Newsletter 13th of March

NEWSLETTER

13 March 2024

These are the main topics this week:

  • Champions league playoffs is underway – but its future in the Nordics is uncertain
  • X to launch a smart TV app to compete with YouTube
  • TV 2 Norway takes action against piracy in sports

SPORTS

Champions league playoffs is underway – but its future in the Nordics is uncertain

 

The playoffs of the highly prestigious Champions league is in full swing. FC Copenhagen, the only team from the Nordics to take part in this year’s tournament, was eliminated last week by last year’s winners Manchester City. Yesterday, both Arsenal and Barcelona advanced to the quarterfinals after beating FC Porto and Napoli, and tonight, Borussia Dortmund and PSV Eindhoven, as well as Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan, will compete for the final spots in the quarterfinals. The games can be watched on MTV/TV4 in Finland and Sweden, TV2 in Norway and Viaplay in Denmark. All actors hold the media rights for the Champions league until the end of the season.

 

A new season of Champions league will begin in just six months. Since November last year, the Nordic media rights for the Champions League have been up for sale. Team Marketing is responsible for sales on behalf of UEFA, the European football confederation. However, negotiations seam difficult as there has not been no news regarding any upcoming rights holders for the Champions league in the Nordics yet. The silence indicates that the media rights have been hard to sell, which several sources have reported.

 

 

Together with the English Premier league, Champions league was the league with highest viewing interest last year in the Nordics. Approximately 3.3 million 15-74-year-olds in the Nordics stated interest in watching the tournament. This was concluded in the 2023 edition of Mediavision’s Sports Analysis.

 

Mediavision follows the Nordic sports rights market closely and our insights are presented in the Mediavision Sports Analysis. The 2023 edition covers 19 sports and over 100 specific sports rights. 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. For order or more information, please contact adrian.grande@mediavision.se.

Sports Analysis 

For the fifth 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 19 sports and +100 specific sports rights.

 

FC Barcelona to launch new free streaming platform

 

Sport Live & Pluto TV expand sports portfolio with new agreement

 

Netflix to livestream Jake Paul and Mike Tyson fight

 

Oppenheimer dominates the Oscars

 

 

VIDEO

X to launch a smart TV app to compete with YouTube

 

Back in June, Elon Musk, owner of X, announced plans to launch a video app for the social media platform on smart TVs. Now, reports suggest that an X smart TV app could launch as early as this week, initially exclusively on Amazon and Samsung smart TVs. Musk has confirmed the upcoming launch on X, by stating that “long-form videos will soon be available on smart televisions”.
 

According to anonymous sources within the company, the new app looks close to “identical” to Youtube’s smart TV app. The same sources claim that Elon Musk aims for users to watch “long videos on a bigger screen” and that X is “set on competing with YouTube”.

 

 

X has struggled to retain advertisers, amid controversies since Musk bought the platform, previously known as Twitter, back in 2022. In an attempt to retain advertisers, the company last month revealed that it would enable advertisers to run ads next to certain content creators.

 

X describes itself as a video-first platform, but Musk has also said that he has plans to turn X into a so called “super app”, offering services from messaging to peer-to-peer payments. The platform rolled out an early version of an audio and video calling feature to a limited number or users in October last year.

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.

 

Apple TV Plus may release an ad-supported subscriptioin

 

BBC acquires Viaplay‘s Rebus reboot

 

Netflix releases trailer for Ronja the Robbers daughter

 

Instagram overtakes Tiktok as the world’s most downloaded app

 

PIRACY

TV 2 Norway takes action against piracy in sports

 

Several leaders of Norwegian football met at in Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo this past weekend. During the event, TV 2 addressed their current problems with the use of illegal streaming services. TV 2 estimates that 300,000 Norwegians use illegal services to watch premium live sport, and that it is a widespread phenomenon.
 

“It’s a huge challenge, not just for us at TV 2 who sell this, but for football as a whole. This will be important work and is a necessary area of focus going forward. We are in the starting pit here and don’t have much more to report right now, but it is a challenge” says, Olav Sandnes, CEO at TV, to Kampanje.
 

Sandnes is open to the idea of working together with other TV companies that are struggling with the same issue.
 

“Yes, it’s possible, but perhaps the most important thing is what football can accomplish because it often involves regulatory opportunities, although I won’t delve into this. There’s a lot of law involved here, and it’s not entirely straightforward”, Sandnes says.
 

The president of the Norwegian Football Association, Lise Klaveness, was also present at the event and expressed her worries of the issue.
 

“We must look at it, and we must do it on several levels. One aspect is the technical side, where you can block signals. Another is the legal aspect of gaining access to block, and the third is about sanctioning when it happens. Of course, we can work politically to achieve something, but I believe one must invest in it because it’s not something I think authorities spend much time and money on today. Not that I know for sure” Klaveness says.
 

Klaveness also states that the Norwegian Football Association must get involved in the matter, as the income from the media agreement is their most important source of income.

 

Canal+ help drive positive 2023 Vivendi results

 

Aftonbladet hires new editor in chief

 

Warner Music lays off in Denmark as a result of global cutbacks

 

Spotify to raise its prices in France due to new tax

 

Mediavision in the News

 

Mediavision: Growing demand for local content in the Nordics – Broadband TV News

 

Därför blir streamingtjänsterna allt dyrare – och sämre – PC för alla

 

Mediavision: Ad-Supported SVOD Gaining Traction in the Nordics – Media Play News

 

Mediavision: Starkt intresse för HVOD i Sverige – Dagens Media

 

Efterspørgslen på nordisk tv-indhold stiger men udbuddet kan ikke følge med – Mediawatch

 

Sweden: Interest growing in ad-supported streaming – Advanced Television

 

Svenskar vill se mer svenskt på streamad tv – Sveriges Radio

 

Illegal affär kostar filmindustrin miljarder – Dagens PS

 

Var fjärde svensk strömmar olaglig tv – SVT

 

Kan bli det store gjennombruddet for denne typen TV-abonnement – Kampanje

 

Mediavision: Digitala ljudtjänster tar andelar på ljudmarknaden – Radionytt

 

Return of media piracy fuelling other crimes, expert says – Yle

 

Krisen i tv-branschen fortsätter – nu ökar piratkopieringen – Aftonbladet

 

Industry Events

 

MIPTV: 15-17 April 2024, Cannes, France

 

* Mediavision will attend
** Mediavision will present