Media and Technology Stats and Studies – April 30, 2013

UCLA’s Children’s Digital Media Center found that among children between the ages of 9 and 15, those who use social media often are more interested in becoming famous than other kids the same age. Earlier this year, Pew found Blacks and Hispanics to be the most avid users of Twitter and Instagram. Interestingly, the Girl Scouts found girls who are interested in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) to anticipate that they will become famous at a lower rate (29%) than girls who did not report being interested in STEM (41%).

Pew released a study of civic engagement online. The report found people higher up on the socioeconomic ladder were more likely to “participate in civic life” online. Among Blacks, Whites and Hispanics, Hispanics overall were the least likely to be politically active both on and offline.

A Texas A&M University study found typed and voice-activated texting to be equally as distracting while driving.

Google reported that it has received more content removal requests from governments worldwide than ever before.

In a review of how well “covered entities” under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act have safeguarded patient data, the Department of Health and Human Services found most problems were caused by entities not being aware of the data and privacy rules in the Act.  Sixty-percent of problems were related to data security, 30% pertained to data privacy, and 10% related to data breach notifications.

Nielsen reports that affluent homes are more likely to subscribe to streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Plus, and Hulu. Homes making $100,000 or more were 85% more likely to subscribe to streaming services.

PriceWaterhouseCoopers found that while customers are reducing their talk time and using more data on their mobile plans, average revenue per postpaid customer with smartphones fell from $82.75 per month in 2011 to $77.79 in 2012.

Media and Technology Stats and Studies – April 15, 2013

Several civil rights groups urged the FCC to complete its diversity studies before departing Chairman Julius Genachowski leaves office. The Chairman delayed the release of long-awaited rule changes, pending the release of a separate study being conducted by the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council (MMTC), which MMTC has said would evaluate the effect a proposed rule to relax the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership rule would have on female and minority broadcasters. The civil rights groups noted that the MMTC study is much narrower in scope than the diversity studies the FCC is required to conduct before changing any of its media ownership rules and that the MMTC study alone would not provide a sufficient basis for relaxing the rules. The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies filed a letter with the FCC in December urging the agency to delay relaxing the media ownership rules before developing a robust empirical basis for doing so.

President Obama released his 2014 budget proposal containing, among other items, provisions for increased investments in education. If approved by Congress, the budget would increase the Department of Education’s discretionary spending budget by 4.6% to $71.2 billion. The budget contains a number of proposals aimed at addressing STEM achievement gaps, including a proposal to streamline existing STEM programs, funds for expanding access to pre-school to all four-year-olds, improving high schools, encouraging public-private partnerships between schools and employers, and rewarding states for making public higher education more affordable.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting lauded President Obama for including in his budget proposal full advance funding for CPB through 2016. CPB CEO Patricia Harrison said the $445 million appropriation proposal for CPB funding “reinforces the value of public media’s in-depth news reporting, our commitment to providing a safe place where children can learn, on-air, online, and in the community, and our commitment to lifelong learning through initiatives such as ‘American Graduate’ helping to keep America’s young people on the path to a high school diploma.”  An NTI/PBS study recently showed PBS Kids’ TV and online media outlets attract a higher proportion of African American, Hispanic, and low-income households compared to their proportion of the overall population. A 2010 study of 600 pre-school children showed children who viewed PBS’ Sesame Street increased their ability to articulate scientific concepts by 100%.

Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam stated in a speech at the National Association of Broadcasters’ conference last week that 50% of Verizon’s wireless traffic comes from video. Mr. McAdam expects video to make up two-thirds of Verizon’s wireless traffic by 2017.

Video services firm Ooyala reported that consumers watch live video 2.5 times longer than they spend watching Video-on-Demand (VOD).

A neurological study conducted by WPP, Australian TV network 7, and market research firm Neuro-Insight found that dual-screen viewers returned to TV screens 9% more engaged after shifting their attention to their tablets. 

Market research firm Canalys reported that, among Google Play, Apple’s App Store, the Microsoft Windows Phone Store, and Research in Motion’s Blackberry World, Google Play showed the highest number of app downloads (51%) with Apple taking 74% of more than $2.2 billion in app revenues among the 4 companies.

The magazine industry has shown sharp declines in ad pages, but data collected by Adobe via its Data Publishing Suite, combined with research from the Pew Research Center, show a few bright spots in the digital edition magazine market which may help offset declines in print revenues. Overall, the number of pages devoted to print advertising in magazines declined 4.8% in the first quarter. However, spending on advertising on digital platforms in magazines grew by 22% ($1.3 billion) last year.

Media and Technology Stats and Studies – April 8, 2013

The Utah Legislature has appropriated $10 million to prepare Utah students for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) careers.  Hispanics are, by a substantial margin, the most populous minority group in Utah, comprising 13.2% of the state’s population (376,889 persons), compared to Asian and multiracial persons (2.2% each), American Indians (1.5%), and Blacks (1.3%). According to a 2011 ACT report, just 30% of Hispanics nationwide met benchmark high school mathematics requirements for taking the ACT exam, compared to 71% of Asian, 54% of White, 36% of Pacific Islander, 25% of American Indian, and 14% of African American students.

The New York Times reported on several new youth computing programs designed to close the gender gap in the high tech sector. According to the Times, 74% of girls in middle school express an interest in engineering, science, and math. However, once they arrive on college campuses, just .3% end up choosing a computer science major. One program, Girls Who Code, goes beyond teaching basic computer skills and trains girls in computer programming, public speaking, product development, and other higher-level, in-demand tech sector skills.

A Nielsen report found that the amount of time viewers spend watching TV correlates with their educational attainment and income. Those with a 4-year college degree watch an average of 1 hour and 14 minutes of primetime television, compared to 2 hours and 8 minutes per day for those with just a high school diploma. Income levels also correlate in similar ways with daytime TV viewership. However, primetime TV viewing did not differ substantially between those making $100,000 or more per year (1 hour and 52 minutes per day) and those making $30,000 or less (1 hour and 58 minutes per day). People of color, particularly Blacks and Hispanics, are disproportionately more likely to have lower levels of educational attainment and income compared to their White and Asian American counterparts. Many studies have shown minorities continue to be underrepresented in traditional media as compared to their share of the overall population. The Nielsen data suggest the under-representation of people of color in the media may also be disproportionate in relation to the amount of TV they watch, as compared to Caucasians.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) has awarded $444,222 to five PBS stations to test PBS’s new ‘Ready to Learn‘ math- and literacy-based educational programming targeting low-income and at-risk children.

An American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology study found that the outcome of elections could be altered by manipulating search engine rankings without people being aware of it.

Children who watch more than 3 hours of TV, videos, or DVDs per day have a higher likelihood of developing conduct and emotional problems by age 7, according to a Millennium Cohort study of 11,000 children. However, children who played age-appropriate video games for the same amount of time did not display such behaviors.

An AT&T study found a higher prevalence of adults who admit to texting while driving (49%) compared to 43% of teens.

The FCC adopted the form and content of the survey it will use to determine the minimum rate carriers charge for providing fixed residential voice and broadband in urban areas. The survey data will be used to help the FCC determine the amount providers should receive in federal, Universal Service Fund and Intercarrier Compensation (USF/ICC) subsidies for providing broadband and voice service in remote and underserved areas.

The pirating of TV content cost cable and broadcast networks at least $1.5 billion in revenues in 2012, according to TorrentFreak. The top 5 most pirated shows include HBO’s Game of Thrones (4.3 million illegal downloads), followed by Showtime’s Dexter  (3.9 million), CBS’ Big Bang Theory (3.2 million) and How I Met Your Mother (3 million), and AMC’s Breaking Bad (2.58 million). Unauthorized downloads of these 5 shows alone accounted for an estimated $851.1 million in lost revenues.

Media and Technology Stats and Studies – April 1, 2013

A Federal Reserve survey found that while the number of cell phone users using their phones to perform general banking activities such as checking balances and paying bills increased by 33%, only 6% used their phone to replace their wallets over the year, with 25% expressing an interest in doing so.

An NTCA survey revealed rural telcos have made significant progress building out broadband to rural areas, with nearly 75% having built out fiber to the home, compared to 64% in 2012.

BIA/Kesley reported that Hubbard Media’s WTOP (Washington, D.C.) is the nation’s top-billing radio station with $64.6 million in revenues in 2012, up from $64 million in 2011 and $57 million in 2010.  The remaining stations among the top ten were all located in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Six of the stations were spoken word formats, including all-news stations WCBS-AM (New York), WINS-AM (New York), and WBBM-AM (Chicago).  KFI-AM, a News/Talk station in Los Angeles, also ranked among the top 10, as did all sports WFAN-AM/FM (New York).

Pyramid Research predicts IPTV (subscription TV delivered via Internet Protocol and packet-switched networks rather than terrestrial, cable and satellite) will comprise 15.8% of pay TV subscriptions worldwide by 2017. In 2012, the Western Europe and North America regions combined made up 53% of the worldwide IPTV market, with 20 million IPTV subscribers.  However, the Asia-Pacific region alone comprised 43.5% of the global IPTV market. A separate SNL Kagan report showed an increase of 51,000 total multichannel video subscribers in the U.S.

Media Post released a report showing that worldwide, 36% of DVR-recorded content is never watched, compared to 41% in the U.S.  Seventy-two percent of consumers are “hoarders”–recording TV only to accumulate the “box-sets” of their favorite shows.

Magna Global, the research unit of Interpublic, predicted a weak TV ad market as competition from web video outlets continues to increase. Primetime viewing this season among the coveted 18-49 year old demographic has decreased 23% at Fox (News Corporation), 7% at NBC (Comcast), 3% at CBS, and 8% at ABC (Disney). However, a BBC study of 3,600 consumers across Australia, Singapore, India, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Poland, Germany, France and the U.S. found that, compared to tablets, TV viewing still ranks supreme, especially for breaking news, with 42% of viewers getting their breaking news from TV and 66% turning to the Internet for deeper investigation of news stories.  Separately, the Diffusion Group released a study of 1,000 online video viewers showing 80% wanted live, linear content via platforms like TV Everywhere.

Study: China surpassed Japan as the world’s second largest pay TV market.

ComScore debuted its multi-platform ratings system measuring audiences across PCs, smartphone and tablets.

Wired published an article describing tectonic shifts occurring in the increasingly data-driven, hyper-targeted TV industry.

 

Media and Technology Stats and Studies – March 26, 2013

CDC: More Americans Than Ever Use Phones While Driving

The Centers for Disease Control reported that talking on the phone and texting while driving is on the rise in Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Phone use is a contributing factor to an estimated 1.3 million deaths resulting from road traffic crashes each year. More than two thirds (68.7%) of drivers in the U.S. aged 18-64 reported that they talked on the phone while driving at least once in the past 30 days. More than a third (31.2%) of U.S. respondents aged 18-64 reported reading or sending text or email messages while driving within the past 30 days. An April 2012 AT&T paper concluded that Hispanic teens (69%) are more likely than their Caucasian (58%) and African-American (61%) counterparts to report that their friends text while driving.

Pew Releases State of the News Media 2013

Pew released its annual State of the News Media report. Among the report’s findings, African-Americans continue to exceed other groups in their usage of social media platforms, even though just 70% of African-Americans report using the Internet. According to the report, 69% of African-Americans use Facebook, compared to 65% of non-Hispanic whites and 66% of users overall. For Twitter, 26% of African-Americans used the platform, compared to 14% of non-Hispanic whites and 16% of Twitter users overall. The report also found that African-American newspapers “continued to face economic constraints” and thus significantly cut back operations and staff. The New York Amsterdam News was the only African-American newspaper studied that increased its circulation (the newspaper increased its circulation by 11%). Further, the report concluded that while 7 in 10 African-Americans reported watching television news “yesterday,” none of several new channels targeting African-Americans are news-oriented.

Major Tech Companies Have Refused to Release Employment Diversity Data

CNN Money reported that major technology companies including Facebook, LinkedIn, Netflix, Twitter, Yelp, Zynga, Amazon, Groupon, Hulu, and LivingSocial have successfully blocked the release of employment diversity data. Citing potential competitive harms that might result, some companies successfully appealed to the Department of Labor to block the release of their employment data to the public. Intel was the only company among 20 other companies to release their employment data to CNN Money.

Other Reports:

Duke University released the results of a survey of U.S. marketers showing a 2.7% decline in ad spending on traditional media outlets since August of 2012. The study predicts declines in ad spending on traditional media within the next 12 months. At the same time, the study forecasts digital ad spending for business-to-consumer (B2C) products and services to increase by 14.6% and 10.4%, respectively, between March 2013 and February 2014. However, BIA analyst Mark Fratrick forecasts an uptick in local media advertising revenues by an average of 2.3% annually through 2017. A separate Microsoft advertising survey found that 68% of survey respondents multi-task across TVs, PCs, consoles, tablets, and mobile devices, and that advertisers should therefore place advertisements accordingly.

Motorola Mobility: Mobile Devices Have Overtaken TV for Bedroom Viewing of Video Content. According to the 9,500 consumers studied worldwide, just 36% watched video content in the bedroom on a television set. The remainder of respondents who watched video content in the bedroom did so using a mobile device.

WDS: Customer Loyalty Among Wireless Carriers is Low.

The National Science Foundation has awarded $500,000 to Appalachian State University to train teachers in best practices for fostering better student engagement in STEM.

SNL Kagan: Pay TV subscriptions have not kept pace with the economic recovery.

Arbitron: Most mobile gaming and social network activity occurs during the TV primetime hours of 8-10PM.

YouTube has recorded 1 billion monthly users for the first time in history.

Verizon awarded $100,000 to ten teams of middle and high school students across the U.S. to develop apps to address social issues in their communities.

Media and Technology Stats and Studies – March 18, 2013

CRA: Computing Degree Enrollments Soar, Foreign Students Dominate Among Advanced Computing Degrees Awarded in U.S., Hispanics Show Sharp Declines Among Computer Engineering Grads

The Computer Research Association has released a report showing the number of new undergraduate majors pursuing degrees in computer science at doctorate-granting institutions has grown by more than 29% over last year. The report evaluated three degrees: computer science (CS), computer engineering (CE) and information-related, computing disciplines (I). While Black or African-Americans comprised just 4.5% of students awarded CS Bachelor’s degrees, this number rose from 3.6% the year before. Among students awarded I Bachelor’s degrees, 8.4% were African-American, compared to 6.9% the year prior. African-Americans did, however, see a slight decline in representation among students awarded CE Bachelor’s degrees, as the proportion dropped from 5.9% to 5.2%.

For Hispanics, the most recent CRA report found an increase in representation among CS Bachelor’s degrees awarded, but declines in Hispanic representation among those graduating with CE and I undergraduate degrees. Hispanics comprised 6.3% of those awarded CS Bachelor’s degrees between 2011 and 2012, compared to 5.4% the year before. However, the proportion of Hispanics awarded I Bachelor’s degrees was down slightly from 8.6% to 8.4% year-to-year.  The report found a significant decline in the number of Hispanic students obtaining CE undergraduate degrees: The percentage of CE Bachelor’s degrees awarded to Hispanics was 4.9% in 2012, compared to 8.1% the previous year.

The report also evaluated Master’s and Ph.D. degrees awarded. “Nonresident Aliens” comprised 53.8% of Master’s degrees and 50.1% of doctorates awarded across all three disciplines combined, dwarfing the proportion of such degrees awarded Black or African-Americans and Hispanics. Black or African-Americans comprised just 2.7% of Master’s and 2% of Ph.D.’s awarded across the three disciplines.  Hispanics were represented among 2.5% of CS, CE and I Master’s degree graduates and 1.4% of such Ph.D.’s. Interestingly, Nonresident Aliens comprised just 6.9% of students awarded Bachelor’s degrees across all three disciplines, compared to 5.3% of degrees awarded to students who identified as Black or African American and 6.5% of Hispanics.

NCES Report: Most Algebra I and Geometry Courses Are Not Rigorous

A National Center for Education Statistics report showed 73% of students who took an “honors” Algebra I course were actually taught material ranked as intermediate, with less than 20% receiving instruction ranked as “rigorous.” Among students taking “honors” Geometry, just 33% actually received a rigorous curriculum. A larger percentage of Hispanic (19%) and Asian/Pacific Islander students (24%) took a beginner level Algebra course, compared to 12 percent of White students. The report also concluded that a larger percentage of White students (37%) enrolled in “honors” Geometry courses actually received rigorous instruction, compared to 12% of such Black and 17% of such Hispanic students.

Commentary

Only 3 Women Are Directing Blockbuster Movies in 2013, and That’s a Problem

Other Reports:

PricewaterhouseCoopers reported that 67% of healthcare industry CIOs report they are facing IT staffing shortages, up from 59% in 2010.

Intel awarded $630,000 to 10 high school student scientists. The winners of the Intel Science Talent Search bested 1,700 entrants.

Pew: One in Four Teenagers Accesses the Internet Primarily Via a Mobile Device

WSJ: The Surprising Numbers Behind Apps. Among the report’s findings, apps are expected to yield $25 billion in revenue in 2012 from users who spend an average of 2 hours per day using them, most of the time (43%) playing games. Also, 94% of app developers are men making less than $15,000 per year developing apps.

Rootmetrics: AT&T Beats Verizon on Speed; Verizon Beats AT&T in LTE Coverage. The study showed average speeds of 18.6 Mbps down and 9 Mbps on the uplink for AT&T, compared to 14.3 Mbps down and 8.5 Mbps up for Verizon. However, LTE testers connected to a Verizon LTE signal 93.2% of the time, compared to 81.7% for AT&T.

AT&T researchers have reportedly sent a 100Gbit/second signal across 12,000 km on a 100GHz-spaced grid. This is an improvement over its previous record sending a 100Gbit/second signal 3,000 km using a 50GHz grid.

Study: TV Tops Movies and Music Among Millennials. A Magid Generational Strategies study showed Millennials favor TV programming over movies and music and many (45%) are willing to watch advertising if doing so will allow them to access full-length TV content without having to pay a subscription fee.

University of Cambridge and Microsoft: Facebook “Likes” Predict Intelligence, Age, Voting History and Sexuality. Among other examples, the study of 58,000 Facebook users showed a positive correlation between likes for “thunderstorms” and high intelligence, likes for “being confused after waking up from naps” and being a straight male, and likes for the band Slayer and being a smoker.

Nielsen: “Zero TV” Households Hit 5 Million in U.S. The number of viewers who have chosen to forgo “traditional TV” offered via cable and satellite in favor of relying exclusively on computers, smartphones and tablets for content is up by 2 million since 2007.

SUNY reported it will invest $300,000 to expose more of its undergraduates to resume-building STEM research opportunities.

Global outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas reported 97% of businesses will make no change to their benefit allowing employees to telecommute. A Stanford University study also found a 13% increase in productivity among call center workers randomly assigned to telecommute.

 

Media and Technology Stats and Studies – March 11, 2013

Gross Disparities Persist in the Use of Mobile Devices in Classrooms

Pew Research reports a full 73% of teachers use cellphones for classroom activities.  However, the study shows significant disparities between low-income and mid- to upper-income students.  For example, while 56 percent of the highest income students reported using tablets, just 37 percent of low-income students reported doing so. Additionally, more than half (52%) of teachers of higher income students reported their students use cell phones to look up information in class, compared to just 35 percent of low-income students. The study did not assess the race and ethnicity of survey respondents, although Pew’s previous research has reported higher smartphone ownership among blacks and Hispanics. The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies has reported African-American and Hispanic consumers engage more deeply with their mobile devices than their white counterparts downloading apps, streaming videos, and playing and downloading music, suggesting a potential for wider implementation of classroom strategies incorporating mobile devices. Interestingly, a smaller study of fourth graders in Encinitas, CA shows students overwhelmingly maintain iPad apps make math easier to understand. On Thursday, PBS announced a new, math-based series called It All Adds Up targeting low-income children between the ages of 2 and 8. The effort includes the Parents Play and Learn app, which is free to download on both iOS and Android devices.

Comcast Releases NBC Merger Compliance Report

Comcast filed its two-year compliance report with the FCC required as a condition of its merger with NBC-Universal.  The company acquired a 51 percent share of NBC-Universal in 2010 and has expressed its intent to acquire the remaining 49 percent of the company’s total shares still owned by GE.   Comcast reported compliance with the merger conditions, citing its creation of two, independently-owned minority channels (ASPIRE and BabyFirst Americas), the addition of 1,000 more kids’ video-on-demand (VOD) channels than the condition required, and more local news.

 

Other reports:

The Pentagon released a report assessing U.S. defense systems and the potential impact of a cyberattack.  The report concludes the cyber threat to military systems is real and akin to the threat of a nuclear attack with enemies having the potential to “reverse engineer” critical IT systems, leaving the U.S. unprepared to defend itself. The report urged, “The United States cannot be confident that our critical Information Technology (IT) systems will work under attack from a sophisticated and well-resourced opponent utilizing cyber capabilities … DoD needs to take the lead and build an effective response to measurably increase confidence in the IT systems … We have recommended an approach to do so, and we need to start now!”

Google released statistics on the number of FBI subpoenas it receives. In 2011, the requests were for data from between 1,000 and 1,999 user accounts.

SNL Kagan reports that a number of “spectrum speculators“–i.e. those looking to capitalize from the FCC’s incentive auctions–have invested $345 million in both full and low-power TV stations since 2011.

Apple‘s iPad mini seems to be cannibalizing the full-size iPad by a 22 million unit sales margin, according to DisplaySearch.

Time Warner Cable won a $5 million grant from the Connect NY Broadband Grant program to connect 4,000 households throughout the State of New York.

Comscore: Android is Still the Top Smartphone OS but iOS is Gaining Ground.

A Pew Research Center study showed reactions to political events on Twitter do not track the mainstream as half of Twitter users surveyed reported they were under the age of 30. The report also concluded that Twitter users tend to lean Democratic.

Bloomberg: Google shares are trading at 25 times profit, compared to less than 10 times profit for Apple.

History‘s The Bible continues the explosive growth of original programming on cable with 13.1 million viewers.

TIA: U.S. mobile consumers spent a record $95 billion on data in 2012, topping their spending on voice for the first time.

Facebook: Each post is seen by an average of one-third of each poster’s Facebook friends.

IHS: Over one third (30.7 percent) of consumers in the market for a new TV want it to be capable of connecting to the Internet. Nearly 19 percent of consumers (18.8 percent) also want their new TVs to have 3D capability.

The EU fined Microsoft $732 million for failing to adhere to an antitrust settlement in which Microsoft was required to give new computer purchasers in Europe the ability to opt-out of using Internet Explorer in favor of other browsers.

A Carnegie Mellon study concluded the shutdown of Megaupload in 2012 led to an increase of between 2.5 and 3.8 percent in the sales of digital movies at two top Hollywood studios.

According to NPD Group, telephone companies such as AT&T and Verizon are beginning to gain ground against cable providers in the VOD market. Cable companies’ market share has declined by 4% while the market share of telecom companies has increased by the same amount. Comcast reported its customers watched 2.4 billion hours of VOD in 2012.

A Press+ study shows subscription prices for online access to newspapers and magazines have been increasing, while free online access to content has decreased, with no reduction in ad revenues.

According to Kantar Media, March Madness generated just over $1 billion in advertising revenue for CBS and Turner Sports in 2012. CBS and Turner told Broadcasting & Cable advertising inventory for the 2013 NCAA Playoffs is nearly sold out, with between 97 and 98 percent of ad inventory sold.

A study of New York City hospitals published in the American Journal of Medical Quality shows patient death rates lowering in proportion to an increase in the number of Facebook “likes” hospitals receive.

Business app evaluator Appthority reported that free Apple apps leak more user data to advertisers and analytics networks than free apps purchased in Google Play. Sixty-percent of iOS apps shared such data, compared to 50% of the Android apps.

Over the next seven months, the sequester will force the FCC to make $17 million in cuts to its $342 million budget.

Time Warner Cable earned $150 million providing cellular backhaul.

A survey of 2,500 game developers showed the majority of game developers–53 percent–were independent game developers rather than being affiliated with major gaming studios. Further, just 38 percent of the game developers surveyed reported their last gaming project was a mobile game, compared to 58 percent reporting their next gaming project would be developed for mobile devices.

Nielsen: 57 Percent of Americans See at Least One Mobile Ad Each Day

Arbitron reported that radio listeners in the New York City and Washington, D.C. metro areas have the longest commutes to work and spend the most time each week listening to the radio.

Cablevision‘s $100 million loss from Hurricane Sandy was offset by a $200 million settlement payment it received from Dish Network.

Forrester Research forecasts the sequester will reduce the anticipated increase in total IT spending by the U.S. government by one percent over total spending for last year, to 6.5 percent, or $808 billion.  in January, Forrester predicted a 7.5 percent ($820 billion) increase in spending compared to U.S. government spending on IT in 2012.

IBM reported revenue from its business analytics unit will be $4 billion higher than expected.  The higher revenue reflects growth in the “big data” segment.

Media and Technology Stats and Studies – February 19, 2013

Local Phone Companies and Libraries Split on Whether NTIA’s ‘BTOP’ Program Has Been Wasteful

Local phone companies complained the federal government’s program to build broadband to remote areas has been wasteful.  The companies and others complained about millions of dollars in duplicative— and, in some cases, lavish—expenditures by BTOP grant recipients.  In a separate report, the American Library Association said the broadband stimulus program has had a strong and positive impact on public libraries.

WSJ: Many Recipients of Lifeline Mobile Phone Subsidies Cannot Show Eligibility

The Wall Street Journal reported the FCC could not confirm whether some 41% of 6 million Lifeline subscribers were eligible to receive mobile phone subsidies.  According to the Journal, the FCC spent $2.2 billion last year providing mobile phones to low-income Americans. Mobile phone carriers responsible for collecting eligibility data said many subscribers simply did not provide the data needed to confirm their eligibility to receive mobile phone subsidies.

Pew: Blacks and Hispanics Prefer Twitter/Instagram, Women Prefer Pinterest

The Pew Research Center released a report on demographic trends in social media.  Among the findings, blacks and Hispanics are avid users of Twitter, and women prefer using Pinterest.

Univision and Disney Announce Fusion– New Channel for Latinos

Univision and ABC News, which is owned by Disney, announced it will premiere Fusion, an English-language news and entertainment channel targeting Latinos, this summer.

Other Reports:

FCC: Broadband Service Providers Deliver Close to Advertised Speeds

The National Intelligence Agency concluded the United States is the target of a massive cyber-espionage campaign. The report identified China as the leading culprit most aggressively attempting to access computer systems of American institutions and exploit the data it uncovers for its own competitive advantage. Disclosures from the U.S. Department of Commerce and China’s customs administration reveal China has surpassed the U.S. as the world’s largest trading nation with $3.87 trillion traded in goods in 2012, compared to $3.82 trillion traded during the same period for the U.S.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office released its cybersecurity report and recommendations.  The Committee to Protect Journalists released a report stating cyberattacks against media companies and journalists are on the rise.

Raytheon has developed a technology to covertly track social media users.

Thompson Reuters announced it will cut 2,500 jobs.          

The European Union cut its €7 billion ($9.36 billion) fund for expanding access to broadband in Europe and assisting businesses in adopting cloud services.  However, ZenithMedia reported Western Europe leads in new media adoption.

Gartner research reported global mobile phone sales fell in 2012.

Dealbook reported a significant rise in merger activity in 2013. Comcast perfected its ownership of NBC/Universal, buying GE’s 49% share for $16.7 billion.  Charter Communications acquired Cablevision Systems’ Optimum West for $1.625 billion. Optimum West boasts approximately 304,000 customers in Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, and Montana.  Google Ventures has become the number 3 venture capital firm in the U.S.

NYT: How Advertising Targets Our Children

As the market for e-books continued to grow in 2012, Amazon boasted the largest overall share of book sales with 27% at the end of September compared to its 21% share the previous year. Even with efforts to promote its Nook e-book tablet in stores, Barnes and Noble’s overall share of book sales fell to 16%, down from 17% in 2011.

ITIF released a report stating, contrary to conventional wisdom, the United States has made great strides in broadband deployment, performance, and price.

NYT’s Paywall Exceeds Expectations with Explosive Digital Subscriber Growth

The White House launched Consumer.Data.gov to “empower Americans with the data and tools they need to make more informed choices in the marketplace.”

NYT: Research attempting to link video games with real world violence is contradictory, at best.

Boston Consulting Group reported consumers derive more value from online media relative to what they paid for it, than they do from offline media.  The report looked at books, radio and music, U.S. newspapers and magazines, TV and movies, video games, international newspapers and magazines, and user-generated content and social networks.

AMC’s “The Walking Dead” returned a record audience for cable television programming, with 12.3 million total viewers for its February 10 midseason premiere, against competition from the Grammy Awards and CBS’ “Big Bang Theory.”

Nielsen: State of the Union Audience Was Down 12% from 2012

Dorner Coverage Doubled Normal Local News Audience Ratings in L.A.

Media and Technology Stats and Studies – February 8, 2013

FCC Proposes Nationwide, Super WiFi Networks

The Washington Post reported the FCC has proposed the creation of super WiFi networks across the nation using broadcast spectrum. The announcement sparked intense lobbying by telecommunications companies arguing auctioning the airwaves proposed for super WiFi would raise billions for the U.S. Treasury and the extent of interference the networks would cause ought to be thoroughly investigated. Technology companies like Google and Microsoft have argued such Super WiFi networks would spur innovation and reduce the cost of wireless for the poor.  In remarks presented at the FCC on Thursday, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies Media and Technology Institute VP and Director John Horrigan noted cost is the most cited reason (36%) among those who have not adopted broadband. However, wireless broadband is not panacea for closing the broadband adoption gap, Dr. Horrigan said.

Cisco: Mobile Use Will Surge Over the Next Five Years

Cisco anticipates mobile internet use will surge by 66 percent per year over the next 5 years. If history is any guide, the rate will be even higher for people of color.  The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies has reported 50 percent of black users use mobile devices to access the Internet, compared to 30 percent of whites.

Girls Fare Worse in Science in Western Nations than Eastern Ones

In a science test given in 65 countries by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), girls outperformed boys in more countries.  In the United States, however, boys outscored girls by a rate of 2.7 percent.

FCC Releases Annual Performance Report           

The FCC released its annual performance report detailing its progress in fulfilling its strategic goals and performance commitments. The Commission’s accomplishments having the most direct impact on underrepresented Americans include reforms to the Universal Service Fund, including the launch of the Connect America Fund and Mobility Fund; overhauling Lifeline Linkup; implementation of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010, and; enhancing the ability of Tribal Nations to own broadcast facilities.

The Atlantic: Less Dense Mapping Data for Less Cosmopolitan Areas May Exacerbate Real-Word Inequality

The Atlantic Monthly reported on the effect lack of mapping data has on the knowledge base used for addressing real-world inequality.  For example, most Tweets during hurricane Sandy came from areas in New York least affected by the storm. The article also suggests online searches for the same information, such as “restaurant”, but searched for in different languages, lead to different results, thus “making people experience fundamentally different cities.”

Other Reports:

Nielsen reported Super Bowl XLVII broke ratings records in metered markets with a 52.9 rating/75 share overall, with the highest rating/share in Baltimore (59.6/83). Still, the game’s cumulative audience of 108.4 million viewers did not surpass last year’s record Super Bowl audience of 111.3 million. And broadcast industry consulting form SNL Kagan estimated CBS may have lost more money spending on production costs and license fees than the $240 million it generated in ad revenue.  Interestingly, San Francisco did not rate among the top ten metered markets.  Twitter recorded 24.1 million Super Bowl game tweets.

Dell, Inc. will go private in a $24 billion deal.  Microsoft will loan the company $2 billion.

U.S.-based Liberty Global will acquire British cable company Virgin Media for $16 billion. The deal comes amid declining advertising revenues throughout Europe and Americans playing an increasing role in media industries there.

Sixty-one percent of Facebook users have taken a break from the site, according to the Pew Research Center.  Taking a break from Facebook appears more likely to maintain friendships than unfriending  someone, according to a University of Colorado at Boulder study, which showed 40% of people who have been unfriended on Facebook will avoid the person who unfriended them in real life.

Disney’s lagging movie and TV divisions caused its profits to slide 6% in 4Q12. Increased programming costs at ESPN for football and basketball, as well as a 43% drop in operating income of its Disney Studios unit are among several factors blamed for the decline.  Disney’s theme park returns were strong, though, with operating income up 4% to $577 million.

Reuters: AOL’s revenue rose for the first time in 8 years.

Kapersky Lab reported a child watching videos on YouTube is an average of just 3 clicks away from disturbing, adult content.

Ad agencies predict digital ad spending may eclipse traditional ad spending in as few as 3 years.

Millenial Media reported 64 percent of gaming ad impressions came from Android devices

eMarketer: 92.5 million people used digital coupons in 2012.

Foote Partners reported tech jobs accounted for up to 14% of January hiring.

Media and Technology Stats and Studies – February 1, 2013

High School Students Losing Interest in STEM

A STEMconnector/My College Options report revealed dwindling interest in STEM fields among high school students. The economy is expected to add some 15 million new STEM-related jobs through 2018. Still, high school students appear to be losing interest in STEM and African American and Latino students continue to lag behind their White and Asian counterparts in STEM achievement.  Separately, the National Association of Colleges and Employers reported that 6 of the 10 highest-paid majors were in engineering. The Afterschool Alliance also released the results of a 10-month study of the merits of afterschool programs in improving STEM outcomes.  The reports were released amid an intense political debate between the White House and Capitol Hill about reforming immigration laws. One goal of the Obama administration to address the skills gap is to remove impediments to highly skilled workers from abroad remaining in the United States.

Digital Divide Sends Students to McDonald’s for Wi-Fi    

The Wall Street Journal reported on the large number of low-income students forced to rely on Wi-Fi at fast foods restaurants like McDonald’s to complete homework assignments.  The Wall Street Journal article reports that, according to Pew Research, 96% of households with teenagers with incomes of $75,000 or more had broadband.  By contrast, Just 66% of such households making less than $30,000 had high speed internet. Further, in late 2010, just 49.9% of black and 45.2% of Hispanics overall used broadband at home. After hours, when schools, libraries and other community anchor institutions offering high speed internet access have closed, students without broadband at home are forced to rely on Wi-Fi hotspots, many of which are located in popular fast food restaurants. In 2010, Yale’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity reported much higher rates of fast food advertisements targeting African Americans and Latinos.  The Centers for Disease Control reported in 2011 that obesity rates for Blacks is 51% higher than that of whites.

Georgia Tech Massive Open Online Class (MOOC) Data Reveals 4.8% Course Completion Rate

Georgia Tech reported a 4.8% course completion rate of all 53,205 enrolled users for its Computational Investing, Part I course offered via Coursera. Among the enrollees who completed the entire course, just 1.4% were African American, compared to 69.8% of white enrollees who completed the free online course and 18.8% of Asians.  The report did not include Hispanic-specific data.

Other Reports:

AT&T will purchase $1.9 billion worth of spectrum from Verizon.

NTIA released a report on spectrum in the 5 GHz band finding more evaluation will be needed to assess and mitigate harmful interference.

The Amazon Kindle is the most widely used Android tablet in the U.S. accounting for 59% of all Android tablets.

KPMG reported that 60% of Americans watch TV and surf the Internet at the same time.

The number of hourlong television shows shot in New York City is up by 37%, while the proportion of those shot in Los Angeles fell.

Nielsen:  NFL fans prefer to watch home team games on local broadcast TV media outlets instead of cable networks.

Facebook reported 40% revenue growth but a 79% fall in profits in 4Q12.

Facebook advertising partner Nanigans reported Facebook’s in-line, newsfeed ads outperform the standard ads appearing in the right sidebar of the social networking site by 14%.

WSJ/Vistage study claims just 3% of small business owners see value in Twitter.

Yahoo! reported 4% growth over 4Q11 with $1.22 billion in revenue in 4Q12.

Living Social, the direct deal site, recorded a net loss of $650 million in 2012.

App Annie: Google Play is growing 10X faster than Apple iOS.

IAB: 63 Percent of Mobile Video is Watched in the Home