Yankee Group
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1 in 8 say they will cut back on cable bills -- but probably won't
You remember that story about the boy who cried wolf, right? Well the claim that people are going to cut the cord is starting to get like just it. Year after year we read the results of surveys that say people are going to cut the cord, like this one from the Yankee Group, but then when the official numbers come in we learn that earnings from cable and satellite subscriptions are at an all time high. Sure this could be the year things change, the year when price increases prove too much when there are so many other options. Sure, anything could happen, but honestly we just don't see it. Not only will people say just about anything in a survey, but without the questions posed to respondents, it is really impossible to know how realistic these results are.
More homes have a game console than a cable box
Think twice before you say that using a game console to watch TV will never go mainstream because according to a survey from the Yankee Group, more people have a gaming console at home than a cable set-top box -- in fact the survey says that 2 percent more households have a game consoles than a set-top box. Now of course any survey that relies on normal people to report what technology they use, is automatically in question, but we do believe that going forward, people with box fatigue would ditch the cable box first. This is a super easy one considering how much more a console can do and in some cases even completely replace the role of the cable box -- we would like to see the Wii and the PS3 join the 360 in the States at pulling double duty like this. The fight for the living room is just beginning, so we'll be keeping a close eye on this one, but considering how crappy most cable boxes are, something has to change to make this a fair fight.
Analyst: 50 million connected HDTVs by 2013
Ready for another analyst report picking networked devices as the next big thing in U.S. households? Enter the Yankee Group, going out on a limb predicting 30 million connected Blu-ray players, 50 million connected HDTVs and 11 million digital media adapters by 2013. Hopefully that means marketers like Samsung can move you from the waiting for the next version / never got the hype side of the fence by then, we're sure grabbing the full report will provide some ideas how it can be done.
Another analyst, another prediction... PS3 on top in 2011
Aw, man! Another analyst's prediction! Boston research firm Yankee Group has predicted that the PS3 will lead the pack in 2011, followed fairly closely by Microsoft and then the Wii taking up the far, far rear. Numerically, PS3 is expected to sell 30 million units, the 360 will sell 27 million, and the Wii shall sell 11 million units. These numbers are lower than usual predicted total sales because these next-gen consoles are a bit pricier (except the Wii, of course).The analysts did confirm that the 360 has a pretty fancy hold on the market right now and are in a good position to cut the price of their console by Spring of 2007. They also say Microsoft will probably continue this pricing pressure against Sony throughout the 360's and PS3's life cycle. What a bully, but, business is business. Speaking of pressures, the Yankee Group also noted that games will become a more popular distribution channel for advertisements and stuff. Many billboards in the less fictional games have been "sold" to companies for ads already -- will there be commercials during load screens? What could companies do to advertise to gamers other than having signs in games?
