Aldo's Notes #24

Mar 15, 2023

Pay TV is dying

nScreenMedia reports on the slow death of traditional pay TV in the US.

Traditional pay TV, such as cable and satellite TV, lost 6.8 million subscribers in 2022, a 9.2% loss.
Household penetration is projected to fall below 50% in 2023.
The major reasons for the acceleration in subscriber cancelations include price increases, the availability of premium sports on streaming platforms, and the success of streaming originals.
There are now 62.8 million US homes that do not have cable, satellite, or telco TV, and it has been decades since the proportion of homes with traditional pay TV was below 50%.
Virtual MVPDs like YouTube TV and Hulu Live are helping some homes maintain access to the big bundle of TV channels, but the industry's gains were small compared to traditional pay TV losses.
The decrease in people with access to the big TV channel bundle has greatly impacted how we spend our time watching television.
Cable's share of total television usage falling and streaming's share of viewing time increasing by more than 10%.

Why it matters: pay TV's decline re-directs $$$ and attention across the sector.

OneWeb has announced the successful launch of a further 40 low orbit satellites.

On March 9, 2023, OneWeb launched 40 satellites into low Earth orbit from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station using SpaceX's rocket.
The 40 satellites were successfully separated from the rocket and are operational.
This was the 17th launch by OneWeb and the second-last mission required to complete their first-generation LEO satellite constellation.
OneWeb plans to launch another batch of satellites in a few weeks, completing the Gen 1 constellation.
OneWeb aims to expand connectivity capabilities to provide internet connectivity to remote communities and businesses globally, partnering with leading providers like VEON, Orange, and others.
Neil Masterson, OneWeb's CEO, expressed excitement about the milestone and the company's continued dedication to providing internet connectivity solutions at scale.

Why it matters: more connectivity means more people connected

Spotify has unveiled a new mobile interface during Stream On event for deeper discovery and connections between artists and fans.

The new interface offers advanced recommendations and a spotlight on visual canvases to make discovering new audio easier.
Music, podcasts, and audiobook previews will be available on the home feed personalized to each user, along with new feeds for discovery in search.
DJ, a personalized AI guide for Premium users in the U.S. and Canada, has been launched recently, which knows users’ music tastes and plays music accordingly.
Smart Shuffle keeps the listening sessions fresh with personalized recommendations that perfectly match the vibe of a user-generated playlist.
Autoplay for Podcasts is also introduced, which automatically plays another relevant episode that fits the listener’s taste.
Spotify’s goal is to reduce the distance between creators and listeners and help each build lasting connections.

Why it matters: Spotify DJ enhances the audio discovery and listening experience for users thereby likely increasing usage.

Meta has announced that they are “winding down” (aka dumping) NFTs across the company.

In short, Meta will be focusing on messaging and monetisation opportunities for Reels.

Also, they will continue to develop Meta Pay and investing in messaging payments.

See below announcement from Stephane Kasriel, Head of Commerce & Financial Technologies at Meta.

Mark Zuckerberg has shared news about lay off and efficiencies.

Here’s a summary:

Meta is focusing on improving efficiency and financial performance
Timeline: restructuring plans in the coming months, layoffs in tech and business groups
Reduction of team size by 10,000 people, closing 5,000 open roles
After restructuring, hiring and transfer freezes will be lifted
Analysis of hybrid work model to be completed in summer
Goal: improve business performance in a challenging economic environment
Financial plan allows for investment in the future while delivering sustainable results
Meta is working on transformative technology, such as AI and the metaverse
The upcoming period may be challenging, but transparency and teamwork will help the company grow stronger

Bottom line: the latest tech company cutting staff