MaxxoMedia Digital Media and Entertainment Trends » What’s New

In-Home Web Enabled Devices Multiplying

Mark Levy — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 04:43:01 +0000

: Image by programwitch via Flickr

Average US Consumer Household Will Own 5-10 Web-Enabled CE Devices by 2014

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., November 17, 2010 – Over 53 million US broadband households currently view TV programs over the Internet. 85% of these users already view online TV content on multiple devices, including personal computers, TVs and mobile handsets. By 2014, there will be over 200 million web-enabled wire-line Consumer Electronic (CE) devices in operation in the US. When PCs and mobile devices are added in, the average US consumer will own between 5-10 web-enabled devices to choose from for viewing Internet-based digital entertainment.

“Today, content is consumed in a myriad of ways over a plethora of devices,” says Keith Nissen, Principal Analyst. “The relationship between the user, the content they view, and the device they watch it on, has become complex. Traditional viewing habits no longer apply and, as a result, a new and amorphous set of rules have taken over.”

To meet the changing needs of the industry, In-Stat has introduced a unique research service called the US Digital Entertainment Tracker. The US DE Tracker delivers a consolidated view of the US digital entertainment market, covering devices, services, content, consumer behavior metrics and forecasts. Most importantly, it answers the question: Who will be viewing what on which devices?

For example, the analysis found that:

The installed base of devices capable of supporting online video will grow much faster than either the availability of online video content, or the adoption of OTT video services.
Web-enabled TV shipments in the US are increasing at a 94% annual growth rate.
45% of US broadband households prefer to obtain at least some of their digital entertainment from online video services.
54% of consumer households would be more likely to purchase movies using a digital rights locker-based online video service.
Yet, except for owning personal movie favorites, consumers strongly favor acquiring their TV programs and movies from subscription services, or rentals.
50% of electronic video files are stored on a PC hard drive

This research is part of In-Stat’s Consumer Media Content service which provides comprehensive analysis and forecasts of digital media and content, including revenue, internet video streaming and downloads, digital TV, business models, competitive analysis, and consumer perspectives.

Sezmi and YTL to Deploy Wireless Hybrid TV Platform as Part of the World’s First Nationwide Wireless Quad-Play Service (eon.businesswire.com)
Comcast Announces Launch for Xfinity TV App for iPad with the Ability to Watch TV Shows and Movies Anytime, Anywhere (eon.businesswire.com)
Are Web TV Viewers Cord Cutters — or Keepers? (adweek.com)
Four in Ten (39%) Broadband Users Watch TV Online or on Handhelds Weekly; One Quarter (25%) Watch Almost Every Day (prnewswire.com)

Share/Bookmark

Google to Patent Status Updates that “Spread the Word”

Mark Levy — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 22:23:38 +0000

Websites asking new users to “spread the word” by logging into their email accounts is not exactly new. Of late, it is not very uncommon to see the same thing happen with social networks. However, ‘The Mechanical Zoo’, the parent company of Aardvark – the social search engine that was recently acquired by Google has applied for a patent on the idea of viral ad campaigns via status messages.

In the application titled, “Online Word-of-Mouth Marketing of a Web Service Using Personalized Invitations via a Status Messaging Service“, the company has sought for rights on the concept whereby websites and web applications (like Farmville) that promote their service via the users’ status messages.

Here are a few screenshots of the idea that could now belong to Google.

With applications like Farmville (and the thousands of Facebook apps) and Twitpic (and other Twitter apps) making use of similar features to promote their services via status messages, do you think such an idea is patentable?

Share/Bookmark

Online video used like DVR and not a replacement for watching TV – Nielsen

Mark Levy — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 02:04:39 +0000

: Image via CrunchBase

Each week, on average, Americans watched roughly 35 hours of TV and two hours of timeshifted TV via a DVR. Adults aged 65 and up watched the most weekly TV, 47 hours and 21 minutes; while teens aged 12-17 watched the least weekly TV, 23 hours and 24 minutes. The overall growth in viewing is due to a number of factors, the DVR brings added convenience while high definition programming and flatscreen TVs have boosted the quality of the experience. Digital delivery, via cable or satellite, is delivering more channels and more choice to the home than ever before, according to Nielsen.

DVRs, now found in 35% of American households, continue to gain popularity. Those age 25-34 watch nearly three hours a week of timeshifted TV, while those age 65 and older watch just more than an hour.

Online video consumption rose 16% from 2008-2009, to an average of 22 minutes. Of note, approximately 44% of all online video is being viewed in the workplace. Research shows that Americans watch network programs online when they miss an episode or when a TV is not available. Online video is used essentially like DVR and not typically a replacement for watching TV. Adults aged 18-24 watched the most weekly online video, 39 minutes. Kids ages 2-11 watched the least weekly online video, four minutes. Active mobile video users grew by 57% from the fourth quarter of 2008 to the fourth quarter of 2009, from 11.2 million to 17.6 million. Much of this increase can be linked to the strong growth of smartphones in the marketplace. However, total time spent per week watching mobile video is still low, partially due to the fact essentially no consumers ages 2-11 or 65 and up watch video in this manner. Overall, Americans watch four minutes of mobile video per week. Adults ages 50-64 watch less than minute of weekly mobile video, while teens ages 12-17 watch 21 minutes of weekly mobile video.

The broader usage patterns of online video suggest it is, for the most part, a replacement of DVR use, or used by those who do not have immediate access to TV. TV network content online is primarily used to catch up with programming, rather than as a replacement for TV viewing. When asked for reasons they watch TV shows on the internet, 54% of respondents said because they forgot to watch a specific episode when it aired on TV. Another 47% said they are catching up on a current season of programming, 33% said they are catching up on a previous season, and 32% specifically said they forgot to record a show with their DVR or TiVo. Only the bottom three answers, another household member watching another program at the same time, and watching while at work or traveling, could be considered reasons that replace watching TV in the traditional manner.

Web-TV convergence is already here, just not the way we expected (radar.oreilly.com)
More Americans use TV, Internet at same time (news.cnet.com)
TiVo hopes for a lift from DVR blending ‘Net, TV (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
More Americans are watching TV while surfing the Web (seattlepi.com)

Share/Bookmark

MITEF Tackles The Semantic Web

Mark Levy — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 05:44:40 +0000

While market leaders Google and Bing battle it out, new companies are taking search into uncharted territory.

Tonight MIT Enterprise Forum of the NW featured presenting company Evri, a consumer web company that is changing the way users filter, discover, navigate, and engage with content on the Web. Evri’s web platform scours content from more than tens of thousands of sources, such as real-time news, blogs, and Tweets. It then filters it by timeliness, relevance, and source credibility, and delivers that content to consumers in intelligent streams across multiple platforms.

Joining Evri’s CEO, Will Hunsinger, was a panel of leading experts, covering the challenges, issues, and opportunities in the world of search and information discovery.

Follow the Twitter Stream at #MITFORUM

Presenter
Will Hunsinger, CEO, Evri

: Image via CrunchBase

Will brings deep knowledge of consumer Web marketing and product management to Evri. Previously, he served as Chief Executive of ad venture Adeze and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at venture capital firm Maveron LLC. Prior to Adeze, he was Vice President and General Manager of Gap Online, and Vice President of Product Management for Gap’s Direct Division. He also served as Senior Director of Strategy and New Business Development for Overture Services prior to its acquisition by Yahoo!, and as Vice President of Business Development and Product Management at Business.com. Will began his career at Andersen Consulting, now Accenture, and graduated from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.

Moderator
Vanessa Fox, Founder, Nine By Blue, and Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Ignition Partners

Called a cyberspace visionary by Seattle Business Monthly, Vanessa is an expert in understanding customer acquisition from organic search. She shares her perspective on how this impacts marketing and user experience at ninebyblue.com, and provides authoritative search-friendly design patterns for developers at janeandrobot.com. Vanessa is also an Entrepreneur-in-Residence with Ignition Partners, Contributing Editor at Search Engine Land, and host of the weekly podcast Office Hours. She previously created Google’s Webmaster Central, which provides both tools and community to help website owners improve their sites to gain more customers from search, and was instrumental in the sitemaps.org alliance of Google, Yahoo!, and Microsoft Live Search. She was recently named one of Seattle’s 2008 top 25 innovators and entrepreneurs. Look for her book Marketing in the Age of Google in early 2010.

Panelists
Enrique Godreau III, Managing Director, Voyager Capital
Enrique has nearly 30 years of experience in the information technology industry. Enrique’s primary interest is in digital media and wireless businesses. Prior to co-founding Voyager Capital in 1997, he held senior roles with Gartner, Adobe, and Aldus. Enrique began his career with Xerox, including seven years on the research staff of its Palo Alto Research Center (PARC).

He has been involved with many boards, including aQuantive, Attenex, and CapitalStream, and currently serves as a Director of 1020, Global Market Insite, GoAhead Software, Photobucket, and Zebra Imaging. Enrique holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Ed Lazowska, Bill & Melinda Gates Chair in Computer Science & Engineering, University of Washington, Interim Director, University of Washington eScience Institute
Ed holds the Bill & Melinda Gates Chair in Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington, where he has served on the faculty for 32 years. His research and teaching concern the design, implementation, and analysis of high-performance computing and communication systems. Ed is a member of the Microsoft Research Technical Advisory Board, and serves as a board member or technical advisor to a number of high-tech companies and venture firms. He co-chaired the President’s Information Technology Advisory Committee from 2003 to 2005, and chairs the Computing Community Consortium, an effort sponsored by the National Science Foundation to engage the computing research community in envisioning more audacious research challenges. Ed is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, ACM, IEEE, and AAAS.

Todd Schwartz, Director of Product Management, Bing, Microsoft Corporation

Image via CrunchBase

Todd Schwartz is a Director of Product Management at Microsoft focusing on product, business, and marketing strategy for Bing within the Online Services Division. His team is currently responsible for launching Bing worldwide working with the development, marketing, and PR teams both in the US and internationally. In addition, over the past five years, Todd has held product management and leadership roles within the Microsoft Advertising, Windows Live, and MSN business units.

Prior to joining Microsoft, Todd worked as a management consultant with Deloitte and Accenture helping drive business innovation and growth for Fortune 500 consumer and technology companies. He has also worked in various leadership roles in venture capital, technology startups, and as a Captain in the US Army.

Todd holds an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management and B.A. in Economics from Colorado College. Todd is an avid skier, golfer, and technology enthusiast.

A podcast conversation with Will Hunsinger of Evri (cloudofdata.com)
Paul Allen’s Evri buys SF’s Radar Networks (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
Beyond algorithms and the future of search at SXSW (downloadsquad.com)
How Semantic and Social Search Are Evolving: Lessons From the Evri-Twine Merger (xconomy.com)

Share/Bookmark

Mobile App Store Stats – Read Write Web

Mark Levy — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 15:45:07 +0000

Written by Sarah Perez

At the recent Mobile World Congress 2010, Dutch app store analytics firm Distimo presented their findings on the six largest mobile application stores in existence today: the iTunes App Store, BlackBerry App World, Google Android Market, Nokia Ovi Store, Palm App Catalog and Windows Marketplace for Mobile. In their presentation, they analyzed everything including store size, store growth, the most popular applications and where you can find the best deal. They recently shared some of the highlights from that presentation by way of a slideshow embedded on their blog.

For mobile industry insiders, some of the findings won’t be all that shocking, just common knowledge paired with statistics. However, there were a few surprises that caught us off guard, maybe they will you too.

Distimo collects public application data from app stores and also offers developers an analytics tool which is used to monitor their apps and those belonging to their competitors. After examining and analyzing the data, the company releases market reports detailing their findings.

Free Vs. Paid Apps

One of their most recent reports looked at which application stores have the highest percentage of free apps. Not surprisingly, the Android Market was the winner here. In an interview with Venture Beat, Distimo co-founder and CEO Vincent Hoogsteder said this was due to multiple factors: the nature of the open-source operating system from Google attracts the sort of developers that enjoy giving away their works and the open nature of the application- approval process (that is, no review board middleman exists between app creation and public release) makes it easier for casual developers to launch. Also, anecdotal evidence points to developer’s dissatisfaction with Google Checkout – paid Android apps are required to implement this payment method for purchase, a much slower process than Apple’s 1-click buying process.

The different ratios of free apps versus paid was one of the findings presented during MWC 2010. In the chart below, you can see the varying percentages by store. (Note that Distimo’s findings were focused on the U.S. market only). Android has the most free applications (57% free) and Nokia has the most paid (85% paid). The next closest store to Android in terms of free is Palm, followed by Apple, Blackberry, Windows Phone, and finally Nokia.

Another interesting finding had to do with the prices for the paid applications. Apple, Android and Palm were all in the same range when it came to the average price for paid apps ($3.27 to $3.62). However, RIM and Microsoft were more than twice as high ($8.26 and $6.99, respectively). This didn’t necessarily have to do with the different types of applications available in each store – sometimes, the exact same app was just priced higher on other platforms. For example, Tetris was $4.99 on Apple and $6.99 on Windows. IM+ was $4.99 on Apple and $29.99 on Blackberry.

Store Size and Growth: Look Out for Android!

Android is now the second-largest application store, reports Distimo, with 19, 297 apps. It’s still a far cry from Apple’s 150,998 apps, though. And other competitors are farther still. Ovi, we were surprised to discover, is the third largest with 6,118 apps available while Blackberry has a respectable 4,756. Palm has only 1,492 and Windows has 693. Apple is also the fastest growing store with a shocking 13,865 new applications added per month. Android’s growth is picking up too – they now have 3,005 new apps per month (15%). Relative to the number of apps housed, Android is actually the fastest growing store.

Games, Games, Games

Also discussed were the popularity of applications by category. On Apple’s store, games and entertainment were the most popular categories (58% and 18%, respectively). Somewhat more surprising was the popularity of games on Blackberry, the platform often used more by enterprise and SMBs than by consumers. Here, games were also in the lead with 29% popularity to only 18% for utilities. One would have thought that would be the other way around – that corporate users would be more likely download apps that helped them work, not play. Apparently, that’s not the case.

For more details on this presentation, you can view the entire slideshow on Slideshare or contact the company itself for a more in-depth marketing report.

via The Truth about Mobile Application Stores.

App Store Now Has 150,000 Apps. Great News For The iPad: Paid Books Rule. (techcrunch.com)
Which mobile app stores are most lucrative for developers? (mobile.venturebeat.com)

Share/Bookmark

Now, more than ever, we need to shake things up – Free ebook from Seth Godin

Mark Levy — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:30:11 +0000

Now, more than ever, we need to shake things up.

Now, more than ever, we need a different way of thinking, a useful way to focus and the energy to turn the game around. I hope a new ebook Seth Godin has organized will get you started on that path. It took months, and he thinks you’ll find it worth the effort. (Download here).

Here are more than seventy big thinkers, each sharing an idea for you to think about as we head into the new year. From bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert to brilliant tech thinker Kevin Kelly, from publisher Tim O’Reilly to radio host Dave Ramsey, there are some important people riffing about important ideas here. The ebook includes Tom Peters, Fred Wilson, Jackie Huba and Jason Fried, along with Gina Trapani, Bill Taylor and Alan Webber.

Here’s the deal: it’s free. Download it here. Or from any of the many sites around the web that are posting it with insightful commentary. Tweet it, email it, post it on your own site. Seth thinks it might be fun to make up your own riff and post it on your blog or online profile as well. It’s a good exercise. Can we get this in the hands of 5 million people? You can find an easy to use version onScribd as well and from wepapers. Please share.

Have fun. Here’s to a year with ideas even bigger than these.

Here’s a lens with all the links plus an astonishing array of books by the authors.

Share/Bookmark

Find Your Digital Twin on Facebook

Mark Levy — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 23:38:13 +0000

If novelty is your thing, then you’ll be pleased to discover that Coca-Cola has finally launched their Coke Zero Facial Profiler.

As you may recall, we covered the announcement of the facial experiment back in October, and were intrigued by the application’s premise: using Facebook to find your digital double.

Now that app is live, we put it to the test and found that it works as promised. Once you connect your Facebook account with the Coke Zero Facial Profiler, the app will scan your photos (you can also use your webcam to snap a beauty shot) and use facial recognition software to match your face against others in their database.

Once the matching process is complete, voilà, there’s your digital twin staring back at you. You can then share your match on Facebook or TwitterTwitter or grab a URL to share with your friends (here’s my match). Should you be so bold, you can also contact your match on Facebook.

While the premise itself is kitschy, the application experience is pretty slick and some of the matches are surprisingly so dead-on that you might even do a double take. Try it out for yourself, and let us know your thoughts.

via Find Your Digital Twin on Facebook.

Share/Bookmark

Advergaming Statistics

Mark Levy — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 08:44:17 +0000

The Interactive Advertising Bureau, in association with the Games Committee, has introduced the first in a series of papers that outlines a detailed overview of the various game platforms, primarily “console” and “personal computer (PC) online.” Subsequent reports are expected to address audience demographics, behavior, and best practices.

Video Games have emerged as a main-stream entertainment medium that generates worldwide revenues of about $25 billion in hardware and software sales. Surpassing box office revenues, movie rentals, book and music sales, Video Game revenues reached $12 billion in the US in 2006.

DFC Intelligence estimates that:

Over 40% of households have a video game console system
Over 120 million people play video or computer games in the U.S.
Personal Computer Gamers are expected to reach 80 million in 2007 and up to 99 million in 2012
Console/Online gamers is expected to reach 6.9 million in 2007 and up to 18.5 million by 2012

The integration of online games across all hardware platforms has resulted in the emergence of advertising as a significant revenue driver for the games industry. Analyst predictions vary, but they all point to big numbers. Parks Associates believes overall game-related ad spending will grow from $370 million in 2006 to more than $2 billion by 2012.

In-game advertising expenditure is widely expected to accelerate the fastest. Parks Associates predicts it will amount to more than $800 million in spending by 2012, a conservative figure compared to Yankee Group’s prediction that global in-game advertising spending will reach $971 million by 20113.

Projections for increased revenues could be well justified based on the results from a recently released study conducted by Nielsen Entertainment on behalf of Microsoft-owned in-game advertising specialist Massive Inc.. The research showed that:

Average brand familiarity increased by 64% due to in-game ads on Massive’s network. The study also found
Average brand rating increased by 37%,
Average purchase consideration increased by 41%,
Average ad recall increased by 41% and
Average ad rating increased by 69%.

This medium represents an opportunity for advertisers, however it is somewhat fragmented and can be difficult to navigate, says the report. Advertising opportunities may vary from platform to platform, and certainly demographics will vary based on platform and game type. A basic understanding of the game platforms and available advertising formats is an important piece of mastering the Interactive landscape.

Generally, advertising opportunities are either in-game or around-game and can be further described as “environment” or “immersive.” Around-Game ads are displayed in conjunction with, or alongside a game while in-game ads are elements of the game itself whether by display or interactive in nature.

Typically, web-based games are played within a “traditional” website environment where ad units can be displayed around the game window during game play. On the other hand PC-based downloadable games are typically housed in an HTML environment and are played in full-screen mode.

Advertising can be displayed both before and after gameplay, in the launch and exit windows, with digital video ads running while the game is loading. This format also allows for game patching, digital rights management, and commerce.

Ad Formats For Web and PC Based Games
Advertising	Format Description
Advergames	Custom-made games specifically designed around a product or service (e.g. Burger King – Sneak King)
Dynamic In-game	Advertising elements within a connected game itself, that can be dynamically changed depending on location, day of week and time of day (e.g. vending machine fronts, billboards and posters)
Inter-level Ads	Display or digital video ads shown during natural breaks in gameplay, such as between levels (“inter-level”) or between rounds of play.
Game Skinning	Includes game sponsorship of display units around the game, and/or custom branding integration into the game
Product Placement
Sponsorships	Advertiser owns 100% share-of-voice in and around an existing game, such as sponsorship of a tournament, zone (level), or session of gameplay. Advertiser might also sponsor the release of new exclusive content associated with a game.
Static In-game	Advertising elements within a game that may not be changed. These may reside within game play itself or on menus, leader boards, etc. This type of ad format is also referred to as “Hard-Coded” advertising.
Post-Game	Ads shown following completion of the game
Pre-Game	Display or digital video advertisements shown before gameplay begins as the game is loading
Source: Interactive Advertising Bureau, October 2007

Share/Bookmark

PWC Global Entertainment and Media Outlook

Mark Levy — Wed, 30 May 2007 01:34:40 +0000

Price Waterhouse Coopers has released their Global Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2006-2010 book.

In depth global analyses and 5-year growth projections for 14 industry segments
Covering every major region – US, Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA), Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Canada
A single point of reference for top-level comparative data for the industry
All the information industry executives need to stay ahead of the curve — right on their desk or PC

Here are some facts and figures excerpted from the publication.

Filmed Entertainment

The filmed entertainment market consists of consumer box office spending for theatrical motion pictures plus spending on renting and purchasing home video products in both DVD and VHS formats. It also includes online film rental subscription services, such as those whereby DVDs are delivered via overnight mail, and streaming services, whereby films are downloaded via a broadband Internet connection. The figures do not include music videos (which are counted in the Recorded Music chapter), or video-on-demand (VOD), or pay-per-view (PPV), or movie distribution by cable, satellite, or telephone companies (which are covered in the TV Distribution chapter).