The first announcement came last Thursday, when Spotify revealed the acquisition of audiobook platform Findaway. Spotify has declined to share any information on the financial terms of the deal, which is expected to close in Q4 2021, subject to regulatory review and approval. Findaway was founded in 2004, and today operates a number of brands and products led by its large audiobook distribution business – connecting content creators with reseller partners like Apple, Google and Storytel. The press release from Spotify cited that “Findaway’s technology infrastructure will enable Spotify to quickly scale its audiobook catalogue and innovate on the experience for consumers, simultaneously providing new avenues for publishers, authors and independent creators to reach new audiences around the globe.”

Following, Storytel announced on Friday that it will acquire the streaming service Audiobooks.com. Subject to customary regulatory approvals, closing of the acquisition is expected to take place at the end of December 2021. The acquisition is said to lay the foundation of the company’s expansion into English-language markets. Audiobooks.com was launched in 2011 and offers a content catalogue of 300,000 audiobooks from hundreds of major publishing partners, as well as free podcasts and additional audio entertainment.

These acquisitions follow the partnership between Spotify and Storytel, announced in May this year, where the two teamed up to let subscribers listen to books in-app. The partnership is expected to be realized in the first half of 2022.

On our home turf, news broke this week that Swedish podcast production companies Just Stories and Soundtelling have reached an agreement with Danish Third Ear to form a Nordic podcast production company under the name Third Ear Studios. Combined revenues for the three companies amount to approximately SEK 25 million in 2021, and target set for next year is SEK 45 million. In conjunction with the merger, Third Ear Studios has acquired SEK 6 million in capital funds from Comade and Art and Bob. The plan is to adapt the company’s podcasts to the screen.

Last week, Readly presented its Q3 results. The service currently carries 5,000 national and international magazines through collaborations with 900 publishers worldwide and is available in approximately fifty countries.

– Revenue for Q3 2021 totaled SEK 118.9 million, an increase of 27.3% compared to Q3 2020

– The number of full-paying subscribers increased 28.2% YOY to 435,372 at the end of September 2021

– The operating result is Q3 2021 was SEK -48.0 million, compared to SEK -51.2 million in Q3 2020

Since being listed on Nasdaq Stockholm in September 2020, Readly’s stock has seen a downwards trend. Today, the stock is traded at around SEK 21, a -68% drop from the introductory price of SEK 65. At its peak, the Readly stock traded at SEK 78 (Jan 18th, 2021).

On Wednesday last week, Disney reported earnings for its fourth quarter and fiscal year ended October 2nd. The company saw revenues increase by +26% YOY to a total of USD 18.524 million in the fourth quarter and posted income from continuing operations of USD 290 million compared to a loss of USD 580 million in Q4 2020.

However, subscriber growth for Disney Plus fell short of expectations. In Q4, the service added 2 million subscribers, which amounted to a total of 118 million – significantly lower than the expected 125 million. Management cited content production delays as the prime explanation, which is expected to return to normal by September 2022. Further, Disney reiterated the long-term guidance for Disney Plus that is to be profitability by 2024 with 230-260 million subscribers at the end of that year.

Disney stated that it expects to invest more than USD 8-9 billion in content for Disney Plus through 2024. In 2022, the aim is to almost double Disney Plus content from its marquee brands – as well as increase output of regional and local content, by having +340 local original titles in development and production.

Sweden Ups SVOD Sub Base by 350,000 – Media Play News 

Sporträttigheterna: ”Fler aktörer kommer att konkurrera” – Journalisten 

350 000 nya SVOD-abonnemang i Sverige senaste året – Börsvärlden 

Ilta-Sanoma, PlayPilot launch streaming guide in Finland – Rapid TV News 

Mediavision says HBO Max to benefit in Nordic region from lower price, extra stream and fictional slant – Telecom Paper 

Over halvdelen af danske husstande betaler for at se sport – MediaWatch

One of the most powerful competitive tools for video streaming services is content exclusivity. Sports rights are by far one of the most attractive content genres in this regard. However, audiobook streaming services rarely apply this tactic. Could exclusive content be a competitive tool also for the audio book actors going forward? – Boktugg