Will Street follow boxoffice pattern? -- As the wave of quarterly earnings reports from big media and entertainment companies is set to start in earnest with Sony Corp.'s latest figures, Wall Street observers are hoping for new insight into how the much-discussed advertising, boxoffice and DVD sales trends are affecting the financial performance of sector giants. Amid much recent gloom and doom talk, as well as weak first-half stock trading momentum, however, many wonder if anything can turn investors more bullish on the sector over the near-term. According to analysts, second-quarter earnings figures from such media giants as Time Warner and Viacom Inc. are unlikely to inspire much enthusiasm, while the Walt Disney Co. and News Corp. should provide some of the strongest quarterly reports.
The subscription business model has been one of the big success stories of the Internet era. From Netflix to Microsoft 365, more and more companies are moving towards recurring revenue streams by having customers pay for access rather than product ownership. The subscription economy cuts across many industries -- such as streaming services, software, media, consumer products, and even transportation with the rise of mobility-as-a-service. A new market study by Juniper Research highlights the central challenge facing subscription businesses -- reducing customer churn to build a loyal subscriber installed base. Subscription Model Market Development The Juniper market study provides an in-depth analysis of the subscription business model market landscape and associated customer retention strategies. A key finding is that impending government regulations will make it easier for customers to cancel subscriptions, likely leading to increased voluntary churn rates. The study report cites the