Third quarter reports keep on coming. Here’s a recap of what’s been reported this past week:
Amazon

• Amazon’s net sales grew 13% YOY to USD 143.1 billion, beating analysts’ expectations.
• Advertising services grew 26% to 12.1 billion, also exceeding analysts’ expectations.
• Amazon has cut costs over the past year and laid off 27,000 employees since last fall.
• As both earnings and revenue exceeded analysts’ expectations, Amazon shares climbed in extended trading after the presentation.

Meta

• Meta reported better-than-expected results for Q3 and revenue increased 23% YOY to 34.15 billion, the highest growth rate since 2021.
• Monthly active users for Facebook were 3.05 billion in Q3, an increase of 3% YOY and in line with analysts’ expectations.
• Net income rose 164% YOY to UDS 11.58 billion in the third quarter.
• Meta has undergone cost-cutting efforts and had 66,185 employees by the end of the third quarter, which is a 24% decrease YOY.

Storytel

• Swedish audiobook service Storytel reported its Q3 results Tuesday, with an EBITDA increase of 55% YOY, from 59 MSEK in the third quarter last year to 92 MSEK in Q3 2023.
• Streaming revenue increased 13% YOY from 742 MSEK to 842 MSEK (15% excluding Russia).
• Storytel reported an operating profit of 15 MSEK in Q3 compared to a -21 MSEK loss in Q3 2022.
• Storytel also raised the full-year 2023 guidance on adjusted EBITDA margin to be “well above 6.4%”, and on operational cash flow to be at least 80 MSEK. Previous guidance was “to increase the EBITDA margin compared to 2022”, which was 2.9 percent.

We are still awaiting the Q3 reports from a few media companies. Here is a look of what’s ahead.

Today, Disney’s new subscription offering, including an ad-supported plan, launches in the Nordics as well as several other countries across Europe and Canada.

Disney Plus’ new ad-supported plan starts at EUR 5.99 per month in EMEA. The new offering also includes a standard tier without ads at EUR 8.99 per month, as well as the new Premium plan at EUR 11.99 per month, which allows four co-current viewers and better video quality. Existing Disney Plus subscribers will automatically transfer into Premium subscribers.

Ahead of the launch of the ad-supported tier, Disney has entered an advertising partnership with TV4 in Sweden and TV2 in Norway. Through these agreements, TV2 and TV4 are exclusive resellers of advertising inventory for Disney Plus in their respective countries.

A few weeks ago, Amazon Prime Video announced that the service will implement ads in the beginning of next year. And last week, Warner Bros Discovery revealed that Max will include an ad-supported plan when launching in Sweden in the spring. Ad-supported SVOD, or HVOD, is undeniably one of the biggest trends in the streaming market right now.

In a press release published on Monday, Meta announced that an ad-free, paid subscription for Facebook and Instagram will launch in Europe.

The new subscription comes as a response to the European regulations that requires users to consent to the collection of data. At the beginning of the year, Ireland’s data protection authority fined Meta with EUR 390 million for violating EU privacy laws. And just a few months ago, the European Court of Justice stopped Meta from combining data collected about users with data from external websites, without the user’s consent. In the press release, Meta states that those who pay for Instagram or Facebook will not “have their information used for advertisements”.

The new subscription plan will be offered in the EU, EEA, and Switzerland, and will apply to all linked Facebook and Instagram accounts. The cost will differ depending on where the subscription is purchased. It will cost EUR 9.99 per month for purchases on the web and EUR 12.99 per month on iOS and Android, to cover Apple’s and Google’s fees.

The new social media subscription is set to launch this month, but a specific date has not been announced yet. For those who do not want to pay for the Meta subscription, the social media platforms will continue to be free of use, with ads.

Köp av medietjänster ökar: ”Ett hyfsat billigt nöje” – SR

Svenske husstandes medieforbrug slår ny rekord – Mediawatch

Trots krisande marknad – medieutgifterna ökar – Dagens Media

Summerat: Svenskarnas kontodelning kostar en miljard – Tidningen Näringslivet

Trots tuffa tider för hushållen – många fortsätter betala för strömningstjänster – SVT

Eksplosiv vækst i tv- og streamingindhold overvælder seere og får flere til at give op – Mediawatch

Så slår krisen mot tv-tittarna – Göteborgs-posten

Svenskarnas kontodelning kostar jättarna nära 1 miljard kronor – Dagens Industri

Trendbrott: Fler svenskar piratkopierar film och tv – Dagens Nyheter