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Comcast X1 Promotions Seen Boosting Q1 Video Additions

Aggressive promotions by Comcast ( CMCSA ) tied to its rollout of Xfinity-branded TV services and X1 set-top boxes will boost first-quarter video subscriber additions, says a bullish Macquarie Research research report. Analyst Amy Yong forecasts that Comcast, the nation’s No. 1 cable TV firm, will post a net add of 32,000 video customers in Q1, compared with an 8,000-subscriber loss in Q1 2015. At a Morgan Stanley conference on March 1, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts signaled  that the company could have a strong Q1. Comcast has been promoting X1 “double-play” bundles that offer TV and broadband for $80 monthly, plus taxes and fees, and triple-play packages that include phone services and start at $90 monthly, says the Macquarie analyst. “We are increasing our Q1 video net add assumptions to 32,000 from (minus) 1,000 on the back of recent commentary,” wrote Yong. “Management continues to reinvigorate the product set by rolling out X1 double/triple play starting at $80 per month and $90 per month, respectively. Other current initiatives include Xfinity Internet+ Premium Streaming for $45 per month.” Comcast stock was flat in morning in the stock market today , near 60. Comcast shares are up 6% in 2016 but are down 8% from their all-time high of 65, touched last July. Worries that Comcast will spend big to buy airwaves in a government auction of radio spectrum have been a stock overhang. Comcast has an IBD Composite Rating of 88 out of a possible 99, putting it among the top 12% of all stocks on such metrics as sales and earnings growth. Comcast lost 36,000 video subscribers in 2015, but it gained 89,000 in Q4, marking its best quarter in nine years. The gains have come despite continued cord-cutting by young adults, who have shifted to Internet video from providers such as Netflix ( NFLX ). Some 30% of Comcast’s video customers — more than 7 million — were using X1 set-top boxes as of Jan. 1. By year-end, Comcast expects at least half of its 22 million video subscribers will be using Internet-ready X1 set-top boxes in their homes. The X1 entertainment platform provides access to live broadcast, on-demand video and DVR-stored content. DVR-stored content is in the Internet cloud, not the set-top. Analysts say that Comcast has put a lot of work into developing a cloud-based TV channel guide and user interface, a voice-controlled remote, programming recommendations, on-screen sports app and social media features for sharing video. Amazon.com ( AMZN ) last week said that it would resell Comcast services at a new online cable store. “On the promotional side, we see the deal with Amazon.com as another creative distribution outlet,” added Yong.

Summit 2016: Can High-Rated Adobe Systems Profit From Platforms?

High-rated Adobe Systems ( ADBE ) stock edged up Thursday but closed down slightly for the week of its Adobe Summit 2016 digital marketing conference. That’s a week after shares advanced almost 9% on the strength of Adobe’s first-quarter earnings report and outlook. The Adobe Summit in Las Vegas drew more than 10,000 people — the company’s largest live event to date. The theme centered around how brands are increasingly interacting with consumers in a wave of “digital experiences” online that leverage social networking. Actor George Clooney spoke at the Adobe Summit on Wednesday, but most presenters were from the tech and business worlds. Executives from major brands were among the featured speakers, from McDonald’s ( MCD ) and Mattel ( MAT ) to General Motors ( GM ) and General Electric ( GE ) to Comcast ( CMCSA ) and Charles Schwab ( SCHW ). That's right. It's George at #AdobeSummit talking experience and creativity. Watch live now: https://t.co/NTBQXucWEM pic.twitter.com/Q0HoYKOw3f — Adobe (@Adobe) March 23, 2016 “Adobe’s momentum in digital marketing was demonstrated in record attendance, including by CEOs, at its marketing summit,” Pacific Crest analyst Brendan Barnicle wrote in a research note as the conference kicked off Tuesday. “New products and partnerships increase its strategic value both to customers and the industry, and should drive continued growth and market-share gains.” Adobe Summit Sees World Gone Digital, From ‘Deadpool’ To Sea Of Data https://t.co/wT0S73h5it pic.twitter.com/Qz56otNOGn — Investors.com (@IBDinvestors) March 22, 2016 Adobe makes the Creative Cloud suite of content tools, such as Photoshop and Premiere Pro video editing software, along with the Adobe Marketing Cloud array of tools to track online content popularity and inform advertising decisions. This week, the company announced an audience measurement partnership with comScore ( SCOR ), among initiatives aimed at improving measurement of online video viewing and other forms of content consumption across platforms. Adobe Systems Analyst Briefing FBR & Co. analyst Samad Samana wrote Wednesday about an analyst briefing held in conjunction with the conference that “focused  almost  entirely  on  Adobe’s  technology  and  the  platform  pivot.” In recent years, Adobe has moved headlong to host its products in the Internet cloud, using the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model, with platforms that handle content’s entire life cycle from creation through tracking consumer interaction with it. Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen summed up a broad Adobe goal: being able to “make, monetize and measure” the digital experiences that people have. “Management highlighted that it is investing around the ‘experience business’ wave of disruption and innovating at the platform level, both of which will be important in driving long-term growth for the digital marketing business,” Samana wrote. “While it is in the early stages, we see the platform play as strategically smart, as it should enhance the value proposition for Adobe’s entire product suite, making it stickier with customers.” Adobe, which is on the IBD Big Cap 20 stock list, closed up 0.4% Thursday at 92.52, down 1% for the week. The stock market is closed on Good Friday, March 25. Adobe gets a high IBD Composite Rating of 96 out of a possible 99. Adobe stock is a few percentage points under a potential buy point, trading above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. RELATED: Adobe Summit Sees World Gone Digital, From ‘Deadpool’ To Sea Of Data Image provided by Shutterstock .

Apple Gains In Morgan Stanley Online Video Survey, Netflix Tops

Most cord-cutters still replace cable TV services with Netflix ( NFLX ) — no surprise there — but Apple TV gained in an annual Morgan Stanley survey of consumers who watch Internet video. Apple ( AAPL ) rolled out its fourth-generation TV hardware in late 2015, but it has shelved plans, at least temporarily, for a Web-based TV service amid stalled negotiations with programmers. The Apple TV streaming device costs from $149 to $199. Apple customers can subscribe to Netflix, HBO and full-season sports subscriptions as well as watch movies and TV shows served up from the iTunes store. Among those planning to cancel pay TV subscriptions, some 35% of the 2,500 consumers surveyed say they are most likely to switch to Netflix, says Morgan Stanley.  That’s down from about 40.7% in the year-earlier study. Apple TV moved up to 23%, from about 17% a year earlier. YouTube, the video website of Alphabet ( GOOGL )-owned Google figures two ways in the survey, in which respondents could give more than one answer. Some 20% of respondents said they might replace pay TV with YouTube Red, the new subscription service, while 29% cited the free, ad-supported version of YouTube. Amazon.com ’s ( AMZN ) online video service and Hulu were tied at 27%, with Time Warner ’s ( TWX ) HBO Now service right behind, with 25% of pay TV subscribers saying they were likely to switch to the service. “Among those without a pay TV subscription, Netflix usage is meaningfully higher (47%) vs. Amazon Instant Video (21%), suggesting Netflix is viewed as more of a replacement service to traditional pay TV,” said the Morgan Stanley report. “Netflix remains the leading online video platform for TV/film content in the US, with 40% of respondents saying that they use the service, still well ahead of YouTube (33%), Amazon Instant Video (22%) and Hulu Plus (14%).” Hulu is a joint venture of 21 st Century Fox Entertainment ( FOXA ), Walt Disney ( DIS ) and Comcast ( CMCSA ).