Australians flock to SVOD with 2 million subscriptions to online streaming video services taken up this year

July 8, 2015

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – Uptake of subscription video on demand (SVOD) services delivered over the Internet has skyrocketed in Australia with two million active subscriptions recorded at the end of June 2015, according to new research by emerging technology analyst firm Telsyte.

Up from 315,000 subscriptions at the end of December 2014, the massive growth has been driven by the arrival of new services such as Netflix and Stan, free trial periods, and promotions offered by the leading ISPs, mobile carriers and TV manufacturers.

Telsyte’s Australian SVOD/OTT Video Market Study 2015 shows that around 1.5 million of these subscriptions have been converted to fee paying (no longer on a trial) and generated more than $17 million in revenues in the month of June.

The paid subscriber market leaders, in order, are: Netflix, Stan, Presto and Quickflix*. Together the top 4 represent around 90 per cent of all paid subscriptions; however, there is a long tail of providers covering sports and special interest niches like AFL, NBA basketball, NRL and UFC matches.

SVOD services are delivered over broadband Internet connections rather than traditional broadcast television signals. Most service providers support set-top boxes (e.g. Apple TV), computers and post-PC devices (smartphones and tablets) for viewing; however, two-thirds of people use their TV as their main screen to watch SVOD services.

“The SVOD market is highly competitive, seasonal, and unlikely to be a winner-takes-all marketplace,” Telsyte Managing Director, Foad Fadaghi, says.

A complicated web of streaming content rights as well as the widespread availability of free trials has resulted in SVOD subscribers having an average of 1.6 services.

Despite the increasing competition for eyeballs in the Australian online video market, Telsyte research indicates streaming Catch-up TV, SVOD and traditional Pay TV will co-exist.

At the end of June, almost 40 per cent of Australian households that had SVOD services also had traditional Pay TV.

“The early success of SVOD providers will encourage more film studios and content rights holders, including sporting codes, to consider direct streaming to consumers,” Fadaghi says.

Despite the rise of SVOD, public broadcaster and advertising-supported streaming services remain the most popular online video services in Australia. Telsyte estimates seven million Australians 16 years and over, regularly (at least once a month) view Catch-up TV services such as the ABC’s iView and Channel Nine’s 9Jumpin.

The lowering of prices by Foxtel in reaction to SVOD competition has seen an uplift in Pay TV subscriptions during the same period of rapid SVOD adoption. Pay TV subscriptions, including Foxtel, Fetch TV and others, was estimated to be 3.1 million at the end June.

SVOD and Catch-up TV to drive nbn adoption

SVOD and Catch-up TV services are expected to drive demand for high-speed broadband upgrades, particularly with the arrival of 4K (Ultra High Definition) content over the Internet.

Telsyte research shows that 1 in 5 broadband users (22%) intend to upgrade their fixed broadband due to streaming video.

Furthermore, more than half (53%) believe their current fixed broadband might not be fast enough for streaming video services.

Telsyte believes mobile carrier partnerships will be increasingly important to SVOD service providers as they help drive subscriptions that are also used over fixed-line broadband Internet connections.

For further information on the study or media enquiries contact:

Foad Fadaghi
Managing Director
Tel: +612 9235 5851
Email: ffadaghi@telsyte.com.au

*Editors please note, Telsyte will not be supply individual SVOD provider subscriber estimates to media.

Telsyte’s Australian SVOD/OTT Video Market Study 2015 is a comprehensive study which provides subscribers with:
• Uptake of SVOD services, Pay TV and Catch-up TV services
• SVOD provider market share
• SVOD forecasts
• Analysis of current offerings in the market
• Services consumption preference through devices and screens
• Insights into the future of SVOD, Pay TV and Catch-up in Australia

In preparing this study, Telsyte used:
• Interviews conducted with executives from SVOD providers, mobile operators, media companies and channel partners
• An online survey of a representative sample of Australians 16+ years of age conducted with 1,025 respondents in May 2015
• An online survey of a representative sample of Australians 16+ years of age conducted with 1,251 respondents in November 2014
• Financial reports released by service providers
• On-going monitoring of local and global market and vendor trends

About Telsyte
Telsyte delivers strategic insights and advisory services to businesses that are producing, or are impacted by, disruptive technologies. Telsyte publishes studies into emerging consumer and business markets and provides custom research and advisory services. Telsyte is a wholly-owned independent business unit of UXC Limited. UXC is an ASX-listed Australian IT services company and the largest Australian-owned ICT consultancy firm with over 2,500 customer organisations in the private and public sectors across Australasia. www.telsyte.com.au

The material in this article is copyright protected and not intended to be altered, copied, distributed or used for any commercial/non commercial purpose, except for news reporting, comment, criticism, teaching or scholarship

“The economics of electronics” – a new study by eBay and Telsyte highlights emerging consumer technology trends

June 15, 2015

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – Emerging technology research firm Telsyte has released a new study with eBay detailing how Australians are adopting emerging technologies. Using data from a hundred million technology related searches and transactions conducted each year on eBay, Telsyte were able to determine the dominant sales trends and behavioural choices to tell the story of The Economics of Electronics.

The study The Economics of Electronics is now available for view and download at www.ebaytrendforecast.com.au

Key findings of the study include:

• Australian consumers’ desire for an all-in-one device has also increased, especially as screen sizes on smartphones have grown. In Telsyte’s recent research, nearly half of all tablet users — and two thirds of all Windows tablet users — said they are interested in buying a combined device that had all the features of a smartphone, a tablet and a computer.

• By 2019, Telsyte predicts fewer than one in ten Australian smartphone users will also own an MP3 player — by then, it could well be that MP3s will only still be loved by fitness junkies who don’t want to take their phone into the gym.

• On eBay, sales of MP3 players and digital cameras fell by 13,800 and 8,300 units respectively in 2014 while overall consumer electronics sales were growing strongly. DVD and Blu-ray players grew by just 1% in 2014, a relative decline in comparison to booming growth in the flat screen TV market on eBay.

• Today, Telsyte believes more than one million Australians use smart wristbands to track their steps as they seek a healthier lifestyle. This will increase as more people become aware of the potential benefits and as prices come down. This trend was also seen on eBay, with Australians buying 50,000% more smart wristbands on eBay in December 2014 than they did in January of that year.

• The top five things Australians want to do with smart eyewear are entertainment (including gaming), navigation, news updates, health and fitness and shopping and e-Commerce.

• Accordingly to Telsyte, the average household now has eight Internet-connected devices, up from seven last year, and this number is set to grow to 20 devices by 2019. Today’s connected devices include, on average, almost two computers per household, more than one-and-half Smartphones, a printer, tablet and games console

• Australian shoppers seek lower prices and greater convenience when shopping online. Telsyte research suggests this is due mainly to the desire to get the lowest price possible, with many also citing the convenience of online shopping as a secondary factor.

For further information on the study or media inquiries contact:

Foad Fadaghi
Managing Director
Tel: +612 9235 5851
Twitter: @foadfadaghi
Email: ffadaghi@telsyte.com.au

For interviews or information from eBay please contact:
Jessica Spokes
Pulse Communications
Tel: +612 8281 3864
Email: jessica@pulsecom.com.au

About Telsyte
Telsyte delivers strategic insights and advisory services to businesses that are producing, or are impacted by, disruptive technologies. Telsyte publishes studies into emerging consumer and business markets and provides custom research and advisory services. Our market leading coverage includes mobility, enterprise IT, digital media and telecommunications. Telsyte is a wholly-owned independent business unit of UXC Limited. UXC is an ASX-listed Australian IT services company and the largest Australian-owned ICT consultancy firm with over 2,500 customer organisations in the private and public sectors across Australasia. www.telsyte.com.au

From data scientist to CEO, data-driven leadership to be the upshot of Big Data in Australian organisations

June 2, 2015

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – More than 70 per cent of large Australian organisations, those with 200 employees or more, will become data-driven by the year 2019, according to a new study released today by emerging technology analyst firm Telsyte. This will increase from today’s figure of around a third of large businesses, mainly found in the retail, manufacturing and government sectors.

Telsyte research shows that Big Data analytics is fast becoming the ultimate way to empower CEOs and boards to drive the innovation agenda. There is also a growing realisation that the information era is leaving traditional decision making methods behind.

“We are seeing a new generation CEO, who no longer relies on a hunch or gut feel to determine the future direction of their organisation,” Telsyte senior analyst Shayum Rahim says.

Telsyte predicts that if the CEO is not a data scientist themselves, the organisation will certainly have one on the executive team within the next few years.

“The data-driven CEO uses numerous sources of data to make decisions with precision, which is now essential in being able to study to the board and ultimately shareholders,” Rahim says.

Telsyte research conducted with CIOs, CMOs and other business and technology leaders shows that 38 per cent of large businesses are currently using Big Data analytics, however many organisations are still at the early stages of maturity.

Telsyte’s Big Data Maturity Model evaluates organisations through six stages of maturity based on a range of factors including infrastructure, skills and knowledge, budgets and deployment.

Telsyte found that there are still many barriers to Big Data analytics adoption in Australia, such as the ongoing skills shortage, and infrastructure and data integration challenges. However, the desire by today’s leaders to use data to transform their businesses is such that many are looking to external service providers to overcome such barriers.

Telsyte research shows that Big Data investments outside of the remit of are fuelling the growth of IT spending. Around 5 per cent of organisations have Line of Business (LOB) spending on technology surpassing that of the IT department. Telsyte expects this trend to continue driven by solutions that utilise data from “Internet of things”, social media and digital marketing. The main spenders outside of IT were Management (63%), Operations (62%) and Marketing (54%)

For many organisations the Big Data journey has begun with their e-commerce, CRM and marketing data, and this is creating a more empowered CMO.

“Data does not just inform; ideally, it persuades” Telsyte senior analyst and digital marketing lead Steven Noble says.

“Data-driven leaders in fields like marketing, eCommerce and executive management use insights to craft inspiring stories that bathe the company, its customers and its competitive environment in a whole new light,” Noble says.

The study also profiles a number of vendors across Big Data infrastructure, data management and analytics products including: Cloudera, Hortonworks, MAPR, EMC, Hitachi Data Systems, NetApp, IBM, Oracle, Pivotal, Microsoft, SAS, Splunk and Tableau Software.

Additionally, Telsyte has reviewed a range of new entrants who are taking the challenge to the traditional data management vendors.

“The new entrants are an important part of the landscape because they bring a more flexible approach that can lower the barriers to entry, such as subscriptions and pay per use” Rahim says.

The study has determined that on average, two thirds of organisations investigating Big Data solutions are also looking to increase technology OPEX spending in the next 12 months, creating lucrative opportunities for vendors and service provider alike.

About the Telsyte Big Data and Analytics Study 2015

The Telsyte Australian Big Data & Analytics Study 2015 is a comprehensive 102-page study which provides subscribers with key market insights across many aspects of Big Data adoption in Australian organisations. This includes how it is driving the IT and business agenda; challenges that organisations are facing; the maturity stages of Australian organisations to Big Data; market overview; usage and intentions; budget and spending; a comprehensive vendor SWOT analysis; and recommendations.

For further information on the study or media inquiries contact:

Foad Fadaghi
Managing Director
Tel: +61 2 9235 5851
Twitter: @foadfadaghi
Email: ffadaghi@telsyte.com.au

For sales and consulting enquiries please contact Foad Fadaghi on +612 9235 5851 (ffadaghi@telsyte.com.au).

Australian tablet sales drop 20% in 2014 as wearable computers start to become popular gifts

April 29, 2015

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – Australian’s appetite for media tablets decreased by 20 per cent in 2014 as a cyclical slowdown affected the market, according to a new study from emerging technology analyst firm Telsyte.

Apple reclaimed the market leader position in the second half of 2014, making up nearly half of all unit sales from July 1 to December 31. However, only Windows tablets saw a year-on-year increase in unit sales amid growing consumer interest in smart wristbands and smartwatches during the same period.

Telsyte believes the slowing demand was mainly due to saturation in the iPad and Android tablet markets.

Nearly half of Australians who have ever purchased a tablet, did so in 2013, and few found a reason to upgrade their device in 2014. Furthermore, increased demand for the new iPhone 6, new larger screen Android smartphones as well as a range of wearable devices such as Fitbits, impacted tablet sales in 2014.

Telsyte estimates that at the end of 2014 around 13 million Australians, or more than half the population, had access to a tablet. Facebook, interactive games, news and video content were the most frequently accessed applications. Online shopping using a tablet also became more popular in 2014.

Tablet gifting impacted by smartphones and wearable devices

Telsyte Senior Analyst Alvin Lee says low cost tablets purchased as gifts have lost their appeal and more consumers are now looking towards wearable devices as presents, or to meet their gadget buying urges.

“The average cost of a smart fitness band is similar to an entry-level tablet, making it a popular alternative for those who already own a tablet,” Lee says.

Telsyte expects wearable devices such as Microsoft’s HoloLens and Samsung’s Gear VR to also challenge the role of tablets in a connected-home environment.

“In the coming years, we are likely to see more connected-home apps being developed for wearable devices such as virtual or augmented reality headsets,” Lee says.

New tablet market growth driven by Windows notebook upgrades

Telsyte predicts the market will bounce back in 2015 as Windows-based PC users look to upgrade to convertible or hybrid devices* that allow them to run PC applications on a tablet form factor.

Telsyte Managing Director, Foad Fadaghi, says computers remain the preferred device for the creation of documents and media editing.

“Telsyte believes there will be strong demand of convertibles or 2-in-1 devices, as mainstream business and consumer users look to update to Windows 10 later this year,” Fadaghi says.

Despite their massive appeal, Telsyte’s research indicates two-thirds of Australians do not believe a pure tablet device will ever be their primary computing device, a figure that has risen from 56 per cent in 2013.

For further information on the study or media inquiries contact:

Foad Fadaghi
Managing Director
Tel: +612 9235 5851
Email: ffadaghi@telsyte.com.au

Alvin Lee
Senior Analyst
Tel: +612 9235 5890
Email: alee@telsyte.com.au

About Telsyte’s Australian Media Tablet Market Study 2015

Telsyte’s Australian Media Tablet Market Study 2015 is a comprehensive study which provides subscribers with:
• Tablet market sizing, platform and vendor market shares and forecasts
• End user trends across devices, services and mobile media
• Purchase intentions
• Product reviews and insights
• Tablet audience estimates for media companies

* Telsyte defines convertible tablets (or hybrid tablets) as Windows 8 or later portable PCs that have a touch screen and detachable keyboards, or a foldable form factor which can provide a pure media tablet like experience. E.g. Microsoft Surface or Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro. Touch screen notebook PCs are not measured in this study. Devices with screens under 7” are not measured in this study and are considered Phablets.

In preparing this study, Telsyte used:
• An online survey of a representative sample of Australians 16+ years of age conducted with 1,251 respondents in November 2014.
• An online survey of a representative sample of Australians 16+ years of age conducted with 1,009 respondents in February 2015.
• Financial reports released by mobile carriers, manufacturers and service providers.
• Interviews conducted with executives from mobile operators, vendors, retailers, and channel partners.
• On-going monitoring of local and global market and vendor trends.

Enterprise mobility market to near $5 billion by 2019 as mobility becomes strategic to Australian organisations

April 22, 2015

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – A combination of mobile device hardware, management software and value-added services will drive Australia’s enterprise mobility market up to $4.9 billion in 2019, according to a new study released today by emerging technology analyst firm Telsyte.

Telsyte’s Australian Enterprise Mobility Market Study 2015 surveyed more than 248 CIOs and ICT decision makers on their organisation’s approach to mobile devices, applications and services[1].

The findings revealed mobility is becoming strategically important to Australian organisations with 24% of enterprises with more than 20 staff having a dedicated mobility manager.

Telsyte Senior Analyst Rodney Gedda says with 84% of organisations having some staff who regularly performing their job outside a remote location, the need for mobile application enablement is only going to increase.

“There is a perception mobility is a market with diminishing value, however, CIOs are telling us mobile strategy is shifting away from devices to multi-platform and application management making the value of business mobility exhibit strong growth,” Gedda says.

More than 80 per cent of organisations continue to buy mobile devices for staff, however, a combination of BYOD and CYOD (choose your own device) is now an option for people in more than 70 per cent of organisations.

Wearable computers are the next BYOD frontier with 50 per cent of organisations already open to allowing BYOD for wearables, which have many business applications including access control and worker assistance in confined spaces.

Australian CIOs are also seeing more value in approved mobile application catalogues which are gaining favour over open BYOA tolerance.

“More than a third of businesses do not allow BYOA, which has remained steady, however, more organisations are providing app catalogues which can be reviewed for integration with the overall IT environment,” Gedda says.

According to Telsyte research, popular BYOA software used for business include: data backups and storage (Dropbox, iCloud); calendaring; collaboration (GoToMeeting, WebEx); voice communications (Skype); project and task management (Remember the Milk); productivity (Pages, QuickOffice Pro); multimedia; and note taking (Evernote).

Mobile device management (MDM) growing strong

The uptake of mobile device management continues to grow strongly with Telsyte forecasting 75 per cent penetration among Australian enterprises by 2019.

“With most MDM implementations on-premises there is a big opportunity for managed service and cloud providers to offer on-demand device and application management,” Gedda says.

Summary of key findings in the study

How organisations procure mobile devices
The size of the enterprise mobility market and what is it forecast to reach in 2020
The market split between mobile devices, software and services
The market penetration for mobile device management
How organisations are using MDM to manage and secure mobile devices and apps
The state of BYOD (including wearables) and BYOA (apps)
How people work outside the office, including remote locations
Are organisations adopting wearable computers and how they are viewed by CIOs
How mobility is impacting sales and operations
Is the CIO losing control of enterprise mobility?

About the Telsyte Australian Enterprise Mobility Market Study 2015

The Telsyte Australian Enterprise Mobility Market Study 2015 is a comprehensive 70-page study, which provides subscribers with key market insight across mobile service provider market share; mobility strategy; device purchasing trends; supported mobile operating systems; smartphone brand penetration; factors influencing smartphone purchasing; mobile e-mail; BYOD; BYOA; media tablet market share and impact on PCs; mobile app development; apps used on smartphones and media tablets; mobile device management (MDM); mobile application management (MAM) and enterprise wireless (Wi-Fi).

For further information on the study or media inquiries contact:

Rodney Gedda
Senior Analyst
Tel: +612 9235 5891
Twitter: @rodneygedda
Email: rgedda@telsyte.com.au

For sales and consulting enquiries please contact Foad Fadaghi on +612 9235 5851 (ffadaghi@telsyte.com.au).

About Telsyte

Telsyte delivers strategic insights and advisory services to businesses that are producing, or are impacted by, disruptive technologies. Telsyte publishes studies into emerging consumer and business markets and provides custom research and advisory services. Telsyte is a wholly-owned independent business unit of UXC Limited. UXC is an ASX-listed Australian IT services company and the largest Australian-owned ICT consultancy firm with over 2,500 customer organisations in the private and public sectors across Australasia. www.telsyte.com.au

[1] Telsyte’s survey was conducted in November 2014 with a representative sample of 248 CIOs and ICT decision makers in Australian businesses with greater than 20 employees