In the current climate, financial engineering has become interesting again, with various profit concepts being mixed together.
The saying 'what goes up, must come down' is an old piece of folk wisdom. In the audiovisual content market, this certainly isn’t different. Over the past 6 years, we have enjoyed a true boom in content development and - production, which was soon labeled as “the golden years of television”. This year brings the expected correction: media companies are issuing profit warnings left and right. Whether it's RTL or ProSiebenSat1 in Europe, or global giants like Disney, Paramount or WarnerDiscovery, tough times prevail.
A further analysis of the figures from these media companies, reveals several clear trends. The traditional television business is struggling due to declining advertising expenditures. Especially in Germany the market has collapsed, which significantly impacts financial results in the media sector. In the Netherlands, the situation has been somewhat cushioned by sharply increased GRP-prices, but in other countries, the storm clouds are gathering.
Another – more creeping – effect is the inevitable shift in viewing behavior. The UK's Ofcom, which unlike our Dutch Media Authority does consistently provide solid research reports, reported this month that the change in viewing behaviour is accelerating among older viewers also. Linear viewing time in Great Britain among those aged 64+ decreased by 8% in the past year. It doesn’t bode well for broadcasters, if even their most devoted audience shifts to online.
Many media companies are now inclined to make their figures look a bit less rosy, when the market is already somewhat unfavorable. In the current climate, financial engineering has become interesting again, with various profit concepts being mixed together. Playing around with deprecation charges on produced content seems to be a common practice, with the potential write-off by WarnerDiscovery on the already produced Batgirl film as the ‘highlight’. The message is clear: the commercial market is experiencing a dip. As is often the case when the market is down, the public broadcasters are the ones consistently continuing to invest. For this reason, among others, BBC Studios has had a successful year and will do this again in 2023.
Nevertheless, all media companies are subject to the same phenomena: if they don't establish a robust streaming operation, they’re destined to fail. The challenge is that there are still very few organizations capable of operating a streaming service at a break-even point, let alone profitably. This additional financial burden poses significant problems in both the public and commercial domain. Consequently, it's logical that producers are focusing on their traditional roles in the value chain: creating and producing compelling audiovisual content. While demand may be somewhat decreasing, this mostly means that the oversaturated market of the past few years is normalizing to some extent. A blessing in disguise for producers.
For the broadcasters however, it's all hands on deck. The easiest approach is to cut in the content costs, but that would mean falling further behind on the most successful global streamers (Netflix and Amazon). These are challenging times!
Broadcast Magazine celebrates its 35th anniversary, a milestone prominently featured in this edition of the media trade magazine. It has evolved into a genuine glossy, allowing it to stand toe-to-toe with international counterparts. Indeed, media trade magazines thrive abroad as well. Each has its own distinct identity, as the trade journals that appear internationally are remarkably diverse. For anyone following global developments in the media industry, they are all well worth reading.
The mother of all media trade magazines is the American Variety. Its first edition was published as early as 1905. In 1930, Variety faced competition from a newcomer, the Hollywood Reporter. These publications remain indispensable resources for anyone wishing to closely follow developments in the American media industry. Interestingly, ownership of these magazines frequently changed hands, suggesting they were seen as valuable, easily tradable assets. Even private equity firms have invested in them at various stages.
In 1973, the UK saw the launch of its first media trade magazine, simply named Broadcast. This monthly publication closely follows developments in the British market and has successfully expanded into a digital platform. Since 2003, the UK's audiovisual content industry has experienced rapid growth, which Broadcast has thoroughly documented
This year, the publisher took a bold step by deciding to expand internationally. Broadcast International focuses primarily on developments in the world of audiovisual content production, quickly establishing itself as a noteworthy source of insider news.
For those interested in the French market, Écran Total is indispensable. It is also a monthly magazine, covering the film and entertainment sectors broadly. True to French tradition, it devotes significant attention to the ‘Exception Française’, the protection of the French film industry. In a way, it represents the ugly duckling among the international trade journals, as the French television world remains relatively closed off, and Écran Total reflects that philosophy.
Then there are the Germans: they truly have their act together. DWDL is an in-depth online platform, filled with excellent articles produced by a team of journalists specializing in the media sector. For those who want to understand how things work in the large German media market, it is an indispensable source, offering daily, detailed articles. Last year, DWDL garnered widespread attention with minute-by-minute reporting of the ProSieben Sat.1 Annual General Meeting, in which our Dutch colleague Bert Habets played a leading role. A clear example of how a media trade magazine can evolve into a highly relevant online platform for our industry.
Remarkably, smaller European countries lack a medium comparable to BM. Broadcast Magazine — now smartly rebranded as BM, since it long ago outgrew its original focus solely on broadcasting — is a successful example, thanks to the entrepreneurial drive of Rob Klap and the tireless editorial leadership of Jeroen te Nuijl. It demonstrates yet again the significant role the Netherlands plays in the international audiovisual content industry.
Sports rights holders are rubbing their hands in anticipation, because the value of sports rights is rising sharply. After the huge price hikes of the previous decade, there had been somewhat of a stagnation in recent years. The French Ligue 1 even saw the value of its new multi-year deal drop. But now, a new group of deep-pocketed interested parties has emerged: the streamers are about to make major investments in sports. Specialized sports streamers like DAZN have been active for several years. Market leader Netflix, after broadcasting the Paul/Tyson match, has also discovered the power of live sports. YouTube (more on that in my next column) invested in American football earlier. According to figures from Ampère Analysis, streamers will spend over 12 billion dollars on sports rights this year.
The investments that British-Ukrainian entrepreneur Sir Lech Blavatnik has been making for years are starting to bear some fruit. His company DAZN is growing rapidly and attracting one investor after another. The company is running at a significant loss and has a massive need for financing. This month, according to insiders, the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund paid a billion dollars for less than 10% of the company. With the promise that he’s building the Netflix of sports, Blavatnik has managed to convince investors. As a result, the company has become a tough competitor to pay-TV channels like Sky and is squeezing many public and commercial TV broadcasters even further.
Entertainment streamers, meanwhile, also see the value of sports—and not just for attracting new subscribers. Keeping churn (the cancellation of subscriptions) under control is at least as important from a strategic standpoint. Therefore, Netflix is going to invest in American football. Less dominant players like Peacock and Paramount+ are also heading in that direction—a development that has the National Football League (NFL) rubbing its hands in anticipation. We also know that trends in the U.S. sooner or later make their way to Europe, which will undoubtedly mean that here, too, the value of sports rights will shoot through the roof.
It’s clear, however, that this hasn’t been all smooth sailing. DAZN incurred the wrath of German consumer organizations by hiking its prices for the Bundesliga and the Champions League a little too enthusiastically. Technical problems in Italy plagued the sports streamer, and even Netflix underestimated the impact of a mega-event like the Paul/Tyson match. Those are temporary problems, though—ones that will disappear as streaming technology advances and industry expertise continues to evolve.
Private equity firms see these developments as well and are becoming more and more interested in sports organizations. And here again, the NFL is at the center of attention. After an extensive study, the league concluded that private equity firms (at least to a limited extent, for now) can invest in NFL clubs. Sports are increasingly being valued for what they’re truly worth, because there’s still so much potential in them—due in no small part to streamers taking an interest in the rights. In other words: sports are streaming ahead!
Oege Boonstra begon in de media als commercieel directeur bij facilitair bedrijf NOB en werd later onder andere directeur van de internationale operaties bij Endemol. In 2008 was hij een van de twee oprichters van 3Rivers, waar hij recent is teruggetreden uit de dagelijkse bedrijfsvoering om 3Rivers met raad en daad te blijven bijstaan als non-executive chairman.
Ronald Goes studeerde eerst economie en accountancy. Daarna was hij onder andere CEO bij RTL Productions, betrokken bij de opzet van SBS en meer dan vijf andere tv-zenders in Nederland en bestuurder bij Endemol en Talpa Media. Momenteel leidt hij al meer dan vijftien jaar, vanuit Londen, de wereldwijde productietak van Warner Bros.
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