Blog - Page 90

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.

Just who would buy Universal Music?

Mark Mulligan

14 Jan 2019

umg Universal Music Music

Vivendi continues to look for a buyer for a portion of Universal Music (per Rolling Stone ). Though the process has been running officially since May 2018, the transaction (or transactions) may not close until 2020 (according to Music Business Worldwide ).

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Amazon continues tech majors’ foray into games streaming

Karol Severin

11 Jan 2019

Games Gaming Amazon

As we predicted in MIDiA’s 2019 Predictions Report published in November 2018, Amazon is now reportedly working on a games streaming service (per The Information ). With plans to launch in 2020, Amazon has commenced talks with publishers about distributing their titles through the service.

What a 19th century art movement tells us about the future of technology

Zach Fuller

11 Jan 2019

tech Technology art

A classic manoeuvre in business strategy, exalted by the famed investor Warren Buffett, is building a moat. The premise is that the value of a business can be determined by the barriers to entry it creates – a metaphorical moat deterring potential competitors.

Hulu’s integrated streaming and pay-TV approach could be the future of video entertainment

Tim Mulligan

11 Jan 2019

hulu Pay TV streaming pay tv

On Tuesday, USstreaming video provider Hulu announced that it had reached 25 million subscribers, a 48% increase year on year. This was on the back of a 36% growth rate in 2017 and now means that Hulu has 44% of Netflix’s domestic subscriber numbers (Netflix Q3 2018 earnings ) and 64% of Amazon’...

Why 2021 could kill TV, save Apple, and mark the end of ads in broadcast sports

Georgia Meyer

9 Jan 2019

domestic sports rights English Premier League National Football League

2021–22 are the years when the world’s most expensive premium domestic sports rights come up for renewal. In the US the NFL, MLB and NHL broadcast rights will all be up for tender, whilst in the UK the Premier League (EPL) rights will be up for renewal.

Why music and video are crucial to Apple’s future

Mark Mulligan

7 Jan 2019

Apple Music Video

Apple’s downgraded earnings guidance represents its first profit warning in 10 years. This is clearly a big deal, and probably not as much to do with a weakening Chinese economy ifAlibaba’s 2018 Singles’ Day annual growth of 23% is anything to go by.

Why revenue growth alone is not enough for the games industry

Karol Severin

4 Jan 2019

Games games engagement games revenue

UK games revenues rose to $4.9 billion in 2018, surpassing music and video revenues combined (per The Independent ). It is an impressive milestone, but it doesn't mean the best is yet to come. Revenues are what keep the lights on, but they are not always the best measure of the health of a sector.

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How YouTube’s domination of streaming clips the market’s wings

Mark Mulligan

3 Jan 2019

music market Streaming Streaming Music

Firstly, happy new year to you all. Now on to the first post of 2019. The Article 13 debate that shaped so much of the latter part of 2018 will continue to play an important role throughout 2019 while European and then national legislators deliberate on the provision and the wider Digital Copyright ...

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Will ‘pause ads’ flourish or fail?

Georgia Meyer

3 Jan 2019

Online video Pause Ads ROI

AT&T and Hulu have announced a trial for a new ‘pause’ ad format, whereby ads are placed on screens the moment a user literally presses ‘pause’ on content. As consumers become more adept at avoiding unwanted advertising, these unsolicited insertions may well be seen as yet more unwelcome...

2019 – The year the traditional TV ratings system finally crumbles

Tim Mulligan

2 Jan 2019

AC Nielsen Nielsen SVOD

2019 has only just begun andalready the traditional world ofthe TV ratings has sustained a heavy blow with US TV Network CBS not renewingits Nielsen contract into 2019 (per Broadcasting+Cable ). This is a significant blow in both financial and strategic terms to the public research company which is ...

Why T-Mobile has pressed the pause button on its video disruption plans

Tim Mulligan

21 Dec 2018

Mobile content Online video post-net neutrality

This week it was revealed that the US’s third-largest Telco carrier, T-Mobile, was delaying the launch of its much vaunted video service into 2019. This comes after the attention-grabbing company had gone to considerable lengths to communicate the imminent launch of a telco-centric video service b...

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Artists direct and streaming the Big Winners in 2018

Mark Mulligan

18 Dec 2018

Artists direct DIY artists Independent artists

With less than two weeks of 2018 left, the die is largely cast for the year, but we’ll have to wait at least a couple more months for the major labels to announce their results (though WMG still hasn’t declared its calendar Q3 results), and then another month or so for the IFPI numbers.

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Media musings: Who will buy Snap Inc.?

Zach Fuller

14 Dec 2018

Media Snap Inc Snapchat

As outlined in our 2019 forecasting report, MIDiA predicts that Snap Inc. as we know it will be no more by the end of 2019. Its most notable asset Snapchat still has a sizeable audience among younger demographics but the company will be most likely acquired by a larger entity.

Team Instagram: 2018’s ideological warfare

Georgia Meyer

14 Dec 2018

Instagram Instagram Story Marketing

For Facebook, Instagram serves three critically valuable purposes: it maintains Facebook’s connection with younger users – shielding itself from competition with Snapchat. Secondly, it is opening up crucial new revenue streams via Instagram story ads.

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Soon to be the biggest ever YouTube channel, T-Series may also be about to reshape global culture

Mark Mulligan

13 Dec 2018

Media and Marketing YouTube T-Series

Some time over the next month or so aYouTube landmark will bepassed: T-Series will pass PewDiePie as the most subscribed YouTube channel on the planet.As of time of writing T-Series had 75.4 millionsubscribers compared to PewDiePie’s 76.

Knockout blow for Eleven Sports?

Alistair Taylor

13 Dec 2018

Eleven Sports Sports SVOD

Eleven Sports, the insurgent subscription video on demand (SVOD) service, is considering closing its operations in the UK and Ireland after failing to secure distribution via traditional TV operators (via The Telegraph ).

Google, Facebook, and the coming big tech disruption

Tim Mulligan

12 Dec 2018

Facebook Google Strategy

2018 has turned out to be the year in which the seemingly invulnerable tech majors started to come unstuck. So far, Facebook has fallen the furthest in both the eyes of regulators and the general public upon whom it depends for multi-billion revenues.

The move toward the Cloud is real and happening in 2019

Tim Mulligan

10 Dec 2018

aws cloud computing Innovation

Following araft of announcements at AWS reIgnite , Amazon Web Services (AWS) held a private press and analyst session last week to talk about its new tool AWS Elemental Media Connect . This new tool allows broadcasters to securely distribute live video feeds via the cloud.

Superstars and specialist services: Will OTRO bring value to fans, footballers, and their financiers?

Georgia Meyer

7 Dec 2018

digital content Mobile content Online video

As debates on the sustainability of various digital content business models continue to play out live, OTRO, a new entrant to the market offers an opportunity to marry competing points of view. OTRO: the overview Otro is a new digital content offering for football fans: exclusive content, documentar...

Friends for life? Warner Media and Netflix renegotiate frenemy deal

Tim Mulligan

6 Dec 2018

Friends Netflix Warner Media

The revelation that Warner Media(previously Time Warner, and acquired by AT&T in June 2018) has negotiated a clause in its 2019 licensing agreement with Netflix for ageing sitcom Friends highlights the existential challenge facing TV players in the streaming era (per The Hollywood Reporter ).

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