Video Cord Cutting is Real, Verizon Argues

Though the data remains quite inconslusive, there are reasons different participants in the video ecosystem say different things about the danger of video cord cutting, where consumers terminate their multichannel video subscriptions and substitute other forms of entertainment video instead.

It's to the advantage of attackers to say the threat is imminent. It's to the advantage of cable and satellite execs to deny the extent of the threat, with telco executives a bit less inclined to downplay the issue, in part because other competitors have more to lose.

The cable business  is going to go the way of the wireline telephone business, says Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg.

Seidenberg says he doesn't believe demand for multichannel video entertainment is going away immediately. But it will, he said.

“We take the over the top issue with video very seriously,” he said. “I think cable has some life left in its model…but that it is going to get disintermediated over the next several years.”

Verizon might lose some of its video subs as well, but the issue is a matter of business model impact. As telcos have been hit very hard by voice compeititon and abandonment, while cablers have gained at telco expense, something like that will happen to cable, the dominant video provider.

Decline of demand for multichannel TV might affect Verizon, but nothing like it will cable, which relies on video revenue in the same way that telcos have relied on voice revenue.

It might take a few more quarters to see whether there is a new trend in multichannel video, but there is at least a possibility that a peak has been reached in the multichannel video entertainment business, and that henceforth the total number of subscribers will start falling, as landline voice subs have for nearly 10 years.

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Verizon Wireless Readies Tiered Data Pricing

"Verizon Communications expects to introduce its own form of tiered mobile data pricing, possibly over the next four to six months, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Verizon has not said percisely what form the tiers will take, other than to note that Verizon Wireless's offering wouldn't simply copy rival carrier AT&T's approach.

1/2 of Internet Users Read Blogs

More than half of internet users will read blogs at least monthly, according to eMarketer. By 2014, readership will rise to more than 150 million Americans, or 60 percent of the internet population in the United States.

One reason for the rise in readership is that blogs have become an accepted part of the online media landscape.

The Continued Rise of Blogging

Users Frustration with Un-Optimized Mobile Video

A survey of U.K. mobile users finds 96 percent are frustrated with their mobile video experience. In part, that likely reflects latency and bandwidth limitations that affect the quality of video content.

About 67 percent are discouraged by non-continuous video playback and the length of time it takes a video to begin playing, as well.

Of the 16 to 24 year olds surveyed, 69 per cent of users prefer video to be optimized, rather than wait significantly longer for higher-quality streaming, the study suggests.

That might be seen by some as an argument in favor of prioritizing some bits, such as video or voice, under conditions of congestion. The other suggestion will be that mobile operators need to provide more bandwidth. The problem there is the same as we face in major metro areas when new freeways are built. Traffic always builds to clog even the new capacity. That will especially be true as mobile video consumption grows.

Mobixell Survey Reveals Users Frustration with Un-optimised Mobile Video

25% of Americans want Android Tablets?

About one in four Americans surveyed by Zogby on behalf of Sybase say they are open to some degree to buying an Android tablet device. About a quarter said they would consider replacing a notebook PC with a tablet if the features and apps were suitable.

It always is difficult to "operationalize" such findings, as those same respondents might "like" or "want" such devices, but be unwilling to spend $700 to acquire one.

The perhaps-useful findings were about screen size, which affects form factor. About half suggested they preferred a nine or 10-inch screen. More than a quarter wanted a 12-inch screen. Some 21 percent wanted a seven-inch screen and three percent wanted a five-inch screen.

Tablets might ultimately reflect a variety of form factors and lead applications, or some form factors might not get traction. The three-inch screen, for example, would seem to overlap almost directly with smartphones.

Survey shows one in four Americans want Android tablets

Live TV Losing Younger Adults

Nearly three in five US consumers watch at least some video on a device other than a television, according to market researcher Morpace. Time shifting using a digital video recorder, DVDs, online and video on demand represent about 48 percent of overall video consumption.

Overall, across demographic cohorts, Morpace found 52 percent of total TV viewing time consisted of live TV. Among younger adults ages 18 to 34, that proportion fell to 41 percent. Adults 55 and up watched live TV almost two thirds of the time, but even Gen Xers and younger boomers were evenly split between live TV and several timeshifting nethods.

Online was the most popular alternative to live TV, with about half of consumers using some online source for viewing video content, and another 23 percent using a streaming video service.

Live TV Losing Younger Adults

RIM Tablet Coming Next Week?

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. could unveil its new tablet computer next week, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The tablet, which some inside RIM are calling the BlackPad, is scheduled for release in the fourth quarter of this year. It will feature a seven-inch touch screen and one or two built-in cameras.

It will have Bluetooth and broadband connections but will only be able to connect to cellular networks through a BlackBerry smartphone. The tablet apparently won't be sold with a cellular service included.

Sprint Has No Plans to End Unlimited Plans

Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse said the carrier doesn't have plans to implement tiered pricing for mobile data--but he didn't rule out such a move at some point in the future.

'We are watching very closely,' Hesse said. "Clearly, I'm not ruling out metered."

On the other hand, he said, customers value simplicity. Put another way, they value predictability, and an unlimited plan provides protection from overage charges.

Hesse: Sprint could discontinue unlimited pricing

Blockbuster Declares Bankruptcy

Call it a commentary on the retail rental model, changes in end user preferences or simply the rise of online and other forms of distribution, but Blockbuster, to almost nobody's surprise, has declared bankruptcy.

Best Buy CEO Now Says Tablet Sales are Incremental to PCs

Brian J. Dunn, CEO, Best Buy Co. is "walking back" a comment reported by the Wall Street Journal, where Dunn said Apple's iPad might have cannibalized as much as 50 percent of Best Buy's PC sales over the last quarter.

Later, Dunn appeared to want to soften the reported remarks. "We see some shifts in consumption patterns, with tablet sales being an incremental opportunity," Dunn now says.

We might not know whether the latter statement, or the first statement, is closer to the truth until the round of quarterly reports.

At&t could lose 1.4 million iPhone subs to Verizon, if Verizon gets the device.

That might not be a disaster, but it is somewhere between 1.5and nearly twice the total number of net new subs Verizon gets in three months.

http://www.google.com/reader/i/?source=mog&gl=us#stream/user%2F05579064408535224496%2Fstate%2Fcom.google%2Freading-list

Apple's profits in mobile business are almost shocking

In a supposedly commodity business, Apple is anything but.

http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2010/09/21/pie-chart-apples-outrageous-share-of-the-mobile-industrys-profits/

Google vs. Skype: Who Will Win the Internet Telephony Battle? And Does it Matter?

Maybe, maybe not, in a broader sense.

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2010/09/17/google-vs-skype-who-will-win-the-internet-telephon.aspx

Media Business at a Gutenberg Moment?

The internet obviously disrupts many legacy businesses, print among them.

http://wallstcheatsheet.com/knowledge/interview-knowledge/exclusive-media-legend-larry-kramer-says-media-business-is-in-a-gutenberg-moment/?p=8087/

Will Apple Do to Publishing As It Did to Music?

Print content firms hope not. It isn't clear yet whether that is a rational hope.

http://www.emarketer.com/blog/index.php/talks-heat-ipad-digital-subscriptions/

1 in 5 Homeowners Underwater on Mortgage

I initially though the 2008 recession was just a garden variety downturn: not pleasant but not tragic. I apparently was quite wrong.

http://www.marketingcharts.com/direct/1-in-5-homeowners-underwater-on-mortgage-14264/?utm_campaign=rssfeed&utm_source=mc&utm_medium=textlink

Online branding is more complicated than offline

paid, earned and other approaches require more planning in an online context.

http://www.emarketer.com/mobile/article_m.aspx?R=1007936

Google Transparency Report: Government Blocking

Actual blocking of Google content is more widespread than you might think, a new analysis by Google suggests. The "open" Internet now is "closed" in more ways than you might think.

Google Transparency Report: Government Requests

Analyst: Few Would Leave AT&T for a Verizon iPhone

According to Credit Suisse analyst Jonathan Chaplin, AT&T doesn't need to worry so much about the long-rumored, but yet-to-launch Verizon iPhone.

Based on survey data, he found that only 23 percent of AT&T iPhone users would switch to Verizon, and, perhaps more shockingly, 51 percent of subscribers reported satisfaction with AT&T's service.

You can make your own assessments of whether losing 23 percent of its iPhone customers is a big deal or not.

Analyst: Few Would Jump (AT&T's) Ship for a Verizon iPhone

Stagnation, Double Dip, New Recession? Things Just Aren't Getting Better

In strict terms, the recession ended in mid 2009. In practical terms, you might argue it has ended with stagnation, the recovery remaining anemic.

It might not matter much whether there is a "double dip" recession, or just another recession, or simply continued stagnation.