IAB Finds 35% Increase In Connected TV Streaming From Last Year

by Jessica Klein

TV watchers in the U.S. are continuing on the multi-screen track. According to data from a new study carried out by the Interactive Advertising Bureau, “The Changing TV Experience: Attitudes and Usage Across Multiple Screens,” US adults are are getting “smarter” TVs, streaming more content, and letting their TVs share the spotlight with other devices.

Smart TVs and/or connected TVs have entered the homes of more than a third of the US population over age 18, with about 38 percent of those viewers spending half their viewing time with streaming content. Time spent watching streaming content is up 35 percent from last year amongst connected TV viewers. Meanwhile, people in the country are watching 19 percent less traditional TV than they did the year before.

 

IAB more people have connected TVs this year

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This article was originally posted on VideoInk and is reposted on [a]listdaily via a partnership with the news publication, which is the online video industry’s go-to source for breaking news, features, and industry analysis. Follow VideoInk on Twitter @VideoInkNews, or subscribe via thevideoink.com for the latest news and stories, delivered right to your inbox.

 

NPD March 2015: Hard Times For Hardware At Retail

The console market has been seeing plenty of volatility, with numbers jumping up or down in response to marketing initiatives, seasonal changes, and perhaps sunspots. The report from NPD for March 2015’s US retail sales paints a bleak picture for hardware, with console sales off 21 percent from March 2014. “Hardware unit sales decreased by 9 percent, and with average prices down 13 percent across all platforms, dollar sales decreased by 21 percent,” explained NPD’s Liam Callahan. Still, in this 17th month of sales for Xbox One and PS4, their combined unit sales are more than 50 percent ahead of their previous generation.

The hardware drag pulled down overall sales for the month, which at $963.7 million were off 6% from March 2014’s $1.02 billion. Software sales dropped 3 percent (down to $395.4 million from $405.6 million), while accessories showed a nice 15 percent rise (up to $257.2 million from $223.9 million), offsetting some of the decline overall.

Looking more closely at the hardware numbers, NPD revealed that with the introduction of the New 3DS XL, portable consoles actually increased in sales, while general console sales looked even worse. “Console hardware was the primary culprit responsible for the March 2015 sales decline, with a 29 percent, or $104 million decrease, in spending while portable hardware rose by 71 percent over last year,” explained Callahan.

Software’s decline of 3 percent reflected a strong enough growth of the Xbox One and PS4 installed base to offset most of the continuing sharp decline in sales for Xbox 360 and PS3 software. “A bright light in the portable space was the increase in 3DS software sales of over 20 percent from March 2014,” Callahan noted.

The continuing strength of the PS4 was called out by the success of Bloodborne. “The launch of Bloodborne ranked as second overall in software sales this month, but also has the second highest sales for the debut month of a first-party game on the PS4, after inFamous: Second Son, in March 2014,” Callahan said.

Sony added some more details to NPD’s information with this statement: “We are truly honored PlayStation 4 is the top selling console and #1 in software sales again according to NPD sales data for March 2015. PS4 remains the cumulative sales leader both globally and in the United States and we want to thank gamers worldwide for their ongoing support,” said the company.

Sony also noted the following highlights for March:

 

  • Four out of the five top selling software SKU’s in March were for PlayStation 4 according to NPD.
  • Gamers in the US spent more than 356 million hours playing PS4 games in March.
  • March was the strongest month for PlayStation Store in 2015, led by PlayStation Plus, Bloodborne and Battlefield Hardline.

Nintendo also released a statement, noting that for the 3DS line, “total hardware sales in 2015 have increased by nearly 80 percent over sales during the first three months of 2014,” according to the company. This was no doubt due to the introduction of the New 3DS XL. Nintendo also noted that The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D has now sold more than 730,000 total units, and Super Smash Bros. for 3DS has now sold more than 2.4 million units. The Wii U is also showing improvement, according to Nintendo: “Total Wii U hardware sales in 2015 have increased by more than 20% over sales during the first three months of 2014.”

March 2015 Top 10 Games (New physical retail, US)

1. Battlefield Hardline (XBO, PS4, 360, PS3, PC)** Electronic Arts
2. Bloodborne (PS4)** Sony
3. Grand Theft Auto V (XBO, PS4, 360, PS3)** Take 2 Interactive
4. Mario Party 10 (NWU)** Nintendo
5. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (PS4, XBO, 360, PS3, PC)** Activision Blizzard
6. MLB 15: The Show (PS4, PS3)** Sony
7. Minecraft (360, PS3, XBO, PS4) Microsoft / Sony
8. NBA 2K15 (PS4, XBO, 360, PS3, PC) Take 2 Interactive
9. Borderlands: The Handsome Collection (PS4, XBO)** Take 2 Interactive
10. Final Fantasy: Type O HD (PS4, XBO)** Square Enix Inc

**(includes CE, GOTY editions, bundles, etc. but not those bundled with hardware)

 

‘Star Wars’ Celebration Sees Success On Day One

As we predicted a few days ago, the Star Wars Celebration event in Anaheim, California is already considered a success, with thousands of fans of the popular science fiction series flocking around the world to celebrate its legacy – as well as where it’ll be going later this year.

The show kicked off with a star-studded panel to celebrate the forthcoming The Force Awakens, the newest chapter in the series. Director J.J. Abrams and LucasFilm president Kathleen Kennedy headlined the event, talking about the forthcoming film and introducing both older and younger stars from it, as well as the new BB8 droid, a ball-like robot that rolled out on the stage.

Of course, the crowd went through the roof with the debut of a new trailer, which can be found here. Featuring the return of many classic staples from the original films, including Darth Vader’s mask and the duo of Han Solo and Chewbacca, it’s generated millions of views over the past 24 hours, with many more to come as nostalgic fans continue to endure its greatness.

After that panel, the show floor opened up, featuring a number of merchants and other companies showing off Star Wars related goods, from a Han Solo Carbonite business card case (which I happily purchased, of course) to special posters and collectible figurines. Some special shops, like Funko, even sold out of their limited edition goods within the first hour.

Of course, the show floor was also the place where stars came out to greet their fans, including Star Wars veterans Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher, among others. For a fee, fans could get autographs or have their pictures taken with the stars, and most of them will continue to do it throughout the weekend.

Panels also took place throughout the day, featuring new products and behind-the-scenes looks at happenings with each of the films. One of the better panels was one featuring Disney-related products, including special Cars-based characters dressed up in Star Wars garb, as well as popular favorites like Goofy and Mickey Mouse mocked up with outfits from the films. Disney is likely to give these characters a big push as The Force Awakens nears its December 18th release date.

But perhaps the biggest highlight – aside from that awesome new trailer – is the pure essence of the Star Wars fans themselves. Dressed as their favorite characters and carrying around plenty of blasters and lightsabers, the fans show their admiration for the series in a number of ways – and this fandom is likely to continue throughout the weekend.

We’ll have a wrap-up for the rest of the event this Monday, but if you’re attending, be sure to go and enjoy everything that Star Wars Celebration has to offer. Do, there is no try.

Spotify Offers Playlist Targeting For Ads

As music streaming continues to grow, interest is growing among advertisers seeking to reach music fans. Now Spotify is making it easier with its new Playlist Targeting feature, letting advertisers leverage Spotify’s listener data to bring ads to the desired demographic, VentureBeat reported.

“Brands can now target audience segments based on who they are (age & gender, geography, language), what they’re listening to (playlist, genre), and when and how they’re listening (time of day and by platform/device),” noted Spotify in their press release.

Of course, the potential exists for advertisers to make some bad choices, pushing out ads that may be insensitive to listeners – imagine an ad for divorce attorneys when you listen to songs about breakups, for instance. Hopefully marketers will use some common sense when applying Playlist Targeting to avoid such errors.

Ad targeting is getting more sophisticated as technology improves, and Spotify’s new feature is just one more example of this. We may yet get the technology that helps us ensure we see ads that are relevant, informative, and interesting, and keeps us away from ads we find annoying or irrelevant. It would be nice if, while ads are being served according to the mood indicated by our song choices, the ads themselves don’t destroy the mood.

Vessel, Twitter, GoPro Execs To Keynote VidCon 2015

by Jessica Klein

VidCon has named its 2015 keynote speakers, coming from major video-focused companies like Vessel, Twitter, and GoPro.

Specifically, keynote speakers this year will include Vessel CEO Jason Kilar; product lead for TV and video at Twitter, Baljeet Singh; and SVP of media at GoPro, Zander Lurie. The major influencers are just three of 14 total keynote speakers at this year’s VidCon.

“We took feedback from last year’s attendees, closely monitored the current industry and assembled a dream team of online video power players to ensure this year’s attendees get the most out of VidCon 2015,” said Hank Green, YouTube creator and co-founder of VidCon (with his brother, John Green), which had its first year in 2010.

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This article was originally posted on VideoInk and is reposted on [a]listdaily via a partnership with the news publication, which is the online video industry’s go-to source for breaking news, features, and industry analysis. Follow VideoInk on Twitter @VideoInkNews, or subscribe via thevideoink.com for the latest news and stories, delivered right to your inbox.

Apple Is China’s #1 Technology Brand By Revenues

Analysis by Newzoo, the international market research and predictive analytics firm, shows that Apple was by far the largest technology brand in China in 2014 with revenues eclipsing those of traditional powerhouses such as Samsung, Sony, Microsoft as well as all Chinese technology firms. According to Newzoo, Apple’s “Asian Pivot” in 2014 may end up in the history books as one of the greatest corporate strategic achievements of all time: The first Western firm to become the leading brand by revenues simultaneously in the two biggest markets in the world, U.S.A. and China.

Newzoo’s analysis reveals that in 2014, Apple generated over $37 billion in China. This is more than double the revenues of Huawei ($17.5 billion) and Lenovo ($14.7 billion) in their home market, and is almost three times that of Tencent and Xiaomi. Although these companies have very different core businesses, they are all competitors in the pivotal area of mobile devices and services. Huawei, with its roots in telecoms infrastructure, has a fast growing consumer devices business, Lenovo reduced its dependence on PC and laptops by acquiring the Motorola Mobility devices business from Google in 2014 and Tencent and Xiaomi are “mobile first” companies.

The analysis also shows that even though Apple’s competitors in the mobile devices market such as Samsung, Huawei and Xiaomi may have a larger market share in terms of units shipped, Apple is in completely different league when it comes to revenues and profits. This is a direct consequence of its premium pricing and is often overlooked when market share statistics are published, statistics which are primarily based on unit sales and not revenues.

“With the introduction in September 2013 of the iPhone 5S and the less expensive 5C, many analysts believed the lower priced 5C was finally a product tailored to Asian markets, in particular China, said Newzoo CEO, Peter Warman. “Whether by luck or design, Apple’s blockbuster products in China are not the less expensive iPhone models such as the 5C, but the high-end 5S, 6 and 6 Plus, along with iPads and iMacs. If there was ever any potent evidence needed that Chinese consumers have money to spend and are willing to pay for quality and status, this is it”

In addition to the sheer size of its revenues and profits, one notable observation with potential implications for other Western firms is that Apple has achieved its unprecedented success by appealing directly to its Chinese consumers, using a more or less uniform global sales and marketing strategy. It did not abide by the conventional strategy of using a local partner to conquer China (with whom you must consequently share a significant part of revenue and profits).

For other leading technology firms such as Microsoft and Sony, China is evidently also a very important market, although Microsoft generated less than 10 percent of its FY2014 revenues of $86.8 billion in China. Sony generated 6.7 percent of its revenues, or $4.4 billion, in China in its FY ended March 31, 2014. Of the other tech titans, Google and Facebook have both been severely hampered by restrictions on their services in China, while Amazon faces a formidable competitor in Alibaba. Interestingly Volkswagen, the largest car manufacturer in the world and number one passenger vehicle brand in China, generated 38.1 billion ($46.1 billion) in 2014 in the whole APAC region, placing their Chinese revenues far below those of Apple.

Newzoo performs continued company analysis for a variety of its products including the Global Games Market Report {link no longer active}, the 2015 version of which will be launched in June.

Analyst: PC, Mobile Games Increase Share

Research firm DFC Intelligence is readying a new forecast for the global games industry, and gave GamesIndustry International an advance look. The forecast has boosted its forecast for the mobile and PC game segments of the market, while lowering its forecast for consoles, to reach approximately the same $100 billion in software revenues for 2019.

DFC revealed that console forecasts are being lowered for Xbox One overall and for PlayStation 4 in North America, and DFC analyst David Cole expressed some concern about the importance of Sony and Microsoft going forward. “We have slightly lowered our forecasts for the Xbox One and Wii U. We see the PlayStation 4 remaining as the best-selling system with North America really being the only competitive market. Previously we thought the Xbox One could potentially outsell the Xbox 360 but now we don’t think that will be the case. The real issue is by 2019 whether Sony and Microsoft will still be relevant in the game space. That is a major question mark,” Cole noted.

“They really set unrealistic expectations for their systems and the issue is even as the gamer market grows they are really not growing their base in proportion. The PlayStation 2 was the best-selling console system ever and we don’t see the PlayStation 4 beating it, even as the market has grown substantially. In other words, instead of expanding the market they have focused on a core base of users that could be ripe for the picking.”

Cole sees competition increasing to deliver high-end games to televisions, from micro-console’s like Nvidia’s Shield to mobile games being sent to TV screens. Certainly the larger market for games is not as discerning when it comes to high-end graphics, and the differences will be harder and harder to spot.

DFC is also forecasting that the market will be about 85% digital by 2019, which will be largely driven by growth in the mobile and PC sectors. Retail will still be important for consoles in North America and Europe, but digital is inexorably taking over. Cole is not so bullish on VR as a source of games revenue. “When it comes to selling game software we think it will be a rounding error in the near future,” Cole said.

‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Debuts A New Trailer

The Force is strong with the Star Wars Celebration event, which kicks off this weekend in Anaheim, California. We’ll be providing daily recaps of the event, with a big wrap-up on Monday, but we couldn’t help but talk about one of the biggest reveals that already took place during the opening panel.

Director J.J. Abrams and LucasFilm president Kathleen Kennedy talked during most of the presentation, which also featured a few new reveals, such as the updated Stormtrooper design, the debut of “rolly” robot BB8 and the newest cast members. In addition, some old favorites also joined the fun, including Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Anthony Daniels, among others.

After a large group photo opportunity, the presentation shifted to the debut of a new teaser trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, this one providing more of a glimpse of Abrams’ vision than the previous one that debuted back in December. The new characters from the film are in action, but there are also glimpses of old favorites, especially with Luke Skywalker’s opening speech. Some startling imagery also pops up in the trailer, including Darth Vader’s shattered mask and a desecrated Star Destroyer in the midst of the desert.

The new trailer, posted on the official Star Wars YouTube page, can be found below, and it’s bound to stir up plenty of nostalgia with fans.

 

Nine Online Video Terms That Need To Die (Including ‘Online Video’)

by Jessica Klein

The way we talk (and write) about “online video” often feels like we’re stuck in the past decade, when the concept of watching “good TV” on your computer was pretty alien. We love throwing around these words like “traditional” to make distinctions between Hollywood and Vimeo, when Vimeo content is often as high quality and more thought provoking than the stuff Hollywood doles out these days.

Was feature film “The DUFF” not a lot like the polished, teen-targeted content you see on digital platforms? Can you consider “The West Wing” episodes “online video” because you can now watch them on Netflix

These questions are either totally irrelevant or very deep. The only way to find out which is to determine the online video (whoops) terms that are plaguing our vocabulary and get at why they’re so annoying.

1. Online Video

A video is video, and often you can watch it on TV, Netflix, some sketchy free download site, and five other places. When you hear “YouTube video,” you know that’s an “online video.” When you hear “Netflix original series,” you know that means a series made specifically for the streaming service. “Online video” itself just means something you can watch online, which isn’t particularly descriptive.

2. Traditional TV

Is this a helpful umbrella term to cover all broadcast television and cable packages, or does it just make us sound like old fogies Does using the term “old fogies” make us sound like old fogies even more? Most importantly, this term is misleading in that it makes TV sound like a traditional form of entertainment, compared to, say, plays, or verbal storytelling, or the pet rock.

3. Traditional Celebrities

Kim Kardashian

Again, the word “traditional” here feels a bit out of place. The definition of celebrity is always evolving, perhaps more so these days because of the internet. Still, “Hollywood celebrity” would suffice in this case, or even “film or TV actor.” Yet the question remains: Where does Kim Kardashian fit into all of this”

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This article was originally posted on VideoInk and is reposted on [a]listdaily via a partnership with the news publication, which is the online video industry’s go-to source for breaking news, features, and industry analysis. Follow VideoInk on Twitter @VideoInkNews, or subscribe via thevideoink.com for the latest news and stories, delivered right to your inbox.

Mobile Game Highlights: ‘Driver’, ‘Spirit Lords’

Welcome back to Mobile Game Highlights, where we look at the best new mobile game releases for the week. This week has plenty of new titles to offer, so let’s get started!

Spirit Lords (Kabam, free to play, available on iOS and Android {links no longer active})

An in-depth role-playing adventure with a visual presentation that should appeal to all ages, Spirit Lords is the latest free-to-play release from popular mobile publisher Kabam. The game follows a would-be Spirit Lord attempting to keep a city safe following a war between the spirit world and the physical world that ravaged an empire. As one might expect, that’s easier said than done with all the evil forces lurking about.

With a number of team-building skills, deep combat that involves spellcasting and action, and hours worth of quests to complete, Spirit Lords looks like an ideal choice for those seeking their next adventure.

Implosion: Never Lose Hope (Rayark, $9.99, available on iOS {link no longer active})

These days, a number of mobile releases are approaching console-like graphics and sound, showing how much developers have improved on the format over the years. Rayark is no exception with its action-packed Implosion: Never Lose Hope, which features stunning visuals and a full orchestral score conducted by Lord of the Rings trilogy sound engineer John Kurlander. Players take control of a powerful War-Mech battle suit as they take on enemies of all types, using a large arsenal of weaponry to bring them down.

The app is a bit pricey, but those looking for some bang behind their mobile buck would be wise to add Implosion to their library.

Dragon Hills (Cezary Rajkowski, $1.99, available on iOS and Android {links no longer active})

Usually, in storybook fables, the princess needs to be rescued from the vile dragon, with the noble knight doing all the work. This time around, however, the princess has other plans, as she’s teamed up with a dragon in order to get revenge on knights. In this fast-paced action game, players will plow through mysterious worlds as they pursue knights, conquer castles and discover new areas, all while utilizing innovative one-touch gameplay.

Fans of endless runner style games and adventure should definitely take this Dragon for a spin.

Smove (Simple Machine, free-to-play, available on iOS {links no longer active})

Players that are into fast-paced puzzle games should get ready to move with Smove, Simple Machine’s point-collecting game. Players will guide a sphere across a series of ten simple yet challenging levels, avoiding objects while vying for the highest score possible. It sounds easier than it actually is, as practically everything gets thrown their way – forcing them to move, or, in this case, smove.

Though it appears uncomplicated in presentation, Smove actually has a lot to offer – and it doesn’t cost anything to try it out, though players can remove ads for an optional $1.99 fee if they wish.

Driver Speedboat Paradise (Ubisoft, free-to-play, available on iOS and Android {links no longer active})

For years, Ubisoft’s Driver series has been about high-speed escapes on the road and seeking revenge against criminals. However, the publisher has opted for a new direction with the mobile debut for the series, trading in classic sports cars for revved-up speed boats. In Speedboat Paradise, players will navigate treacherous racing events and enter new circuits as they push to become the top racer on the water.

Even with its interesting new approach and its free-to-play game structure (including needing to pay for gas refills in order to continue racing, unless they don’t mind waiting a bit), Speedboat Paradise has enough intense action to please fans of the classic series, as well as bring in new ones.