Subscription VOD services had big growth last year, but they have far less daily traffic than Netflix, meaning many could lose many of those subscriptions when "normal" life returns and people have less time and money for streaming, nScreenMedia analyst Colin Dixon blogged Sunday. Netflix and Amazon Prime are likely to retain subscribers, but others need to bring more value in 2021, such as through original content, he said.
Despite the persistent spike in new COVID-19 cases in much of the U.S., and vaccine availability still unknown, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority lists 23 physical trade shows on the 2021 calendar for the Las Vegas Convention Center, though none before late March. The shows mainly are small, except for the NAB Show, which occupies LVCC Oct. 10-13, about six months later than its usual April run. Not all organizers think it’s safe to return to a physical show at the LVCC so early in 2021. The International Wireless Communications Expo scrapped its customary March dates in favor of a Sept. 27-30 engagement at the LVCC. “We've been watching the world evolve since March 2020, and though we hoped we'd be in a safe position to reunite in person in Las Vegas for IWCE by March 2021, it's apparent that the world isn't quite there yet,” said organizers. LVCVA lists 19 confirmed shows on the LVCC’s 2022 calendar, with CES 2022 the year’s first booking Jan. 5-8.
Thursday is the last day to access content from November’s SMPTE 2020 virtual conference, emailed the society Wednesday. Participants who complete the conference evaluation survey can qualify to win a $100 Amazon gift card, it said. Though the virtual meeting rooms within the exhibit booths are disabled, there’s still time to visit exhibitors, watch their videos, download resources and leave a message in the chat, it said.
The Wireless ISP Association said Tuesday it acquired the Multifamily Broadband Council (MBC), which focuses on multifamily dwelling units. WISPA and MBC partnered on WISPA’s annual show in Las Vegas this year. Some “30% of Americans live in MDUs, and millions more work in office buildings,” said a WISPA news release. “Although MDUs represent dense concentrations of potential customers for broadband providers, they also present unique practical and policy challenges to deployment. Competition for this market is often frustrated by telecommunications incumbents, whose practices can make competition more challenging in the MDU space.” MBC will dissolve at the end of this year and be folded into WISPA.
Some 180 Imax screens generated 7% of the $16.7 million opening weekend U.S. and Canada box office receipts from Wonder Woman 1984, Colliers analyst Steven Frankel wrote investors Monday. Private watch parties and large-format screens drove ticket sales and were the most popular option among consumers, said WarnerMedia Sunday, calling private rentals an “innovative and popular way for audiences to feel comfortable watching the film in their own social bubbles.” WarnerMedia didn’t disclose how many HBO Max subscribers streamed the movie since launch Friday, saying only, “nearly half of the platform’s retail subscribers” viewed the film that day, "along with millions of wholesale subscribers who have access to HBO Max via a cable, wireless, or other partner services.” HBO Max's total viewing hours Friday more than tripled vs. a typical day in the previous month, it said. The movie is included in HBO Max subscriptions for a month in a “strategic response to the impact of the ongoing global pandemic" (see 2012170031). The movie will then leave the streaming platform, continuing theatrically in the U.S. and globally with customary distribution windows.
FedEx completed its buy of ShopRunner, an e-commerce platform that connects more than 100 brands and merchants directly with online shoppers (see 2012180022). The purchase, whose completion was announced Monday, will help FedEx “play a larger role in e-commerce,” said Chief Operating Officer Raj Subramaniam. The platform’s data-driven marketing and omnichannel capabilities help brands “acquire high-value customers and accelerate their digital innovation,” said the shipping company. Terms weren't disclosed.
The average self-reported time spent online at home among U.S. adults is 5.3 hours a day, up from 3.7 hours last year and 2.9 hours in 2015, said Leichtman Research Group Monday. Some 97% of household internet accounts are broadband, up from 81% five years ago, and 86% of U.S. households get internet service at home, up 2 points from five years ago. Eighty-seven percent of households use at least one laptop or desktop PC, and 78% get internet at home and on a mobile phone, said a survey of 1,076 U.S. adults fielded in November-December. Half of those consumers not online at home access the internet on a smartphone. Among adults with home internet service, 68% visit a social networking site daily, up from 63% a year ago, and 59% watch video online daily, up from 50%. After the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, “the reported mean time spent online at home per day among adults increased by over an hour and a half from a year ago,” said LRG President Bruce Leichtman.
Amazon delivered more than 1.5 billion products globally over the holiday season, it said Monday. Best-selling electronics included Sengled smart light bulbs, the iRobot Roomba 675 vacuum and the Fire TV Stick with Alexa remote, it said. The company delivered 8 million items to alternative delivery locations. Third-party retailers sold nearly 1 billion products through Amazon, for 50% growth in worldwide sales, it said.
Online courses are “booming” as a “productive use of otherwise idle time” during COVID-19 lockdowns, reported Class Central Monday. The search-engine company for free online courses estimates enrollments exceeded 180 million this year. Technology-related online offerings, including for computer science and programming, were the most popular before the pandemic, it said. After COVID-19 forced quarantines and lockdowns, interest pivoted to courses in “soft skills and general topics,” such as personal development, art and the humanities, it said. About 20% of the 100 most popular free online courses launched in 2020 are directly related to COVID-19, it said. Johns Hopkins University’s "COVID-19 Contact Tracing" tops that list with more than a million enrollments, it said.
Fewer consumers were last-minute shoppers this extended holiday season, reported Mastercard Saturday. The Monday before Christmas, which ranked third in 2019 holiday spending, didn’t make the list of top 10 shopping days in this year's Nov. 1-Dec. 24 period, it said. Dec. 11 and Dec. 12, ranked fourth and third this year, were buoyed by “guaranteed by Christmas” shipping offers, said Mastercard. Small Business Saturday, Nov. 28, ranked second in overall holiday season spend, it said; Cyber Monday was fifth. Holiday retail sales Oct. 11-Dec. 24 increased 3% vs. the 2019 span, it said, while total retail sales for the traditional Nov. 1-Dec. 24 stretch rose 2.4%. Online sales jumped 47% Nov. 1-Dec. 24 and 49% Oct. 11-24, marking record online growth, it said. E-commerce was 19.7% of overall retail sales, up from 13.4% last year. Americans continued home-focused purchases during the holiday sales season: Home furnishings led all sectors with 16.2% growth, 31% of it online. Home improvement sales increased 14% overall, 79.7% online. Electronics and appliance sales grew 6%, while apparel sales dropped 19%. Department stores' overall sales fell 10.2%, while online sales grew 3.3%, “reinforcing the importance of omnichannel offerings,” said the report. Though Black Friday sales were down 16% year on year, it was still the top sales day of the season. The report measures U.S. retail sales spending across all payment types, including cash and checks.