Ole Distribution Case Study

Based in Miami, Ole Distribution distributes a diverse portfolio of Pay TV channels in Latin America for A&E Networks, NBCUniversal and Sony Pictures Entertainment. Their channels include A&E, AXN, History, History2, Lifetime, Sony Channel and Sony Movies.

To help guide Ole Distribution’s future strategy in LATAM by analysing key Pay TV and content market changes happening in Europe.

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We conducted thorough research into the European content market, gleaning highly bespoke insights by harnessing our rich, in-house dataset. Where relevant, we also included insights into global activity to help contextualise Europe’s place in the international content market. We identified and focused on 4 key areas:

·      Content owner D2C activity:

We examined Content owner’s European strategy, including their use of vertical integration, and their approach to distribution partnerships and Pay TV operators, as well as analysing the latest market trends such as Disney’s budget cuts and MAX halting local originals.

·      Streamer strategy:

We conducted a global and European review of streamer strategies, identifying trends that were key to LATAM, including those of Netflix, Amazon and Apple. We further looked at what the local response was to these strategies, including activity of local players, especially large broadcasters.  

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·      Pay TV operator evolution:

To show how Pay TV operators had been evolving in Europe, we looked at the performance of MVPDs, the changes to static approach (E.g. the move by some to become Super Aggregators), and technology innovations such as Sky Glass, focussing on markets with similar characteristics to LATAM (Low ARPU but high content offerings).

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·      FAST Channel growth:

We harnessed our rich data on the distribution of FAST channels to conduct a global review of the FAST market, including the USA. This involved analysing the key platforms and content owners, the difference in development for European markets and how the role of content is evolving.

We then compiled key content market trends into a comprehensive report, highlighting the trends relevant to the LATAM region, and including clear recommendations for how Ole Distribution could best react in their market. This was delivered to key stakeholders at Ole Distribution in a 2-hour interactive workshop format by video conference, allowing for Q&A time.

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Gaining a deeper understanding of the key trends happening in the European market, from streamers, pay TV Operators and FAST, enabled Ole Distribution to evaluate the potential changes to come in LATAM, giving them a competitive edge and allowing them to make more informed strategy decisions.

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