Newsletter October 17: MIPCOM, EU content proposition and the Swedish gambling market

17 October 2018

This week, as studios, producers and broadcasters gather at MIPCOM on their hunt for the best content, we are looking into the streaming services in Scandinavia. One of many interesting issues is of course the possible implications of a new content law in EU.

Mediavision is closely analyzing all the major Scandinavian SVOD, AVOD and TVOD services in the Inventory Insight Analysis. Mediavision follows the supply of content for each service and sets it against viewing (i e demand) in a variety of genres and content categories. For the local Scandi services, it is highly important to strategize wisely in order to compete with and differentiate from the US streaming giants. The amount of locally produced content is definitely playing an important role in this. And as we have all read over the last weeks, the EU is moving ahead with its proposed law that will require services to carry at least 30% local content. If the law passes its final hurdle (a formal vote), it might become reality as soon as December. According to the proposition, the streaming platforms can meet the requirements in several ways. They can acquire existing content, commission local content or contribute to a national film fund. Also, each individual country can set their own quota, up to a maximum of 40%.

How would such a law impact the Scandinavian market? Zooming in on the content libraries of the streaming services in Scandinavia, we can conclude that at the end of the second quarter this year, Norway, Denmark and Sweden together have a share of 30% locally produced titles, and 25% of locally produced content in terms of runtime. In all three markets, AVOD and Public service stand out with biggest share of locally produced titles. SVOD mainly consists of internationally produced content.

Moving ahead to individual services, the results are even more interesting. Mediavision can reveal that the American giants are far from complying with the proposition set by the EU. For instance, Netflix has less than 5% locally produced content and HBO Nordic and Amazon have even less. For the production side of the industry, whether a part of a global/US media corporation or a Scandinavian Indie, this is likely very good news – especially for companies engaged in fiction. The demand of locally produced content will likely, after many years of a stagnant market (Warner forced to make cuts), be heavily boosted. On the other hand, the US streaming services might very well be strengthened vis-à-vis the local players, when they too can present a higher share of local content. Mediavision follows this development closely and will very shortly present the Q3 analysis, read more here.

Netflix share of local vs non-local content in the Nordics as of Q2 2018
Swedish gambling market: Competition heating up as we move closer to a new regulation
The Swedish gambling market is highly discussed, since the new regulation is approaching (January 2019). Recently, the horse racing monopolist ATG announced partnerships with online gaming suppliers NetEnt and Yggdrasil. Once the re-regulation takes effect, ATG will take up the fight for market shares in the online space with the currently off-shore regulated actors.

Among online casino actors, Leovegas tops the list with a 21% monthly reach in Sweden, followed by Betsson with 17% and Maria at 14%. The competition will surely increase even further and Mediavision follows the development closely. Read more about Mediavisions analysis Swedish Gambling Insight here.

Online casino, monthly reach in Sweden H1 2018

Mediavision blogs:

Summer TV viewing and the FIFA WC
As many of us are now returning to work after a splendid summer, we’re taking a quick glance at the development of the 2018 traditional TV viewing so far. It’s of course with a special focus on summer ratings, particularly since Sweden this year outperformed all expectations and made it to the quarter finals in 2018 FIFA World cup in July.

Mediavision press releases:

Majority of new gambling accounts registered with off-shore brands
By the end of 2018, all actors operating on the Swedish gambling market must have a license. However, a lot of Swedes already has a registered gambling account with an off-shore brand. In its latest analysis Mediavision concludes that close to 60 […].

Industry news:

Netflix Q3 numbers exceed expectations
Netflix shares soared on Tuesday as the streaming service announced higher growth than expected numbers of new subscribers. The company added 6.96 million new members in the last three months, a record […].

Public service wants guaranteed prominence
The UK’s biggest public service broadcasters have co-signed a letter calling on the government to guarantee their players and content prominence, so they are not buried by the likes of Netflix.

Warner Bros. Norway forced to make cuts
The production company Warner Bros. Norway are making cuts, more than half of its staff are being let go. During 2017 the companys revenue decreased by 33% compared to 2016, making a loss of almost 9 million NOK.

Broadcasters back new streaming service
The newly launched Norwegian streaming service Strim is aimed at consumers without a traditional TV subscription. Norwegian broadcasters are backing Strim as a means of competing with the American giants.

Mediavision in the news

Liens vagabonds: féroce bataille de géants pour prendre le contrôle de votre salon
Les GAFAs se battent pour contrôler votre salon (et accéder à vos données personnelles) : la tendance de l’enceinte connectée qui se dote d’un écran, introduite avec l’Amazon Echo Show l’année dernière, se poursuit chez l’ensemble des acteurs.

Experts outline future film industry challenges at Connext event
At the third edition of Flanders Image’s industry event Connext in Ghent, author Johanna Koljonen presented […].
Yle väcker inte känslor längre
Vad ska vi se på teve? En fråga man ställer sig allt mer sällan, och kanske en orsak till varför nyheten att svenska Yle lägger ner Sportmagasinet (Hbl) inte väcker massornas ilska och besvikelse.
Orange y Google desplegarán cable submarino que conectará Francia con EUA
Orange anunció su asociación con Google para trabajar en el proyecto de cable submarino transatlántico Dunant, que conectará Francia con Estados Unidos durante más de 15 años y servirá para abordar la demanda de flujo de datos y conectividad en todo el Atlántico.

Industry events

*Events where Mediavision will be presenting