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.

Quick Take: Activision Blizzard Results And Why Engagement Matters Now More Than Ever

Karol Severin
Activision Blizzard reported its Q3 results late last week. Despite beating guidance on net income, which reached $260 million, the company’s stock plummeted following the announcement. The key worries include engagement, success of future games within franchises like Call of Duty and Destiny, as well as having a very good successful previous year to compare against.
2 min read
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Sky and BT announce long term partnership for cross-supply of content

Cover image for Sky and BT announce long term partnership for cross-supply of content
Alistair Taylor
British broadcasters Sky and BT confirmed this week a long-term extension and expansion to an overall content cross-supply deal. Following the initial agreement signed in the UK last December , the partnership now includes Ireland, allowing Sky Ireland customers access to Sky Sports and BT Sport through a single Sky TV subscription.
3 min read
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Guess Which is The Leading Headphone Brand?

Cover image for Guess Which is The Leading Headphone Brand?
Mark Mulligan
Headphones have been centre stage of the digital music market since the launch of the iPod in 2001. Portable music started more than two decades earlier with Sony’s Walkman, but it was digital’s ability to fill a device with catalogues of music, rather than just one album that empowered music listeners to cut the cord from their home stereos.
2 min read
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How Are Modern Media Subscription Services Building Competitive Advantages Against Traditional Media?

Zach Fuller
Media, with its creative nature, often likes to define itself as distinct from other industries, and yet it is governed by many of the same principles that shape other areas of commerce. With the shift to streaming in full swing, how are media business models being affected by the market forces that influence its ability to experiment with pricing and other modes of monetisation.
4 min read
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Quick Take: Will Stream Djing be the Renaissance of Soundcloud?

Zach Fuller
After a difficult two yearsthat saw acquisitions fall through and a lack of meaningful uptake of its subscription service, SoundCloud have needed some positive news. Reveredwithin the creator community though still struggling to make a profit, SoundCloud CEO Kerry Trainorannounced today at Amsterdam Dance Eventthat DJs will soon be able to mix and perform by streaming material from SoundCloud’s catalogue within DJ software programs.
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Facebook Launches Its Smart Speaker: A Few Strategic Considerations For Portal

Cover image for Facebook Launches Its Smart Speaker: A Few Strategic Considerations For Portal
Zach Fuller
Earlier this year, MIDiA predicted that Facebook would join the smart speaker market. A TV dongle or smart speaker: It makes strategic sense for Facebook to develop a TV dongle like Amazon’s Fire Stick or smart speaker like Apple’s HomePod, to give it a hardware foothold in the home—something that Oculus clearly is not going to be anytime soon, if ever.
4 min read
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