• Warner Bros. Discovery ‘s revenue fell 7% YOY to USD 9.96 billion in Q1 2024.
• The company added 2 million direct-to-consumer streaming subscribers during the quarter, bringing its total to 99.6 million.
• Advertising revenue for streaming increased 70% YOY, boosted by high engagement on Max in the US and subscriber growth in the streaming service’s ad tier, as well as the launch of sports on the app.
• The earnings release followed an announcement that Warner Bros. Discovery will bundle its streaming services with Disney and offer Max together with Disney+ and Hulu to consumers this summer. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav commented this during the earnings call: “As you know, I’ve been a big proponent of bundling. The churn is the killer in this business, and we’ve been hyper focused on it,” Zaslav said, adding that bundling has been a big helper to decrease the loss of customers

Yesterday, Amazon Prime Video held a presentation at the upfronts event in New York, to showcase new content offering and features. Ahead of the presentation, the company announced the launch of three new ad formats for its streaming platform.

In the upcoming year, shoppable carousel ads will be launched, which enables viewers to browse and shop products on Amazon during ad breaks on Prime Video. Advertisers will be able to present a sliding lineup of products, which viewers can explore on Amazon and add to their cart, using most tv remotes. Interactive pause ads were also presented, which enable viewers to discover and engage with brands when they decide to pause the show or movie they are streaming. This ad format will also be offered as shoppable, with an “Add to cart-button”. Lastly are the interactive trivia ads, which according to Amazon will “help advertisers elevate their storytelling by entertaining customers with facts about their brand while empowering them to shop on Amazon, learn more about services and products, and even unlock rewards”.

It was in February that Prime Video introduced advertising in the US, Canada, UK and Germany. Users have the option to pay an additional monthly fee to remove the ads. No information has been communicated regarding a launch of ads on Amazon Prime Video in the Nordics.

Amazon Prime Video also presented several upcoming titles at its upfronts presentation. The line up included four new sport documentaries, a live-action series starring Nicolas Cage, as well as the gameshow Pop Culture Jeopardy!, which marks the first time that the Jeopardy franchise expands into streaming. The company also revealed the release date for the highly anticipated season two of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The second season will debut on Prime Video on August 29th this year.

Audiobook service Storytel is expanding its offering. According to Boktugg, starting next week, Storytel will offer Swedish and English podcasts for free on the platform. The launch includes a total of roughly 6,000 of the most popular podcasts in Sweden, based on rankings in Apple’s podcast catalog.

The podcasts will be available outside of the paywall on Storytel. Therefore, a paid subscription is not needed to be able to listen to these podcasts on Storytel, however, you will need an account to get access. Listening of podcasts will not not affect the pot of hours for users on time-limited subscription.

“Many people say that after finishing a longer audiobook, they want something shorter to land for a while before tackling the next long story. It can be a bit of an investment to get into a new book, and then podcasts are good listening between books. The idea from our side is that you should now be able to find your favorite audiobooks and podcasts in the same place”, Therese Lindström, PR manager at Storytel Nordics, told Boktugg.

Mediavisions vd: Churn, hybrid, anti-delning – det nya normala – Dagens Media

Skräcksiffra för branschen: Tre miljoner delar konton – Dagens industri

Kampanj ska lyfta problemet med illegala streaming – Dagens Media

Big windfall ahead if Nordic streamers can defeat password sharing – C21 Media

350.000 nordmenn strømmer TV med reklame – Kampanje

Så många har HVOD i Sverige – Dagens media

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

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