Free-to-air broadcasters, pay-TV operators and OTT services all have a role to play in serving sports audiences.
DTC services will enable sports organisations to engage with and learn about fans.
The industry needs to continue adapting to younger generations’ viewing preferences, particularly if it is to have a chance of combatting piracy.
Disney+ has struck a non-exclusive deal to be carried on Sky Q in the UK and Ireland. Available from launch on 24 March, at this stage there will be no bundling and as such there will likely be less co-promotion and prominence on the user interface than has been seen for Netflix.
Sky has relinquished exclusivity over Disney films, although new releases will continue, for now, to be available on Sky Cinema, as well as Disney+. The volume and the quality/desirability available to Sky will remain the same.
Just as Disney content is essential to Sky, Disney+ needs Sky to get scale quickly. Sky, which is shifting the emphasis away from its core football offering, needs Disney content, and certainly couldn't lose it. But given that Sky homes are among the most likely to subscribe to Disney+, and with Disney's enthusiasm to grow scale as quickly as possible, Disney needs Sky just as much.
Despite two decades of online disruption, the UK remains reliant on traditional platforms and brands across the media sector more so for older cohorts, but also for younger generations
13% of adults still do not use the internet and, in reality, an online only media ecosystem remains a distant prospect
Traditional providers, particularly within TV, radio and news, look set to endure for the long term , aided by the trajectory of the UK’s ageing population
Amazon Channels’ aggregation of third-party streaming services enhances the consumer appeal of its wider video proposition, provides incremental revenues and increases the stickiness of the Prime shopping service
Content partners range from major players (e.g. Discovery and ITV) to the more niche (e.g. MUBI and Tastemade), who all benefit from a ready-made platform, billing relationships and a receptive subscriber base. But the revenue shares, data costs and lack of direct customer relationships remain too high a price for some
Two and a half years on from its UK launch, opportunities for live, ad-supported and bundled content are diversifying the platform, but Amazon must prioritise discovery within Prime Video to continue to flourish
New SVOD entrants are prioritising reach over revenue in the US with extensive ‘free’ offers, including Apple TV+ (to hardware buyers), Disney+ (to Verizon customers), HBO Max (to HBO subscribers) and Comcast’s Peacock (to basic cable homes)
This is the latest development in an unfolding global story of partnerships, continuing on from multiple Netflix and Amazon distribution deals with platforms, bringing benefits to both parties
In Europe, Sky faces price pressure, but it has secured its HBO partnership and can now talk to Disney from a position of strength
The economic model of TV production relies upon a vibrant market for back catalogue content; programming that has traditionally driven the desirability of many linear channels and slots
New release strategies, along with the hyper-concentrated viewing encouraged by video-on-demand and the round-the-clock availability of shows calls the longevity of the value of content into question
Our analysis suggests that programmes that previously would be leisurely distributed through broadcast could now feasibly be “worn out” more quickly. This could have ramifications for the whole sector, with more content investment required “upfront” and new financial and distribution models required
Linear TV is still a mass market medium, watched by 90% of the UK population each week. However, our latest viewing forecasts predict broadcasters will account for two-thirds of all video viewing in 2028, down from c. 80% today, due to the relentless rise of online video services.
Total viewing will continue to increase as more short-form content is squeezed into people’s days, particularly on portable devices, but the key battleground for eyeballs will remain the TV screen.
The online shift has already had a huge impact among younger age groups, with only 55% of under-35s’ current viewing to broadcasters. Older audiences are slowly starting to follow suit, but have a long way to go.
Across the EU4, pay-TV is proving resilient in the face of fast growing Netflix (with Amazon trailing), confirming the catalysts of cord-cutting in the US are not present on this side of the Atlantic. Domestic SVOD has little traction so far.
France's pay-TV market seems likely to see consolidation. Meanwhile, Germany's OTT sector is ebullient, with incumbents bringing an array of new or enhanced offers to market.
Italy has been left with a sole major pay-TV platform—Sky—following Mediaset's withdrawal, while Spain's providers, by and large, are enjoying continued growth in subscriptions driven by converged bundles and discounts.