In The Frame July '21

Tom Pammenter Published: 29.07.2021 Industry news

This month's latest news across the industry.

Streaming/Online/Tech

Amid the ongoing pandemic-driven surge in online video, YouTube’s reported revenue of $7 billion is up 84% year-on-year.

Subscription growth, especially in the US, is slowing markedly for Netflix. Despite a rise in revenue – up 19.4% year-on-year – the streaming service has reported the lowest new subscriber numbers since 2011. And, with young viewers largely signed up, it’s been suggested that future opportunity is among those aged 55 to 64. Netflix is also in the early stages of further expanding into games. “We view gaming as another new content category for us, similar to our expansion into original films, animation and unscripted TV,” states the most recent shareholder letter.

As of June 2021, there are 16.7 million VoD-enabled households in Great Britain, as 57% are subscribed to at least one service, new research indicates. Numbers of those taking on new subscriptions have fallen compared with last year. Netflix has the highest length of subscription with 70% of subscribers retaining the service for more than two years, and the nation’s favourite genre is crime drama.

Channel 4 and Snap Inc. have announced a two-year deal under which 1,000 new episodes of the broadcaster’s shows will be available on Snapchat’s Discover platform. It follows a partnership in 2020 through which over 300 short-form edits of Channel 4 content aired on the social media platform

BBC News

Ofcom has launched a formal investigation into the BBC’s plan to reinstate BBC Three as a broadcast channel. The investigation could last up to six months because the relaunch would count as a substantial change to the BBC’s public service output.

The Euro 2020 football tournament set a record as the BBC's highest-ever online-viewed live event. Across BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport online, 75.9 million live streams were served, including 6.9 million for the final which featured England and Italy. On the day of that final, 25 million people watched the football on BBC One (six million watched on ITV) and 7.8 million watched the Wimbledon men’s final. The England/Italy match was watched by more viewers than any programme since Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997.

The BBC’s head of major sport events, Ron Chakraborty, has however acknowledged viewer frustration that the corporation could offer only two live Olympic events from Tokyo simultaneously, via one broadcast channel and on iPlayer red button. The International Olympic Committee sold European TV rights to Discovery, owner of Eurosport, in 2015, who outbid the European Broadcasting Union alliance of public service media across Europe, including the BBC, which sub-licences from Discovery. The arrangement lasts until 2024.

BBC and the All England Club have extended their contract by three years up to and including 2027 to broadcast Wimbledon.

And finally...

Channel 4 have commissioned a 60-minute film exploring social media, racism and football, fronted by Jermaine Jenas, while the BBC have announced Paul Merson: Football, Gambling and Me, a 60-minute documentary for BBC One and iPlayer.
Channel 4 will host over 300 hours of round-the-clock Paralympics coverage from Tokyo, Leeds and London. More 4 will be dedicated team sports channel. More than 70% of the presenting team are disabled.
Sky are rebranding Sky One, which launched across Europe in April 1982, as Sky Showcase, from September. Sky One is the oldest non-terrestrial TV channel in the UK. Sky will also launch Sky Max, a new linear channel, at the same time.
Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, home of the Harry Potter films, has announced 83,000 square-foot of production space is being added to the facilities, including the V Stage, a virtual production stage and one of three new sound stages.
More than 600 feature films and TV productions have gone into production in the UK since the government-funded Film and TV Production Restart Scheme was announced in July last year.