Blog: covid

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.

Welcome to the era of attention inflation

Cover image for Welcome to the era of attention inflation

Perry Gresham

2 Sep 2022

attention inflation

attention recession

The covid pandemic and associated lockdown dynamic allowed entertainment consumption to reach new heights amongst a temporary surplus of free time. However, after restrictions eased, consumers found the constraints on their newfound time tighten, and had to make sacrifices, often preferring to return to real life activities at the expense of digital entertainment.

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Minions versus Lightyear: a tale of two contrasting fandoms

Cover image for Minions versus Lightyear: a tale of two contrasting fandoms

Ashleigh Millar

12 Jul 2022

The new Universal / Illumination film, Minions: The Rise of Gru , has broken records for an Independence Day release to theatres – it grossed $123.1 million over the long weekend, beating the previous record-holder, Transformers: Dark of the Moon , which grossed $115.

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The Covid entertainment boom is over

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Hanna Kahlert

27 Apr 2022

Two years of pandemic-driven lockdown restrictions turned out to be a golden era for digital entertainment. With 12% of extra available free time allocated to various entertainment propositions, and additional spend freed up due to the lull in expenditures on the likes of transport and ‘in real life’ (IRL) activities, entertainment prospered in 2020: video consumption grew by 7%, non-music audio by 24%, music streaming by 19%, and games by 30% (source: MIDiA Research Consumer Survey Q4 2020).

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The metaverse hype will need to account for screen fatigue in an increasingly digital world

Cover image for The metaverse hype will need to account for screen fatigue in an increasingly digital world

Hanna Kahlert

24 Mar 2022

Media and Marketing

Cultural trends

The last two years have completely reoriented the dynamic between digital-first and in-person life. Digital entertainment has boomed under successive lockdowns, streaming has dominated consumption formats, and creation has been shifted from big studios to at-home DIY – in music, video, art, and even games.

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The COVID bounce and the coming attention recession

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Mark Mulligan

19 Feb 2021

media consumption

entertainment consumption

2020 was by any measure a unique year in modern times. While the societal impact of the pandemic was, and continues to be, horrific, for the entertainment industries it was a year of plenty. At the start of the pandemic, MIDiA Research estimated that there would be an extra 15% of consumption time for the average working consumer.

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Watch Together: BT Sport adapts to lockdown, offering synchronised group streaming

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Alistair Taylor

4 Feb 2021

The pandemic-enforced prohibition of fans in attendance at sporting events has weakened the viewing spectacle, forcing rights holders and operators to experiment with the viewing experience. The NHL pioneered the drive for change in terms of the viewing format, vying to create a ‘ made-for-TV ’ product for its 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

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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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DAZN launches globally with advent calendar offering of boxing contests

Cover image for DAZN launches globally with advent calendar offering of boxing contests

Alistair Taylor

3 Dec 2020

subscription video on demand

DAZN’s global roll out is finally here , following an announcement to launch worldwide (including the UK) back in March. The pandemic-enforced postponement and cancellation of live sports scuppered its original plans to coincide its launch with Canelo Alvarez’s world title fight in May.

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DraftKings is making its own strategic bet on the rise of the US sports betting market

Cover image for DraftKings is making its own strategic bet on the rise of the US sports betting market

Alistair Taylor

19 Nov 2020

betting company

US-based sports betting company DraftKings’ stock value has grown 11% following a strong third-quarter performance in which its revenues increased 98% year on year (YoY) to reach $132.8 million, up from $67 million in Q3 2019.

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WWE Q3 Earnings – An innovative digital strategy helps WWE overcome COVID-19 disruption

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Alistair Taylor

12 Nov 2020

World Wrestling Entertainment

WWE’s Q3 2020 results provide a fascinating insight into how a live event-focused entertainment business has successfully navigated a global pandemic. In its financials for the quarter , WWE saw a 19% revenue increase year-on-year (YoY), with Q3 2020 revenue at $221.

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Why the sports broadcast model is now under threat

Cover image for Why the sports broadcast model is now under threat

Alistair Taylor

6 Nov 2020

Sinclair Broadcast Group

sports broadcast

The Sinclair Broadcast Group reported its Q3 2020 results earlier this week, which highlighted the detrimental impact sporting investments had on its balance sheet. A 37% year-on-year (YoY) increase in consolidated revenue (to $1.

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Foxtel, diversifying for reach, launches freemium Kayo service

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Alistair Taylor

28 Oct 2020

News Corporation

Australian pay-TV organisation Foxtel is launching a free version of its sport-centric streaming service Kayo in 2021. This follows a difficult year for the streaming service that saw its subscriber numbers recover to over 600,000 after suffering a significant decline following the initial COVID-19 outbreak.

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Why DAZN is adapting to German consumer nuances with linear and digital bets

Cover image for Why DAZN is adapting to German consumer nuances with linear and digital bets

Alistair Taylor

22 Oct 2020

DAZN’s recently-established position as the ‘Netflix of sport’ has been a hard fought one, requiring extensive rights investment in order to carve out a compelling proposition. In the markets where it has the best rights it has experienced the strongest adoption, with the converse equally true.

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The Premier League going pay-per-view means a sucker-punch for sports fans

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Alistair Taylor

15 Oct 2020

English Premier League

English Premier League (EPL) clubs have agreed an ‘interim solution’ to allow fans to continue watching their teams live. EPL fixtures not selected for broadcast in October will be available to fans on a pay-per-view (PPV) basis.

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German Bundesliga faces 20% decline in value for its international rights

Cover image for German Bundesliga faces 20% decline in value for its international rights

Alistair Taylor

1 Oct 2020

German business publisher Sponsors has announced the German Football League (DFL) is facing a 20% decline in the total value of its overseas’ broadcast rights for the 2020/21 campaign. This is down from the €250 million ($292 million USD) that Bundesliga International (the league’s international sales operation) generated last year.

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European Professional Club Rugby goes OTT, pressing business over the needs of fans

Cover image for European Professional Club Rugby goes OTT, pressing business over the needs of fans

Alistair Taylor

23 Sep 2020

European Professional Club Rugby

Last Friday , European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR), the Heineken Champions Cup and the European Rugby Challenge Cup’s governing body announced the launch of its global over-the-top (OTT) streaming service, epcrugby.

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Wanda Sports Group’s financials highlight long-term impact of live hiatus

Cover image for Wanda Sports Group’s financials highlight long-term impact of live hiatus

Alistair Taylor

3 Sep 2020

Wanda Sports Group’s (WSG) Q2 financials highlight a significant decline in revenues on account of “the broad effects of COVID-19 mitigation efforts”. WSG reported a second successive quarter of decreasing revenues , following its disappointing Q1 results which saw a 26% year-on-year (YoY) decline attributed to losses within the Chinese company’s spectator sports and mass participation divisions.

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Can LiveScore learn valuable lessons from Eleven Sports’ UK failings?

Cover image for Can LiveScore learn valuable lessons from Eleven Sports’ UK failings?

Alistair Taylor

24 Aug 2020

streaming service

Streaming insurgent LiveScore launched its first ever over-the-top (OTT), ad-supported direct-to-consumer (D2C) streaming proposition in the UK back in June, harbouring a similar rights portfolio to that of Eleven Sports’ failed proposition back in 2018 .

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COVID fallout: BBC no longer considers UK Athletics value for money

Cover image for COVID fallout: BBC no longer considers UK Athletics value for money

Alistair Taylor

19 Aug 2020

COVID-19 exposed live entertainment as a vulnerable asset class , specifically following the pandemic-enforced postponement of live sports . One of the hardest hit during this hiatus and ensuing uncertainty has been athletics, which saw its largest engagement driver and the ‘greatest show on earth’ in the Olympic games postponed till 2021 .

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Fortnite’s Party Royale provides sports untapped avenue for reaching digital natives

Cover image for Fortnite’s Party Royale provides sports untapped avenue for reaching digital natives

Alistair Taylor

19 Aug 2020

Universal platform

Burgeoning universal platform Fortnite’s ‘ Party Royale ’ is slowly becoming the gateway for rights holders to reach digitally native audiences. Party Royale, Fortnite’s ‘ experimenta l’ game mode has been a breakthrough for the platform ever since it was released.

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