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This week we cover all the latest news in the world of sports streaming tied to Apple, Amazon, ESPN, Disney+ Hotstar, Fubo, Max, Peacock, and YouTube TV. We also discuss content licensing and viewership stats across the NFL, NBA, Formula 1, and MLS. Some highlights include:Apple reported that they had more than a million viewers to watch the biggest MLS games this season and the rumors that Apple is eyeing Formula 1 as its next big sports investmentThe latest in the NBA media negotiations and why the NBA needs to package national TV rights with local-market rightsPeacock's first-ever exclusive live-streaming NFL Playoff game on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024, and what the viewership might beDisney+ Hotstar news that they hit 59 million concurrent viewers for the World Cup 2023 cricket finals on November 19NBC Sports latest stats on the largest streaming audience ever for a regular-season Sunday NFL game on NBC Sports (1.85M AMA) and their most-streamed college football simulcast (605,000 AMA)Comcast reported that Amazon's TNF games comprise roughly 25% of all Internet traffic on Thursday nights across their networkFox saying it has no intention of taking its premium sports content DTC any time soon, with cable revenues continuing to deliver a lucrative revenue stream for the broadcaster
This week, we examine the Q3 financial results of OTT industry heavyweights Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, DISH, and Vizio, along with streaming providers Akamai, Brightcove, Kaltura, Comscore and Vimeo. We go over some of the most important conclusions, such as Disney+ having 5 million AVOD customers and ESPN+ making $33 million in profit. We go into detail on how WBD paid off an astounding $12 billion in debt this year and anticipates producing at least $5 billion in free cash flow. The company is attempting to position itself as an acquirer, as evidenced by the $111 million in positive EBITDA that their DTC sector generated during the quarter. We conclude with all the P&L data from streaming providers in the industry that you should know, including an examination of CDN77's remarkable revenue growth and the current macroeconomic environment's potential impact on the industry.
This week we detail the Q3 earnings numbers you need to know tied to Paramount+, Peacock, Fubo, AMC+, Roku and Brightcove including subscriber counts and DTC profit and loss. We also draw attention to the roughly one million new Comcast, Verizon, Charter, and Altice pay TV customers who have cut the cords. We talk about the announcement from Netflix that their ad tier now boasts 15 million monthly active users worldwide; Harmonic's strategic review of their video division; Bitmovin revealing that their revenue for the upcoming year will be in the 30s million; and Nokia suing Amazon and HP for allegedly violating patents related to H.264 and H.265 video decoding.
This week we break down the numbers from Netflix’s Q3 earnings, their content spend for 2024, what their ad business looks like today and the reasons why many are undervaluing Netflix's prospects for AVOD in the coming years. We also talk about YouTube's statement indicating that they most likely won't participate in the upcoming round of bidding for NBA broadcast rights and we highlight ESPN's newly released revenue figures. In conclusion, we discuss Lumen's departure from the CDN sector and the recent patent litigation filed by Sling TV and Dish Network against BritBox.
Diane Strutner, CEO of Datazoom, joins me for a detailed discussion on the current state of advertising data and the complex road ahead as inventory moves to digital and CTV. We discuss the seismic industry shift from siloed to a converged currency models, and the ensuing challenges in valuing digital and streaming ad impressions. Learn the crucial distinctions between accreditation and certification, particularly in relation to how they relate to audience measurement, and the impact on advertisers. The conversation takes a turn towards transparency, or lack thereof, in Nielsen's methodology and their conspicuous absence from new industry initiatives and committees. Diane emphasizes understanding true ROI, and the inherent risks of decision-making without adequate revenue insights, and the lack of data that is behind enormous funding decisions, and publishing and media & entertainment’s push for profitability.
This week we discuss the rumors that Apple is weighing an annual bid of $2 billion for Formula 1 racing, with the opportunity to purchase global rights after five years. We also detail how Candle Media's earnings are predicted to be between $140 and $170 million, which is less than the $330 million initial expectation. According to reports, Candle Media spent $900 million for Hello Sunshine and $3 billion for Moonbug Entertainment. Finally, we detail how Taylor Swift has already sold more than $100 million worth of advance tickets at AMC Theatres as she continues her worldwide domination across all forms of media.
This week we detail the language in the new terms announced by the WGA in their deal with the studios (AMPTA) that have come as a result of the writers strike. The new deal provides no real transparency into viewership numbers outside of total hours streamed and only for self-produced high budget streaming programs. We also discuss Amazon's news that starting in early 2024 Prime Video shows and movies will include limited advertisements. Finally, we provide some details on the recent ruling from a German court that Netflix is infringing on Broadcom's video patent related to HEVC.
This week I break down the economic and financial factors that are directly impacting the growth and restraints in the streaming media industry. Learn why companies are doing more with less, reducing and consolidating their spending on services like storage and delivery, and the market factors that are influencing their decisions. From banking interest rates for new money, tighter budgets, and lengthier sales processes, this new way of doing business is now the new norm.I also cover some recent comments from ESPN’s chairman discussing the importance of linear to US sports broadcasters, the triggers that would make ESPN go DTC faster, and why he says ESPN doesn’t necessarily feel any urgency. His overall takeaway is that professional sports leagues say that they prioritize linear because of the exposure and the reach and yet, the same spots leagues are taking big money from Amazon, Apple, and Google while giving them some games as a streaming exclusive.Also mentioned: Amazon and Nielsen’s Thursday Night Football stats; Warner Bros. Discovery’s new sports tier for Max; and SK Telecom and Netflix’s new partnership that has ended their dispute over network traffic costs.
This week I recap the opening weekend of the NFL season reviewing the streaming services across YouTube (NFL Sunday Ticket), ESPN (Monday Night Football), Amazon, (Thursday Night Football), and Peacock (Sunday Night Football). I document why YouTube came out on top, the problems Amazon and Peacock had, and the complete outages that took place on Xfinity and Shaw.I also discuss the patent suit that Sling TV and DISH Technologies filed against fuboTV alleging infringement on eight patents related to multi-bitrate streaming, with the oldest patent dating back to Move Networks technology. And I briefly cover news from Apple that the new A17 Pro chip will support AV1 video via a dedicated AV1 decoder in the new iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.
This week we detail how the current model of licensing broadcast networks to pay TV distributors is completely broken. With a recent blackout on Spectrum due to a licensing dispute with Disney and a current blackout on DISH due to their dispute with Hearst, the methodology of how content is valued needs to change. We discuss what consumers want from streaming services, how they want to aggregate them, the business models that work best, and the ridiculous fragmentation fans have when watching sports-related content. We also highlight the recently announced layoffs from Roku, Nielsen and the new financial numbers that Warner Bros. Discovery, Netflix and others have put out tied to revenue and free cash flow, due to the impact of the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes.
Dan Robbins, VP of Ad Marketing and Partner Solutions at Roku joins me for a discussion about the latest challenges and opportunities with advertising across SVOD and FAST services. We discuss the measurement side of advertising, the powerful role of big data and integrated platforms in delivering accurate and consistent results and what brands are demanding for targeting. Dan also details Roku's vision for TV advertising, new creative ad formats and why Roku decided to build Roku branded TV's with a third-party manufacturer. Learn the complexities of the rapidly evolving advertising market and the multitude of opportunities waiting to be seized.
This week we expose the flawed comparisons of bundled streaming services to pay TV, with Nielsen improperly comparing linear TV to YouTube, but excluding vMVPD services like Sling TV and Hulu + Live TV in their ratings. We also break down the new NFL Sunday Ticket bundle with Max, new student pricing, and multi-view combinations, and speculate on the future potential for platform customization and interactive features available on mobile and TV. Wrapping up our discussion, we discuss the potential of streaming services to reach profitability and the possible future where pay TV operators stop making profits from pay TV services.
This week we break down Disney's recent financials and news from their earnings including their DTC revenue and losses; subscriber churn, the announcement of higher pricing for their ad-free tiers, ESPN+ and Hulu + Live TV, as well as their plans to crack down on password sharing next year. We also detail the numbers from other earnings including Paramount’s addition of 700,000 Paramount + subs, Sling TV’s loss of 97,000 subs, and Vizio’s AVOD revenue of $142.3M, which was up 28% from the previous year. Also discussed is the latest sports streaming news across the industry including the report that Warner Bros. Discovery plans to simulcast live MLB playoffs on cable TV and Max streaming in October, as the debut of a new sports tier, called Bleacher Report, and plans to charge users more if they want to watch sports on Max. We also detail the latest from the NFL, which is raising the monthly prices of their NFL+ plans and for the first time will allow NFL Network and NFL RedZone to be viewed on a TV and PC.Finally, we touch on funding news by Visionular, Akamai's impressive Q2 earnings and Everpass Media's distribution deal with NBCUniversal.
This week we break down all the important numbers you need to know regarding Q2 earnings from OTT platforms and streaming vendors. Hear about profitability/loss and subscriber gains/losses for Warner Bros. Discovery (Max), Comcast (Peacock), Fubo, Roku, Brightcove, Vimeo, Verizon, Charter, Kaltura, Fastly and Cloudflare. We also pose tough questions about New Relic's valuation following its acquisition and the implications for other vendors in the industry.
This week we deliver fresh insights on Netflix's password sharing crackdown, analyzing the effects of the introduction of the ad-supported tier, the adjustment of pricing and plans, and how consumer behavior and engagement metrics are driving their decisions. We also discuss the news around Disney's intention to pull back spending and content creation for the Star Wars and Marvel franchises along with Bob Igor’s comments that linear TV channels like ESPN and ABC “may not be core" to their business. Learn how these industry powerhouses are strategically working to bundle, package, and license content while keeping their audiences engaged.
This episode offers a deep dive into the murky waters of ad fraud detailing the allegations against YouTube. Dr. Fou, an expert in ad fraud joins me as we head straight into the eye of the storm, exploring the latest report alleging Google's TrueView ads appear muted and on autoplay on third-party websites. Discover how these misrepresentations are impacting advertisers' trust, why YouTube's reply to the allegations ignored the issues, and what this could mean for YouTube's revenue.We also detail challenges in the overall video advertising industry when it comes to detecting ad fraud, why advertisers don’t have much incentive to fix it, the lack of clear measurement, methodology, and transparency in reporting and the impact of AI on the market. If you're interested in understanding the complexities of ad fraud in the online video advertising market and the challenges and trust issues that plague the industry, or if you're an advertiser wanting to ensure your campaigns are not misrepresented, this is an episode you won't want to miss. Research report and data from Adalytics: https://adalytics.io/blog/invalid-google-video-partner-trueview-adsGoogle's reply to the data: https://blog.google/products/ads-commerce/transparency-and-brand-safety-on-google-video-partners/
This week we discuss the topic of FAST and how as an industry, we have almost no details on revenue growth amongst the FAST platforms. With Plex’s recent round of layoffs and too many FAST channels in the market, we make the case that popularity, without profitability, is a problem for FAST operators. We also discuss YouTube TV's business including their outage that took place during the NBA playoffs, their decision to drop SNY and the MLB network, and YouTube's experiments with ad-blockers. Finally, we break down why Microsoft announced it will shut down Azure Media Services in 2024 and exit the video workflow business.
This week we peel back the layers of NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV dissecting the potential implications and benefits for the streaming media industry. We discuss the criticality of promptly addressing technical glitches before mainstream media taints the image of streaming technology. Learn how YouTube TV's new 'multiview' feature could amp up the NFL Sunday Ticket experience, or just add another layer of complexity.We also scrutinize Netflix's future advertising plans and their proposed creation of a new ad format similar to a half-hour commercial drawn out over days. Also covered is the rollout of YES Network's single-screen interactive stats on connected devices in partnership with Ease Live. Tune in as we delve into the fiery debate taking place in Europe with ISPs suggesting that content providers including Netflix, Apple, and Google should pay ISPs to carry their video traffic. I also call out Sandvine for continuing to publish garbage data on the topic, stating opinions as facts, using high-level marketing terms with no definitions, and using the debate to push the need for companies to pay them to use their platform - a severe conflict of interest.
What do TikTok's video lengths and user engagement tell us about the future of content consumption? Join us this week as we uncover the surprising data behind this social media giant and its innovative audience. We'll also dive into the growing trend of long-form content including movies and TV shows being chopped up into bite-sized pieces for a more interactive and engaging viewing experience.As the demand to get to profitability with DTC services grows, content owners are slashing millions in infrastructure costs through optimization of their video workflows, especially around encoding, storage and delivery. We discuss how advanced codecs and content adaptive technologies are enabling reduced bit rates without sacrificing quality. You will also learn about Netflix's multi-year technology and workflow transformation, and the increasing importance of purpose-built silicon in the race for 4K streaming.Lastly, we tackle the issues of media inaccuracies and AI hype within the industry. From the sensationalized reporting surrounding Disney's CFO's leave of absence to Microsoft's questionable AI claims, we emphasize the importance of accurate information and transparency. Discover the potential impact of AI on the streaming industry and Microsoft's relationship with Open AI – all in this eye-opening episode.Articles mentioned in the podcast:TikTok's becoming a TV platform. One pirated clip at a timehttps://www-cbc-ca.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6874102With Streaming Services Cutting Bitrates to Save Money, Vendors That Bet on 4K for Revenue Growth Have Losthttps://www.streamingmediablog.com/2023/06/cutting-bitrates-4k.htmlMSVP: Meta’s first ASIC for video transcodinghttps://ai.facebook.com/blog/meta-scalable-video-processor-MSVP/Questions or feedback? Contact: dan@danrayburn.com
This week we discuss the recent increase in Netflix's stock price which hit a 52-week high, all based on "assumptions" in new sign-ups based on four-day’s worth of data from third-party firm Antenna. We also question if YouTube TV is cracking down on password sharing ahead of NFL Sunday Ticket, with more users reporting pop-up messages reminding them that they need to return to their home location. We discuss how Telly, the company that plans to give away a dual-screen TV for free, has the ability to deactivate the TV if consumers don't use the TV as they want them to. Finally, we detail the launch of a new commercial CDN offering from Orange, for CDN services within France specifically.Companies and services mentioned: Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Orange, IPL, Antenna, YouTube TV, NFL Sunday Ticket, Telly, Vizio, Vimeo, Edgio.Questions or feedback? Contact: dan@danrayburn.com
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