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.)

The metaverse means different things to different people. But to S&P Global Market Intelligence 451 Research analyst Ian Hughes, the metaverse is the long-term vision for the next phase of the internet. It will feature a single shared immersive and persistent 3D virtual space where humans and machines interact with one another and with data. It will not replace the physical world, so much as enhance it. While AI has taken up a great deal of oxygen in the tech investment space, the metaverse cannot be ignored. The first quarter saw a record amount of investment in metaverse technologies. Saudi Arabia is spending $500 billion on a new city that begins with designs in the metaverse. Manufacturers are creating digital twins for new factories. And enterprises are coalescing around the OpenUSD standard, opening the door for a path to true interoperability. Join MediaTalk host Mike Reynolds to learn everything you need to know about the metaverse — in just 15 minutes.

In this episode, MediaTalk host Mike Reynolds sits down again with S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan analyst John Fletcher, who specializes in multichannel and broadband. John shares his outlook on how the broadband industry is set to grow in both the near and distant future. On one hand, funding for a key federal subsidy is set to end this month and legislators have yet to agree on a plan to extend it. As a result, tens of millions of low-income households could once again be priced out of broadband. On the other hand, fixed wireless is continuing to roll out across the country, driving subscriber growth for the broadband industry as a whole. What do both of these things mean for the cable industry? And what do they mean for efforts to close the digital divide? And where do low-earth orbiting satellites fit into all of this? Mike and John dig into these questions and more.

In this episode, MediaTalk Host Mike Reynolds speaks to S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan Principal Analyst Justin Nielson and Kagan Analyst Peter Leitzinger, who both specialize in the broadcast industry. Peter and Justin recently attended the National Association of Broadcasters' convention in Las Vegas, where they heard about and spoke about how the broadcast industry is changing. Cord-cutting is sending viewers back over the air, and sports teams are experimenting with new broadcast packages as the RSN model stumbles. At the same time, retransmission revenue growth is slowing, forcing station owners to look for their next big growth engine. Is datacasting the answer? What role can AI play? And what is going on with NextGen TV? Justin and Peter give us the inside scoop from the NAB Show 2024 on these topics and more.

In this episode, MediaTalk host Mike Reynolds sits down with S&P Global Market Intelligence Kagan analyst John Fletcher, who specializes in multichannel and broadband. John shares his thoughts on which broadband providers — cable, telco, satellite or fixed wireless — still have room for growth in an age where broadband has very much become a utility. More, he discusses how US providers plan to further close the digital divide, especially as federal dollars begin flowing into the system.