Newsletter 24th of August

NEWSLETTER

24 August 2022

This week, we focus on…

  • Swedish households hold more streaming subscriptions than ever
  • New players entering the podcast arena
  • Paramount renews UEFA deal – Nordic tender(s) coming up?

Insikt: TV & Streaming

This analysis covers both the TV- and streaming markets in Sweden. 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.

‘House of Dragon’ is HBO’s biggest premiere eve

 

… And caused technical headache for HBO Max

 

TV4 to produce documentary with Ingemar Stenmark

 

The Swedish government introduces production subsidy

 

SPORTS

Paramount renews UEFA deal – Nordic tender(s) coming up?

 

CBS Sports will remain the home of European club competition Champions League in the US as Paramount has renewed its rights deal with UEFA in a six-season extension. The deal is reportedly worth USD 250 million per year and includes all men’s Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League matches that will be live streamed on Paramount Plus.

 

The new agreement is significantly more expensive than Paramount’s existing USD 100 million per season deal that expires in 2024. Part of the reason for this is that in 2024, the Champions League will move to the ‘Swiss Model’. This means that the competition will almost double in size (from 125 games per season to 225 games), and that the total number of teams will increase from 32 to 36.

 

Earlier this summer, the Champions League rights in the UK from 2024 was sold. Under the new agreement, Amazon broke BT’s domination on live Champions League football in the UK. In addition, highlights are set to air on BBC for the first time – details can be found here.

 

In the Nordics, the rights to Champions League are currently held by Viaplay (DK), Telia (FI & SE) and TV 2 (NO), but as all of those contracts expire in 2024, it is safe to assume that UEFA will enter negotiations also in the Nordic countries soon. According to the newly released Mediavision Sports Analysis 2022, Champions League obtains the second highest viewing interest of all sports rights in the region. 2.5 million 15-74-year-olds are explicitly interested in watching this league. But not only that, the Champions League is also attracting a high share of paying households in the Nordics – which clearly points at how important this right is to both Nordic consumers and media companies.

Sports Analysis 2022

For the fourth consecutive year, Mediavision presents the Sports Analysis. The analysis provides a comprehensive overview of the current Nordic sports rights market and an in-depth analysis of consumer interest, willingness to pay and pay rate. It covers 17 sports and +100 specific sports rights.

Embracer acquires Middle Earth Enterprises

 

Cineworld confirms it is considering bankruptcy

 

DR launches podcast with focus on news

 

US streaming surpasses cable for the first time

 

AUDIO

New players entering the podcast arena

 

Spotify and Apple have been the two undisputed champions on the podcast market for long. However, they may be facing increasing competition. This week, according to several sources, both Twitter and YouTube appear to be joining the fray.

 

YouTube launches dedicated podcasts homepage in the US – Nordics next?

 

There has been talk of Youtube adding a dedicated podcast homepage to its service for quite some time. This week, YouTube confirmed that this new podcast destination is now available for US users. In other words, a strong indication that the company is getting more serious about its podcast investments (and, likely, the potential for new ad revenues). The new home page contains popular episodes, playlists, and recommendations. So far, this feature is only available in the US. For sure interesting if the feature would be launched globally.

 

Even though this new homepage feature has not been launched in Sweden, Mediavision can reveal that YouTube is already the third most popular platform for podcast listening (among daily listeners 15-74-year-olds) during Q2.

 

But Youtube is not the only one to invest in podcasts. A few weeks ago, Spotify launched a similar feature – a new home tab that will create separate feeds for music and podcasts.

 

Twitter to incorporate podcast access into its audio tab

 

The social audio trend – ignited by the launch of Clubhouse – was brief, at least if judging by Clubhouse popularity. Nevertheless, Twitter has continued to develop its Clubhouse-like feature “Spaces” and its dedicated audio tab. According to findings in the back-end code of the app, Twitter’s next big bet in this area will be incorporated into the app soon. It is a new ‘Stations’ feature, including popular podcasts alongside Spaces.

Insikt: Ljudmarknad

This analysis provides in-depth understanding of the entire audio market – including audiobooks, music, podcasts, and radio. The analysis focuses on the digital transformation of both listening and consumer payments, on both aggregated and actor specific levels.

Mediavision in the News

 

Då slås HBO Max samman med Discovery Plus – Di Digital 

 

Kampagne skal bremse udbredelsen af ulovlig streaming – Media Watch

 

Cineuropa asks the experts: Why is piracy increasing in the Nordic countries? – Cineuropa

 

Stigende piratkopiering i Danmark: Ny kampagne søsættes – Flatpanels

 

Industry Events

 

Gamescom: 24-28 August 2022, Cologne, Germany

 

EuroVoD @Venice Film Festival: 5 September 2022, Venice, Italy

 

IBC: 9-12 September 2022, Amsterdam, Netherlands

 

Future of TV Advertising Canada: 14 September 2022, Toronto, Canada

 

MIPJunior: 15-16 October 2022, Cannes, France

 

MIPCOM: 17-20 October 2022, Cannes, France

* Mediavision will attend
** Mediavision will present