Weekly Roundup – January 28th, 2025
Roundup Links
Comcast launches a $70 sports streaming bundle with NFL, NBA, and MLB games
"Comcast is launching a $70 per month “Sports & News TV” streaming bundle featuring live games from the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, and NCAA. The package, which marks the latest attempt to build out the sports streaming industry, lets you tune into over 50 news and sports channels, including ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, ESPN, and CNN."
Our Take: Venu didn't happen because Fubo decided to team up with one of the partners it originally filed a lawsuit against (Disney). Comcast stepping into that void with enhanced offerings for the sports, news, and betting junkies is a smart move. Carriers are increasingly coming out with these bundle deals and it might be the route to survival for some.
Nielsen to End Panel-Only Ratings That Have Measured TV for Decades
"Media measurement firm Nielsen will stop selling its stand-alone consumer panel-based TV ratings in the fourth quarter of this year, according to a memo sent from Nielsen to ad-buyers and confirmed to The Wall Street Journal by the company. The panel-only product has for decades served as the standard for measuring U.S. television ratings, which programmers use to set ad prices and advertisers rely on to know whether they got what they paid for."
Our Take: It's less a 'good move' by Nielsen and more a necessary one. Relying on panels alone when streaming providers have nuanced insight into their own viewership metrics was never going to fly for long in the streaming age.
Spotify, Universal Music Strike New Deal For Recorded Music & Publishing
"Universal Music Group and Spotify have struck a new direct deal, impacting both the company’s recorded music and publishing royalty rates, the companies announced today (Jan. 26). In a statement, UMG chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge said that the deal is “precisely the kind of partnership development [UMG] envisioned” as part of its idea for “Streaming 2.0,” the company’s proposed changes to revamp streaming royalty rates and improve remuneration for its artists on streaming platforms."
Our Take: The lack of transparency of what this new payout/royalty structure actually entails is itself a red flag. In all likelihood the changes are probably not as significant as they are being made out to be and this is a way for Spotify to virtue signal that they are 'for the artists'.
CNN announces about 200 layoffs as it attempts to modernize business
"CNN announced Thursday it is cutting about 6% of its total staff, or about 210 employees, as it refocuses the business around a global digital audience.
CNN CEO Mark Thompson announced the job losses in a memo to staff Thursday, confirming CNBC’s reporting Wednesday that cuts were coming. In the memo, Thompson noted CNN doesn’t expect total headcount to fall “much” this year because the company plans to invest $70 million in new digital plans."
Our Take: If CNN are going to recenter their efforts on building a global audience around its digital products, it is going to have to create more of a splash than CNN+. That venture cost around $300 Million to launch and only managed to nab around 150,000 subscribers in its first 3 weeks. Unless their marketing strategy and offerings are substantially improved upon from their last foray into digital, CNN are in for a rough ride.
Chinese AI model shakes Big Tech
"A Chinese artificial intelligence startup debuted a model so impressive it shook financial markets, amplified Western geopolitical fears, and raised concerns over Silicon Valley’s strategy.
The large language model developed by DeepSeek — founded by a Chinese hedge fund manager and developed at a fraction of the cost of Big Tech platforms — beat OpenAI’s ChatGPT to top iPhone free download charts in both China and the US."
Our Take: This more or less typifies the struggle between US and China. China has a habit of creating cost-effective, mass-market alternatives to American products that end up being more popular with American consumers. See: TikTok. Now see: DeepSeek.
