The first episode of The Grand Tour broke Amazon streaming & Prime membership records

"The first episode of The Grand Tour has become the biggest premiere on Amazon Prime, according to the streaming site.
Although it hasn't published its audience figures, Amazon says it has overtaken The Man in The High Castle, with millions of streams in the US, UK, Germany, Austria and Japan.
"The guys are back, doing what they do best," says Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
"The chemistry between Jeremy, Richard and James is what makes The Grand Tour so entertaining."
Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May originally presented Top Gear on the BBC, before parting ways with the organisation.
As well as bringing record audiences, Amazon says the day The Grand Tour was released, new Prime membership sign-ups exceeded all previous days, with the exception of their promotional Prime Day."
Source:  BBC News, 22nd November 2016

Digital ad spend in Europe grew by 13.4% Y-o-Y in H1 2016

"The AdEx Benchmark H1 2016 study reveals that mobile was central to the growth of online advertising across all formats; mobile display grew by 61.3% and mobile search by 57.3%. Mobile display was particularly prominent in the CEE region where it experienced a growth of more than 100%. The CEE region helped to drive the overall growth with an increase of 16.2% whilst the more mature markets in Western Europe experienced a growth of 13.1%.
Display advertising growth continues to outpace search*; display grew by 18.2% and search by 13.3%. Display reached nearly €7bn in H1 2016 representing 37% of total online advertising whilst search accounts for 47%. Indeed, in Central and Eastern Europe display experienced a 27.1% growth, the highest of all formats, suggesting an improvement in targeting, formats and data strategies for brand advertising."
Source;  Press release from IAB Europe, 23rd November 2016

Facebook is used by 79% of online Americans

Source:  Pew, 11th November 2016

Regular activities of smart watch owners

Source:  Parks Associates, 2nd November 2016

Singles Day 2016 generated $17.8bn for Alibaba sites

"That’s another blockbuster in the books. The 2016 11.11 Global Shopping Festival just ended. Final GMV tally: RMB 120.7 billion ($17.8 billion). Not that anyone was counting. Alizila will publish highlights of the sale in an upcoming wrap-up story, so stay tuned."

Source:  Alizila, 10th November 2016
Plus - $5bn spent in the first hour
Plus - Infographic
Plus - 100,000 cars were sold

Facebook has 1.8bn monthly active users, and over 1bn mobile daily active users

"Third Quarter 2016 Operational Highlights
Daily active users (DAUs) – DAUs were 1.18 billion on average for September 2016, an increase of 17% year-over-year.
Mobile DAUs – Mobile DAUs were 1.09 billion on average for September 2016, an increase of 22% year-over-year.
Monthly active users (MAUs) – MAUs were 1.79 billion as of September 30, 2016, an increase of 16% year-over-year.
Mobile MAUs – Mobile MAUs were 1.66 billion as of September 30, 2016, an increase of 20% year-over-year.
Third Quarter 2016 Other Financial Highlights
Mobile advertising revenue – Mobile advertising revenue represented approximately 84% of advertising revenue for the third quarter of 2016, up from approximately 78% of advertising revenue in the third quarter of 2015.
Capital expenditures – Capital expenditures for the third quarter of 2016 were $1.10 billion.
Cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities – Cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities were $26.14 billion at the end of the third quarter of 2016."
Source:  Facebook's Q3 2016 earnings release, 2nd November 2016
Also - Facebook earnings charts here
Earlier - 1.7bn MAUs reported in Q2 - July 2016

Mobile now accounts for nearly half of US digital ad spend

"IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau) announced today that digital advertising revenues in the United States for the first half of 2016 have reached an all-time high, scaling to $32.7 billion according to the latest IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report released by the industry trade group and prepared by PwC US. This represents a 19 percent increase over last year’s then record-setting half-year revenues of $27.5 billion.
In step with that accelerated growth, revenue from the second quarter of 2016 reached $16.9 billion, an 18 percent increase over the $14.3 billion from the same time period last year.
Other highlights from the 2016 Half-Year Report include:
Mobile revenue saw the largest year-over-year change, climbing to $15.5 billion, up 89% from $8.2 billion in HY 2015, representing 47% of total internet advertising revenue
Taking a deeper dive into mobile, video on smartphones and tablets saw strong triple-digit growth, reaching $1.6 billion in HY 2016, an impressive 178% rise from HY 2015
Mobile search took a significant uptick, realizing $7.4 billion in HY 2016, a 105% increase compared to $3.6 billion in HY 2015
Total digital video, including mobile and desktop, rose to $3.9 billion in HY 2016, up 51% from $2.6 billion in HY 2015
Total search, including mobile and desktop, accounts for half of all internet ad revenue, and hit $16.3 billion in HY 2016, a 19% hike over the $13.7 billion generated in HY 2015
Total social media revenues, including mobile and desktop, surged to $7 billion in HY 2016, a 57% rise compared to $4.4 billion in HY 2015
Of the sector verticals measured, the top three continue to amass nearly half of all ad spend (46%)—retail (21%), financial services (13%), and automotive (12%)
“These half-year revenues are a testament to the role of digital screens—especially mobile screens—in consumers’ increasingly connected lives,” said Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO, IAB. “Marketers and brands clearly recognize the innate power of digital to offer immersive experiences and secure real-time engagement.”
“These numbers demonstrate the growing importance of mobile, showing us the increasing demand for digital video and search, available anytime, anywhere, in the palm of your hand,” said David Silverman, a partner at PwC US.
“Consumers’ appetite to enjoy media—in particular video and social media—on smartphones and tablets provides marketers with the opportunity to connect and interact with their customers while they are on the go, in a very personal environment,” said David Doty, Executive Vice President and CMO, IAB."

Source:  Press release from the IAB, 1st November 2016

Uber has 40m monthly active riders, who spend an average of $50 per month each

"Travis Kalanick says his drivers’ license is expired — though, of course he has to say that. But in Kalanick’s future, with a fleet of driverless Ubers shuttling people around, it might be that everyone’s drivers’ licenses will expire.
His company, Uber, could essentially be a replacement for owning a car for Kalanick, and also for the 40 million monthly active riders the company has. Kalanick revealed that number on stage at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit this year in San Francisco. Kalanick also said that drivers made somewhere between $1.5 billion and $2 billion last month. Those monthly active riders pay around $50 per month, he said."

Source:  Techcrunch, 19th October 2016

More than 200 brands have Amazon Dash buttons

"Amazon says customers are taking to Dash Buttons to quickly restock their favorite items, and now the company has added more than 60 new brands.
Amazon said Monday Dash Button orders are up five times over the last year. The company has added Bai, Cheez-It, Folgers, Fresh Kitty, Meow Mix, Milk Bone, PoopBags, Pop-Tarts, Powerade, Purrell Hand Sanitizing Wipes, ZonePerfect and others to its lineup of more than 200 buttons."

Source:  Geekwire, 24th October 2016

'YouTube Red only had 1.5m paying subscribers in summer 2016'

"When YouTube Red launched a year ago, the plan was for the service to grow into a competitor against the likes of Netflix and Hulu. Now, less than a year later, subscriber totals show that YouTube still has a long way to go before the public will accept paying a monthly fee for YouTube.
According to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation, YouTube Red had 1.5 million paying subscribers as of late summer, with another 1 million users signed up on a trial basis (and not paying the monthly fee). Those numbers underscore just how difficult it is to convince millions of people to pay for something they’ve had free access to for over a decade. They also reflect the interest level in YouTube Music, which launched last November and requires a Red subscription to take full advantage of.
There are some statistics in YouTube’s favor. YouTube Red has only rolled out in four countries so far — US, Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand — which means the service isn’t available to all of YouTube’s over 1 billion monthly users. The service is outpacing the growth of video competitors like CBS All Access and Sling TV. And YouTube says Red subscribers are the heaviest users of YouTube. Creators featured in YouTube Red Originals see a significant boost in subscribers and watch times on their main channels. The company also noted that Red subscribers watch 75 percent more YouTube on their TVs than average users.
The numbers against YouTube: it’s the biggest video streaming service in the world and the biggest music streaming service in the world. As the leader in either of those categories, 1.5 million subscribers in the first year of a paid service isn’t great, and it’s especially not great when you’re the leader in both categories. Tidal grew faster than YouTube Red did in the first year after its relaunch, picking up 2.1 million subscribers. (To be fair, Tidal rolled out to more countries than YouTube Red did in its first year — but! — Tidal was / is a public relations disaster that most of the internet loves to hate.)
In a statement to The Verge, YouTube said it’s happy with the growth of Red, and is fully invested in the service. “We’re pleased with momentum behind YouTube Red and we’re seeing healthy growth of members each month,” a YouTube spokesperson said. “While we don't release or comment on speculative numbers, we’re seeing strong engagement of the service in the four countries we’ve launched, leading us to invest in more originals series and movies for 2017 and increased marketing of YouTube Music.”
By the end of 2016, YouTube will have released 20 Red Original series and movies, four of which have already been renewed. Going forward, it plans to add shows from Lionsgate and a pair of series produced by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Edge of Tomorrow director Doug Liman."

Source:  The Verge, 2nd November 2016