Tough Act to Follow: Covid-19’s Implications for Media and Entertainment
The Covid-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented level of uncertainty for the media and entertainment worldwide. Crippled by the global economic downturn and changed consumer behavior, television and film, gaming, and advertising industries remain at a standstill without a clear spotlight on how to return to normal.
Published: November 23, 2020
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Though the industry has taken great strides to change that in recent years, new requirements for social distancing, medical testing and personal protective equipment are challenging filmmakers to hold onto those gains in sustainability.
But in light of the environmental and cost savings associated with green measures, proponents hope the period is only a temporary setback.
Diversity in Hollywood: New Oscar Rules, Box-Office Profits Driving Change
Very recently, in a galaxy not at all far away, Hollywood had a gender and racial diversity problem. And many industry groups, including the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, believe it still does.
Leonard, also a voting member of the Academy, was referring to the recent civil unrest associated with protests following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. That unrest gained steam globally as protesters sought justice in other minority deaths associated with police and championed civil rights movements like Black Lives Matter.
Measuring Recovery
As the first COVID-19 cases hit the U.S., S&P Global Ratings began to speculate on the extent of the economic downturn and the impact on the media and entertainment industry. Today, the U.S. remains mired in the pandemic, with no real clear line of sight back to normal. S&P Global Ratings’ 2020 advertising forecast is for a decline of 9.4% (revised from a decline of 12.4%) and growth of 10.3% in 2021 (previously 14.2%).
The expected recovery path for most media subsectors is largely unchanged from June, but theme parks and movie exhibitors will take longer to recover to pre-COVID-19 metrics. Companies with less tolerance to handle these changes (rated 'B' and lower) could face additional rating actions. The rate of decline of linear television will accelerate, speeding up the importance of streaming services.
'Perfect Storm' Fuels Record Political Ad Spending for TV Stations
Political ad spending on TV stations has soared to new heights during the 2020 election cycle. Now the runoff elections in Georgia, which could determine the balance of power in the U.S. Senate, are going to push that total even higher.
Read the Full ArticleLarge programmers expect sequential ad-revenue improvement to continue in Q4
After enduring the brunt of the pandemic's economic and social shutdowns in the previous quarter, large media companies saw their advertising businesses rebound in the September period.
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The Future Of Film
After enduring the brunt of the pandemic's economic and social shutdowns in the previous quarter, large media companies saw their advertising businesses rebound in the September period.
Some industries, such as the movie and travel industries, have yet to recover, but media executives anticipate the final quarter of 2020 to yield continued sequential growth.
'Perfect Storm' Fuels Record political ad spending for TV stations
With "Tenet" having failed to breathe life back into the U.S. box office and studios delaying future film releases, theater owners remain in critical condition, according to analysts.
Read the Full ArticleCineworld Must Dig Deep to Survive Closures, Avoid Bankruptcy – Analysts
Regal cinemas owner Cineworld Group PLC may require up to $500 million in additional liquidity to survive its latest round of closures and avoid bankruptcy, according to analysts.
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Gaming Grabs Control
The proposed merger of the two Twitch-like livestreaming platforms in China, DouYu International Holdings Ltd. and HUYA Inc., will see lower content acquisition cost and strengthen Tencent Holdings Ltd.'s dominance in the online gaming sector in China, analysts said.
Listen: MediaTalk Episode 16: State of the Video Game Industry Amid COVID-19 – S&P Podcast
As companies and businesses around the globe continue to grapple with financial losses amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the video game sector has remained an outlier.
People sheltering at home due to the pandemic increasingly turned to video games, resulting in revenue spikes for gaming firms and record sales for consoles, speakers said on the latest episode of "MediaTalk," an S&P Global Market Intelligence podcast.
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China
The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented level of uncertainty and regulatory action in North America. Throughout the United States and China's 2020 box office revenue rose from $98.1 million at the end of July to $623.8 million at the end of August thanks to blockbuster "Ba Bai," according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence and OPUSData.
China 2020 Survey Summary: COVID-19 Crisis Accelerated Media and Tech Trends
China was the first country to be hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The first cases were traced to the city of Wuhan, in Hubei province, in late December 2019, and the disease quickly spread through China as people traveled to their hometowns ahead of the Chinese New Year holidays in January 2020.
Read the Full ArticleChina COVID-19 Trends In TV, Video
The CCTV Spring Festival Gala, aired annually for the Lunar New Year holiday, streamed live to almost 170 countries and registered 1.23 billion viewers in 2020, according to gala broadcaster China Media group, up 59 million from 2019.
The holiday in mainland China occurred around the time of the lockdown in Wuhan, and the Spring Festival Gala special saw a new segment added at the last minute to pay tribute to frontline workers in the battle against the pandemic.
Europe
Europe's film box office is experiencing a slow recovery from coronavirus lockdowns, data from OPUSData and collated by S&P Global Market Intelligence shows.
Box office revenue in the region totaled $1.43 billion in the first eight months of 2020, down 69.0% year over year, according to the data.
Pandemic Sees Europe's Defensive TMT Sector Accessing More, but Cheaper, Debt
Technology, media and telecom companies in Europe are unsurprisingly taking out more debt this year than last, although investor returns from the sector's borrowing remain below the average, according to data from LCD, an offering of S&P Global Market Intelligence.
UK Theater Credit Rating Downgrades Reflect Sustained COVID-19 Hit to Box Office
S&P Global Ratings downgraded U.K.-based cinema operators Cineworld Group PLC and Vue International Bidco PLC and placed the two firms on a negative outlook for the year as box office forecasts were hit by virus fears.Global cinema attendance is not expected to recover to pre-pandemic levels until 2022, partly as a result of public caution regarding out-of-home entertainment venues and Hollywood studios pushing back major film releases, the rating agency said.
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TV
While pay TV subscriber losses are impacting video security revenue from the pay TV portion of the market, the rise in over-the-top streaming increases the need for video security in the OTT segment. Kagan forecasts that worldwide video security vendor revenue will see a slight rise from $1.0 billion in 2020 to $1.1 billion in 2024.
Content piracy is a business that never stops. As soon as a content distributor plugs one hole, another springs open. The goal of the content security vendor is to limit piracy knowing it can never be eradicated.
Reality TV Engagement Becomes More Real Amid Pandemic Innovation
For reality TV producers, an unreal situation has only made their content more real. Under coronavirus restrictions, producers were faced with a catch-22. On the one hand, viewers were sheltering at home and watching more content than ever.
Read the Full ArticleCable Networks React to Pandemic by Cutting SG&A, Programming Costs
Programming costs are also being reduced, although this is in large part due to the vast number of productions that have been shut down as TV and film companies look for ways to produce films and TV shows safely.
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Market Leaders
It may seem like a world away now, but fiscal 2019/20 was a good year for business, stocks and, ultimately, CEO pay.
It was a particularly good year for leaders of technology, media and telecommunications, or TMT, companies. The average total CEO compensation in the U.S. TMT sector topped all other sectors at $26.3 million in 2019.
NBC Sports Wagers Big on Sports Betting with PointsBet Partnership, Investment
NBCUniversal Media LLC's NBC Sports has partnered with PointsBet Holdings Ltd. to help the programmer capitalize on the burgeoning sports betting market.
As part of a five-year deal that makes the Australian-based sports betting operator the official sports betting partner across its properties, NBC Sports has purchased a 4.9% stake in PointsBet. The sports programmer, whose properties include NBCSN (US), Golf Channel (US) and Telemudo Deportes, also has the option to obtain another 25% over the length of the deal.
PointsBet has committed to $393 million in total media spending on NBC Sports outlets, with the outlays escalating over the term of the deal. Many of those dollars will be expressed on regional sports networks, David Preschlack, president of NBC Sports Regional Networks and executive vice president of content strategy at NBC Sports Group, said in an interview.
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Advertising
After enduring the brunt of the pandemic's economic and social shutdowns in the previous quarter, large media companies saw their advertising businesses rebound in the September period.
Some industries, such as the movie and travel industries, have yet to recover, but media executives anticipate the final quarter of 2020 to yield continued sequential growth.
'Perfect storm' fuels record political ad spending for TV stations
The advertising industry, closely tied to macroeconomic conditions, is going through one of its biggest crises ever.
With TV Advertising Hard-Hit, Video Companies Turn to AVOD for Hope
The second quarter hit advertising hard, leaving ad-supported video-on-demand platforms caught between strong growth in usage and sharp declines in ad budgets.
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