Ben Shepherd, in his newsletter Three, with what you need to know in marketing and advertising.
This week: Sports superfriends single streamer, Apple jumps in the privacy sandbox, 2023 ad spend just as bad in hindsight as it was at the time.
Three's company:
Three of the worlds largest media companies are teaming up in a rare showing of solidarity to compete against the omnipresent tech platforms and retain their vice like grip on live sports. The new service will launch in 2025 in the US and will resemble the local sports platform Kayo in as such it will cover a wide range of sports (estimates from the parties involved is the platform will cover 50% of total sports coverage)
Best frenemies forever:
Media companies are rarely involved in initiatives in which there’s share equity. This proposition mirrors the initial approach on Hulu 17 years ago, which saw Disney, Warner and NBC (later CBS as well) partner to offer programs on demand post linear broadcast. That was done as a way of competing against very nascent versions of YouTube and Netflix, and ultimately the partnership disbanded and it became entirely Disney owned. Sports in the US has been the sole domain of fixed line cable, and this new streamer will provide people with the option of live sports without the cord. Pricing estimates sit between $40-50 USD per month.
What to watch:
The area to watch here is pricing. Price it too low and this could accelerate the decline of cord cutting and really demolish the viability of cable, price it correctly and it could plug the leakage or even bring ‘cord nevers’ back to live sport. In Australia it raises the interesting proposition of similar ownership structures for Kayo (Disney’s ESPN being a key provider of Kayo content) and Binge (Warner Bros HBO being a key pillar of Binge).
Read the rest of Three HERE
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