No War! Stay With Ukraine

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Dear Friends!
Ukrainian need our help right now! Every little donation will save a life and give hope!

Donation wallets:

Bitcoin: bc1q5jzk5xxez7xke82g4fslk2gaevx2syzyrx8vt9
Ethereum: 0xe8d995F329a2845628D747636738239Aa8A194A6
TRC20 – Tether USDT/TRON/USDC: TFtSZZ1d5FDKs3SXHvZPnTqXkbfvaCmQsb
ERC20 – Tether USDT/USDC: 0xe8d995F329a2845628D747636738239Aa8A194A6
Litecoin: ltc1q27envtwjk25lz0pgzafn5ugwgrmp4q5dp3fuql
Dogecoin: DJLfx2jvqS7t7DPdkqU39LUeoPP9LvioPb

Gold silver catching bids on inflation worries

Gold, silver catching bids on inflation worries

Gold and silver futures prices are firmer in midday U.S. trading Thursday, in the aftermath of key U.S. inflation data that ran hot and at a 40-year high. The key outside markets are also in bullish daily postures for the precious metals markets at midday—a lower U.S. dollar index and higher crude oil prices. April gold futures were last up $3.50 at $1,840.10 and March Comex silver was last up $0.32 at $23.66 an ounce.

The U.S. data point of the week was Thursday morning's consumer price index report for January, which came in at up 7.5%, year-on-year. The marketplace expected CPI to be up 7.2%. This report is the hottest U.S. inflation reading since 1982. This data falls into the camp of the U.S. monetary policy hawks, who want to see an aggressive pace of Federal Reserve interest rate increases this year. U.S. Treasury yields spiked higher after the report, which did pressure the metals markets initially after the report. History shows that rising and problematic price inflation is bullish for the metals markets.

Global stock markets were mixed overnight. U.S. stock indexes are weaker at midday.

In overnight news, the European Union is expecting Euro zone inflation to be up 3.5% in 2022 and up 1.7% in 2023. Given recent inflation data it appears EU economic officials are well behind the curve on recognizing the present pace of inflation.

Gold price remains down as annual U.S. CPI rises 7.5% in January; another 40-year high

Bloomberg this week interviewed a Goldman Sachs analyst, Jeff Currie, who pointed out major raw commodity futures markets are presently seeing the most "backwardation" since 1997—19 out of 28 markets. Backwardation means nearby futures trading at a premium to the deferred contracts. Usually, deferred futures are higher-priced, due to a "carry" premium. Backwardation suggests strong near-term demand for the commodity. "We're out of everything, I don't care if it's oil, gas, coal, copper, aluminum, you name it we're out of it," said Currie. Futures curves are pricing in shortages, the likes of which not seen in 30 years, he added. Crude oil prices are leading the raw commodity price surge. Thus, crude will be a very important market for metals traders to monitor in the coming months.

The key outside markets today see crude oil prices solidly higher and trading around $91.50 a barrel. The U.S. dollar index is lower at midday today. The U.S. Treasury 10-year note yield is presently fetching 1.994%–the highest in over two years.

Technically, the April gold futures bulls have the overall near-term technical advantage and are having a good week. Bulls' next upside price objective is to produce a close in February futures above solid resistance at the January high of $1,856.70. Bears' next near-term downside price objective is pushing futures prices below solid technical support at the January low of $1,780.60. First resistance is seen at the overnight high of $1,837.30 and then at $1,850.00. First support is seen at Tuesday's low of $1,816.00 and then at this week's low of $1,807.50. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 6.5

March silver futures bulls and bears are back on a level overall near-term technical playing field. However, the bulls are having a good week and have momentum on their side. Silver bulls' next upside price objective is closing prices above solid technical resistance at $25.00 an ounce. The next downside price objective for the bears is closing prices below solid support at $22.00. First resistance is seen at $24.00 and then at $24.25. Next support is seen at $23.48 and then at today's low of $23.145. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 4.5.

By Jim Wyckoff

Time to buy Gold and Silver on the dips

 

David https://markethive.com/david-ogden

WE’RE NOT AS BIG AS WE THINK 80 Of The Land Still Dominated By Nature

WE’RE NOT AS BIG AS WE THINK
80% Of The Land Still Dominated By Nature

 

The True Size of Land Masses from Largest to Smallest

All world maps rely on projecting the Earth’s spherical surface onto a plane which makes it hard to compare relative sizes of territories. Globes are equally difficult to use for this purpose. This means that people perceive territory sizes incorrectly.

Is Greenland the size of the entire African continent?

No…

But looking at a map based on the Mercator projection, you would think so.
Today’s infographic comes from the design studio Art. Lebedev and shows the true size of the world’s landmasses in order from largest to smallest using data from NASA and Google.

Check out the actual shape and size of each landmass without any distortions.

View the full-resolution version of this infographic

Distorting Reality: Mercator Misconceptions

Maps can deceive your eyes but they are still powerful tools for specific purposes. In 1569, the legendary cartographer, Gerardus Mercator, created a new map based on a cylindrical projection of sections of the Earth. These types of maps were suited for nautical navigation since every line on the sphere is a constant course or loxodrome.

 

Despite the map’s nautical utility, the Mercator projection has an unwanted downside. The map type increases the sizes of landmasses close to the poles (such as in North America, Europe, or North Asia) as a side effect. As a result, Canada and Russia appear to take up approximately 25% of the Earth’s surface, when in reality these nations only occupy 5%.

“Things are not always what they seem; the first appearance deceives many.” – Phaedrus

This collection of images above represents the world’s landmasses in their correct proportions. Measurements are based on Google Maps 2016 and NASA Earth Observatory maps, with calculations based on the WGS84 reference ellipsoid, or more simply, a specific model of the Earth’s shape in two dimensions.

We take for granted Google Maps and satellite imaging. Making these accurate representations is no small task – the designers went through six steps and many different iterations of the graphic.

Countries are arranged by descending size and shown without external or dependent territories. For example, the total area for the contiguous United States shown does not include Hawaii, Alaska, or overseas territories.

Top 10 Largest Land Masses

Although Mercator maps distort the size of landmasses in the Northern Hemisphere, many of these countries still cover massive territories.

The top 10 landmasses by size account for 55% of the Earth’s total land. The remainder is split by the world’s 195 or so other countries.

Top 10 Smallest Land Masses

Here are the 10 tiniest jurisdictions highlighted on the map:

While the Earth’s land surface has been claimed by many authorities, the actual impact of human activity is less than one would think.

 

Human Impact: Humbled by Nature

Political borders have claimed virtually every piece of land available. Despite this, only 20% of land on the planet has been visibly impacted by human activity, and only 15% of Earth’s land surface is formally under protection.

The remaining 80% of the land hosts natural ecosystems that help to purify air and water, recycle nutrients, enhance soil fertility, pollinate plants, and break down waste products. The value of maintaining these services to the human economy is worth trillions of U.S. dollars each year.

While some nations are not as big as they look on the map, every piece of land counts.

 

 

ecosystem for entrepreneurs

David https://markethive.com/david-ogden

International Coalition Brings Down Piracy Ring Boasting 40000 Video Channels and VOD content and 2 Million Subscribers

International Coalition Brings Down Piracy Ring Boasting 40,000 Video Channels and VOD content, and 2 Million Subscribers

Deutsche Fußball Liga (DFL), the Spanish Football League (LaLiga), NAGRA and Nordic Content Protection thank the Spanish National Police, and law enforcement agencies throughout Europe, for crackdown on international illegal IPTV streaming network

The Deutsche Fußball Liga (DFL), the Spanish Football League (LaLiga), NAGRA and Nordic Content Protection today announced the shutdown of an illegal IPTV streaming network based in Spain that served more than two million paying subscribers worldwide. The shutdown is the result of criminal complaints and assistance of DFL, LaLiga, NAGRA and Nordic Content Protection to the Spanish police. The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) was also involved on behalf of the content industry. The coordinated international law enforcement operation was led by the Spanish National Police with the support of Europol, the law enforcement agency of the European Union, and Eurojust, the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation.

The pirate network was offering more than 40,000 video channels and video-on-demand content, offering a wide range of channels, sports events, films, documentaries, and series, as well as 50 pirate servers located in various countries in Europe. All were shut down as part of the anti-piracy operation.

The piracy network was based in Spain but operated worldwide – in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States generating profits in excess of 15 million euros and causing much higher damages to the content industry. Its IPTV service was offered to resellers allowing them to create their own brand and illegal service as a franchise. Arrests were made in several European countries including Spain, Denmark, Germany, Italy, and Sweden. Individuals were charged with crimes against intellectual property, communications fraud, money laundering and criminal organization.

"We are grateful to the Spanish National Police and all involved in this operation for working together to protect and defend content owner rights," said Melcior Soler, Audiovisual Director at LaLiga. "Piracy is a global problem and it's critical for the industry as whole to come together to fight it, share knowledge and leverage key partnerships and anti-piracy technologies to preserve high-quality content for our fans – whether it's in sports or other types of entertainment. Together we can make a difference and alter the piracy landscape."

"The DFL welcomes this transnational anti-piracy operation that comes at the same time major European championships resume their activities. Tackling large pirate operations at the source is a key component in the fight against large-scale content theft," said Dr. Holger Blask, Director Audiovisual Rights at DFL. "We are glad the industry is more and more united against piracy, in this case both the sports and the content industries joined efforts to make it happen".

"We applaud the Spanish National Police for leading this anti-piracy effort to a successful outcome," said Pascal Métral, VP Legal Affairs and Head of Anti-Piracy Investigations, Intelligence and Litigation at NAGRA. "These results could not have been achieved without close collaboration between all stakeholders – content owners, governmental entities and anti-piracy companies – and is a clear demonstration of how such efforts can have a real impact on stopping the spread of commercial piracy. We are honored to support the effort through our investigations and intelligence teams and to represent the interests of the sports and content industry to ensure their rights are protected."

"Nordic Content Protection congratulates the Spanish National Police and other national law enforcement agencies throughout Europe that conducted this very successful operation. With assets and money worth six million Euros confiscated from the pirates, it's a strong signal to other pirate organizations that organized IP crime eventually does not pay off," said Anders Braf, CEO at Nordic Content Protection.

This latest success further illustrates the importance of a close partnership between content owners, operators, technology providers, policy makers and governments, to make real strides in the battle against piracy and to protect all media and entertainment industry stakeholders' legitimate business.

About Deutsche Fußball Liga

DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga is responsible for the organization and marketing of German professional football (Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 as well as German Supercup).

About LaLiga

LaLiga is a global, innovative and socially responsible organization, a leader in the leisure and entertainment sector. It is a private sports association composed of the 20 teams in LaLiga Santander and 22 in LaLiga SmartBank, responsible for the organization of these national professional football competitions. In the 2018/2019 season, LaLiga reached more than 2.7 billion people globally. With headquarters in Madrid (Spain), it is present in 55 countries through 11 offices and 46 delegates. The association carries out its social action through its Foundation and is the world's first professional football league with a league for intellectually challenged footballers: LaLiga Genuine Santander.

About NAGRA

NAGRA, the digital TV division of the Kudelski Group (SIX:KUD.S), provides security and multiscreen user experience solutions for the monetization of digital media. The company provides content providers and DTV operators worldwide with secure, open and integrated platforms and applications over broadcast, broadband and mobile platforms, enabling compelling and personalized viewing experiences. Please visit dtv.nagra.com for more information and follow us on Twitter at @nagrakudelski.

About Nordic Content Protection

Nordic Content Protection is the leading anti-piracy organization working for the Television Industry in the Nordic countries. Nordic Content Protection has supported its members for over 20 years with a range of specialized solutions covering technical advisory, enforcement actions, criminal case investigations, law enforcement collaboration, claims settlements and court hearing testimonials. Our staff consists mainly of experienced high-tech investigators with backgrounds in Nordic Police forces combined with technicians. This and the status as a not-for-profit member association makes Nordic Content Protection an independent high-quality partner and results in a long range of active collaborations with relevant stakeholders

 

David https://markethive.com/david-ogden

Haystack News moves streaming needle as consumers flock to local news

Haystack News moves streaming needle as consumers flock to local news

Streaming services have been surging during the pandemic as consumers entertain themselves at home. And a combination of the pandemic and recent civil unrest has also caused people to flock to TV news, with an big emphasis on local news, in recent weeks.

Although usage was already rising before COVID-19 hit the US in a big way, Haystack News said it has seen a sharp usage increase for a free, ad-based VoD streaming service that delivers a customized collection of news reports in partnership with nearly 300 local broadcasters and an array of national and international sources of TV news.

Recent major news events "have propelled us forward," Haystack CEO and co-founder Daniel Barreto said.

When setting up the service, Haystack News users have the ability to customize and localize what news (down to specific topics) and weather information is assembled into the curated, on-screen view

Haystack News (a service formerly known as Haystack TV prior to a recent rebrand that plays up the service's focus on news as a differentiator from other free, AVoD services) released its first batch of user and usage data this month, announcing that its overall user base surged 145% in May 2020 versus May 2019, with a 2019 baseline in the "millions." The streamer also says it's on track in 2020 to double its annual growth in consumption and at least match the increases it has been generating in each of the past four years.

Barreto also attributes Haystack TV's general growth patterns to the ongoing rise of cord-cutting as consumers drop traditional pay-TV services and rely on broadband-delivered streaming services for entertainment and news.

At the same time, Haystack News is also exploring other ways to distribute its app, including discussions on how to gain entry onto Xfinity Flex, a relatively new streaming/smart home service that Comcast is offering for no additional cost to its broadband-only customers.

Haystack News' business model centers on advertising revenues and revenue sharing with its broadcast TV partners. For those broadcasters, Haystack News represents new ad inventory and a way to augment their TV audiences, Barreto said.

Haystack News has established a content ecosystem of local news and weather from broadcast stations covering 90% of the major US metro areas and a reach that covers most of the major streaming platforms.

Barreto acknowledges that it took some serious work to get those content deals salted away, as Haystack News was required to negotiate agreements with a multitude of individual stations as well as various station groups.

But Haystack's move into that market was also aided by its association with the National Association of Broadcasters, as the streaming service participated in an NAB-run "Pilot" program. Receiving that "stamp of approval" from the industry played a big part in getting Haystack News engaged with the local broadcast news community, Barreto said.

Barreto said Haystack News' biggest challenge ahead is to continue to differentiate and stand out from other free streaming sources of news. Of recent note, Haystack News added a customizable, interactive news ticker for its Roku app called "Newsline," and expects to extend that feature to its other streaming platforms later this year.

Haystack News is also coming off a recent funding raise that extended its total to about $6.5 million, with the NAB among its financial backers. Barreto said that money has been earmarked for R&D and product enhancements and to expand on partnership and marketing efforts.

"We're in the investment phase," he said.

Founded in 2013, Haystack was incubated at Stanford University's StartX accelerator program (the StartX Fund is also an investor). Haystack has about 20 full-time employees.

 

JEFF BAUMGARTNER

 

David https://markethive.com/david-ogden

TiVo unites live recorded and streaming media with Stream 4K

TiVo unites live, recorded and streaming media with Stream 4K

 In what it says represents the latest part of its transformation from a DVR provider to a streaming market ‘innovator’, providing one destination for all home entertainment, TiVo has announced the retail availability of TiVo Stream 4K claimed to be the market’s first unifying streamer.

TivoStream4K 7May2020First unveiled at CES Las Vegas 2020, the device brings together shows and films from customer’s favourite platforms, live or streaming, on one screen. TiVo Stream 4K is now available at TiVo.com with an introductory price of $49.99 and a free 7-day trial of Sling TV. Consumers can access content from Sling TV alongside streaming video services like Netflix and Prime Video using TiVo’s own content catalogue.

TiVo Stream 4K is said to provide ‘seamless’ integration with numerous streaming video services, including Netflix, Prime Video and Google Play. This is said to eliminate the need to toggle between multiple apps to access TV shows.

TiVo say that the new is an evolution not only for TiVo and viewers, but also opens up new opportunities for content creators, content providers and advertisers to attract and engage new audiences. That is, with its unifying and user-friendly interface, TiVo Stream 4K will help more people find and discover content they might not have before.

“At a time when viewers are streaming more than ever across a sea of platforms, TiVo Stream 4K integrates that content with recommendation and search features to make it easier to find, watch and enjoy the best news, entertainment and sports from today’s most popular services,” said Dave Shull, president and CEO, TiVo. “We are delivering on our promise to launch TiVo Stream 4K, which is symbolic of our company’s transformation from a well-loved DVR provider to a pioneer in the streaming market.”

 

Joseph O'Halloran

David https://markethive.com/david-ogden

What is streaming

What is Streaming?

Streaming is what allows you to consume online content without having to wait for it to download. Are you listening to some tunes while you browse the internet? Or catching up on Friends reruns in another tab? That means you’re streaming right now!

Gone are the days where you had to spend hours downloading a few songs. With the rise of music platforms like Apple Music, Pandora, and Spotify, and TV and movie repositories such as Netflix, HBO GO, Hulu, and Disney+, streaming is more popular than ever. But how does streaming work, exactly? Are there any downsides to streaming? (Hint: yes.) Read on for all the details on how streaming works, what to watch out for, and what innovations in streaming you can expect to see soon.

How does streaming work?

Streaming affords us the ultimate convenience in media consumption: just press a button and your song, show, or movie starts immediately! But how does streaming work?

Streaming is a means to send and receive data (such as audio or video) in a continuous flow over a network. It allows playback to begin while sending the rest of the data. For example, as soon as your

computor phone receives the beginning of a movie, you’re able to start watching it. As the movie continues playing, the rest of the data gets transmitted.

As long as you have a reliable internet connection, your device is able to play the entire movie smoothly without interruption. Any time you’ve used music services like Spotify or Apple Music, video players like YouTube or Netflix, or some types of games and apps, you’ve used streaming in action.

For companies to provide content for streaming, they’ll need servers or cloud platforms for storage. Big players like Netflix have content delivery networks that keep the most popular content cached and close to where it will be streamed, in order to reduce latency and bandwidth costs.

As a consumer of streaming content, you’ll need reliable internet with sufficient speed. It’ll need to be at least 2 Mbps (megabits per second) to provide a good streaming experience (meaning no delays or reductions in quality). While you stream content, the data is delivered to the buffer, which stores the next few seconds or minutes that are coming in the song or show. If your connection is too slow, you’ll constantly see pauses while your device works on buffering. If you want to watch in HD or 4K, you should have an even faster connection of at least 5 Mbps.
 

How does streaming differ from downloading?

Note that streaming and downloading are not the same. When you want to download a movie or song, the file gets saved on your hard drive. In most cases, you can only begin watching or listening once the download has completely finished. And once you have the file, it takes up space on your hard drive. If you want to use a lot of large media (such as HD movies), you would quickly fill up all of your available space. Streaming, in contrast, plays media without downloading the file, so it doesn’t eat up precious hardware space.

Which types of content can be streamed?

In today’s media landscape, there is a wide variety of content that you can stream. Music and video are the most traditional forms, but increasingly, there are new streaming options available including games, apps, and even live events.
 

Music and other audio

Audio streaming, including both music and podcasts, has become incredibly popular. Music streaming allows you to play tons of songs by different artists, all without having to download a single file. Services like Apple Music, Spotify, and Pandora provide millions of tracks available for streaming at the touch of a button. Some, like Pandora, have you select a genre or mood, and they curate playlists for you. Others like Spotify play exactly what you select — though playlists are also a major component of the platform. Apple Music offers a mix of both options.

Podcasts can be either streamed or downloaded to listen to later, and they’re available through services like iTunes and Stitcher. You can also stream audio files you own to other devices (such directing your phone to play audio files via your Bluetooth speaker) within your home.
 

Video

Video was the first mass streaming hit, starting with services like YouTube. Instead of having to download large multimedia files, video streaming involves compressing the data into small packets and sending them to your device where they’re decompressed and displayed. During a streaming session, the video is constantly buffering — while you’re viewing one packet of data, the next is in the process of decompressing so you can view the whole movie or TV show without gaps.

Some of the most popular video streaming services today are YouTube (still!), Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Google Play, and the newest large-scale editions to the scene: Disney+ and 7UPTV.

Video streaming saves you a lot of time and hassle

 

by Nica Latto

David https://markethive.com/david-ogden

Coronavirus: Can live-streaming save China’s economy?

Coronavirus: Can live-streaming save China's economy?

"I'm a bit nervous," confessed Li Qiang, the deputy mayor of Wuhan, the Chinese city where the coronavirus was first reported late last year, as he awaited the start of his first-ever live-streaming event.

It is not the kind of tone one often hears from a senior Communist party official. But in an effort to revive China's economy after the devastating epidemic, Mr Li was determined. He spoke fondly of his long appreciation of Wuhan's local delicacy, hot and dry noodles, and urged locals to frequent his favourite shop.

The two-month-long nationwide lockdown has taken a heavy toll on the economy. It shrank 6.8% in the first three months of 2020 – the first time the country's economy has contracted since the death of Chairman Mao in 1976.

But unlike then, Chinese politicians are more pragmatic these days, particularly as the once fast-growing economy is entering uncharted waters.

In a provincial-wide campaign to revive the economy, senior officials in Hubei province – home to 60 million Chinese – are turning themselves into online streaming celebrities. Mr Li and his colleagues are endorsing local brands and paying close attention to sales figures.

And the result? Chinese media reports say that on the first day of the campaign – 8 April – these live-streaming sales across the province garnered 17.9m yuan ($2.5m; £2m). They sold nearly 300,000 items in nine hours – including 44,000 portions of Mr Li's favourite hot and dry noodles.

Hubei is not the only province taking advantage of China's booming live-streaming industry. Many local officials in Hunan, Shandong and Guangxi provinces have also turned themselves into sales gurus since social distancing became a rule in China. They endorse local products to help revive the economy – while showing a different side of Communist party politicians to their constituents.

Sales through live-streaming during the epidemic "definitely provided hope and a new outlet for companies to start investing in marketing, which supports the service industry and other industries as well," says Andrea Fenn, CEO of Fireworks, a Shanghai-based marketing consultancy.

'Lipstick Brother No 1'

Yet this business model is not just a top-down effort. Even before party officials began appearing on live-streaming services, savvy business owners were turning to live-streaming platforms such as Douyin (the equivalent of TikTok in China) and Kuaishou, as well as e-commerce giant Alibaba's Taobao, to promote and sell their products in real time.

One of them is 27-year-old Li Jiaqi, whose maverick sales technique has won him the nickname "Lipstick Brother No 1". Once an unassuming shop assistant earning a modest salary in Nanchang in south-east China, he now has more than 40 million followers on Douyin.

In one of his live-streaming sales sessions he sold 15,000 lipsticks within five minutes. Unlike many beauty bloggers he always demonstrates the lipsticks he's selling on his lips, rather than his arms. It seems to be paying off, as he now reportedly has a net worth of up to $5m (£4m).

There is also 33-year-old Wei Ya, whose 1 April sale of a $6m rocket launch on Taobao amazed the nation and attracted international publicity. So much so that Taobao had to issue a statement confirming the sale was real and not an April Fools' joke.

Wei Ya has been a familiar face in China's live-streaming sales circle. Her followers call her "Queen of Goods".

The official China Daily says this was "the world's first live broadcast of a rocket sale". More than 620,000 Weibo users have used the hashtag #WeiYaSellsARocket and more than two million online viewers tuned in to watch the sale.

Can it save China's economy?

Foreign brands too have been joining in. Luxury product maker Louis Vuitton hosted a live-streaming sale in March – the first time since the brand entered the Chinese market 30 years ago.

At the height of China's Covid-19 epidemic, in February alone Taobao, the platform which sees the largest number of live-streaming sales, saw an increase of 719% in new sellers across the country.

Not everyone will succeed, though. Marketing consultancy boss Andrea Fenn says that despite the recent frenzy, the market is getting increasingly crowded.

"Early adopters were able to obtain results with [often quite amateurish] live-streaming activities because the phenomenon was quite new and fresh.

"Now there are thousands of live-streamings out there and consumers are starting to wonder how come we have gone back to a communication activity that looks much like a 1990s telemarketing show.

"I am seeing more and more companies failing in their ability to increase sales through live-streaming due to consumer fatigue."

One of China's most successful online celebrities can probably attest to that. In April, 48-year-old former English teacher – and now internet celebrity – Luo Yonghao made the news with his inaugural live-streaming sales event.

It attracted 50 million viewers across China and within three hours he had rung up a staggering sales figure of $15.5m.

Over the next fortnight Mr Luo used live-streaming twice more to sell goods, but with much less success. Chinese media say the number of his viewers and sales figures plummeted – by 83% and 48% respectively.

Andrea Fenn says, for him, all this confirms that "I don't think we are looking at something that alone can sustain an economic boom".

 

By Vincent Ni and Yitsing Wang

David https://markethive.com/david-ogden

How Coronavirus Is Upending the OTT Streaming-Video Business

How Coronavirus Is Upending the OTT Streaming-Video Business

With millions of people under lockdown orders because of COVID-19, streaming-media usage has seen stratospheric increases. But while the pandemic has introduced opportunities to super-serve consumers, it also has created new challenges for all companies in the space.

The topic was covered in “COVID-19 and Its Impact on OTT Video,” an April 15 webinar presented by Variety and Bitmovin, as part of Bitmovin’s NAB interactive event series.

The webinar’s panel of expert speakers comprised Brian Fuhrer, SVP product strategy at Nielsen; Janet Balis, global advisory leader, media and entertainment at EY; Iván Markman, chief business officer at Verizon Media; and Stefan Lederer, CEO of Bitmovin. The webinar was moderated by Variety NY Digital Editor Todd Spangler.

Streaming to TVs has more than doubled during the pandemic. For example, on April 4, Americans watched 27 billion minutes of streaming content on TV — 50,000 years of content in just one day — versus about 70 billion per week a year ago, Nielsen’s Fuhrer said. Overall, the disruption from the coronavirus crisis has been unprecedented, he said: “In my career at Nielsen, I’ve never seen such

David https://markethive.com/david-ogden

HBO Downsizes Apps Increases Confusion

HBO Downsizes Apps, Increases Confusion

As expected, WarnerMedia is consolidating its HBO Go, HBO Now and HBO Max apps in an attempt to declutter the brand’s over-the-top video offerings to consumers. In the process, however, the corporate umbrella to Warner Bros., HBO and Turner has seemingly complicated matters.

With the high-profile HBO Max spearheading WarnerMedia’s OTT aspirations, the former Time Warner conglomerate June 12 announced it is phasing out HBO Go (on July 31), the OTT on-demand platform for HBO pay-TV subscribers. WarnerMedia will meld Go users into Max at no extra charge.

HBO Now, the 5-year-old standalone SVOD service ($14.99), will simply be called HBO. This, despite the fact Now subs who access the platform through HBONow.com, Google or Apple TV will be automatically switched to Max at no extra charge.

And HBO Now subs who access via Roku, Amazon Prime Channels or third-party ISP must download the Max app and re-register. Go users who access HBO via Prime Channels are out of luck unless they download the Max app separately.

Max, which has generated upwards of 1.8 million app downloads, is also available via AT&T TV, Hulu, YouTube TV, Comcast, Charter/Spectrum, Altice (Optimum and SuddenLink), Verizon, Cox Communications and NCTC (WOW, Atlantic Broadband, RCN, Grande Communications & Wave and MCTV). Due to negotiation issues, Max is not available via Roku or Amazon Fire TV — while HBO Go is. But Max is available via the Android and iOS app, Samsung TV, Android TV, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Google Chromecast.

 

ERIK GRUENWEDEL

 

 

 

David https://markethive.com/david-ogden