Tag Archives: amzn

Google Report For ‘Unplugged’ YouTube Service Follows Hulu Splash

YouTube, the video website of Alphabet ( GOOGL )-Google, aims to roll out a new paid subscription service called “Unplugged” that would offer customers a bundle of cable TV channels streamed over the Internet, says a report. The Bloomberg report comes after Hulu on Monday disclosed plans to stream live content from two of its parents, 21 st Century Fox ( FOXA ) and Walt Disney ( DIS ). Comcast ( CMCSA ), the third co-owner of Hulu and owner of NBC Universal, was not included in the initial plans.  CBS ( CBS ) has its own stand-alone Web service to consumers. The Bloomberg “Unplugged” report notes that Google’s YouTube has not secured programming rights for the online video service. Speculation over YouTube “Unplugged” also comes amid a firefight over federal regulators’ proposal to open up the pay TV set-top box market to more competition. Comcast, AT&T ( T ) and others object to the Federal Communications Commission’s set-top box proposal . They’ve charged that it might favor Google. The FCC says that only pay TV subscribers will gain access to programming, and that copyright protections will be preserved. Google, critics say, aims to swap its own advertising for the local ads sold by cable TV companies. Fox, Disney, CBS and Time Warner ( TWX ) have objected to the FCC proposal. According to the Bloomberg “Unplugged” report, YouTube has overhauled its technical architecture for the live product, slated to arrive as soon as 2017. Google last month introduced YouTube Red, which costs $10 monthly. It features movies, original content and other fare. Fox, Comcast-NBCU and CBS agreed to provide YouTube Red with content, while Disney did not. Hulu competes with  Netflix ( NFLX ) and  Amazon.com ( AMZN ) in the subscription video-on-demand sector. Dish Network ( DISH ) offers Sling TV, and has been gaining more content partners, including Fox.

Investing Action Plan For Thursday: Alibaba, Mobileye, 3D Systems On Tap

Here’s your Investing Action Plan for Thursday: What you need to know as an investor for the coming day. Alibaba Group ( BABA ), 3D Systems ( DDD ),  Tesla Motors ( TSLA ) supplier Mobileye ( MBLY ), Sprouts Farmers Market ( SFM ) and shale producer EOG Resources ( EOG ) are all due to report earnings Thursday. Alibaba Top Chinese e-commerce site Alibaba is on tap to announce results for its fourth quarter, ended March 31, prior to the market opening on Thursday. Investors will look for a rise in the value of goods sold on its various platforms. The company, sometimes called the Amazon.com ( AMZN ) of China, reported better-than-expected earnings last quarter, but shares fell after it said that growth in gross merchandise volume, a measure of total value of goods sold, shrank from the prior quarter. First-quarter gross merchandise volume will be key in the upcoming report. Consensus is for a 21% increase in earnings to 56 cents a share on a 33% hike in revenue to $3.58 billion. Alibaba fell 0.9% in afternoon trading on the stock market today . Mobileye The advanced driver assistance systems maker, which sells to luxury electric carmaker Tesla Motors and others, also reports early Thursday. Tesla, General Motors ( GM ), Ford Motor ( F ) and other automakers, along with tech giants like Alphabet ( GOOGL )-owned Google and reportedly Apple ( AAPL ), are racing to develop autonomous, self-driving car technology. Mobileye’s backup cameras and other high tech gear are seen as key to such systems. On April 19, Mobileye announced a partnership to expand in China with Chinese e-commerce site Ingdan.com, a unit of Hong Kong-based Cogobuy Group. Under terms of the deal, Ingdan.com will sell Mobileye products on its site. Mobileye was down 4.4% Wednesday. Tesla reports first-quarter results after the market close on Wednesday. Analyst consensus is for per share loss to deepen to 57 cents from 37 cents in Q1 2015 as it boosts spending to expand Model X production and build the Gigafactory battery plant in Nevada. Tesla slid 4.7% ahead of results and amid reports that key production chiefs are leaving. 3D Systems 3D Systems will report first-quarter earnings before the market opens Thursday . 3D printing could be poised to recover from a two-year decline. Leaders 3D Systems and Stratasys ( SSYS ) — which reports May 9 — grew at a rapid pace for years by selling so-called “additive printers,” which create physical objects by layering on materials such as plastic and metal to build a variety of devices. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters are looking for 3D Systems’ earnings per share minus one-time items to be flat at 5 cents a share vs. Q1 2015 and are projecting a slight dip in revenue to $156.3 million. Sentiment is positive though after 3D Systems crushed estimates last quarter, reporting a 19-cent profit, more than six times the expected 3 cents, and its $183.4 million revenue easily topped forecasts. 3D Systems tumbled 5% intraday Wednesday, undercutting its 50-day line, after tumbling 7.4% Tuesday and 6.3% Monday. Stratasys fell 3.9%. Sprouts Farmers Market Natural and organic foods grocery Sprouts Farmers Market ( SFM ) reports first-quarter financial results early Thursday. Consensus is for earnings to rise 16% to 29 cents a share and revenue to climb 18% to $1.01 billion.But Sprouts has beaten earnings estimates in the last two quarters. Sprouts hass gotten a series of analyst upgrades recently, including Oppenheimer raising its price target Monday to 30 from 26 with a hold rating. Sprouts rose 0.5%. In contrast, rival Whole Foods Market ( WFM ) has delivered below market performance this year and is scheduled to report after the close Wednesday. Its earnings and revenue growth both shrank the last two quarters in a row. Its stock is down 15% year to date and was down about 1% Wednesday afternoon. EOG Resources Oil and natural gas producer EOG Resources ( EOG ) will report results late Thursday. Gas prices climbed to a six-month high at a national average of $2.22 per gallon as the industry tries to recover from plunging prices. EOG is expected to record an 84 cents loss vs. a 3 cent profit in the same quarter a year earlier. Revenue is projected to fall 28.1% to $1.67 billion. EOG shares were down 1.5% Wednesday. On Wednesday, Carrizo Oil & Gas ( CRZO ) and Noble Energy ( NBL ) raised production targets .

Hulu Reveals Fast Subscriber Growth, Live-TV Streaming Plans

Internet TV service Hulu announced Wednesday that it will reach 12 million subscribers in the U.S. this month, up 30% from a year ago. It also confirmed media reports that it plans to offer a live-TV service in 2017 to complement its on-demand video service. Hulu CEO Mike Hopkins made the announcements at an upfront event in New York City for advertisers. Hopkins said the live-TV service will offer news, sports and entertainment from broadcast and cable TV, but it did not detail content and pricing, TechCrunch reported . “We’re going to fuse the best of linear television and on-demand in a deeply personalized experience optimized for the contemporary, always-connected television fan,” Hopkins said. Hulu’s live-TV service is targeted at cord cutters and cord nevers — those consumers who don’t subscribe to traditional pay-TV services but might be interested in a lower-cost, “skinny bundle” of TV channels. Hulu is looking to charge about $40 a month for the live TV package, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday . It would compete with other live-TV streaming services, such as Dish Network ‘s ( DISH ) Sling TV and Sony ‘s ( SNE ) PlayStation Vue. Dish stock was down 2%, above 46, and Sony’s U.S.-listed shares were down nearly 2%, below 24, in early afternoon trading on the stock market today . Hulu is co-owned by Walt Disney ( DIS ), Comcast ’s ( CMCSA ) NBCUniversal and 21st Century Fox ( FOXA ). Disney also owns ABC, ESPN and Disney Channel; Comcast owns NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, Syfy and USA; and 21st Century Fox owns Fox, Fox News, FX and Fox’s sports channels. Hulu competes with Netflix ( NFLX ) and Amazon.com ( AMZN ) in the subscription video-on-demand sector. Like its rivals, Hulu has been increasing its original programming, most recently with shows such as “11.22.63” and “The Path.”