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Tag: Verizon Fios

  • Netflix Must Create Ad Model or Raise Prices

    Netflix Must Create Ad Model or Raise Prices

    Netflix announced that their original movie ‘Bird Box’ generated over 45 million streams in just the first week making it the best first 7 days ever for a Netflix film. However, some analysts say that their $12 billion in debt and mounting costs will require Netflix to either raise subscription prices again or create an advertising model.

    Porter Bibb of Mediatech Capital Partners recently discussed the future of Netflix on CNBC:

    Netflix Is Going to Soon Hit the Wall

    Long-term Disney and the other major content producers are pulling their content off of Netflix and going it on their own. There’s no question that if you have a library of immensely popular content you’re going to draw a crowd no matter what. Everybody’s looking today at Netflix and the 45 million people who supposedly streamed Bird Box. If it had gone out as a theatrical feature it would have been the biggest box-office hit in the history of motion pictures.

    Netflix Must Create Ad Model or Raise Prices

    It can’t continue. Netflix reported for its last quarter a $3 billion negative cash flow. Their off-balance-sheet debt is mounting. It’s well over $12 billion right now. When they have to go out and continue to pay huge amounts for top talent they’re going to soon hit the wall. Netflix is going to have to do one of two things. They’re either going to have to create an advertising revenue stream or they’re going to have to raise their prices.

    However, in the past when they’ve tried to raise their subscription prices their membership and subscriber lists have just plummeted right through the floor. They’re in a very tight corner right now and the major content producers and the major talent that has been giving them a lot of headlines is not a sustainable business model.

    Verizon FiOS Has to Have ESPN

    Verizon FiOS has to have the ESPN if they expect anybody to watch. It’s really curious that Verizon which has with the new CEO this year advertised heavily the fact that they don’t have any real interest in content. They want to be a distributor and stick with the dumb pipes while their competitors at AT&T and elsewhere are loading up on content.

    With a single revenue stream, it’s not really the way to go. It’s taking a little while for the whole media market to shake itself out. It’s all going mobile, it’s all going streaming, digital, and video, so Verizon is going to be left at the gate. I think they’ll change their tune and come back to content. They made some overtures last year about acquiring both CBS and Viacom. It’s not out of the question that they come back and knock both of those into the Verizon pool.


  • Verizon Doubles FiOS Speeds to 300 Mbps

    Verizon Doubles FiOS Speeds to 300 Mbps

    Verizon today announced that next month it will double the speeds for its FiOS broadband service. The company will be introducing a 300 Mbps connection as its highest-tier option. As Ars Technica points out, this is faster than most single-band routers. A tier with 75 Mbps access will also be introduced.

    Verizon said the new speed tiers, which will be offered in both stand-alone and bundled plans, were designed to address the growing prominence of bandwidth-intensive applications. The company states the new speeds will be able to support customers who watch more streaming video on multiple devices throughout their households.

    Verizon's new FiOS tiers

    “The ways we used the Internet and watched TV over the past 10 to 15 years have dramatically shifted,” said Bob Mudge, president of Verizon’s consumer and mass market business. “With the emergence of smartphones, smart TVs, Blu-ray players, tablets and gaming consoles that also serve as over-the-top devices, consumers need more bandwidth to receive the highest-quality experience.”

    Verizon claims their lower-tier plans are fine for households of one or two people who use the internet for basic services such as email and web browsing. The highest-tier plans are for households of five or more internet users who stream HD movies, download or upload videos, and play multiplayer video games. The company claims FiOS, which is an all-fiber optic network, offers better reliability than cable-company provided broadband.

    “Our top FiOS speed will be twice as fast as anything America has ever seen,” said Mike Ritter, chief marketing officer for Verizon’s consumer and mass market business unit. “High-speed Internet no longer is just for techies, as more than half of our residential consumers already use at least a 20 Mbps Internet connection. Streaming online video on an all-fiber-optic connection providing faster speeds is better and more reliable during peak Internet usage hours.”

    These amazingly high speeds might seem too good to be true, and for most Americans they are. Verizon FiOS service is available in only a handful of larger cities across the U.S. For customers lucky enough to have access to FiOS, though, their broadband options just got a whole lot faster.

  • Verizon Q1, 2012 Report: Good News for Investors

    Yesterday, Verizon released their Q1 2012 earnings and revenue financial report and it looks like good news for the technology provider. $0.59 earnings per diluted share, which is an increase $0.08 or almost 16% when compared to last year. Cash flow from operating activities is up $922 million to $6 billion when compared to the same quarter last year and they experienced a 4.6% year-over-year revenue growth this quarter. Very nice!

    Wireless revenue grew almost 8% since the same quarter last year and wireline services also grew via Fios video and internet at a gain of over 20%. Verizon currently has 93 million retail customers and 88 million prepay customers. They also have 193,000 Fios internet subscribers and 180,000 Fios streaming video subscribers.

    Lowell McAdam, Verizon chairman and CEO comments on the results of this 2012 first quarter:

    “Verizon delivered double-digit earnings growth and strong cash flow this quarter,”

    “We built momentum coming out of 2011, and our results show that we continue to execute in the key growth areas of our business. Verizon Wireless produced both great growth and great margins, and we produced another strong quarter of FiOS growth. We are confident we will improve Wireline margins for the full year. Our repositioning of Verizon Enterprise Solutions has better aligned our strengths in high-growth markets, and we expect our enterprise business to contribute even more to overall Wireline revenue growth and profitability over time.”

    “We remain confident in our ability to take advantage of the growth opportunities we see, and we are focused on driving operating efficiencies. We are on track with our plans and expect to continue to deliver strong results.”