2023 It’s A Wrap
2023 Retro, 2024 Predictions, Top 10
Welcome back to Streaming Made Easy (SME). I’m Marion & this is your 5-min read to get a European take on the Global Streaming Video Business.
Every Friday in your inbox. Check out previous editions here.
Enjoy today’s read.
In case you missed it 🔥
US output deals are a thing of the past: ProSieben moves away from US output deals to invest in local content.
Trading expensive rights: Free TV (RTL) and Pay TV (Sky Deutschland) stroke a deal to share F1 and Football rights plus drama content.
Broadcast Linear TV still makes sense for some: DAZN to launch Free to air channel DF1 in Germany.
What a year.
You are now 1500+ receiving Streaming Made Easy every week.
Thank you for your weekly attention especially as I know you are flooded by options to read about the Media & Entertainment industry ❤️
The holiday season brings me:
The dread of checking my past predictions
The fun of making new ones for 2024
The joy of doing my Top 10
Judgment Day
Here were my 5 predictions for 2023 (for a full explanation behind each, have a read here):
→ N°1: Netflix will get into live sports without buying sports rights
Victory dance.
Netflix brought us The Netflix Cup.
Next up: The Netflix Slam.
See how it follows their portfolio of docu-series. It’s all about a 360° IP strategy.
→ N°2: European Telcos & Pay TV providers will launch FAST hubs.
Happy face.
Virgin Media, Zattoo, Waipu, Magenta, Bouygues all got into FAST (with their own hub or via a Pluto TV partnership). Check out my piece on the subject:
→ N°3: Samsung TV Plus will make a major investment.
KO on this one, although some of the exclusivities they secured this year must have been pricey (the DAZN Germany deal 👀).
→ N°4: Viaplay or Amazon will buy Salto.
Dead wrong.
Salto closed. Viaplay is in bad shape. I have to say I didn’t see that one coming. I was impressed by the execution of their international expansion but clearly it was not a sustainable one.
→ N°5: Apple will buy Roku.
Way off.
I think this was me (a former Roku employee) hoping they would 😆
My 2024 Predictions Nobody Asked For
→ N°1: Samsung will make a coup and buy exclusive rights to a sports event (something à la Netflix except that it will be an existing event) or a reality show (think Eurovision) in Europe.
Samsung clearly looks to differentiate itself from others. Building their own and operated channels, channel syndication, channel exclusivities, being associated to a one-off event feels like a natural next step.
Check out Roku’s play with the Miss Universe program.
→ N°2: European broadcasters will go big on FAST.
ITV is the perfect example of a sound FAST strategy.
It’s all about bringing more value under one roof (here their streaming hub ITV X) and then they leave it to their commercial arm to bring another set of channels to 3rd-party FAST platforms.
Broadcasters who don’t have a FAST strategy will stand out as outliers next year.
→ N°3: Canal+ will make a come back in the Nordics.
The move to gain 25% of Viaplay will enable Canal+ to relaunch there (a market they left in early 2000s).
I can see a scenario where Viaplay simply rebrands as Canal+ in the Nordics and the Netherlands (where Canal+ just relaunched and where I don’t see the value of having both Viaplay and Canal+).
Canal+ is dead set on becoming the regional champion (N.B: C+ had 25.5M subs across its 50-market footprint at the end of 2022) and I expect more investments and acquisitions in EMEA to fuel their ambitions.
→ N°4: Broadcasters and streamers will invest in Women’s Sports and build bespoke vehicles for them (like the DAZN Women’s Sports Channels 👀).
Deloitte projects the sector will surpass $1 billion in revenue in 2024 (a 300% increase versus 2021).
Bidding for Men’s Tier 1 Sports rights is the reserved domain of a happy few in each market.
As Women’s Sports gain momentum and deserve better access to mainstream audiences, I can see Apple making a global play while broadcasters and streamers make local bets on Tier 1 Sports.
Netflix’s docu-series line up is too male driven. Hopefully, this changes in 2024 and then I don’t see why they wouldn’t venture in a live event around Women’s Sports too.
It’s a reasonable investment (e.g. Women's World Cup worth a 1/4 of Men's World Cup), the perfect timing to get in early and a great way to differentiate themselves.
→ N°5: European Telcos and Pay TV Providers will focus on cross-vertical bundles.
They’re not technically and commercially set up to offer everything on the horizon like CTV does.
Even if they were, it only adds to the discoverability challenges consumers face.
Their attention and energy should therefore be focused on selecting the must have services (across video, gaming, music, media) and building a one-stop shop facilitating customer acquisition and content discovery.
Underperforming thematic channels will get the boot (and some may be asked to come back as FAST channels).
Niche streaming services will struggle to get carriage unless they have a distinct community-led value proposition.
German streamer RTL+ is a great example of a cross-vertical bundle. Add Internet, TV, Mobile and you’re pretty much set.
My Top 10 Must Watch
If you follow me on Linkedin, you know I watch a LOT of content.
Check out which programs made my Top 10 this year:
N°10 - My farewell to “Ted Lasso”
N°9 - Cried watching “Welcome to Wrexham” season 2
N°8 - All families are psychotic especially in “Everything is well”
N°7 - Can’t get enough of the Slough house misfits “Slow Horses” season 3
N°6 - Nordic Noir à la Française “Polar park”
N°5 - Missing the meanest family on earth “Succession” season 4
N°4 - Fresh start “The Bear” season 2
N°3 - My punk spirit “Daisy Jones and the Six”
N°2 - About peace and redemption “All your faces”
N°1 - On the edge of my seat for 150 minutes “Anatomy of a fall” (Palme d’or 2023)
That’s it for today.
It’s time for a proper break away from my computer so there will be a Best Of Edition next week with the most read pieces by SME’s subscribers.
Imagine me eating tapas in Andalusia because that’s where I’ll be 😎
Enjoy your weekend and see you in 2024!
There is still time to get a say by filling my Annual Survey.
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