Tag Archives: ott

Verizon CEO: Go90 ‘Overhyped,’ But ‘Expectations Are Realistic’

Verizon Communications ‘ ( VZ ) Go90 mobile video service was “overhyped,” Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam said at an investor conference Tuesday. McAdam downplayed expectations for Go90, speaking at the JPMorgan financial conference in Boston. “I think maybe it did get a little over-hyped, and I’m sure we contributed to that to a certain extent,” McAdam said. “We didn’t believe it was going to move the needle on a $130 billion revenue stream overnight. It’s one of those things you have to work into.” Verizon has not disclosed how many subscribers it has for the ad-supported Go90 service, which targets millennials (ages 18 to 34) and “Gen Zers” (teens). Launched in September, Go90 provides a mix of original Web TV series, live sports, concert streaming, prime-time TV and other offerings. Verizon’s Go90 is usually lumped with emerging over-the-top (OTT) video services, such as  Dish Network ‘s ( DISH ) Sling, but the mobile app also competes for millennial attention with the likes of Alphabet ( GOOGL ) parent Google’s YouTube,  Facebook ( FB ), Instagram and Snapchat. “We have seen enough success to make us excited about continuing to work it. We’re on pace,” McAdam said. “Bottom line is that Go90 is in a good spot from our perspective. We’re going to continue to pursue it. But our expectations are realistic.” At an analyst meeting in April, Verizon executives indicated they might expand Go90 to multiple video streaming platforms this year. As for speculation that Verizon remains the front-runner to acquire the main business of Web portal Yahoo ( YHOO ), McAdam acknowledged interest, though it’s not the first such acknowledgement by Verizon executives. “We can’t talk about Yahoo, but that’s a possibility,” McAdam said at the conference, news website TheStreet reported .  “That’s a possibility to gain greater scale.” Verizon stock was up a fraction, near 49.50, in midday trading in the stock market today .

Verizon CEO: Go90 ‘Over-Hyped,’ But ‘Expectations Are Realistic’

Verizon Communications ‘ ( VZ ) Go90 mobile video service was “over-hyped,” Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam said at an investor conference Tuesday. McAdam downplayed expectations for Go90, speaking at the JPMorgan financial conference in Boston. “I think maybe it did get a little over-hyped, and I’m sure we contributed to that to a certain extent,” McAdam said. “We didn’t believe it was going to move the needle on a $130 billion revenue stream overnight. It’s one of those things you have to work into.” Verizon has not disclosed how many subscribers it has for the ad-supported Go90 service, which targets millennials (ages 18 to 34) and “Gen Zers” (teens). Launched in September, Go90 provides a mix of original Web TV series, live sports, concert streaming, prime-time TV and other offerings. Verizon’s Go90 is usually lumped with emerging over-the-top (OTT) video services, such as  Dish Network ‘s ( DISH ) Sling, but the mobile app also competes for millennial attention with the likes of Alphabet ( GOOGL ) parent Google’s YouTube,  Facebook ( FB ), Instagram and Snapchat. “We have seen enough success to make us excited about continuing to work it. We’re on pace,” McAdam said. “Bottom line is that Go90 is in a good spot from our perspective. We’re going to continue to pursue it. But our expectations are realistic.” At an analyst meeting in April, Verizon executives indicated they might expand Go90 to multiple video streaming platforms this year. Verizon stock was up a fraction, near 49, in early trading in the stock market today .

Cogent Stock Buybacks Loom, As Regulatory Outlook Improves

Cogent Communications Group ( CCOI ) might bring back a stock buyback program later this year, analysts say, and regulatory developments could also work in its favor. Cogent late Thursday reported Q1 earnings and revenue that modestly beat views. Cogent stock was up nearly 3% in late-afternoon trading in the stock market today , above 39. The provider of Internet communications services to small and midsize businesses has an IBD Composite Rating of 91 out of a possible 99, and it broke out of a cup-with-handle base at a 36.85 buy point on Feb. 26. Cogent stock has climbed 13% in 2016. Cogent told analysts on its earnings call after the close Thursday that it could bring back a share repurchase program if its debt-to-EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) ratio improves. “As EBITDA should trend higher in the subsequent quarters, Cogent management intimated that it will re-implement a capital return program to complement the regular dividend,” Jim Breen, an analyst at William Blair, said in a research report. At Cowen & Co., analyst Colby Synesael wrote that “we have updated our model to reflect what we think will be a stock buyback of equal size to its current recurring dividend, starting in Q3.” There might be upside for Cogent from Internet video, also called over-the-top (OTT) services, some analysts say. On the regulatory front, the  Federal Communications Commission has proposed to regulate prices in the $20 billion market for business data services , drawing criticism from  AT&T ( T ) and cable TV rivals. The proposal could help companies such as Level 3 Communications ( LVLT ) and Cogent, which sometimes lease lines from bigger telecom firms to serve their own customers. Cogent reported Q1 profit of 8 cents per share, swinging from a 4-cent per-share loss in the year-earlier period. Revenue rose 11% to $108.3  million. Analysts had modeled profit of 7 cents and revenue of $107.6 million.