Newsletter 2nd of November

NEWSLETTER

2 November 2022

 

The main topics this week:

  • The Q3 earnings season continues
  • Viaplay is now live in the UK
  • Apple introduces price hike of Apple TV Plus & other services

COMPANY REPORTS

The Q3 earnings season continues

 

The earnings season is in full swing. In the last week, we’ve received Q3 reports from tech giants such as Amazon and Meta which both disappointed the market and caused the stocks to decline. On the other hand, Apple stood out as it traded up after the report. Here’s a quick recap of what’s been reported.

 

Amazon

  • Net sales increased 15% to USD 127.1 billion in Q3, compared to USD 110.8 billion in Q3 of 2021 and USD 127.5 bn expected.
  • Amazon Web Service’s operating income reached USD 5.4 billion in Q3 2022 versus USD 4.9 billion in Q3 2021 and USD 21.5 bn expected.
  • The advertising business has been successful for Amazon as it grew by 30% YOY.
  • The stock plummeted 13% in extended trading after the company issued a disappointing Q4 forecast and missed on revenue estimates.

Apple

  • Apple beat both revenue and profit estimates in Q3 2022.
  • Revenues landed at USD 90.1 billion for the quarter, edging out the USD 88.9 billion estimated and increasing roughly 8% over the same quarter last year.
  • Apple’s service business reported just under 5% growth during the quarter, a significant slowdown compared to last quarter growth at 12%.

 Meta

  • Revenue in Q3 amounted to USD 27.71 billion, a decrease of 4% YOY – its second ever decrease as a public company.
  • The Facebook app had 1.984 billion daily active users on average in Q3, +16 million from the prior quarter.
  • On the earnings miss and Q4 revenue guidance, Meta stock plummeted more than 18% in after-hours trading.

Schibsted

  • Underlying revenue grew by 6% compared to same period last year.
  • The operating profit ended at NOK 655 million, down 15% YOY, and driven by a financially challenging quarter for the news media.
  • Continued growth in digital subscription revenues, which grew by 8% YOY, driven by PodMe.

Telenor

  • Total reported revenues NOK 28.4 billion; an increase of NOK 1 billion YOY.
  • Service revenues increased by 2.5% on an organic basis, from 21.5 to 21.9 billion YOY.
  • In Sweden and Finland, Telenor increased the number of mobile subscribers, while losing 4.000 and 14.000 mobile subscribers in Denmark and Norway, respectively.

Sveriges Radio in international podcast collaboration

 

Amazon expands music catalog from 2M to 100M songs

 

Adlibris takes over Pocketshop

 

Storytel Books removes all its titles from Nextory

 

LaLiga extends partnership with Twitch

SVOD

Viaplay is now live in the UK 

 

Yesterday, Viaplay Group launched its streaming service in the UK. Upon release, there are two different packages available – the Film & Series package and Total package including live sports.

 

The Film & Series package focuses on Nordic storytelling and has more than 1.000 hours of Viaplay originals and curated third-party content. This package is priced at GBP 3.99 per month, with a seven-day free trial.

 

In addition to all content of the Film & Series package, subscribers to Viaplay’s Total package can follow a range of live sports, including all European Qualifiers for the UEFA EURO and FIFA World Cup played by the Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland men’s national football teams along with the UEFA Nations League and friendlies. The price of the Total package is GBP 14.99 per month or GBP 11.99 if signing a 12-month contract.

 

Following Viaplay’s recent acquisition of Premier Sports, the pay TV channels Premier Sports 1 and Premier Sports 2 have been rebranded as Viaplay Sports 1 and Viaplay Sports 2 and the free-to-air TV channel FreeSports will become Viaplay Xtra. All channels remain available through existing distribution partnerships with Amazon, Netgem TV, Sky and Virgin.

 

Viaplay has not yet communicated any subscriber targets specifically for the UK launch. However, Viaplay have raised their year-end international subscriber target from approximately 2.5 million to approximately 2.7 million, which was motivated by the acquisition of Premier Sports.

 

 

YouTube’s new feature puts 34 streaming services in one place

 

Viaplay and SBS bring Viaplay Select to Australian audiences

 

Elon Musk has officially bought Twitter

 

TV4 to cancel their sports news broadcasts in 2023

 

Nordic Council Film Prize 2022 winner announced

 

TV 2 and Altibox agree on a new, long-term agreement

 

PRICE HIKES

Apple introduces price hike of Apple TV Plus & other services

Apple has increased the prices of monthly and annual subscriptions to streaming services Apple TV Plus, Apple Music, and the bundle subscription Apple One in the US. This is the first price hike for these services in the US and international markets will see similar increases.

 

Apple TV Plus now costs USD 6.99 per month, up 40% from USD 4.99 per month. In Sweden, the price of the service has been raised to SEK 89 from SEK 59. An Apple Music subscription now starts at USD 10.99, which previously started at USD 9.99 per month. In Sweden, the music streaming service now starts at SEK 119 from previously SEK 99. The price hike of Apple Music is explained by an increase of licensing costs which in turn will give the artists and songwriters higher earnings. Regarding the price increase of Apple TV Plus, the company states that it reflects the growing catalogue of original TV shows and movies available on the platform.

 

Apple is not the only one raising the prices. Netflix has raised its’ prices earlier this year, Disney Plus as well. Youtube Premium also introduced its first price hike just a few weeks ago. Spotify’s CEO Daniel Ek recently concluded that Spotify has increased its’ price 48 times (globally) over the past two years, and that he welcomes Apple’s price increases.

Insight: Nordic Media & Markets

This analysis 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 biannually.

 

 

Amazon Prime Video invests in Nordic content

 

Lisa Aschan directs Swedish feature film for Netflix

 

House of the Dragon is the most viewed title ever on HBO

 

Samsung TV Plus bolsters channel line-up

 

Netflix with ads launches tomorrow in the US

 

YouTube reorganizes the content to platform users

Mediavision in the News

 

Amazon utmanar med sex svenska tv-titlar – Dagens industri

 

Saucedo programleder ”Ägd av Danny” när Amazon satsar på reality – SVT

 

Analytikern om premium-sporten: ”A-rättigheterna är hårdast inlåsta och där går intresset ner över tid” – Journalisten

 

Svenskarna trotsar krisen – prioriterar streaming före resor och andra nöjen – Dagens industri

 

Marie Nilsson: ”Vassaste vapnen i innehållskriget” – Dagens Media

 

Efter besluten – det här väntar i Netflix framtid – Expressen

 

Svenskarnas mediekonsumtion fortsätter öka – Svensk Bokhandel

 

Trots ekonomiska läget – medieutgifterna ökar – Dagens Media

Industry Events

 

TV-dagen: 17 November 2022, Stockholm, Sweden **

 

Filmfestival: 27-05 January/February 2022, Göteborg, Sweden

 

Media Summit: 15 March 2023, Stockholm, Sweden **

 

Radiodays Europe: 26-28 March 2023, Prauge, Czech Republic

 

* Mediavision will attend
** Mediavision will present