Yesterday, Netflix presented its Q1 earnings and thus, started the Q1 earnings season. Here are some of the highlights:

• Netflix’s revenue grew 3.7% to USD 8.16 billion in Q1 2023, compared to USD 7.87 billion in Q1 2022.
• The streamer added 1.75 million subscribers in the first quarter to a total 232,5 mill subs. In Q1 2022, Netflix reported its first subscriber loss in a decade.
• Netflix has delayed the broad rollout of its password-sharing crackdown, which was originally planned for Q1. Netflix now communicate a broad intro in Q2, including in the US.
• Shares of Netflix dropped as much as 11% in after-hours trade following the report but recovered to gain 1.4%.
• Mediavision’s Q1 figures for Sweden show significant growth for Netflix, much driven by growth in B-SVOD. Shortly, Mediavision will publish Nordic figures for the whole streaming industry, including analysis of Netflix and other streaming actors.

The upcoming weeks, we will keep you posted with highlights of the latest reports from the media industry.

The concept of video game adaptions for films and TV has been around for decades, with both triumphs and failures. But one of the latest, the Super Mario Bros. Movie, is a success story. The adaptation of the popular Nintendo video game debuted in cinemas globally during the easter holiday and did so with a bang. The film scored the biggest global debut in history for an animated film and other records were also broken.

The movie collected USD 377 million globally on its debut weekend, surpassing Disney’s Frozen 2 which collected USD 358 million back in November 2019. Super Mario Bros. Movie did not only break the record for the biggest worldwide opening for an animated film, but it also had the biggest opening of any movie so far this year and, and the biggest opening of all time for a video game adaptation.

The success of Super Mario Bros. Movie comes not long after another video game adaption success, HBO’s The Last of Us. The highly acclaimed TV series wrapped up its debut season last month and the finale averaged 8.2 million viewers across all platforms for HBO. According to HBO, The Last of Us has become the most-viewed title ever on HBO’s subscription streaming service in Europe and Latin America.

Several other video game adaptions are coming to the screens in the near future. Among these, a Netflix series based on the game Assassins creed, and a series based on God of War on Amazon Prime Video. We will see if these titles can ride on the successful wave of Super Mario Bros. Movie and The Last of Us, or if the expectations will be set to high.

The thought process of the name change was explained during the event’s Q&A session, and one of the reasons appears to be the kids-category. JB Perrette, president and CEO of global streaming and games at Warner Bros. Discovery, explained the thinking behind the rebranding: “We all love HBO, and it’s a brand that has been built over five decades to stand for edgy, groundbreaking entertainment for adults. But it’s not exactly where parents would most eagerly drop off their kids. And yet Warner Bros. Discovery has some of the best-known kids’ characters, animation, and brands in the industry. Not surprisingly, the category has not met his true potential on HBO Max.”

Three different tiers of Max were presented. Max Ad-Lite is the cheapest one, priced at USD 9.99 per month or USD 99.99 per year. Max Ad Free costs USD 15.99 per month or USD 149.99 per year, and allows up to 30 offline downloads and, as you can tell by the name, has no ads. Last out is the Max Ultimate Ad Free for USD 19.99 per month or USD 199.99 per year. This tier offers up to 100 offline downloads, 4K HD resolution and Dolby Atmos sound quality. Max Ultimate Ad Free also allows four concurrent streams, while the other tiers only allow two simultaneous streams. The first two tiers align with the existing HBO Max pricing in the US, and there will not be a price change for current HBO Max customers when the new service debuts.

Max will bring HBO Max’s and Discovery+’s content together and the service will add more than 40 new titles and seasons every month on average. Several upcoming titles were presented during the event, but perhaps the most anticipated one was the announcement of the Harry Potter TV series. Each season of the new series will be based on one of the books in the franchise and will feature an entirely new cast compared to the films. The author of the books, JK Rowling, will be the executive producer of the series along with Neil Blair and Ruth Kenley-Letts. Max will produce the series in association with Brontë Film and TV, and Warner Bros. Television. The official launch date has not yet been announced.

Max will launch in the US the 23rd of May. The service will the roll out globally, starting with Latin America later in 2023, followed by selected countries across Europe and Asia in 2024.

Marie Nilsson: Hur ser morgondagens bundling ut? – Dagens Media

Fler prenumererar – men annonserna minskar – Sveriges Radio

Nordic streamers, broadcasters prepare for 2024 Champions League rights cycle –
C21 Media

Et stigende antal svenskere betaler for podcasts – Mediawatch

Sweden: Significant growth in podcast households – Advanced Television

TVOD in Sweden reaches record levels in 2022 – Broadband TV News

Netflix drag – så ska kontodelare jagas – Svenska Dagbladet