According to the latest market study by Point Topic, the total number of broadband lines in the UK is now expected to be 25.1 million by the end of 2014 -- almost a million more than before.
The increase is not huge but it will help to improve the business case for broadband, and particularly for investment in superfast broadband using next generation access.
The short-term forecasts have also been increased. The actual total for the end of 2009 was 80,000 higher than forecast at 18,370,000 lines. The forecast for the end of 2010 has been increased to 19,790,000, up from 19,580,000 previously.
Looking back, projections such as these made by Point Topic are also proving highly accurate. The forecast for end-2009 made in October 2007 was within 1 percent of the actual result. The current forecast for end-2010 is just 1.2 percent higher than the forecast published in 2007.
A major feature of the longer-term forecasts is the dramatic growth projected for superfast broadband, mainly based on fiber to the cabinet or premises (FTTx). Contrary to much opinion, Point Topic is projecting a boom in FTTx similar to what happened with BT's DSL broadband services in mid-2000 time frame.
"We believe that FTTx will echo the development of DSL in the UK," says Tim Johnson, Chief Analyst at Point Topic. "People with dial-up internet access converted to broadband in their millions in the boom years. We forecast that superfast broadband will do the same around the middle of this coming decade."
The number of DSL lines grew from 550,000 to 12.3 million between 2003 and 2007. Point Topic now expects that next-generation FTTx broadband will do something similar, with 12 million lines by the end of 2016. Most of these users will have migrated from DSL. Cable TV service providers will also play a significant role in providing superfast broadband, but is expected to show a lower growth-rate overall.
"The difference is that we think there will be a quicker run-up this time," says Johnson. "While it took DSL three years to get from almost nothing to half a million, we expect that FTTx will cover similar ground in only two years."
The difference reflects a whole combination of factors; much greater commitment by BT, a much more competitive market, much more experience of broadband rollout and a relatively mature technology.
Key factors on the other side of the balance are that FTTx demands much more new investment than DSL and superfast broadband is not yet fully proven as a must-have service for ordinary homes.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Why your Marketing Budget Allocation is Madness
eMarketer reports that the Web and its meritocracy for content publishing has put more power into the hands of consumers and business buyers. They can easily conduct their own product research, get advice and read reviews from peers, and share their own perspective.
According to a market study by marketing services company Alterian, this apparent transformation has led to increasing public skepticism and cynicism of many traditional marketing practices.
Rather than simply trusting experts or putting faith in brands, Internet users expect to do their own research and comparison shopping using many different "more trustworthy" sources.
Nearly every respondent to Alterian's survey did their own research and comparisons before a purchase at least sometimes, and 71 percent said they looked for as many information sources as possible to verify their findings.
Friends and family were most likely to be trusted for advice, while advertisements and other carefully crafted marketing messages from companies were deemed to be least trustworthy.
A recent market study from marketing agency Jack Morton supports the picture of shoppers putting together online and offline information sources rather than accepting what they are told by those with an obvious vested interest or other apparent bias.
The top three sources that influenced purchase decisions for U.S. Internet users were friends and family sought out for their opinion (53 percent), friends and family who offered their opinion (49 percent) and objective online research (49 percent).
Alterian advises marketers to recognize these empowered consumers as individuals. Traditional broadcast messages are wasted effort, but targeting Web users who feel in control of their own relationships with brands -- through trusted channels, such as social media -- could be much more effective.
For example, while just 16 percent of respondents overall thought companies were "genuinely interested in them," that proportion more than doubled among those involved in social media activities. This begs the question, why do most marketers continue to spend the majority of their budget on traditional advertising?
They say the definition of madness is doing the same thing, over and over, and hoping for a different result. So, how mad is your current marketing budget investment strategy?
Friday, May 28, 2010
Fragmented Pay-TV Set Top Box Market is Evolving
By and large, the traditional pay-TV user experience is very dependent upon the set-top box (STB) design and the capabilities of the associated electronic program guide (EPG). New STB designs tend to be significantly different -- smaller, more attractive -- than the typical legacy devices.
Preliminary results from the IMS Research study of the market for set-top boxes and iDTVs has revealed that Pace plc has taken the number one ranking for worldwide digital STBs shipped to pay-TV customers for 2009, unseating Motorola.
For 2009, the top five ranked set-top box manufacturers included Pace, Motorola, Technicolor (formerly Thomson), Cisco, and Humax. Apparently, Motorola's position is attributed to its leadership in the cable sector while Technicolor's focus and leadership continues to be in the satellite sector.
According to Rebecca Kurlak, co-author of the IMS market study, STB shipments grew 15.2 percent year-over-year on a global basis from 2008 to 2009. Previously in 2008, Pace had held the third place in the rankings -- increasing its shipments by 31 percent year-over-year in 2009.
Kurlak states, "Pace's position as the 2009 market share leader can not only be attributed to the company's December 2007 acquisition of the Philips STB business, but also due to the company's continued organic growth."
The Philips business unit, now Pace France, operates as a division that focuses on IP, DTT and linear TV services. This additional facility has allowed Pace's headquarters in England to remain focused on traditional TV platforms and NDS CAS clients.
Moreover, IMS expects Pace to remain in the top ranking position in 2010 due to its recent partnership announcements of HD roll-outs for Benelux satellite operator M7 Group and Malaysian satellite operator ASTRO -- in addition to its large contract agreements with DirecTV, UPC and Viasat.
The IMS study provides detailed analysis of STB shipments and revenues for 68 countries. TV households are split by region, country, platform, operator, and digital penetration rate. STB shipments and revenues are broken down by SD/HD picture quality, 1-way/2-way data receiving, and by DVR functionality.
The full report will be published at the end of May 2010. It's interesting to note that the market is now highly fragmented, with many vendors offering a variety of STB configurations at various price points.
Shipments of hybrid STBs are expected to grow steadily, due to the increasing number of alliances between satellite and broadband operators -- and that many pay-TV operators are already in the process of expanding their services.
I believe that the introduction of additional purpose-built low-cost STBs -- for over-the-top IP video applications -- will further fragment the vendor landscape and resulting market shares. The final outcome is yet to be determined.
Preliminary results from the IMS Research study of the market for set-top boxes and iDTVs has revealed that Pace plc has taken the number one ranking for worldwide digital STBs shipped to pay-TV customers for 2009, unseating Motorola.
For 2009, the top five ranked set-top box manufacturers included Pace, Motorola, Technicolor (formerly Thomson), Cisco, and Humax. Apparently, Motorola's position is attributed to its leadership in the cable sector while Technicolor's focus and leadership continues to be in the satellite sector.
According to Rebecca Kurlak, co-author of the IMS market study, STB shipments grew 15.2 percent year-over-year on a global basis from 2008 to 2009. Previously in 2008, Pace had held the third place in the rankings -- increasing its shipments by 31 percent year-over-year in 2009.
Kurlak states, "Pace's position as the 2009 market share leader can not only be attributed to the company's December 2007 acquisition of the Philips STB business, but also due to the company's continued organic growth."
The Philips business unit, now Pace France, operates as a division that focuses on IP, DTT and linear TV services. This additional facility has allowed Pace's headquarters in England to remain focused on traditional TV platforms and NDS CAS clients.
Moreover, IMS expects Pace to remain in the top ranking position in 2010 due to its recent partnership announcements of HD roll-outs for Benelux satellite operator M7 Group and Malaysian satellite operator ASTRO -- in addition to its large contract agreements with DirecTV, UPC and Viasat.
The IMS study provides detailed analysis of STB shipments and revenues for 68 countries. TV households are split by region, country, platform, operator, and digital penetration rate. STB shipments and revenues are broken down by SD/HD picture quality, 1-way/2-way data receiving, and by DVR functionality.
The full report will be published at the end of May 2010. It's interesting to note that the market is now highly fragmented, with many vendors offering a variety of STB configurations at various price points.
Shipments of hybrid STBs are expected to grow steadily, due to the increasing number of alliances between satellite and broadband operators -- and that many pay-TV operators are already in the process of expanding their services.
I believe that the introduction of additional purpose-built low-cost STBs -- for over-the-top IP video applications -- will further fragment the vendor landscape and resulting market shares. The final outcome is yet to be determined.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Huge Upside for Advertiser-Supported Mobile Apps
Still think that advetising via mobile phones is a passing fad? Think again. While it's true that in 2009 well under half a billion dollars were spent on mobile marketing and advertising, it's just the beginning of what's to come.
Over the next five years -- leading up to the end of 2015 -- that expenditure will grow at a compound annual rate of more than 40 percent, according to the latest market study by ABI Research.
This robust growth will be fostered by several factors. According to ABI's mobile marketing strategies practice director, Neil Strother , "Compared to campaigns in more traditional media, mobile marketing can be relatively inexpensive. Moreover, ads can be highly targeted and naturally paired with rich mobile content that growing numbers of consumers are accessing through smart mobile devices."
Mobile applications are typically very engaging and offer a fast-track to potential customers. More than three billion apps have been downloaded from Apple's store alone.
While not all mobile apps are ad-supported, some are, and some brands are creating their own apps. Also, the advent of HTML 5 will enable brands to offer Web-based apps and services aimed at wider mobile audiences.
Mobile ad networks such AdMob, Millennial Media and JumpTap are helping advertisers and marketers to reach large audiences that are to some extent demographically defined.
However, some factors still constrain this market. Mobile is still fragmented by the lack of standardized device platforms, networks, and web browsers, and the need for different campaign formats for different kinds of messages.
Other inhibitors include reluctant (mobile ad-resistant) users, limited mobile ad budgets, and a lack of marketer and agency experience with this emerging medium.
What steps does Strother recommend for fledgling mobile marketers?
He said "Establish your objectives. Know your customer's mobile behavior. Devise a simple, sound mobile plan. Choose your tools wisely. Measure results regularly. And remember -- mobile advertising is always a bit of both art and science."
Over the next five years -- leading up to the end of 2015 -- that expenditure will grow at a compound annual rate of more than 40 percent, according to the latest market study by ABI Research.
This robust growth will be fostered by several factors. According to ABI's mobile marketing strategies practice director, Neil Strother , "Compared to campaigns in more traditional media, mobile marketing can be relatively inexpensive. Moreover, ads can be highly targeted and naturally paired with rich mobile content that growing numbers of consumers are accessing through smart mobile devices."
Mobile applications are typically very engaging and offer a fast-track to potential customers. More than three billion apps have been downloaded from Apple's store alone.
While not all mobile apps are ad-supported, some are, and some brands are creating their own apps. Also, the advent of HTML 5 will enable brands to offer Web-based apps and services aimed at wider mobile audiences.
Mobile ad networks such AdMob, Millennial Media and JumpTap are helping advertisers and marketers to reach large audiences that are to some extent demographically defined.
However, some factors still constrain this market. Mobile is still fragmented by the lack of standardized device platforms, networks, and web browsers, and the need for different campaign formats for different kinds of messages.
Other inhibitors include reluctant (mobile ad-resistant) users, limited mobile ad budgets, and a lack of marketer and agency experience with this emerging medium.
What steps does Strother recommend for fledgling mobile marketers?
He said "Establish your objectives. Know your customer's mobile behavior. Devise a simple, sound mobile plan. Choose your tools wisely. Measure results regularly. And remember -- mobile advertising is always a bit of both art and science."
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
2020: Imagine the Video Entertainment Landscape
If you could imagine the video entertainment landscape in ten years, what would be significantly different from today's environment? The Diffusion Group (TDG) predicts that by 2020 the consumption of Internet video -- content stored and distributed over an IP architecture -- will overtake the consumption of broadcast TV programming.
According to TDG market study data, while the amount of time consumers viewed TV has remained relatively stable, the amount of time consumers watched online video increased 84 percent between 2008 and 2009.
That means, when extrapolated across the entire TV-viewing population, the average time spent viewing online video in 2009 was 52 percent more than in 2008.
TDG expects that this rate of growth will actually increase during the next 5-7 years due primarily to the increased use of the television as the "platform of choice" for over-the-top (OTT) video viewing.
According to Colin Dixon, senior partner at TDG, "The total amount of time spent watching video from all sources, including pay-TV and Internet video, will hold constant during the next 10 years at around 32 hours a week. With online video usage accelerating we expect the amount of Internet video watched to eclipse the amount of live broadcast TV around 2020."
Though this forecast may be inconceivable to those who view the future through the lens of today's predominant business models, Dixon says there is good reason to believe that this estimate is realistic.
Keep in mind that during this period, Internet and broadcast delivery of video content will become blended in such a way that consumers will be unaware of (or won't care) which conduit serves which content. Because so much of their audience will be consuming online, it is more important than ever that cable and broadcast channels increase their presence online.
TDG's new report, "The Economics of Over-the-Top TV Delivery," discusses trends in online and traditional TV viewing; examines the online and TV ad models; and offers two case studies to illustrate how cable networks can use an over-the-top mix of linear standard-definition and high-definition channels with advertising, and a blend of PPV and subscription service to effectively transition their business to an online model.
If you were to imagine some of the dominant video entertainment distributors in your market by 2020, who might they be? In the U.S. market it's easy to predict who it won't be, the traditional video retailers -- Hollywood Video and Blockbuster. Also, the cable and broadcast channels that survive the transition will likely have significantly different operating structures, as a result of the continued decline of their legacy advertising revenues.
According to TDG market study data, while the amount of time consumers viewed TV has remained relatively stable, the amount of time consumers watched online video increased 84 percent between 2008 and 2009.
That means, when extrapolated across the entire TV-viewing population, the average time spent viewing online video in 2009 was 52 percent more than in 2008.
TDG expects that this rate of growth will actually increase during the next 5-7 years due primarily to the increased use of the television as the "platform of choice" for over-the-top (OTT) video viewing.
According to Colin Dixon, senior partner at TDG, "The total amount of time spent watching video from all sources, including pay-TV and Internet video, will hold constant during the next 10 years at around 32 hours a week. With online video usage accelerating we expect the amount of Internet video watched to eclipse the amount of live broadcast TV around 2020."
Though this forecast may be inconceivable to those who view the future through the lens of today's predominant business models, Dixon says there is good reason to believe that this estimate is realistic.
Keep in mind that during this period, Internet and broadcast delivery of video content will become blended in such a way that consumers will be unaware of (or won't care) which conduit serves which content. Because so much of their audience will be consuming online, it is more important than ever that cable and broadcast channels increase their presence online.
TDG's new report, "The Economics of Over-the-Top TV Delivery," discusses trends in online and traditional TV viewing; examines the online and TV ad models; and offers two case studies to illustrate how cable networks can use an over-the-top mix of linear standard-definition and high-definition channels with advertising, and a blend of PPV and subscription service to effectively transition their business to an online model.
If you were to imagine some of the dominant video entertainment distributors in your market by 2020, who might they be? In the U.S. market it's easy to predict who it won't be, the traditional video retailers -- Hollywood Video and Blockbuster. Also, the cable and broadcast channels that survive the transition will likely have significantly different operating structures, as a result of the continued decline of their legacy advertising revenues.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Asia Pay-TV Growth Will Dominate, as U.S. Plateaus
Asia continues to dominate the worldwide Pay-TV services marketplace, accounting for slightly more than 50 percent of all subscribers in 2010, according to the latest market study by In-Stat.
China alone will encompass 26.3 percent of the world total -- followed by the rest of Asia Pacific at 22.3 percent, Western Europe 15.6 percent and North America 15.3 percent.
While IPTV grew faster than cable and satellite in 4Q 2009, consistent growth is expected for all Pay-TV platforms over the next five years -- with over-the-top IP video service growth being the wild card.
"By 2012, there will be nearly three-quarter billion Pay-TV subscribers worldwide," says Norm Bogen, In-Stat analyst. "Asia will continue to represent over 50 percent of Pay-TV subscribers through 2014 when we expect total subscribers to reach 855 million."
I believe that markets in Europe, such as France, are still leading the overall pay-TV "value-priced offering" field, while Hong Kong still leads the "a-la-carte channel selection" field.
In-Stat's latest market study found the following:
- IPTV subscribers increased 9.1 percent over the previous quarter and 46.1 percent over the previous year, reaching 33.3 million subscribers (still a relatively small share) in 4Q 2009.
- East and West Europe combined accounted for 49 percent of IPTV subscribers in 2009.
- Worldwide cable TV subscribers grew 4.4 percent in 2009.
- Worldwide satellite TV subscribers will reach a quarter billion by 2014.
- In 2010, Asia Pacific will overtake North America as the largest satellite TV market.
- Asia Pacific and Latin America (including Caribbean) regions show the greatest growth rate in satellite subscribers from 2009– to 2014.
China alone will encompass 26.3 percent of the world total -- followed by the rest of Asia Pacific at 22.3 percent, Western Europe 15.6 percent and North America 15.3 percent.
While IPTV grew faster than cable and satellite in 4Q 2009, consistent growth is expected for all Pay-TV platforms over the next five years -- with over-the-top IP video service growth being the wild card.
"By 2012, there will be nearly three-quarter billion Pay-TV subscribers worldwide," says Norm Bogen, In-Stat analyst. "Asia will continue to represent over 50 percent of Pay-TV subscribers through 2014 when we expect total subscribers to reach 855 million."
I believe that markets in Europe, such as France, are still leading the overall pay-TV "value-priced offering" field, while Hong Kong still leads the "a-la-carte channel selection" field.
In-Stat's latest market study found the following:
- IPTV subscribers increased 9.1 percent over the previous quarter and 46.1 percent over the previous year, reaching 33.3 million subscribers (still a relatively small share) in 4Q 2009.
- East and West Europe combined accounted for 49 percent of IPTV subscribers in 2009.
- Worldwide cable TV subscribers grew 4.4 percent in 2009.
- Worldwide satellite TV subscribers will reach a quarter billion by 2014.
- In 2010, Asia Pacific will overtake North America as the largest satellite TV market.
- Asia Pacific and Latin America (including Caribbean) regions show the greatest growth rate in satellite subscribers from 2009– to 2014.
Monday, May 24, 2010
New Segmentation: a Source of IPTV Innovation
Five years ago, I recall when the incumbent Telcos in the U.S. were making plans to launch their IPTV services, and I remember being hopeful that this could be the beginning of an exciting new chapter in the pay-TV industry.
The market opportunities for innovative video entertainment offerings were unlimited -- due to the lack of meaningful differentiation among the legacy cable and satellite pay-TV service providers.
Unfortunately, the results thus far have been disappointing to me -- since most IPTV offerings merely mimic the legacy channel-centric tiered approach to video delivery, with little inventive design that utilizes the inherent capabilities of IP-based platforms.
The introduction of Google TV last week -- a vision of an open platform that adds the power of the Web to the television viewing experience -- could be the turning-point, leveraging open standards and applying free-market principles that potentially lower the prior barriers to TV App market entry.
The likely beneficiary in the short-term is Amazon and Netflix. They will both benefit from the attention that Google will attract to over-the-top (OTT) IP video offerings. Why? Most consumers don't understand the value of these low-cost alternatives -- when compared to traditional pay-TV.
Good-Enough for the Evolving Micro-Markets
I believe the demand for "good enough" over-the-top video entertainment services is yet to be fully realized, but I sense awareness will increase as a result of the upcoming Google marketing campaign.
To date, few providers segment the consumer marketplace beyond the typical approach -- incremental clusters of channel groupings. With the exception of a few channel tiers and the addition of supplemental premium movie channel options, the U.S. pay-TV value proposition hasn't advanced much. Meanwhile, monthly subscription fees have skyrocketed.
On-demand pay-per-view offerings -- of recent movie releases -- were hastily added to the linear programming mix, which has historically resulted in marginal adoption by the marketplace. The minimal uptake is likely due to the limited content choice, and the high price of VoD services.
Given the Netflix growth phenomenon, and the implications to the U.S. competitive landscape, traditional pay-TV service providers must evolve their approach to segmenting the subscriber base -- into more consumer-centric and progressively eclectic content interest groupings.
Netflix uses a powerful recommendation engine and other proven methods to help subscribers compile an "Instant Queue" of video for streaming -- essentially the custom one-channel approach to individual or household content compilation and presentation.
Embracing the Market Segmentation Challenge
The opportunity: IPTV providers should create more meaningful offerings targeted at known consumer content preferences. The Family or Latin tier-based segmentation approach was a good start, but there are other unexplored ways to segment the mainstream market.
As an example, consider the potential for on-demand "themed entertainment" offerings that fill an apparent void in the North American marketplace -- between the typical basic pay-TV tier and the next "standard channel" tiered package. Also, let's consider the potential of delivering this new packaging concept to broadband-only subscribers -- as a proactive customer retention offer.
While providers won't deter most price-sensitive subscribers from downgrading pay-TV to the basic tier, a more appealing alternative OTT themed offer may halt the eventual migration to disconnect all subscribed TV services. My point: rather than fear service cannibalization, embrace the inevitable disruption now -- while you still have a window of opportunity to innovate.
IP video streaming enables forward-looking IPTV service providers to compile previously licensed content and store it within a cloud-based content delivery system. Access to the content can be initially targeted at common customer persona preferences -- such as action & adventure, sci-fi & fantasy, or any other theme that has a sizable psychographic segment.
Also, while much of the industry analyst commentary tends to focus on new connected TV sets, let's not forget about the huge installed base of current generation sets. Connecting those legacy devices to a reliable IP video stream -- via a purpose-built low-cost STB -- is a significant near-term market opportunity.
As I look to the future, I'm reminded of the storyline in "The Matrix Reloaded" -- where the Keymaker produces keys that can open portals hidden within the Matrix. Perhaps the creative skill of independent application developers can find the keys to open the full potential of IPTV. Truly, I'm hopeful, once again.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Marketers Crave Budget for Web Analytics Talent
Marketers everywhere seem to agree, it's important to have the full picture when evaluating digital marketing investments. That said, market studies indicate that marketers still consider the click-through their main form of measurement -- despite its flaws.
eMarketer reports that a 2010 survey performed by Web analytics service Omniture showed that marketers were unable to measure marketing effectiveness across the typical purchase life-cycle.
Asked which metrics would give them the most actionable insights, marketers said marketing cost, orders, average order size and conversion rate. However, they were only able to measure Web visits, page views, page views per visit and click-throughs.
The same measurement problems existed in mobile Web, social and video channels -- only 30 percent could measure mobile app or post-video conversions, and 41 percent could measure social marketing conversion.
Overall, 80 percent of respondents said it was important to measure ROI from online activities, but just 31 percent could effectively do so.
The biggest challenge was talent, or more specifically the lack thereof. Marketers indicated they did not have skilled staff with the expertise necessary to get the most out of the raw data. Available budget was the top reason why marketers lacked the talent they needed.
Mikel Chertudi, senior director of global media and demand marketing at Adobe Systems, Omniture's parent company, said many survey respondents did not seem to have a full-time staff member devoted to Web analytics.
As a result, about 60 percent of marketers said they spent less than 20 hours a week utilizing their online analytics data to extract content marketing performance insights.
Friday, May 21, 2010
U.S. Telcos Fuel the Rise in Online Display Ads
comScore released an overview of the U.S. online display advertising market for Q1 2010, which showed strong gains when compared to the market decline in 2009. U.S. Internet users received a record 1.1 trillion display ads during the first quarter of 2010, marking a 15-percent increase versus a year ago.
Total U.S. display ad spending in Q1 reached an estimated $2.7 billion, with the average cost per thousand impressions (CPM) equal to $2.48.
"Following a severe ad recession that began in late 2008 and continued through the first three quarters of 2009, we've been seeing a strong resurgence in the online display ad market," said Jeff Hackett, comScore senior vice president.
The first quarter of 2010 posted strong volume in online display ads, coinciding with increasing expenditure from advertisers and higher CPMs for publishers. This pickup in activity should bode well for the online advertising industry as we move forward in 2010.
Facebook.com led all online publishers during Q1 with 176 billion display ad impressions, representing 16.2 percent market share. Yahoo! Sites ranked second with 132 billion impressions (12.1 percent), followed by Microsoft Sites with 60 billion impressions (5.5 percent) and Fox Interactive Media with 53 billion impressions (4.9 percent).
AT&T led competitors as the top online display advertiser in Q1 with 26.3 billion impressions, accounting for 2.4 percent of all display ads. Verizon held the second position with 21.9 billion (2.0 percent), followed by Scottrade Inc. with 16.4 billion (1.5 percent) Experian Interactive with 15.6 billion (1.4 percent) and Sprint Nextel Corporation with 10.1 billion (0.9 percent).
Total U.S. display ad spending in Q1 reached an estimated $2.7 billion, with the average cost per thousand impressions (CPM) equal to $2.48.
"Following a severe ad recession that began in late 2008 and continued through the first three quarters of 2009, we've been seeing a strong resurgence in the online display ad market," said Jeff Hackett, comScore senior vice president.
The first quarter of 2010 posted strong volume in online display ads, coinciding with increasing expenditure from advertisers and higher CPMs for publishers. This pickup in activity should bode well for the online advertising industry as we move forward in 2010.
Facebook.com led all online publishers during Q1 with 176 billion display ad impressions, representing 16.2 percent market share. Yahoo! Sites ranked second with 132 billion impressions (12.1 percent), followed by Microsoft Sites with 60 billion impressions (5.5 percent) and Fox Interactive Media with 53 billion impressions (4.9 percent).
AT&T led competitors as the top online display advertiser in Q1 with 26.3 billion impressions, accounting for 2.4 percent of all display ads. Verizon held the second position with 21.9 billion (2.0 percent), followed by Scottrade Inc. with 16.4 billion (1.5 percent) Experian Interactive with 15.6 billion (1.4 percent) and Sprint Nextel Corporation with 10.1 billion (0.9 percent).
Thursday, May 20, 2010
U.S. Broadband Service Provider Subs Progress
The FCC's number one long-term goal: At least 100 million U.S. homes should have affordable access to actual download speeds of at least 100 megabits per second and actual upload speeds of at least 50 megabits per second. Meanwhile, what is happening with subscriber adoption in the short-term?
Leichtman Research Group (LRG) found that the nineteen largest cable and telephone broadband service providers in the U.S. -- representing about 93 percent of the market -- acquired over 1.4 million net additional Internet subscribers in the first quarter of 2010.
These top broadband providers now account for over 73 million subscribers -- with cable companies having 40.2 million broadband subscribers, and telephone companies having nearly 32.9 million subscribers.
Other findings from the LRG market study include:
- The top cable companies added over 915,000 subscribers, representing 65 percent of the net broadband additions for the quarter versus the top telephone companies.
- Overall, broadband additions in 1Q 2010 amounted to 86 percent of those in 1Q 2009 -- with cable having 108 percent as many additions as a year ago, and Telcos 63 percent as many additions as a year ago.
- The top cable broadband providers have a 55 percent share of the overall market, with a 7.3 million subscriber advantage over the top telephone companies -- compared to 6.4 million a year ago.
"Net broadband additions in 1Q 2010 were over 500,000 more than in 4Q 2009, and the most since the first quarter of 2009," said Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research.
Cable providers had a particularly strong quarter. With more than 900,000 net broadband additions, the top cable companies combined to have their best quarter since 1Q 2008.
Leichtman Research Group (LRG) found that the nineteen largest cable and telephone broadband service providers in the U.S. -- representing about 93 percent of the market -- acquired over 1.4 million net additional Internet subscribers in the first quarter of 2010.
These top broadband providers now account for over 73 million subscribers -- with cable companies having 40.2 million broadband subscribers, and telephone companies having nearly 32.9 million subscribers.
Other findings from the LRG market study include:
- The top cable companies added over 915,000 subscribers, representing 65 percent of the net broadband additions for the quarter versus the top telephone companies.
- Overall, broadband additions in 1Q 2010 amounted to 86 percent of those in 1Q 2009 -- with cable having 108 percent as many additions as a year ago, and Telcos 63 percent as many additions as a year ago.
- The top cable broadband providers have a 55 percent share of the overall market, with a 7.3 million subscriber advantage over the top telephone companies -- compared to 6.4 million a year ago.
"Net broadband additions in 1Q 2010 were over 500,000 more than in 4Q 2009, and the most since the first quarter of 2009," said Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst for Leichtman Research.
Cable providers had a particularly strong quarter. With more than 900,000 net broadband additions, the top cable companies combined to have their best quarter since 1Q 2008.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
New Media Tablet and Netbook PC Coexistence
In February, 2009, ABI Research forecast that approximately 35 million netbook PCs would ship into world markets that year. Some viewed that estimate as unrealistically high. However, the final 2009 shipment total reached 36.3 million netbook devices. The upside potential for netbooks this year is equally positive.
In 2010, netbook shipments are expected to reach 58 million while a new element has been added to the mobile consumer electronics market equation -- the media tablet, initially personified by the affordable Amazon Kindle
and now the Apple iPad.
How will mobile CE markets react to a new device, so soon after the start of the netbook phenomenon?
"We expect the netbook market to fragment according to different regional value propositions," says principal analyst Jeff Orr.
Functionality will be added to mainstream netbook products while at the same time an entry-level netbook solution will grow, with the aim of targeting some large emerging markets (including China and India ) where PC penetration is still quite low.
At the same time, ABI sees the pace of netbook market growth slowing to a CAGR of 23 percent, as media tablets start to steal some netbook market share. Their latest market study conservatively forecasts media tablet sales of about eight million in 2010.
"Apple's claimed shipments of one million iPads in the first month are impressive starting from zero," says Orr, "but even our total media tablet forecast falls far short of what anyone would call mass market adoption."
While it was understood that Apple could put together a good consumer solution and take significant early market share, there are lots of opportunities for others -- it's a question of how they come to market: solo, as Apple has done, or in conjunction with mobile network operator and retail distribution partners.
In 2010, netbook shipments are expected to reach 58 million while a new element has been added to the mobile consumer electronics market equation -- the media tablet, initially personified by the affordable Amazon Kindle
and now the Apple iPad.How will mobile CE markets react to a new device, so soon after the start of the netbook phenomenon?
"We expect the netbook market to fragment according to different regional value propositions," says principal analyst Jeff Orr.
Functionality will be added to mainstream netbook products while at the same time an entry-level netbook solution will grow, with the aim of targeting some large emerging markets (including China and India ) where PC penetration is still quite low.
At the same time, ABI sees the pace of netbook market growth slowing to a CAGR of 23 percent, as media tablets start to steal some netbook market share. Their latest market study conservatively forecasts media tablet sales of about eight million in 2010.
"Apple's claimed shipments of one million iPads in the first month are impressive starting from zero," says Orr, "but even our total media tablet forecast falls far short of what anyone would call mass market adoption."
While it was understood that Apple could put together a good consumer solution and take significant early market share, there are lots of opportunities for others -- it's a question of how they come to market: solo, as Apple has done, or in conjunction with mobile network operator and retail distribution partners.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
OTT Video Usage Segmentation on Connected TVs
Based on a survey of 1,007 U.S. households in which respondents watched full-length television shows or movies over-the-top (OTT) during the past month, the latest market study by One Touch Intelligence uncovered the following new insights.
Viewing of full-length content from the Internet occupies 31 percent of the total time these viewers spend with various at-home television sources. That's more than twice the amount of time spent watching DVD or Blu-ray discs and 5 times the amount of time spent watching traditional On-Demand or pay-per-view content.
Hulu is the most-watched ad-supported Internet video site, with 53 percent of Internet video households watching long-form content from Hulu at least once a month. The percentage of long-form Internet video households that watch Hulu is higher than the percentage watching YouTube.
Viewers who watch Internet video on TV screens are significantly less likely to watch short-form content than those who watch over PCs, and are more likely to use a videogame console to connect Internet video to the TV screen than a PC or Internet-connected TV set.
"The findings underscore the budding romance under way between mainstream television users and Internet video," said Stewart Schley, Senior Director of Industry Intelligence for One Touch Intelligence. "In homes where people have begun using the Internet as a source for branded, long-form entertainment, usage and satisfaction levels are high, and usage is dispersed over a fairly wide age and demographic range. Also, our study points out that those who watch Internet video on TV screens, rather than purely over PCs, appear to be more willing to ascribe economic value to the experience."
Among key findings, the market study found that although most Internet video viewing within homes occurs over PCs, Internet video content seen on connected TVs accounts for 11 percent of time spent viewing.
Additionally, the study found that among all Internet video households -- homes in which adults watch full-length TV shows or movies at least monthly -- the following usage segmentation patterns emerged:
- 52 percent of viewers watch Internet video exclusively on PCs.
- 42 percent of viewers watch Internet video on both PCs and TV screens.
- 6 percent of viewers watch Internet video exclusively on a TV screen.
Among the 48 percent of Internet video households in which Internet video is watched on TV screens, connected videogame consoles represent the most common means of connecting TV screens to Internet video sources, with 73 percent of respondents indicating they use an Xbox 360, PS3 or Wii to export Internet video to a connected TV.
Viewing of full-length content from the Internet occupies 31 percent of the total time these viewers spend with various at-home television sources. That's more than twice the amount of time spent watching DVD or Blu-ray discs and 5 times the amount of time spent watching traditional On-Demand or pay-per-view content.
Hulu is the most-watched ad-supported Internet video site, with 53 percent of Internet video households watching long-form content from Hulu at least once a month. The percentage of long-form Internet video households that watch Hulu is higher than the percentage watching YouTube.
Viewers who watch Internet video on TV screens are significantly less likely to watch short-form content than those who watch over PCs, and are more likely to use a videogame console to connect Internet video to the TV screen than a PC or Internet-connected TV set.
"The findings underscore the budding romance under way between mainstream television users and Internet video," said Stewart Schley, Senior Director of Industry Intelligence for One Touch Intelligence. "In homes where people have begun using the Internet as a source for branded, long-form entertainment, usage and satisfaction levels are high, and usage is dispersed over a fairly wide age and demographic range. Also, our study points out that those who watch Internet video on TV screens, rather than purely over PCs, appear to be more willing to ascribe economic value to the experience."
Among key findings, the market study found that although most Internet video viewing within homes occurs over PCs, Internet video content seen on connected TVs accounts for 11 percent of time spent viewing.
Additionally, the study found that among all Internet video households -- homes in which adults watch full-length TV shows or movies at least monthly -- the following usage segmentation patterns emerged:
- 52 percent of viewers watch Internet video exclusively on PCs.
- 42 percent of viewers watch Internet video on both PCs and TV screens.
- 6 percent of viewers watch Internet video exclusively on a TV screen.
Among the 48 percent of Internet video households in which Internet video is watched on TV screens, connected videogame consoles represent the most common means of connecting TV screens to Internet video sources, with 73 percent of respondents indicating they use an Xbox 360, PS3 or Wii to export Internet video to a connected TV.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Mobile App Stores Experience Transient Upside
Mobile phone software applications have helped to stimulate new user demand for smartphones. Today most mobile applications are downloaded from app stores. According to the latest market study by ABI Research, last year consumers downloaded some 2.4 billion applications from such online stores.
The download rate is forecast to accelerate over the next few years until in 2013 smartphone downloads are expected to peak -- at just below seven billion. Apple's app store will likely continue to lead the market.
That will be the high point, however, and in the years that follow, smartphone download rates from app stores will start a slow decline -- although total downloads from all sources will probably continue to grow.
According to ABI senior analyst Mark Beccue, "App stores aren't going away -- following the 2013 peak in demand, the number of downloads in 2015 will have decreased only seven or eight percent. But as our use of the mobile Internet evolves, demand will increasingly shift elsewhere."
Why? The mobile web is getting more and more sophisticated, says Beccue, so that more subscribers will use the functionality on mobile websites themselves rather than dedicated apps.
"We see two emerging trends. First, many applications (increasingly built on web standards) will migrate from app stores to regular websites, and for some sites you won't need an app at all. In addition, more and more popular applications will be preloaded on mobile devices. Social networking apps in particular will be pre-loaded on new products."
This discussion has centered on smartphones and other high-end devices that allow optimized mobile web experiences, which effectively means that we're talking about mature markets.
However another development may change that -- mobile network operators (MNOs) will increasingly launch their own app stores, and these outlets may extend the principle of downloadable apps to feature phones, which means access to many newer and developing markets where smartphone penetration is lower.
The download rate is forecast to accelerate over the next few years until in 2013 smartphone downloads are expected to peak -- at just below seven billion. Apple's app store will likely continue to lead the market.
That will be the high point, however, and in the years that follow, smartphone download rates from app stores will start a slow decline -- although total downloads from all sources will probably continue to grow.
According to ABI senior analyst Mark Beccue, "App stores aren't going away -- following the 2013 peak in demand, the number of downloads in 2015 will have decreased only seven or eight percent. But as our use of the mobile Internet evolves, demand will increasingly shift elsewhere."
Why? The mobile web is getting more and more sophisticated, says Beccue, so that more subscribers will use the functionality on mobile websites themselves rather than dedicated apps.
"We see two emerging trends. First, many applications (increasingly built on web standards) will migrate from app stores to regular websites, and for some sites you won't need an app at all. In addition, more and more popular applications will be preloaded on mobile devices. Social networking apps in particular will be pre-loaded on new products."
This discussion has centered on smartphones and other high-end devices that allow optimized mobile web experiences, which effectively means that we're talking about mature markets.
However another development may change that -- mobile network operators (MNOs) will increasingly launch their own app stores, and these outlets may extend the principle of downloadable apps to feature phones, which means access to many newer and developing markets where smartphone penetration is lower.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Why it's Easy to Differentiate B2B Online Marketing
Being a truly distinctive online business marketer in North America may actually be less difficult than you might imagine. Despite social media marketing's supposed popularity, many business-to-business (B2B) companies are apparently laggards.
Moreover, eMarketer reports that according to a recent market study few marketers have mastered the required skills -- 73 percent of B2B respondents who utilize popular online tools have less than two years of social media marketing experience.
March 2010 research from marketing automation firm Genius.com and BtoB magazine found that about one-half of business-oriented marketers are not using content marketing tools -- such as blogging and microblogging platforms.
The consumer-focused Facebook social network site was more popular, with nearly three-fifths of survey participants -- and business-focused social network LinkedIn was used by three-quarters of B2B marketers.
Researchers say social networks offer B2B companies a variety of opportunities. They can improve communication between customers, prospects and suppliers; aid collaboration between business partners; help with product development; and sometimes identify sales leads.
In fact, Business.com found in a 2009 study that those B2B marketers who do use social media tend to do so more extensively than their business-to-consumer (B2C) counterparts.
Those marketers with at least one profile were more likely to manage a presence on several sites than the general B2B respondents to the Genius.com survey, and were more likely than B2C companies to measure their online marketing success.
"While recent studies have shown that up to 90 percent of consumers are using social media to make their purchasing decisions, B2B marketers seem to be out of step and are using these tools much less frequently," said the Genius.com report author.
Therefore, today's savvy marketers who effectively utilize all available online digital marketing tools can easily differentiate themselves -- and their product offering -- from the majority of their legacy B2B marketing counterparts.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Mobile Smartphones Gaining Global Market Share
The mobile phone market grew 21.7 percent in the first quarter of 2010, which is a rebound from the market contraction in Q1 2009. Growth was fueled by increased demand for converged mobile devices, more commonly known as smartphones, and the global economic recovery.
According to the latest IDC global market study, vendors shipped 294.9 million units in the first quarter of 2010 -- compared to 242.4 million units in the first quarter of 2009.
The smartphone device class -- and a recovering traditional mobile phone category -- helped the market avoid a repeat of 1Q09, when the market declined 16.6 percent in the midst of the global economic recession.
Growing demand for smartphones also helped Research In Motion (RIM) move into the top 5 vendor rankings for the first time. RIM, which replaced Motorola in the top 5, tied with Sony Ericsson for the number 4 position in IDC's 1Q10 vendor rankings.
RIM shipped 10.6 million units in the first quarter, while Motorola shipped 8.5 million units. Motorola registered a fifth place finish last year by virtue of its overall strength in the lower-growth traditional mobile phone category.
Motorola has steadily lost market share since 2004 when the market started its shift toward higher-end feature phones and smartphones. The ongoing shift has given rise to converged mobile device vendors such as RIM and Apple.
"The entrance of RIM into the top 5 underscores the sustained smartphone growth trend that is driving the global mobile phone market recovery," noted Kevin Restivo, senior research analyst with IDC.
According to the latest IDC global market study, vendors shipped 294.9 million units in the first quarter of 2010 -- compared to 242.4 million units in the first quarter of 2009.
The smartphone device class -- and a recovering traditional mobile phone category -- helped the market avoid a repeat of 1Q09, when the market declined 16.6 percent in the midst of the global economic recession.
Growing demand for smartphones also helped Research In Motion (RIM) move into the top 5 vendor rankings for the first time. RIM, which replaced Motorola in the top 5, tied with Sony Ericsson for the number 4 position in IDC's 1Q10 vendor rankings.
RIM shipped 10.6 million units in the first quarter, while Motorola shipped 8.5 million units. Motorola registered a fifth place finish last year by virtue of its overall strength in the lower-growth traditional mobile phone category.
Motorola has steadily lost market share since 2004 when the market started its shift toward higher-end feature phones and smartphones. The ongoing shift has given rise to converged mobile device vendors such as RIM and Apple.
"The entrance of RIM into the top 5 underscores the sustained smartphone growth trend that is driving the global mobile phone market recovery," noted Kevin Restivo, senior research analyst with IDC.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
How Broadband Service Value Varies Worldwide
The price of a megabit of bandwidth has dropped across all delivery technologies in the first quarter of 2010, according to the latest global market study by Point Topic.
"In the last 12 months the price of bandwidth over fiber has dropped by just over 7 percent. In the same period DSL bandwidth costs fell twice that, but the real movement has been in cable bandwidth which is almost 20 percent cheaper per megabit than 12 months ago on a worldwide basis," says Fiona Vanier, Senior Analyst at Point Topic.
Cable subscription prices have changed slightly, but bandwidth has changed dramatically. From an average of 1.7Mb in 2005, passing 10Mb in early 2008 and now the average advertised bandwidth over a cable connection is just over 17Mb.
In comparison DSL has increased from 5.5Mb offered on average in 2008 to 5.7Mb today.
The increase in speed has been a major factor in the success of cable over the years. They've been able to offer customers much higher bandwidth for little or no corresponding increase in price. This has been one of the core elements in keeping them competitive.
Europe in particular has seen speeds increased by over 300 percent since early 2008 -- while the price declined over 8 percent in the same period. In contrast, North America prices have increased by 17 percent and speeds have only increased by about 66 percent.
Cable in the Asia-Pacific region is subject to significantly more competition, at least historically, from super high speed fiber-based broadband offerings.
"While there are fewer cable operators, they have been facing fiber competition for longer than their western counterparts. This means they were forced to increase the bandwidth offered years ago just to offer a realistic alternative. Now operators are casting around to see what else they can do," says Vanier.
The recent moves by Telstra, the Australian incumbent telco, which resulted in a significant price increase in the region may be a sign that they are looking at increasing ARPU, rather than relying on growth in new subscriber numbers. Perhaps that's why the Australian government has decided to introduce new competition.
"In the last 12 months the price of bandwidth over fiber has dropped by just over 7 percent. In the same period DSL bandwidth costs fell twice that, but the real movement has been in cable bandwidth which is almost 20 percent cheaper per megabit than 12 months ago on a worldwide basis," says Fiona Vanier, Senior Analyst at Point Topic.
Cable subscription prices have changed slightly, but bandwidth has changed dramatically. From an average of 1.7Mb in 2005, passing 10Mb in early 2008 and now the average advertised bandwidth over a cable connection is just over 17Mb.
In comparison DSL has increased from 5.5Mb offered on average in 2008 to 5.7Mb today.
The increase in speed has been a major factor in the success of cable over the years. They've been able to offer customers much higher bandwidth for little or no corresponding increase in price. This has been one of the core elements in keeping them competitive.
Europe in particular has seen speeds increased by over 300 percent since early 2008 -- while the price declined over 8 percent in the same period. In contrast, North America prices have increased by 17 percent and speeds have only increased by about 66 percent.
Cable in the Asia-Pacific region is subject to significantly more competition, at least historically, from super high speed fiber-based broadband offerings.
"While there are fewer cable operators, they have been facing fiber competition for longer than their western counterparts. This means they were forced to increase the bandwidth offered years ago just to offer a realistic alternative. Now operators are casting around to see what else they can do," says Vanier.
The recent moves by Telstra, the Australian incumbent telco, which resulted in a significant price increase in the region may be a sign that they are looking at increasing ARPU, rather than relying on growth in new subscriber numbers. Perhaps that's why the Australian government has decided to introduce new competition.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Growing Market for Internet Connected TV Apps
As demand for Internet-connected devices expands, the connected TV forms a category poised for growth. According to the latest market study by ABI Research, the estimated 19 percent of flat panel TVs shipping with Ethernet in 2010 will grow to 46 percent in 2013.
What will viewers see and interact with on these connected TV sets? According to ABI's industry analyst Michael Inouye, "New features will include media guides, Web browsing, and more tightly integrated social and information-based datasets."
New opportunities for advertising and cross-marketing will flow from these developments too -- as well as new roles for the digital television manufacturers.
TV makers no longer want to build dumb screens. Rather than simply selling boxes, TV makers themselves could try to secure part of the advertising revenue their devices present to consumers.
TV makers won't be providing all that content themselves, of course. Netflix, for instance, has a video streaming service available for use with connected TVs.
The tight integration of software and hardware raises difficulties, however, because each manufacturer's combination of hardware and operating system works in different ways, so applications must be customized for each brand of television. That has discouraged some app developers, but others are pushing ahead.
Wi-Fi has made some early headway, but wired formats are more robust -- especially for HD video content. Diverse wired standards such as G.hn, HomePNA, MoCA, and Powerline are all contenders in the long term, perhaps displacing the currently most robust solution, Ethernet.
ABI's Inouye concludes, "This market is very fluid and uncertain, and with so many parties vying for a piece of the action, that fluidity may persist for years."
What will viewers see and interact with on these connected TV sets? According to ABI's industry analyst Michael Inouye, "New features will include media guides, Web browsing, and more tightly integrated social and information-based datasets."
New opportunities for advertising and cross-marketing will flow from these developments too -- as well as new roles for the digital television manufacturers.
TV makers no longer want to build dumb screens. Rather than simply selling boxes, TV makers themselves could try to secure part of the advertising revenue their devices present to consumers.
TV makers won't be providing all that content themselves, of course. Netflix, for instance, has a video streaming service available for use with connected TVs.
The tight integration of software and hardware raises difficulties, however, because each manufacturer's combination of hardware and operating system works in different ways, so applications must be customized for each brand of television. That has discouraged some app developers, but others are pushing ahead.
Wi-Fi has made some early headway, but wired formats are more robust -- especially for HD video content. Diverse wired standards such as G.hn, HomePNA, MoCA, and Powerline are all contenders in the long term, perhaps displacing the currently most robust solution, Ethernet.
ABI's Inouye concludes, "This market is very fluid and uncertain, and with so many parties vying for a piece of the action, that fluidity may persist for years."
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
2010 U.S. Mobile Phone Subscriber Market Share
comScore released data about key trends in the U.S. mobile phone industry during the three month period ending March 2010 -- compared to the preceding three-month period. Their report ranked the leading mobile manufacturers and mobile operators in the U.S. marketplace.
The March report found Samsung, Motorola and LG separated by a mere fraction of a percentage point of market share among mobile handset manufacturers, while Verizon led among mobile service operators with 31.1 percent market share.
234 million Americans -- age 13 and older -- were mobile subscribers, with device manufacturer Samsung ranking as the top OEM at a 21.9 percent share of U.S. mobile subscribers, inching out Motorola by a fraction of a percent. LG (21.8 percent share) ranked closely behind them, with RIM (8.3 percent share) and Nokia (8.3 percent share) rounding out the top five.
Verizon led the market with 31.1 percent of mobile subscribers. AT&T ranked second with 25.2 percent market share, up 0.2 percentage points from the period ending December 2009. Sprint narrowly grabbed the third place with 12.0 percent market share, closely trailed by T-Mobile (12.0 percent), while Tracfone gained 0.3 points to capture 5.1 percent of the market.
63.7 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers used text messaging on their mobile device -- up 0.6 percentage points versus three months prior.
Browsers were used by 30.1 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers (up 2.6 percentage points), while subscribers who used downloaded applications made up 28.6 percent of the mobile audience (up 2.6 percentage points).
Access of social networking sites or blogs continued to increase, posting gains of 2.8 percentage points to 18.7 percent of mobile phone subscribers.
The March report found Samsung, Motorola and LG separated by a mere fraction of a percentage point of market share among mobile handset manufacturers, while Verizon led among mobile service operators with 31.1 percent market share.
234 million Americans -- age 13 and older -- were mobile subscribers, with device manufacturer Samsung ranking as the top OEM at a 21.9 percent share of U.S. mobile subscribers, inching out Motorola by a fraction of a percent. LG (21.8 percent share) ranked closely behind them, with RIM (8.3 percent share) and Nokia (8.3 percent share) rounding out the top five.
Verizon led the market with 31.1 percent of mobile subscribers. AT&T ranked second with 25.2 percent market share, up 0.2 percentage points from the period ending December 2009. Sprint narrowly grabbed the third place with 12.0 percent market share, closely trailed by T-Mobile (12.0 percent), while Tracfone gained 0.3 points to capture 5.1 percent of the market.
63.7 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers used text messaging on their mobile device -- up 0.6 percentage points versus three months prior.
Browsers were used by 30.1 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers (up 2.6 percentage points), while subscribers who used downloaded applications made up 28.6 percent of the mobile audience (up 2.6 percentage points).
Access of social networking sites or blogs continued to increase, posting gains of 2.8 percentage points to 18.7 percent of mobile phone subscribers.
Monday, May 10, 2010
SuperSpeed USB Adoption in Digital Media Devices
The introduction of SuperSpeed USB devices in 2009 provided the seeds of dramatic change in the USB market, according to the latest market study by In-Stat.
SuperSpeed USB, which offers a ten-fold bandwidth improvement over high-speed USB, will grow to just under 30 percent of the USB interface technology market by 2014, according to In-Stat forecasts.
The success of SuperSpeed USB will be limited initially, however.
"It will take time for SuperSpeed USB to be integrated into the core logic PC chipset," says Brian O'Rourke, In-Stat analyst.
USB achieved its immense success primarily due to core logic integration, which effectively allowed PC OEMs to offer it for free. Integration is essential before a new USB standard becomes prominent in PCs.
In-Stat's latest market study found the following:
- More than 3 billion USB-enabled devices shipped in 2009; over 4 billion will ship in 2012.
- Nearly 160 million digital TV sets will ship with USB in 2014.
- SuperSpeed USB core logic chipsets will begin shipping in late 2011. Shipments of devices with USB SuperSpeed will rise more than four-fold from 2011 to 2012.
- The USB Discrete Host Controller Average Selling Price will see a -21.6 percent Compound Annual Growth Rate from 2009 to 2013.
- Consumer survey respondents identified printers as the most likely devices to use USB to connect with their PC, followed by Digital Cameras.
SuperSpeed USB, which offers a ten-fold bandwidth improvement over high-speed USB, will grow to just under 30 percent of the USB interface technology market by 2014, according to In-Stat forecasts.
The success of SuperSpeed USB will be limited initially, however.
"It will take time for SuperSpeed USB to be integrated into the core logic PC chipset," says Brian O'Rourke, In-Stat analyst.
USB achieved its immense success primarily due to core logic integration, which effectively allowed PC OEMs to offer it for free. Integration is essential before a new USB standard becomes prominent in PCs.
In-Stat's latest market study found the following:
- More than 3 billion USB-enabled devices shipped in 2009; over 4 billion will ship in 2012.
- Nearly 160 million digital TV sets will ship with USB in 2014.
- SuperSpeed USB core logic chipsets will begin shipping in late 2011. Shipments of devices with USB SuperSpeed will rise more than four-fold from 2011 to 2012.
- The USB Discrete Host Controller Average Selling Price will see a -21.6 percent Compound Annual Growth Rate from 2009 to 2013.
- Consumer survey respondents identified printers as the most likely devices to use USB to connect with their PC, followed by Digital Cameras.
Saturday, May 08, 2010
Online Video Viewership Segmentation in the U.S.
eMarketer estimates that 66.7 percent of all U.S. Internet users -- approximately 147.5 million people -- watch video content online each month. By 2014, viewership will rise to 77 percent of Internet users, or 193.1 million people.
During the same period, online video advertising spending will increase from $1.4 billion to $5.2 billion.
Over the next five years, consumers will become more comfortable watching all forms of video content -- long and short, professional and amateur -- on their Internet-connected mobile phones, laptop PC, desktop PC, tablets and connected TV sets.
But by 2014 the current "monthly viewership" rating will likely be outdated. Daily or weekly viewing will be the relevant metric, with usage perhaps measured in minutes and hours spent viewing video content each day.
Already, 29 percent of Internet users under 25 say they watch all or most of their TV programs online. A closer look at viewership rates by age shows classic early-adopter patterns -- with 18- to 34-year-olds exhibiting the highest viewership.
eMarketer forecasts significant growth in video viewers across all age groups -- in part because of how easy it is to share content online. However, the amount of time baby boomers and seniors watch online video will be smaller compared with their younger counterparts.
Friday, May 07, 2010
Videographers Adopt New Nonlinear Editing Software
Driven by the increased adoption of products for digital video creation, there is an increased availability of enhanced, feature-rich, nonlinear editing solutions for digital media post production applications.
According to the latest market study by Frost & Sullivan, that market had revenues of over $630 million in 2009 and is forecast to exceed $1.0 billion by 2016.
"Software-based nonlinear editing products are quickly making the leap from nice-to-have to need-to-have competitive professional products for both high-end and low-end video segments," says Vidya Subramanian Nath, Global Industry Manager for Digital Media at Frost & Sullivan.
The availability of highly competitive, economical, off-the-shelf products has ensured an increase in millions of professional and prosumer users for nonlinear editing software.
In addition, with increasing efficiencies of PC processors, capture cards, low-priced storage, and networked workflows, popular nonlinear editing software can be used for even high-end applications in broadcast TV and film editing.
While the price advantage has ensured mass penetration of these products, on the flip side, the low price points have had a telling effect on the market's revenue growth.
These products are available for as low as $800 and can be built on a complementary system for $5,000 -- which is typically one-fourth the price of higher-end systems.
To address these challenges, vendors will have to absorb the impact of drivers, such as open-source solutions, digitization, file-based and networked workflows, and high-definition (HD) video in the media market, and create competitive innovative products that are convenient for a versatile creative professional.
The growing avenues for video across multiple media are driving all vendors in the nonlinear editing market out of their respective niches and pushing them to launch competitive products for all segments, including independent professional videographers.
I've previously outlined my experience creating business video content, researching the available software and then selecting a solution that fit my particular application needs. My choice was the Sony Vegas Movie Studio Platinum software package. The creative video editing capabilities have evolved since that time, but it still meets and exceeds my requirements.
According to the latest market study by Frost & Sullivan, that market had revenues of over $630 million in 2009 and is forecast to exceed $1.0 billion by 2016.
"Software-based nonlinear editing products are quickly making the leap from nice-to-have to need-to-have competitive professional products for both high-end and low-end video segments," says Vidya Subramanian Nath, Global Industry Manager for Digital Media at Frost & Sullivan.
The availability of highly competitive, economical, off-the-shelf products has ensured an increase in millions of professional and prosumer users for nonlinear editing software.
In addition, with increasing efficiencies of PC processors, capture cards, low-priced storage, and networked workflows, popular nonlinear editing software can be used for even high-end applications in broadcast TV and film editing.
While the price advantage has ensured mass penetration of these products, on the flip side, the low price points have had a telling effect on the market's revenue growth.
These products are available for as low as $800 and can be built on a complementary system for $5,000 -- which is typically one-fourth the price of higher-end systems.
To address these challenges, vendors will have to absorb the impact of drivers, such as open-source solutions, digitization, file-based and networked workflows, and high-definition (HD) video in the media market, and create competitive innovative products that are convenient for a versatile creative professional.
The growing avenues for video across multiple media are driving all vendors in the nonlinear editing market out of their respective niches and pushing them to launch competitive products for all segments, including independent professional videographers.
I've previously outlined my experience creating business video content, researching the available software and then selecting a solution that fit my particular application needs. My choice was the Sony Vegas Movie Studio Platinum software package. The creative video editing capabilities have evolved since that time, but it still meets and exceeds my requirements.
Thursday, May 06, 2010
CE Embedded Wi-Fi Upside Growth Opportunity
Wireless LAN access at home is becoming a must-have feature across a range of consumer devices as network connectivity migrates into the living room, according to the latest market study by In-Stat.
Digital televisions, Blu-ray players, and portable media players (PMPs) are among the leading consumer electronics (CE) categories -- in terms of total volume and growth.
Shipments of digital televisions with Wi-Fi will grow more than ten-fold -- from under 5 million units in 2009, to more than 60 million units in 2014. Driving this shift is both unit growth of the digital TVs, as well as Wi-Fi attach rates that increase from just 4 percent in 2009 to 33 percent in 2014.
Across all stationary consumer electronics, which includes set top boxes, game consoles, Blu-ray players, digital picture frames, among other devices, Wi-Fi-enabled devices will exceed 200 million units by 2014.
"Wi-Fi swept through the computing market, driven by the need to access and share broadband connectivity," says Frank Dickson, In-Stat Vice President of Research.
That same consumer desire is now resulting in Wi-Fi adoption across the entire range of connected consumer electronics, driving significant embedded Wi-Fi component volumes.
In-Stat's market study found the following:
- Mobile handsets will remain the highest volume Wi-Fi-enabled device throughout the forecast period.
- Internet Tablets with Wi-Fi, including the Apple iPad, will grow to nearly 50 million unit shipments by 2014.
- The Wi-Fi device Total Available Market (TAM) will exceed 3 billion unit shipments by 2013.
Digital televisions, Blu-ray players, and portable media players (PMPs) are among the leading consumer electronics (CE) categories -- in terms of total volume and growth.
Shipments of digital televisions with Wi-Fi will grow more than ten-fold -- from under 5 million units in 2009, to more than 60 million units in 2014. Driving this shift is both unit growth of the digital TVs, as well as Wi-Fi attach rates that increase from just 4 percent in 2009 to 33 percent in 2014.
Across all stationary consumer electronics, which includes set top boxes, game consoles, Blu-ray players, digital picture frames, among other devices, Wi-Fi-enabled devices will exceed 200 million units by 2014.
"Wi-Fi swept through the computing market, driven by the need to access and share broadband connectivity," says Frank Dickson, In-Stat Vice President of Research.
That same consumer desire is now resulting in Wi-Fi adoption across the entire range of connected consumer electronics, driving significant embedded Wi-Fi component volumes.
In-Stat's market study found the following:
- Mobile handsets will remain the highest volume Wi-Fi-enabled device throughout the forecast period.
- Internet Tablets with Wi-Fi, including the Apple iPad, will grow to nearly 50 million unit shipments by 2014.
- The Wi-Fi device Total Available Market (TAM) will exceed 3 billion unit shipments by 2013.
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
South Korea and Japan Super High-Speed Broadband
Mobile broadband offerings are receiving more attention, when compared to wireleine or fixed broadband services. Yet fixed broadband subscriber adoption is still growing robustly around the world.
Fixed broadband subscribers totaled 430.7 million in 2009 globally, according to the latest market study by ABI Research. That growth represents approximately a 13 percent increase over 2008.
"Fixed broadband is an attractive platform for the delivery of IPTV, gaming services with low latency, rapid access to web content, and secure access to non-building access points," says Jake Saunders, VP for forecasting. "Technologies such as fiber-to-the-home, VDSL and GPON are helping to keep fixed broadband relevant to end-users -- both in the home and office."
At present, the lower-speed broadband DSL platform dominates the market with 65 percent market share -- cable and fiber represented 24 percent and 11 percent market share respectively in 2009.
South Korea and Japan remain the global market leaders with the most fiber-based super high-speed broadband penetration. In Japan approximately 55 percent of broadband subscribers are using fiber broadband. In Korea, fiber broadband customers represent 49 percent of overall broadband users.
The growing customer demand for symmetrical Internet access speed will continue to drive more fiber broadband adoption in future. ABI Research forecasts that fiber broadband subscribers will total almost 134 million by 2015.
According to ABI analyst Khin Sandi Lynn, "We expect broadband penetration in North America to be accelerated by federal government initiatives which aim to roll out broadband access in rural areas of the U.S."
ABI estimates that the number of worldwide fixed broadband subscribers will rise to 548 million in 2015, and that equates to a 2010-2015 CAGR of 3 percent.
Fixed broadband subscribers totaled 430.7 million in 2009 globally, according to the latest market study by ABI Research. That growth represents approximately a 13 percent increase over 2008.
"Fixed broadband is an attractive platform for the delivery of IPTV, gaming services with low latency, rapid access to web content, and secure access to non-building access points," says Jake Saunders, VP for forecasting. "Technologies such as fiber-to-the-home, VDSL and GPON are helping to keep fixed broadband relevant to end-users -- both in the home and office."
At present, the lower-speed broadband DSL platform dominates the market with 65 percent market share -- cable and fiber represented 24 percent and 11 percent market share respectively in 2009.
South Korea and Japan remain the global market leaders with the most fiber-based super high-speed broadband penetration. In Japan approximately 55 percent of broadband subscribers are using fiber broadband. In Korea, fiber broadband customers represent 49 percent of overall broadband users.
The growing customer demand for symmetrical Internet access speed will continue to drive more fiber broadband adoption in future. ABI Research forecasts that fiber broadband subscribers will total almost 134 million by 2015.
According to ABI analyst Khin Sandi Lynn, "We expect broadband penetration in North America to be accelerated by federal government initiatives which aim to roll out broadband access in rural areas of the U.S."
ABI estimates that the number of worldwide fixed broadband subscribers will rise to 548 million in 2015, and that equates to a 2010-2015 CAGR of 3 percent.
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
High-Definition 3D TV Upside in North America
Film industry analysts everywhere are still talking about the amazing success of Avatar at the cinema box-office. Some analysts believe the next frontier for 3D content is within the home.
Around 22.5 million homes worldwide will be watching high-definition 3D TV content within five years, according to the latest market study by Informa Telecoms & Media.
Backed by video content owners, broadcasters and pay-TV platforms, 3D TV is expected to be in 1.6 percent of all homes globally by 2015.
"However, the market will still be very immature by 2015, so significant growth opportunities exist beyond this date," said Simon Murray, Principal Analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media.
North America is expected to continue leading the way in terms of 3D TV homes during the forecast period, with 9.2 million homes receiving 3D TV signals by 2015.
Western Europe is expected to be the second-largest region for 3D TV reception, with 6.8 million homes receiving such services by the end of 2015, and the Asia-Pacific region is predicted to come in third with 4.6 million homes.
"We believe that 3D TV will take off, but we also believe that 3D TV viewing will be limited until the technology has progressed sufficiently to remove the viewer's need to wear glasses -- which we estimate will be beyond our forecast period," said Mr. Murray.
Other limiting factors anticipated for 3D TV growth include a lack of content, high production costs, scarcity of channels, network bandwidth constraints and the high cost of HD 3D television sets.
Around 22.5 million homes worldwide will be watching high-definition 3D TV content within five years, according to the latest market study by Informa Telecoms & Media.
Backed by video content owners, broadcasters and pay-TV platforms, 3D TV is expected to be in 1.6 percent of all homes globally by 2015.
"However, the market will still be very immature by 2015, so significant growth opportunities exist beyond this date," said Simon Murray, Principal Analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media.
North America is expected to continue leading the way in terms of 3D TV homes during the forecast period, with 9.2 million homes receiving 3D TV signals by 2015.
Western Europe is expected to be the second-largest region for 3D TV reception, with 6.8 million homes receiving such services by the end of 2015, and the Asia-Pacific region is predicted to come in third with 4.6 million homes.
"We believe that 3D TV will take off, but we also believe that 3D TV viewing will be limited until the technology has progressed sufficiently to remove the viewer's need to wear glasses -- which we estimate will be beyond our forecast period," said Mr. Murray.
Other limiting factors anticipated for 3D TV growth include a lack of content, high production costs, scarcity of channels, network bandwidth constraints and the high cost of HD 3D television sets.
Monday, May 03, 2010
U.S. Viewers Watch 31.2 Billion Videos in March
According to the latest market study by comScore, more than 180 million U.S. Internet users watched online video during the month. YouTube delivered video to more than 135 million viewers during the month -- reaching 3 out of every 4 online video viewers at an average of 96 videos per viewer.
U.S. Internet users watched 31.2 billion videos in March, with Google Sites ranking as the top video property with 13.1 billion videos, representing 41.8 percent of all videos viewed online. YouTube accounted for the vast majority of videos viewed at the property.
Hulu ranked second with 1.1 billion videos, or 3.4 percent of all online videos viewed. Microsoft Sites ranked third with 655 million (2.1 percent), followed by Yahoo! Sites with 478 million (1.5 percent) and CBS Interactive with 457 million (1.5 percent).
More than 180 million viewers watched an average of 173 videos per viewer during the month of March. Google Sites attracted 136.0 million unique viewers during the month (96.0 videos per viewer), followed by Yahoo! Sites with 56.2 million viewers (8.5 videos per viewer) and CBS Interactive with 46.7 million viewers (9.8 videos per viewer).
In March, Tremor Media ranked as the top video advertising network -- with a potential reach of 96.5 million viewers, or 53.5 percent of the total video viewing audience. Adconion Video Network ranked second with a potential reach of 81.6 million viewers (45.2 percent penetration) followed by Advertising.com Video Network with 80.8 million viewers (44.8 percent).
Other findings from March 2010 market study include:
- The top video ad networks in terms of their actual reach delivered were: Joost Video Network (by Adconion Media Group) with 38.0 percent penetration of online video viewers, SpotXchange Video Ad Network with 19.9 percent, and BBE with 19.1 percent.
- 84.8 percent of the total U.S. Internet audience viewed online video.
- 135.3 million viewers watched 12.9 billion videos on YouTube.com (95.6 videos per viewer).
- The average Hulu viewer watched 26.7 videos, totaling 2.6 hours of video per viewer.
- The duration of the average online video was 4.3 minutes.
U.S. Internet users watched 31.2 billion videos in March, with Google Sites ranking as the top video property with 13.1 billion videos, representing 41.8 percent of all videos viewed online. YouTube accounted for the vast majority of videos viewed at the property.
Hulu ranked second with 1.1 billion videos, or 3.4 percent of all online videos viewed. Microsoft Sites ranked third with 655 million (2.1 percent), followed by Yahoo! Sites with 478 million (1.5 percent) and CBS Interactive with 457 million (1.5 percent).
More than 180 million viewers watched an average of 173 videos per viewer during the month of March. Google Sites attracted 136.0 million unique viewers during the month (96.0 videos per viewer), followed by Yahoo! Sites with 56.2 million viewers (8.5 videos per viewer) and CBS Interactive with 46.7 million viewers (9.8 videos per viewer).
In March, Tremor Media ranked as the top video advertising network -- with a potential reach of 96.5 million viewers, or 53.5 percent of the total video viewing audience. Adconion Video Network ranked second with a potential reach of 81.6 million viewers (45.2 percent penetration) followed by Advertising.com Video Network with 80.8 million viewers (44.8 percent).
Other findings from March 2010 market study include:
- The top video ad networks in terms of their actual reach delivered were: Joost Video Network (by Adconion Media Group) with 38.0 percent penetration of online video viewers, SpotXchange Video Ad Network with 19.9 percent, and BBE with 19.1 percent.
- 84.8 percent of the total U.S. Internet audience viewed online video.
- 135.3 million viewers watched 12.9 billion videos on YouTube.com (95.6 videos per viewer).
- The average Hulu viewer watched 26.7 videos, totaling 2.6 hours of video per viewer.
- The duration of the average online video was 4.3 minutes.
Saturday, May 01, 2010
Finding Better Product Recommendations Online
According to the latest BlogHer and iVillage market study, social sites are now a frequent destination for three-quarters of U.S. Internet users. eMarketer reports that the study found similar rates of usage among men and women, as weekly social media users reached 73 percent of the total online population.
Survey respondent's top daily activities were watching television online, but Facebook was the next most common media destination visited every day. Among those respondents, social media games were as popular as reading print newspapers.
Among BlogHer Network users only, usage was significantly higher. For example, 77 percent read blogs every day and 35 percent used Twitter daily.
Online destinations become more important when social-savvy users are looking for information about a potential purchase. However, search engines are still the starting point for information about most products and services.
Moreover, independent blogs, user-generated content and social networks are now more likely to be used frequently for purchase advice than traditional big-media sources -- such as print magazines, broadcast television and newspapers.
Among all U.S. Internet users, about one-fifth said blogs and social networks were a good place to find out about new products or services.
One-quarter liked to visit social networks for advice and recommendations -- more than one-third considered social networks a good media destination for general information.
"The days of relying on one source for information are over," said Jodi Kahn, executive vice president of iVillage, in a statement. "Online peer-to-peer advice on message boards has increasingly become one of the most valuable sources for product recommendations."
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