Blog articles from 01/2014

As a research analyst with a focus on all things advertising , a recent article written for The World Post by WPP’s CEO Sir Martin Sorrell struck a chord. Anyone entrenched in the ad world knows that one of the major implications (both positive and negative) for emerging media markets is the implicit and explicit use of consumer data. Sorrell suggests, among other issues, that the ad industry reconsider the use of “opt-out” strategies and instead employ a more transparent, and...

Statistics about Kids, the Internet, and Social Networking At a time when both social networking and Internet access (particularly on mobile devices) have proliferated, it has become far more difficult for parents to keep tabs on their children’s online activities. Whereas previously parents might have relied on website filtering and blocking software to minimize their children’s access to potentially harmful websites, it’s much harder to control their access today. Below...

Over 60% of U.S. broadband households have at least one Internet-connected CE, such as a smart TV, connected Blu-ray player, or connected game console, and households have on average close to 7 connected devices per household. Consumer use of these devices is evolving their use cases as well. Video viewing on mobile platforms in particular has trended upward in the past few years. As a result, content providers are deploying new multiscreen services and streaming content to multiple...

Online video services originally provided access to user generated videos, and commercially-produced content. These types of videos continue to be popular, but services are now specializing in premium, full-length content, such as TV shows and movies. “OTT in a Pay-TV World,” the newest report from Parks Associates, addresses why the user experience of OTT services is critical. This report analyzes trends and market dynamics for OTT services and the implications for the...

HP’s announcement last week about the launch of two new Android-powered mobile devices, the Slate6 and Slate7, was not entirely unexpected as Meg Whitman, HP’s CEO, has been indicating HP’s return to the smartphone market for well over a year now.  It is an acknowledgement from HP of the shift in computing from PC to mobile, and as a computing company, HP simply cannot ignore mobile for much longer. Two things about the announcement are interesting-HP’s choice of country...

News from the Wall Street Journal that Amazon is making content inquiries about licensing of linear channels for a streaming pay-TV service shouldn’t be a big surprise. After all, what player in the connected CE and online video space hasn’t looked into that possibility recently? (Content providers must be absolutely giddy about everyone coming out of the woodwork to ask about content licensing.) While Intel and others have tested the waters recently (with Intel finding them...

According to research, patients are demanding more interactive solutions. In fact, 30% of consumers who visit health websites are very interested in communicating with an online physician other than their primary care doctor. The healthcare industry is shifting to a consumer-centric model in order to meet patients’ needs, and the industry sees an opportunity to cut costs. The new whitepaper, “The Real Healthcare Changes On The Way,” examines the trends driving changes in the...

Parks Associates recently had an opportunity to talk with Stuart Lombard, CEO of ecobee. The highlights from that conversation, given here, are a preview of the insights that he will share during his keynote address at the Smart Energy Summit. Open APIs - ecobee is one the first thermostat manufacturers to provide fully open APIs, giving public access to the full suite of ecobee capabilities, attracting over 200 developers who are creating solutions from a variety of verticals....