The market for streaming video devices priced at $99 and below is becoming increasingly crowded and competitive, with Apple, Amazon, Google and Roku competing for the top spot. Last year, Google shipped 8.7 million Chromecast sticks, beating out Apple TV’s 8.3 million units, analyst Paul Erickson of IHS Technology forecasts in a new report. Shipments of Chromecast sticks are expected to continue exceeding those of Apple TV by a close margin for the near future; though Apple TV has dropped to $69 neither its fundamental capabilities nor its iOS-centric market focus has changed, Erickson said. To beat Google, Erickson said, Apple needs to continue expanding overall capabilities and the selection of marquee content partners as well as release updated hardware.
Apple’s deal with HBO to exclusively offer HBO’s mobile app (see 1503090035) is exciting for most of the communications industry other than some multichannel video programming distributors, CBS President Les Moonves said Wednesday at a Deutsche Bank investor conference webcast from Palm Beach, Florida. Apple's HBO deal paves the way for others, and there will be a similar offering from CBS-owned Showtime “in the not too distant future,” he said. The popularity of subscription VOD has made this the best time to monetize video content, Moonves said. “It is far better to be in broadcast than some of the other businesses out there." CBS’ over-the-top offering, CBS All-Access, will launch nationwide in a few months, Moonves said. He also spoke on the FCC incentive auction and said he is actively looking at participating in it with spectrum from CBS's CW and independent licenses. CBS could be "a major player" in the auction, Moonves said. Though he said NAB initially characterized the auction as a bad thing, his company's analysis of the numbers makes it seem like a profitable option, he said. If CBS could put up the spectrum of its CW and other independent stations and make $2 billion, it would be "dumb" not to participate, he said. "You're gonna see us being a full-fledged participant."
Bitcoin payment processor Coinbase joined the Internet Association, which already includes Amazon, Facebook, Google and Netflix as members, an IA news release said Wednesday. “Our vision for bitcoin as a free and open, global payments system aligns with IA's own commitment to online freedom and innovation,” said John Collins, Coinbase head of government affairs. The company raised $75 million in a Series C funding round in January, which, at the time, was the single largest financing round for a bitcoin company (see 1501200046).
The Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and Association of Global Automakers joined the Intelligent Car Coalition, the coalition said Wednesday. They join AT&T and the Computer and Communications Industry Association on the steering committee for the newly formed group. "Connected cars benefit all of society by using advanced technologies to save lives, fuel, money, and carbon emissions,” said Catherine McCullough, coalition executive director. “The automotive, telecom and tech fields were separate, but now they are merging. These innovations are developing at a rapid pace, and we must engage with each other in a nimble, coordinated way to ensure that the safety, mobility, and environmental benefits of connected cars are available to everyone.”
Over 1.5 billion, or one in three, airline boarding passes will be issued via mobile devices by 2019, said a report by Juniper Research. Airports’ transition to mobile near field communication ticketing will be delayed, it said. About 745 million boarding passes will be delivered through mobile devices this year, Juniper said. Frequent flyers are more likely to use mobile boarding passes, it said. Fifty-three percent of airlines have mobile boarding passes via apps, which will increase to 91 percent by 2017, according to airline IT specialist SITA, Juniper said. Local bus and subway NFC-ticketing will increase because of the frequency of consumer purchases, it said.
Comcast’s Xfinity Wireless gateway is still the industry’s fastest device at more than 700 Mbps, said Allion USA in an analysis released last week. The analysis shows that Comcast delivers speeds that are more than seven times greater than the speeds offered by the AT&T gateway and almost 20 percent faster than the most current Verizon gateway, Comcast said in a news release Tuesday. The analysis said the Xfinity and Verizon Wireless gateways had 3x3 antennas and the ability to leverage both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, compared with the AT&T’s 1x1 antenna system and single band.
Startup Proper Pillow is looking to raise $1 million through an Indiegogo campaign to develop a connected pillow that promises to monitor, quantify and improve users’ quality of sleep. The smart pillow packs a sensor network, Bluetooth Smart technology and data presentation software, which the company said can help alter poor sleeping behavior, identify problems with breathing patterns and improve sleep recovery. "By embedding the monitoring technology into the pillow itself, we bring the power of quantification into the heart of the sleep experience," said Proper Pillow CEO Rick Loos. The sleep wellness tool gives users “the power to improve their sleep, and their waking lives as a result,” he said.
The future will be a world where data, analytics and the physical world are all connected, said futurist Deborah Schultz during a keynote speech at the Direct Marketing Association’s Marketing Analytics Conference in Chicago, according to a DMA news release Tuesday. It’s important for marketers to ensure the data they use is helpful to consumers and can improve their lives, she said. Schultz also noted that marketing has evolved from a race to garner sales to a realization that providing engaging customer experiences is a vital factor of success. The conference runs through Wednesday.
The Digital Entertainment Group added 12 new member companies, the group said Tuesday. They are Alchemy, Comcast, DirecTV, DreamWorks Animation, Imax, MGM, Playster, Sellthru Co, The Orchard, Testronic Labs, Verizon Digital Media Services and Yekra, the DEG said. "These new companies represent diverse areas all serving the home entertainment industry -- from cable providers, content providers, consumer electronics, cloud storage solutions, streaming services, content distribution, quality assurance solutions and wireless solutions," it said. "Just as the industry evolves, so must the DEG.”
A 50 percent drop in Nook sales contributed to a 1 percent revenue dip in Barnes & Noble’s retail segment for fiscal Q3 ended Jan. 31, the company said Tuesday. Including digital content, devices and accessories, Nook segment revenue tumbled 51 percent to $78 million for the quarter, the company said. Device and accessories sales plummeted 63 percent due to “lower selling volume,” the company said, while content sales of $41 million represented a 29 percent decline over the year-ago quarter. CEO Mike Huseby said on an earnings webcast that Barnes & Noble’s purchase of Microsoft’s and Pearson’s Nook Media interest during the quarter helped “clear the path” for the company’s separation of its education segment from the retail business. The separation will let each business “better realize their strategic opportunities,” Huseby said. The Nook team “continues to seek opportunities to stabilize and potentially reverse the decline in content sales in what continues to be a challenging environment,” he said. Barnes & Noble remains committed to supporting the Nook product, which Huseby called an “integral part of our future because it is important to our customers.” In response to a question about expanding the Nook business, Huseby noted that Barnes & Noble has just released a new unified version of Android after having put out a number of different devices in the past with their own operating systems. “Now it’s a unified Android system,” he said. “We’re continuing to improve and streamline and consolidate the operating system, so we have the ability to be more nimble and adaptive on flowing it to other larger technology platforms.” Barnes & Noble is still in discussions about distributing the Nook app to “different larger scale platforms,” he said. Overall earnings for the quarter were $72 million, versus $63 million in the year-ago quarter, the company said, on sales of $1.96 billion.