Newsletter 6th of September

NEWSLETTER

6 September 2023

These are the main topics this week:

  • Mediavision: SEK 900 million in lost streaming revenue due to sharing
  • TV4 pauses long-running primetime shows Let’s Dance and Talang
  • Meta may offer paid ad-free versions of Facebook and Instagram in the EU

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.

 

Pluto TV to launch on Phillips Smart TVs in Nordics

 

Better Collective acquires Brazilian sports media Torcedores

 

Hollywood strikes expected to cost US economy USD 5 billions

 

Spotify under scrutiny for enabling money laundering in Sweden

 

TV

TV4 pauses long-running primetime shows Let’s Dance and Talang

 

TV4 has decided to put a temporary halt to the long-running primetime shows Let’s Dance and Talang (Swedish equivalent to Britain’s Got Talent). Let’s Dance has run for a total of 18 years, and Talang for 12 years, of which 11 has been on TV4. Talang has previously had a break between the years 2012 and 2016. The broadcaster has cited declining viewership and an overall content renewal as the main reasons for putting the show on hold, but emphasizes that it is indeed a pause, not a cancellation.

 

“Despite the fact that Let’s Dance is still a program with more than one million viewers every week, the viewership has been falling steadily in recent years. We want to break that trend and then we need a break to review how we could renew ourselves and come back again in 2025 with new energy,” says Fredrik Arefalk, content and channel director at TV4.

 

The decision to pause the two primetime shows comes shortly after the merger of C More into the new enhanced online platform TV4 Play, as well as the company’s implementation of a savings package. Arefalk also stated that TV4 will not buy as many international films and series in the future.

 

One show that most likely will replace Let’s Dance or Talang in a primetime slot is Bäst i test (the Swedish version of Taskmaster). This spring, it was announced that TV4 had acquired the rights to the popular show, which SVT previously had for seven years.

Content Analysis

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.

 

Nordisk Film Plus och Allente in collaboration

 

SkyShowtime’s first Nordic original releases 30th September

 

Warner Music signed its first digital artist and release debut single

 

Spotify removes white noise podcasters from its ads program

 

SOCIAL MEDIA

Meta may offer paid ad-free versions of Facebook and Instagram in the EU

 

Meta is reportedly considering introducing paid versions of Facebook and Instagram for users in the EU. These versions would be a response to the privacy regulations and other scrutiny from the EU, by providing an alternative to their now ad-based services that rely on the users’ data.

 

Earlier this year, the EU laws prompted the Irish Data Protection Commission to fine Meta a total of EUR 390 million for forcing users to accept personalized ads as a condition of using Facebook. This is stated as one of the reasons for the potential launch of paid versions of the social media platforms. The regulatory concerns are also reported as the reason that Meta has not yet launched its X (previously Twitter)-competitor Threads in the EU.

 

 

Meta has not commented the matter, so the details regarding the eventual price and launch date remain unknown. Meta is expected to continue to offer its free ad-based versions of Instagram and Facebook within the EU.

 

During the second quarter of 2023 in Sweden, both Facebook and Instagram grew significantly also in online viewing. Both platforms are now in the top five for daily online video reach and each service reach over 10 percent of the 15-74-year-olds in Sweden every day. This is presented in Mediavision’s Q2 analysis of the Swedish TV & streaming market.

 

Podimo raise prices

 

Sony is raising the price of its PlayStation Plus subscription

 

Spotify presents podcast about Hollywood strikes

 

Swedish media industry critique press support changes

 

Mediavision in the News

 

Svenskarnas kontodelning kostar jättarna nära 1 miljard kronor – Dagens Industri

 

Sweden: SVoDs losing €75m per year to account sharing – Advanced Television

 

Svensk login-deling koster streamingudbydere over en halv milliard årligt – Mediawatch

 

Delning innebär förlorade streamingintäkter på nära 1 miljard – Dagens Media

 

Trendbrott: Fler svenskar piratkopierar film och tv – Dagens Nyheter

 

Streamingbranschen har fått växtvärk – Sveriges Radio

 

Poll: Illegal streaming on the rise in Nordic countries – Yle

Industry Events

 

MIPCOM: 16-19 October 2023, Cannes, France

 

Stockholm Film Festival: 8-19 November 2023, Stockholm, Sweden

 

MIPTV: 15-17 April 2024, Cannes, France

 

* Mediavision will attend
** Mediavision will present