The best on-demand streaming services are YouTube TV (for value), Hulu + Live TV (families), Netflix (original content), Hulu (newer content) and Sling TV (live TV budget pick), Reviews.org reported. Average monthly costs are $57.25 for internet, $50.17 for cellphone plans and $39.96 for streaming services. Canceling one $10 monthly streaming service adds up to saving $7,253 over a lifetime over 78.5 years.
Movie pricing for Kaleidescape’s new rental option (see 2101280046) is “generally around" $7.95 per title, “though premium VOD can be higher,” emailed CEO Tayloe Stansbury Thursday. “Of the 12,000 titles available in our movie store in the US, 8,000 are available for rental (5,500 available for rental in Canada).” Kaleidescape’s main rationale for offering the rental option was that “sometimes a customer is interested in a movie, but not enough to purchase a perpetual playback license,” he said. “They get the rental in the same high-bitrate format as a purchase, and if they love it and want to keep it, half the rental price is applied to purchase.” Most movies in the Kaleidescape store cost $15-$20 to buy, with some priced at $25 and $35. Rental viewing is for a 48-hour window, and the purchase option is available within 30 days of the rental transaction. PVOD movie titles “will sometimes be made available early for rental only,” and that was another rationale for the offering, he said.
Global enterprises say latency is a higher priority than speed, IDC reported Thursday. Ninety percent of executives say their business success depends on latency speeds of 10 milliseconds or less. Three-quarters say they require 5 ms or less for edge initiatives. "C-suite leaders across verticals are looking to edge computing solutions to achieve significant operational efficiencies and improved security and compliance by limiting movement of data," said Ghassan Abdo, IDC vice president-research. "They also want to deliver better customer experiences."
Forty-three percent of U.S. broadband households with traditional pay TV are likely to switch to a virtual MVPD in the next 12 months, reported Parks Associates Thursday, reversing a trend of slowing growth. Before the pandemic affected streaming video consumption, vMVPD subscriber growth was “waning, with some vMVPDs posting continued losses,” said analyst Paul Erickson. Though COVID-19 drove growth “and in some cases recovery in the category, recent increases in vMVPD pricing make it uncertain how consumers will respond long term,” he said. The absence of live sports and performances challenged vMVPDs, but services like Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV successfully pushed advantages in pricing, content and platform flexibility, Parks said. Though traditional pay-TV operators have either deployed over-the-top services, or plan to, Parks expects vMVPDs to continue to grow “dramatically,” and gradually become “the dominant offering in the pay-TV landscape,” said Erickson. Some 17% of vMVPD subscribers switched from traditional pay TV within the past 12 months, said the analyst. VMVPDs should “remain conscious of consumer price sensitivity while keeping a strict adherence to a consumer-centric experience,” Erickson said.
Average video services per person grew 35% in Q4 over the year-ago quarter, to 6.7, among broadband-only subscribers, reported TiVo Wednesday. As the pandemic continues, “shifting consumer patterns in the video service landscape are proving to be more than mere anomalies,” the company found in 4,526 responses to a survey done for TiVo by a third-party company. “People are adjusting to a new normal.” Subscription hopping is prevalent during the pandemic, TiVo said, with 25% saying they added at least one new video subscription during the COVID-19 period; 15% canceled at least one. TVs are “overwhelmingly” the preferred screen for viewing subscription VOD (71%), ad-supported VOD (54%), virtual MVPD (58%) and network apps (43%). Smartphones came in second, followed by PCs and tablets. Respondents preferred watching streaming content via media players such as Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and Chromecast (46%) compared with smart TVs (28%), set-top boxes or digital video recorders (13%), game console apps (6%) and Blu-ray player apps (1%).
Home entertainment content spending topped $30 billion in 2020, driven by the huge shift toward digital consumption amid COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, Redhill Group President Judith McCourt told a Digital Entertainment Group webinar Wednesday. Digital content spending jumped 32.6% to $26.53 billion, but physical media sales declined 25.6% to $2.45 billion, and content rentals fell 26.8% to $1.04 billion, she said. Streaming generated 80% of the digital spending in 2020, rising 37.2% to $21.22 billion, she said. Total 2020 home entertainment spending jumped 21% for the year, peaking at a 34% increase in Q2, when COVID-19 lockdowns began in full force, said McCourt. Spending increased 19% in Q1, 18% in Q3 and 16% in Q4, she said.
“There’s no return to January of 2020,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told Tuesday's call for the quarter ended Dec. 31. Responding to a question on Microsoft’s expense profile post-COVID-19, Nadella focused on “flexibility” in time and where employees work because “expectations have changed.” That’s an opportunity for Microsoft’s Teams business communication platform, he said: “Work happens before meetings, during meetings, after meetings, and especially in hybrid work, you need that sophisticated set of tools that really track workflow irrespective of who is where,” he said. On Xbox, Microsoft exceeded $5 billion in quarterly revenue, a first, as the Series X and S debut set a record for most devices sold in a launch month. Xbox Live has more than 100 million active monthly users and Game Pass has 18 million subscribers, he said. Xbox hardware revenue grew 86%, driven by the new console launch and lower prices on previous-generation consoles, said Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood. The stronger PC market resulted in overall OEM revenue growth of 1% despite a strong prior year comparable in OEM Pro due to the end of support for Windows 7, said Hood. OEM non-Pro revenue grew 24%, OEM Pro revenue dropped 9%, she said. Quarterly revenue grew 17% to $43.1 billion, said the company. Shares closed at $232.90 Wednesday after hitting a 52-week high of $240.44.
COVID-19 juiced up the cord-cutting trend, with 31% of Americans now cord cutters and 41% of those making the decision in the past year, What If Media Group reported Wednesday. It surveyed 23,000 consumers online in December. It said 52% of current cable customers are considering cutting the cord, with 31% planning to do so “imminently” or “in the new year.” It said 66.6% of households subscribe to one or two streaming services, and 17% subscribe to three. And 58% have a $15 cap for how much they're willing to spend monthly on streaming; 36% had password access to a friend or family member's streaming service; and 51% don't consider that as stealing.
Cowen forecast 24% Q4 revenue growth to $828 million for Vimeo parent IAC, after the video platform’s announcement Monday it raised $300 million in equity funding. In a Tuesday investor note, analyst John Blackledge attributed expected stronger financial results to investments and the impact of COVID-19 to multiple business segments. IAC said last month it plans to spin off Vimeo as an independent company this year, which Blackledge pegged for Q2. He forecast strong Q4 revenue growth for Vimeo at 53% driven by strong growth in subscribers and average revenue per user. IAC reports Q4 Feb. 3.
Amazon plans to expand its Boston Tech Hub, creating 3,000-plus corporate and technology jobs over several years. They will support Alexa, Amazon Web Services, Amazon Robotics and Amazon Pharmacy, it said Tuesday. The positions include technology roles in software development, artificial intelligence and machine learning, along with non-technology corporate roles. Amazon employs over 3,700 people there.