Newsletter 9th of June: 15 years of Content for Nordic Streaming Consumers
NYHETSBREV
9 June 2021
The video on-demand ecosystem brings huge benefits for the consumers, with an ever-increasing supply of content. With Nordic streaming consumers having access to more than 15 years’ worth of content, it is safe to say that supply has never been greater.
Mediavision’s latest analysis of the Nordic streaming market shows that consumers in the region have an unprecedented supply of content to choose from. The number of options when it comes to choosing what to watch are, simply, enormous. Focusing on the 18 most popular services, the supply amounts to an astonishing 135 000 hours of content – roughly translated into 15 years of constant viewing. And there are several reasons to believe that we still expect more to come – soon. In specific titles, this translates to 22 000 (including SVOD, AVOD & Public Service) – which leaves us confident to say that the supply has never been greater. The same goes for the competition, of course – it has never been greater.
For now, there are no signs of saturation when it comes to content production, quite the contrary. Recently, Netflix announced that it will spend USD 17 billion on content in 2021 – a notable uptick from the 2020 budget of USD 12 billion. And Netflix is not alone. Disney declared that the company expects to spend USD 14-16 billion on streaming content across Disney+, Hulu and ESPN Plus in total over the next 4 years – with USD 8-9 billion earmarked exclusively for Disney+ content. In the Nordics, local actors are also ramping up content production. For example, NENT has set out the goal to premiere at least 40 Viaplay originals in 2021, and Discovery+ recently announced sequels to both ‘Mäklarna’, the documentary on the Estonia disaster, the new series ‘Dumpad’ and a remake of the show ‘Mullvaden’. Telia (Cmore/MTV/TV4 Play), TV2 Norway and TV2 Denmark have also expressed similar ambitions.
But an endless array of choices could also cause “stress”. Netflix has taken measures to reduce this with the introduction of its ‘Play Something’ feature. It remains to be seen if it reduces consumer indecisiveness.
Industry News
Google Fined €220 million in France
As part of an antitrust settlement with French regulators, Google will pay a €220 million fine and make changes to its advertising business. France’s competition authority said it had fined Google “for abusing its dominant position” in the market for online advertising.
Schibsted Acquires 91% Stake in PodMe
In May 2019, Schibsted begun acquiring stock in Swedish actor PodMe, offering paid subscriptions of premium podcasts. Yesterday, news broke that the actor had increased its ownership stake to 91%.
AVOD Tier on HBO Max Goes Live
The ad-supported version of HBO Max is now available in the US for USD 9.99 per month. Apart from ads, there are a few key differences to the full HBO Max service; capped video quality, no ability to download content and no same-day premiere films from Warner Bro.
Paramount+ to Introduce Ad-supported Tier
Less than six months post launch, ViacomCBS’s streaming service Paramount+ will offer a cheaper, ad-supported tier at a cost of USD 5 per month, half of the premium tier. Differences between the tiers include content offering and offline viewing.
... And Adds More Than 1,000 Movies
Further, Paramount+ added more than 1000 movie titled to the service this week. ViacomCBS said Paramount Plus will be stocked with more than 2,500 movie titles by the end of summer 2021
'Snabba Cash’ Renewed for Season 2
Netflix has announced that ‘Snabba Cash’ has been renewed for a second season. The new seson is set to premier in 2022 and is produced by SF Studios in cooperation with Strive Stories.
Discovery+ Announces Original 'Dumpad'
Built on an original idea of Swedish influencer Therese Lindgren, Discovery+ will premiere its new original series ‘Dumpad’ later on in 2021. The series is targeted for young adults and will be focused on mental illness.
Facebook Debuts Newsletter Product
Later this month, Facebook will launch its new newsletter product Bulletin. Facebook will use Facebook to market Bulletin, but the product itself will live outside of Facebook. At launch, Bulletin will be limited to writers Facebook is recruiting and paying.
Mediavision in the News
Det svenska poddundret: ”Längst fram i Europa”
Siffrorna är fortfarande små och lönsamheten minimal. Men intäkterna växer kraftigt och veckans börsbesked från Acast är ett av flera exempel på de stora steg som tas i Sverige i utvecklandet av poddindustrin.
Positive days ahead for Nordic creators with US media giants’ M&A spree
The recent mergers between Amazon/MGM and AT&T/Discovey Inc, heralds a new dawn, where demand for Nordic content is set to expand, according to local experts.
Streamingjättar i kamp: ”Enorm muskelkraft”
Hur många streamingtjänster tål din plånbok? En rad stora affärer spås rita om kartan rejält. Samtidigt har Jeff Bezos Amazon siktet inställt på sport.
Nordic implications of Discovery, WarnerMedia merger
This week saw yet another mega merger announced in the world of TV and streaming. In a multi-billion deal, AT&T will combine its WarnerMedia with Discovery.
Clubhouse-nedlastinger ned 72% i mars
Man må ikke laste ned en app mer enn én gang for å bruke den jevnlig, og Clubhouse er totalt lastet ned mer enn 15 millioner ganger, men tall fra det svenske analysefirmaet Mediavision viser at antallet nordiske brukere av appen er begrenset.
Netflix-veksten avtar: - Flere som slåss om kundene
De ferske kvartalstallene til strømmetjenesten Netflix viser at selskapet kun fikk fire millioner nye abonnenter i første kvartal. Strømme-tjenesten Netflix fikk fire millioner nye abonnenter i første kvartal.
Netflix växer blygsamt i Norden – konkurrensen oroar inför rapport
Streamingtjänsterna såg sin guldålder under 2020 men nu hopas orosmolnen över bolagen. Marknadsledaren Netflix väntas bjuda på en ljummen rapport för det första kvartalet.
Sweden: Families prefer Disney+ over Netflix
The launch of Disney+ in 2020 fundamentally changed the competitive landscape for streaming in Sweden in many ways – but perhaps most notably in the battle over families with young children.
Netflix likely to report 5% Q1 Nordic subscriber growth vs 8% market growth rate
Swedish consultancy Mediavision says it predicts that Netflix will report a 5 percent increase in Nordic customers for the first quarter of 2021, or a rise of 200,000 subscribing households since Q1 2020.