As if further signs of the slowdown in subscription video-on-demand growth were needed, Netflix stepped up this week with the news that the global streaming leader only signed up 1.75 million net new paid subs in the first quarter. That number was well under analysts’ expectations. Netflix has of course shifted the emphasis in its […]
Only launched in 2020, the streaming service HBO Max for US television network HBO and Warner Bros. Discovery will be no longer. On Wednesday at a livestreamed press event from Los Angeles, Warner Bros. Discovery announced HBO Max, will be replaced with a new streaming platform Max. The streamer will house HBO Originals, Warner Bros. […]
Despite the many reports of cable television’s ever-eroding subscriber base, the fact is cable is still dominant in most of Europe. On the other hand, the reports of FAST’s rise are also true, though it remains in its infancy in Europe and still does not have the viewership numbers cable can claim. However, recently there […]
British public service broadcasters (PSBs) may finally be able to recover some ground in their unequal battle for visibility with global streamers such as Netflix. The UK government this week published the draft Media Bill, which is intended to even the playing field between traditional broadcasters and streamers. The new draft legislation will see pubcasters […]
‘Exclusive’ and ‘Original’ content have always been treated as the holy grail of the TV business. Across live sport, movies, scripted series and entertainment formats, the ability to invoke either of these charmed words has historically been used to justify higher subscription fees for consumers and firmer rate cards for advertisers. Against this backdrop, it […]
The sports broadcasting rights market is transforming and the news earlier this week that Lega Serie A is reportedly considering making a bid to acquire all or part of the country’s leading pay TV operator Sky Italia adds colour to the view that sport rights holders are eyeing new business models to ensure they’re not […]
First the revolution, then the reaction. The big studios and tech companies that have plunged wholeheartedly into video streaming have now retrenched, with casualties mounting in the shape of layoffs and cancelled shows. Disney was no exception. In February the mouse house’s Q1 financials came in below expectations, weighed down by costs associated with the […]
Getting a streaming business up and running is not a straightforward exercise. Making it pay is vastly more challenging. But making a go of a premium sports streaming business is perhaps the most obstacle-strewn path of all. Huge question marks remain over the viability of sports-themed streaming. The reluctance of Netflix to involve itself in […]
For a brief moment this month, it felt as though the TV industry had been transported back to the 1990s. Canal+ teasing a movie channel, Warner Bros Discovery explaining the strategic merits of a standalone thematic factual brand and FIFA announcing records broadcast revenues all had a sense of déjà vu about them. All we […]
After months of uncertainty, France Télévisions, M6 and TF1 finally decided to call it a day on Salto, their streaming JV. Billed as a home-grown French alternative to the US streamers, it simply didn’t have the firepower to compete. In coming weeks, its 800,000+ customers will presumably dissipate in the direction of rival services. Nobody […]
