The Amp: Comcast's Sky to build major UK studio & more....

Issue #156

This week is a big week for Comcast subsidiaries, with Sky planning to create a 14 sound stage studio north of London in the UK, while Peacock, NBCUniversal's upcoming streaming service, says it will reveal detailed launch plans at an investor meeting in January.

A new advertising-supported streaming service has been launched by existing app, Plex, in 200 countries. In China, streaming company Bilibili is reportedly set to pay $113m for exclusive three-year rights to the League of Legends World Championship game, bringing the rights cost of the eSports competition ever-closer to popular physical sports competitions. Also in China, the Nintendo Switch, which debuted in most other markets in March 2017 is launching next week in partnership with Tencent.

CBS and Viacom have completed their merger, while Premium channel Canal+ has teamed up with Netflix in Poland, to create a TV bundle that offers both services in a single package. Amazon Video has partnered with Dutch TV operator KPN to add an Amazon Prime Video app to KPN's set top boxes, and TiVo has also formed a partnership with the Bezos-owned streamer. The Singapore government's Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) has partnered with Viacom and South East Asian streamer HOOQ to co-fund original content.

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Moving the goalposts: Amazon's Premier League coverage boosts fan reach by a third | Richard Broughton
"Amazon's screening of English Premier League (EPL) matches has extended the reach of live coverage of the competition's games to nearly three-quarters of domestic fans."

Future TV Advertising Forum: 10-11 December 2019, London, UK
On the afternoon of December 10, Ampere's Richard Broughton will present on The role of advertising and hybrid subs/ads models in non-broadcaster streaming.

NEM Zagreb 2019: 11-13 December 2019, Zagreb, Croatia
Guy Bisson will present a session on trends in the international drama market, content financing and commissioning.

Sky to create 2,000 jobs with new Elstree TV and film studio | The Guardian
"The 13-hectare (32-acre) studio complex will be built in Elstree, just down the road from Elstree Studios where rival Netflix shoots flagship series The Crown, and will open in early 2022, subject to planning permission."

NBCUniversal to Unveil Peacock Streaming Strategy at Investor Meeting | Variety
"Peacock is scheduled to launch in April 2020, partly for free — pay-TV subscribers who have cable TV service from parent company Comcast will have access for no additional charge. The service will also be available for a fee to non-cable subscribers, NBCU execs have said."

Plex Launches Free, Ad-Supported Video Service in 200 Countries | Deadline
"Following through on an announcement from last summer about a pact with Warner Bros., Plex officially lifted the veil on its ad-supported streaming offering, which is now live in 200 countries."

Report: Bilibili to Pay $113M for League of Legends World Championships Media Rights in China | eSports Observer
"According to the report, this is the first exclusive media rights bidding process for an esports tournament property in China. "

Nintendo to launch Switch in China on Dec. 10 priced $300 | Reuters
"Nintendo plans to release hit titles Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Super Mario Odyssey in China in the next few weeks. The launch of its handheld-only Switch Lite device, which went on sale worldwide in September, is also being prepared for the country."

Viacom and CBS complete “historic” merger | Advanced Television
"ViacomCBS will be home to more than 140,000 premium TV episodes and 3,600 film titles"

Canal+ Netflix first in Poland | Broadband TV News
"The Canal+/Netflix combined offer can be received in three packages."

KPN integrates Amazon Prime Video | Broadband TV News
"KPN is adding Amazon Prime Video to its Interactive TV menu, making KPN IPTV the first television platform in the Netherlands integrating the service."

TiVo Plugs Amazon Prime Video Into Platform for Pay-TV Partners | Light Reading
"The integration, offered on "select" TiVo-powered devices for pay-TV partners, weaves in the Amazon Prime Video library, including originals such as The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, into the baseline TiVo interface."

Singapore’s IMDA Partners With Viacom and Hooq to Co-Fund Content | Variety
"The content emerging from this partnership will be available on Hooq from mid-2020."

Partnership Deals Give Netflix Access to More Than 300M Households, Report Finds | The Hollywood Reporter
"“The increase in the number of pay-TV partnerships with Netflix marks a distinct shift in the industry, as more and more of the streaming giant’s traditional ‘enemies’ cosy up through onboarding deals,” said Elinor Clark, and analyst at Ampere, referring to carriage agreements."

Netflix: 15 major new pay-TV partners in 2019 | Advanced Television
"“Interestingly, Netflix has now been onboarded onto all the major pay-TV operators in France, a country previously hostile to the US streamer’s arrival.”"

Amazon’s Premier League livestreams will carry fewer commercials — at higher prices | Digiday
"Amazon Prime subscribers who watch Premier League matches are likely to be younger than 34, have a relatively high household income and live in households with children, according to Ampere’s research."

Australian homes could flock to Disney+ | Kidscreen
"Both platforms have a sizable kid audience that might be drawn to Disney+ as the familiar content leaves, according to Ampere."

Netflix Is Available In More Than 300M Global Pay-TV Households, Report Estimates | Deadline
"“These onboarding deals give Netflix pay TV reach in every region bar SubSaharan Africa, while the Western European pay TV market has shown the most rapid growth for these deals,” the report said."

Can Amazon deliver a Premier football experience? | IBC365
"Harraghy adds: “Our data suggests that the Premier League fan base among Amazon Prime
Video users in the UK is five times greater than the number of ATP Tennis supporters, showing the
scale of the challenge for Amazon.”"

Netflix adds 15 major pay-TV partners in 2019 | Broadband TV News
"Ampere Analysis says this represents almost half of all pay-TV homes in its footprint."

Netflix is pushing global access through pay-TV partnerships | Business Insider
"There are 400 million pay-TV subscribers across Central and South America, Central and Eastern Europe, and APAC, per Ampere."

Asia TV Forum: 3 - 6 December 2019, Singapore
Content London: 3 - 6 December 2019, London, UK*
IABM Annual International Business Conference & Awards 2019: 4 - 5 December 2019, London, UK**
Future TV Advertising Forum: 10-11 December 2019, London, UK**
NEM Zagreb: 11-13 December 2019, Zagreb, Croatia**
CES: 7-10 January 2020, Las Vegas, USA
NATPE Miami: 21-23 January 2020, Miami, USA
Göteborg Film Festival and TV Drama Vision: 24 January-3 February 2020, Gothenburg, Sweden**
Berlin Film Festival & European Film Market: 20 February - 1 March 2020, Berlin, Germany.
Mobile World Congress: 24-27 February 2020, Barcelona, Spain
Future TV Advertising Forum Sydney: 27 February 2020, Sydney, Australia**
MIP TV: 30 March-2 April 2020, Cannes, France
C TAM Europe Executive Management Programme: 7-12 June 2020, Fontainebleau, France

*Ampere will attend
**Ampere will present

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News editor: Toby Holleran. Managing editor: Guy Bisson