Blog: Covid-19

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.

The social studio will empower the next million producers

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Kriss Thakrar

23 Apr 2021

MIDiA recently explored the concept of the social studio and the more sophisticated tools for creation that are being embedded in social media platforms. It did not take long for this to go from concept to reality with Facebook’s Sound Studio announcement.

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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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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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Football looks to build digital engagement through Fortnite collaboration

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Alistair Taylor

22 Jan 2021

Endeavor-owned IMG, acting as Epic Games’ licensing representative, has brokered deals with 23 football clubs to appear in the publisher’s free-to-play battle royale-style game Fortnite. Looking to capitalise on an increasingly valuable market, with diversifying revenue streams a paramount objective, sport is starting to play its way into the world of micropayments and in-app purchases, turning fandom into revenue .

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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

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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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English Premiership Rugby gets set for a digital shake-up

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Alistair Taylor

17 Dec 2020

English Premiership Rugby

Tech major Amazon is reportedly looking to add to its burgeoning sports right portfolio, targeting the domestic broadcast rights for English Premiership Rugby. London Irish owner, Mick Crossan, confirmed the giant’s entry into the tender process to the Mail on Sunday , following Amazon’s experiment with live streaming rugby after its acquisition and £20 million lifeline for the exclusive UK broadcast rights to last months’ inaugural Autumn Nations Cup .

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Discovery enters streaming race with discovery+ and Olympics offering

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Alistair Taylor

9 Dec 2020

Last week , Discovery announced it will launch discovery+, ‘the definitive non-fiction’ subscription-video-on-demand (SVOD), on January 4th, 2021. Consumers in the US can expect the largest-ever content library for a new streaming service from launch, with more than 55,000 episodes from Discovery’s iconic brands such as the BBC’s Natural History collection, A&E Networks, Group Nine and more.

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DAZN launches globally with advent calendar offering of boxing contests

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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

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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

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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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Turning fandom into revenue: Why UGC is the next big revenue maker for the content industries

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Keith Jopling

28 Oct 2020

In our recent report The Rising Power of UGC , in association with Audible Magic we identified that the music industry could unlock as much as $6 billion in revenues from UGC by 2022. Such an outcome would see UGC contributing around 10% of music industry revenues, but this is just the tip of the iceberg.

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No Time to Die contemplates a streaming future

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Tim Mulligan

28 Oct 2020

A big story over the previous two months in the film industry has been the role of streaming to help fill the pandemic-induced gap in theatrical release schedules due to the shuttering of cinemas around the world.

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UGC is the next music industry growth driver and the short-term opportunity is worth $6 billion

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Dara Jegede

26 Oct 2020

user-generated content

User-generated content will contribute a significant proportion of the growth in music consumption over the next two years in an opportunity that is worth circa. $6 billion to the music industry value chain.

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

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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

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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

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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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