Tim Mulligan

Tim is MIDiA's research director and senior video analyst. His research focus is streaming TV, and the intersection between established and emerging monetisation and engagement models for consuming TV and film. Underpinning this is a focus upon the business strategy and financial environment around which video services compete. Supporting this supply side coverage is a detailed overview of the consumer dynamics driving engagement from fandom to subscription challenges and video ad responsiveness.

AVOD steps out into the lockdown era

Tim Mulligan

16 Apr 2020

Peacock

quibi

roku

Yesterday saw the soft launch of Peacock, the new direct-to-consumer (D2C) ad-supported video on demand (AVOD) and subscription video on demand (SVOD) hybrid app from NBCUniversal – the media subsidiary of communications major Comcast.

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Welcome to the new era of pandemic programming

Tim Mulligan

9 Apr 2020

Covid-19

Disney

Netflix

As 25% of the world gets used to a second month of lockdown following the public health crisis unleashed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact on video continues to grow. Propositions in this new landscape are benefitted by increased entertainment time available (MIDiA Researchhas identified that for...

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Tech Major Market Shares 2019
Amazon Powers Ahead

Mark Mulligan, Tim Mulligan, Karol Severin and Alistair Taylor

April 2020

Apple

iTunes store

Spotify

The tech majors are power players in the global digital content marketplace through a combination of their own content services, ad monetisation and control of audiences via devices, search and social. While advertising and services revenues are still a minority of total tech major revenues, the share is substantial, and revenues are growing fast.

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Today Quibi launches into a brave new world with even bigger challenges ahead

Tim Mulligan

6 Apr 2020

Covid-19

quibi

Video

When Quibi chose April 6thas its US and Canada launch date, it could not have envisaged just how rapidly the world would have reprioritised its finite attention. Quibi’s go-to-market strategy has focused on the seeming gap in mobile-native premium short-form video content – smartphone-native con...

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Why Warner Media is investing in incoming CEO Jason Kilar

Tim Mulligan

3 Apr 2020

d2c

hulu

Jason Kilar

On Wednesday AT&T announced that Jason Kilar will become the new CEO of Warner Media on May 1st2020. The choice of Kilar speaks volumes about how the US communications major is approaching the forthcoming challenge at the heart of its Warner Media subsidiary – the May domestic launch of HBO Ma...

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Scheduling & Marketing Strategies in the Streaming Era

Tim Mulligan

March 2020

Scheduling & Marketing Strategies in the Streaming Era Presentation for MIPTV 2020.

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How news can unlock the current ad engagement paradox

Tim Mulligan

27 Mar 2020

Covid-19

SVOD

Business Strategy

With a quarter of the world’s population now estimated be living in areas under lockdown, online engagement is spiking at an unprecedented rate. Much of this engagement is being driven by a significantly-increased demand for entertainment to distract from the current global pandemic.

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Disney+ launches in the UK on the first day of a national lockdown

Tim Mulligan

24 Mar 2020

coronavirus

Disney

Video

The last two weeks have been dramatic for public companies in the wake of extreme investor reactions to the still unknown long-term economic impacts of the global coronavirus pandemic. However, media major Disney is in the fortunate position of launching its family-centric Disney+ streaming service ...

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Video Consumer Survey
Country Snapshots

Tim Mulligan

March 2020

Consumer behaviour

Subscriptions

Video

Video consumer survey country snapshots for US, UK, Australia, Canada, Germany, Spain, Sweden, France, Italy, Netherlands and Mexico.

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Entertainment unleashed in an era of universal basic income

Tim Mulligan

13 Mar 2020

Universal Basic Income

Entertainment

Business Strategy

As the abnormal becomes the new normal following the official confirmation that the world has entered into a global pandemic event, the looming potential recession and enforced home entertainment experiment provides a glimpse into how the future might look in a decade-plus when universal basic incom...

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TV Network Brand Fandom and Awareness

Tim Mulligan

March 2020

Fandom

tv networks

data

General Notes This data report presents consumer brand awareness and fandom for TV networks across the US, UK, Canada and Australia. The data is taken from MIDiA’s Quarterly Video Brand Tracker with a nationally representative, quarterly-only sample of 4,000 consumers aged 16+.

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Why Disney+’s Sky distribution deal is likely to become mainstream among D2C competitors

Tim Mulligan

3 Mar 2020

Comcast

Disney

Sky

Today the UK’s dominant pay-TV operator, Sky, announced a partnership with media major Disney+ to grow its UK subscriber base prior to its official UK launch on March 24th. Sky currently operates Now TV, its own subscription video on demand (SVOD) service, and is owned by Comcast – which is laun...

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The end of the Bob Iger era – what next for Disney?

Tim Mulligan

26 Feb 2020

Bob Chapek

Bob Iger

d2c

In February 2020, Disney announced that Bob Iger will step down from the Disney CEO role and become the executive chairman through to December 31st2021, with immediate effect. Bob Chapek, who has served as the chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, will assume the role of CEO.

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Awareness and Demand Indicators for Disney+ versus Apple TV+

Tim Mulligan

February 2020

Apple

Apple TV

Disney

Awareness and Demand Indicators for Disney+ versus Apple TV+ in Q4 2019 / Q1 2020 On November 1st 2019 Apple TV+ launched, followed by Disney+ on November 12th. Both services represent flagship direct-to-consumer (D2C) services, headed by a dominant tech major and a dominant media major respectively – representing the diverging strategic drivers ...

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Why the BBC finds itself in an existential battle for survival

Tim Mulligan

18 Feb 2020

Strategy

Video

BBC

On February 5thNicky Morgan, the UK Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport,announcedan eight-week public consultation on whether to decriminalise TV licence fee evasion (via Gov.uk ).

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Building Show Fandom in the Streaming Era

Tim Mulligan

February 2020

Apple

Spotify

Marketing

The direct-to-consumer (D2C) video big bang moment is getting into stride, with Peacock and HBO Max following Apple TV+ and Disney+ into the already-congested video streaming marketplace. TV show marketing teams now face unprecedented competition for audience attention and mindshare.

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Joining the D2C streaming wars is a do-or-die moment for ViacomCBS

Tim Mulligan

12 Feb 2020

CBS

d2c

Disney

Last Thursday CNBC reportedthat the newly-merged ViacomCBS is planning to launch its own direct-to-consumer (D2C) service, with a formal announcement to be made during the company’s forthcoming fourth quarter earnings conference call on February 20th.

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20 million is the magic number for Disney today

Tim Mulligan

4 Feb 2020

Disney

Video

Business Strategy

Today Disney announces its Q1 2020 numbers, with Wall Street expected to laser-focus upon the first available numbers for Disney+ since its launch on November 12th of 2019. Disney+ is the key direct-to-consumer (D2C) service underpinning Disney’s pivot into streaming, which it formally announced a...

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US Video Consumer Behaviour Q4 2019
End of the Beginning for the Streaming Transition

Tim Mulligan

January 2020

Streaming video

Apple TV

Netflix

This report presents key trends and analysis from MIDiA’s quarterly Video Brand Tracker survey, including devices for viewing, video streaming activities, subscription video on demand (SVOD), demographics, video streaming app users, and top-streamed TV shows.

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A View to a Sure Thing – Part Two

Tim Mulligan

29 Jan 2020

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

mgm

Netflix

Long-term readers of the  MIDiA Research Blog  may remember a post from  September 2017  outlining the appeal to tech majors Apple and Amazon of acquiring the rights to the James Bond franchise.

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