnerships

Cord cutting and “the attention economy” are the landscaping 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 ...

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US Cord Cutting Full-Year 2018: Transition Uptake

Hanna Kahlert

30 Apr 2019

cord cutting

cord shaving

Media

This article is derived from MIDiA’s US Cord Cutting Full Year 2018 report. Cord cutting is now an established part of the US pay-TV landscape, illustrating the impact of streaming video on demand (SVOD) and changing consumer habits globally.

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Cord Cutting FY 2018: Streaming Transition Picks Up Pace

Tim Mulligan

1 Apr 2019

cord cutting

Streaming

Video

Cord cutting is now an established component of the US pay-TV landscape, reinforcing the role of the US as the canary in the mine for the global pay-TV business. Cord cutting accelerated in 2018, highlighting the secular nature of the phenomenon.

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Sport1 To Drop US-centric Channel in Favour of Esports

Alistair Taylor

5 Dec 2018

addressable audience

audience demographics

broadcaster

German broadcaster Sport1 is replacing its US sport focused channel for the very first German-speaking esports channel. Sport1 announced last week that the channel dubbed eSports1 will launch in Germany, Austria and Switzerland on January 24th 2019, replacing Sport1 US.

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Sky and BT announce long term partnership for cross-supply of content

Alistair Taylor

2 Nov 2018

addressable audience

Amazon Prime

Attention economy

British broadcasters Sky and BT confirmed this week a long-term extension and expansion to an overall content cross-supply deal. Following the initial agreement signed in the UK last December , the partnership now includes Ireland, allowing Sky Ireland customers access to Sky Sports and BT Sport thr...

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Facebook deal with the English Premier League concerns traditional broadcasters

Alistair Taylor

10 Jul 2018

Amazon

BBC

broadcasters

Facebook, the latest tech major to get involved with sports streaming, last week agreed its first ever rights deal with the English Premier league (EPL). This deal signified another step towards the transition away from traditional broadcasters and to digital streaming services.

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The Fight for Viewership in the New Sports Video Era is Only Just Getting Started

Alistair Taylor

6 Jun 2018

Consumer behaviour

cord cutting

digital rights

Traditional linear TV broadcasters are feeling the strain from the reduction in loyal customers, as sports consumption continues to transition from TV to online and mobile. SVOD’s streaming content land grab, which drew scripted drama fans from traditional pay-TV, is now moving into the sports are...

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Comcast Feels The Heat As Wall Street Shows Its Concerns Over Cord-Cutting

Tim Mulligan

13 Sep 2017

Comcast

cord cutting

Netflix

Wall Street is not renowned for its ability to take the long-term view. A good example is the recent massive sell-off in Comcast stock, which saw $16 billion wiped off its market cap. It followed the announcement last week from Comcast’s residential products chief Matthew Strauss, that the company...

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Forget Cord Cutting: It’s A Bigger Cord With More Strands

Tim Mulligan

11 Apr 2017

cord cutting

Netflix

Online video

Amid all the noise and angst surrounding cord-cutting among the TV industry over the last two years, it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that pay-TV is facing an irreversible decline. The reality, however, is that traditional pay-TV operators are facing irreversible decline (albeit a relati...

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Chart Of The Week: Online Video Subscriber Penetration By Age

Mark Mulligan

2 Jun 2016

Amazon

Amazon Prime

Amazon Video

Streaming video subscriptions are now firmly established as a key component of the pay-TV landscape and look set to be an even bigger part of its future. With Netflix leading the way, SVOD is gaining ground fast.

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Here's Why Netflix And YouTube Just Parked Tanks On Each Other's Lawns

Mark Mulligan

7 Mar 2016

Chart Of The Week

cord cutting

cord nevers

Slowly but surely the traditional media industries are waking up to the importance of YouTubers but those taking note most quickly are the subscription video companies, Netflix in particular. As recently illustrated by its commissioning of ‘Haters Back Off’ from YouTuber Colleen Balling-Evans’...

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