Newsletter 13th of October

NEWSLETTER

13 October 2021

As of this week, the Mediavision newsletter has been given a new look. In the weekly newsletter you get the latest news and trends for industries of audio, video, and text in the Nordics. In addition, Mediavision will publish a number of deep-dives into specific areas of interest this fall. We call them Insights because they will provide you with unique insights and analysis of some of the major developments on the Nordic media market. We hope you will find them useful!

This week, our top stories include:

  • The audiobook streaming services reports on their Q3 performance
  • Netflix introduces price hike
  • Box office is back!

AUDIO

Audiobook Streaming Services Present Reports on Q3

 
This past week, three of the leading Nordic audiobook streaming services presented reports on their Q3 performance. All three noted a growth in paying users.

 

Bookbeat (Q3)

– Revenues increased by 39% in the first three quarters of 2021, compared to the same period 2020
– The number of paying users has grown by 47% at the end of Q3 2021 vs the same period in 2020
– The target for paying users by the end of 2021 is set to 600’ after surpassing 400’ in 2020

 

Nextory (Q3)

– An increase in paying users by 68% YOY
– The Spanish launch in August is highlighted as a contributing factor to the growth
– Nextory is now available in nine European markets
– In October, the company acquired Youboox, the largest local streaming service in France

 

Storytel (Q3)

– Revenues SEK 583 million, SEK 3 million below forecast
– An average of 1 724 000 paying subscribers, worldwide
– Annual growth in paying subscribers of 363 700 (+27%) compared to Q3 2020
– The report caused Storytel’s stock to slide, trading at SEK 179 on Tuesday (compared to SEK 195 at the time of the release and SEK 245 one month ago)

Insight: Nordic Media & Markets

Mediavision’s Insight: Nordic Media & Markets tracks the progress of individual and household payments per service and actor, as well as overall media expenditures. The primary focus is mapping out the allocation of expenditures across audio, video, text, and access. Published bianually.

VIDEO

Netflix Price Hike

 

Last week, Netflix introduced a price hike across several markets with immediate effect, including the Nordics. The increase is said to be motivated by increasing costs in new original productions (including local Nordic series and movies) as well as improvements to technical aspects of the service. The news came shortly after WarnerMedia announced that HBO Max will launch at a lower price than HBO Nordic’s current price.

 

In other Netflix-related news, the company has entered a partnership with Walmart to sell Squid Game merchandise on their site and inked a multi-year film deal with Lupin star Omar Sy. Squid Game is reported to be Netflix most popular launch to date, viewed by 111 million accounts and rated no 1 on Netflix top 10 list in 94 countries.

TEXT

Nobel Peace Prize 2021 Awarded to Journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov

 
The
Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2021 to journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression. In the announcement, the committee underlined the vital importance of an independent media to democracy and warned it is increasingly under assault.

 

Three of Finland’s most experienced media executives launch production company Take Two Studios

 

TikTok enters collaboration with Epidemic Sound in order to aid brands with audio strategy

 

Nent Group removes TV6 from the free terrestrial network in Sweden as the channel is rebranded to be sports-focused

 

VIDEO

No Time to Die for Box Office


With cinemas (finally!) reopened across the Nordics, the latest Bond movie No Time to Die has set record box office figures during its opening weekend.

In Finland, No Time to Die drew close to 150 000 visitors to cinemas during the first four days after opening (1st to 4th of October). In Sweden, 222 000 tickets to No Time to Die were sold in the same period. The opening was even more successful in Denmark, with 270 000 tickets sold – resulting in the most successful opening to date and total box office revenues of close to 34 million DKK. A new record was also set in Norway, where the Bond movie is estimated to have generated box office revenues of 22 million NOK during the first weekend.

 

Also in the US, box office seems to be bouncing back. As of the beginning of September, domestic box office grossed approximately USD 2.6 billion for 2021 YTD, thereby surpassing total revenues for the full year of 2020. However, this should be compared to the USD 10-11 billion in total revenues generated yearly 2010-2019.

Insight: Nordic TV & Streaming

This analysis covers both the and TV- and streaming markets in the Nordic countries. It rests on three pillars: the consumers, the market, and the actors. Analysing the consumers takes us far – but not all the way. Studying the actors and the market as a whole is just as important.

NORWAY

Norwegian Government Presents 2022 Budget

 

This week, the Norwegian Government presented its budget for 2022. Some of the relevant takeaways are:

 

The funding for NRK is set to NOK 6 billion – an increase of NOK 123 million compared to 2021

 

The Ministry of Culture’s agreement with TV 2 on compensation for commercial public broadcasting will continue, with a maximum compensation of NOK 135 million in 2022

 

Total funding for video games and movies will increase by NOK 29 million in 2022

 

Comcast’s Sky launches streaming-television Sky Glass

 

Discovery Networks Sweden reports losses in 2020

 

Nent Group presented three upcoming Viaplay Originals: Swedish drama series ‘Limbo’ produced by Warner Bros ITVP Sweden. English-language thriller ‘North Sea Connection’, co-produced with RTÉ and filmed in Iceland. Danish drama series ‘Elvira’, based on acclaimed novels by Anne-Sophie Lunding-Sørensen

Mediavision in the News

 
Apple vill ge sig in i Hollywood – bygger nytt jättekontor – 
Di Digital 

Interest in sports keeps growing in the Nordics – Senal News

Disney Plus breddar sig för att nå fler – Dagens Media

HBO’s new streaming service starts in Oct – Helsingn Sanomat 

Research: Swedish audiobook streaming revenues growing – Advanced Television 

Industry Events

 
Cannes Series: 9-14 October 2021, Cannes, France
MIPCOM: 11-14 October, Cannes, France
Bergen International Film Festival: 20-29 October 2021, Bergen, Norway
SportsPro OTT Summit: 15-18 November 2021, London, UK
IBC: 3-6 December 2021, Amsterdam, Netherlands
CTAM Europe Executive Management Programme: 20-25 March 2023, Fontainebleau, France

* Mediavision will attend
** Mediavision will present