Home entertainment content spending topped $30 billion in 2020, driven by the huge shift toward digital consumption amid COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, Redhill Group President Judith McCourt told a Digital Entertainment Group webinar Wednesday. Digital content spending jumped 32.6% to $26.53 billion, but physical media sales declined 25.6% to $2.45 billion, and content rentals fell 26.8% to $1.04 billion, she said. Streaming generated 80% of the digital spending in 2020, rising 37.2% to $21.22 billion, she said. Total 2020 home entertainment spending jumped 21% for the year, peaking at a 34% increase in Q2, when COVID-19 lockdowns began in full force, said McCourt. Spending increased 19% in Q1, 18% in Q3 and 16% in Q4, she said.
About 80% of companies believe omnibus privacy laws have had a “positive impact” in their jurisdictions, Cisco reported Tuesday. The company surveyed 4,400 “security and privacy professionals across 25 countries.” About 60% of companies claim they “weren't prepared for privacy and security requirements involved” in shifting to remote work, according to the survey. Nearly 60% of respondents said they support employers “using data to help make workplaces safe, while less than half supported location tracking, contact tracing, disclosing information about infected individuals, and using individual information for research,” said Cisco.
The U.S. should help the EU "contain the immense power" of big digital companies, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Tuesday at Davos Agenda Week. For digitization to be successful, governments must tackle the darker sides of the digital world such as the storming of the U.S. Capitol, she said. The business model of online platforms "has an impact -- and not only on free and fair competition, but also on our democracies, our security and on the quality of our information ... We want it clearly laid down that internet companies take responsibility for the manner in which they disseminate, promote and remove content." The Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act are intended to be "our new rulebook for our digital market" (see 2012230096), Von der Leyen said, inviting the U.S. to join the initiatives.
Despite Facebook’s ongoing promises to battle hate speech and dissemination of false information, “much needs to be done,” Wedbush's Michael Pachter wrote investors Monday. “Regulatory risk remains significant,” he said, noting that Facebook reported it acted on 22 million pieces of hate speech in Q3 and estimated 10-11 out of every 10,000 content views included hate speech. Wedbush estimates Q4 revenue of $25.4 billion, for 21% growth. The social media platform didn’t provide Q4 guidance due to COVID-19 uncertainties, but year-on-year ad revenue growth is expected to rise from Q3's 22%. Management expects strong Oculus Quest 2 sales in Q4, said the analyst. "Facebook has consistently executed on its core business model and we expect revenue to grow in correlation to the global macroeconomic outlook and associated advertising demand." It reports Q4 Wednesday.
The National Emergency Number Association and Center for Internet Security adopted a memorandum of understanding on working together on best cybersecurity practice and will host a summit. “As we continue to lead the transition from legacy 9-1-1 to NG9-1-1 technologies, it is imperative that we elevate 9-1-1 professionals’ knowledge of cybersecurity,” said NENA President Gary Bell.
The opportunity in hybrid cloud and artificial intelligence is “enormous” due to the digital transformations due to the pandemic, said IBM CEO Arvind Krishna on a Q4 call Thursday. “We see the hybrid cloud opportunity at a trillion dollars,” with fewer than 25% of “workloads” having moved to the cloud so far, he said. The AI market opportunity also is “massive,” he said. Though AI deployment rates remain “in the single digits,” customers are “at the point where they are moving from experimenting with AI to deploying it at scale,” he said.
Three companies bought tens of thousands of tickets through Ticketmaster and resold them for millions, “often at significant markups,” DOJ and the FTC alleged in three settlements totaling more than $3.7 million. It was the first enforcement action under the Better Online Ticket Sales Act, which prohibits brokers from reselling tickets at inflated costs. Just in Time Tickets, Concert Specials and Cartisim violated the Bots Act, circumventing Ticketmaster’s “restrictions on users holding multiple accounts by creating accounts in the names of family members, friends, and fictitious individuals, and using hundreds of credit cards,” DOJ said. “They also allegedly used ticket bots to fool tests designed to prevent nonhuman visitors.” Defendants used programs to conceal their IP addresses, DOJ said. A court levied civil penalties of $11.2 million against Just in Time Tickets, $16 million against Concert Specials and $4.4 million against Cartisim. The penalties will be suspended if the defendants pay $1.6 million, $1.6 million and about $500,000, respectively, while adhering to other terms, DOJ said: “Due to their inability to pay, the judgment will be partially suspended, requiring them to pay $3.7 million.” An attorney for the companies declined comment. “Not only does this deprive loyal fans of the chance to see their favorite performers and shows, it is against the law,” said FTC Consumer Protection Bureau Director Andrew Smith.
Roughly half of corporate tech decision-makers expect companies lagging in digital transformation a year into the COVID-19 pandemic will go under within three years, Kong found. The cloud services provider canvassed 400 chief information officers and other tech executives in the U.S. and Europe in December and January, finding the proportion who think digital laggards are doomed by 2024 rising 14 percentage points from a year earlier. “A shocking 84% predict this dire outcome within six years,” said Kong. Two-thirds say they deserved to be fired, lose out on a promotion or denied a bonus for failing to pursue prudent “modernization initiatives,” it said. And 89% agree “creating new digital experiences to address COVID-19 business challenges is a business-critical endeavor.”
Holiday spending on e-gift cards jumped more than 80% from a year earlier, reported Blackhawk Network Thursday. "Digital adoption will continue and is here to stay,” said the payment solutions provider. “This stream of digital shoppers will benefit retail sales in" Q1. Nearly half of consumers it surveyed plan to spend at least $25 more than their gift cards' value, on average. Consumers report doing 68% of their holiday shopping online, and 41% say the payment methods they used to buy gifts in 2020 were different from previous years. Nearly a quarter reported using a mobile wallet for the first time, and of those, 37% plan to stick with that method.
Judge Amit Mehta of the U.S. District Court for D.C. on Thursday set status hearings for Feb. 25, March 30 and April 30 in DOJ’s antitrust case (in Pacer) against Google (see 2101080055).