Three great opportunities for startups in the entertainment space

Business

Article | July 11, 2022

In the 3D interactive space of metaverse, nothing is impossible. People from various corners of the world can create, share, and explore virtual worlds in this space. They can also interact, trade, and do business. What does metaverse offer B2B businesses, though? Let us take a look. From Virtual Storefronts to Digital Employees While metaverse is still in the early stages of development, businesses can have their own virtual storefronts, digital employees, and virtual currency in a virtual reality. Business exclusive metaverse platforms like Sansar, Somnium Space, and Decentraland offer companies an option to establish their virtual presence. How is Metaverse Transforming B2B Businesses? Metaverse presents businesses with the unique opportunity to build client relationships face-to-face. Branded experiences like product announcements, product showrooms, company updates, educational sessions, conferences, and networking events can be done in metaverse. Let us explore other ways in which metaverse can enrich B2B businesses: Richer Customer Experience Immersive buyer experiences influence prospects to make purchase decisions faster. B2B sellers in metaverse can create such experiences through interactions that surpass traditional sales approaches and focus on visually attractive sales presentations to convert prospects. Effective Marketing and Advertising New marketing and advertising opportunities in metaverse are developing with every passing day. Over time, companies may be able to sponsor events or create targets ads to attract a certain demographic. The companies that establish themselves in the metaverse might have a bigger advantage in this regard compared to the companies that venture into it later. Higher ROI and Sales Increasing sales and ROI are crucial for every business. Reaching new markets and tapping into new revenue sources is easier with metaverse. It will allow salespeople to host multiple meetings with buyers living in different parts of the world without having to leave their actual office, saving multiple costs while conveniently still creating client relationships that last. Improved Workforce Efficiency Metaverse-based training simulations help employees upgrade their skills. Additionally, customer service associates can create avatars to provide business customers assistance in real-time. Metaverse encourages employees to communicate better and allows remote employees to virtually connect for projects, meetings, and feedback. Last Word B2B businesses can capitalize on the convenience of metaverse and harness this latest technology to offer their customers visually immersive experiences.

Technologies, Virtualization

Article | August 2, 2022

MGM, which holds the largest film and TV library in Hollywood, is finally in play – and likely to be acquired by tech major and video streaming behemoth Amazon. With a rumoured price tag of $9 billion, the deal, while substantial, is merely equivalent to 8.3% of Amazon’s Q1 2021 earnings of $108.5 billion. Indeed, the 44% year-on-year (YoY) increase for its Q1 results alone would pay for the deal more than four times over. When it comes to investment capital to deploy, the tech majors led by Amazon and Apple are in a financial class of their own. This is the kind of deal that helps to explain why AT&T was so keen cut its losses and incur a $66 billion loss on its Warner Media assets by merging the former Time Warner media major with Discovery for $43 billion in cash and receiving 71% in equity in the new combined entity in return. It also follows on from Amazon’s 15.4x increase in what it is willing to pay to secure exclusive NFL Thursday Night Football coverage for its US Amazon Prime customers.

Technologies

Article | February 14, 2022

The virtual reality market has been hailed as the "next big thing" for decades, but VR has repeatedly disappointed consumers with mediocre hardware products and software experiences. But in recent years, a wave of refined devices narrowed the gap between consumer expectations and reality. The VR market's future has yet to be written, but investors who believe in this budding market should consider buying these four tech stocks. Sony's PlayStation VR is the best-selling VR headset in the world with over 5 million shipments since its launch in October 2016. That only represents a sliver of Sony's installed base of 110 million PS4s, but that foothold has encouraged developers to produce more stand-alone VR games and add-on experiences for PS4 games.

Article | April 28, 2020

It was just two weeks ago that it looked as if the COVID-19 pandemic would push AMC into bankruptcy, as forced theater closures shut off revenue to the world's biggest cinema operator. The company also slashed its dividend, and executives all took pay cuts to help conserve cash. Investors should still be wary, even if AMC is able to open many of its theaters sooner than the mid-June date it had been eyeing.