Comcast's FreeWheel agreed to buy software-as-a-service advertising company Beeswax, FreeWheel said Thursday. This expands FreeWheel’s programmatic marketplace capabilities in TV and video ads, including connected TV and set-top box VOD, it said. Terms weren't disclosed. The deal is expected to close next month, pending approvals.
FuboTV can benefit from “cord-nevers” who prefer customizable TV bundles of streaming content to “pre-determined MVPD programming,” Wedbush's Michael Pachter wrote investors: Its “lead with sports” strategy and competitive pricing offer avid sports fans “the first comprehensive alternative to pay-TV." Sports has been the “hook” to reel in subscribers to pay TV, while news and entertainment increase viewer engagement, he noted Tuesday. Cord cutters and shavers are a 30 million addressable market, likely growing by 3 million yearly, said the analyst. The stock closed 12% higher Wednesday at $29.70.
ViewSonic, targeting hybrid learning environments, launched a pen display and notepad designed as supplementary devices for classroom or distance learning, it said Wednesday. The 13-inch ViewBoard (available now, $349), bundled with an electromagnetic pen, can be paired with a computer as a secondary touch device to share content, it said. The 7.5-inch ViewBoard Notepad ($69, due this month) allows users to take digitalized notes in real time. The Notepad's pen uses ink, allowing users to write or draw on paper; pen strokes are digitized in real time, it said. Both devices work with the company's myViewBoard software.
Qualcomm and Google extended Project Treble to enable more Snapdragon-based platforms to run the latest Android operating system with fewer resources and a “predictable software lifecycle,” said the companies Wednesday. OEMs can upgrade mobile devices without modifying Qualcomm software, and use a common Android software branch to upgrade Snapdragon-based devices, they said. Android users “will have the latest OS upgrades and greater security on their devices,” said David Burke, Google vice president-Android engineering.
Qualcomm’s 678 mobile entertainment platform, which follows the 675, offers a 460 CPU core clock speed up to 2.2 GHz, improved graphics processor performance and support for triple camera photos with up to 48 megapixels and zero shutter lag, said the company Tuesday. Its artificial intelligence engine features bokeh, low-light capture and laser autofocus, allowing users to enhance photos, it said. It enables 4K video capture, slow motion, 5x optical zoom and dual-camera support up to 16 megapixels. The platform supports advanced carrier aggregation with downloads up to 600 Mbps and uploads up to 150 Mbps.
Consumers who rely on streaming to view video content are using seven services on average, including subscription VOD and free streaming offerings, up from five in April, reported NPD Monday. It canvassed 5,000 U.S. consumers online Oct. 14-22, finding 21% say they're “decreasing engagement or canceling subscriptions because they feel other services offer better content” versus 14% in April. Free streaming services grew to 47% of viewers in October from 39% in April, as consumers increasingly “leverage” free offerings to supplement SVOD services, said NPD. Though nearly all free streaming services experience lower churn than SVOD, since consumers don't have to subscribe to these platforms, “they also experience lower engagement rates,” it said. “Consumers want the ability to customize their viewing experience, bundling both paid and free services that provide them with the content they want, when they want it.”
CES 2022 will have a digital component and “we also plan to be physical in Las Vegas because of that five-sense experience of being with people,” CTA Gary Shapiro told a CES 2021 virtual briefing Tuesday. “We love technology and what it’s doing” to enable society to communicate during the pandemic, he said. “But it’s really not the same as being there face to face.” CTA prerecorded the briefing remarks “for practical reasons,” said Jean Foster, senior vice president-marketing and communications, without explaining why. She, Shapiro and Executive Vice President-CES Karen Chupka appeared for a live Q&A. Bob Bejan, Microsoft corporate vice president-global events, production studios and marketing community, appeared only on video to describe the Microsoft cloud technology platform on which CES 2021 will run. Its cost in dollars runs in the seven figures, Shapiro said. Show organizers will deploy “the safest methods possible” to return to a physical CES in January 2022, said Shapiro. He hopes the COVID-19 vaccine will “be used by a great portion of the population,” he said. “We’ll be looking at all our sanitary methods and doing the best practices, but already, a whole bunch -- hundreds of exhibitors -- have signed up for CES 2022 in Las Vegas. The city of Las Vegas is waiting and ready for us.”
Cable One's Sparklight broadband service extended pandemic-related service allowances through 2021, it said Monday. Relaxed terms include a $10 monthly rate the first three months for its 15 Mbps service for low-income families, college students and seniors, free access to public Wi-Fi hot spots and its participation in the K-12 Bridge to Broadband program.
COVID-19 “reversed a decade” of video consumption trends, the Raymond James media usage survey for December found. Consumers value cable and satellite TV “a little more during a pandemic,” it found. Though “cable-first” homes in December declined to 31% of respondents from 32% in May, “this is still significantly elevated from the 28% of respondents who reported as such pre-COVID” in November 2019, it said. “As consumers were forced to shut in and the TV screen became the primary entertainment vehicle, the value of basic pay-TV packages was reaffirmed.” Cord shaving remains the “norm” over cord cutting, as 21% “expressed intent to trade down" from their current video package, compared with 24% in May and 22% in November 2019. The percentage of respondents intending to cord cut stayed flat at 6%. “In light of the current stay-at-home, recessionary environment, it makes perfect sense why a greater percentage of respondents would look to keep linear TV while simply reducing their monthly spend.” Raymond James projects that the “ultimate transition” to over-the-top streaming and away from linear TV “is likely to be even more protracted as a result of COVID-19.”
A quarter of U.S. broadband homes prefer to watch new feature film releases on an over-the-top subscription service, while 24% “still prefer movie theaters to experience first-run movie titles,” reported Parks Associates Monday. "COVID-19 has upended the traditional content-windowing process, and consumer research shows this paradigm shift is impacting consumer attitudes," said Parks Research Director Steve Nason. “An OTT source scores higher than movie theaters when consumers report their preferences for first-run movies,” he said. “This shift might be temporary, and nearly 30% have no preference for how to watch a new movie, which gives theaters a glimmer of hope they can eventually gain back some audience for first-run titles." Warner recently decided to release its full slate of 2021 blockbuster films simultaneously in theaters and with a one-month window on HBO Max (see 2012040047).