Blog: direct-to-consumer

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.

Disney’s direct-to-consumer business is now profitable – so what comes next?

Cover image for Disney’s direct-to-consumer business is now profitable – so what comes next?

Tim Mulligan

7 May 2024

direct-to-consumer

Today, Disney announced its fiscal second quarter 2024 financial results (calendar Q1 2024). All eyes were on the Entertainment Segment, where its direct-to-consumer (D2C) division matched MIDiA’s call that it would finally post its first ever operating profit four and a half years after the launch of Disney+.

min read

The next evolution of direct-to-fan will be fan-to-fan

Cover image for The next evolution of direct-to-fan will be fan-to-fan

Tatiana Cirisano

10 Jan 2022

Last month, we wrote about creator burnout and the need for more sustainable paths toward financial stability for artists. The abundance of creator platforms has opened the door for anyone to share their music, but it has also turned artists (and other creators) into 24/7 content creation machines who are racing against the ever-rising pace of consumption and whittling attention spans.

min read

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.

min read

FuboTV adds key sporting rights to portfolio following Disney deal

Cover image for FuboTV adds key sporting rights to portfolio following Disney deal

Alistair Taylor

2 Jul 2020

Sporting rights

FuboTV, the US over-the-top (OTT) internet-delivered TV service launched back in January 2015 as a soccer-centric proposition. In that time it has established itself as a niche distributor of live streams of MLS and LatAm soccer matches to US, Canadian and Spanish audiences.

min read

The Battle Down Under

Cover image for The Battle Down Under

Alistair Taylor

23 Apr 2020

#playerstogether

additive services

With COVID-19 exposing the vulnerability of pureplay sport streaming services , the importance of building out a robust and downturn-proof offering is fundamental to the viability of these currently additive services.

min read

Olympics Postponement: The Sports Media Landscape of COVID-19

Cover image for Olympics Postponement: The Sports Media Landscape of COVID-19

Alistair Taylor

26 Mar 2020

Advertising Revenue

The global COVID-19 pandemic is increasing pressure on the viability of emerging and legacy media business models, and is already having an unprecedented impact on the sports industry. An unprecedented swathe of cancelled sports events has left rights holders unable to monetise their existing broadcasting of rights within tightly-scheduled windows.

min read

Tale of the Tape: UFC or Bundle Driving ESPN+ Adoption?

Cover image for Tale of the Tape: UFC or Bundle Driving ESPN+ Adoption?

Alistair Taylor

11 Feb 2020

Walt Disney’s pureplay sports streaming service ESPN+, which launched back in April 2018, has surpassed 7.6 million paid subscribers, Disney’s chief executive Bog Iger reported during last week’s earnings call .

min read

Peacock Goes for Gold

Cover image for Peacock Goes for Gold

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 .

min read

The Future Has Finally Arrived – Streaming Supplants Pay-TV

Cover image for The Future Has Finally Arrived – Streaming Supplants Pay-TV

Tim Mulligan

16 Dec 2019

direct-to-consumer

It was a long time in coming, but what was always on the horizon has now become a reality as subscription video on demand (SVOD) has finally supplanted pay-TV to become the main paid video consumption format.

min read

Disney+ Recovers From Initial Blunder to Surpass 10 Million Sign Ups on Debut!

Cover image for Disney+ Recovers From Initial Blunder to Surpass 10 Million Sign Ups on Debut!

Alistair Taylor

14 Nov 2019

21st Century Fox

all-encompassing offering

AppleTV+. Market saturation

Disney claims unexpected traffic on its newly-launched service was at fault for the buffering and technical issues of Disney+’s launch Tuesday . The issues highlight just how difficult it is transitioning from a media company to a tech player, with technical glitches an enormous issue for digital-native subscribers.

min read

Why the D2C Era Is About to Begin in Earnest

Cover image for Why the D2C Era Is About to Begin in Earnest

Tim Mulligan

11 Oct 2019

direct-to-consumer

Next month Apple TV+ and Disney+ will launch, followed by Warner Media’s HBO Max in Q1 2020 and NBCUniversal’s Peacock in April – making the next six months pivotal in the evolution of direct-to-consumer (D2C) video adoption both in the US and beyond.

min read

Disney’s Latest Earnings Are Buoyed by Growth in Their Theme Park and Direct-to-Consumer Revenues

Alistair Taylor

10 May 2019

21st Century Fox

additive service

On Wednesday night the Walt Disney Company reported quarterly earnings for its second fiscal quarter ending March 31st 2019, beating analyst estimates with a 3% increase in year-on-year (YoY) quarterly revenue.

min read

Why AT&T Cashed in on Its Hulu Stake and What This Means for Disney’s Direct-to-Consumer Strategy

Tim Mulligan

23 Apr 2019

direct-to-consumer

Last week US communications giant AT&T announced that it had sold its 9.5% stake in US subscription video on demand (SVOD) service Hulu for $1.43 billion, valuing the third largest US SVOD operator at $15 billion.

min read

Another Week, Another Direct-To-Consumer Service Comes To Market

Tim Mulligan

13 Feb 2019

direct-to-consumer

On Sunday (February 10), movie catalogue specialist Epix announced the launch of its first direct-to-consumer service Epix Now . Access to Epix’s programming was previously only available through its four channels currently carried by its pay-TV operator partners.

min read

ESPN+ leverages UFC appeal to double subscriber base to 2 million in five months

Alistair Taylor

8 Feb 2019

direct-to-consumer

Disney announced in its Q1 earnings call on Tuesday that its sports-centric streaming service ESPN+ had surpassed two million subscribers, doubling its subscriber base in less than five months. Launched in April 2018 , Disney revealed in September 2018 that it had taken less than five months to surpass one million subscribers .

min read

UFC’s Debut on ESPN+ Draws In Record Subs

Alistair Taylor

24 Jan 2019

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.

min read

DC Universe Is The First Strategic Move In The Next Round of Direct-To-Consumer Offerings

Alistair Taylor

25 Jul 2018

Warner Bro’s long awaited DC Universe subscription video on demand (SVOD) service is nearing its grand unveiling, having now decided upon a pricing plan. This is the latest of a long list of examples where networks and operators have realised the growing consumer shift from traditional pay-TV to online streaming.

min read