Архив метки: Mexico

Roku drops ~19% as it braces for a bumpy fourth quarter

As advertisers pull back on spending and supply chain disruptions persist, investors have braced themselves for an unpleasant quarter for Roku. And investors are probably right to be worried.
Roku released its fiscal third-quarter earnings results on Wednesday, revealing that it is still experiencing slow growth in revenue in a continuously challenging environment. The company also warned investors of a weak fourth quarter, telling shareholders it expects total net revenue of about $800 million, or a 7.5% decline year over year. Roku shares dropped nearly 19% in after-hours trading once investors saw the fourth-quarter guidance.
“As we enter the holiday season, we expect the macro environment to further pressure consumer discretionary spend and degrade advertising budgets, especially in the TV scatter market. We expect these conditions to be temporary, but it is difficult to predict when they will stabilize or rebound. We, therefore, anticipate Q4 Player revenue and Platform revenue to be lower year over year,” the company wrote in its letter to shareholders.
And while Roku reported a total net revenue that beat expectations, the results are still much lower than in the past. Roku noted that its total revenue grew 12% year over year to $761 million, above its own expectation of $700 million. Analysts predicted Roku’s total revenue to reach $696 million this quarter.
“Platform revenue grew 15% year over year, which was lower than our historical growth rates but positive given the difficult macro environment. Advertising spend on our platform continues to grow more slowly than our beginning-of-year forecast due to current weakness in the overall TV ad market, and the ad scatter market in particular,” the company said.

Roku points finger at advertising slowdown for missing the mark on quarterly results

Roku missed revenue expectations last quarter and reported a total net revenue of $764 million, which was $41 million less than Wall Street’s expectations. The company blamed the slowdown in TV ad spending for missing the mark.
Meanwhile, the company also reported a net addition of 2.3 million incremental active accounts in Q3, bringing the total to 65.4 million, up from 61.3 million active accounts in the second quarter. Roku also had total streaming hours of 21.9 billion, up 1.1 billion from last quarter.
Its free streaming service, The Roku Channel, saw a jump in streaming hours of 90% year-over-year.
Roku continues to invest in The Roku Channel. Just this past month, the company launched the streaming service in Mexico, which marked a significant move for the service. Previously, The Roku Channel was only available in the U.S., the U.K. and Canada.
The Roku Channel also launched 14 new linear channels through its Live TV Guide and added Paramount+ as a new premium subscription option.
Roku tries to be smart(er)
Roku made a bold move last month by stepping into the connected home space with the launch of various smart home devices. The Roku Smart Home lineup includes security cameras, video doorbells, smart lights and voice-enabled smart plugs.
With Google and Amazon already in the smart home market, it’s likely Roku doesn’t anticipate becoming the first choice for consumers. Still, it makes sense for the company to monetize the smart home experience to the many consumers that already have Roku smart TVs in their homes.
During a conference call with reporters, Roku chief financial officer Steve Louden said: “Expanding into the smart home ecosystem is a natural extension for Roku. Obviously, we’re a leading TV streaming platform, and smart TV is usually at the center of someone’s smart household. It’s a good extension to leverage our existing 65 million active accounts.”
The company added in its letter that it’s still “early days,” but Roku has the “necessary technology and expertise in hardware, software, and connectivity to deliver a smart home ecosystem that is simple, powerful, and delightful.”
Roku also recently launched the 2022 version of the Roku Express streaming player, a Roku Wireless Bass, as well as its software update, Roku OS 11.5, which includes new features like a universal watch list, a “continue watching” feature and a discovery hub that features short-form content.

Roku dives into smart home market with security cameras, video doorbells, smart lights and more

Roku drops ~19% as it braces for a bumpy fourth quarter by Lauren Forristal originally published on TechCrunch
Roku drops ~19% as it braces for a bumpy fourth quarter

Disney+ and Star+ relaunch as native apps on PlayStation 5 for users to stream in 4K

Disney+ today relaunched as a native app on PlayStation 5 (PS5) consoles, which now supports PS5 capabilities like 4K HDR (High-Dynamic Range) streaming. The company also relaunched Star+, Disney+’s streaming service for Latin American subscribers.
PS5 users experienced various issues with the old Disney+ app, which was designed for PS4 compatibility. Subscribers reported crashes, log-in errors, poor video playback and poor sound quality. Hopefully, the new native PS5 app won’t have the same issues.
Also, Disney+ and Star+ subscribers could only stream content at 1080p resolution on the console. As of today, PlayStation5 users can experience higher video quality at no extra cost. Other streaming services like Netflix and YouTube TV charge subscribers a higher fee for 4K content.
“The ability to support 4K HDR video streaming on the platform will also improve the viewing experience for fans,” said Jerrell Jimerson, EVP of Product & Design, Disney Streaming, in a statement.
Star+ launched in 2021, and is a standalone streaming service in Latin America that offers entertainment content from Disney, FX, 20th Century Studios, Star Original Productions, National Geographic and more. It also streams live sports from ESPN.
The streamer is available in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Panama, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Disney will fuel international growth with Star brand and Star+ app

Disney+ and Star+ relaunch as native apps on PlayStation 5 for users to stream in 4K by Lauren Forristal originally published on TechCrunch
Disney+ and Star+ relaunch as native apps on PlayStation 5 for users to stream in 4K

Challenger bank Bnext revamps rewards for purchases in partner stores

Spanish startup Bnext is revamping its cashback program so that you can buy from partner stores directly from the Bnext app and get some money back. The company has partnered with Button and the feature is available as an open beta.
Traditional cashback portals are a bit clunky. When you find an offer that gives you 2% of your money back, you click on the offer, get redirected to the partner site and hope that your purchase will be registered. A bit later, you get some money back on the cashback website, which you need to cash out to your bank account.
If you’re using Bnext as your bank account, you’ll be able to access rewards directly from your banking app. In addition to that, you don’t get redirected to another site as you purchase goods directly from the Bnext app.
There are multiple levels. If you’re making your first purchase through the feature, you get 1% in savings on average. If you’ve made more than three purchases over the past 30 days, you get 3% in savings on average. In order to reach level 3, you need a premium Bnext subscription. With that level, you get 5% in savings on average.
Partners include AliExpress, Booking.com, eDreams, Europcar, Nike, Just Eat and more. Eventually, the startup wants to let you earn rewards from in-store purchases as well. Bnext is creating a new revenue stream with this feature as the startup will keep a share of the revenue from each transaction.

Bnext provides current accounts and payment cards. You can receive notifications for each transaction with your card, and temporarily lock and unlock your card. You don’t pay any foreign transaction fee as long as you spend less than €2,000 per month with a standard account.
The company has also put together a marketplace of fintech products. You can earn interest by lending money to small companies on October, get a loan, an insurance product and more.
Earlier this year, the startup expanded to Mexico. The company plans to roll out rewards in Mexico soon. Bnext has managed to attract a bit less than 400,000 users.

Challenger bank Bnext revamps rewards for purchases in partner stores