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October 17, 2019Global & Australian gaming market trends – mobile, cloud a [...]
Focus Report, Free Sample, ReportsMobile gaming is now the dominant driver in the global gaming market accounting for more revenue than console and PC combined and the majority of all growth. This shift has been enabled by improvements to internet infrastructure, from stronger mobile networks to faster wireline bandwidth to better cloud-based delivery models; however, there hasn’t been a significant amount of direct monetisation by telcos, as they have only dipped their toes, at best, into this new source of demand.Sector Media. -
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October 16, 2019Webscale Playbook: Amazon
Flash Report, ReportsAmazon has evolved leaps and bounds since its creation. From an online bookstore more than two decades ago, it has become a global internet giant that relies heavily on scale and network infrastructure for its diverse businesses. At present, the company’s businesses beyond e-commerce include physical stores, cloud computing, audio/video streaming, advertising, and devices – all of which have millions of customers/users serviced by a strong network infrastructure. The sheer growth across its businesses in the recent years has primed Amazon as one of the leading operators in the network space. Naturally, to cope up with its ever increasing network-related demand, the company is not just spending massively to shore up its infrastructure through vendor partnerships but could be mulling to build some on its own, especially on the hardware side. Below are a few key highlights from the report: As a percentage of revenues, Amazon spends more on R&D than capex, which is typical of WNOs. The gap between the two spending, however, is somewhat shrinking which goes to show Amazon’s greater efforts in building datacenters and warehouses in the recent years. Amazon also emerged as the top R&D spender among WNOs over the past two years, due to Prime Video. Amazon currently manufactures some of the network components such as routers, chips, network interface cards, and network gears to meet the growing needs of its cloud business (AWS). The internet giant, known for disruption, could foray into the enterprise networking market and sell its own custom-made hardware by 2020, taking the incumbent network vendors head-on. However, Amazon is also creating a host of new opportunities for network vendors, as it looks to disrupt different industries such as automotive (driverless cars) and healthcare (online pharmacy and heart-rate detection device), both requiring a strong network infrastructure to enable data transfers and communication between sensors and components. -
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October 15, 2019Shared Infrastructure Models and O-RAN Vendor Disruption
Focus Report, ReportsWith mobile network operators facing increased network spend and still defining incremental 5G revenue opportunities, Venture Insights believes it is time to look again at network sharing models. In particular we believe a focus on regional RAN sharing and small cells may be targets for either joint venture or neutral host players. Venture estimates that Government (States/Federal) and Industry spend at the end of round 6 of the blackspot program could be as high as $1.2B. Plus there is additional regional connectivity spending from states around Australia. Examples of blackspot funding for regional rail projects highlight the lack of benefits for all end customers from non-shared network projects versus shared. If Governments continue to heavily subsidise regional network coverage then they should consider the customer benefits of active RAN infrastructure sharing and the use of train repeaters to maximise investment outcomes. In addition, since these networks are capable of wireless and fixed wireless solutions, these network models should also consider the role of NBN.Sector Telecom. -
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October 14, 2019Women’s sport: inching towards the UK media mainstream
Focus Report, ReportsMedia coverage of women’s sport escalated this summer thanks to the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which ignited national interest. The Lionesses attracted an exceptional peak TV audience of 11.8 million for England’s semi-final match against the USA. Still, coverage of women's sport remains minimal outside of major events: only 4% of printed sports articles reference female athletes. Quality press are leading the way—the launch of Telegraph Women’s Sport being the prime example—but the popular press are yet to follow. Freely-accessible coverage will generate greater interest and audiences for women’s sport, but continuous investment from all media will be needed to fulfil its potential.
October 10, 2019UK BVOD advertising: on-demand in demand
Focus Report, ReportsBroadcaster video on demand (BVOD) advertising is in demand with an £89m rise in 2018 spend to £391m, and is predicted to double within the next six years. The rise of on-demand viewing has created a scaled advertising proposition with a strong 16-34 profile – a relief for both broadcasters and advertisers, given the long-term decline in linear TV impacts for younger audiences. Big challenges remain: linear TV ad loads look excessive in on-demand, BVOD CPTs can be off-puttingly high, and measurement is still unresolved. BVOD is a welcome bright spot which faces online video competition head-on, but it won’t be able to turn broadcasters’ fortunes around alone
October 8, 2019Australian Data Centres and Submarine Cables Report
Market Outlook, ReportsThe Australian data centre (DC) market is rapidly expanding, forecast to reach over A$3bn by 2026 with nearly 1,200 MW of capacity. Current revenues are A$1.5bn with 530 MW capacity. Currently, a majority of data stored in outsourced DCs are from enterprise and government clients. However, the market is moving towards the hyperscale segment, due to ongoing shift to cloud-based computing. We predict hyperscale to generate 35% of total DC revenue in 2026, occupying 50% of total supply. The major providers of DC capacity in Australia are a mix of international players and Australian based DC specialists. We predict that relative market shares of these players will converge over time due to relatively small areas of product and service differentiation.Driving the DC market is the submarine cable industry with four new cables planned. Perth and Brisbane are key growth areas, while Sydney will continue to remain the market leader by a large margin. A cable landing station was completed in Sunshine Coast in September 2019.
October 4, 2019Follow the Money – Australian VC in Tech
Focus Report, ReportsVenture Capital funding continues to offer potential for growth in Australia, despite reaching new peaks in aggregate capital in 2018. Overseas funds continue to maintain their contribution levels to total funding, while local institutions have also joined the fray. Australian has a thriving startup ecosystem which is driving growth across all parameters such as funds raised, funds deployed, revenue metrices and exits.
September 30, 2019Time to liberalise UK TV advertising minutage
Flash Report, ReportsThe UK TV advertising market, in decline since mid-2016, could benefit from a liberalisation of advertising minutage if Ofcom reviews COSTA and decides to make changes. Broadcasters could gain from the flexibility to devote up to 20% of peaktime minutes to advertising under the EU’s revised Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD). Ofcom could also level the playing field between PSB and non-PSB channels, although more minutes of advertising on TV is unlikely to inverse the medium’s decline.
September 25, 2019eSports and 5G – can telcos cash in…
Focus Report, ReportsThe value of the eSports market is growing rapidly with both viewers and the prize money at stake beginning to rival that of traditional sports. With 5G’s ultra-fast data speeds and minimal latencies, there is an opportunity for telcos to carve a piece of this growing market. eSports could therefore emerge as an important use case as telcos look at extracting a revenue premium from their 5G networks. eSports or electronic sports commonly refers to multi-player video games played competitively. Fans can watch professional gamers compete or play themselves. Professional level gamers compete in tournaments, which are hosted at arenas or stadiums in front of a live audience. Games are often broadcast live and many more global eSports fans watch these tournaments remotely by streaming them online. Some of the most notable tournaments include League of Legends, The International, Evolution Championship Series and the Intel Extreme Masters. Most major competitions are generally held in South Korea, Europe, USA and China however eSports tournaments are starting to gain traction across the globe. In the past few years, eSports has seen significant changes from being played in small groups, to occupying world-class stadiums which accommodate tens of thousands of fans, with many more viewers online. The value of the eSports market is growing rapidly with both viewers and the prize money at stake rivalling that of traditional sports. As the first digitally-native sport, eSports is primarily streamed online and is most popular with younger male audiences. With similar properties to traditional sport, the opportunity to engage with these hard-to-reach millennials is appealing to advertisers, traditional broadcasters and traditional sports teams alike. But while eSports viewership is growing, Australian broadcasters have had limited success which has left the door open for Australian telcos to enter this space. Furthermore, the rise of 5G could alter the eSports landscape with higher data speeds, lower latencies and next gen AR and VR gaming platforms. Venture Insights conducted a mobile consumer survey focused on consumers and their eSports viewing and playing habits. In this report, we look at the results from our survey, why and how 5G could play a role in the rise of eSports, the role that telcos could play and global trends on 5G and eSports.
September 24, 2019Amazon’s pivot to Marketplace
Flash Report, ReportsAmazon, the gatekeeper to 100 million Prime members, is increasingly reliant for growth on Marketplace, where third-party sellers compete with first-party products. Amazon’s multi-channel platform strategy delivers choice and low prices to customers, but third-party sellers have increasingly complained that their playing field is not level. After Amazon’s seller agreements were modified in August to implement a competition ruling in Germany, the European Commission is now investigating the data layer.
September 23, 2019European mobile in Q2 2019: No real let-up
Market Outlook, ReportsEuropean mobile revenue trends are not yet improving. Italy is still flat-lining at almost -10%, Spain worsened again, and the UK deteriorated sharply. France is the only good news story. 5G rollouts seem somewhat tentative. Indications from the UK that it is leading to a more competitive environment may discourage European operators from exacerbating already challenging markets. Prior year comparables for Southern Europe will be more flattering in the second half of this year although a doubling in the drag from intra EU calls will dampen any recovery
September 19, 2019Use cases for AI in Telco: An era of mainstream adoption
Focus Report, ReportsMany tier 1 telcos have begun to implement AI initiatives to build and operate their network, sell more efficiently and improve the customer support experience. Based on our industry interviews, we expect increasing competitive intensity in the telco market to drive increased adoption of AI beyond the largest incumbents and into RSPs
September 18, 2019The pre-order market has taken off, is consolidation next?
Flash Report, ReportsAustralia’s pre-order market, serviced by players like UberEats, Deliveroo and MenuLog, has grown quickly and is highly competitive. We anticipate the market will experience strong, ongoing growth, market concentration via consolidation as well as horizontal integration. Over the next three years we anticipate that the key players will seek to expand both organically and via acquisition, which will increase the scale and scope of the remaining players. This is likely to be a global phenomenon, though it’s recognised that Australia is an attractive market given its early adoption status.
September 17, 2019Cut-price iPhones: Apple’s innovative approach
Flash Report, ReportsApple’s iPhone launch event was relatively light on iPhone, which shared the stage with games, TV, Watch, iPad and retail announcements. This reflects Apple’s developing priorities: as iPhone sales soften, it needs to find new ways to extract value from the wealthy user base it has spent a decade nurturing. Apple has embraced this new strategy, offering a range of cheaper points of entry into its ecosystem, making the lost profits back on accessories or content subscriptions
September 16, 2019Spotify’s podcast play
Flash Report, ReportsSpotify is investing heavily in podcasting through acquisitions, original content and product innovation. It is under pressure to reduce dependence on record labels, whose power makes generating large profit margins difficult. Podcasts promise a non-music content genre where Spotify can capture more value. Secondary benefits abound: Spotify can take an active and lucrative role in modernising online audio advertising, it can solve the podcast discovery problem, and engagement across more forms of audio will improve retention
September 12, 2019Stakeholder management – where to from here?
Focus Report, ReportsThe Business Roundtable (United States), has recently revised its ‘Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation’ and walks away from the age old ‘shareholder primacy’ mantra. This new Statement re-positions the purpose of the corporation to include a focus on all stakeholders, rather than placing shareholders above all others. We believe this represents a significant symbolic turning point and will commence the process towards a new dissertation for the ‘Modern Corporation,’ apt for living in the post-industrial age. Our report revisits this age-old debate and provides insights for technology companies living in the 21st century.
September 11, 2019In Pod we trust? The rise and rise of podcasts, and where to next
Flash Report, ReportsPodcasts have come a long way from being the pet project of some hobbyist with a handful of listeners directly proportional to the number of family members they have. But while podcasts are big news, how many people do they really reach? And how can they be monetised?September 9, 2019UK mobile market Q2 2019: Reality bites, and will bite some more
Market Outlook, ReportsThe UK mobile market suffered its worst performance in five years this quarter with Vodafone alone, somewhat inexplicably, bucking the trend.5G capacity is impacting pricing trends with SIM-only packages flattening and unlimited packages increasing in popularity and complexity.As the operators invest in solving rural coverage and rolling out 5G, they will continue to be hit by regulation. Out-of-contract notifications and discounts are next in a long series of assaults.Sector Telecom.
September 6, 2019TPG FY19 update – there’s a lot riding on the merger…
Flash Report, ReportsOn 5th September, TPG released its FY19 results. Reported profits plunged 56% to A$174mn in FY19 from A$396mn in FY18, with majority of the drop driven a write down of its spectrum assets. FY20 guidance indicates that TPG is preparing for further earnings pain with EBITDA expected to be in the A$735mn to A$750mn range, about 10% lower than FY19 EBITDA.
September 5, 2019AI in ANZ: Our coolest homegrown startups
Focus Report, ReportsAI is expected to be the next revolution in computing with broad commercial applications. This has resulted in a significant amount of private investment flowing into the industry with funding in ANZ growing by 70% CAGR to reach $48mn.
September 4, 2019Under pressure, how UK TV is changing on the screen
Flash Report, ReportsAnalysis of peak time TV programming on the main five PSB channels from 2002 to today shows a decline in the number of UK dramas broadcast—predominantly due to a contraction by ITV—though this has steadied since 2010. The resolve of the PSBs to maintain the number of dramas broadcast, despite rising costs, will mean an inevitable increase in the number of repeats and cheaper programming. A number of other observations are eye-catching: a greater turnover of drama series, entertainment formats failing at a higher rate and celebrity being treated as a panacea
September 3, 2019oOh!media 1HCY19 update: temporary blip with long term outlook re [...]
Flash Report, ReportsOn 26th August 2019, oOh!media reported its first half CY19 earnings update. OML’s performance in the first half was impacted by reduced ad spends during the NSW state and Federal elections, along with subdued ad spending from the Automotive and Banking segments.
August 28, 2019Vocus: building their identity as an infrastructure business
Flash Report, ReportsOn 22nd August, Vocus announced its FY19 earnings. While Vocus delivered on its FY19 guidance, the outlook for the next 2-3 years remains subdued as Vocus faces an uphill battle to turnaround its business. Competitive intensity will continue to remain high across the consumer and enterprise segments. Therefore, how Vocus develops its infrastructure business will remain crucial.August 27, 2019FTA earnings update – could digital save the TV star?
Flash Report, ReportsSeven West Media and Nine Entertainment reported their 1HFY19 earnings last week. Both broadcasters have been investing in ramping up their BVOD platforms along with offering advertisers addressable TV and programmatic advertising solutions while the outlook for their core FTA business remains challenging.