Newsletter 15th of March

NEWSLETTER

15 March 2023

 

The main topics this week:

  • The next Champions League rights cycle in the Nordics approaches
  • New investments on the Nordic podcast market
  • And the Oscar goes to…

SPORTS

The next Champions League rights cycle in the Nordics approaches 

 

The UEFA Champions League is one of the most prestigious football tournaments in the world, where top clubs from all over Europe participate. Together with the English Premier League, the Champions League had the highest viewing interest of all sports rights in the Nordics last year. Mediavision’s Sports Analysis 2022 concluded that around 2,5 million in the Nordics were interested in watching the tournament last year.

 

Because of the high viewer interest, broadcasting rights for the tournament are desirable for media actors. The current right owners of Champions League in the Nordics are Telia in Finland and Sweden, Viaplay Group in Denmark, and TV2 in Norway. However, the contracts expire next year, and the next cycle of broadcasting rights is up for negotiations. In addition, the format of the tournament will also change in 2024 – four additional teams will be competing, and all participating teams will be guaranteed at least ten matches. The group stage will be replaced by a league phase, also known as the “Swiss model”, which results in 64 (+51%) more games.

 

 

It was recently announced that Amazon Prime Video and Sky retains the Champions league rights in Italy for the 2024-27 cycle. Under the terms of its deal, Amazon will hold exclusive rights to 18 matches per season and the remaining matches will be broadcasted by Comcast-owned Sky. According to rumors, Sky offered around EUR 180-190 million per year for the rights and Amazon Prime Video offered EUR 100-110 million per year for the exclusive rights to selected matches.

 

Which actors that will acquire (or retain) the Champions League rights in the Nordics remain to be seen. With the recent trends, we can assume that the rights come with a hefty price tag, but will prices increase as much as the number of matches? Furthermore, will any of the global actors join the race for the rights in the Nordics?

Sports Analysis

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.

 

Telmore launches new streaming offering

 

Sportway Media Group secures media rights for Metal Ligaen

 

Piracy displaces 73 000 jobs in Sweden

 

TikTok announces content agreement with UFC

 

The Last of Us will adapt Part II video game into several TV seasons

AUDIO

New investments on the Nordic podcast market

 

Last year, PodX Group made acquisitions of French podcast studio Nouvelles Écoutes, French podcast producer Studio Minuit, British audio fiction company Goldhawk Productions and Argentinian podcast production company Posta. And just a few weeks ago, Podx group acquired a majority stake in the Swedish production company Filt. Now, the company expands further in the Nordics by acquiring the Finnish podcast company Suomen Podcastmedia.

 

Suomen Podcastmedia is focused on content genres such as comedy, entertainment, true crime, and fiction. The company is most well-known for its investigative journalism approach in the true crime genre. Suomen Podcastmedia have a portfolio of 47 podcasts and have produced branded podcasts for companies such as Danske Bank, Arla, and Business Finland. The company also work with commissioners such as Storytel, Podimo, and Yle.

 

 

This past week, another acquisition was announced in the podcast landscape – Third ear Studio have acquired the podcast distribution and hosting platform Podspace.

 

In late 2021, the Swedish podcast companies Soundtelling and Just Stories merged with the Danish podcast company Third Ear, together becoming Third Ear Studio. The company now raise the stakes further with the acqusition of Podspace.

 

“In a strategic deal, Scandinavian Third Ear now acquires all the shares in Podspace, and thus establishes a new major player in the industry with a unique capacity to support publishers and podcast creators with the production, distribution and sale of advertisements and subscriptions”, Third Ear studios stated in the press release.

 

Podspace have grown rapidly on the Swedish market and work with clients such as Perfect Day, Podme and Bonnier News. The platform will continue to be its own company and brand.

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.

 

Spotify debuts new tools for artists, merch and live events

 

Meta is working on an app that competes with Twitter

 

Bonnier News becomes majority owner of Readly

 

Salt, the royalty music platform acquires Swedish Session

SVOD

And the Oscar goes to…

 

The 95th Academy Awards were held on Sunday, which was mostly dominated by the A24 produced movie Everything Everywhere All at Once. The highly acclaimed movie grabbed a total of seven wins including best picture, best director, and best lead actress.

 

Looking at the streaming services performances, Netflix came out on top with a total of six wins. The biggest contributor for Netflix was German war movie All Quiet on the Western Front which grabbed four statues, including best international feature film and best original score. Disney won two prizes, Black Panther: Wakanda forever for best costume and Avatar: The way of water for best visual effects. Warner Bros. Discovery got one win, with Navalny earning the Oscar for best documentary feature film. Apple also obtained one award, winning the best animated short film with The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse.

 

Unfortunately, all Nordic nominees walked home empty-handed. Swedish director Ruben Östlund was nominated in three categories with Triangle of Sadness and Swedish composer Ludwig Göransson was nominated for best original song. The Norwegian short film Nattrikken, directed by Erik Tveiten, was nominated in the short film category as well as Ivalu, directed by the Danes Anders Walter och Pipaluk K. Jørgensen. Danish director Simon Lereng Wilmont was also nominated for best documentary with A House Made of Splinters. Hopefully we will see some Nordic wins in next year’s Academy awards!

Insight: Nordic TV & Streaming

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

Mediavision in the News

 

Marie Nilsson: Kontodelarna lever osäkert när streamingjättarna jagar intäkter – Dagens Media

 

Et stigende antal svenskere betaler for podcasts – Mediawatch

 

Sweden: Significant growth in podcast households – Advanced Television

 

TVOD in Sweden reaches record levels in 2022 – Broadband TV News

 

Netflix drag – så ska kontodelare jagas – Svenska Dagbladet

 

Stort tapp för nya poddar i världen – “Kärvare läge” – Sveriges Radio

 

Nordics: 3 million SVOD accounts are borrowed from other households – Piracy Monitor

Industry Events

 

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

 

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

 

MIPTV: 17-19 April 2023, Cannes, France

 

Nordic Media Days: 10-12 May 2023, Bergen, Norway
 

* Mediavision will attend
** Mediavision will present