Last Week in Digital Media (04/27 - 05/01)
Quarterly Results, AT&T consolidates Xandr, Snapchat eCommerce, Amazon antitrust
Hello
Here’s your Last Week in Digital Media.
QUARTERLY RESULTS
A few companies reported quarterly results during the week. Here are the highlights:
Google parent company Alphabet saw revenue increase YoY (PDF link). YouTube was a notable stand out, with revenue up 33% YoY to US$4B. During the earnings call, the company hinted that eCommerce and shopping will be a priority (PDF link).
Facebook saw user growth but some changes in the ad business as the pandemic began to take hold (PDF link). Monthly (MAUs) and Daily Active Users (DAUs) grew in all markets. Other revenue, which is primarily the VR product, Oculus, was up 80%.
Twitter reported positive user and revenue growth (PDF link), adding 14MM monthly DAUs. Ad engagement increased by 25% YoY.
unsurprisingly, Amazon had a good quarter. Amazon’s advertising business, still defined in the financials as “other” (PDF link), was up 44% on a year ago to US$3.9B.
Spotify reported that it met or exceeded targets. A big driver was paid subscriber growth with 130MM paid and 286MM active users. Spotify also reported ~20% of monthly active users now engage with podcast content.
Microsoft quarterly results didn’t reveal a lot about the ad side of their business, aside from, as expected, statements on Coronavirus impact on advertising for both Search and Linked In. There is an interesting observation in the earnings call transcript that states Microsoft saw “two years of innovation in two months.”
during Apple quarterly results earning call, Tim Cook shared that Apple News has 125MM monthly active users. No details were shared on the number of paying subscribers.
GENERAL
Analytics firm Sensor Tower reports TikTok has been downloaded 2B times with the top 3 countries, being China, India, and then the US.
there are rumors TikTok is in talks to create a traditional reality-style TV show. There are no specifics on the format, host, or any other details.
and in even more TikTok news, the company is said to be testing a “Shop Now” button for influencer content.
AT&T is consolidating Xandr under Warner Media. The official release states that the entities are “combining” and it’s not clear what it means for the future of the Xandr name.
the rationale behind Facebook’s investment in Jio is becoming clearer, with JioMart, an eCommerce portal within WhatsApp launching in three (3) neighborhoods around Mumbai launched during the week.
as the pandemic sees movie studios release content on paid VOD, AMC has apparently informed Universal it would no longer show their movies in any cinema.
Snapchat hired a former Shopify Product Manager to build out an eCommerce ecosystem on the Snapchat platform.
reddit briefly tested a chat function across a number of reddit communities. The test was rolled back after both bugs and complaints across the platform.
Amazon and the NFL have entered into a multi-year agreement to stream Thursday night football across Amazon Prime and twitch. The new deal also gives Amazon rights to Saturday game for the 2nd half of the 2020 NFL Season.
GAMING
the Travis Scott Fortnite event final results are out, with 27.7MM in-game participants. This also translated into impact across other media, with the song Scott debuted on Fortnite peaking at #1 globally on Spotify and his YouTube views trebling.
Twitch has launched an eSports directory making it easier to find and discover matches. The directory also lists past matches, so you can watch replays. It’s worth a look so you can see the breadth of games being played competitively.
CORONAVIRUS RELATED
The influencer technology company, Influential, has released purchase trends (IRI data) linked to online mentions, sentiment, as well as findings on the public response on social media to advertisements during the pandemic.
NPR-Edison has released a research report on smart speaker usage. The report covers pre and pandemic smart speaker use. One of the more interesting stats is that smart speaker for listening to news has grown, particularly with those aged 18-34.
REGULATION
Amazon is finding itself at the center of an antitrust probe after allegations that Amazon is using 3rd party seller data to develops its own competing products. With reports that Jeff Bezo’s may be called to testify and one congressman suggesting a referral for perjury may be warranted.
PRIVACY, TRUST, and SAFETY
a reminder that CCPA enforcement (July 1) is now 2 months away. According to DataGrail, a data privacy management platform, the public continues to make CCPA requests at a steady pace. Suggesting the pandemic is not reducing public interest in protecting their privacy.
YouTube is expanding the use of YouTube Fact Check panels to the US. The panels are a way of directing people to factual information should they search on disinformation.
Thanks for reading, if you find this newsletter helpful please feel free to share so others can subscribe.
Stay safe and well.
Joshua
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