In The Frame - October '22

Streaming/Online/Tech

Netflix announced details this month of its ad-supported tier, declared its new membership of Barb, the British ratings agency, and revealed its annual revenue from UK subscribers – £1.4 billion in 2021 – for the first time.

Netflix added more than 2.4 million subscribers globally in the third quarter of 2022, mainly from outside the US, ending a run of customer losses this year.

Attest, a consumer research platform, has released the findings from the latest edition of its quarterly US Media Consumption Tracker. It suggests one in five US Netflix viewers (22.6%) rely on using an account paid for by someone else. Research elsewhere suggests more than 40% of SVoD customers in Spain could be affected by Netflix’s decision to put an end to password sharing.

As it continues to focus on stopping password sharing, Netflix is rolling out Profile Transfer, a feature which lets people using someone else’s account to transfer a profile and keep personalised recommendations, viewing history, My List, saved games, and other settings should they decide to start their own membership.

Meanwhile, Apple is pushing its own TV ad product and increasing the price of Apple Music and Apple TV+.

Research from streaming infrastructure provider Bitmovin reveals that 57% of British streaming service subscribers haven’t cancelled any subscriptions despite the cost-of-living crisis.

Premier League matches streamed on Prime Video on October 19th resulted in a record spike in internet usage.

BBC News

Ofcom has announced a consultation into BBC proposals to increase the availability and amount of archive content on iPlayer. Since 2019, audiences have been able to access programmes on iPlayer for 12 months from broadcast as standard. Older programmes are also available but the BBC currently limits their availability.

A record weekly audience of 4.53 million people used the BBC Sounds app in the week following the UK’s mini-budget.

The BBC has agreed what it describes as “a new landmark broadcast deal with the GAA” to show the All-Ireland senior football and hurling finals live on iPlayer for the first time. The organisations have signed a five-year contract.

Filming will begin early next year for a new five-part series of Boiling Point, the multi award-winning drama which was released as a film in 2021.

And finally…

• Seetha Kumar, the chief executive of industry body ScreenSkills, has told the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee the UK creative sector risks losing its position as a global leader if the growing skills gap isn’t tackled urgently.
• ITV Studios and the anti-bullying, harassment and discrimination app Call It! have announced their first partnership. Call It's mission is to eradicate bullying, harassment and discrimination in the TV and film industry.
• Channel 4 has launched Channel 4.0, a digital-first brand focused on “reaching, engaging and entertaining 13–24-year-olds”.
• Countdown features several guest presenters during a month-long run of special episodes to mark the 40th anniversary of Channel 4. The show was the first to be broadcast on the network in 1982.
• Also turning 40, the Kent-based Maidstone Studios has announced plans to build a third onsite studio offering a virtual production workflow. It’s scheduled to open in 2023.
• Comcast has reported Sky's revenue decreased 14.7% to $4.3 billion in the third quarter of 2022.
• Essex County Council is setting up a dedicated film office to ensure Essex is “at the top of the list of great places to film”.
• Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton is launching Dawn Apollo films, a film and TV production company.