[May 25] Premier League brings production in-house, breaking away from broadcaster dependence to become a 'media company', and more
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▶ Premier League brings production in-house, breaking away from broadcaster dependence to become a 'media company'
The English Premier League is ending its contract with production company PLP (a subsidiary of IMG), which has handled international broadcast production for 22 years, and is taking the step of 'in-house production' to handle video production itself starting from the 2026/27 season.
Until now, the league, which holds the broadcasting rights, and IMG, which produces the footage, have clearly divided their roles.
So why is the league moving to become the producer itself now?
The goal is to keep its greatest asset—the footage delivered to broadcasters and streaming services around the world—in its own hands rather than outsourcing it.
The league CEO admits that because it involves the risk of massive capital investment, it is 'a gamble that only organizations like the NFL or NBA can take,' but they chose to take the lead anyway.
The league CEO describes the reason for bringing production in-house as 'options'.
The true meaning behind this is to break away from dependence on broadcasters.
If they handle production themselves, they can acquire direct touchpoints with viewers and viewership data for future D2C (direct-to-fan streaming) initiatives.
In other words, this is nothing less than a move by a sports organization to evolve from a mere rights holder into a 'media company'.
The backdrop to this is the progress of globalization, with overseas broadcasting rights revenue reaching approximately 2 billion pounds (about 420 billion yen) per season, surpassing domestic revenue of about 1.7 billion pounds.
[Dinko's Comment]
What the Premier League's in-house production shows is the strength of 'the league acting as one to take the lead'.
Conversely, the most popular sports content in Japan remains professional baseball, but its production and broadcasting are often swayed by the individual agendas of teams and various interests, and the reality is that there is little concept of the league as a whole holding onto its video assets.
Ideally, shouldn't the league, rather than the teams, be united and lead everything from production to distribution, just like the Premier League?
Overseas expansion and data utilization can only move forward with that kind of unification.
As long as they are swayed by various interests, true development for Japanese sports content may not be possible.
▶ DAZN and Nippon TV form an alliance; the path to survival for broadcasters questioned at the World Cup
Sports streaming service DAZN has launched a joint cheering project with Nippon TV for the 'FIFA World Cup 2026', which kicks off on June 12, 2026.
What is noteworthy is that terrestrial television and streaming, which once fought over viewers, have joined forces.
DAZN, which holds the exclusive streaming rights for all 104 matches, will leverage the reach and drawing power of terrestrial TV, while Nippon TV will take on a role in major content.
It can be said that this is the result of both parties' interests aligning.
The core of the collaboration consists of three initiatives.
On May 30, a special pre-tournament program will be broadcast on 30 Nippon TV stations nationwide, and on May 31, the Kirin Challenge Cup 'Japan vs. Iceland' will be streamed live simultaneously on terrestrial television and DAZN.
Furthermore, during the tournament, Nippon TV announcers will provide play-by-play commentary for five group stage matches streamed by DAZN.
As the specialized skill of 'play-by-play commentary,' which was the greatest asset of broadcasters, is opened up to platforms, the fluidity of talent and content is accelerating.
On the other hand, there remains concern that the method of repeated free streaming could undermine both DAZN's paid subscription model and the broadcasters' advertising model.
As a turning point where the initiative for mega-events is shifting to the streaming side, this can be seen as a move that will determine the future landscape of the broadcasting rights business.
[Dinko's Comment]
Broadcasters were once the kings of mega-events.
However, DAZN holds the exclusive rights to all 104 matches.
Terrestrial television is shifting to the side of being 'invited' as a customer-attraction device.
In the UK, joint broadcasting between the BBC and streamers is also progressing, and a change in the leading role is a predetermined course globally.
The focus is likely on the opening up of play-by-play commentary.
The craftsmanship that broadcasters pride themselves on is flowing out to platforms.
Is this a heartwarming story of collaboration, or is it a fire sale of assets? Broadcasters are being asked for their resolve in the fight for survival.
▶ "200,000 hours created": Dentsu's AI strategy, questioning the numbers and the lack of clarity
On May 25, 2026, dentsu Japan revamped its proprietary AI strategy to "AI For Growth 3.0" and launched the integrated AI product series "AI For Growth Suite."
What is noteworthy is the clear shift in AI utilization, which had previously focused on internal operational efficiency, toward "external sales" for companies.
In the background, there is the reality that the company cannot rely solely on its core advertising business, which is experiencing slowing growth, and one can see the aim of turning the practical marketing knowledge cultivated over many years into AI products, shifting the focus to new revenue sources and a consulting-type business.
The company is deploying numerous specialized AIs, such as "People Research," a virtual survey using 100 million AI personas, and its proprietary "PSDCA model."
On the other hand, the company announced that it expects to create 107,000 hours of work in 2025 and over 200,000 hours in 2026 through task-specific AI, but this figure is an estimate multiplied by a proprietary conversion factor, so careful assessment is needed as to whether it can be taken at face value as an actual effect.
And above all, this announcement is composed of layers upon layers of proprietary frameworks and jargon, which, frankly speaking, is very difficult to understand.
I understand the intention to appeal to technical capabilities, but wouldn't it be better to have a slightly simpler explanation that is conscious of the audience?
[Dinko's Comment]
Dentsu's shift to "external sales" is likely an inevitable move to compensate for the plateauing core advertising business.
Overseas, WPP and Publicis have already moved ahead with AI commercialization, and this is a move that follows that trend.
However, what concerns me is that the creation effect of 200,000 hours is an estimate based on a proprietary conversion factor.
Compared to the clear ROI presentation of companies like Accenture, it lacks a bit of persuasiveness.
In addition, with the proliferation of proprietary frameworks and jargon, the essential content is difficult to convey.
Then again, perhaps this is just me, Dinko, failing to keep up with the understanding.
The honest truth is that even those of us explaining it are desperately trying to keep up with the speed of technological evolution.
▶ Crunchyroll's 73 million votes. The main battlefield for Japanese anime is shifting to emerging countries
The 10th Crunchyroll Anime Awards were held in Tokyo on May 23, 2026, with 'My Hero Academia FINAL SEASON' winning the top prize, 'Anime of the Year'.
A notable point this time is that the number of fan votes reached a record high of 73 million worldwide.
This is the result of global simultaneous distribution by streaming platforms and the penetration of voting channels linked with social media, illustrating how anime viewing is transforming into 'participatory entertainment'.
The countries with the most active voting were Brazil, India, Mexico, Germany, and the United States, suggesting that the main battlefield for Japanese anime is shifting from North America and Europe to emerging markets in the Southern Hemisphere and South Asia.
Furthermore, it is worth noting that Crunchyroll, which operates this event, is a subsidiary of Sony.
A vertical integration model is functioning where a Japanese company controls everything from project planning and production to global distribution and the legitimization of works through fan voting, positioning it as a success story where a Japanese company captures the revenue and influence of Japanese-originated IP on a global scale.
[Dinko's Comment]
What cannot be overlooked in this year's awards is that voice acting awards were established for multiple languages, including Arabic, Hindi, and Brazilian Portuguese.
This means that the era of simple subtitling is over, and a 'global production system' premised on dubbing and localization optimized for each language region has become the standard.
Netflix led the way with simultaneous global distribution, but anime is taking it a step further, with demands for multi-layered production tailored to local cultures and acting styles beginning to emerge.
The era where Japanese studios can just 'make it and be done' is over.
▶ Cinema cameras, AI, and IP integration. FOX's Indy 500 broadcast is rewriting broadcasting standards
FOX Sports is attracting industry attention for its full-scale introduction of cinematic production techniques to sports broadcasting at the 2026 Indy 500.
A 'Top Gun camera,' inspired by the films 'Top Gun' and 'F1: THE MOVIE,' was newly installed inside the cockpit, realizing immersive footage that captures the driver's expressions and actions head-on.
In terms of video equipment, more than 10 ARRI ALEXA 35 Live cameras were deployed in the broadcast studio.
While the image quality unique to cinema cameras surprised the broadcast staff, it also required addressing operational challenges specific to the broadcast site, such as casing modifications for live production (redesigning and modifying for live broadcasts) and CCU integration.
[Dinko's Comment]
Although the practical application of cinema cameras in broadcasting involves production costs and technical hurdles, it is becoming a new standard that raises viewer expectations for image quality.