Author Archives: Scalper1
Baidu Video Unit Tops Alibaba, Becomes China’s Mobile Video Leader
Baidu ( BIDU ) video unit iQiyi has vaulted past Alibaba Group ( BABA )-backed Youku/Tudou as the new leader in China’s ultra-competitive online video space, an analyst said Wednesday. Baidu stock was up a fraction in afternoon trading in the stock market today , near 190. Alibaba stock was up 1%, near 79. Shares of China gaming firm Sohu ( SOHU ) were up a fraction Wednesday afternoon, while Tencent Holdings ( TCEHY ) was down a fraction. Baidu’s iQiyi “demonstrated strong growth momentum over the second half of 2015, overtaking Youku/Tudou as the leader in the mobile video market in mobile app penetration and mobile usage,” wrote ITG Investment Research analyst Henry Guo in an industry note Wednesday. “Our data suggests that, while iQiyi leads the space, Tencent Video has maintained its solid position, but Youku/Tudou has lost market share. “In contrast, Sohu Video is increasingly becoming a marginal player in the market, due mainly to its conservative content acquisition strategy over the last several quarters.” IQiyi and Baidu video service PPS together have “gained 8.1 percentage points in installation penetration” during the past year, Guo said. He says Youku/Tudou fell by 6.3 percentage points, and Sohu Video fell 3.9 percentage points, to 8.7%. In monthly active users, iQiyi and PPS together have gained 3.6 percentage points over the past 12 months, said Guo, while Tencent, Youku/Tudou and Sohu Video all saw declines. Viewer traffic from search leader Baidu, big spending to produce hit dramas, and iQiyi’s “aggressive content acquisition” strategies all contributed to growth, he said. In early December 2015, iQiyi disclosed that its paying subscribers nearly doubled to 10 million in six months. After recent shareholder approval, Youku/Tudou will become the online video segment of Alibaba and no longer will be listed on the NYSE as of early April. Guo says Youku/Tudou will be helped by Big Data sharing with Alibaba. Guo says that while iQiyi’s revenue doubled in both 2014 and 2015, “rapidly increasing costs of content and bandwidth significantly pressured the company’s profitability.” Tencent Video’s 2015 revenue also doubled, said Guo. Comcast ( CMCSA )-owned Universal Pictures late last year provided Baidu’s online video platform iQiyi with more ammunition in its battle against Alibaba and Tencent for streaming supremacy in China. Expanding an existing agreement, Universal last month signed a multiyear deal with iQiyi, which will handle Universal’s new film releases and library titles. Los Gatos, Calif.-based streaming media company Netflix ( NFLX ) has announced intentions to move into China.
Apple, Samsung Impact? 2-For-1 iPhone, Galaxy 7 Deals Roil Market
T-Mobile US on Wednesday unveiled a 2-for-1 deal for Apple ’s ( AAPL ) new iPhone SE amid reports that buy one, get one free (BOGO) deals boosted sales of Samsung’s Galaxy S7 smartphones in the first three months of 2016. The 2-for-1 deals vary. T-Mobile ( TMUS ) rolled out a buy one, get one “half off” promotion for Apple’s iPhone SE, which hits store shelves on Thursday. T-Mobile recently ended a similar 2-for-1, half-off the second device, promotion for older iPhones, including the 6 series. AT&T ( T ) in early February rolled out an iPhone buy one, get one free deal for both new and existing customers. AT&T required that the second phone be a newly activated line. An AT&T spokeswoman said the 2-for-1 offer has not been extended to the new 4-inch-screen iPhone SE, which starts at $399. Both AT&T and T-Mobile offer financing plans with monthly installment payments. T-Mobile customers would pay about $600 for two iPhones SE devices under the new promotion. All four U.S. national carriers — including Verizon Communications ( VZ ) and Sprint ( S ) — have offered BOGO deals for Samsung’s new flagship device, the Galaxy 7 series. Some analysts have bumped up estimates for Galaxy 7 sales, owing to the 2-for-1 deals in the U.S., says a Reuters report . Samsung reports earnings in late April. According to a Nomura report, Samsung has pushed U.S. wireless firms to offer the 2-for-1 deals, in order to boost demand. Analysts, however, say phone upgrades by U.S. wireless subscribers in the first quarter were again lower than normal, continuing a trend from Q4. Apple’s release of the iPhone 7, likely in September, could spur more upgrades, analysts say. T-Mobile stock was up a fraction in afternoon trading in the stock market today . Image provided by Shutterstock .