Netflix presented their Q4 earnings last Thursday and with that, the earnings season has started. Some of the highlights from the streaming giant’s earnings call were:

• Netflix added 7.66 million paid subscribers during the fourth quarter, way above Wall street’s estimate of 4.57 million.
• The company will roll out its paid sharing plans more broadly in Q1, indicating that the company will take on account-sharing more intensely.
• This is the first quarter that Netflix’s new ad-supported service is included in its earnings results, but it did not disclose any details on how many users that have opted for this service.

During the earnings call, Netflix disclosed that the company’s co-CEO Reed Hastings will be stepping down and transfer to the post of executive chairman. Greg Peters, the company’s COO has been promoted to co-CEO alongside Ted Sarandos.

In the upcoming weeks, we have a packed schedule with reports from the media industry. Stay tuned!

Another media company which has presented its Q4 figures is Readly. As a result of the public cash offer by Tidnings AB Marieberg (a wholly owned subsidiary of Bonnier News Group AB), Readly decided to release a trading update for the fourth quarter 2022 earlier than planned. The acceptance period for the bid has also been extended to 3rd of February. Here are a few highlights from the report:
 

• The number of fully paying subscribers at the end of the Q4 was 452,466 – a decrease of 5.4 percent compared to the same period 2021 when the number was at 478,362.
• ARPU amounted to approximately SEK 109, an increase from SEK 95 in Q4 2021 – reflecting the price increases that Readly carried out throughout 2022.
• Readly’s total revenue for 2022 was SEK 156.6 million, an increase of 16.2 percent compared to the fourth quarter in 2021. This growth also primarily stems from price increases in selected markets.

Since the report came earlier than planned, the figures are unaudited and may be adjusted in Readly’s year-end report that will be published on 16th February 2023, when the Q4 report were supposed to be presented as well.

Acast has added eight new podcasts to its lineup. Five of these are new investments, where among others, profiles Isabella Löwengrip and Anna Björklund are teaming up for a news reflection podcast. The other three podcasts, Nessvold & Skäringer, Kafferepet and Två Meter Dumheter, have been acquired from other platforms.

Acast has expanded its content library substantially over the past year through different partnerships and acquisitions. But in Mediavision’s Q3 analysis of the Swedish audio market, it was concluded that Acast’s content expansion has not yet shown an effect on the number of reached listeners in an average week. With the addition of the new podcasts, Acast expects to increase its reach with over two million monthly listenings in Sweden.
Mediavision will soon publish the Q4 analysis of the Swedish audio market. If you’re interested in the analysis or have any question, don’t hesitate to contact us at info@mediavision.se.

Yesterday, the nominations for the 95th Academy Awards were announced. The biggest winner in nominations was action-comedy film Everything Everywhere All at Once, with a total of eleven nominations.
 

From the Nordics, Ruben Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness, to no surprise, made the biggest bang with three nominations in total. The Swedish director is nominated for best original screenplay, best picture, and best director.
 

Other Nordic nominations is Danish A house made of splinters, which is nominated for best documentary, and Ivalu, directed by Danish Anders Walter, is nominated in the best short film category. Swedish composer Ludwig Göransson is also nominated in the category of best original song for Lift me up performed by Rihanna from the movie Black Panther: Wakanda forever.
 

The ceremony will take place on the 12th of March, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

Netflix tros redovisa 4,5 miljoner nya prenumeranter – Omni

Nordics: 3 million SVOD accounts are borrowed from other households – Piracy Monitor

Millioner af abonnementsdelinger i Norden rammer Netflix hårdest – Mediawatch

Så många delar sina SVOD-abonnemang – Dagens Media

3 million Nordic VOD subscriptions ‘borrowed’ from another household – Broadband TV News
 

Tross økonomisk uro ser vi få tegn til at nordmenn vil redusere sine mediekjøp –Kampanje
 

Miljoner tittare delar på strömningsabonnemang –Sveriges Radio
 

Research: 3m in Nordics use borrowed SVOD login – Advanced Television

”Lågkonjunktur gör att människor kollar mer tv” – Svenska Dagbladet