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Peacock leads US SVoD pick up

Comcast’s Peacock added more new subscribers than any other US VoD service during the third quarter, according to Kantar. Kantar also found that more consumers added one service while cancelling another. Kantar said 10 per cent of new subscriptions were the result of switching, up from 9 per cent in the second quarter. “Q3 saw […]

October 14, 2020

Sony launches Apple TV app on smart TVs

Sony Europe has announced that customers can now access the Apple TV app on select Sony smart TVs to watch Apple TV+, Apple TV channels, movies, and personalised and curated recommendations. The Apple TV app will begin rolling out immediately in Europe on Sony’s XH90 series via a software update. Apple’s SVoD service offers original […]

October 14, 2020By Nik Roseveare

Mickey mugs the big screen

The Disney Corporation is known for two things: Family-friendly entertainment, and taking no prisoners. It is at the top table of world media as much through the second attribute as the first. Nowhere is its ruthlessness more evident than in its exploitation of the direct route to its consumers. Going direct over the heads of […]

October 13, 2020

Cinemas ‘shocked’ by Disney+ film premieres

The International Union of Cinemas (UNIC), representing European cinema operators, has responded to Disney’s decision to forego a cinema release for its upcoming Pixar animation Soul, and instead launch the movie straight onto its Disney+ streaming service on Christmas Day. It marks the third time during the pandemic that Disney has released a tentpole movie […]

October 13, 2020By Nik Roseveare

Sweden: Media spend starting to normalise

Mediavision’s analysis of household spend on media services points towards a stabilisation in the third quarter, following substantial pandemic effects in Q2. During this spring, online video services reached new record levels which have now normalised. Meanwhile, Mediavision concludes that spend on digital text subscriptions increase substantially. Mediavision’s Q3 analysis shows that Swedish households spend […]

October 13, 2020

The Witches goes PVoD

The Witches is the latest film title that will skip a UK cinema release and instead premiere as a PVoD rental in homes. The adaptation of the classic Roald Dahl story, directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Anne Hathaway, Stanley Tucci and Octavia Spencer, will be available to download from October 26th. Once downloaded, the […]

October 13, 2020By Nik Roseveare

Dungey exits Netflix

Channing Dungey, VP of original series for Netflix, has left the company after less than two years, with reports suggesting she is taking a leading role at Warner Bros Television. Dungey joined Netflix in 2018 after 14 years with Disney-owned ABC Entertainment. The news comes after Cindy Holland, Netflix VP of original content, left the […]

October 12, 2020

New London HQ for Netflix

Netflix is moving into a new headquarters in London’s West End as it seeks to expand its UK productions. The streamer is taking over the lease on an 87,000 square-foot building on Berners Street from current occupant Capita, according to Bloomberg. Netflix, which has 269 employees in the UK, already rents some 30,000 square feet […]

October 9, 2020

Report: SVoD players should change mindset to reduce churn

TV subscription brands such as Amazon, Disney+, and Netflix are their own worst enemy when it comes to losing customers, according to a report launched by Singula Decisions, a specialist in subscriber intelligence. The findings highlight that while brands obsess about the problem of ‘churn’ they only have themselves to blame for customers cancelling their […]

October 9, 2020

Italy: Optimism for video entertainment market

Italy’s video entertainment market is poised for vigorous growth next year, despite a challenging 2020, according to a video insights report from Futuresource Consulting. This upsurge will be driven by SVoD entering a new growth phase, as only one in four Italian households will subscribe to an SVoD service by the end of 2020, providing […]

October 9, 2020