Media and Technology Stats and Studies – June 3, 2013

The Minority Media and Telecommunications Council and BIA/Kelsey have released their report on how they believe relaxing the newspaper-broadcast cross ownership rules would affect minority and female broadcast owners. According to a statement released by BIA/Kelsey, ”The results of this study, while not dispositive, do provide evidence that the impact of cross-media ownership on minority and women broadcast ownership is probably negligible.” The report’s findings are based on results from 14 respondents, a sample size critics suggest is too small.

Tyler Perry’s The Haves and the Have Nots delivered Harpo and Discovery Communications’ OWN network its largest audience ever with 1.77 million viewers watching the drama’s Tuesday premiere. On Wednesday, OWN also debuted Perry’s new comedy Love Thy Neighbor, which yielded 1.65 million viewers between 9 and 9:30PM and 1.8 million viewers between 9:30 and 10PM.

Google, with $37.9 billion in revenues, now ranks number one among ZenithOptimedia’s Top 30 Global Media Owners. News Corporation, Walt Disney, Comcast, and CBS also ranked.

The Intelligence Group’s Cassandra Report found that kids aged 7-13 use devices to mimic adult behavior. Sixty-seven percent of survey respondents reported that they preferred receiving a tablet as a gift rather than a toy. More than half – 56% – wanted an iPad compared to 43% who wanted a Nintendo Wii U. Survey respondents were also split in their preference for TV (51%) versus the Internet (49%). Further, 72% watch TV programming at the scheduled time, rather than relying on DVRs, subscription services, and on-demand outlets.

A JAMA Pediatrics study found that between 1996 and 2009, cigarette product placements in movies declined exponentially (by 7% each year) after “externally enforced constraints were implemented”, while product placements for alcoholic beverages, which are subject only to industry self-regulation, remained statistically unchanged.

A Clear Channel survey of 1,008 Americans showed Americans are more willing to give up TVs, smartphones, and tablets than they are to give up their PCs.

A confidential report prepared by the Defense Science Board to senior Pentagon officials shows U.S. weapons designs have been compromised because of weaknesses in the nation’s cyber defenses. China is seen by experts to have orchestrated the intrusions as part of a larger cyber-espionage campaign to bolster its own military capabilities.

Bell Labs researchers have discovered a way to pair signals and minimize the signal-to-noise ratio within fiber cables, thereby increasing data transmission speeds to 400 Gbps over 7,900 miles.

Market research firm IDC projects global shipments of tablets will surpass that of PCs by 2015. By 2015, tablet shipments will reach an estimated 332.4 million, according to the report. IDC also projects PCs shipments will decline by 7.8 percent this year, which would be the largest decrease on record.

Roku, the streaming video device manufacturer, has raised $60 Million from Hearst, News Corporation and other investors.

Media and Technology Stats and Studies – May 28, 2013

The Pew Research Center released a report on teens’ use of social media. Among the report’s findings, African American teens continue to lead other racial and ethnic groups in their use of Twitter. Thirty-nine percent of African American teens use Twitter, compared to 23% of white teens. The report also found declining interest in Facebook among all teens, accompanied by an increasing interest in Twitter. However, teens continue to use Facebook out of a perceived necessity for keeping up with their peers.

In a study of nearly 35,000 16-year-olds, the UK-based National Literacy Trust found the majority of young people (52%) prefer reading on screens rather than in print (32%). The study also found young people who read exclusively on computers have lower literacy levels than those who read using both computers and printed materials. However, the report did not find a literacy gap between those who exclusively used tablets and those who read on both tablets and printed materials. Girls were also significantly more likely than boys to read using any medium, print or otherwise.

The FCC released a report on internet access connections over 200kbps. The report found the number of connections increased by 18% since 2012, to 243 million, with mobile subscriptions up 28% to 153 million. Speeds have also improved, with the number of ”fixed connections with download speeds at or above 3 Mbps and upload speeds at or above 768 kbps having increased from 56% to 64% of total fixed connections. Among mobile wireless subscriptions, the share increased from 14% to 28%.”

A Starcom report on 4,800 viewers concluded viewers are more likely to recall advertisements streamed online, than they are to recall advertisements appearing on traditional TV.

Viacom study: Social media is becoming today’s TV guide for viewers.

A valuation conducted by Wells Fargo puts Sinclair Broadcasting’s spectrum at the top of the nation’s most valuable. Wells Fargo found Sinclair’s spectrum to be worth $2.9 billion, or $35.74 per share.

The Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau found 92% of total day and primetime ratings among the 18-to-49 demographic went to cable networks, compared to 75% for broadcast TV.

Media and Technology Stats and Studies – May 20, 2013

A soon-to-be published University of Wisconsin-Madison meta-analysis of data on more than 10,000 children in 15 countries is expected to show viewing international co-productions of Sesame Street has a positive impact on learning in children around the world. According to the University of Wisconsin, the study will show an average 11.6 percentile difference between viewers and non-viewers on “cognitive outcomes (including literacy and numeracy), learning about the world (including health and safety knowledge), and social reasoning and attitudes.” 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%.

Media Matters for America released Diversity of Evening Cable News in 13 Charts. The report looked at the race, ethnicity and gender of 1,677 guests and found that women did not make up more than 33% of guests on any of the cable news channels. Media Matters also found that Fox News had the highest proportion of white guests (83%), with MSNBC having the lowest (73%), and that African Americans were the “largest non-white group on all of the networks,” as 19% of the non-white guests Media Matters reviewed were African American.

Netflix released its ranking of the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) with the fastest speeds. Google Fiber ranked first with an average speed of 3.45 Mbps, with Cablevision, Cox, Suddenlink, Charter, Verizon-FIOS, MediaCom, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House, rounding out the Top 10.

NTIA reported that 18% of rural areas continue to lack access to download speeds of at least 6 Mbps, compared to 100% of urban residents.

The Center for Democracy and Technology has released a report explaining the technical reasons why the report’s authors believe the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s effort to step up Internet surveillance poses serious national security risks. Currently, the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) enables law enforcement officials to wiretap phone lines. The authority for tapping communications conducted via instant messaging platforms and VOIP platforms such as Skype is not as clear since these services rely on the Internet, rather than phone lines, to function. Among other things, the report concludes that requiring these service providers to build in intercept capabilities at endpoints exposes the United States to “serious consequences for the economic well-being and national security of the United States.”

A record year in political spending on local TV stations has led to a spate of broadcast mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in the US TV broadcast industry. The revenues generated by local TV stations during the 2012 election cycle allowed them to make their balance sheets more attractive for investors. LIN Television, Nexstar Broadcasting, Sinclair Broadcast Group, and Tribune are among the largest groups leading this new wave of consolidation, the value of which could exceed $6 billion through 2014, according to Moody’s.

Clear Channel reports its iHeartRadio service has reached 30 million registered users. This is compared to 200 million registered users for Pandora, the Internet radio market leader. Clear Channel also reported 60 million unique users per month, compared to 67 million active Pandora users. Clear Channel attributes this difference to the fact that Clear Channel users can always turn to local FM radio stations for local content.

Media and Technology Stats and Studies – May 13, 2013

A Grunwald Associates report commissioned by AT&T concluded that parents’ level of education correlated with their level of enthusiasm about the benefits of mobile technology in their children’s education. The report concluded that most parents whose children did not use mobile devices or who were less believing of the benefits of using devices to enhance learning do not have college degrees. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 30.4% of all U.S. adults aged 25+ have earned a Bachelor’s degree, which breaks down to 50.8% of Asians, 34% of Whites, 20.2% of Blacks, and 14.1% of Hispanics. Seventy-eight percent of parents surveyed in the Grunwald/AT&T report indicated that someone in the family owns a “personal or portable computer” with 52% saying their children use these devices. Forty-six percent of parents surveyed own a tablet, with 34% of their children using it. Additionally, in a recent Pew Research study, 62% of parents believed libraries should offer access to a wider selection of e-books.   

Disney’s media networks business is enjoying its most profitable year ever, generating $5 billion in revenues in 1Q13, which grew by 6% since last year. ESPN led Disney’s growth, with its ad revenue up 10% in 1Q13. However, ABC – the company’s broadcasting unit – continues to struggle, with operating income down 40%, even though Shonda Rhimes‘ Scandal is breaking ratings barriers and is on track to become the #1 drama on TV for the second time in 3 weeks. Last Thursday, Scandal was up in ratings by 68% among 18-49 year olds, compared to the same night last year. Scandal also outperformed Fox’s American Idol for the first time ever last Thursday night, according to Nielsen.

The White House released new open data rules to make data the federal government collects more accessible by the public.

Nielsen reported that the number of TV Households are up 1.2% since 2012 to 115.6 million. Further, the Leichtman Research Group (LRG) report found that more than 1/4 of U.S. adults watch video daily on devices other than TVs. Nielsen will begin including Internet viewers in its ratings estimates later this year.

A University of Montreal discussion paper showed a positive correlation between broadband adoption and marriage rates among 21-30 year olds.

A Park Associates report found that 78% of U.S. broadband households have a home network. This rate is expected to increase to 95% by 2016.

The Federal Communications Commission released its quarterly report on consumer inquiries and informal complaints. Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) matters comprised more than half (58%) of inquiries. Radio and television complaints increased by 104% and cable and satellite services complaints increased by 67% in the 4th quarter of 2012, compared to the 3rd quarter of 2012. The FCC attributed most of the increase in complaints in these two categories to programming.

Fortune: Glenn Beck’s TheBlaze Media Network generates between $35 and $45 million in annual revenues.

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 – 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 – March 1, 2013

Women’s Media Center Report: Representation of Women in Media Has Stagnated

In a report entitled ”The Status of Women in the U.S. Media, 2013“, the Women’s Media Center reported that the percentage of women working in newspaper newsrooms was 36.9 in 2012–exactly the same proportion reported in 1999.  The report also found that if current hiring trends continue at their current pace, women will not reach parity with men in leadership roles until 2085.  Male bylines outnumber those of their female counterparts by a 3 to 1 margin.

Columbia University: Online Courses May Harm Minority Students

Columbia released a large-scale report based on a survey of 40,000 community and technical college students suggesting students of color actually fare worse when they take courses online in lieu of a traditional classroom setting. Among the report’s findings, taking a course online correlated with a 0.15-0.4 grade reduction based on a 4.0 scale. However, the study did not control for the quality of on-line programs and contradicts another large-scale study conducted by the U.S. Department of Education showing a favorable impact of on-line learning on student outcomes.

Georgetown University: Associates STEM Degree-holders Earn More than Some Bachelor’s Degree Holders

Community college graduates with STEM degrees out earn non-STEM bachelor’s degree holders, according to the Georgetown University report. However, a 2009 Education Trust Baseline Report showed a community college completion gap of 9 percentage points between minority students (24%) and all students (33%).

Equity and Excellence Commission Submits Report to Department of Education

The report advises the Secretary of Education on strategies for reducing barriers to meaningful educational opportunities. The report outlines a five-part framework focusing on equitable school finance; effective teachers, principals and curricula; early childhood education; mitigating poverty’s effects, and; accountability and governance.

Robin Roberts’ Return to ABC’s Good Morning America Yielded 6.1 Million Viewers

The anchor, who recently underwent a bone marrow transplant, returned to GMA on February 20. Nielsen reported Ms. Roberts’ return to the network resulted in GMA‘s largest audience since November 7, the day after the Presidential election.

Commentary:

The Success of Bounce TV Reflects Changing U.S. Demographics

Other Reports:

The Federal Communications Commission released a white paper reviewing how the United States compares to other nations as it frees spectrum to accomodate what Cisco has estimated to be an expected eighteen-fold increase in spectrum demand between 2011 and 2016. Much of the report focuses on licensed spectrum frequency bands below 2.7 GHz as they comprise the predominant frequencies used to provide mobile broadband services around the world. The U.S. ranks first among the nations it studied in current and pipeline (including pipeline unlicensed) spectrum, with 958 MHz. Australia ranks second with 708 MHz of current and pipeline spectrum. Brazil, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain and the U.K. were also studied.

The Wireless Broadband Alliance reported that operators attribute 75 percent of their mobile traffic to users accessing personal routers, indicating a preference for using Wi-Fi at home.

Online video viewing was down slightly in December, 2012. Viewers in the UK watch the most TV shows on their tablets. Sixty-six percent of U.S. consumers stream any kind of video two to three times per week.

GSMA: The total number of mobile connections will soar to 7.4 billion this year, exceeding the world population by 300 million.

China announced plans to extend 4M broadband coverage to 70% of the country’s internet users.

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) reported the U.S. stands in 14th place worldwide in the number of people with high speed broadband connections.

GSMA: Mobile health could save developed countries $400 billion in 2017 by improving care for sudden health incidents, remote patient monitoring, mobile access to electronic health records, and implementing SMS messaging for appointment and medication reminders.

IFPI: Spurred by Digital Downloading,  Global Recorded Music Revenues Grew for the First Time Since 1999

The University of Texas at Austin has released a data tool enabling policymakers to track emerging conflicts in Africa.

T-Mobile has continued to lose contract customers, but the losses have been offset by an increase in prepaid customers.

A petition on the White House website asking the U.S. government to permit mobile phones to be “unlocked” (i.e. registered to a different carrier than the one to which the phone was configured at the time of purchase) reached the threshold of 100,000 signatures required to receive consideration.

Sprint saved $1 billion via its phone refurbishment program.

The four mainstream television networks are recording a historic decline in ratings, down 23 percent compared to the same week last year.

Nielsen: Many advertisers fail to target women in shows, such as Walking Dead, that deliver a high number of female viewers but contain themes not traditionally considered appealing to women.

The USA Network had the highest ratings among cable networks in February, with AMC’s Walking Dead episodes occupying the top 3 shows for the month.

IAB: Even though shoppers use their smartphones while shopping, 38% actually end up purchasing their items in-store.

IAB: Microtargeting accounted for $130 million in political ad spending in 2012.

Education professionals report lack of funding as the main impediment to widespread implementation of educational technology in the classroom.

A JD Power survey found nearly one-third (29%) of customers affected by Hurricane Sandy learned about power outages by listening to the radio. Thirty-seven percent learned of power outages by calling their phone company.  Seventeen percent learned by visiting their power company’s website.

Sixty-eight percent of marketers reported they will increase spending on big data initiatives. Forty-nine percent of respondents cited website analytics data as the best source of consumer information.

Sinclair Broadcasting will acquire five Cox TV stations.

RAB: Radio’s Online Revenues Grew By 22% in 2012

Nielsen: With 40.3 million viewers, the Oscars returned its best audience in 3 years.

Consumer satisfaction with online travel companies has dropped by 2.6 percent–to 76 percent–putting the industry behind other e-commerce retailers. Amazon still leads among all e-commerce retailers irrespective of industry.

Report: STEM jobs are up 15% in Florida

A team of Stanford University researchers has developed a lithium battery that extends battery life by a factor of ten.

Bridging the Digital Divide: The Importance of IP-based Infrastructure to Communities of Color

by Ralph B. Everett, Esq.

Telephone companies are in the process of replacing their copper-wire network with fiber running all the way to homes and businesses, a nationwide trend in both urban centers and rural communities. This technological transition within the core of our nation’s telecommunications networks is expected to bring faster speeds and improved broadband access to communities of all sizes.

The question that comes to mind here at the Joint Center is whether this transition is relevant to communities of color, and if so, what policy issues need to be addressed to hasten the economic and other benefits the transition can generate.

My good friend Hilary Shelton of the NAACP observes that an important question we must consider is how this transition will help communities that have traditionally been left behind. As he rightly notes, communities of color are not where we want or need to be on broadband access or adoption rates, but we are making progress. Marc Morial of the National Urban League notes that it’s time to have a broad, engaged, informed discussion about the transition, and he suggests that public policy has to incent, encourage and be part of this new 21^st Century formula.  The question he poses with regard to the transition is whether public policy will keep pace, or be the “dog chasing the car.”

Brent Wilkes of LULAC believes broadband adoption is more important than phone adoption, and sees the IP transition as one of the best deals the country faces because it will provide more technology capabilities to communities of color at no extra cost to the consumer. As he says, “what’s not to like?” about the upgrade to all-fiber infrastructure.

Debbie Goldman of the Communications Workers of America said that as the transition proceeds, the following principles should guide us as we change the regulatory framework for the IP world: investment, good jobs, universal quality service, consumer protection, public safety, network reliability.

What is clear is that the transition is happening – and the FCC has recognized this by recently creating a Task Force to determine the policy ramifications that will certainly follow such a massive upgrade in the nation’s digital infrastructure. The Joint Center will follow the transition closely and keep several issues in mind as it unfolds. First, the Joint Center believes that bringing more and faster broadband connections to communities of color is important; we must not lose sight of that as the transition occurs. Second, there must be clear and understandable information for all consumers about the transition and how it may impact communications services. At the same time, all stakeholders must continue make sure that consumers are aware of the benefits of using emerging applications to help them improve their lives. Policies that drive adoption and use are just as important as facilitating a smooth and quick upgrade of the nation’s telecommunications infrastructure.

Ralph B. Everett is President and CEO of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. More information on Mr. Everett and his work can be found at the Joint Center website.

Media and Technology Stats and Studies – February 25, 2013

Univision Beat NBC in the February Sweeps

For the first time in history, NBC slipped to 5^th place among TV networks in the Nielsen sweeps among adults ages 18-49.  The network fell to Spanish-language TV network Univision.

CDD: Multicultural Consumers are in Marketers’ Digital Marketing “Bullseye”

The Center for Digital Democracy released a report discussing trends in digital marketing and concludes that while marketers are increasing their emphasis on targeting multicultural consumers, policymakers ought to be wary of how collecting data on consumers of color may actually be used to harm them.

Certain Television May Help Ease Aggression in Young Children

The journal Pediatrics released a study showing that some television fare may help ease aggression in young children. According to the study, children who spent more time watching educational programming that encourages empathy showed a moderate improvement in overall behavior, as compared to children who spent more time watching violent programming.  The report also noted low-income boys showed the most improvement in behavior, although the researchers were unable to determine why.

APIAHF, CPEHN, Consumers Union and NCLR Released a Report on the Role of Health IT in Reducing Health Disparities

The report examined advancements in Health IT and made policy recommendations for deploying health IT to reduce disparities.  Last year, the Joint Center released a similar set of policy recommendations focusing on the role of mobile broadband in managing chronic diseases.

Radio One’s Revenue was Up in 4Q12

Radio One’s revenue was up by $5.2 million in 4Q12 to $62.2 million.  The growth is attributable to increased political advertising across Radio One’s 55 stations nationwide.  However, even without political advertising, Radio One’s revenue was up by 2.9% year-over-year.

Other Reports:

A Javelin Strategy and Research study revealed that identity fraud is on the rise in the U.S., with 12.5 million victims in 2012 alone.

A Tenable Networked Security survey of 1,021 adults shows the majority of Americans support a comprehensive cybersecurity policy.

NTCA: 69% of rural carriers have canceled plans to upgrade their networks due to Intercarrier compensation/USF uncertainty.

Social media trends reveal that Netflix’s original program ‘House of Cards’ was popular among viewers but, according to estimates made by The Atlantic, Netflix would need to attract more than 520,000 subscribers paying $7.99 for two years  in order for the show to break even.  Cowen & Co. reported that as many as a quarter of Netflix subscribers end up cancelling their pay TV subscriptions, underscoring demand for Netflix to produce more original programming. The industry is responding to these trends as Nielsen announced it will adjust its methodology and count households without cable, but with Internet connected to TV, as “television households” for ratings purposes.

A Lazard Capital Markets analyst said the major broadcast and cable TV networks are gaining leverage over carriers. According to a “TV Network Loyalty Index”, 41-48 percent of people would cancel or switch to a different cable provider if top networks were dropped.

LivingSocial raised $110 million from a group of current investors.  The investment follows a $650 million net loss in 2012.

The New York Times has put the Boston Globe up for sale. Estimates value the Boston Globe at $150 million, even though the Times paid $1.1 billion for the newspaper in 1993.

The Integer Group reported baby Boomers have increased their online spending by 4.5% since 2011, while online spending by Millenials has declined by 7% during the same period.

U.S. shoppers spent $225 billion online last year, up 16% over 2011.

Nielsen/RAB: The number of Super Bowl viewers who recalled seeing ads was low.

More than 25 percent of TVs, or 66 million units, shipped last year were “smart TVs”, according to HIS. The research suggests as much as 50% of TVs sold may be smart TVs by 2015.

Apple has dropped to number three on the list of the most popular hedge fund stocks, behind Google and AIG.

Nielsen: Smartphone Owners are More Engaged Moviegoers

A Reuters poll found that Microsoft is more popular among 18-29 year-old consumers than it was two years ago, beating Facebook and Twitter.

France has launched a €20 billion broadband rollout.

IDC: Sales of iOS and Android Games Eclipsed Sales of Games on Dedicated Consoles in 4Q12.

HP’s profit was down 16% in 4Q12.

An Indiana University professor has patented a method for using Twitter data to predict future behavior. The method was 90 percent accurate in predicting short term stock market fluctuations.

Twitter released a report showing 60% of its users access Twitter via a mobile device.

Pinterest has completed a $250 million funding, putting its valuation at $2.5 billion.

An Inavero report concludes that advertisers are rapidly shifting their focus away from traditional media toward mobile and social media with print media being the most drastically affected.

A&E trailblazes in reaching affluent men who are not necessarily sports enthusiasts with ‘H2’.

The Wall Street Journal reported that more than one-third of its traffic comes via mobile devices.

University of Amsterdam: Braess’ Paradox Applies to Social Media as Well—Fewer Product Choices on Social Media Sites Leads to Better Outcomes for All