TO WATCH: Blocked pipe. Gazprom’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline linking Russia to
Germany via the Baltic could finally start pumping gas in the first quarter. America will
do its best to stop it. Its sanctions have already helped delay the $11bn project. America,
itself a burgeoning producer of natural gas, wants to loosen Russia’s hold on the
European market, but it can only delay the inevitable. Nord Stream 2, once fully
operational, will be able to carry 55bn cubic metres a year to the EU, 11% of its pre-
covid needs.

Entertainment

Entertainment’s jazziest performer will again be over-the-top (OTT) services such as
video streaming. Still, OTT subscriptions growth will slow as incomes suffer, rising by
just 11% in 2021 after a 26% expansion in 2019, according to PwC, a consultancy. The
appetite for video will not keep pace with the blossoming range of viewing options.
ViacomCBS, a media giant, will weigh in with a revamped and renamed “CBS All Access”
streaming service. Netflix will lose some licensed content (notably “The Office”) to rivals
but will stay on top thanks to its vast content library and popular algorithm-based
viewing recommendations.

Box-office revenue will surge by 78% in 2021 yet lag behind 2019 levels by 38%, given
caps on cinema capacity. After a dire 2020, American takings will jump by 80% to
$6.4bn, says PwC, as delayed big-ticket films (“Top Gun: Maverick”, for instance, and
“Dune”, a sci-fi epic) lure back punters. But production hold-ups in 2020 will stall long-
awaited releases such as “The Batman”, from Warner Bros, for another year, until 2022.

To prosper, streaming platforms and production houses alike must conjure up enticing
new works. Filming has recovered in Asia but will hit a bottleneck in 2021 in Hollywood.
Pandemic-related restrictions on shooting will prod a few brave production houses to
tap artificial intelligence: “b”, a Hollywood sci-fi movie due to be made in 2021, will star
Erica, a Japanese humanoid robot.