“Dancing with the Stars” has been broadcasted on ABC for the last 30 years. This year, the show has moved to Disney Plus for season 31, which premiered last week. It is the first time the streaming service livestreamed a TV show.

Reportedly, the livestream performed well technically, besides a few minor delays and lags. Some subscribers did report that the app crashed during the show, but it did not appear to be a wide problem, as a spokesperson from Disney Plus said, “We have not experienced or seen any spikes or reports of issues on our end.”

However, moving the show to Disney Plus was not entirely without obstacles. Many fans have complained that they are not able to watch the show, since they don’t have a Disney Plus subscription. Those without a subscription were given an introductory offer of USD 1.99 a month for the service.

But the migration to Disney Plus has also received a lot of praise from fans. One of the appreciated updates is the remove of commercials, resulting in more airtime for the dancers. The new format also allows fans from across the US and Canada to vote for the first time, which previously was only possible for those watching on the east coast and in central time zones.

Disney is not the only streaming actor to go live. Amazon is live streaming the NFL and Netflix is exploring the launch of live streaming shows as well. This may very well be a signal that the binge viewing era is coming to an end. Although high frequency viewing is an important key to retention, the live streaming shows may be an upcoming trend for streaming services as they make strategic changes to reduce churn and keep loyal consumers.

Super Bowl is one of the world’s biggest and most watched annual sporting events. An important part of the Super Bowl viewing experience is the half time show. For the past ten years, Pepsi has been the official sponsor of the halftime show, but not anymore. The NFL and Apple have announced that Apple Music is the new official sponsor of the halftime show in a multiyear deal.

Super Bowl LVII, which airs on Sunday, February 12, 2023, will mark the music streaming platform’s first year as official sponsor of the Super Bowl halftime show. Just a few days after the sponsor announcement, Apple Music announced that Rihanna will be the performer of the first show. Viaplay Group holds the rights to stream NFL in Norway and Denmark. Recently C More secured the rights for the NFL in Finland and Sweden.

Apple has invested heavily in American sports lately, signing deals to stream both Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer games on its streaming service, Apple TV Plus.

In other sports news regarding Apple, Apple TV Plus’ highly popular character Ted Lasso will enter the world of gaming. EA (Electronic Arts) announced that Ted Lasso and his fictional club AFC Richmond will make an appearance in EA Sports’ upcoming video game, FIFA 23.

EA is collaborating with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment to bring Ted Lasso and AFC Richmond to life in-game. They describe this as an example of how EA continues to bridge the lines between gaming, entertainment, and the real world of football.

As reported in our previous newsletter, the “Ted Lasso” series recently scored four wins at the 74th Emmy Awards, including back-to-back wins for Outstanding comedy series for both its first and second seasons.

FIFA 23 will be available worldwide on various gaming platforms on 30th of September.

2,6 mio. svenskere læser eller lytter til bøger på en gennemsnitlig dag – Media Watch

Så många svenskar läser en bok varje dag – Svensk Bokhandel

2,6 mio. Svenskere bruger bogen dagligt – BogMarkedet

Increasing consumption of illegal streaming among Danes – Danske Biografer

Disney+ racks up near 2MN Nordic households – Rapid TV News

1,7 mio. nordiske husstande har abonnement på Disney Plus – Media Watch

Disney Plus celebrates 2 years in the Nordics with 1.7 million households – Broadband TV News

Efter två år – Disney Plus når 1,7 miljoner hushåll – Dagens Media