Twitch Shoots Up To Fourth In Peak US Internet Traffic

According to new data from The Wall Street Journal, Twitch is now the fourth highest network commanding peak U.S. Internet traffic. Twitch holds approximately 1.8% of peak traffic, which is more than Hulu, Facebook, Valve, Amazon, Pandora, and Tumblr. Twitch has been growing exponentially, and not without hiccups; the amount of bandwidth it takes to run Twitch is significant, and the company has, at times, had trouble keeping up. Their integration with PlayStation 4 has been a boon, as PS4 owners now make up 20% of the service’s broadcasts. In addition to this data, the company also revealed that 68% of Twitch users have cut back on TV watching, as their screens are occupied by watching gaming. The average Twitch user spends 20 hours per week on the service, meaning that they’re significantly more engaged than the average user. As the medium continues its meteoric rise with a broadening user-base, it’s worth keeping an eye on for advertising and marketing opportunities. 

iTunes Radio Pays More Royalties Than Pandora

Many around the tech industry thought that Apple’s long negotiations with record companies leading to its release of iTunes Radio meant that they were trying to get copyright holdings for less. Instead, it turns out that Apple is paying more than its major rival, Pandora – to the tune of $0.13 per song, one cent more than Pandora. As well, Apple is paying out 15% of its advertising revenue over the first year of its contract, and that number will increase to 19% in the second year. Apple is offering music publishers more than twice as much in royalties than Pandora pays, meaning that iTunes Radio has the potential to be much more lucrative for record companies moving forward. 

Sony & Disney Begin Streaming Movies Still In Theaters

In a bold attempt to undercut piracy around the world, as well as retain command over their film brand images Disney and Sony began testing a new on-demand service in South Korea that offers movies to rent whilst still in theaters. Films such as Django Unchained, Wreck-It Ralph, and Brave have all been made available as part of the program. Such experiments have been met with derision and inter-company political skirmishes in the past, but the companies now recognize that times are changing, and new methods of content delivery are necessary for a changing digital world. 

Consumers turn online for car purchases

AutoNiches (HybridSUV.com)Americans more than ever are heading online to get purchase critical “information.”  Given the tough economic times, the value of every spare dollar means that people have to be more thoughtful about how they spend it.

As a recent article in the Wall Street Journal reveals, auto purchases are no exception.  Not only is general information about a car important but finding/affiliating with like consumers is spawning a growth in “niche” online sites.  Even as U.S. auto sales have fallen by about 30% this year from a year earlier, more than 100 new auto-related Web sites have been launched, says research group Hitwise. Continue reading “Consumers turn online for car purchases”