2021 COUNSEL OF THE YEAR AWARDS POSTPONED
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many entertainment industry events around the world to be cancelled or postponed due to restrictions on large gatherings. After considerable discussion among its Boards, sponsors and partners, AMEC has decided to postpone the 2021 Counsel of the Year Awards which are traditionally held in January.
AMEC looks forward to honoring the legal leaders of the industry in January 2022. There appears to be a light at the end of a very long tunnel and in the Spring, AMEC will assess the situation for other live events. AMEC wishes you and your families a happy and safe holiday season.
COVID-19 Government Intervention Schemes
Countries around the globe are facing unprecedented and rapid change due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This guide provides a summary of key government interventions around the globe in relation to: EU State Aid Approvals (for EMEA region), foreign investment restrictions, debt, equity and taxations.
Transcript and Show Notes
Christopher Kane: Hello, everyone. I’m Chris Kane, your host of today’s podcast Boom! The Southeastern Commerce Podcast. We’re going to tackle a really exciting topic for me; I’m going learn a lot and I think you’re going to learn a lot from two incredible individuals in the recording and producing field in the music industry.
Entertainment Industry
Market Update | 2020
With many in the United States still under “shelter in place,” the entertainment sector showed pockets of resilience in Q2, largely driven by demand for streaming video and music. While cord-cutting and the concurrent shift to streaming are not new themes in this sector, COVID-19 has helped accelerate and magnify several existing key trends.
We discuss several takeaways that we have seen from recent events:
MVPD subscriber attrition reached all-time highs—nearly 9%YoY in Q2—as customers flocked to Netflix (which grew 27% YoY in Q2) and Disney+, along with new services that launched, such as HBO Max.
Continuing its previous growth trajectory, Disney+ reached its five-year subscriber target in less than 12 months, adding 24 million subscribers in Q2. This is in contrast with Quibi, which has failed to find traction.
Netflix’s model for content production and acquisition proved more resilient to COVID-19 shutdowns, as the service was able to add more than 1,300 new episodes in H1 (including shows that captured the public imagination, such as Tiger King and Floor Is Lava), nearly 800 more episodes than any competitor, and was rewarded as the only service among its peers to see frequent usage increase from Q1 to Q2.
While limited commutes and other out-of-home activities have shifted listening habits, the streaming of both music and podcasts continued to increase in Q2, driving streaming platforms to diversify their audio offerings and explore new partnerships with labels to navigate a changing ecosystem.
M&A and financing activity remains robust despite the broader market volatility, which is highlighted by the IPO of Warner Music Group; the merger of Eros and STX; Fox’s acquisition of Tubi; SiriusXM’s acquisition of Stitcher; CuriosityStream’s acquisition by the SPAC Software Acquisition Group; and TV Azteca’s investment in Deezer. We expect this active M&A and financing environment to continue.
We hope you find this update to be informative and that it serves as a valuable resource to you in staying abreast of the market in these turbulent times. Given the fast-changing market in this current environment, we would be happy to discuss these developments in real time and look forward to staying in touch with you.
Sports Industry Considerations – 2020
Houlihan Lokey is pleased to present its sports industry overview for summer 2020. We have included industry insights and select transaction announcements to help you stay ahead in the dynamic and constantly evolving sports sector.
Driven by growing national and local media rights deals, digital platforms, and increased sponsorship monetization, recent years have witnessed several blockbuster acquisitions in the major U.S. professional sports leagues. We expect activity to remain high, especially for minority ownership stakes, for the foreseeable future as franchise assets remain scarce and institutional buyers enter the marketplace with increasing demand.
Please download our market update to learn more.
Articles on COVID-19 and Entertainment Industry Issues
COVID-19 Government Intervention Schemes
Countries around the globe are facing unprecedented and rapid change due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This guide provides a summary of key government interventions around the globe in relation to: EU State Aid Approvals (for EMEA region), foreign investment restrictions, debt, equity and taxations.
The New Normal? Executive Guidance Asks Agencies to Reform Enforcement Policy
Given all the tumult with natural disasters, COVID-19, and other goings on in Washington, a memorandum directing government agencies to reform how they operate may have gone unnoticed. It’s worth considering. On August 31, 2020, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), a subagency within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), issued Memorandum M-20-31 (the “Memo”), which elaborates on and implements directives from a prior executive order to consider and adopt certain best practices and procedures to promote fairness in administrative enforcement and adjudication..
Cybersecurity and data protection within the context of COVID-19 and the IoT
Episode 25 of our TechLaw Podcast Series features CEO and founder of Context IS, Mark Raeburn, discussing cybersecurity and data protection with one of our partners, Ross McKean. The recent findings from our European Technology Index 2020 highlighting the importance of the relationship between cybersecurity and IoT is a key focus.
Click here to listen to the audio.
Disinformation and COVID-19: EU Commission publishes second set of reports on actions taken by online platforms and advertisers to tackle coronavirus disinformation
On the 7th October 2020, the European Commission published its second set of reports on how the signatories to the Code of Practice on Disinformation have tackled false and misleading coronavirus information. The first assessment of how the Code has been implemented was published on the 10th September 2020.