In July, Netflix reported a loss of 970,000 subscribers and the streaming giant’s stock was down 60 percent year to date (16th of October). Ahead of its Q3 earnings, Netflix forecasted an addition of one million subscribers. The predictions were well exceeded as Netflix reported an addition of 2.4 million subscribers on Tuesday. This is the first subscription growth reported this year and the streaming service now holds just over 223 million subscribers. Netflix expects it will add another 4.5 million subscribers during the fourth quarter of 2022.

This may be the last time we get a subscription forecast from Netflix – the streaming service stated that it won’t be sharing forecasts for its’ subscriber numbers in the future, moving toward a greater focus on revenues. The wide variety of price points and different partnerships globally explains the shift – including the launch of the new hybrid-plan, which makes subscriptions less important as an indication of revenue.

Another focus of Netflix’s earnings report was account sharing. The streaming service estimates that more than 100 million households globally are sharing accounts. To reduce that number, Netflix presented a new feature – the ability to move profiles, complete with watch history and recommendations, over to a new account. The new feature will be available this week and is expected to help boost paid membership.

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

It has been the talk of the town for a while, but a few days before Netflix’s Q3 earnings were presented, the streaming service confirmed that its’ new plan “Basic with Ads” will launch in November. The new subscription plan has a few changes to the streaming service’s existing plans: First off, which is self-explained, the service will contain ads. The ad load will amount to an average of 4 to 5 minutes per hour, playing both before and during shows and films.

Secondly, at the launch of “Basic with Ads”, fewer movies and TV shows will be available due to licensing restrictions. The missing titles represent about 5-10% of the total library and Netflix is working to reduce that number and make more titles available for the new plan. Thirdly, the new hybrid tier will not include the ability to download titles, which the other plans have.

Ahead of the launch, Netflix has teamed up with BARB, an organization in the UK that reports broadcast and streaming numbers. This marks the first time that the streaming service has signed up to an industry-owned TV measurement currency. Starting in November, BARB will measure Netflix’s daily streaming numbers as well as report on its monthly reach and share of total identified viewing. Netflix has previously been criticized for not sharing viewership metrics for all its shows. Now, going public with viewership numbers, it will reveal to the public just how many shows are being watched and which are not.

The price of the new “Basic with Ads” plan is USD 6.99/ GBP 4.99 – one dollar less than Disney Plus’ ad-tier which is set to release in the beginning of December. Netflix’s new plan will launch on the 3rd of November in 12 countries including the US, Canada, France, and the UK. Regarding further expansion, Netflix stated: “As we learn from and improve the experience, we expect to launch in more countries over time”- whether that will include the Nordics remains to be seen.

ByteDance, the parent company of Tiktok, has begun talks with music labels about expanding its music streaming service globally. As of today, ByteDance runs music streaming platform Resso, which is currently available in three markets: Brazil, India, and Indonesia. Earlier this year, it was revealed that a US trademark application had been filed by ByteDance for “TikTok Music” – which could perhaps be a planned rebranding of Resso. In the trademark application, “TikTok Music” was described as a platform allowing users to “purchase, play, share and download music, songs, albums and lyrics” as well as “livestream audio and video.”

Recently, a verified Instagram-account “@tiktokmusic” and various verified Twitter accounts have been in the limelight. All the accounts have posted the same three pictures with the messages “Welcome to a new way to experience music”, “Discover your new favorite song” and “Stay tuned”. The pictures were posted in April this year.

The social media platform may also be working on a podcast app. Podcast hosting company Audiomeans has reportedly spotted a “new bot that is scraping their feeds” which started October 11th. The bots have thereafter been traced back to Tiktok. It does look like Tiktok is preparing to compete with market leaders Spotify and Apple. Mediavision will follow this development closely.

Hushållens medieutgifter fortsätter att öka under tredje kvartalet – Realtid

2,6 miljoner svenskar konsumerar böcker en genomsnittlig dag – Branschkoll

Svenskarnas mediekonsumtion fortsätter öka – Svensk Bokhandel

Hushållen betalar mer för medier – Journalisten

Trots ekonomiska läget – medieutgifterna ökar – Dagens Media

Netflix celebrates 10 years in the Nordics – Media Play News

Marie Nilsson: Spotify – en game changer på ljudboksmarknaden? – Dagens Media