COVID-19 stay-at-home orders propelled the online video and gaming markets to $330 billion in 2020 revenue, reported ABI Research Tuesday. Streaming video subscription revenue surpassed $69 billion, and online gaming was up 22% year over year, it said. Though media consumption rates "will taper off from the peaks seen during lockdowns as the world returns to a sense of normalcy," the public's appetite for digital content and services is "expected to remain strong," said ABI analyst Michael Inouye. “The common consensus from most industry insiders is a shift in the growth curve rather than an expected dip to pre-pandemic forecasts."
About a third of U.S. employees working remotely would quit or look for a new job if their companies ordered them back to the physical office full time, according to a survey commissioned by the recruitment firm Robert Half. Researchers canvassed about 1,000 adult workers online March 9-16, finding 49% who said they would prefer a hybrid work arrangement after the COVID-19 pandemic. Though many are leery about returning to the physical workspace if ordered to do so, dissatisfaction also runs high among employees anticipating the opportunity to be fully remote, the survey found. More than a quarter (28%) said they would worry their relationships with co-workers could suffer, and a fifth fear they would be exposed to “fewer career advancement opportunities due to a lack of visibility.”
The domestic box office recovery has begun, with Godzilla vs. Kong driving the best North American opening weekend of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a five-day box office of $48.5 million, Colliers analyst Steven Frankel wrote investors Monday. The film played on over 3,000 screens and was included with HBO Max subscriptions for no extra charge. Imax generated 9.3% of the domestic box office. Attendance demonstrated “strong consumer demand for the format,” as over 1,000 Imax shows, or more than 25% of the weekend's show times, were sold out, said the analyst. It also earned $71 million in international markets.
Walmart is administering COVID-19 vaccines in more than 3,800 stores and clubs across 48 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., blogged Cheryl Pegus, executive vice president-health and wellness, Friday. Over 80% of shots were through Walmart pharmacies and more than 60 community events in what the Health Resources and Services Administration defines as the most medically underserved areas of the country, Pegus said. In Jackson, Mississippi, Walmart worked with the local housing authority to set up a community center for a low-income senior housing unit, administering 2,000 vaccines, she said. Walmart is “focused on reaching communities with access issues and vaccine hesitancy, especially those located in medically underserved areas where Walmart has a presence,” she said. The retailer hopes to expand vaccinations to all 5,400 Walmart and Sam’s Club pharmacies and via its mobile wellness fleet. Walmart is “strongly encouraging all associates get vaccinated,” but it’s not required, said Pegus, noting the company is offering employees appointments in stores and clubs, two hours of paid time and the ability to get a vaccine during their shift. It administered over 1,200 vaccines to employees near its home office in Bentonville, Arkansas.
Commissioners OK'd rules 4-0 for round two of the COVID-19 telehealth program, the FCC announced Tuesday. They denied an American Hospital Association petition for reconsideration to include for-profit hospitals as eligible providers. Nearly $250 million will be awarded during the second round. The commission created an application filing window rather than a rolling basis for accepting applications because "smaller providers with more limited resources may have faced difficulties quickly compiling their applications." The filing window is expected to open within 30 days. The FCC will announce this start date "very shortly," said acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. Round one applicants that didn't receive funding must submit a new application for round two and "will receive an increase in points in Round 2 which are not available to other Round 2 applicants," the order said. Universal Service Administrative Co. will administer funds again, prioritizing applications from the hardest-hit and low-income areas, unfunded round one applicants, tribal communities, critical access hospitals, federally qualified health centers, healthcare provider shortage areas, new round two applicants and rural counties. Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said the rules give "significant weight to applications proposing to serve low-income communities" and included some of his proposed edits. Rules "strike the right balance between ensuring a wide and equitable distribution of funding and promoting the widest possible participation of health care providers," said Commissioner Brendan Carr. Commissioner Nathan Simington didn't release a statement. The FCC extended from six to 12 months the time applicants may receive funding, saying "providers will likely continue to rely on telehealth and connected care services as a critical means of addressing the COVID-19 pandemic through at least a good portion of 2022." Funds will be awarded in two phases, as expected (see 2103170047). The first $150 million goes to highest-scoring applicants. After a 10-day period, USAC will re-rank the remaining applicants and disburse the remaining funds. The commission kept in place eligibility requirements for providers from round one, and applicants needing to obtain approved eligibility determination must do so only for the "lead health care provider" listed on the application. If an applicant has multiple sites on their application, they must certify only that all sites listed are eligible. The order said its eligible services list is broad enough to provide "the flexibility needed to respond to rapidly evolving situations" and includes guidance on ineligible services.
Akamai leveraged the Salesforce Vaccine Cloud platform to develop a tool for helping organizations scale their online distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, it said Tuesday. The tool, called Vaccine Edge, helps groups enhance the registration and signup process when vaccination websites “are under duress due to high demand,” said Akamai. Vaccine Edge helps power “fast page load times regardless of the number of users registering simultaneously,” it said. “When loads are too high, Vaccine Edge passes users to a waiting room to keep the site available so that the user can maintain their location in the queue.” It’s embedded with denial-of-service protection to help monitor and block bad actors trying to take down sites “by overwhelming them with targeted requests,” it said.
Consumer intentions to buy new TV sets increased slightly in March from February, according to preliminary Conference Board data released Tuesday. Nielsen canvassed 5,000 U.S. homes through March 19, finding 10.8% plan to buy a new TV in the next six months, up from 10.4% in February but down from 11.1% in January and 11.7% in March 2020. Consumer confidence in March surged to its highest reading since the pandemic began a year ago, said the board: “Consumers’ assessment of current conditions and their short-term outlook improved significantly, an indication that economic growth is likely to strengthen further in the coming months. Consumers’ renewed optimism boosted their purchasing intentions for homes, autos and several big-ticket items.”
Peak demand for LifeMD’s telemedicine services drove 2020 revenue 200% higher than in 2019, said CEO Justin Schreiber on a Q4 earnings call Monday. “December 2020 alone eclipsed the entire fourth quarter of 2019,” he said. “Despite the challenges and heartbreaks, perhaps one silver lining to the pandemic is how it catalyzed the rapid expansion and evolution of the telehealth industry.” LifeMD is on pace to finish Q1 with nearly 300% revenue growth compared with the 2020 quarter, said Schreiber. “We believe we've only begun to scratch the surface of what we see as a $600 billion and growing addressable market opportunity.” Shares closed 15.3% lower Tuesday at $15.98 from reports the stock was significantly overvalued.
Copyright royalty judges’ initial determination in a webcasting rate-setting proceeding is now due June 14, the Copyright Office said Monday, citing COVID-19. The original Dec. 16 due date was first postponed to April 15 (see 2007060031).
Gaming PCs and monitors were “among the greatest beneficiaries” of the pandemic, reported IDC Monday. As consumers “spent more hours at home and fewer dollars outside,” 2020 shipments of gaming PCs and monitors grew 26.8% year over year to 55 million units, the biggest since IDC began tracking the category five years ago: “Gaming notebooks remained the biggest volume driver.” They grew a record 26.9%, “despite being affected by display panel shortages,” it said. Gaming monitors “reached new heights,” growing more than 77%, it said. “IDC expects the gaming market to remain a bright spot after the overall PC market returns to more normal replacement cycles after the pandemic. While gaming desktops will continue to fade in favor of notebooks, their demise will be more than made up for by notebooks and monitors.”