Most studios probably won't release new content until all theaters have reopened, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter wrote investors Tuesday, predicting a 48% box office drop in North America this year to $5.9 billion. Citing a "fluid" situation, Pachter said it's unclear how quarantines and stay-at-home orders will affect consumer behavior long term: "People may be eager to visit the theatres once they feel safe doing so, but it is unlikely crowds will return to any semblance of normal before a vaccine is widely distributed." Theaters and studios have some incentive to release new content before a "return to normal," as a cinema could show one film on all screens to allow for social distancing, Pachter said. Streaming services will compete to bolster their offerings in an “extremely competitive environment," facing a dearth of content later this year after the halt of productions due to stay-at-home orders. Studios "have an opportunity to release films straight to streaming for a premium rental fee," he said. Some 68 films have been moved or pulled from the release slate, worth an estimated $7.5 billion; seven of those shifted to a streaming platform, worth an estimated $358 million at the box office. Pachter predicts 15 that haven’t been rescheduled -- worth $652 million at the box office -- will be moved to streaming platforms. At home, some 53% of adults ages 18 and above in U.S. TV households are spending more time watching TV per day since the COVID-19 pandemic, reported Leichtman Research Group Tuesday. Sixty-two percent of pay-TV premium subscribers, 62% of pay-TV DVR subs, and 59% of pay-TV on-demand users spend more time watching TV per day, it said, and 43% of connected TV users use their sets more often. Satisfaction levels were lower: 39% were more satisfied with their streaming video services, a third were more satisfied with their pay-TV service and 36% were more satisfied with their home internet service during the period.
Future in-app payment capabilities will let retailers extend their omnichannel strategies into the instant messaging space, reported Juniper Research Tuesday. The number of instant messaging users in 2020 will rise 9% year on year to 4.3 billion, largely due to increased remote communications during the COVID-19 crisis, said the research firm. Growth beyond the pandemic will be driven by integrated payment services in instant messaging apps, it said, as developers partner with payment gateways to offer in-app payment capabilities. Retailers will capitalize on the established user base of instant messaging applications from WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and WeChat as an additional retail channel, said Juniper, providing services including payment authentication and processing. The number of smartphones equipped with rich communication services (RCS) will grow by 45% year on year in 2020, with over 740 million smartphones, 16%, using RCS services by year end, it said.
Consumer intentions to buy new TV sets declined sharply in May from April, though the “free-fall” in consumer confidence stabilized after two months of “rapid decline,” said the Conference Board Tuesday. Nielsen canvassed 5,000 U.S. homes through May 14, finding 11.3% plan to buy a new TV set in the next six months, said the board. That was down from 12.6% in April, 11.7% in March and 12.6% in May 2019, it said: “While the decline in confidence appears to have stopped for the moment, the uneven path to recovery and potential second wave are likely to keep a cloud of uncertainty hanging over consumers’ heads.”
Effectv, Comcast's ad sales division, went live Tuesday with a virtual automotive showroom, said the MVPD. The channel gives carmakers affected by the coronavirus a chance to feature their cars on a “full-scale, voice-activated virtual showroom" on the X1 platform. X1 customers can explore new vehicles from more than a dozen carmakers. Subscribers can say “automotive showroom” into the X1 remote to go to the channel.
Amazon is postponing its two-day Prime Day sales event from July to September, as the company continues to face strains on warehouses due to high demand related to the COVID-19 pandemic, reported The Wall Street Journal Thursday. Amazon declined comment.
The Z-Wave Alliance will offer online training and education sessions for smart home and IoT industry professionals, it said Friday. The first Virtual Academy session, slated for Wednesday, will be led by Bluesalve Partners, covering how the pandemic affects IoT manufacturers and supply chain systems. The June 3 session, led by Qolsys, will cover integrator strategies for servicing customers in the time of social distancing, it said. The 30-45-minute sessions will start at noon EDT.
The New York International Auto Show has been canceled for 2020 after being rescheduled from April to late August due to the coronavirus, organizers emailed Friday. "As of today, the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center continues to be closed for all expo business due to its role as a field hospital for COVID-19 cases," they said. Though the Javits center currently has no patients, the facility remains set up as an active hospital "and is in standby mode for the foreseeable future," they said. The next auto show is slated for April 2 – 11, with press days March 31-April 1. Organizers didn't respond to questions.”
Klipsch is hosting a live music streaming event Wednesday at 8 p.m. EDT to raise money and awareness for Sweet Relief’s COVID-19 Fund. The company will match donations raised during the event, it said. Sweet Relief provides financial assistance for musicians and music industry workers hurt by the coronavirus pandemic.
There's growing interest in the citizens broadband radio service band, a FierceWireless webinar was told. Speakers from three of the five FCC-authorized spectrum access system administrators, CommScope, Federated Wireless and Google, said they're demonstrating CBRS will live up to the hype. It's “surprisingly successful, particularly considering the restraints of COVID,” said Preston Marshall, Google engineering director. “We’re doubling deployments … about every month,” he said: The “ecosystem” is growing. In three months, “we’ve completely moved past the question of does it work,” he said. “Spectrum underlying Wi-Fi isn’t the quality of spectrum underlying CBRS, and with that you can get predictability, high bandwidth, mobility, low latency, good outdoor coverage,” said Dustin LaMascus, Nokia head-business development, private wireless. One use is Nokia's solution for companies to take employee temperatures. Federated has more than 15,000 devices attached to its system, said Chief Technology Officer Kurt Schaubach. It's working with companies applying for licenses in the PALs auction. “We need to see more device penetration,” he said. Wi-Fi “keeps getting asked to do things … it really wasn’t designed to do,” said Steve Wimsatt, CommScope senior director-business development and alliances. “Wi-Fi is going to keep getting better, 5G is coming,” he said: “CBRS offers a unique solution” that “provides the reliability, the predictability of LTE.” The pandemic is accelerating the move to digital and automation, Schaubach said. “Our business certainly hasn’t slowed.” Future uses include all the things “coming with 5G,” like artificial intelligence and augmented and virtual reality, he said. He predicted strong interest in the PALs, including by service providers buying the licenses and offering managed networks for businesses.
The Starz streaming business is “thriving” in the stay-at-home “environment,” said Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer on a fiscal Q4 call Thursday. Lionsgate bought Starz for $4.4 billion nearly four years ago (see 1606300069). Starz finished the year ended March 31 with 6.8 million paid over-the-top U.S. subscribers, “well in excess of our projections," said Feltheimer. "It has continued its strong growth since then.” It had forecast reaching about 6 million OTT subs domestically by fiscal year-end, said Starz CEO Jeffrey Hirsch: “We were well past that number through the first two months of the quarter, and then it accelerated as we got into March.”