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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.

What the recorded music industry can learn from the 19th century whaling industry

Zach Fuller

15 Sep 2019

music industry Music

A high-risk industry with large upfront costs and no guarantee of return. No, this is not the recorded music industry, nor is it venture capital (VC) – this is the whaling industry of the 19th century.

4 min read

Arcade plays to Apple’s strengths and everyone else’s weaknesses

Karol Severin

11 Sep 2019

Apple Arcade games subscriptions Gaming

Apple has revealed more detail about its upcoming Arcade. For $4.99 per month, users will have the ability to download and play 100+ exclusive games across Apple devices. While Apple is positioned as a ‘download and play’ proposition, the reality is it will compete against games streaming as wel...

4 min read

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The rationale behind Apple TV+’s debut pricing

Tim Mulligan

11 Sep 2019

AppleTV+ SVOD Video

Yesterday, (September 10th 2019), Apple announced both a launch date and new pricing for its video subscription service Apple TV+. This follows on from the March Showtime event where Apple rolled out the Apple TV+ brand and the big names it has engaged to build out a premium video content offering.

3 min read

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Songwriters aren’t getting paid enough – here’s why

Mark Mulligan

10 Sep 2019

songwriters Streaming Royalties Music streaming

Editors note: Since this blog was first published, MIDiA has expanded its research into the challenges facing songwriters in the current music industry landscape. Find out more here . Music Business Worldwide recentlyran a storyon how Apple has proposed a standard streaming rate for songwriters, wit...

6 min read

Streaming in Southeast Asia: Challenges and opportunities for international competitors

Amanda Stears

10 Sep 2019

asia pacific Southeast Asia streaming services

With a combined population of 371.7 million and a combined GDP of $2.9 trillion, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia represent sizeable and fast-growing markets for streaming services. The largest players by subscriptions are Netflix, iflix and Viu, with each competing and differentiating through their...

3 min read

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Netflix’s binge-watching problem

Tim Mulligan

9 Sep 2019

Binge-watching Neflix Video

Netflix has announced that it is going to start releasing new episodes of The Great British Bake Off and reality series Rhythm + Flow on aweekly basis (via Polygon ). For a company which de-facto created the phenomenon of binge-viewing, this decision brings it more into line with current market tren...

4 min read

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How technology is radically reshaping politics

Mark Mulligan

6 Sep 2019

Media News politics

As I write this, the UK is in the midst of a potential constitutional crisis following the UK government’s proposed changes to political norms in order to push through Brexit. In some ways this is what you get when a country only has a part-written constitution and never quite got round to phasing...

7 min read

Does Disney+ make Disney recession-proof?

Tim Mulligan

5 Sep 2019

Disney Disney+ Business Strategy

The storm clouds of recession continue to spread across the world. In the US, the inversion of the treasury bond yield which occurred in March of this year has meant that financial asset allocators are now prepared to pay more for less as they bid up the price of long-term government debt issuance.

5 min read

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Quick take: Spotify expands premium duo into Latin America

Zach Fuller

5 Sep 2019

Music streaming Spotify Critical Developments

Spotify has announced that its Premium Duo plan will be expanding to another 17 countries, 14 of which are in Latin America. The plan, which is effectively a mini version of its popular family offering, has been created with the express intention of servicing couples who reside at the same home addr...

2 min read

Sports fans consumer trends 2019

Hanna Kahlert

4 Sep 2019

Fans Media and Marketing Sports

This post features excerpts from MIDiA’s recently published Sports and Marketing and Brands report, ' Sports Fans Consumer Trends 2019 ' by Alistair Taylor. Sports-centric subscription video on demand (SVOD) services have largely struggled to entice subscribers, based on their current value propos...

4 min read

Starz to increase brand presence with AT&T carriage deal

Amanda Stears

3 Sep 2019

Pay TV Starz Media and Marketing

On August 30, AT&T announced a multi-year content carriage deal with Starz, allowing AT&T to offer STARZ content to its customers. This content deal includes STARZ and STARZ ENCORE premium linear and HD channels, On-Demand, HD On-Demand and online services.

3 min read

YouTube returns to its roots by making originals free

Amanda Stears

30 Aug 2019

AVOD Video subscriptions YouTube

YouTube is shifting its original programming strategy by lifting the paywall for all of its original content. Since the rebranding of YouTube Premium in 2018, viewers can opt to pay for a monthly subscription fee of $11.

2 min read

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Yao Ming 2.0: NBA and House of Mouse – Who needs who more?

Alistair Taylor

30 Aug 2019

Media and Marketing Sports Disney

Disney’s Q2 quarterly results illustrate the growing importance of its direct to consumer (D2C) streaming offering. With the launch of Disney+ coming up on November 12, Disney looks set to take on streaming incumbent Netflix both domestically and internationally by presenting a unique opportunity ...

6 min read

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Summer Report Highlights

Hanna Kahlert

29 Aug 2019

We thought summer was over. Then it came back. Now (maybe) it's gone again. Impossible to predict how many more heat waves there will be before Autumn descends – but we're prepared for anything, anyway.

4 min read

Cover image for Summer Report Highlights

Spotify and the car: Old world, new tech

Zach Fuller

29 Aug 2019

music streaming strategy Spotify Marketing Strategy

Spotify's latest ad is a not-so-subtle push in its most important strategic territory: the car. The campaign, titled 'Spotify for the Ride', emphasises the ‘soundtrack to your life’ element of the company as well as the proclivity of users to listen all the way through songs while driving compar...

3 min read

Hasbro and the lure of Peppa Pig

Tim Mulligan

29 Aug 2019

Hasbro Netflix Peppa Pig

The decision by US toy company Hasbro’s decision to acquire UK-listed Entertainment One shines a light on the content land grab currently underway in the wake of thedirect-to-consumer big bang moment of 2019.

4 min read

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Streaming needs to worry about a global recession – but perhaps not as much as cable

Hanna Kahlert

27 Aug 2019

cultural insight Media Streaming

Last week MIDiA’s Mark Mulligan overviewed how, in a recession, discretionary expenditures are the first to be cut. Given the non-obligatory nature of subscriptions and the contractual shackles of cable, services like Netflix and Spotify would likely lose out quickly as consumers rush to minimise ...

4 min read

Anyone order latency? Mediaset falls at the first hurdle

Alistair Taylor

23 Aug 2019

Strategy telco Media and Marketing

Mediaset’s newly launched Spanish subscription video on demand (SVOD) service, MiTele Plus, has suffered a succession of technical issues during the debut stream of its domestic La Liga coverage. Latency issues and Smart TV distribution plagued the streaming services broadcast, with complaints gal...

6 min read

Take Five (the big five stories and data you need to know) August 23rd 2019

Mark Mulligan

23 Aug 2019

Take Five Cultural trends

Taylor Swift, pre-sale love: Taylor Swift tends not to adhere to prevailing industry trends. As a millennial artist with a strong Gen Z following, streaming should rightly be the core of her recordings career.

3 min read

Cover image for Take Five (the big five stories and data you need to know) August 23rd 2019

Why Spotify and Netflix need to worry about a global recession

Mark Mulligan

23 Aug 2019

economic downturn global recession Media

A growing body of economists is becoming increasingly convinced thata global recession is edging closer (per CNN ).The last time we experienced a global economic downturn was the 2008 credit crunch. Although the coming recession will likely be a bigger shock to the global economy, it nonetheless giv...

4 min read

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