DirecTv might be entering the Netflix market

Netflix is continually leading the way in Entertainment technology. DirecTv might be offering a similar streaming service. According to “DirecTv considering Netflix-like online service” by Ben Fritz of LATimes.com, DirecTv sent out a survey asking consumers their opinions on an on demand online streaming service.

DirecTv plans to charge the service to current consumers’ bills. It would have movies “at least five years old. TV shows offered would include old series as well as previous seasons for current programs.” A spokesman contacted for the article did not confirm if DirecTv would be doing the service. But clearly their plans will be dependent on the survey and any other market research they do.

Dish network, which just purchased Blockbuster, Inc. might also consider using the Blockbuster brand and company to also jump into the on demand streaming market. It has also been reported that Amazon recently started theirs. The article also lists Wal-Mart and Best Buy as other potential newbies into the market.

It’s so amazing the way Netflix goes from being hated by the industry (I have a previous post on this, “Netflix vs. Cable/ Media Industry”) to now being followed. They have created a new market and since so many companies were hesitant to adapt, Netflix was able to excel in their market, encourage some consumers to leave behind cable, and lead the way to a new entertainment technology. The wave of competition will do little to hurt Netflix’s meteoric rise; Competition might just force them to come up with more services. 

Sony PlayStation Waits 6 Days to Inform Customers of Security Breach... Insulting Move

A week ago the PlayStation Network (PSN) went down. PSN provides online community gaming, online purchases, access to Netflix installed on PS3, movie purchases, game extensions, and other similar services. The network became and still is unavailable. After more than 24 hours of downtime, I advised my boyfriend, an avid user of PSN, to do what most consumers would do: check the company website. The official PlayStation site gave no reason for the downtime but stated it was for “maintenance”.

On April 26, 6 days after PSN went down, Sony released a statement that PSN had been hacked. Log in information, names, birthdates, passwords, and addresses had been taken by hackers; credit card information along with all purchases made through the network may have also been taken. An email was sent out to PSN subscribers advising them of the breach and to watch out for scams, any contact from Sony (according to them Sony would never contact for more personal information), and unauthorized credit card purchases. According to “Sony Faces Lawsuit, Regulators’ Probe over PlayStation Hack” by Cliff Edwards, Karen Gullo, & Michael Riley of Bloomberg, Sony’s 6 day wait in informing consumers of the breach has also inspired investigations by Ireland, the U.S., and Britain and a lawsuit.

All three countries are seeking information concerning the breach and the reasons it took Sony so long to make an official statement on the breach. The breach occurred April 17 to April 19. According to the article and news reports, Sony shut down the network because of the breach.

“It was necessary to conduct several days of forensic analysis, and it took our experts until yesterday to understand the scope of the breach. We then shared that information with our consumers and announced it publicly.”

-Patrick Seybold, a Sony spokesman

Morgan Spurlock's New Documentary is About Advertising and Paid for by Advertising

“This article about advertising is about a documentary about advertising that its makers say is entirely paid for by advertising.” Let this digest for a moment. It sounds like a riddle but it isn’t. It’s a summation and opening line of “Film on Branded Content Examines a Blurred Line” by Stuart Elliott, which is about Morgan Spurlock’s latest documentary, “The Greatest Movie Ever Sold”.

Spurlock is best known for “Super Size Me”, which contributed to the debate about the role of fast food chains in unhealthy diets. “The Greatest Movie Ever Sold” is about branded content, “which is reshaping popular culture by blurring the line between entertainment and advertising in realms like movies, TV shows, songs, video games and online gaming.” In the documentary, Spurlock shows how he got advertisement funding by selling a movie about branding. Advertisers paid for advertising space and this film is going to have a lot of product placement. I haven’t seen the trailer but according to Elliott the trailer states, “everything from top to bottom is branded from beginning to end”.

Two Young Men Bring the Tailor Experience Online

The customized business has taken off online. Companies, like Zazzle.com, allow customers to design their own products using various blank canvas that the website provides. Websites like these are not considered tailored clothing and are usually simple in design, unless the customizer is really good at graphic design. Fan Bi and Danny Wong are two young men, 23 and 19, respectively, who created Blank Label. The website has the customized method as described before but the spin with this company is the product involves choice of various fabrics and more tailored-like options.

According to “Dressed for Success” by Joel Holland on Entrepreneur.com, the inspiration came from a trip Fan Bi took to Shanghai. He was exposed to a myriad of fabrics and came up with the idea to offer a service, in which customers tailor make a shirt online. While studying abroad in the U.S., Bi worked on his business model and met Danny Wong who helped translate the business to an e-commerce platform. With Blank Label, customers “can build a custom shirt by selecting a fabric, color combination and style of cuff, collar, placket, pocket, button, monogram, even custom label—all for less than $50” (although, I tested the options and my somewhat simple custom shirt came to an estimated $77).

Government Seizes Online Poker Sites Possibly Killing the Market

Poker intrigues me; It's a combination of luck and critical thinking. The luck is based on the cards dealt but the critical thinking comes from considering all the factors before choosing to play the hand. In poker and in life, the same cards dealt should not always be played the same. But I do not play poker. I don’t play poker because I will not risk my hard earned money. I believe poker is a game for those that can afford to lose as much as they want to win and who have the will to play moderately.

Of and on, I watch “Poker After Dark” (although I haven’t watched in a month). I am well aware of the various poker sites that exist, considering almost all commercials during the show promote these sites and the players tend to wear emblems during the game. On most commercials for poker sites, the commercials tend to always exclaim you can play for free. This I know to be a lie because some professional poker players started off playing cash games online. I began to wonder the reasons behind promoting the site as free when most know it’s used for gambling. Well, the government knows this too and has seized many poker sites on Friday.

According to “Online Poker Players Face Big Life Changes” by Alexandra Berzon of the Wall Street Journal online,

“The U.S. Justice Department shut down Full Tilt Poker on Friday, along with other online poker sites, accusing 11 people of bank fraud and of illegally operating gambling websites. The government seized accounts run by the sites that held money stored by players.”

The government and poker sites have been back-and-forth through the years over the legality of online poker. For one, the government believes it’s gambling and when they made it illegal to gamble online in the U.S., most sites moved their operations overseas. It is also illegal for sites to allow people to use their bank accounts to pay for the gambling. The government is accusing the poker sites of charging accounts and creating fake “merchants” to disguise the payments. For example, bank statements would list a transaction/ transfer as coming from company xyz instead of Full Tilt Poker.

According to PokerScout, a company keeping track of online poker sites, “[poker] sites saw around $16 billion in wagers from U.S. players last year, with the bulk of that taken in by Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars”. With major endorsements by casinos and professional poker players and now the seizure of the sites, these online poker sites are going to lose a lot of money and support. I read from Wall Street Journal a few casinos ended their business relationship with any sites that were indicted.

When CEOs Should Not Rep Companies: RIM CEO Cracks in Interview

Some people like the challenge of a tough question. Some don’t. Whichever group you fall into, the truth is in business and in your career, you have to get used to tough questions. In fact, job interviews tend to ask challenging questions to gauge an interviewee’s ability to handle pressure. Apparently, CEO of Research In Motion isn’t a fan of challenging questions and cracks easily under pressure. “RIM CEO Calls a Halt to Interview” By Stuart Weinberg of Wall Street Journal reports co-CEO of RIM, Mike Lazaridis, walked out of an interview.

The subject that got him hot: RIM’s battle with India and some countries in the Middle East over RIM’s tight security. According to the article B.B.C. tech correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones asked about the issue and Lazaridis interpreted the question as attacking RIM’s security. The interview was ended “When Cellan-Jones asked if [Lazaridis] could assure BlackBerry users in the Middle East and India that there wouldn’t be any service disruptions.”

Sam Nazarian Purchases Competitor and Becomes King of L.A. Nightlife

Sam Nazarian is a 35-year-old CEO of SBE, a hospitality, restaurant, and nightlife company in Los Angeles. “Nazarian now the West Coast’s Most Powerful Nightclub Operator” by Jessica Gelt reports, this week Nazarian purchased his competitor in the nightlife field, Syndicate, and with this purchase, “[he] has sealed his reputation as Los Angeles’ King of the Night”.

The article reports all together Nazarian heads 25 “hotels, restaurants, lounges, and nightclubs”. He plans on increasing this to 35 by next year, expanding beyond the California market, and, hopefully, being able to establish himself in London. The article also suggests that another goal is “towards an eventual public offering of the company”

While details of the purchase are not being released, former competitor and founder of Syndicate, David Judaken had nice words about SBE:

“It’s SBE’s industry to lose… They are truly going to be a powerhouse, and it’s just a function of how they maintain the existing businesses and roll out the new ones that will define their future”

Nazarian also had some words for LA times about his drive:

Bid for Warner Music Group Surprises Many Who Believe the Music Industry is Dead

“Could a record company still be a good investment?” this is the opening question posed by Ben Sisario in “Bids for Warner Suggest Faith in Industry’s Future”. The question is prompted by the generous offers for Warner Music Group. So far, the article reports bids for company are around $3 billion. This surprises analysts because 1. They believe $3 billion is too high and 2. the music industry has suffered in CD sales. According to the article,

“Global revenue from recorded music has fallen 42 percent since its peak in 1999, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Digital sales have grown steadily, but not enough to stem the losses from CD sales”. 

A possible ending to this bidding is a merger of Warner Music Group with another label becoming 1 of 3 major record companies in the world. With big bids the article is suggesting that many still have faith in the industry. The article doesn’t state the music industry is done but it reports the overall tone concerning the industry is it isn’t a good investment and these bidders are being impractical. But then the question must be asked: If the belief is the music industry is over, doesn’t the industry benefit from MP3 sales and who would represent artists?

MP3 sales are quickly equal the amount of CD sales because CD sales also suffered from illegal downloading. With venues for illegal downloading closing or being seized, MP3 sales are increasing. They will continue to increase because almost everyone can get an MP3 player or use their phone as one. The change and availability of modern music technology guarantees that music will sell, just in a different format. So this means, the music industry has lost money but they have to adapt to changing technology.

Vacancies Making Malls a Thing of the Past

Yesterday, I went Spring shopping and noticed my local mall is, once again, changing – new stores, closed stores, and closed for construction signs. While the emergence of few new stores is good, the change is a reminder of the vacancies the mall had. In fact, the new stores reminded me of previous “new” stores and left me wondering if the stores would stick around for maybe a year to only close like previous ones. “Malls Face Surge in Vacancies” by Kris Hudson and Miguel Bustillo fed my pessimism as the article reported, “In the top 80 U.S. markets, the average vacancy rate was 9.1% up from 8.7%”.  The article also reported an 11.1% vacancy rate for strip malls and shopping centers. Both rates are the highest numbers in at least 10 years. This makes my pessimism seem a little more rational.

Malls, strip malls, and shopping centers are still feeling the burn of the bad economy and the effect of changing consumer habits. Online shopping is one of those habits. Leon Nicholas, a retail consultant, was quoted as considering online shopping a soon-to-be mainstream, not just an alternative. Another consumer habit is consumers attempting to live within their means, leading to less mall binges.

The mall or city shopping center is still considered the center of town. I prefer to try on clothes and see other products before I buy; I buy online for products sold exclusively online or those I’m most familiar with. But with online shopping as the great alternative, malls can only see a positive turn around when their stores see it also. Thus, retailers need to work harder for those consumers who still choose to show up and shop. The future of malls is in hands of retailers. With some major names filing for bankruptcy and many consumers unemployed, shopping centers and malls will have to be patient.  

McDonald's Will Hire 50,000 in a Day

Yesterday, McDonald's made a big announcement: on April 19 they will hire 50,000 people. The obvious significance of the announcement is in the numbers. According to CNNMoney.com and MarketWatch, here are some numbers to consider:

“the 50,000 new hires will increase the U.S. workforce to 700,000 from its current level of 650,000”

According to Jan Fields, president of McDonald's “the average pay for the jobs is $8.30 an hour… restaurant managers can make $50,000 a year”

“McDonald’s and its franchisees will spend more than $518 million more in wages and salaries in the coming year”

“And the 50,000 new workers will generate almost $1.4 billion in annual spending”

Clearly, McDonald's wants to be seen as the company doing its part to help the economy. Whether to actually help the economy or gain an endearing image, the company is willing to pay the cost to give 50,000 people a job. As far as the average hourly wage of $8.30, last week it was reported in order for anyone to make enough to support a “decent” lifestyle, a single person would have to make $30,000/ year or about $14/ hour. So, the questions many will have to face on April 19: is a low paying job better than no job? Considering your background, is McDonalds worth placing on a resume or work history? For many, the answers will to be yes. For many, especially long-term unemployed, they will have no choice. This hiring event is good news for those long-term unemployed looking for income while moving on to a better job or planning to move up in McDonald's. Of course, the other good aspect is McDonald's has added good points to their business karma.

Microsoft Accuses Google of Being a Monopoly

After Microsoft went through their antitrust cases, they have learned a valuable lesson… accusing your competitor of the same thing could lessen their power. “DOJ’s Microsoft Prosecutor: Google is a Monopoly” by David Goldman reports, yesterday Microsoft filed a complaint against Google. The complaint accuses Google of acting as a monopoly, enacting measures to prevent Microsoft from competing fairly.

The article reports some of the “Antitrust” examples Microsoft gave:

“Google has put in place technical measures that restrict Microsoft’s Bing search engine, as well as other search rivals, from ‘properly accessing’ YouTube for their search results… Google uses that otherwise restricted data to index YouTube videos in its own search results… Google’s search results for YouTube videos are better than its competitors’”

“[Google’s] ad platform data lacks interoperability with Microsoft’s”

“…Google undermines its competition by entering into exclusive agreements with websites to power the search boxes on their sites. The company has locked up so much real estate on European’s leading websites that rivals can’t get a foot in the door”