MIDiA Blog

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.

Hulu and The Egg: How An Egg Outfoxed A Kardashian and Went On To Win The Super Bowl, With Hulu

Georgia Meyer

14 Feb 2019

The egg that beat Kylie Jenner for the highest number of likes on an Instagram photo partnered with Hulu to promo an ad following the Super Bowl. Rather than ‘sell out’ for a branded message, The Egg’s (also known by fans as ‘Eugene’) first spot on Hulu (titled: S1 E1), was a message encouraging people coping with mental health issues to seek support from Mental Health America – providing the relevant links.

3 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.

3 min read

Major Games Publishers Are Feeling The Impact Of Peaking Attention

Cover image for Major Games Publishers Are Feeling The Impact Of Peaking Attention

Karol Severin

12 Feb 2019

activision results

activision staff

Just last week (February 5th) Electronic Arts (EA) reported disappointing quarterly results, now Activision has laid off nearly 800 staff, mostly in marketing and sales. As MIDiA has reported multiple times before , engagement has declined throughout the sector, suggesting that the attention economy has peaked.

4 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 .

3 min read

Is Spotify’s Acquisition of Gimlet (the ‘HBO for audio’) the Beginning of the Audio Influencer Boom?

Georgia Meyer

7 Feb 2019

Audio ad engagement

Following six days of speculation, Spotify announced yesterdaythat it is acquiring Gimlet Media (comprising Gimlet – the production house, and Anchor – the production, distribution and monetisation software tool), for an undisclosed sum.

4 min read

Podcasts: a Netflix Moment for Radio But Perhaps not the Future of Spotify

Mark Mulligan

6 Feb 2019

Wednesday was a busy day for Spotify: it reported above-expected subscriber growth, hitting 96 million paid subscribers, strong total user growth reaching207 million MAUs , improved margins and its first ever profitable quarter, registering an operating profit of €94 million.

5 min read

Thoughts on Spotify’s Acquisition of Gimlet Media and Anchor

Zach Fuller

6 Feb 2019

Spotify is reported to have purchased the podcast companies Gimlet Media and Anchor. Having only just reported an operating profit for the first time, the deals demonstrate not only how Spotify is still firmly locked in growth mode and its market share in music streaming platforms but also how much Spotify value the podcast space.

4 min read

Making Free Pay Seminar — Speakers

Cover image for Making Free Pay Seminar — Speakers

Dara Jegede

6 Feb 2019

London—March 27th: We've put together a seminarwith the aim to give music and video businessesa deeper understandingof the market's direction, helping you define your organisation’s approachand role in the streaming world.

3 min read

Facebook: Will The Next 15 years Be As Favourable To The Social Media Hegemon?

Tim Mulligan

5 Feb 2019

Yesterday (4th February) marked Facebook’s 15-year anniversary. Arguably no other company, with the notable exception of Google, has had as significant impact on our collective digital lives as the US social media giant.

3 min read

Why First is Far Less Important Than Best

Cover image for Why First is Far Less Important Than Best

Mark Mulligan

4 Feb 2019

fortnite live stream

Following Marshmello’s ‘live’ performance in Fortnite which was seen by 10 million simultaneous gamers, there has been the inevitable chorus of ‘but 2 nd life did this more than a decade ago’.

2 min read

Marshmello Just Live Streamed on Fortnite…So Just What is a Concert?

Mark Mulligan

2 Feb 2019

fortnite live stream

On Saturday I watched my 12 year old son scoff down his meal so that he could rush upstairs to get logged on with his friends in time for a Marshmello live streamed event on Fortnite. As you can see from the video this was Marshmello appearing as a Fortnite character, on stage with his music playing.

2 min read

Lessons from the Disruption of News Publishing

Zach Fuller

1 Feb 2019

At the 2019 DLD conference in Munich, various media commentators were suggesting that the attention economy paradigm of news mean ominous clouds are gathering not just over new media entities such as BuzzFeed, Vice and Vox, but also those with subscription businesses.

5 min read

The Video Subscription Challenge In 2019

Tim Mulligan

1 Feb 2019

Amid all the excitement in the media world around the 2019 launches of direct-to-consumer services from such illustrious content producers as Disney and Warner Media, one clear question remains unanswered - will the public pay for these additional subscription video on demand (SVOD) services? The general assumption is that the seemingly relentless rise of Netflix and Amazon Prime Video make continued subscription growth across the SVOD sector an inevitability.

4 min read

Eleven Sports Loses Serie A Rights As Partnership With IMG Ends

Alistair Taylor

1 Feb 2019

audience acquisition

Eleven Sports, the fledgling sports-centric streaming service has lost the UK and Irish rights for Serie A and Eredivisie, following a strategic decision to ‘amicably’ end its partnership with international rights agency, IMG .

3 min read

Super Bowl Ads 2019: The Death Wish of Playing Safe

Georgia Meyer

31 Jan 2019

Over the last few years, brands have been taking increasingly political stances. Whether Heineken’s ‘Open Your World’ 2017 ad, or Gillette’s ‘We Believe: The Best Men Can Be’ spot at the start of 2019, there has been a growing trend for brands boldly (and some say, haphazardly), entering the ‘political’ sphere.

4 min read

Japan Should Look to China for Future Streaming Growth

Mark Mulligan

30 Jan 2019

china streaming market

Japan is the world’s second largest recorded music market and accounts for 14% of the global total. However, Japan is not following the wider market path of surging streaming revenues driving overall market growth.

4 min read

Hulu Takes Aim At Netflix

Tim Mulligan

25 Jan 2019

From February 26 th , Hulu, currently the number three subscription video on demand (SVOD) service in the US, will reduce its ad-supported offering from $7.99 to $5.99. This comes one week after Netflix —currently the US SVOD leader — increased pricing for its membership plans.

3 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.

3 min read

Music Tech and Unintended Consequences

Zach Fuller

23 Jan 2019

Recent discussions over how music will look in the app economy, with services such as TikTok effectively ‘meme-ing’ the concept of music and emphasising its social context, has led me to reflect on the second-order effects of technology on the arts - those unforeseen and often unpredictable consequences of a new technology that changes the way people create.

4 min read

Ad-supported Strategies Are Playing A Growing Role In The Digital Economy

Mark Mulligan

21 Jan 2019

Critical Developments

2018 was a big year for subscriptions, across music (Spotify on target to hit 92 million subscribers), video (global subscriptions passed half a billion), games (98 million Xbox Live and PlayStation Plus subscribers) and news (New York Times 2.

5 min read

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