Product Strategy | MIDiA Research

Netflix as blockbuster behemoth?

Tim Mulligan

19 Jan 2021

Today Netflix announces its Q4 2020 results. Widely recognised as one of the standout business winners of 2020, Netflix avoided any D2C ‘Big Bang ’disruption by seeing its dominant streaming video...

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Line change for the NHL: COVID-enforced innovation arrives as ‘D-Day’ commences

Alistair Taylor

7 Jan 2021

D-Day

Year 0

Sporting rights

With 2021 commencing, the start of ‘ D-day’ or ‘ Year 0’ for sporting rights is upon us, as the major domestic sports rights start coming up for renewal. Nowhere is ‘D-day’ for sporting rights...

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English Premiership Rugby gets set for a digital shake-up

Alistair Taylor

17 Dec 2020

English Premiership Rugby

Amazon

tech major

Tech major Amazon is reportedly looking to add to its burgeoning sports right portfolio, targeting the domestic broadcast rights for English Premiership Rugby. London Irish owner, Mick Crossan, confirmed...

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Sports Rights
The Great Reset

Alistair Taylor

December 2020

Spotify

Video

COVID-19 exposed live entertainment as a vulnerable asset class during a global health crisis, rendering services overly reliant on live sports broadcasts as primary churn candidates. A major overhaul...

Can Roblox get a better value out of its IPO postponement?

Karol Severin

16 Dec 2020

Roblox

IPO

cross-entertainment

The Wall Street Journal has reported that Roblox is delaying its IPO to 2021. WSJ states that “…company officials decided that the gravity-defying performance this week ofAirbnb andDoorDash made it...

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Discovery enters streaming race with discovery+ and Olympics offering

Alistair Taylor

9 Dec 2020

discovery

Eurosport

discovery+

Last week , Discovery announced it will launch discovery+, ‘the definitive non-fiction’ subscription-video-on-demand (SVOD), on January 4th, 2021. Consumers in the US can expect the largest-ever content...

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Blockbuster disruption comes to the streaming wars courtesy of HBO Max

Tim Mulligan

8 Dec 2020

SVOD

HBO Max

Warner Media

An unprecedented year for the entertainment industry has now taken yet another decisive turn. Last Thursday Warner Media’s CEO Jason Kilar announced that all Warner Bros’ 2021 releases will be available...

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DAZN launches globally with advent calendar offering of boxing contests

Alistair Taylor

3 Dec 2020

DAZN

SVOD

subscription video on demand

DAZN’s global roll out is finally here , following an announcement to launch worldwide (including the UK) back in March. The pandemic-enforced postponement and cancellation of live sports scuppered its...

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Why Condé Nast believes Netflix is the new Vogue and Vanity Fair

Tim Mulligan

2 Dec 2020

Netflix

Condé Nast

Vogue

The digital revolution has not been kind on the print magazine industry. In the pre-digital world media power resided on access to coverage on the front pages of style and culture arbiters such as Vogue...

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Spotify Q3 2020 Earnings
The Shift to Free

Cover image for Spotify Q3 2020 Earnings

Mark Mulligan

November 2020

Subscriptions

Streaming

Streaming Music

With three quarters of 2020 gone, Spotify has prospered during the most challenging of times, with consistent growth across most metrics. Q3 2020 saw a slight deviation from the script though, with ad-supported...

2021 Predictions
The Year of the Immersive Web

Mark Mulligan, Tim Mulligan, Karol Severin, Alistair Taylor and Hanna Kahlert

November 2020

Spotify

discovery

In this report MIDiA Research analysts present their predictions for what will be the big trends in digital media and tech across music, video, brands, marketing, games and sports in 2021 and beyond. Key...

Why TikTok’s regulatory countdown has been extended yet again

Tim Mulligan

20 Nov 2020

Online video

Media

Video

One of the many knock-on effects of this month’s US Presidential election has been the temporary reprieve granted to social video app TikTok. The app is owned and operated by ByteDance, the Beijing-based...

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DraftKings is making its own strategic bet on the rise of the US sports betting market

Alistair Taylor

19 Nov 2020

DraftKings

Sportsbook

betting company

US-based sports betting company DraftKings’ stock value has grown 11% following a strong third-quarter performance in which its revenues increased 98% year on year (YoY) to reach $132.8 million, up from...

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WWE Q3 Earnings – An innovative digital strategy helps WWE overcome COVID-19 disruption

Alistair Taylor

12 Nov 2020

WWE

World Wrestling Entertainment

covid

WWE’s Q3 2020 results provide a fascinating insight into how a live event-focused entertainment business has successfully navigated a global pandemic. In its financials for the quarter , WWE saw a 19%...

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Why Take-Two Interactive does not need to adopt games subscriptions yet

Karol Severin

10 Nov 2020

take two interactive

t2

games subscriptions

Take-Two Interactive (T2) reported quarterly results, with revenue dipping slightly, but profitability improving. On the call, T2 reiterated scepticism over the future of the games subscription models....

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Why the sports broadcast model is now under threat

Alistair Taylor

6 Nov 2020

Sinclair Broadcast Group

Sinclair

sports broadcast

The Sinclair Broadcast Group reported its Q3 2020 results earlier this week, which highlighted the detrimental impact sporting investments had on its balance sheet. A 37% year-on-year (YoY) increase in...

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The video streaming shift from sports to news

Tim Mulligan

5 Nov 2020

news

Video

Streaming

Yesterday the Sinclair Broadcast Group reported its Q3 2020 results . A 37% increase in consolidated revenues was undone by a $4.2 billion impairment on the local sports segment due to the COVID-19 disruption...

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Live streaming centre stage for 2021

Keith Jopling

2 Nov 2020

live streaming

live music

Live music industry

The longer the pandemic continues, the harder it gets for the live music business (and other cultural sectors built around live performance) to sustain hope of a ‘return to normal’. I hate saying it,...

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State of the YouTube Music Economy 3.0 -
End of the Beginning

Cover image for State of the YouTube Music Economy 3.0 -

Mark Mulligan

October 2020

Spotify

YouTube

This is the third bi-annual report of its kind, providing the most comprehensive view available of the YouTube music economy. It presents data for revenues, royalty payments, streams, subscribers, user...

PS5 and Travis Scott partnership illustrate PlayStation’s/Sony’s cross-entertainment future

Karol Severin

29 Oct 2020

ps5

PlayStation5

Travis scott

Over the last year we have written a number of times that Sony’s future is cross-entertainment , while Xbox’s future is cross platform . This stems from their respective strengths and weaknesses. Sony...

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