MediaTalk S&P Global Market Intelligence

Worldwide annual video game console shipments are set to fall by almost 50% between 2023 and 2028, according to the most recent outlook from S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan. What is driving that decline? This episode of MediaTalk seeks to answer that question with help from Kagan analyst Neil Barbour, who leads video game coverage for the consumer technology team. Neil explains why the newest consoles from Microsoft and Sony have been slower to catch on, and he describes how Nintendo's Switch is gearing up to exit the market. The forecast is not entirely grim, however. While hardware sales are down, software sales remain strong thanks to device-agnostic entities like Roblox and Fortnite.

The summer of sports is underway, and soccer fans across the globe are ready to root for their favorite teams and players. Together, MediaTalk host Mike Reynolds of New York and S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan Research Analyst John Paul O'Sullivan from London share their thoughts about a couple of major international soccer tournaments: UEFA's Euro 2024, which starts on June 14 from Germany, and 2024 Copa América, which begins in the US on June 20. The pair talk viewership, advertising and availability across three continents, and then share their best guesses as to which teams will win their respective tournaments. 

After months of negotiating, Paramount Global started this week looking as though it was on the cusp of a deal. Now, in an unexpected turn of events, Paramount Global Chair Shari Redstone ended talks to sell her controlling stake in the media company to Skydance Productions. Instead, Redstone is reportedly eyeing the sale of Paramount's parent company, National Amusements. The news sent Paramount Global shares tumbling, raising questions about what comes next for the storied media giant. Will Redstone sell her NAI shares and exit the business that her father, the late Sumner Redstone, built? Does Paramount Global need to be sold? Are the parts at this point more valuable than the whole? And are there other suitors ready to jump in? Listen in as S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan principal analysts Justin Nielson, Scott Robson and Seth Shafer answer these questions and more.  

In this episode, MediaTalk host Mike Reynolds sits down with S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan analyst Seth Shafer, who specializes in the streaming industry. They discuss the performance of the US streaming market, including 13.3% revenue growth in 2023. This increase was driven by price hikes rather than new subscriptions, raising a questions about the sustainability of this growth rate. Thus far, operators like Netflix, Disney, Warner Brothers Discovery, Paramount and Comcast have been aggressive in raising prices to drive profitability. Despite these price increases, consumers still feel they are getting good value and have not dropped their SVOD services. To attract price-sensitive customers, some operators are exploring ad-supported tiers to generate additional revenue, though these tiers are still in the early stages. Listen in to learn how streaming services are seeking to balance lower-cost ad-supported offerings with higher-cost ad-free subscription services. 

In this episode, MediaTalk Host Mike Reynolds speaks to Peter Olsen, president of ad sales at A+E Networks. While not the biggest network owner, A+E is home to some of the most recognizable brands in the media business, notably the History Channel, A&E and Lifetime, among others. Peter discusses the national ad market, talks about A+E's distribution strategy in the streaming age and weighs in on the upfront, in which content providers look to sell linear and digital schedules to agencies and their clients ahead of the 2024/2025 TV season. A+E, like other network owners, is facing changing currencies in the ad market, competition from online video and a sluggish ad market. Find out how the company is responding and how the TV advertising market is evolving.

In this episode, MediaTalk Host Mike Reynolds speaks to S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan Senior Research Analyst Wade Holden, who specializes in the movie business, and Mac Mathews, associate director of editorial, design and publishing at S&PGlobal and film aficionado. Wade and Mac discuss the almost 25% decline registered during the spring box office season and their expectations for the summer. Will the mix of franchise plays and originals resonate? Will anything match the excitement seen by last year's "Barbenheimer" phenomenon? What is going on with direct-to-streaming releases that bypass theaters entirely? Together, Mike, Mac and Wade explore these questions and more, before finally settling the long-running internet debate over who is the better Ryan: Gosling or Reynolds. (Spoiler alert: one of them votes for a Hugh.)