Happy Friday!
This week we take a look at the big news of the week that Disney have bought Fox. 'Over The Top' is now available on iTunes. Verizon are set to pay over $1.5 billion to stream NFL games, HQ finally have a competitor, Kyra TV hit a seven figure revenue, Apple snap up Shazam, and a lot more!
Let the scrolling begin!
Top Pick
Rupert Murdoch reshapes media empire with $66bn Disney deal
Rupert Murdoch has announced a $66 billion deal with Disney to sell some of his assets. The ever expanding Disney umbrella now includes, Fox Networks Group, a 39% stake in Sky, and 20th Century Fox. Along with previous acquisitions like ESPN, ABC, Hulu, Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm and their existing Walt Disney Studios, theme parks, and merchandising wing, Disney is now truly an empire.
Earlier this year, Disney announced it was pulling its films from Netflix US to compete with its own service from 2019. Fox’s content will help build the attractiveness of the digital TV service, with a sport version also planned for ESPN.
“Our direct-to-consumer relationship is vital to our media business and our highest priority,” Iger said in the conference call. “This deal is a very important move forward that reflects our strategic vision for the future. [We will] become a more viable competitor.”
Features
Over The Top - now on iTunes
Great news! 'Over The Top' is now available on iTunes. Each episode brings you the very latest news on OTT and the future of video from some of the best in the business. Make sure to download the episodes today.
Future of TV
Verizon will pay more than $1.5 billion to stream NFL games
This week in large-sums-of-money, Verizon will be paying the NFL a total of $1.5 billion over 5 years to stream their games. That's up from their previous deal of $1 billion for 4 years, a 20% increase. The deal comes at an interesting time, with general sentiment saying live sports don't command the audiences they once did.
Interestingly, Verizon won’t make the streams exclusive only to its subscribers. They will stream the games on a variety of Verizon-owned properties. We'll be interested to watch this play out, and to see how this extra half billion dollars will impact Verizon and the NFL.
Trivia game HQ finally has a competitor called The Q
It was only a matter of time before we started seeing HQ copycats competitors pop up, and the first of these is The Q. With a less flashy and more MVP approach, The Q is hoping to both reach audiences that HQ has yet to reach and also to coexist with HQ as an alternative. Right now they're doing this by broadcasting 30 minutes after HQ every day and existing on Android.
We think there's definitely room for more than one HQ. Right now The Q is lacking its own distinct voice and is certainly piggybacking, but the weird internet obsession with Scott Rogowsky shows that this format can have mass niche appeal. We can see a future where The Q, and similar games, could build a unique and engaging persona around their host in a similar way.
10 months in: How youth-focused video publisher Kyra TV hit seven-figure revenue
According to the founder of Kyra TV, Devran Karaca, it's a mistake to think that young audiences don't want to watch long form content, the problem really us that 'the majority of digital content being produced is quite poor right now'. And the goal of Kyra TV is to change this, to be what 'cable TV was 15 years ago for a new, digital generation.'
With this in mind Kyra TV is critical of its own metrics, examining watch time and view-through rates closely rather than tout overall view counts like other publishers. At Rerun we think view counts may not give a genuine reflection of actual viewer engagement. The company claims over 50 million minutes of audience watch time on its shows to date. At Rerun, we think the focus of pitching watch time figures compared to generic mass view counts is an important differentiator. It gives a solid base of truth to the quality of the content.
T-Mobile will launch a TV service next year
T-Mobile announced this week that they are getting into the television game. The company is planning to launch its own TV service sometime in 2018. To that end, T-Mobile is acquiring Layer3 TV to help build out its service.
T-Mobile CEO John Legere described the decision as
"A logical next step for T-Mobile, given the general dissatisfaction of customers with traditional cable TV offerings".
T-Mobile’s mock up screens for the service shows it integrating live TV and services like Netflix and Hulu, along with a strong social aspect that shows what friends are watching. But it’s still unclear if the final product will look anything like these screens.
Interactive Media
Game that tune: Apple snaps up Shazam for reported $400m
This is a great acquisition for both Apple and Shazam. The latter has always had a demonstratable 'wow' factor but struggled to make much money, only reaching profitability last year despite having over 1bn downloads. For Apple, the acquisition gives them the opportunity to tightly integrate Shazam's features into iOS and Apple Music, helping them make up some ground on Google and Spotify. Google's latest smartphone, the Pixel 2, automatically shows you information about songs playing nearby using an offline database.
Virtual Reality
Developing the next realities for Travel
Airbnb is making the most of the latest VR and AR wave to enrich travel experiences. Specifically, they're looking at how VR can help their customers before their trips, allowing them to get immersed in the place they'll be staying. And then, once they arrive, using AR to add new layers to the travel experience.
