2024: The Year in Review

Speaking at the Asia TV Forum in Singapore last month, Omdia’s Tony Gunnarsson described 2024 as a year of “reassessment” after a transformative few years of the streaming wars and subsequent SVOD fatigue. Business models were in flux, AI emerged as the latest transformative disruption that needs to be contended with, the sports rights sector underwent some dramatic shifts and peak TV finally ended. There is, apparently, a limit to how much entertainment consumers reasonably want and need to scroll through.

The increasing importance of aggregators in the age of SVOD fatigue is among the key shifts set to reshape the media sector, according to the Deloitte Technology, Media & Telecommunications 2025 Predictions report. The number of SVOD services per household is forecast to peak in 2025 at four in the U.S. and a little over two in Europe, with a decline going forward. SVOD revenues, however, could still rise with price hikes, further crackdowns on password sharing and improved bundling options. Deloitte expects consolidation in the streaming sector with two to three stand-alone DTC SVOD players per market, complemented by aggregators like telcos, pay-TV platforms and tech platforms. “This shift may reduce costs and create a more sustainable streaming ecosystem,” Deloitte said.

Bundling was undoubtedly one of last year’s most dominant themes as SVOD platforms looked for more innovative ways to gain and keep subs amid inflationary concerns across the globe. New U.S. bundles last year included ones for Disney+, Hulu and Max; STARZ and BritBox; and Peacock, Netflix and Apple TV+. Warner Bros. Discovery clinched a pact with Comcast that bundled Max with Xfinity in the U.S., Sky in the U.K. and Ireland and U-NEXT in Japan and sealed a carriage deal with Charter Communications that both companies hailed as a model for the “future of video.” Paramount Global Content Distribution signed a slew of deals to bring Paramount+ branded destinations to leading operators, including France’s CANAL+ Group, South Korea’s Coupang Play, beIN Media Group in the Middle East, Thailand’s Monomax and Africa’s MultiChoice. Apple TV+ joined the Prime Video offering in the U.S. and several international territories. TelevisaUnivision’s ViX aligned with Atresmedia in Spain.

2024 was also the year of “#AdvertisingEverywhere,” as Omdia’s Gunnarsson put it, with ad tiers on SVOD platforms now entrenched in the U.S. and expanding globally. The global advertising market hit $1 trillion this year, lifted in part by elections across the globe and sporting events. Sports certainly was an active segment in 2024, most notably with the reveal of Venu Sports, a new streamer from ESPN, Fox Corporation and Warner Bros. Discovery. The sports rights sector is amid a dramatic shift, with AVOD and SVOD players and broadcasters all competing for top-tier rights. Netflix upped its game, delivering record audiences (despite technical glitches) for its Jake Paul/Mike Tyson fight, shoring up the U.S. rights to the 2027 and 2031 editions of the FIFA Women’s World Cup and launching Raw from WWE. Max landed Premier League and Emirates FA Cup matches for the 2024-25 to 2027-28 seasons in Mexico and Central America. Prime Video scored a package of rights from the NBA. AVOD streamer Tubi sealed a deal to deliver Liga MX and Liga MX Femenil matches live in Mexico, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala and Panama. The Roku Channel secured exclusive U.S. streaming rights to X Games Aspen, another X Games event next summer, and Major League Baseball (MLB) Sunday Leadoff live games. DAZN became the home of the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 globally. Paramount Australia sealed a deal with Football Australia, making Network 10 and Paramount+ the local home of the CommBank Matildas and Subway Socceroos through 2028. CBS Sports landed English Football League (EFL) rights with at least 250 matches per season across the Championship, League One, League Two, Carabao Cup and Bristol Street Motors Trophy. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) launched the Eurovision Sport streaming platform, bolstering free public access to live sports across Europe. Meanwhile, the BBC and ITV entered into new deals for the 2026 and 2030 editions of the FIFA World Cup and UEFA Women’s EURO 2025. Sky Deutschland kept the Bundesliga rights from 2025-26 through 2028-29. Sky in the U.K. rolled out the Sky Sports+ service as it started its new long-term partnership with the EFL, delivering more than 1,000 games per season. ESPN clinched a new four-year deal for the U.S. media rights to the FA Cup. M6 Group beat out TF1 for the French free-to-air rights to the 2026 and 2030 editions of the World Cup.

The sports activity in the FAST arena also picked up pace, with CBS Sports rolling out a Champions League channel on Pluto TV and Tubi and DAZN partnering to bring the DAZN Women’s Football FAST channel, among other services, to North America. FAST remained a buzzword in 2024, but growth in the sector slowed somewhat amid concerns about saturation, discovery and advertising technology. Nevertheless, it was still a busy year. Fremantle inked a global deal with Pluto TV to distribute 25 FAST channels across 13 countries. FuboTV added 18 FAST channels from NBCUniversal. Bell Media launched ten English- and French-language FAST channels featuring entertainment, factual, news and sports programming. Samsung TV Plus launched in Southeast Asia and revealed a U.S. reach of almost 90 million monthly active users. BBC Studios brought several channels to 9Network in Australia. Sky rolled out several FAST channels. Tubi arrived in the U.K. Plex launched 92 additional FAST channels worldwide. Lionsgate teamed with Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and his G-Unit Film and Television banner on a new action-oriented FAST channel. Tapping into the growing interest in FAST, Rakuten TV announced the launch of a new Enterprise Services division, allowing content owners and distributors to launch their own FAST channels and video apps.

On the M&A front, the year ended with sports streamer DAZN’s acquisition of Foxtel, reflecting the shifting dynamics of the sports rights sector. Last year also saw Paramount Global and Skydance Media formally announce a merger deal, while Jeff Zucker’s RedBird IMI completed its £1.15 billion ($1.46 billion) acquisition of All3Media from Warner Bros. Discovery and Liberty Global. The Walt Disney Company invested $1.5 billion to acquire an equity stake in Epic Games alongside a multi-year agreement to collaborate on an all-new games and entertainment universe. Mediawan acquired a majority stake in OUR Films, the production and film financing company set up by Mario Gianani and Lorenzo Mieli. Prime Video bought Bray Film Studios in the U.K., the production home for the second season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Vuelta Group, the parent company of German film production and distribution outfit SquareOne, acquired Telepool from Westbrook. Fremantle officially completed its acquisition of Asacha Media Group and its bouquet of labels based in France, Italy and the U.K. Mediawan clinched a deal to take complete control of LEONINE Studios. Grupo Televisa bought out AT&T’s interest in Sky Mexico. Amcomri Entertainment sold Abacus Media Rights to Canada’s Sphere Media. CANAL+ Group increased its ownership stake in the streaming platform Viu and invested in Senegalese production company Marodi TV. BBC Studios picked up an interest in Spanish producer Brutal Media and bought out ITV’s 50 percent interest in their BritBox International joint venture, while AMC Networks took complete control of the BBC America venture. DIRECTV attempted to, and then abandoned, an effort to take over EchoStar’s video distribution business, which includes the DISH satellite TV platform. The SpringHill Company is merging with Fulwell 73. ComediHa! acquired the assets of Just For Laughs. It was a transformative year in India as Paramount Global reached a deal to sell its 13 percent stake in Viacom18 to Reliance Industries for $517 million, while an $8.5 billion deal between Reliance Industries and The Walt Disney Company brought together the Viacom18 and Star India businesses into a joint venture, and Sony Pictures Networks India terminated the proposal to merge with ZEE Entertainment Enterprises.

In terms of talent alliances, meanwhile, Mediawan pacted with The SpringHill Company, founded by LeBron James and Maverick Carter; Netflix clinched a deal with Baby Reindeer’s Richard Gadd and renewed its alliance with Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground; Warner Bros. Television Group signed Hacks co-creator Jen Statsky; and NBCUniversal aligned with Alan Cumming. Fremantle secured a first-look deal with Nevermind Pictures, the production company from filmmaker and Academy Award-nominated actor Kristen Stewart, screenwriter Dylan Meyer and producer Maggie McLean. BBC Studios sealed a development partnership with Touchscreen, the new company founded by Armando Iannucci. Other new companies introduced last year included Thomas Benski’s Lumina and Lionel Messi and Smuggler Entertainment’s 525 Rosario, as well as Carrousel Studios.

The year was also marked by a wealth of restructures as companies positioned themselves for the changing environment. Continued pressure on linear channels prompted Comcast Corporation to unveil a spin-off of its cable network portfolio, while Warner Bros. Discovery created two key divisions, one for its global linear networks and another for its streaming business and studios. Vivendi’s shareholders voted in favor of the breakup of the group, with CANAL+ listing on the London Stock Exchange. FOX Entertainment restructured its operations, and Channel 4 unveiled a five-year strategy to reshape the organization as it sets out to be a “digital-first public service streamer” by 2030.

Meanwhile, AI began to reshape the media landscape in 2024 as everyone comes to grips with what it means for storytelling, IP ownership and production processes. Of note, Peter Chernin’s The North Road Company and VC firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) invested in Promise, a new studio that will produce films and series in the era of Generative AI. The Charismatic consortium, which includes Channel 4, secured £1.04 million ($1.37 million) in funding from the government-backed Innovate UK program to explore how AI can be used to support content creators and innovate storytelling across film and television. Lionsgate and the applied AI research company Runway entered into a first-of-its-kind partnership centered on the creation and training of a new AI model that will be customized to the studio’s portfolio of film and TV content.

Last year also saw the industry say goodbye to MIPTV, with RX France unveiling MIP London to run alongside the well-established London TV Screenings in February. “Let’s face it, London in February has become the biggest week in content in the first quarter,” said Lucy Smith, director of MIP London and MIPCOM Cannes at RX. “We believe that beyond the existing screenings, there’s so much more potential business that can be done during that week to help get a head start on 2025.”