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Netflix revealed at its Upfront this week that it now has 40 million monthly active users on its lower-priced ad-supported tier. It’s not clear how monthly active users and subscribers relate to each other. But I think it’s probably fair to assume that closer to around 10% of Netflix’s 270 million global subscribers are now ad-tier subscribers (Colin and I will clarify this further...
Earlier this week the WSJ reported that Walmart is seeking to acquire VIZIO for over $2 billion. Colin and I discuss the likely strategic rationale behind the deal. We both like the benefits to both companies with grabbing a bigger share of CTV ad spending a big upside.
Meanwhile, the Super Bowl scored a record 123.4 viewers across all platforms according to Paramount. The company also said...
LRG estimates that YouTube TV added 600K subscribers in Q3 ’23, bringing it to a total of 6.5 million subscribers. YouTube TV’s growth is by far the strongest of all pay-TV providers, double the growth of Hulu + Live TV and Fubo, with all traditional providers losing subscribers in Q3.
On this week’s podcast we discuss what’s behind YouTube TV’s growth, and also how sports TV continues to be...
First up on Inside the Stream this week Colin and I discuss the latest data from Nielsen’s The Gauge report. While it said that “linear TV” viewing fell below 50% for the first time, we explain how a more accurate headline would probably be that broadcast and cable TV viewing fell below 50%. Viewership is following along with pay-TV adoption, which we also discuss fell further in Q2 ’23....
In this week’s podcast we discuss the overlapping “doom loops” that are crushing the TV industry. These were first articulated by MoffettNathanson, and built upon by Colin. The doom loops include 1) TV networks shifting investment/focus from linear TV to streaming, in turn driving more cord-cutting, 2) Fewer remaining pay-TV subscribers available to shoulder the cost of sports TV networks, in...
eMarketer’s latest data reveals that in 2024, 20 million more viewers will consume live sports on streaming than on pay-TV. With a number of marquee games shifting to streaming ahead (notably NBA to Amazon and Peacock), streaming is poised for more gains. eMarketer forecasts that in 2027 over 127 million viewers will consume live sports on streaming vs. just 75 million for pay-TV.
As we...
Disney reported a $47 million operating profit in its direct-to-consumer (DTC) segment in its fiscal third quarter 2024. The profit comes one quarter earlier than Disney had forecast. The $47 million profit reverses a $517 million loss in the year ago quarter.
While the optics of the profit are indeed positive, in this week’s podcast Colin and I do a deep dive into the profit’s true quality...
According to new data from Hub Entertainment Research, Amazon’s Prime Video now has the highest percentage any major SVOD provider taking its ad-supported tier. And it happened by Amazon simply flipping a switch at Prime Video to make ads the default for all subscribers. Perhaps most interesting is that two other major SVOD providers - Netflix and Disney+ used completely different strategies in...
This week we look through all the buzz around the new Disney/Fox/WBD sports JV to understand the service’s opportunity and likely impact on the TV market.
Two key questions we consider: 1) How big is the target market of sports super-fans for the JV who haven’t maintained their pay-TV subscription (since sports has been a firewall to cord-cutting)? And 2) With ESPN’s own direct-to-consumer...
Most media and technology companies have now reported Q1 ’23 results. We dig into who’s up, who’s down and who’s pick ‘em, and where they all might be headed. We share all this with the caveat that one quarter’s results are not the final word on a company’s ability to survive and thrive going forward. We hope we’re not in any way contributing to the short-term, quarterly performance myopia so...