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iHeart Media & Entertainment

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Niko Santore and Aria Sivick

 

iHeart MEDIA Inc logo

[1] iHeartMedia Incorporated logo

 Company Overview

iHeart Media Incorporated is an entertainment company who provides radio programming and live entertainment worldwide. Evolving from iHeart Communications Inc, the company now operates Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings and iHeartMedia, whose assets reach worldwide. The two divisions of iHeart Media Inc strive to support each other in advertising and entertainment, covering a record setting 150 markets and operating through 850 stations in the U.S., and supporting 245 million monthly listeners. Including iHeart Radio, the company hosts an impressive array of online and mobile services such as real time traffic services, live concerts and entertainment, and program syndication. The goal of the company is to design a more innovative and dynamic future that supports a strong digital footprint on a diverse, accessible mobile platform. [2]

[3] The iHeart Family

Key Executives

 

Bob Pittman

Bob Pittman – Chairman and Chief Executive Officer  [17]

Richard J Bressler

Richard J Bressler – President Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer [18]

Wendy Goldberg - Executive VP and Chief Communications Officer

Wendy Goldberg – Executive VP and Chief Communications Officer [18]

Robert H. Walls, Jr. Executive Vice President and General Counsel

Robert H. Walls, Jr. Executive Vice President and General Counsel [18]

Gayle Troberman Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer

Gayle Troberman – Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer [18]

Scott Wells Chief Executive Officer, Clear Channel outdoor Americas

Scott Wells Chief Executive Officer, Clear Channel Outdoor Americas [18]

William Eccleshare - Chairman and CEO, Clear Channel International [18]

William Eccleshare –
Chairman and CEO, Clear Channel International [18]

John Sykes - President of Entertainment Enterprises [18]

John Sykes –
President of Entertainment Enterprises [18]

screen-shot-2016-11-29-at-3-13-23-pm

Steve Mills Global Chief Information Officer[18]

Business Module

Clear Channel Outdoor Logo

[4] Clear Channel Outdoor Logo

In the face of a growing digital age, in 2014, Clear Channel Communications renamed itself iHeart Media in an effort to face the competition of Pandora and Spotify. iHeart Media was and is their most successful digital brand, and in order to converge to the digital age (and scoop themselves out of the $20 billion debt left from their equity buyout in 2008) Clear Channel Communications decided that iHeart and its several platforms was the appropriate label for their brand.[5] iHeartMedia works with Clear Channel Outdoor in order to expand their digital footprint and advertise in the most accessible and relatable method to their consumers. The company is one of the world’s top advertising leaders; it operates in more than 40 countries spanning 5 continents. With over 640,000 displays, it reaches 45 out of 50 of the largest markets in the United States. [6]Clear Channel Outdoor’s market reach makes the company one of the most valuable subsidiaries to market, with an increasing operating income of 14.7% to $60.8 million in the third quarter of 2016. [7]

Current News

[8]A featured performance from last year’s Jingle Ball Tour

In time for the Holidays, iHeart Radio has announced it’s line up for the Jingle Ball Tour, sponsored by Capital One. The Jingle Ball Tour is on the company’s largest sources of annual income. Celebrities such as Bruno mars, Justin Bieber, and Britney Spears will be performing. With tickets ranging from $50 to $160, the tour stops will be stopping cross country in big cities such as Dallas, New York, and San Francisco. The tour is integral to the iHeart Radio’s merit and diversity, as it is the number one leading free-all access online audio platform, reaching its 90 million listeners faster than any other digital company, including Facebook. Not only does the tour prove beneficial with exclusive deals for Capitol One customers, the tour also allows the company room for philanthropy networking. For the fourth consecutive year, iHeart Radio will partner with the Ryan Seacrest Foundation to provide an entertaining experience for hospitalized children. The Jingle Ball Tour this year will also prove integral to the subscriber and fanbase as iHeart Radio Plus and iHeart Radio All Access – two new subscription services will be released in January 2017. [9]

iHeart Radio All Access Promotional Logo

[10]Heart Radio All Access Promotional Logo

iHeart Radio All Access, to be released in January 2017, will mark the start of an on demand business module. The brand will now be a top competitor amongst other services such as Spotify, which allow you to listen to any song you’d like at any given time. iHeart Radio Plus will offer a unique enhanced experience to listeners. It is a different subscription service than iHeart Radio All Access, and will allow users to listen ad-supported content as well as give listeners access to other features that competitors such as Spotify do not offer. The company also stated that they are looking to bring music collection and music discovery into one entity, as 73% of consumers report their number one source of discovering music is from radio streaming. [11]

iHeart Radio is certainly the talk of the town of the company, racking in the most news (and profits) with the upcoming music festival and all-access radio streaming. The iHeart Radio app has recently hit 92 million users, according to CFO Richard Bressler. Digital listening only makes up 10% of the market, the other 90% falling under broadcast radio. This statistic, however, only leaves the market more open to the iHeart Radio and its 269 million monthly subscribers. [12]

Finances

iHeart Media’s third quarterly report of 2016 shows a revenue of $847 million (a 2% increase from 2015). Even though their revenue increased, their income before depreciation was close to 2015 at $326 million. Registered users for their streaming application increased by 35 percent (75 million total users), and usage of their application increased by 21 percent in quarter three [13]. iHeart Media’s flat income comes from Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, “one of the world’s largest outdoor advertising companies, operating in some 30 countries across North America, South America, Europe and Asia-Pacific,” which saw an OIBDAN decrease of 13 percent for their international market [14]. iHeartRadio needs its new streaming services, iHeart Radio All Access and Plus to do well so that it does not fall too far behind Pandora and Spotify. iHeart’s users equate to 14.4 percent of Pandora’s and 23.3 percent of Spotify’s [16]. Even though iHeart is lagging behind Spotify and Pandora, their new take and improvement of radio with iHeart Radio All Access could close the gap between its competitors.

 

https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=iheartmedia+stock&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

Google.com iHeart Media inc. stock overview [19]

(11/29/16)[15]                                                                                                                 Current Share Price (11/29/16) : $1.57

52 Week Range : $0.72 – $1.70

Average Volume : 10,910

 

 

Sources 

[1] IHeartMedia Incorporated [IHeartMedia logo]. (n.d.). Retrieved November 27, 2016, from http://mms.businesswire.com/media/20150408005285/en/437799/5/iHeartMedia-02.jpg?download=1

[2] “About Us.” About Us. IHeartMedia Inc., n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.

[3]IHeart Company Family. Digital image. IHeartMedia. IHeartMedia Inc., n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.

[4] Clear Communications Outdoor. Digital image. MediaVillage. MediaVillage, n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.

[5]Sisario, Ben. “Clear Channel Renames Itself IHeartMedia in Nod to Digital.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 16 Sept. 2014. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.

[6]“Investor Relations for Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings (CCOH).” Clear Channel Outdoor Americas. Clear Channel Communications, n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.

[7]Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. Reports, and Results For 2016 Third Quarter. “Clear Channel Outdoors Earnings Call Q3.” CLEAR CHANNEL OUTDOOR HOLDINGS, INC. REPORTS RESULTS FOR 2016 THIRD QUARTER (2016): n. pag. IHeartMedia Inc. Clear Channel Communications, 9 Nov. 2016. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.

[8]Zedd – I Want You To Know Ft. Selena Gomez (Live at the Z100 IHeartRadio Jingle Ball 2015). Perf. Selena Gomez and Zedd. YouTube. Selena Gomez Canada, 12 Dec. 2015. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.

[9]“IHeartMedia Rings in the Holiday Season with the Return of Its Iconic 2016 National “iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour Presented by Capital One”.” IHeartMedia Rings in the Holiday Season with the Return of Its Iconic 2016 National “iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour Presented by Capital One” | Business Wire. BusinessWire, 11 Oct. 2016. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.

[10] IHeart Radio All Access Promo. Digital image. BetaNews. IHeartMedia Inc., n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.

[11]McAlone, Nathan. “The Biggest Radio Powerhouse in the US Just Took Aim at Apple and Spotify with a New Service.” Business Insider. Business Insider, 23 Sept. 2016. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.

[12]“IHeartRadio Hits 92 Million – Radio Ink.” Radio Ink. RadioInk.com, 10 Nov. 2016. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.

[13] “IHeartMedia 2015 Third Quarter Results.” 1998.59 (1998): n. pag. IHeartMedia. IHeartMedia Inc., 5 Nov. 2016. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.

[14]“Outdoor Advertising.” Outdoor Advertising. IHeartMedia Inc., n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.

[15]“IHRT Stock Quote – IHeartMedia Inc. Cl A Stock Price Today (IHRT:OTC) – MarketWatch.” MarketWatch. Marketwatch, 29 Nov. 2016. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.

[16]“Triton Digital – Press Release – Triton Digital Releases August 2015 Top 20 Ranker.” Triton Digital. Triton Digitial, n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.

[17] Bob Pittman. Digital image. AdvertisingHall. Advertising Hall, n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.

[18] “Our Team.” Our Team. IHeartMedia Inc., n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.

[19] “Iheartmedia+stock – Google Search.” Iheartmedia+stock – Google Search. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.

Viacom

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Viacom-Blue-logo

About the Company

Viacom is an American global mass media company. The company and its content reach audiences in over 160 countries with content produced nationally and internationally [2]. It is the sixth largest broadcast and cable company as far as revenue but has the largest portfolio of ad-supported cable networks in the United States. Viacom’s cable networks are among some of the most popular and most watched channels by families across the world. This includes BET, VH1, MTV, TV Land, Comedy Central, Spike TV, Nickelodeon including all of its spin-offs, amongst many others [3]. In fact,Viacom has been rated the number one family cable network for numerous years.

Key Executives

Phillippe Dauman serves as President, CEO, and the Executive Chairman [4].

PhilippeDauman

Wade Davis serves as Executive Vice President and CFO.

WadeDavis

Thomas E. Dooley serves as Chief Operating Officer.

TomDooley

Sumner M. Redstone [5], is a majority owner of the company and also serves as Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Directors. However, his unstable health conditions [6] have decreased his ability to be present in the flesh during meetings as he is currently struggling with physical and speech mobility [7].

Unknown

The Deal on Dish

Tensions between Viacom and Dish, a satellite-TV provider, had been brewing for quite a while before the issue was publicized nearing the Wednesday, April 20, 2016, deadline for a new carriage contract [8]. The root of the problem was a supplier-distributor disagreement in which Dish felt the carrier fees being charged by Viacom was unreasonable and overpriced. They stated that they only wanted to sign a contract that took into account the significant changes in the TV landscape and the way media is consumed. The company threatened to drop Viacom’s channels if Viacom didn’t compromise on the new deal [9].

VVD

Viacom however, suggested that they had offered Dish a best-of-its-kind deal for its very popular channels and explained that they have extended the deadline multiple times for Dish [10]. Refusal to come to an agreement would have resulted in a blackout of Viacom channels at midnight-eastern standard time. This would have been bad news for Viacom who has suffered low viewership with media being consumed in non-linear ways and would certainly impact ad revenue if it lost Dish’s 14 million viewers. The situation caused Viacom stock to drop nearly 10% on Tuesday with the fate of Viacom and Dish’s partnership still in the air [11]. However, the share prices increased the next day after CEO Charlie Ergen hinted in a conference call on Wednesday, that he would be interested in pursuing a new deal with Viacom should the company adhere to their conditions [13].

KEEPVIACOM.COM

In efforts to boost awareness on this issue, Viacom launched a website under the name www.keepviacom.com. The site broadcasted Dish’s plan to get rid of a total of 18 Viacom channels and allowed concerned visitors to learn more about the situation under a tab called “Get The Facts.” Other important tabs featured on the web page included “Shows You Will Miss” outlining viewer favorites and other shows that would have been gone forever. Screen Shot 2016-04-20 at 3.30.09 PM

One of the most important features on the site was a link titled “What People Are Saying” which provided a live feed from a discussion board of distressed Dish users and other Viacom supporters that spoke out against Dish threatening to drop the channels. Many Dish users openly expressed willingness to leave the cable provider should they drop the Viacom channels. The website also provided direct access to Dish’s Facebook page encouraging viewers to “make their voice heard” by posting on the page and urging them to join in the conversation on both Facebook and Twitter in which the hashtag #KeepViacom was trending. People of all ages used the hashtag to support Viacom and prevent Dish network from dropping the channels. The site made sure users of Dish network were able to voice their opinions by including Dish’s phone number on the digital protest site along with tips on how to get through to the company via phone [14].

Screen Shot 2016-04-20 at 3.37.09 PM

Aftermath

Within the 24 hours leading up to the fate of Viacom and Dish’s relationship, hundreds of thousands passionate consumers reached out to Dish. Their voices proved to have been heard as the network did not drop the channels. Instead, Dish rose to the occasion meeting the deadline and renewing a multiyear deal with Viacom. The “keep Viacom” site has since been taken down, replaced by a message expressing gratitude and assuring users that an agreement with Dish had been met [15].

Fortunately, an agreement was reached putting both Viacom and Dish in a better position. The renewed multi-year deal includes plans for bringing select Viacom content onto Sling TV, Dish’s single and multi-stream service, as well as keeping all Viacom channels available for Dish subscribers [17].

Viacom in International Markets

Viacom has made an imprint in international markets through both acquisitions and expansions. Viacom’s acquisition of channel 5 in the United Kingdom has contributed to the company’s continued growth with a 20% growth in operating income in the country. With the acquisition of channel 5, Viacom was able to garner 23 others crucial networks allowing the company to gain access to 100% of the UK’s television audience. Viacom also has assets in India’s television market [18]. With a recent launch of VOD digital streaming service VOOT that gives India exclusive rights to consume over 17,000 hours of content through the service that is available on Android, and iOS devices for free with lots of kid-friendly content from Nickelodeon and MTV readily accessible [20].

VIacom_680x340_Voot

Financial Plans

Despite ratings revealing that Viacom may be experiencing trouble with viewership, considering the decrease in ad revenue by 1% year over year and a decrease in overall revenue by 6% year over year, the CEO Phillippe Dauman assures everyone that Viacom will bounce back soon and see a growth in both ad revenue and overall ratings. They are making strides to accomplish this by using other tools of measurement aside from Nielsen in order to get advertisers acclimated with new ad formats. In addition to allowing them to make use of other platforms more frequently used to consume Viacom content such as laptops and tablets. One such tool is a service called Vantage which allows advertisers to place their ads more accurately along a variety of different platforms using varied consumer data as a catalyst [22].

Social Media

Viacom maintains communication with fans and investors via social media outlets such as Facebook  in which the overall company has close to 150,000 likes and Twitter where it has over 23,000 followers. These numbers do not include the subscriber base for Viacom’s individual channel networks such as MTV and Nick for example, in which the numbers would soar much higher.


Forecast

Looking ahead Viacom’s future looks promising [23]. Many of its networks have plans for renewing shows for additional seasons after audience viewership numbers soared. The networks have also green-lighted lots of original content that will be introduced that should certainly garner some positive feedback. As of Friday, April 22, 2016, Viacom’s share price is $43.78, an increase of 2.87% [24]. Leading into May, the stock is now at the highest it’s ever been since the beginning of February.

Viacom’s 2nd Quarter Earnings Conference call is set to release on April 28, 2016, which will provide additional information into the company’s future and finances [25].

Unknown

 

Sources

[2] “ABOUT VIACOM.” Viacom. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2016. http://www.viacom.com/about/pages/default.aspx.

[3] “Viacom Brands.” Viacom. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2016. https://www.viacom.com/brands/pages/default.aspx.

[4]”SENIOR MANAGEMENT.” Viacom. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2016. http://www.viacom.com/about/pages/seniormanagement.aspx#.

[5] “BOARD OF DIRECTORS.” Viacom. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2016. http://www.viacom.com/about/pages/boardofdirectors.aspx?bioid=1.

[6] Ackner, Daniel. “Inside the Viacom “Brain Drain”” Vanity Fair. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Apr. 2016. http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/04/inside-the-viacom-brain-drain.

[7] Person, and Vanity Fair Magazine. “Read Sumner Redstone’s E-mails About His Succession Plans.” Vanity Fair. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Feb. 2015. http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2015/05/sumner-redstone-retirement-health-viacom-future.

[8] Ingram, Mathew. “Dish vs. Viacom Fight Is All About the Shifting Balance of Power in TV.” Fortune Dish vs Viacom Fight Is All About the Shifting Balance of Power in TV Comments. N.p., 19 Apr. 2016. Web. 20 Apr. 2016. http://fortune.com/2016/04/20/dish-vs-viacom/.

[9] James, Meg. “Dish Network CEO Charlie Ergen Threatens to Permanently Drop Viacom Channels.” Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2016. Web. 20 Apr. 2016. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-dish-charlie-ergen-viacom-dispute-20160420-story.html.

[11 ]Lieberman, David. “Viacom Warns That Its Networks May Go Dark On Dish Network.” Deadline. N.p., 19 Apr. 2016. Web. 20 Apr. 2016. http://deadline.com/2016/04/viacom-dish-contract-negotiations-impasse-1201740218/.

[12] “Charlie Ergen.” About DISH. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2016. http://about.dish.com/leadership/executive-leadership/charlie-ergen.

[13] Littleton, Cynthia. “Viacom Stock Plunges as Dish Renewal Fight Heats Up.” Variety. N.p., 19 Apr. 2016. Web. 20 Apr. 2016. http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/viacom-dish-stock-drop-renewal-deadline-1201756655/

[14] “Viacom and DISH Agree to Multi-Year Renewal.” Viacom. N.p., 21 Apr. 2016. Web. 22 Apr. 2016. http://news.viacom.com/press-release/viacom/viacom-and-dish-agree-multi-year-renewal.

[15] Frankel, Daniel. “Dish Deal Shows Viacom Channels Haven’t Lost Their Value, Analysts Say.” FierceCable. N.p., 22 Apr. 2016. Web. 22 Apr. 2016. http://www.fiercecable.com/story/dish-deal-shows-viacom-channels-havent-lost-their-value-analysts-say/2016-04-22.

[21] “1st Quarter ’16 Earnings Presentation.” (n.d.): n. pag. Viacom. 9 Feb. 2016. Web. 1 Mar. 2016.

[17] Perez, Sarah. “Streaming Service Sling TV Will Add MTV, Comedy Central, Nick Jr & More, following Viacom deal.” TechCrunch. N.p., 22 Apr. 2016. Web. 23 Apr. 2016. http://techcrunch.com/2016/04/22/streaming-service-sling-tv-will-add-mtv-comedy-central-nick-jr-more-following-viacom-deal/.

[18] Pelts, Shirley. “Welcome to Market Realist.” India: Why Is It Viacom’s Valuable Asset? N.p., 24 Mar. 2016. Web. 1 Apr. 2016. http://marketrealist.com/2016/03/india-viacoms-valuable-asset/?utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=feed&utm_content=read-next-a&utm_campaign=viacoms-acquisition-channel-5-stronghold-uk.

[20] “Voot Video-on-Demand Service Launched in India.” NDTV Gadgets360.com. N.p., 30 Mar. 2016. Web. 1 Apr. 2016. http://gadgets.ndtv.com/tv/news/voot-video-on-demand-service-launched-in-india-819555.

[21] “1st Quarter ’16 Earnings Presentation.” (n.d.): n. pag. Viacom. 9 Feb. 2016. Web. 1 Mar. 2016.

[23] Lazaroff, Leon. “Viacom Could Go Higher Even after Dish Deal Removes Overhang.” TheStreet. N.p., 22 Apr. 2016. Web. 24 Apr. 2016. http://www.thestreet.com/story/13541284/1/viacom-could-go-higher-even-after-dish-deal-removes-overhang.html

[24] “Viacom, Inc.” Yahoo! Finance. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2016. http://finance.yahoo.com/q?uhb=uh3_finance_vert&fr=&type=2button&s=viab.

[25] “Events & Presentations.” Viacom Inc. -. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2016. http://ir.viacom.com/eventdetail.cfm?eventid=170845.

Pictures (not cited above):

[1] “Voot Image Logo.” Viacom18. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2016. http://www.viacom18.com/viabuzz/viacom18-digital-ventures-voot/.
[2] “Viacom Brands Logo. “Whoever Controls the Media, Controls the Mind.”  N.p., 25 Dec. 2014. Web. 24 Apr. 2016. http://annesmedia.blogspot.com/.

Spotify

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by Helen Lu

[1] Spotify’s Logo

KEY EXECUTIVES

[2] Spotify Founders- Martin Lorentzon & Daniel Ek

[3] Jeff Levick- Chief Business Officer

 

[4] Steve Savoca- Head of Content

 

[5] Ken Parks- Chief Content Officer & Managing Director USA

SPOTIFY OVERVIEW

[6] Spotify’s sleek interface layout for their multi-platform service.

Spotify is a privately-owned, digital music streaming service that provides on-demand access to tracks. It is available on multiple platforms, including computers, mobile, tablets, and home entertainment systems. Originally founded in Sweden in 2006, Spotify launched in the United States in 2011; it is now available in 58 markets. [7]

Spotify offers listeners the free model, “made possible by ads,”  and the premium model for $9.99 monthly, which is ad-free, high-quality, and available offline. [8] With over 20 million songs, over 20,000 tracks added daily, and over 1.5 billion playlists, Spotify has accumulated 10 million active users and a total of 40 million active users. [9]

COMPETITORS

Rdio, Pandora, Rhapsody, Google Play Music, Beats, iTunes Radio, Music Unlimited, and Xbox Music are worthy contenders in this competitive space. Product reviews assess service quality with major factors include song catalog, user interface, support, and features. [10] Each racing for a market share, these top players in the market are making strategic ploys to stay afloat.

On November 12th, Youtube announced their own streaming service, Youtube Music Key for $9.99. It will be interesting to see how it will affect the music industry when it fully hits the market in 2015. [11]

[12] Spotify and The Echo Nest collaboration

In early March 2014, Spotify acquired The Echo Nest, a big data company to enhance the music discovery feature, forcing Rdio, Rhapsody, iHeartRadio, and Vevo to look elsewhere for a discovery algorithm. [13]

THE SPOTIFY STRATEGY

Spotify has successfully targeted college students, establishing a solid audience base and brand loyalty. With personal information confirming their status, Spotify offers students Spotify Premium for only $4.99. [13] 

[13] Spotify engages their target audience: college students and 18-24 year-olds.

COLLEGE CASE STUDY

Spotify’s tenacious grasp on college students’ listening is reflected in their recently released research report of the Top 40 Musical Schools in America. The findings are a close study of the musical norms in the schools.

[14] Detailed graphs document music-genre distribution and listening spikes, showing not only what students listen to but also how they listen.

The data that Spotify is able to collect can be utilized for targeted advertising and marketing campaigns today. Moreover, with such a large following of the developing youth, Spotify is not only able to make significant advancements with the invaluable information about  today, but accurate inferences about these soon-to-be adults tomorrow. [13]

#THATSONGWHEN

Spotify launched their #thatsongwhen campaign with advertising agencies Ogilvy & Mather and David to further engage their millennial base. #Thatsongwhen allows users to tie their emotional experiences to their favorite songs, to create, and to tell stories. The customization, personalization, and interactivity of a musical experience attracts and retains a young crowd. [15]

The stories are media clips that are charged with emotion, and of course, music. Don’t Go Chasing Girls is about a man’s early memory of his childhood crush that is easily triggered with TLC’s hit song, Don’t Go Chasing Waterfalls. Stories and songs are updated and posted on a live feed.

AD TAKEOVER

Spotify is introducing two new advertising options for eager advertisers:

1. The dubbed Video Takeover, only available on desktops, allows brands to takeover the screen during 15-30 second advertising breaks.

2.The dubbed Sponsor Sessions forces mobile users to view a 15-30 second video on their mobile devices in order to proceed onto 30 minutes of uninterrupted streaming. [16]

McDonald’s, Universal Pictures, and Ford are just some of the major sponsors that have opted into this advertising innovation. [17]

[18] McDonald’s format and utilization of Spotify’s advertising product – Video Takeover.

SPOTIFY PARTNERSHIPS

VODAFONE

Everything is going mobile, and music is no exception. This rapid trend of playing and streaming music from a smartphone is particularly prevalent in Australia. Due to these recent findings, Vodafone Australia has partnered with Spotify to bundle in Spotify Premium for free with their monthly plan. A Spotify Premium subscription generally costs $11.99 Australian dollars each month. The exclusive offers with Spotify vary, and are known as the Red Plans. [19]

[20] Research shows that 1.5 million Australians stream music from their mobile devices.

Vodafone believes that Spotify Premium’s features complement and maximize the use of their faster network speeds, value plans, and expanding 4G network. Both the companies and the listeners are benefitting from this collaboration as the marriage of these digital services follow consumer trends and meets consumer needs. [21]

CARPLAY

Apple Carplay is an a new feature configured in select 2014 vehicles. Spotify is on board for this innovative ride as it has updated and fixed some bugs for this new multimedia system. [22] The music player allows users to access their Spotify accounts using a compatible iPhone.  [23] With a built-in display to play music, Carplay is an exclusive and luxurious market; the Ferrari FF is one of the few select cars with Carplay. Several automobile manufacturers, however, are making an effort to include and support this system in the future.  [24]

[24] Spotify collaborates with Apple Carplay to incorporate music services in the latest car models.

UBER

Uber is a hip taxi service, and Spotify is a hip streaming service. These two successful startups partner up for a new listening experience. Passengers can link their custom playlists to Uber vehicles for a fun ride. Although this new feature has started off in ten cities, it makes a big splash in the car service industry and the music industry. This partnership allows both companies to co-promote their respective brands and to change with the times. The service is for Spotify Premium account holders. [25]

[26] Spotify and Uber modernize the standard cab-ride as they join forces to create a new listening experience.

SPOTIFY CONTROVERSY

Taylor Swift pulled her entire catalogue from Spotify’s music database as she believes that it does not fairly compensate artists. [27] As a popular musician, her bold move and her public statements rejecting the streaming business model has made headlines for weeks. Fans and critics are responding to her decision with distaste as both parties point out that there are other viable services, such as Youtube and SoundCloud, to play her music. [28] While she recently accepted the first-ever Dick Clark Award for Excellence at the 2014 American Music Awards Ceremony, she added another snide comment jabbing at Spotify and streaming services again. [29] Jason Aldean has followed Swift’s footsteps, and pulled his new album Old Boots, New Dirt from Spotify. [30]

Spotify executive, Ek, combats this frenzy and reports that artists that use Spotify to promote their music actually sell more, and that Spotify has returned over $2 billion to music industry today. Top artists like Swift are set to project over $6 million in revenue a year. [31] Despite the financial debate and moral controversy, the Spotify team still hopes for Swift to change her mind. [32]

[33] Taylor Swift is a firm believer in the value of music, and that it should not be free. Swift has pulled her music catalogue from Spotify.

It is unlikely that many artists will join Swift’s banning of the digital streaming business, as it is the digital age.  Reports confirm that streaming services grew 28% in the first half of 2014. [26] Listeners’ habits changed; artists can sink, but digital streaming services will swim.

SPOTIFY: LOOKING AHEAD

 Despite the recent controversies, Spotify has achieved success with their recent collaborations; the student discount and the partnership with Vodafone have led Spotify subscriptions to increase by 42%. [28]  Spotify Family Plan has launched with popular demand and proven financial success with previous discount deals. The plan allows subscribers to add four family members to their account for half the price. [34]

Spotify’s name is globally recognized, and Spotify’s services are well integrated into the new digital age. Its key strategies and partnerships keep it on the bleeding edge of the music industry.

 Sources

1. Spotify’s Logo, Spotifypress.com, RT:11.29.2014

2. Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon, RT: 11.29.2014

3. Jeff Levick, RT: 11.29.2014

4. Steve Savoca, Spotifypress.com, RT:11.29.2014  

5. Ken Parks, Evolver.fm, RT: 11.29.2014

6. Spotify Interface Layout,  RT: 11.29.2014

7. Spotify Business Information, investing.businessweek.com, RT: 11.29.2014

8. Spotify Official Website, spotify.com/us, RT: 11.29.2014 

9. Spotify Press Information, spotify.com/information, RT: 11.29.2014 

10. “Spotify and competitors play to their musical strengths”, usatoday.com, RT: 11.29.2014 

11. “YouTube Launching Spotify-Style Paid Music Service”, TIME, RT: 11.29.2014

12. Spotify and The Echo Nest Collaboration, RT: 11.29.2014 

13. “Will Spotify’s hat trick help it pull ahead of competition?”, Fortune, RT: 11.29.2014

14. How Students Listen, spotify.com, RT: 11.29.2014 

15. “Spotify Ties Music to Personal Stories in Its New Ads”, adweek.com, RT: 11.29.2014

16. “Spotify Unveils Video Takeover Ad Product for Free Users”, telecompaper.com, RT: 11.29.2014

17. “Spotify is bringing video ‘takeover ads’ to its free service”, theverge.com, RT: 11.29.2014

18. Spotify Video Takeover Format, spotify.com, RT: 11.29.2014  

19. “Vodafone offers postpaid customers free Spotify Premium access”, CNET, RT: 11.29.2014

20. “Spotify partners with Vodafone Australia for down under listeners”, rainnews.com, RT: 11.29.2014

21. “Vodafone Australia and Spotify join forces!”, vodafone.com, RT: 11.29.2014

22. “Spotify adds support for Apple’s CarPlay in update to iOS app”, talkingnewmedia.com, RT: 11.29.2014 

23. “Spotify Adds CarPlay Support in Latest iOS Update”, macrumors.com, RT: 11.29.2014

24. “Apple CarPlay comes to Pioneer stereos as Spotify adds support”, engadget.com, RT: 11.29.2014

25. “Tuneup, redefined: You can now Spotify your Uber ride”, CNET, RT: 11.29.2014 

26. Uber and Spotify Partnership, Uber.com, RT: 11.29.2014

27. “Taylor Swift is right about music, wrong about Spotify, says CEO Ek”, CNET, RT: 11.29.2014

28. “Why Taylor Swift Will Lose Her Battle With Spotify”, TIME, RT: 11.29.2014

29. “AMAs: Taylor Swift Continues Anti-Streaming-Service Stance in Dick Clark Award Speech”, hollywoodreporter.com, RT: 11.29.2014 

30. “Jason Aldean Agrees with Taylor Swift, WIll Remove New Album From Spotify”, musictimes.com, RT: 11.29.2014 

31. “$2 Billion and Counting”, spotify.com, RT: 11.29.2014

32. “Here’s Why Taylor Swift Pulled Her Music From Spotify”, TIME, RT: 11.29.2014

33. “Taylor Swift and the Whole Spotify Thing”, uloop.com, RT: 11.29.2014

34. “Spotify launching family plan with cheaper subscriptions for families”, theguardian.com, RT: 11.29.2014

YouTube

Image

By Sean Mowry (scmowry)

Youtube Wiki 1[1]

Youtube LLC
901 Cherry Ave
San Bruno, CA
94066
(650) 253-0000

Key Executives [2]

Larry Page CEO and Co-Founder

YouTube Larry Page

Eric E. Schmidt Executive Chairman

YouTube EricSchmidt

Susan Wojcicki Senior Vice President, YouTube

YouTube susan-wojcicki

History

In 2005 three PayPal employees, Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim, started up YouTube as a video-sharing site.  By the end of the first year, the site had 200,000 registered users and showed more than 2 million videos a day [3].  In 2006, Google bought YouTube for 1.65 billion dollars despite copyright concerns from media corporations at the time.  Google then decided to reach out and partner with the Universal Music Group, CBS Corp., Sony, and BMG Music Entertainment [4].  Now, more than 1 billion unique users visit YouTube each month and over 6 billion hours of video are watched every month on YouTube.  Each minute, 100 hours of content is uploaded to YouTube and according to Nielsen, YouTube reaches more US adults ages 18-34 than any cable network.  The website is a global powerhouse, with 80% of YouTube traffic coming from outside the US [5].

YouTube Google[18]

 Finances

Google Inc. reported consolidated revenues of $16.52 billion for the third quarter, ending September 30, which is an increase of 20% compared with the third quarter report from 2013.  $9.55 billion, or 58% of this revenue is from outside the United States.  Net income for the third quarter is $2.81 billion, which is down from $2.97 billion in 2013.  This is also lower than the second quarter net income of $3.42 billion [6].  As of 11/30/2014, Google’s stock is $541.83 [7].

YouTube Stock[19]

Subscriptions

YouTube is continuing to roll out two new subscription services this year.  The first is a wave of paid subscription channels, like those offered for free now, but without advertising.  This was launched in 2013 but the website is aggressively expanding the number of channels this year.  They now offer 238 channels, like NorthwoodsLeague, which is a summer baseball league comprised of top North American College players [8].  With more video online, and most of that online video is coming from YouTube, the website predicts that there will be a sizable share of the audience who would rather pay to watch the content than sit through advertising.  The project is a means of offering more options, and it also follows the subscription models of Netflix or Hulu, but at a more specific scale so that the site can operate effectively the same as before the rollout [9][10].

YouTube NWL[20]

The second subscription service launched this year is that of Music Key, which is a program that allows users to watch music videos without ads while also giving them the option to download the content onto their devices for offline listening and viewing.  The mobile devices will also be able to continue playing music in the background when they switch to other programs.  In addition to album tracks, Music Key offers downloads of concert recordings, remixes, unreleased rarities and cover versions recorded by others.  While YouTube hails itself as “the biggest music service on the planet” it is desperately lagging behind Spotify’s 12.5 million paying subscribers [11]. 

In July of 2014, Google also acquired Songza, a music streaming service that specializes in offering playlists made by people that are advertised for listening at any given time or during any given mood that you want.  Songza is still running as a separate service, but Google and YouTube are looking to apply the company’s expertise to their products like Google Play or Music Key [12].

In other news, YouTube now allows users to upload video in 60 frames per second, where before they were capped at 30 frames per second [13].

East Coast Presence

YouTube is a west coast, online company, but now it has recently opened up YouTube Space New York, a studio in Manhattan that is available to any channel that has more than 5,000 subscribers and is part of the Partner Program in which ads are hosted and revenue is shared.  The studios are a way of giving content creators more means of making an effective product and expanding their audience while also giving the company a footing in the diverse media landscape of New York City.  Since the studios opened in other cities like London, Los Angeles, and Tokyo two years ago, more than 30,00 people have attended 450 workshops and created 6,000 videos that were seen for 47 million hours [14][15].

YouTube spaces[21]

Another bonus to this is that it brings the company within proximity of Madison Ave, and they have been touring the studios with advertising executives to offer them an opportunity to collaborate with creators.  So a company like Maybelline could use BrandLab to host a day in which creators who focus in beauty could collaborate with them.  Many of these channels offer audiences numbers that would leave traditional players envious, but advertisers continue to put a low cost on these audiences.  The company hopes to change that mentality [14].

Competition From Facebook

YT face[22]

In early November 2014, a John Lewis Christmas Ad stormed social media.  The video was shared 200,000 times within the first 24 hours, and most of this was on Facebook.  While that might be good for the department store, Facebook stole 40% of the online audience for the video, which would have previously belonged exclusively to YouTube.  Facebook is now placing video at the heart of the company’s growth announcing this September that the platform achieved more than 1 billion views a day. Facebook is rolling out video advertising slowly, so that users can get used to the idea of having ads on their news feeds [17].

[23]

Facebook is also trying to lure content creators to the site by sharing their ad revenue in a more lucrative ratio.  While they would be developing features that are reminiscent of YouTube, they have the News Feed, which is the key to their success and something that YouTube will have to anticipate combating in the near future.  Often times Youtube channels will use Facebook to promote their videos but if they were to switch to the social media platform all together, a lot of ad revenue could be lost for YouTube, considering that they have been on top for so long, that they are struggling with loosing their audience and their bait for advertisers [16].

Sources

[1] YouTube Logo RT 30 November 2014

[2] Google Management RT 30 November 2014

[3] “Video Websites Pop Up, Invite Postings” RT 30 November 2014

[4] Google Buys YouTube RT 30 November 2014

[5] YouTube Statistics RT 30 November 2014

[6] Google Third Quarter Report 2014 RT 30 November 2014

[7] Google Second Quarter Report 2014 RT 30 November 2014

[8] YouTube Channels RT 30 November 2014

[9] “YouTube Considers Paid, Ad-Free Subscriptions” RT 30 November 2014

[10] “YouTube Is Said to Plan a Subscription Option” RT 30 November 2014

[11] “YouTube Music Key subscription service is unveiled” RT 30 November 2014

[12] “Google Buys Songza” RT 30 November 2014

[13] “YouTube Can Now Play Videos At A Buttery 60 Frames Per Second” RT 30 November 2014

[14] “YouTube Takes Manhattan” RT 30 November 2014

[15] YouTube Spaces RT 30 November 2014

[16] “Facebook Wants To Poach A Whole Bunch Of Talent From YouTube — And The Ad Money That Comes With Them” RT 30 November 2014

[17] “Facebook Is Stealing A Huge Chunk Of YouTube’s Audience” RT 30 November 2014

[18] Google Paint Logo RT 30 November 2014

[19] Google Stock Quote RT 30 November 2014

[20] Northwoods League RT 1 December 2014

[21] YouTube Spaces RT 1 December 2014

[22] Facebook RT 1 December 2014

[23] John Lewis Christmas Ad RT 1 December 2014

CBS Films

Posted on by 
 by Rebecca Raichek

cbs_films_logo

11800 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90025

Company Overview

CBS Films is a film company that is owned by CBS Corporation and produces, distributes, and acquires feature films. Created in 2007, CBS Films is a small production company who release about four to six films every year that consist of various different genres [1]. CBS Films are always on the lookout for new quality films regardless of genre, and generally focus on the production of smaller films since they are more agile and adapt to the market place says Vice President of Communications Grey Munford [2]. CBS Films looks to make good movies that are able to find an audience. Showtime and CBS help with the financing of the films, and the showcasing and syndication as well. Because CBS is good at putting premium content out, CBS films are able to reach their intended audience. They gain viewers through less of a traditional promotional and advertising way, but are still equally as successful as the big studios [2].

Key Executives

Terry Press: President

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Terry Press source: cbsfilms.com/about

  Reid Sullivan: Chief Financial Officer

Unknown

Reid Sullivan source: cbsfilms.com/about

Scott Shooman: Executive Vice President Acquisitions and Co-Productions

Unknown

Scott Shooman source: cbsfilms.com/about

Steven Friedlander: Executive Vice President Theatrical Distributions

Unknown-2

Steven Friedlander source: cbsfilms.com/about

Financials

Since CBS Films was established in 2007, they have released 17 movies that have earned a total gross income of $321,882,427 [3].  The top earning movie was Last Vegas with $63,914,167, followed by The Woman in Black with $54,333,290.  In the first quarter of 2014, the Entertainment sector of CBS Corporation which includes CBS Films earned $457 million which was a decrease for the first quarter in 2013 which was $480 million [4]. In the third quarter of 2014 which is the most recent, the Entertainment sector of CBS corporation earned $335 million which was a decrease from $431 million in 2013 [4].

Upcoming/Current Projects

Currently, CBS Films has one film in theaters and one that is coming out in February. In July 2014 CBS Films acquired the U.S rights to the British film Pride after it debuted at the Cannes film festival. Pride is a film about the true story of a gay and lesbian activist group in London supporting the national union of mineworkers strike. It stars Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton, Dominic West, Paddy Considine, and is directed by Matthew Warchus. The film was distributed by Pathe and the acquisition deal was made by Scott Shooman who negotiated with Cameron McCracken and Pierre du Plessis [5]. Pride was a small film with a limited release of only 124 theaters in the U.S and has a total gross of $1,446,634 [6]. Critics gave the film great reviews and was given 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes [7]. To advertise the film, CBS Films relied heavily on the use of social media and personal interactions through the audiences via Twitter. CBS Films retweeted audience reviews of Pride on their page instead of self-promoting the movie themselves. According to Vice President of Communications Grey Munford, “ the best thing you can do is retweet the good things other people are saying. People trust it more with reviews coming from other people.” He also stressed that “Pride was a social first movie- in the digital space social media is most important,” [2]. Pride will be available on Blue-Ray on December 23rd, 2014.

images

Promotional poster for Pride source: geekedoutnation.com

Another upcoming project for CBS Films is the release of The DUFF in February 2015. The trailer for The DUFF had it’s world release during the premiere of The Hunger Games as part of a strategy by CBS to target the demographic of Women Under 25 [2]. According to Munford, the trailer was strategically released during The Hunger Games because it was the single biggest movie released between November and February that would reach the target demographic [2].  The DUFF  is about a high school girl who finds out she is the
“DUFF” of her friend group- the designated ugly fat friend, and she desperately tries to change her image. This film has also used social media to advertise, and actors Bella Thorne and Robbie Amell have tweeted a link to the trailer encouraging their fans and followers to watch it and see the movie when it is released.

Unknown-7

Promotional poster for The DUFF source: collider.com

Starting in 2015, Lionsgate Entertainment will take over CBS Film’s distribution operations as a multiyear agreement. The deal also includes Lionsgate taking control over all international sales for CBS films. CBS will still produce and acquire their own films, but Lionsgate will have total control of distribution both in theaters and in home entertainment [8]. This deal comes after CBS Films has made a move to become a more significant studio in acquiring films, especially after they acquired Inside Llewyn Davis, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, and most recently Pride [8].

Another upcoming project for CBS Films is the production of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark which will be an adaptation of the books written by Alvin Schwartz. The films will be adapted by John August, and will be produced by Sean Daniel, Jason Brown, and Elizabeth Grave [9].

Unknown-8

source: deadline.com

CBS Films is also adapting the Broadway musical 13 to film which will be written by Bert V. Royal, and produced by Laurence Mark [10].

Unknown-9

Social Media

Because CBS Films is a smaller film company, they rely heavily on social media in order to advertise and promote their films. They have a Facebook account where they constantly post about their current and upcoming projects and provide behind the scenes pictures for the 5,700 people who like the page. Vice President of Communications for CBS Films Grey Munford, explained how social media has helped their films successfully compete with big budget movies at the box office. Their film The Woman In Black, starring Daniel Radcliffe, opened up within 2-3 million dollars of Fox’s big budget film Chronicle. [2]. The film used social media and built an online fan base to successfully advertise and also emphasized on the stardom of Daniel Radcliffe to persuade his current fans to see the movie.

images-2

source: gettypress.co.uk

CBS Films also used Radcliffe as an advertising tool to promote their Romantic- Comedy What If  which he starred in as well.  The film had a social media campaign through the new app We Heart It which is an image-sharing social network, and gained 22,000 followers [11].

Unknown-1

source: gophoto.us

References

[1]. About CBS Films, cbsfilms.com/about, RT 11/27/14

[2]. G.Munford, Personal Communication, October 29 2014.

[3]. CBS Films All Time Box Office Results, boxofficemojo.com, RT 11/27/14

[4].CBS Corporation Investor Relations, investors.cbscorporation.com, RT 11/28/14

[5].“Pride Acquired by CBS Films”, variety.com, RT 11/27/14

[6].Pride (2014), boxofficemojo.com, RT 11/27/14

[7]  Rotten Tomatoes, rottentomatoes.com, RT 11/29/14

[8]. “Lionsgate Takes Over CBS Films’ Distribution & Global Sales, deadline.com, RT 11/28/14

[9].“John August To Pen ‘Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark’ For CBS Films, deadline.com, RT 11/28/14

[10].“CBS Films Bringing Musical ’13’ to Big Screen, hollywoodreporter.com, RT 11/28/14

[11].“Young-adult movie campaigns mine social media” usatoday.com, RT 11/28/14

Additional References

cbsfilms.com

imdb.com

youtube.com

weheartit.com

facebook.com

twitter.com

Disney-ABC

Posted on by 
By Nicolas Claro

Company History

On January 4th, 1996, Michael Eisner and the Walt Disney Company came to an agreement with Capital Cities/ABC on a merger between the two companies, forming what is known today as Disney-ABC TV [1]. In addition to ABC Television Network, Disney-ABC owns multiple cable channels including Disney Channel Disney XD, ABC Family and ABC News, as well as a controlling stake in ESPN and an equity holding in A+E Networks.

 

Corporate

ANNE SWEENEY

Co-Chair, Disney Media Networks
President, Disney/ABC Television Group (2005-2015)

KEVIN BROCKMAN

Executive Vice President, Global Communications, Disney/ABC Television Group

REBECCA CAMPBELL

President, ABC Owned Television Stations Group

PAUL LEE

President, ABC Entertainment Group

GARY MARSH

President and Chief Creative Officer, Disney Channels Worldwide

BEN SHERWOOD

Co-President, Disney/ABC Television Group (2010-2015),

Co-Chair, Disney Media Networks
President, Disney/ABC Television Group (2015-)

 [2]

 

Q1 EARNINGS

The Walt Disney Company’s first quarter of the fiscal year ended on December 28, 2013. Since the first quarter of the 2013 fiscal year, The Walt Disney Company’s media networks have seen a 4% increase in revenue, and an operating income increase of nearly 20%. However, the company saw a decrease of almost $85 million in income, due in large part to contractual rate increases to Modern Family and other long-tenured shows on the network. [3]

Screen Shot 2014-04-21 at 2.51.16 PM

 

PROGRAMMING

The cast and crew of Modern Family winning their fourth Emmy in four years. [4]

Disney-ABC has done a very fine job of diversifying their TV offerings, broadcasting programs for every sort of viewer imaginable. The company’s two most popular offerings are 4-time Emmy winner Modern Family [4] and the company’s longest running primetime drama, Grey’s Anatomy. In addition, ABC has created successful shows based on existing third-party content, such as Once Upon a Time and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. ABC also airs a large number of successful unscripted shows, such as The Bachelor and Dancing With The Stars, talk-shows in both the morning (The View) and late-night (Jimmy Kimmel Live!), live college football and NBA games, and national news shows such as Good Morning America.

Scandal creator Shonda Rhimes (left) and the show’s star Kerry Washington. Rhimes also created ABC’s long running Grey’s Anatomy. [5]

ABC Family and the various Disney channels offer popular youth-oriented series such as Pretty Little Liars and the cartoon Gravity Falls.

In this upcoming season, Disney-ABC plans to bolster its broadcast schedule even further by collaborating with well-respected directors and producers such as David O. Russell and Bryan Singer on the shows The Club [6]  and Black Box [7] , respectively.

 

Director Bryan Singer, well known for his directorial work on the X-Men films, is bringing a show to ABC this year. [8]

New King of Late Night?

ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel (Left) and NBC’s Jimmy Fallon (Right) [9]

On April 3, 2014, Late Night host David Letterman announced his retirement from the show, and from late-night TV in 2015. Stephen Colbert will replace him on CBS in the same time slot after his departure. [10] With David Letterman’s retirement in 2015, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel will have the longest active run of late night hosting on broadcast TV with a consecutive 11 years on the air. Along with Colbert, Kimmel has already begun competing with the recently appointed Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon on NBC, who’s show shares a timeslot with Kimmel.

So far, among the two shows, The Tonight Show has dominated in TV ratings. However, Jimmy Kimmel Live is fast on Fallon’s heels in the digital department. After a stellar debut week (avg 6.2 million viewers), Fallon’s ratings have come back to Earth (avg 1.8 million viewers in its 2nd week). A report from Nielsen “SocialGuide”’s data, the number of impressions on Twitter for each show are comparable, and Kimmel’s uptick in viewership means that the margin between the two shows is closer than you think. These two talk-show stalwarts look to be set to compete for years to come, and ready to take on all challengers. [11].

 

The End of an Era?

Will this Aereo antennae (left) be the end of TV as we know it? [12]

On February 14, 2012, a company called Aereo created a product that was designed, in their eyes, to be the future of television. Aereo created a mini-sized antennae that effectively replaced a cable box and allowed consumers to “break free” from cable companies [12], all for a very affordable price of $80 a year. However, by doing so, Aereo was breaking many rules by not paying retransmission fees to the networks it carried, something that the cable providers are required to do. As such, cable companies swarmed Aereo with suits and injunctions within months, but to no avail [13]. 2+ years later, Aereo is still operational, and now more faces have joined in the fight against them, including ABC.

Aereo founder Chet Kanojia [15]

Specifically, their case against Aereo is set to go to Supreme Court review on April 22, 2014, and will likely be resolved by the end of June. If they lose, Aereo could be a signal of what is to come, with other startups following suit, and ducking retransmission fees. However, even if the networks win this battle, has the issue gained enough traction that it has gone down an irreversible path? Many Aereo subscribers, and consumers fed up with their cable companies, are embracing this new technology and championing it as the next big thing. Nobody knows just how this case will play out, but everyone knows that the repercussions will be massive [15][14]

 

Fighting Fire with Fire

Scandal’s growing social media numbers

Scandal’s growing social media numbers [16]

Recent advances in broadcast technology have seriously hindered TV’s chances at remaining a top broadcast medium in the past few years. Internet piracy, DVR and online streaming services have all impeded on the television’s reign atop the media market. However, it seems that ABC has found a way to turn the tables and use these new developments to their advantage.

The best example of this is ABC’s smash hit show Scandal. ABC has allowed the show’s creator, Shonda Rhimes, to run rampant on social media, and she does so with finesse. Her constant involvement and interaction with fans throughout the show’s run has led to a massive social media following for everyone from Rhimes, to the show’s star, Kerry Washington, to Scandal’s official social media accounts.

To show just how astronomical its rise has been, take Scandal’s social media growth from its premiere up to the third season finale on April 17, 2014. At the former, Scandal had about 500,000 connections on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube combined. As of the third season finale, Scandal has 1.4 million views on its official Youtube page, 2.6 million followers on Twitter and almost 5 million fans on Facebook. As you would expect, Scandal’s most popular demographic is in the 18-49 range, who – not so coincidentally – are the demographic most present on social media networks [16].

Works Cited

[1] THE MEDIA BUSINESS;Disney and ABC Shareholders Solidly Approve Merger Deal

[2] All portraits courtesy of disneyabctv.com

[3] THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY REPORTS FIRST QUARTER EARNINGS FOR FISCAL 2014

[4] Modern Family – The Television Academy

[5] girltalkhq – ‘Scandal’ & ‘Greys Anatomy’ Creator Shonda Rhimes To Receive Diversity Award

[6] Deadline – Soapy Drama From David O. Russell & Susannah Grant Gets ABC Series Order

[7] Deadline – Bryan Singer To Direct & Exec Produce CBS Series ‘Battle Creek’ From Vince Gilligan & David Shore

[8] IMDB – Bryan Singer photos

[9] tvovermind – Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel Agree To Play Nice

[10] CBSNews – Stephen Colbert to replace David Letterman on “Late Show”

[11] thewrap.com – Jimmy Fallon vs. Jimmy Kimmel: The New Late Night Fight, by the Numbers

[12] “Love is in the Aereo” – Aereo.com press release

[13] “Aereo Prevails” – Aereo.com press release

[14] USAToday – Supreme Court case could test future of broadcast TV

[15] Fortune – What happens if broadcasters lose the Aereo case?

[16] How Social Media Helps Drive ABC’s ‘Scandal’

Spotify

Posted on by 
By Hannah D Friedland
[1]

[1] Spotify’s Logo

THE SPOTIFY STORY:

[6] The most updated visuals of the Spotify application on thee platforms

[2] The most updated visuals of the Spotify application on thee platforms. Users have an on-demand stream of music on their computer, mobile device, tablet, and home entertainment system.

Spotify is a music streaming service that puts users in control of 20 million licensed songs [3]. Spotify was launched in Sweden in 2008 and came to America in 2011.

Spotify is financially a private company that offers over 20,000 new songs each day from major and independent labels including EMI, Warner Music Group, Universal, & The Orchard [3]. Artists earn royalty when their music is played, and there are over 24 million active users currently in 55 markets [3].

There are two revenue streams, free, which is “powered by advertisers” and premium for $9.99 monthly with extra features including no ads, offline, and high-quality audio [3].

TEAM SPOTIFY:

[2] Spotify Founders- Daniel Ek & Martin Lorentzon

[4] Spotify Founders- Daniel Ek & Martin Lorentzon

Chief Sales, Marketing, and International Growth Officer- Jeff Levick

[5] Chief Sales, Marketing, and International Growth Officer- Jeff Levick

 

[5] Chief Content Officer & Managing Director USA- Ken Parks

[6] Chief Content Officer & Managing Director USA- Ken Parks

[7] Head of Content- Steve Savoca

[7] Head of Content- Steve Savoca

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

INSIDE SPOTIFY:

Social Media Merges with Music- Songs, playlists, and albums can be shared on the Spotify application through the "Send To" message option, or users can "post to feed" to their Facebook timeline, Twitter, and Tumblr within the Spotify application. ARROW

Social Media Merges with Music- Using the “send to”, or “post to feed” options users can message music to friends and post music to their Facebook timeline, Twitter, and Tumblr within the Spotify application. Source:  Spotify

 

Spotify gives its users the option to connect with their social media Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr accounts. Users can create collaborative playlists, share music, view friends music and more which provides for ample music discovery and publicity for the company on social media platforms. There is also a private session users can activate.

 

 

Two other elements that Spotify includes are apps and Discover. While these apps add dimension to the Spotify journey, Discover is essentially a constantly updated news feed.

Discover- Spotify's "news feed" feature on the desktop application, artists are recommended, concerts nearby are posted, friends listening habits are shown all based on listening habits the user has shown. Source: Spotify

Discover- Spotify’s “news feed” feature on the desktop application. Updates with releases, playlists, artists recommendations, concerts nearby are posted, friends listening habits are shown all based on listening habits the user has shown. Source:  Spotify

COMPETITORS:

Spotify is a strong contender, but it’s competing neck and neck with Rdio, Pandora, Rhapsody, Google Play Music, and Beats on price, catalogue, platforms, and features [8]. Beats Music entered the competitive on-demand music market in January [9], and is Spotify’s biggest challenger.

Beats vs. Spotify

[10] Beats Music vs. Spotify- The two streaming services are extremely similar with the same catalogue size, the discovery element, and price.

Beats entry in the market put Spotify in “go-mode”.

SPOTIFY’S SITUATION:

Competitor streaming services are continually emerging. With more choices presented to consumers, Spotify has responded by shifting their focus to partnerships, acquisitions, customer satisfaction, and updated product development. The formula is to attract users to Spotify, engage with users, and retain them.

Partnerships

Last.fm

Last.fm is a music recommendation service. In January, Spotify and Last.fm teamed up to bring a beneficial on-demand playbar to Last.fm’s website. This makes it possible for Last.fm users to internally play the entire Spotify catalogue on Last.fm’s website [11].

The collaboration works in both companies favor. Last.fm users have a fuller experience with the power, “to play whatever you want by whoever you want directly on Last.fm” [12]. In addition, Spotify’s catalogue incorporation provides a huge presence and Last.fm users conveniently have motivation to signup for Spotify to take advantage of the essential music player.

The Last.Fm playbar

The Last.Fm Spotify playbar at the bottom of Last.Fm’s website. Source:  Lastfm.com

SoundHound

Spotify also joined forces with SoundHound for the “Add to spotify” feature on its iOS application in February. SoundHound is a popular music-recognition app, similar to Shazam. Banded together, SoundHound is now more interactive. After linking accounts, with the tap of a button users can automatically generate Spotify playlists of recognized songs without leaving SoundHound’s app [13]. 

Source: SoundHound & Spotify

Hitting the “Add to Spotify” button automatically turns songs discovered on SoundHound into a Spotify playlist. Source:  SoundHound & Spotify

The mutually-beneficial relationship brings life to identified songs through Spotify playlists on SoundHoud, and the incentive to use the button will drive users to subscribe to Spotify while giving them presence on a music app [14].

Coachella

On top of that, Spotify was presented with an amazing opportunity to have presence on site at Coachella as the Official Digital Music Partner of the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in California in April. The Spotify Social tent was an on-site air-conditioned tent that offered relaxation pods, chargers, a “Mosaic Photo Booth” that uses your Spotify account to generate a picture out of your most played album art, and art from artist Apex [15].

k

[16] The Spotify Social tent, that capped at 150, gave people an air conditioning experience filled with music, more battery power, art,  and a Mosaic Photobooth that puts your face on album covers based on your Spotify listening habits.

#WeWereThere was Spotify’s digital interactive strategy at Coachella to “connect, collect, share.” Implanted in every RFID wristband was the power to capture the experience by checking in and collecting custom Spotify curated playlists. The “My Coachella Story” digital snapshot let individuals create memories of their festival concert experiences with playlists gathered [16]. This collaboration not only transformed Coachella goers into premium users, but also created a special experience and built relationships by reliving the festival on Spotify.

[15] “My Coachella Story”- an example of a digital snapshot that shoes distance traveled, the path taken, playlists, artists seen etc. To participate users needed to simply connect their wrist band with their Spotify accounts, look for check ins at the festival, use the wristband to collect playlists and then after generate their digital card and share it with family and friends.

Sprint

Lastly, Beats launched with an AT&T package family plan deal. Rumors are circulating about Spotify planning to bundle with the #3 U.S. mobile carrier, Sprint [17] in April. This partnership will give Sprint customers a free trial. Customers will be able to pay for Spotify directly through their Sprint Accounts, which will help Spotify secure a greater market share and Sprint secure more data plans. Sprint and Spotify will announce the details on April 29th at a New York Event [18].

Acquisitions

In efforts to boost the “discovery” element, Spotify acquired The Echo Nest in March [19]. The Echo Nest is a music intelligence company that examines listening behavior and makes musical recommendations. Spotify paid $100 Million, with 90% Spotify equity [20]. The Echo Nest previously powered Rdio and Rhapsody, both of which ended their deals, deeming its technology invaluable to their operations right after Spotify acquired [21]. This potentially puts Spotify in the position to take The Echo Nest away from competitors.

Combing the two companies gives The Echo Nest a bigger audience and catalog, while Spotify, now with music-discovery data, will improve recommendation’s.

Customer Satisfaction

With intentions to obtain more paying users Spotify has updated its business model. In January the company announced free music shuffling on iOS with a catch, non-premium users ads play in between every few tracks [22]. In February, Spotify added the “repeat one” feature [23]. Repeat one grants users the option to repeat a single track over and over [24]. These highly requested changes illustrate that Spotify cares about users.

Working with a college students budget, Spotify slashed the premium $9.99 monthly rate to $4.99 in March [25]. They partnered with SheerID to validate eligibility. This price change is valuable because college students represent an important key demographic in streaming use [26]. This differentiates Spotify from other streaming services like Rdio and Beats that charge $10 monthly.

Unique Product Development

Competition among streaming services leads Spotify to completely redesign its user interface layout on all platforms. Spotify rolled out a sleek modernized look on April 2nd. This major design update was the first since its launch in 2008, and to keep current it was a smart move [27].

Spotify’s New Look Video [28] 

The new dramatic, dark color scheme highlights important buttons, includes circular images for people, and features square album shapes [29]. The browse tab is revised and categorized between top lists, releases, news, and moods. “Your Music”, a collection of users saved albums, songs, and artists is a new addition [30]. The Your Music addition mimics iTunes library and it is comparable to Rdio’s “collection” feature. It helps users save, organize, and browse through their favorite music. The new layout feels unified and balanced, and should attract new users [31].

WHATS NEXT FOR SPOTIFY:

Spotify is headed in the right direction, but with downloads declining, new rival services like YouTube, Apple, and Amazon that have huge user bases are joining the streaming market [32].

Being active puts Spotify in the forefront, which looks great for Investors. It is rumored that an IPO is in Spotify’s near future. Though the company has declined all comments, a job advertisement for an “External Reporting Specialist” has been posted on their website and LinkedIn [33]. Their future looks competitive but successful.

Sources: 

1. Spotify’s Logo 2014, Spotifypress.com, RT: 4/04/2014

2. Spotify’s Application on Three Platforms, Spotifyblog.com, RT: 4/01/2014

3. Spotify Press Fast Facts, Press.Spotify.com,  RT: 4/01/2014

4.The Founders of Spotify, Press.Spotify.com, RT: 4/01/2014

5.Spotify’s Chief Sales, Marketing, and International Growth Officer, Press.Spotify.com, RT: 4/01/2014

6. Chief Content Officer & Managing Director USA,Press.Spotify.com, RT: 4/01/2014

7. Head of Content, Press.Spotify.com, RT: 4/01/2014

8. “And The Winner Is… Best Music On-Demand Streaming Service”, Cultofmac.com, 2/18/2014, RT: 4/07/2014

9. “Beats Music Is Here”, Beats Music Blog 1/16/2014, RT: 4/08/2014

10. “Beats Music vs. Spotify: Can Dr. Dre outmix the king of streaming”, Digital Trends, 1/27/2014, RT: 4/07/2014

11. “Last.fm Bands up with Spotify to offer on-demand tracks”, CNET, 1/29/2014, RT: 4/04/2014

12. “Did Someone Say On Demand?”, Last.fm Blog, 1/29/2014, RT: 4/04/2014

13. “SoundHound Launched “Add to Spotify”, Business Wire, 2/21/2014, RT: 4/07/2014

14. “SoundHound Now Lets You Easily Add Your Discovered Music to Your Spotify Playlist”, appdevice.com, 2/24/2014, RT: 4/07/2014

15. “Coachella here we come” Spotify News, 4/7/2014 RT: 4/14/2014

16. “Spotify’s Coachella #WeWereThere Campaign: High Tech and Sweet, Sweet Air Conditioning”, Billboard, 4/11/2014, RT: 4/14/2014

17. “Sprint and Spotify Plan to Partner Up”, recode.net, 4/11/2014, RT: 4/14/2014

18. “Spotify, Sprint Plan Music Bundle To Be Unveiled This Month”, Billboard, 4/12/2014, RT: 4/14/2014

19.“Spotify Acquires the Echo Nest”, Billboard, 3/06/2014, RT: 4/02/2014

20. “Spotify Acquired Music Tech Company The Echo Nest in A $100M Deal” , TechCrunch, 3/07/2014, RT: 4/07/2014

21. “Rhapsody Kills its Echo Nest partnership following Spotify acquisition”, Venturebeat.com, 3/21/2014, RT: 4/09/2014

22. “Spotify’s free shuffle mode arrives on iPhone”, The Verge,1/08/2014, RT: 4/02/2014

23. “Repeat One”, Spotify News Blog, 2/07/2014, RT: 4/08/2014

24. “Spotify users can now repeat the same song over and over and over again”, Hypbot, 2/10/2014, : 4/02/2014

25. “Spotify Offers 50% Student Discount”, Hypbot, 3/25/2014, RT: 4/02/2014

26. “Spotify introduces 50% discount for college students”, Los Angles Times, 3/25/2014, RT: 4/07/2014

27. “The Good, The Bad, The Less Ugly: Taking Spotify’s New Redesign For a Test Drive”, Billboard, 4/03/2014, RT: 4/04/2014

28. Spotify Paints It Black with New Look, YouTube, 4/01/2014, RT: 4/06/2014

29. “Spotify’s biggest redesign ever brings long awaited Collection view”, The Verge, 4/02/2014, RT: 4/07/2014

30. “Spotify paints it black with new look”, Spotify News, 4/02/2014, RT: 4/08/2014

31. “Spotify beautifies”, CNET, 4/02/2014 RT: 4/08/2014

32. “Spotify faces challenge from Internet giants before IPO” New York Post, 3/30/2014, RT: 4/14/2014

33. “Spotify seeks to hire U.S. filings expert as bankers eye IPO” Reuters, 2/17/2014, RT: 4/14/2014

Twitter

Posted on by 
By Sona Kim
Twitter Logo

Twitter Logo [1]

1355 Market Street
Suite 900
San Francisco, CA 94103

Executives:

costolo

Dick Costolo – CEO [2]

rowghani3

Ali Rowghani – COO [3]

gupta

Mike Gupta – CFO [4]

bain

Adam Bain – President of Global                     Revenue [5]

 

Company Profile

Twitter is a micro blogging and social networking platform where users can read and send tweets limited to 140 characters. It is currently the tenth most popular website worldwide and boasted 232 million users in this quarter alone. Over 500 million Tweets are sent everyday and 76% of active users are on mobile. [6] Looking at a US demographic, 16% of US adults use Twitter and one in ten adults get their news from Twitter. [7]

Twitter Demographics

Twitter Demographics [19]

History

Twitter was initially part of a podcasting firm called Odeo and became its own company in 2007. The company expanded its user base immensely during the 2007 SXSW Conference after successfully placing two plasma screens that streamed Twitter messages. [8] In 2010, Twitter announced that they would offer paid advertising, or “promoted tweets” which has become a major revenue stream for the company.

Sponsored Ad Example [20]

Financial Snapshot

According to newly filed financial documents, Twitter has a net loss $133.8 million this year compared to a $70.7 million loss in 2012. However, their advertising profits are quickly rising as the company collected $168.6 million in third quarter, for a total of $422 million in total revenue. [9] Twitter’s research and development costs are also growing immensely as the company believes these investments will turn into profit. R&D costs have increased a whopping 153% from last year alone.

Advertisements accounted for 85% of revenue in 2012 and this has increased to 89% in 2013. Another form of revenue for the company is data licensing, which allows clients to access user tweets and data. Twitter has made $47.3 million from selling user data in 2013, which is a 36.3% increase from last year. [10]

Nielsen TV Ratings

Twitter Social TV Stats [21]

In October 2013, Nielsen and Twitter announced a metrics system to gauge which television shows are popular. Initial research showed that for every 1,000 tweets, 50,000 people would see those tweets. There has also been a marked increase of live conversations about television on Twitter. Last quarter alone, 19 million people wrote over 260 million Tweets about live TV, which marked a 38% increase. According to an executive at Universal, “the potential value of Nielsen Twitter TV Ratings is that is provides a pathway for an advertiser to turn audience energy into brand momentum”. [11]

Vine

Vine is a video sharing mobile platform acquired by Twitter in 2012. The company launched the application in the first quarter of this year and Vine quickly became the top video sharing application. It is the fastest growing app in 2013 with a 403% growth rate. [12]

Vine Popularity [22]

Vine Popularity [22]

More notably, Dunkin Donuts aired the first Vine as a TV commercial in September during a preseason NFL game. This marks the first wave of integrative social media and television and will surely be a growth sector for Vine as other brands have begun to launch Vine campaigns, such as Nissan. [13]

Twitter and the News

One of the reasons for Twitter’s success is their ability to facilitate real time information, especially with breaking news. As a result, Twitter recently rolled out push notifications in November 2013 for breaking news. However, a random group of Twitter users received a push notification when they neither followed the @BreakingNews account or signed up for push notifications. [14]

Breaking News Push Notification [23]

Breaking News Push Notification [23]

Twitter has also expanded an account specifically for breaking news called @EventParrot, which is a new service that allows for personalized notifications. This is a very recent feature but it shows that Twitter is recognizing their strength as an immediate news outlet.

Spammers and Hackers

As an online platform, Twitter faces problems from spammers and hackers. The company estimates that over 11 million accounts are spam accounts. They announced in their initial filing that they were aware that a rise in users will also result in more spam accounts and that they will continue to terminate spam accounts as they find them. This year alone, there have been several prolific incidents of cyber hacking. Earlier this year, the company announced that over a quarter of a million users’ information may have been compromised. In another disturbing incident, the Syrian Electronic Army briefly gained control of one of Twitter’s domains. [15]

Competitors

Twitter’s major competitors include other technology giants such as Facebook and LinkedIn. While Twitter may have millions of other users, Facebook has over times more. Twitter gains almost $3 in revenue per user but this pales in comparison to LinkedIn’s $8. However, the market value of each Twitter user is $134.47. [16]

Average Revenue from Each User (USD$) [24]

Average Revenue from Each User (USD$) [24]

IPO – $TWTR

Top 10 Internet IPOs [25]

The major story for Twitter this quarter is their initial public offering. Goldman Sachs was announced as the lead underwriter on the deal and the company raised $1.8 billion from the IPO. As a result of the 70 million shares that Twitter issued, the company’s market value grew to a little over $13 billion. Twitter stock opened at $26 and rose rapidly on its first trading day and has settled to a low $40 range currently. [17] Twitter’s IPO marks the second largest Internet IPO after Facebook. The company opted to file its IPO on the NYSE, as NASDAQ is heavier with technology companies and is trading under the ticker name TWTR. Currently, analysts anticipate that Twitter will become profitable by 2015 as advertising revenue streams increase. [18] There has been some worry that Twitter is not profitable as it has posted net losses for the past three years. However, investors believe that Twitter has opted to go public earlier in its growth curve and has more opportunity to become profitable in the coming years.

Twitter’s Future

Expect Twitter Revenues [26]

As Twitter begins its first foray as a public company, there are many doubts that Twitter is just a fad and that their IPO will be overhyped and overvalued just like Facebook’s. However, based on growth expectations and expansions into news, Nielsen ratings and popular applications such as Vine, Twitter will surely be profitable by 2015. As social media becomes more measurable, Twitter stands to bring in higher revenue streams as advertisers begin to recognize the power of this social media platform.

Sources:

1. Twitter Logo Picture – http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=17977&d=1347540360

2-5. Executive Profiles and Pictures – https://about.twitter.com/company/leadership

6. Twitter User Stats – https://about.twitter.com/company

7. Twitter News User Stats – http://www.journalism.org/2013/11/04/twitter-news-consumers-young-mobile-and-educated/

8. Twitter History – http://jobsearchtech.about.com/od/companyprofiles/p/Twitter-Company-Profile.htm

9. Twitter Financial Costs – http://money.cnn.com/2013/11/06/technology/social/twitter-ipo-price/

10. Twitter Spending Costs – http://techcrunch.com/2013/10/15/twitter-doubles-its-q3-revenue-but-its-aggregate-2013-loss-has-widened-to-133-8m/

11. Nielsen and Twitter Ratings – http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/press-room/2013/nielsen-launches-nielsen-twitter-tv-ratings.html

12.  Vine Growth – http://www.b2bmarketing.net/news/archive/mobile-new-vine-named-fasting-growing-app-2013

13. Dunkin Vine Campaign – http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/dunkin-donuts-launching-first-tv-ad-made-entirely-vine-152267

14. Twitter Push Notifications – http://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/twitter-tests-waters-breaking-news-push-notifications/

15. Twitter Hacks – http://www.marketwatch.com/story/10-things-twitter-wont-tell-you-2013-10-25?pagenumber=8

16. Twitter Competitors – http://www.trefis.com/stock/twtr/articles/215695/how-does-twitter-stack-up-against-facebook-and-linkedin/2013-11-18?from=filmstrip%3Atop

17. Twitter IPO Factsheet – http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/interesting-numbers-twitters-ipo-20824494

18. Twitter IPO Info – http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-06/twitter-raises-1-82-billion-pricing-ipo-above-offering-range.html

19. Twitter News Demographics- http://www.journalism.org/2013/11/04/twitter-news-consumers-young-mobile-and-educated/

20. Sponsored Ad Image – http://www.rebelcmc.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/4573997468_222cebf8ff.jpg

21. Twitter Social TV Image- http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/files/2012/12/twitter-social-tv.png

22. Vine Popularity Image – http://www.b2bmarketing.net/news/archive/mobile-new-vine-named-fasting-growing-app-2013

23. Breaking News Push Notification Push – http://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/twitter-tests-waters-breaking-news-push-notifications/

24. Competitor Revenue per Customer Graph – http://www.trefis.com/stock/twtr/articles/215695/how-does-twitter-stack-up-against-facebook-and-linkedin/2013-11-18?from=filmstrip%3Atop

25. Top Internet IPO Image – http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/MWimages/MW-BO775_top_ip_MG_20131107095949.jpg

26. Twitter Expected Revenue Graph – http://www.trefis.com/stock/izea/articles/215754/twitters-long-hard-path-to-profitability/2013-11-19?from=artPopin

 

 

 

 

 

 

Discovery Communications

Posted on by 
By Sebastian Dawson

Discovery Communications – MediaWiki

courtesy FanPop.com

1 Discovery Place

Silver Spring, MD 20910

240.662.2000

Corporate.discovery.com

 

Fact Sheet

courtesy Corporate.Discovery.com

Highlights:

  • Cumulative Global Subscribers: 2.2 billion
  • Countries and Territories: 224
  • Languages: 45
  • Network Entertainment Brands: 50

 

Key Executives

courtesy Corporate.Discovery.com

John S. Hendricks

Founder of Discovery Communication

The driving force behind dramatic growth at Discovery Communications, Hendricks expanded the Discovery Channel from its core property to its current status as a global content provider. (2)

 

Courtesy Corporate.Discovery.com

David Zaslav

President and CEO

Prior to Discovery, Zaslav enjoyed a distinguished career at NBC Universal. He now sets strategy and oversees operation of Discovery Communications around the world. (3)

 

Courtesy Corporate.Discovery.com

Mark Hollinger

President and CEO

As President of Discovery Networks International, it is Hollinger’s job to deploy strategic development and daily operations in over 200 countries. Hollinger joined Discovery in 1991 as Vice President and Deputy General Council. (4)

Courtesy Commons.Wikimedia.org

 

Brief History

Discovery Communications, Inc. is the world’s premier nonfiction media company. It began as a single channel in 1985, but that single channel has evolved into a global media headquarters. Today, the company offers more than 100 programs in over 200 countries (6). DCI’s 28 network entertainment brands include:

 

Networks

Discovery Channel

Dedicated to nonfiction, informative content. Deadliest Catch, Mythbusters, and Planet Earth all appear on this channel (7).

Courtesy IMDB.com

 

Animal Planet

The only multi-platform entertainment brand that immerses viewers in the full range of the animal kingdom. AP has programming like Whale Wars, River Monsters, and Pit Bulls and Parolees (9).

Courtesy Animal Planet

 

The Military Channel

The Military tells real-world stories of heroism and history. Popular programming includes Future Weapons, and Science of the Elite Soldier (10).

Courtesy DesiRulez.net

 

The Learning Channel

TLC is a global brand that celebrates life’s special moments. TLC is a top 10 cable network in the United States female demographic, and features programming like Cake Boss, Sister Wives, and Extreme Couponing (8).

Courtesy TLC.com

 

Velocity

Velocity is a newer, high-octane cable network aimed at men. With more than 400 hours of premiere viewing time, shows like Inside West Coast Customs, Chasing Classic Cars, and How It’s Made: Dream Cars made their debut on Velocity (11).

Courtesy Discovery Programs

 

Financials

Discovery owes it to its investors to make smart and economically sound decisions throughout the year. Discovery has been successful in doing this, especially this quarter. Zaslav attributed the success to the “breadth and depth of our brands and the myriad of opportunities across our global distribution platform,” (12).

Courtesy Corporate.Discovery.com

 

Third Quarter 2013 Highlights:

  • Revenues increased 28% to $1.375 million, as compared to third quarter last year (12).
  • Net Income increased 24% to $255 million, as compared to $205 million for the third quarter of last year (12).

 

Exclusive

Shark Week!

Shark Week is an enormously popular special on the Discovery Channel every summer. This weeklong of programming dedicated to the killer of the seas is the longest running cable television event in history. Its popularity can be partially attributed to its ability to harness the power of social media (14). More than one and a quarter million* people follow Shark Week on Facebook and Twitter.

Courtesy Discovery Programs

 

Bear Grylls

Edward “Bear” Grylls is a UK survival expert who spent time in the special forces. His series Man vs. Wild on the Discovery Channel has been nominated for multiple awards, including an Emmy. This season, Bear returns to the DC in “Bear Grylls: Escape from Hell.” Each episode, Bear will put himself in dire situations, based on real acts of survival in history. Of the show, he said “I am super excited to be working with Discovery again – the channel where the… journey began,” (15).

Courtesy Discovery Programs

 

In the News

Interbrand’s “Best Global Brands” Report

Interbrand is the world’s leading brand consultancy. They have awarded the Discovery Channel their #70 spot (of 100). Their reasoning includes a record-breaking 2012 season, strong first-quarter results, and high levels of viewer engagement (17).

 

“Discovery Launches Fierce New Digital Network”

The Animalist is a compilation of fifteen original digital series exploring the connection between humans and their furry (some not so furry) friends. The show debuted online with nearly seven million monthly streams. In conjunction with additional distribution partners, the content can be accessed from mobile, YouTube, and even the Xbox gaming console (13).

Courtesy Animal.Discovery.com

 

Discovery Channel Rocks the Vote

For the twentieth year in a row, the Discovery Channel ranked #1 among total adults in its importance to the enjoyment of cable, as well as winning in both perceived value, and favorite basic cable channel. In a new study, the DC ranked #1 as a favorite channel and #1 in importance, among adults who would switch providers were their provider to stop supplying the Discovery Channel (13) (22).

Courtesy Images.BusinessWeek.com

 

Upcoming

The Challenger Disaster

Discovery Channel makes a foray into the unknown with this series chronicling the story of Dr. Feynman, a physicist who investigated the Challenger Disaster. The show debuted Saturday, November 16th to a large audience. Critics applaud for its fact-based approach, as well as for actor William Hurt who plays Dr. Feynman (16).

Courtesy Discovery Programs

 

Christmas

Discovery Unwrapped is one week of specialized holiday programming running from Dec. 8-15. The Channel plans to use its own programming to teach viewers the meaning of Christmas from two very different groups. Redneck Moonshiners will offer their opinion on Moonshiner’s Christmas Special, while the more reserved Amish lifestyle will present A Very Amish Christmas. The shows Naked and Afraid, Call of the Wildman, and Gold Rush will also have Christmas specials on Discovery Unwrapped (13).

 

Halloween

Discovery Channel aims to capitalize on every public event that it can, and this spooky season is no exception. On October 26, Hub Network held its first “Halloween Bash.” Hosted by Kenan Thompson, this two-hour, nationwide costume competition was judged by a panel of celebrity presenters, including Martha Stewart. All-new series Spooksville aired immediately following the “Bash,” (13).

Courtesy OurWeekly.com

 

Discovery Education

Discovery Education is a division of Discovery Communications aimed at delivering high-quality content that engages students beyond the classroom. Their services include Discovery Education Streaming Plus, where students can have lectures, speeches, information, etc. streamed directly to their computer. In addition to providing streaming services, Discovery Digital Textbook Replacement is working to give students an alternative to high-impact, expensive textbooks. Discovery also contributes to higher education programs (18).

Courtesy Discovery Education

 

Impact

Discovery has always been interested in a clean, pristine Earth. This is what they showcase in their programming. So it’s only natural that they use their popular programming to inspire change in communities (19).

The Planet Earth series captured rare and endangered species in their natural habitat. The DC partnered with the Nature Conservancy during its production, and aired PSAs during commercial breaks, to help preserve the stunning habitats featured in the program (19).

Shark Week often features PSAs regarding shark conservation and endangerment. Last year, during Shark Week, the DC partnered with organizations Oceana, and the Pew Charitable Trust to help spread those messages (19).

Courtesy Discovery Impact

Further

http://www.youtube.com/user/DiscoveryComms

 

Works Cited

  1. corporate.discovery.com
  2. http://corporate.discovery.com/leadership/john-hendricks/
  3. http://corporate.discovery.com/leadership/david-zaslav/
  4. http://corporate.discovery.com/leadership/mark-hollinger-international/
  5. http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20101213/FREE/101219950
  6. http://corporate.discovery.com/brands/us/
  7. http://corporate.discovery.com/brands/us/discovery-channel/
  8. http://corporate.discovery.com/brands/us/tlc/
  9. http://corporate.discovery.com/brands/us/animal-planet/
  10. http://corporate.discovery.com/brands/us/military-channel/
  11. http://corporate.discovery.com/brands/us/velocity/
  12. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/discovery-communications-reports-third-quarter-110000049.html
  13. http://media.corporate.discovery.com.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/pdf/globe-3q13-final.pdf
  14. http://archive.is/nLxk4
  15. http://corporate.discovery.com/discovery-news/bear-grylls-back-discovery-channel-bear-grylls-esc/
  16. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/16/arts/television/the-challenger-disaster-an-original-science-channel-film.html?_r=0
  17. http://interbrand.com/en/best-global-brands/2013/Discovery
  18. http://corporate.discovery.com/brands/education/
  19. http://corporate.discovery.com/our-company/our-impact/
  20. www.eliteukforces.info
  21. http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/man-vs-wild
  22. http://corporate.discovery.com/discovery-news/discovery-channel-ranks-1-syndicated-cable-network/
  23. http://ourweekly.com/news/2013/sep/10/kenan-thompson-host-hub-networks-first-annual-hall/#.UorWwGSxOTU
  24. www.fanpop.com
  25. http://commons.wikimedia.org/
  26. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0795176/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
  27. http://www.desirulez.net/threads/222747-Discovery-Channel-Future-Weapons-Season-3-1link
  28. http://www.kenanthompson.net/

Univision

Posted on by 
by Tiana Flores
Univision logo courtesy of Univision.com [1]

Univision logo courtesy of Univision.com [1]

Univision Communications Inc.
605 3rd Ave.
New York, NY 10158
United States
(212) 455-5331

www.Univision.com

Brief History:

In 1979 Galavisión was the first spanish-language cable network to launch nationwide. During the 1980’s Hallmark Inc. and it’s minority partner First Chicago Venture Capital bought the Spanish International Network television stations, which included Galavisión. The new owners renamed the Spanish International Network to what is now known as Univision Network.[2]
In the 1990’s A. Jerrold Perenchio, Televisa and Venevision acquired Univision from Hallmark Inc. Since then Univision has expanded into various media platforms including radio and digital. Univision Communications Inc. owns and operates various television networks that broadcast sports, music, films, dramatic stories, reality shows, etc. Univision is considered to be the leading media company serving Hispanic Americans. [2]

Media Properties:

Main Executives:

-President & Executive Chief Officer: Randy Falco Photo courtesy of Univision.com

-President & Executive Chief Officer: Randy Falco
Photo courtesy of Univision Corporate [3]

Falco joined the Univision team back in 2009. Under Falco’s leadership, Univision has added three cable companies and digital offerings.Falco has increased Univision’s revenue and expanded across various multimedia platforms. [4]

Senior Executive VP & Chief Financial Officer: Andrew W. Hobson Photo Courtesy of Univision.com

Senior Executive VP & Chief Financial Officer: Andrew W. Hobson
Photo Courtesy of Univision Corporate [5]

Hobson has been with Univision since 1993 and throughout his time with the company he has held several leadership roles. Before assuming his current position in 2005, Hobson was the Chief Strategic Officer. [6]

Financials:

Third quarter 2013 net revenue increased by 10.1% to $692.7 million from $628.9 million in 2012. Also stated is the adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) increased by 9.2% to $301.8 million from last year’s $276.5 million. The third quarter came to an end on September 30, 2013 and for the past nine months, the net revenue increased by 9.1% to $1,931.2 million from $1,770.3 in the previous year. Meanwhile the OIBDA also increased to $824.3 million from $713.9 million in 2012. [7]

Recent News:

Photo Courtesy of Global Football Today

Photo Courtesy of Global Football Today [8]

Univision Deportes Leads the Pack in the 2013 Third Quarter

Univision Deportes Network (UDN) is a 24-hour Spanish-language sports network dedicated to providing the Hispanic community with the most sports on a daily basis.UDN was launched in April 2012 and it’s owned by Univision Communications Inc. In the third quarter of 2013 UDN outperformed ESPN Deportes and Fox Deportes, making UDN the number one Spanish-language sports network nationwide. UDN also announced that Nielsen will now be able to publicly report ratings for the sports Network. [9]

Primetime viewing audiences for the 2013 third quarter [9]:
Univision Deportes Network 52,000 Adults 18-49; 83,000 P2+
FOX Deportes 31,000 Adults 18-49; 55,000 P2+
ESPN Deportes 31,000 Adults 18-49; 54,000 P2+

These numbers insinuate that Univision Deportes Network is the fastest growing Spanish-language sports channel on the air. Since the recent Time Warner agreement, UD currently reaches 35 million households .

The UDN surpasses all the other Spanish-language sports networks in various aspects. In the 2013 third quarter, Univision’s sports network broadcast more live sporting events than it’s Spanish-language competitors. It reportedly aired 176 live events, which is more than both ESPN Deportes and Fox Deportes.

UDN also had a very strong third quarter in the social media department. Since July, Univision Deportes Facebook page has been engaged by fans about 4 times as much as Fox Deportes page and 8 times as much of ESPN Deportes. Meanwhile during the Gold Cup game, Univision Deportes received more social media activity and engagement than Fox Soccer. Throughout the tournament, UDN had about a 25% larger audience on Twitter per match than Fox Soccer. It also had a 30% average Twitter activity per match than Fox Soccer. [9]

Courtesy of Ignites Social Web

Courtesy of Ignites Social Web [10]

Univision Deportes App for Xbox One

In early November 2013, Univision Communications Inc. announced the launch of the Univision Deportes app for Xbox One, which will make it’s debut on November 22, 2013. This app will be the first Spanish-language sports app launched on Xbox One in the country. [11]

The Univision Deportes app will give fans a rare soccer experience by providing them with live streaming and VOD content of Liga MX, the Mexican National Teams and the 2014 World Cup, which are all considered to be some of the most popular sports properties worldwide. [11]. The app will also give sports fans 24/7 worldwide soccer coverage, which includes sports news updates, real-time scores and stats, videos and photographs of all the important soccer tournaments and leagues around the world.

Photo Courtesy of Brands of the World

Photo Courtesy of Brands of the World [12]

HSN Partners Up With Univision to Create an Online Boutique

HSN, the home shopping network, has partnered up with Univision Communications to reach a large amount of the hispanic market. The three-year partnership includes the development of a new shopping portal called Boutique Univision on Univision.com.

Boutique Univision offers electronics, fashion beauty, home decor and cookware products. The shopping portal will also include popular brands such as Vince Camuto, Samsung, Apple, Curtis Stone and Lancôme. These products and brands have been specifically selected for Hispanic costumers.[13]

Promotions for the online boutique began last Thursday (Nov. 14), with popular HSN host Lesley Ann Machado as a special guest on Univision’s morning show “Despierta América.” During the show, Machado and original host Maggie Jiménez announced the creation of Boutique Univision.

HSN has also been promoting the new portal on its network. HSN featured live feed of the announcement during a segment that included chef Lorena Garcia. Jiménez was a guest on the HSN show “Beauty Report” and discussed the fashion and beauty products available on Boutique Univision.

HSN decided to partner up with Univision due to the company’s ability to reach a large number of the Hispanic demographic. The chief marketing and business development officer at HSN Inc., Bill Brand noted “We are able to reach this Hispanic consumer through the most trusted brand in their community, and that’s Univision. That’s an unprecedented opportunity for us.”[13]

Photo courtesy of Famous Logos website

Photo courtesy of Famous Logos website [14]

Univision & Toyota Announced Trans-media Partnership

Earlier this month, Univision Communications Inc. and Toyota announced a trans-media partnership that integrates Toyota automobiles into Televisa’s brand new telenovela “Lo Que La Vida Me Robo.” Part of the partnership includes, Toyota as the main sponsor of this new telenovela, which first aired November 18, 2013. Through this partnership Toyota will be able to reach and influence an entirely new demographic across all media platforms. The two companies have combined various media platforms such as television, digital and social media in order to provide consumers with an immersive multi-platform experience and also to introduce exclusive and interactive opportunities. [15]

Throughout the broadcast of “Lo Que La Vida Me Robo” fans have access to the main characters of the telenovela through a digital correspondence feature, which allows them to become active participants in every new plot twist [15]. Additional content related to the telenovela is also made available to fans. Another way for fans to gain access to exclusive content is through Univision apps but only users who opt to sync up with the Toyota experience will gain access.

Sources:

[1] Univision Logo From Univision.com
[2] The Univision Story
[3] Randy Falco Photograph From Univision Corporate
[4] About Randy Falco
[5] Andrew Hobson Photograph From Univision Corporate
[6] About Andrew Hobson
[7] Bloomberg Financials on Univision Communications Inc. Third Quarter 2013
[8] Univision Deportes Network Photograph From Global Football Today
[9] Univision Deportes Leads the Pack in the 2013 Third Quarter From Univision Corporate
[10] Xbox One Logo From Ignites Social Web
[11] Univision Deportes App for Xbox One From Univision Corporate
[12] HSN Logo From Brands Of The World
[13] HSN Partners Up With Univision to Create Online Boutique From The New York Times
[14] Toyota Logo From Famous Logos Website
[15] Univision & Toyota Announce Transmedia Partnership From Univision Corporate