Enders News
Video Ad News 16 January 2020
Tom Harrington was quoted in Video Ad News on If You Wondered Why the BBC Seems Less Invested in BritBox, It’s Because They Are. To said “The BBC don’t make most of the content which might end up on BritBox, especially when it comes to dramas. The BBC normally gets a five year license when they commission something. Usually they hold that exclusively for 18 months, and after that they’ll let the production company sell it to whomever they like. That’s when it’ll end up somewhere else like Netflix or Amazon.”
He added that "It’s a space they have to be in, because it’s where audiences are going. It’s a tough situation to be in.”
IBC 16 January 2020
Tom Harrington was quoted in IBC on Will NBCUniversal’s AVoD gamble pay off? Tom said Peacock should be understood as the vehicle for NBC’s digital transition rather than as a fully-fledged competitor to Netflix and others.”
Tom points to its lower market positioning than Disney+, HBO Max or Amazon Prime, and notes that it will offer less original content. “Crucially, like HBO Max, Peacock follows a model that looks predominantly wholesale.”
The Guardian 16 January 2020
Alice Enders was quoted in The Guardian on James Murdoch's climate stance distances him from family empire. Alice said “He and his wife believe in this so fundamentally and so strongly. They obviously believe that the media has a very important role in this.”
She added: “It’s very unusual to decide that the public domain is the best place to air a difference of views.”
Variety 16 January 2020
Claire Enders was quoted in Variety on Small Nation, Big Reach: The U.K. Exerts Outsize Influence in the World of Entertainment. Claire said “It’s making a massive investment in our country, and it deserves the kudos it’s getting. But “they’re building their business by cherry-picking the most talented people in the sector. There’s no business I know that hasn’t lost one or maybe even their two most talented people to Netflix.”
Le Monde 14 January 2020
Jamie MacEwan was quoted in Le Monde on Birth of the world number two in meal delivery. Jamie said "In the absence of a monopoly, doing the delivery yourself is so expensive that it is prohibitive, except for companies that have broader logistics ambitions, in particular Uber."
Video Ad News 10 January 2020
Julian Aquilina was quoted in Video Ad News on Analysts and Agencies Question Amazon’s Commitment to Live Sports. Julian said “Unless the economics of Amazon’s business change in a significant way, it’s not in a position to make these rights profitable on a standalone basis."
He added "How much value does sport really add to the platform? The content doesn’t have any shelf-life, people aren’t going to watch it back after it’s streamed, so it’s not like drama programming in that sense, and sports are typically sold on a market-by-market basis, so unlike drama programming, it can’t be exploited all over the world."
Financial Times 10 January 2020
Joseph Evans was quoted in the Financial Times on Facebook shares hit record high, surpassing 2018 peak. Joseph said "The thing about Facebook is they just have an unbeatable ad product, there isn’t really anywhere quite like them . . . Whatever public or political sentiment says, that commercial reality is going to take them very far.”
He added that “There is that sense of GDPR that maybe the transformative change that people were worried about didn’t really materialise."
"They are going to come under more pressure as the election ramps up. There is still risk there. I still think they are not taking on the full costs of all the problems associated with the platform, in terms of harmful or illegal content.”
Financial Times 9 January 2020
Tom Harrington was quoted in the Financial Times on Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman show off Quibi at CES. Tom said “Quibi seems to face all the challenges that the other streaming services face: trying to create a sustainable model. The other major obstacle is that its direct competitor, YouTube, has an endless mass of content, the stickiness of experience and the quality of recommendation engine that it is almost impossible to compete with. Plus it’s free.”
inews 9 January 2020
Tom Harrington was quoted in inews on Christmas Day TV: Gavin & Stacey's return is a bold attempt by BBC to increase viewing figures amid long-term decline. Tom said “The average minutes watched per person across Christmas has fallen from 320 minutes in 2010 to 251 minutes. Those minutes are going to YouTube as well as streaming. Viewers who subscribe to Netflix and Amazon Prime are unlikely to change their habits at Christmas. It’s a compelling argument to be able to watch what you want, whenever you watch it.”
Off The Pitch 2 January 2020
Francois Godard and James Barford were quoted in Off The pitch on Experts predict revenue slump for European football. They said "BT once tried to overtake Sky to become the main EPL broadcaster, but it has now retreated to focus on the CL."
Francois and James also point to the case of Amazon in the Premier League, showing that even if tech companies are getting involved with broadcasting football, they are unlikely to bid up prices at the height of the European market.
The Economist 19 December 2019
Claire Enders was quoted in The Economist on Britain’s election fallout spells danger for the BBC. Claire said “There will be confrontations with millions of people and that will deeply hurt the bbc’s brand."
Les Echos 18 December 2019
Francois Godard was quoted in Les Echos on The Italian press in the era of rationalization. Francois said "The Italian press is far behind digital. Publishers have been late into “paywalls” and have not sufficiently opted for grouping of titles on the advertising market. There is an urgent need for rationalization."
l'Opinion 17 December 2019
Francois Gogard was quoted in l'Opinion on Canal + distributor of content, a model in question. Francois said "This model is much more fragile than that in which Canal + has rights and a large part of the physical infrastructure. We must remember, as before, Canal ensured its entire distribution through its decoders."
Financial Times 17 December 2019
Tom Harrington was quoted in the Financial Times on Netflix regional numbers reveal challenge of overseas streaming. Tom argues that while free trial offers were the entrance point for most subscribers to Netflix, the streaming service is finding it harder to convert users into paying customers. This is proving true not just for the US, but in some international markets where Netflix is relatively more expensive because of the lower cost of living. In a paper released on Monday,Tom noted increasing free-trial abuse — where one person signs up to multiple offers with different email addresses — had prompted a rethink. Netflix has ended free trial offers across much of Latin America, and India early this year, and had since extended the policy to parts of Europe and Canada.
The New York Times 17 December 2019
Claire Enders was quoted in The New York Times on With Echoes of Trump, Boris Johnson Scorns the BBC. Claire said Mr. Johnson’s “Trumpian manner” toward the BBC and other broadcasters over their news coverage was without precedent. “This is a very new concept that Boris seems to have — that somehow he can dictate to them what the agenda is and that they have no standing as institutions either here or in the global space."
The Hollywood Reporter 16 December 2019
Claire Enders was quoted in The Hollywood Reporter on U.K. Election: Brexit Clarity Offers Silver Linings for Entertainment Industry, Fears for BBC. Claire said “So we’re not going to see a hard Brexit at any time next year and we probably won’t see it at all. She suggests issues regarding free movement of labor may also be less severe. “I think Boris is now in a position to move towards the center on immigration, because the Brexit Party melted and their one thing was immigration.”
She added that “Productions that are committed are going to be committed anyway, and the U.K. has such myriad talent."
The Times 16 December 2019
Tom Harrington was quoted in The Times on Sky dashes hopes for BritBox deal. Tom said a failure to secure a deal with Sky would be “very damaging” to the new service. “[If you are BritBox], these are the subscribers that you want to get because these are the people that pay for TV. If you are not on Sky, you are marginalised. BritBox doesn’t make a lot of sense for Sky because it is not in the business of promoting nascent services and making them big."
NewStateman 12 December 2019
Douglas McCabe was quoted in NewStateman on The rise and fall of local newspapers. Douglas calls “the 20-year heyday”, 1985 to 2004. These were good years for national papers too, thanks to the Murdoch-led crushing of the print unions (which had pushed their luck way, way too far). But they did have competitors.
He added that “Publishers have not put the citizen – and community – centre stage. This approach worked for more than a hundred years but has been steadily dismantled since the 1980s.”
Financial Times 10 December 2019
Claire Enders was quoted in the Financial Times on Boris Johnson fires shot at BBC with hint at scrapping licence fee. Claire said “We have never had a prime minister who referred to the BBC like that."
IBC 5 December 2019
Julian Aquilina was quoted in IBC on Can Amazon deliver a Premier football experience? Julian explains that Amazon is delivering individual streams to each connected device, as opposed to transmitting a single broadcast signal which everyone receives in the same way. “Of all TV genres, sport is the one where people are least tolerant to connection issues. A high-quality feed greatly enhances the viewing experience – particularly for fast-moving games.”
He added that “Unless the economics of their businesses change in a significant way, Amazon and Facebook are not in a position to challenge for premium sports rights. You still need the reach of broadcast TV platforms to make live sports work because live sport is incredibly expensive.”