Internet Gains on Television as Public's Main News Source

The internet is slowly closing in on television as Americans’ main source of national and international news, according to researchers at the Pew Research Center for People and the Press.

Currently, 41 percent say they get most of their news about national and international news from the internet, which is little changed over the past two years but up 17 points since 2007. 

Television remains the most widely used source for national and international news, overall. About 66 percent of Americans say it is their main source of news, but that is down from 74 percent three years ago and 82 percent as recently as 2002.

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Internet Gains on Television as Public's Main News Source: Overview - Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

Netflix Button Coming to Remote Controls

Netflix has struck deals with makers of TVs and DVD players to put a one-click “Netflix” button on remotes starting this spring, Netflix says.

Such a button would make it easier for people to go straight to their Netflix account, rather than clicking through other menus, which take time and could potentially distract the viewer.

This reminds me of the "icon on the screen" or "icon in the system tray" discussions people used to have in an earlier wave of online media, about 2000, when it was assumed the display would be a PC, and therefore the value of on-screen real estate was deemed valuable.

It isn't a trivial advantage, as icons on main smartphone screens are seen as having value, or as preloaded software typically is seen as having business value.

Netflix Button Coming to Remote Controls (Wall Street Journal subscription required)

Hispanic Consumers are "Ideal" Online Consumers

A new digital marketing study conducted by comScore and commissioned by Terra reveals that Hispanics are the ideal online consumers.

The research also re-affirms that the Internet is the main media source of information for Hispanics when researching information about any service or product.

For example, Hispanics are more responsive to targeted ads with 37 percent saying they would likely respond to them vs. 30 percent for non-Hispanics.

Some 35 percent of Hispanics compared to 27 percent of non-Hispanics said they are more open to advertising on sites where they read or contribute user generated comments.

Some 37 percent of Hispanics, compared to 25 percent of non-Hispanics enjoy the interactivity of online video ads, and the ability of obtaining additional information which is unavailable through a traditional TV ad.

Furthermore, 36 percent of Hispanics, compared to 24 percent of non-Hispanics claim that Internet advertising has motivated them to visit a retail establishment while 35 percent of Hispanics, compared to 25 percent of non-Hispanics are likely to attend movies based on their online campaigns.

The study also shows Hispanics are more open and willing to explore new technology presumably to stay up to speed with trends. In addition, these initiatives are likely to enhance their perception of the brand with 60 percent of Hispanics, compared to 42 percent of non-Hispanics saying that they react positively to I-Pad demonstrations, virtual shoppers, mobile coupons, live streamings and others.

New Terra comScore Research: Digital Marketing Is Essential in Building Brands With Hispanic Consumers

A La Carte is a 20th Century Solution to a 21st Century Problem

If in 2011, larger numbers of TV viewers become more screen-agnostic, using Hulu, Netflix, mobile video to a greater extent than they do today, with their demonstrated appetites for 'snackable' video clips of all sorts, and as major TV distributors and appliance vendors ramp up sales of devices that allow Internet-delivered TV to be viewed on standard TV screens, it is possible more questions are going to be asked about the future of linear TV.

That would come as no surprise. It is not clear whether older debates about allowing or forcing linear TV to be offered channel-by-channel, in a la carte fashion, will resurface. Right now, it seems unlikely. Nor is it especially likely any of the leading linear video distributors will reverse course and suddenly decide their business models are better served by a widespread shift to a la carte viewing.

Most important of all, content owners and program networks do not yet see the value of a la carte buying. Content businesses are all about the content, fundamentally. Without access to the "hot" content lots of people want, any distribution channel will enjoy modest success.

A La Carte is a 20th Century Solution to a 20th Century Video Problem: It's the 21st Century

Is Cable TV "Toast"?

There was a time when a reasonable person might have questioned the extent of demand for 'cable TV.' Why people would pay extra when they could just watch broadcast TV did not seem to make sense. But then cable TV changed, transitioning from its original 'antenna reception' to the 'more choice' platform it uses today.

Lots of observers have to be wondering whether something about that significant could happen within the next decade or so. Granted, that pace of change would seem glacially slow to people expecting change at the rate of web apps, but the TV ecosystem is much more highly integrated, unlike the loosely-coupled Internet ecosystem.

But that same loose coupling could be a huge issue if content owners and networks decide to make lots more content available for Internet streaming, and if the rest of the supporting ecosystem can get critical mass. Those are big 'ifs.'

Still, even some executives in the multichannel video business seem convinced huge changes are possible. Shawn Strickland, Verizon VP, says the firm, which offers FiOS TV, now believes a substantial amount of video cord cutting will happen.

'We've been looking at this issue for the better part of a year, and our perspective has pretty much done a 180 to a belief now that pay-TV 'cord cutting' will happen,' he says."

Is Cable TV "Toast"? - Thoughts on Carrier Evolution - Carrier Evolution

Infonetics Research - Telecom outsourcing thriving; Ericsson, NSN, ALU, Huawei: soon running 3/4 of world’s networks?

By the end of 2010, telecom service providers worldwide will have outsourced about $53.5 billion worth of networking tasks to equipment vendors, eight percent more than they outsourced in 2009, according to Stéphane Téral, Infonetics Research
principal analyst.

The trend is more prevalent among mobile networks than fixed networks. In 2008 revenue from mobile and fixed network outsourcing was roughly the same; by 2014, mobile network outsourcing will grow to account for 61 percent of all network outsourcing, says Téral.

The major growth areas for telecom network outsourcing include network maintenance, planning, design, and operations
Much of the growth in outsourced services is coming from EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) and Asia Pacific, and to a lesser extent, Central and Latin America, with the Oi-Nokia Siemens deal in Brazil and activity increasing in Mexico.

One might argue that mobile network outsourcing is an easier proposition because the labor intensity of a mobile access network is vastly less complicated than a fixed network, and corresponding ability to create service quality differentiation are correspondingly reduced in a mobile setting. Some video entertainment providers have in the past outsourced installation chores to contractors, with mixed results. For brand management, many firms now believe they have to control their own installation and repair staffs, rolling stock and so forth.

Mobile operators do not have the premises wiring, premises equipment and cable, wire and active element issues that fixed network providers do, making outsourcing of access network duties an easier proposition.

Infonetics Research - Telecom outsourcing thriving; Ericsson, NSN, ALU, Huawei: soon running 3/4 of world’s networks?

Firefox overtakes Internet Explorer in Europe

Firefox overtook Microsoft's Internet Explorer to become the number one browser in Europe in December 2010 according to StatCounter. StatCounter Global Stats reports that in December, Firefox took 38 percent of European market share, compared to IE's 37.5 percent.

'This is the first time that IE has been dethroned from the number one spot in a major territory,' commented Aodhan Cullen, CEO, StatCounter. "This appears to be happening because Google's Chrome is stealing share from Internet Explorer while Firefox is mainly maintaining its existing share," said Cullen.

Google Chrome has grown to 14.6 percent compared to five percent in December 2009.

Firefox overtakes Internet Explorer in Europe in browser wars | StatCounter Global Stats