Deadline reports: “A new report from Nielsen finds that total time spent streaming jumped 18% from February 2021 to February 2022. The “State of Play” report, drawing on Nielsen panel data, estimated weekly time spent streaming at 169.4 billion minutes, up from 143.2 billion last year.”
The Hollywood Reporter reports: “The video advertising data and analytics firm EDO, which has seen its stock rise amid Nielsen’s continued struggles, has raised $80 million in a new funding round led by Shamrock Capital. The company, co-founded by actor and filmmaker Edward Norton and led by CEO Kevin Krim, is trying to create a new advertising “currency.””
Variety reports: “ESPN inked a multiyear deal with Autograph, the NFT startup co-founded by Brady, to release its first nonfungible tokens. NFTs provide a way to authenticate ownership of digital content, using distributed blockchain networks — and media and entertainment companies have flocked to NFTs as a way to generate incremental revenue and boost fan loyalty.”
Gamesindustry.biz reports: “Today Minecraft has launched Rivercraft, a new world that aims to teach children about the negative impacts of flooding and climate change. It features three games to help children understand environmental issues with managing flooding, flood prevention, and our local environment.”
The Hollywood Reporter reports: “Almost half of streaming users in the United States say they feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of programming on streaming services. But they have no plans to cut back. The survey reveals that 46 percent of streaming consumers feel overwhelmed by the ever increasing number of platforms and titles available to them, which can make it tougher to find specific titles in a specific place.”
Gamesindustry.biz reports: “During its State of Unreal event, Epic Games today officially launched Unreal Engine 5, nearly two years after the original announcement and almost one year after releasing it in Early Access.”
Hypebot reports: “The major labels’ combined revenue in 2020 was $15.2 billion, and in 2021 it was $18.7bn, representing 25% annual growth. If you simply deduct those figures from the IFPI figures you end up with an implied independent figure of $6.5bn for 2020 and $7.0 billion for 2021. Here is where things start to get interesting…”
Digiday reports: “The pandemic’s first year turned the publishing industry on its head, forcing executives to not only halt certain businesses, but to look for new revenue opportunities in an attempt to mitigate some of the impact. In the second year, however, publishers seemed to have a better grasp on our new reality and saw some businesses come back online, working in conjunction with the primary businesses that kept their companies afloat – and in some cases growing.”
The Hollywood Reporter reports: “Elon Musk is officially joining Twitter. The company, not the service. Just one day after disclosing that he had purchased a more than 9 percent stake in Twitter for about $2.9 billion, the social media company is appointing the Tesla and SpaceX founder to its board of directors.”
The Hollywood Reporter reports: “Atairos, an investment fund backed by cable giant Comcast and led by its former CFO Michael Angelakis, is teaming with Comcast-owned NBCUniversal to acquire a 30 percent stake in Opry Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of the real estate investment firm Ryman Hospitality Properties.”
