FIFA rivals streaming companies with own soccer platform

Marcelo Cajueiro Rio2C 2022, one of Latin America’s largest entertainment industry trade meet wrapped May 1 reflecting the huge competition between streaming players in Brazil, the region’s main market.The first in-person Rio2C since 2019 featured sessions with over 200 market players, including Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus, HBO Max and local giant Globoplay, which are said to figure in this order on informal Brazil’s SVOD market rankings, as companies do not disclose subscription figures.Even though Brazil has a population of 214 million, only about 20 million pay for video content, noted Fabio Lima, founder and CEO of local Sofa Digital, a VOD aggregator. It is not for lack of interest – 100 million Brazilians or more watch free-of-charge videos on YouTube and telenovelas on free-to-air TV –  but of money, in a country where income is highly concentrated and the majority of the population has to cope with severe economic crisis. “In order to break this 20 million growth barrier, streaming companies will have to offer Brazilian content in Portuguese with extremely high appeal for the local audiences,” Lima told Variety.He speculated that the favorite genre could be an evolution of  telenovelas, which have a long tradition in Brazil dating back to radio dramas.

Naman Ramachandran India’s Reliance and Viacom18 have entered a strategic partnership with Bodhi Tree Systems, a platform of James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems and former Disney president Uday Shankar, to form a giant TV and digital streaming company in India.Bodhi Tree is fundraising with a consortium of investors to invest $1.78 billion in Viacom18, to “jointly build India’s leading entertainment platform and pioneer the Indian media landscape’s transformation to a ‘streaming-first’ approach,” the companies said in a statement. Viacom 18 is a joint venture of Network 18, the media group controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, and U.S.

Sigur Rós have announced the Asia leg of their upcoming world tour.The Asia leg of the upcoming tour will take place in August with shows in Singapore, South Korea, Japan and Thailand. Venues have yet to be confirmed for the band’s concerts in Seoul, South Korea and Bangkok, Thailand.Posted by Sigur Rós on Monday, April 25, 2022The tour will see Sigur Rós perform in Singapore on August 17, with fan presales starting on Wednesday (April 27) and general tickets going on sale via Sistic this Friday (April 29).

Netflix, seen as the big dog in the streaming wars, just saw 200,000 people cancel their subscriptions as announced by the company. The streaming giant recently closed up shop in Russia due to the country’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, following multiple other western companies including fellow streamers who ceased operating there.

Streaming today is a free-for-all, with major companies jockeying for position as they try to catch up with Netflix. In the early days of the online video revolution, though, one pioneer was not a solo act but instead a collective: Hulu. In their new book, Binge Times, which will be published Tuesday, Deadline business editor Dade Hayes and Reuters correspondent Dawn Chmielewski explore the current race but they also trace the origins and path of Hulu. The joint venture has many ties to today’s landscape and offers many lessons 15 years after its launch. As the existential threat of YouTube loomed, this was one case when rivals at the box office and in the Nielsen ratings tried to work together to defend their turf against Big Tech. Here is their story.

Naman Ramachandran The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the highest governing body of international soccer, has launched digital platform FIFA Plus with plans to stream 40,000 live games per year. The games will be from 100 FIFA member associations and will include 11,000 women’s matches. Live coverage will range from Europe’s topflight leagues to previously unserved competitions from around the world in men’s, women’s and youth football.

Ahead of the 2022 Qatar World Cup, soccer’s governing body FIFA is launching a free streaming service.

A coroner's conclusion that the drowning of a 12-year-old Somali refugee was accidental was 'flawed' as it failed to take into account allegations that the girl had been bullied, a court was told. Shukri Abdi, 12, died after getting into difficulties in the river in Bury during a heatwave in June 2019.

Lord Alan Sugar has parted company with another the Apprentice winner, shortly after investing in Harpreet Kaur's business in his latest series of the BBC show. Sian Gabbidon won the BBC One show back in 2018, but Lord Sugar has now ceased being a director of her swim wear company, Sian Marie Fashion.The businessman's company Amvest Limited were said to have had significant control of Sian's business, but that has now been withdrawn. Lord Sugar invested his usual £250,000 in the firm, but recent company documents show that his position in the company was "terminated" in March 2022.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeInstructional streamer Wondrium has ordered three seasons of “Wondrium Insights,” a new speaker series featuring guests including world champion boxer and Olympic gold medalist Sugar Ray Leonard, swimming legend and host Diana Nyad and singer/songwriter Mary Lambert.The series will be distributed globally on Wondrium later this year. According to the service, “Each speaker will present their personal stories and challenges giving viewers an intimate opportunity to learn and discover tools that can help with perseverance, resilience, and success.”Besides Leonard, Nyad and Lambert, the speakers also include former NBA player Jay Williams, social entrepreneur Shiza Shahid, astronaut/athlete/author Leland Melvin, former NFL linebacker Ryan Shazier, Las Vegas Raiders defensive tackle Solomon Thomas, STEM education innovator Knatokie Ford, mentor/entrepreneur Ivy McGregor, rock climber Kevin Jorgeson, science and technology journalist David Kushner, Flickr co-founder/venture capitalist Caterina Fake, AI artist/musician/storyteller Taryn Southern and clinical psychologist Dr.

HYBE has officially unveiled former IZ*ONE’s Miyawaki Sakura as the first member of its upcoming girl group LE SSERAFIM.On April 4 at Midnight KST, HYBE subsidiary Source Music uploaded its first introduction video for the upcoming girl group featuring Miyawaki. In the new clip, the Japanese K-pop idol dons a suit as she struts towards the camera to an upbeat instrumental, later getting on a motorcycle and blazing through futuristic neon-lit tunnel.The label has also shared official photos of the ex-IZ*ONE member via its social media accounts, hinting at the forthcoming act’s fierce new image.

Sony’s dive into the deeper waters of Marvel with vampire anti-hero Morbius looks to be shaping up to be a new franchise for the Culver City studio. Industry estimates are pegging around $17M today with a shot at an opening north of $40M for the $75M feature production.