Alphabet

• Alphabet’s revenue increased 15% YOY from USD 69.79 billion in Q1 2023 to USD 80.54 billion – the fastest rate of growth since early 2022.
• Youtube advertising revenue increased 21% YOY to USD 8.09 billion during the first quarter, higher than Wall Street analysts’ expectations of USD 7.72 billion.
• Net income increased 57% YOY to USD 23.66 billion, or USD 1.89 a share, compared to USD 15.05 billion, or USD 1.17 a share in Q1 2023.
• Alphabet also announced the company’s first cash dividend of USD 0.20 per share, and said it plans to pay quarterly cash dividends in the future. In addition, the Alphabet board of directors authorized an additional USD 70 billion buyback program.

Amazon

• Amazon reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the first quarter, driven by growth in advertising and cloud computing.
• Revenue increased 13% YOY to USD 143.3 billion in the first quarter, compared to USD 127.4 billion in first quarter 2023.
• Amazon’s advertising unit grew 24% YOY to USD 11.8 billion. This was the first quarterly report presented since Amazon implemented ads in Prime Video in selected markets, including the US.
• Earnings per share for Amazon were USD 0.98 in Q1 2024, higher than the USD 0.83 expected from analysts.

Meta

• Meta shares declined 16% in extended trading on Wednesday after the company issued a weak forecast which overshadowed better-than-expected first-quarter results.
• Meta’s revenue increased 27% from USD 28.65 billion in Q1 2023 to USD 36.46 billion in Q1 2024, the greatest expansion for any quarter since 2021.
• Net income more than doubled YOY to USD 12.37 billion, or USD 4.71 per share, from USD 5.71 billion, or UDS 2.20 per share, partly driven by lower sales and marketing costs.
• The Facebook parent no longer reports daily active users and monthly active users. It now gives a figure for what it calls “family daily active people”, which includes Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, and other services. That number was 3.24 billion in Q1 2024, a 7% increase from a year earlier.

Schibsted

• Schibsted reported group revenue of NOK 3.974 million, a YOY 1% decrease.
• Group EBITDA increased 6% YOY to NOK 454m, mainly due to EBITDA margin improvements for news media.
• Schibsted’s news media declined 1% revenue in revenue YOY in Q1 2024, driven by a challenging advertising market in Norway combined with a continued decline in the print business.
• Schibsted’s CEO Kristin Skogen Lund commented: “Despite a volatile advertising market and a continued decline in the print business, News Media’s profitability improved considerably compared to Q1 last year as a result of cost reductions from the cost program which was announced last year”.

Telenor

• Service revenues for Telenor were NOK 15.8 billion, an increase of NOK 1.0 billion or 6.4%, compared to the same period last year. The organic growth in service revenues was 5.6%.
• EBITDA before other items was NOK 8.5 billion and increased by NOK 0.4 billion. On organic basis, EBITDA before other items increased by 6.9%.
• Business area Nordics delivered organic service revenue growth of 5.3% YOY and organic EBITDA growth of 8.3% YOY.
• Telenor’s outlook for the Nordics is low-to-mid single-digit organic growth in service revenues and mid-single-digit organic growth in Nordic EBITDA.

Telia

• Telia’s revenue decreased 2% YOY to SEK 21,274 million in Q1 2024 and like for like, revenue decreased 1.3%.
• Service revenue increased 1.5% YOY for Telia to SEK 18,634 million and like for like, service revenue increased 2.2% driven by a positive development for the telecom operations.
• SVOD subscriptions for Telia’s TV Media operations grew 8.7% YOY, standing at 832 000 subscriptions in Q1 2024.
• Telia’s CEO Patrik Hofbauer commented: “TV and Media saw a decline in advertising revenue of 6.3% due to weak market conditions, however the decline was lower than in previous quarters and the majority of it was offset by 5.2% growth in pay TV revenue.”

Still a few reports to come, stay tuned!

Viaplay Group has renewed its rights to Formula 1 in the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway, and Iceland. The new agreement is a five-year deal, giving Viaplay the broadcasting rights up to and including the 2029 season. Every practice and qualifying session, F1 Sprint event and Grand Prix will be available live in the Netherlands and Nordic countries on the Viaplay streaming service, and on Viaplay Group’s pay-TV channels in Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway.

Jørgen Madsen Lindemann, Viaplay Group President and CEO comments: “Formula 1 is more than a sport – it’s a global phenomenon that spans streaming, Hollywood, social media and beyond, and fascinates fans of all ages and backgrounds throughout the year. We are proud to renew our partnership with Formula 1 in our longest agreement so far. This shows Viaplay Group’s commitment to competing for the long term and growing profitably in the Netherlands and Nordics, and to offering our viewers the most attractive and relevant content available anywhere.”

In the Netherlands, Viaplay Group and Formula 1 will continue their partnership which enables Viaplay customers to access F1 TV Pro as part of their subscriptions. Through F1 TV Pro, fans can enjoy additional features such as international commentary, multiple onboard cameras, pitlane and paddock feeds, and in-race radio communications. F1 TV Pro will remain available in the Netherlands and the Nordic countries as a stand-alone product.

A group of parliament members representing Samlingspartiet, have submitted a motion calling on the government to take measures to ban the popular video app Tiktok in Finland.

The motion states that Tiktok has a harmful effect, especially on children and younger people. Tiktok has an age limit of 13, but lacks a verification system to check that younger people aren’t using the app. According to the motion, a large amount of violent material is being spread on Tiktok. Among other things, videos from the war in Ukraine have been distributed on the platform and can be accessed by children and young people. The parliament members behind the motion also states that a lot of false and misleading material is also available on the platform, content that children and young people cannot necessarily recognize as incorrect.

The Finnish security police have previously warned that Tiktok users’ data could end up with Chinese security authorities. According to Skypo, Tiktok collects an exceptional amount of data about the mobile phone and its users. Skypo has urged policy makers not to install Tiktok on mobiles used at work, and the Finnish government has also banned the app on its devices.
 

In the US, the congress has approved a bill that would ban Tiktok if China’s Bytedance does not sell its stake in the company to an American company within a year. The law has now also been signed by President Joe Biden.

Hotet mot svenska elitidrotten – Aftonbladet

Denmark: HVOD, sport, password crackdown to boost streaming – Advanced Television

Mediavisons vd: Nya tider när globala streamers köper livesport – Dagens Media

Primes intåg stöper om sportmarknaden – Svenska Dagbladet

Mediavision: Growing demand for local content in the Nordics – Broadband TV News

Därför blir streamingtjänsterna allt dyrare – och sämre – PC för alla

Mediavision: Ad-Supported SVOD Gaining Traction in the Nordics – Media Play News

Mediavision: Starkt intresse för HVOD i Sverige – Dagens Media

Efterspørgslen på nordisk tv-indhold stiger men udbuddet kan ikke følge med – Mediawatch

Sweden: Interest growing in ad-supported streaming – Advanced Television

Svenskar vill se mer svenskt på streamad tv – Sveriges Radio

Illegal affär kostar filmindustrin miljarder – Dagens PS

Var fjärde svensk strömmar olaglig tv – SVT