Dallas Morning News

Parks Associates' Scherf said that if Apple really wants to revolutionize the video delivery business, it will have to position the new device and service to a mass market, as it did with the iPhone, rather than to a small niche, as it did with its barely discussed Apple TV.

Scherf said he thinks people will be slower to cut their cable TV than they were to cut their land-line phones.

But cable providers and broadcasters could ignite the trend if they take their brinksmanship ...read more

The number of game console owners who are spending money on a monthly basis to download games jumped to 29 percent this year from 8 percent in 2008, according to consumer research from Dallas-based Parks Associates. The percentage of game consoles connected to the Internet also took a substantial leap, rising to 51 percent this year from 33 percent in 2008.

Broadband connectivity has served as a "game changer" for the gaming industry, said Pietro Macchiarella, research analyst ...read more

AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless , the biggest U.S. mobile carriers, are planning a venture to displace credit and debit cards with smart phones, posing a new threat to Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc., three knowledgeable sources told Bloomberg News.

"Dallas is very likely one of the trial cities since it is the headquarters of AT&T," said Harry Wang, director of mobile and health research at Dallas-based Parks Associates.

From the article, "AT&T-Verizon effort to test use of sma ...read more

The biggest change coming to the wireless world is the end of monthly plans that let you download as much Internet data as you please. And that's happening just as Apple and others roll out a host of new phones designed to be data-intensive.

"As self-titled 'mobile phone bill manager' at home, I have to admit reading the phone bill is not a pleasant experience," said Harry Wang, director of health and mobile product research at Dallas-based research firm Parks Associates.

Fro ...read more

AT&T smart phone subscribers who have $30 unlimited data plans will be able to keep those plans if they wish, even when they renew their contracts. However, customers who move to one of the new plans cannot return to their old unlimited plan.

For example, one of the most popular apps on the iPad is broadcaster ABC's free app that streams episodes of television shows. According to AT&T's online data calculator, watching 50 minutes of video a day at basic video quality settings w ...read more

But while the music business has been undeniably swamped by the Internet, other segments such as movies, books and games are still afloat and navigating toward a not necessarily disastrous online future.

"What the video industry is doing, what the publishing industry is doing, everyone takes their cue from the music industry and how late they were to respond," said Kurt Scherf, vice president and principal analyst with Dallas-based market research firm Parks Associates.

Indee ...read more

But studios continue to experiment on their own as consumer use of online video services doubled from 2008 to 2009, according to Dallas-based Parks Associates, which predicts revenue from premium video rentals and downloads in the U.S. will grow from about $2.3 billion in 2010 to $8.4 billion in 2014.

From the article, "Blockbuster's top man seeks debt options" by Maria Halkias

Consumer use of online video services for movie rentals and movie and TV downloads doubled between 2008 and 2009, said Kurt Scherf, analyst at Dallas-based Parks Associates, which predicts revenue from premium video rentals and downloads in the U.S. will grow from about $2.3 billion in 2010 to $8.4 billion in 2014.

From the article, "Ahead of earnings report, Blockbuster faces another challenge" by Maria Halkias