Newsletter 3rd of May
NEWSLETTER
3 May 2023
These are the main topics this week:
- The Q1 earnings season continues: Amazon, Meta and Storytel
- YouTube Music officially rolls out podcasts in the US
- Mediavision: Consumer device habits
EARNINGS
The Q1 earnings season continues: Amazon, Meta and Storytel
The Q1 earnings season continues. Here is a recap with some of the highlights of what has been reported this past week.
- Amazon reported first-quarter sales last Thursday, which beat analysts’ estimates.
- Net sales increased 9% to UDS 127.4 billion in the first quarter, compared with USD 116.4 billion in first quarter 2022.
- Net income was USD 3.2 billion, compared with a net loss of USD 3.8 billion in Q1 2022.
- Amazon’s ad segment reported sales of USD 9.5 billion, an increase of 21% year-over-year, beating analysts’ expectations of 15% growth. During the earnings call, Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon said “We have a lot of upside” going forward in advertising and he pointed out that Amazon is still trying to find the optimal way to deliver ads in video and live sports.
- Meta’s revenue in Q1 was USD 28.65 billion, an increase of 3% year-over-year from USD 27.91 billion in Q1 2022 – the first quarter with an increase after three straight periods of declines.
- Facebook monthly active users were 2.99 billion in the first quarter, an increase of 2% year-over-year.
- Net income for Meta fell 24% to USD 5.71 billion, from USD 7.47 billion in the first quarter last year.
- During the earnings call, Meta CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg, shared that time spent on Instagram has grown more than 24% since the company launched Reels on the platform, thanks to AI-powered content recommendations.
- Swedish audiobook subscription service Storytel presented its Q1 earnings this morning and reported an EBITDA profit of SEK 30 million compared to -149 million in Q1 2022, making it the third quarter in a row with a positive EBITDA.
- Streaming revenue up 6% year-over-year from SEK 699 million in Q1 2022 to SEK 742 million.
- Average paying subscribers for Storytel were 2,04 million, a small decrease compared to 2,05 million in Q1 2022.
- “We are now in the final phase of completing our strategic plan and mid-term financial targets, which will be presented at our Capital Markets Day in Stockholm on June 13”, says Johannes Larcher, CEO, Storytel.
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Insight: Nordic Media & MarketsThis analysis tracks the progress of individual and household payments per service and actor, as well as overall media expenditures. The primary focus is mapping out the allocation of expenditures across audio, video, text, and access. Published biannually. |
AUDIO
YouTube Music officially rolls out podcasts in the US
YouTube Music has officially added podcasts to its platform in the US. The launch comes a few months after YouTube podcasting head Kai Chuk revealed that podcasts would soon be added to YouTube Music.
The update allows users watching podcasts on the main Youtube app to continue to listen to them on YouTube Music. The company notes that all users can listen to podcasts on-demand, in the background, and offline. The user is also able to easily switch between audio and video versions on YouTube Music.
According to previous reports, YouTube is not looking to sign exclusive deals with podcasters, which has been a key strategy for Spotify. Instead, Youtube Music seems to be focused on combining the experience of listening to podcasts on video and audio.
Podcasts on Youtube Music can be accessed via Android, iOS and the web, but the roll out in the US is made gradually, which means that not everyone may have see it yet. The company said it plans to bring podcasts to YouTube Music users outside the US soon, but no specific launch date has been communicated.
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Insikt: LjudmarknadThis analysis provides in-depth understanding of the entire audio market – including audiobooks, music, podcasts, and radio. The analysis focuses on the digital transformation of both listening and consumer payments, on both aggregated and actor specific levels. |
NEW REPORT
Mediavision: Consumer device habits
Video and gaming are consumed on various devices, in home and out of home. Penetration and frequency of usage differs between devices and services.
Mediavision analysis of consumer device habits in the Nordics is looking both at penetration of hardware and viewing/gaming on different devices. It also contains basic KPIs for viewing, DTV and SVOD uptake in the Nordic video market. The research is based on Mediavisions pan-Nordic consumer survey (6,700 online interviews with 15-74-year-olds).
For order or further information regarding this report, please contact info@mediavision.se or give us a call at 08-52 80 90 90.
Mediavision in the News
Swedish streamers enjoying new growth thanks to pay-TV operators – Broadband TV News
Betalda streamingtjänster ökar – paketeras tillsammans med betal-tv – Dagens Media
Research: Sweden sees strong SVoD growth in Q1 – Advanced Television
Strömningstjänsterna växer igen – Journalisten
Fler prenumererar – men annonserna minskar – Sveriges Radio
Et stigende antal svenskere betaler for podcasts – Mediawatch
TVOD in Sweden reaches record levels in 2022 – Broadband TV News
Netflix drag – så ska kontodelare jagas – Svenska Dagbladet
Industry Events
Nordic Media Days: 10-12 May 2023, Bergen, Norway
Stockholm Film Festival: 8-19 November 2023, Stockholm, Sweden
* Mediavision will attend
** Mediavision will present