Tag Archives: twx

Facebook Doubles Length Time On Instagram Video Ads

In its ongoing ad expansion, Facebook ( FB ) has doubled the length of video ads on Instagram to 60 seconds, with T-Mobile ( TMUS ) and Warner Bros. the first to jump aboard. Facebook derives more than 96% of total revenue from advertising, with video ads deriving a premium price. The social networking giant has been methodical in rolling out video ads on its products, including its photo- and video-sharing app Instagram, as the company says that its priority is user experience. “We recognize that advertisers have a variety of creative resources and want to bring more choice to help them reach their business goals,” an Instagram spokeswoman told IBD in an email exchange. “Instagram allows brands to amplify campaigns and build anticipation heading into key moments in time,” such as the Super Bowl football game Sunday or a highly anticipated movie premiere, she wrote. T-Mobile is using the new 60-second ad format to promote bonus scenes of their Super Bowl ad spot. Warner Bros. Entertainment, a division of Time Warner ( TWX ), used the 60-second format to promote its new movie “Me Before You.” On June 3rd #LiveBoldly. Based on the best-selling novel by @jojomoyesofficial, here’s the first trailer for #MeBeforeYou, starring @emilia_clarke and @mrsamclaflin. A video posted by Me Before You Movie (@mebeforeyouofficial) on Feb 3, 2016 at 8:00am PST Instagram has more than 400 million users; Facebook and Instagram are the two most important mobile advertising platforms. Facebook continued to show that it is king of social media last week with a report of fourth-quarter earnings that soundly beat expectations on booming mobile ad revenue. Facebook reported ad revenue of $5.84 billion, up 52% year over year. Mobile advertising revenue shot up 69% vs. a year earlier, accounting for 80% of total ad revenue. We’re in the #BigGame with @ChampagnePapi. #YouGotCarriered A video posted by tmobile (@tmobile) on Feb 3, 2016 at 8:37am PST Facebook does not break out Instagram revenue, but COO Sheryl Sandberg in the Q4 earnings conference call said, “We’re pleased with the growth on Instagram.” Facebook has more than 2.5 million active advertisers, with 98 of the top 100 advertisers on Facebook also advertising on Instagram. In the past year, Facebook has been more aggressively expanding ads on Instagram and offering better analytics and measurement tools. Facebook competes with Apple ( AAPL ), Alphabet ( GOOGL ), Microsoft ( MSFT ), Twitter ( TWTR ) and others to attract more advertisers. Facebook is also expected to introduce ads on its messaging platforms, WhatsApp and Messenger, down the road. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, in the Q4 earnings call, suggested that ads on WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, which now has 800 million users, are in the works . Facebook stock fell 1.8% to close at 110.66 in the stock market today . Facebook stock hit an all-time high of 117.59 on Tuesday.

Netflix Gets Bullish Call, But Stock Stages Downside Reversal

Loading the player… Netflix ( NFLX ) received a bullish upgrade from Piper Jaffray on Tuesday, but with the overall market taking a sharp step down the stock quickly reversed lower. The analyst believes that Netflix could nearly double its current subscriber base of 75 million by 2020. And the 142 million-subscriber estimate could be conservative since the projection models just a 15% international penetration rate, including 1% penetration in China. Piper Jaffray has a 122 price target on Netflix, which represents about a 30% premium to Monday’s closing price. Netflix staged a downside reversal in the stock market today in above-average volume, dropping 2.9%. Shares have been trading in five-month-low territory for the last few sessions, after breaching support at the 200-day line last month. Netflix is now trading 30% below its early December high. Netflix Vs. Amazon Amazon’s ( AMZN ) 54 million U.S. Amazon Prime subscribers gives it more potential viewers than Netflix, with its nearly 45 million U.S. subscribers. But according to a report by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners late last month, Netflix has significantly more actual viewers. Still, Amazon’s streaming service is gaining traction from critical acclaim for its original shows. Amazon sank 4%, falling for a third session in a row in above-average volume after issuing a lackluster quarterly earnings report last week. The stock is still holding above the critical 200-day line. It’s trading about 20% below its late December high. Hulu Getting Another Investor? Netflix and Amazon both face competition from Hulu, a joint venture between Disney ( DIS ), Comcast ( CMCSA ) and 21st Century Fox ( FOXA ). Time Warner ( TWX ) is reportedly in talks to buy a 25% stake in the streaming service. In early January, Time Warner retook its downward-sloping 50-day line in heavy volume. The stock is now trading about 20% below its high reached last July, and was down 1.8% Tuesday. Disney has been drifting lower since November amid fears about ESPN-subscriber losses. Volume has been heavy more for down days than for up days. Disney is about 23% below its July peak. Comcast is trading 15% below its 52-week high while Fox is about 24% below its 52-week high.

HBO Joins Dish In Warning Over Charter, TWC Merger

Time Warner (TWX), which spun off its cable TV business in 2009, has a beef with Charter Communications’ (CHTR) proposed acquisition of Time Warner Cable. Time Warner told the Federal Communications Commission in a regulatory filing that the push into online streaming by its cable channel HBO could be impacted by Charter’s purchase of Time Warner Cable (TWC). According to the filing, statements by Charter management “raise concerns because they