GLG News by Mr. Dan Rayburn, Principal Analyst
Analyses are solely the work of the authors and have not been edited or endorsed by GLG.
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CDN Highwinds Raises $55 Million, Targeting Resellers
April 14, 2008
CDN Highwinds Raises $55 Million, Targeting Resellers | blog.streamingmedia.com
In March, Highwinds announced it had raised $55 million from General Catalyst Partners and Alta Communications. Highwinds plans to use the capital to do additional build out of their network named "RollingThunder" which includes a CDN offering.
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CDNs Getting Ready To Benefit From Higher Bitrate Content
April 14, 2008
CDNs Getting Ready To Benefit From Higher Bitrate Content | blog.streamingmedia.com
Of all the calls I do with analysts, money managers and others tracking the content delivery market, rarely do those I speak with ask about video birates. For me, the growth of the content delivery market and the very success of the CDNs relies heavily on the trend we see developing for increased bitrates. Most think CDNs can only grow their business by signing new customers or growing their existing customer base. But increased video birates has a huge affect on any CDNs bottom line and 2008 is the year that the bitrates of old finally turn the corner.
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P2P Vendors Struggling, CDNs Not Interested In Adopting
April 14, 2008
P2P Vendors Struggling, CDNs Not Interested In Adopting | blog.streamingmedia.com
About six months ago, I was really convinced that P2P might start to get some traction in the new year and that we would see some content owners commit to the technology. But aside from the Pando Networks and NBC deal, as we enter Q2 not much has transpired from the end of last year. P2P networks are still talking up a storm in every interview I read about how much cheaper their pricing is as compared to CDNs and leading with price as the major value proposition. Most P2P companies are still missing the point that cost is not the only thing customers care about and if it was, then P2P networks would have a ton of business by now, which they don't.
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Akamai, Limelight and The Writers Strike: What It Really Means
April 14, 2008
Akamai, Limelight and The Writers Strike: What It Really Means | blog.streamingmedia.com
Limelight put out earnings this week and once again, many analysts are unfairly comparing Limelight and Akamai numbers and data. Why is it that so many analysts and reporters are willing to make very specific statements about CDN providers, but do so using general terms? Sounds confusing just saying it but I'll prove my point in a second.
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JumpTV Selling Their CDN: Shows It's Too Expensive To Operate Your Own Network
April 14, 2008
JumpTV Selling Their CDN: Shows It's Too Expensive To Operate Your Own Network | blog.streamingmedia.com
Last week, JumpTV announced that it was looking to sell its content delivery network and would be "refining its strategic focus toward high-value sports and Hispanic broadcast content." This is a great example of where trying to own and operate your own network specifically for the delivery of video does not makes sense. In the release, JumpTV said "The content delivery network is currently a significant cost center for the company, and the Company believes its sale will enable it to lower its ongoing operating costs."
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CDN Survey Data: 52% Have No Commit Contracts, 63% Use One CDN Vendor
April 14, 2008
CDN Survey Data: 52% Have No Commit Contracts, 63% Use One CDN Vendor | blog.streamingmedia.com
The StreamingMedia.com survey on CDN pricing and trends has now been filled out almost 1,000 times. I'll be keeping it open for another week or so and then we'll start to compile all the data and give away the free iPhone. Taking a look at some of the preliminary data that has been collected reveals some great data points which I will be showcasing all this week on the blog.
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Yahoo! Buys Maven Networks: Revenue Multiple Too High
April 14, 2008
Yahoo! Buys Maven Networks: Revenue Multiple Too High | blog.streamingmedia.com
As I'm sure you've read by now, Yahoo! announced earlier in the week it had acquired Maven Networks for approximately $160 million. While I see some of the synergy of the deal, I think Yahoo! paid too much. Based on the price tag, Yahoo! paid about 11x the sales revenue that Maven had in 2007. It's a good deal for Maven shareholders, but for Yahoo!, that's a high evaluation in my eyes in today's market.
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62% Of CDN Customers Surveyed Say Pricing Flat Year Over Year
April 14, 2008
62% Of CDN Customers Surveyed Say Pricing Flat Year Over Year | blog.streamingmedia.com
I've been taking a look at some of the preliminary data that we have been collecting from our CDN survey and we've already got some great data points. While I expect a few thousand respondents over the course of a month, after a few days we already have over five hundred customers who have filled it out.
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Level 3 Winning Video CDN Business, But Not On Price
April 14, 2008
Level 3 Winning Video CDN Business, But Not On Price | blog.streamingmedia.com
In October of last year, Level 3 announced that it would offer their content delivery services for video for the same price that it was charging for transit. Many in the industry incorrectly saw this as Level 3 saying they were undercutting other CDNs in the market and entering the industry as the low-cost leader, which is not the case.
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Highlights Of My Day In Cambridge With Akamai
April 14, 2008
Highlights Of My Day In Cambridge With Akamai | blog.streamingmedia.com
About two weeks ago, Akamai invited me to spend the day with them in Cambridge to allow me to get an better insight into their business and give me the opportunity to ask management and others more about the market, pricing, application delivery and a host of various other topics. They nicely gave me access to over a dozen individuals including senior management in sales, marketing, engineering, product development, investor relations and their CTO.
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Content Owners Struggling To Compare One CDN To Another
April 14, 2008
Content Owners Struggling To Compare One CDN To Another | blog.streamingmedia.com
I've blogged before about how most CDNs don't give out data points in the market or to customers for them to try and fairly compare one CDN to another. It's impossible to measure performance, capacity and many other aspects of a content delivery service offering from one provider to another. I got an e-mail this morning from a content owner who summed up what I hear all the time from customers:
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Why Level 3 Should Acquire Limelight Networks
April 14, 2008
Why Level 3 Should Acquire Limelight Networks | blog.streamingmedia.com
While many seem to think I am crazy for thinking anyone would acquire Limelight, it would make sense for a company like Level 3. Yes, we all know Level 3 has had some problems with the integration of all the acquisitions it has made as of late. But putting that one hurdle aside, there are many reasons why this would make sense in particular for Level 3.
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CDN Survey Data: Price and Customer Service Ranked Most Important
April 14, 2008
CDN Survey Data: Price and Customer Service Ranked Most Important | blog.streamingmedia.com
The StreamingMedia.com survey on CDN pricing is nearing its end and to date we've had 1,041 respondents. We're starting to compile all the raw data for the final report and will be giving away the iPhone this week.
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Content Owners See Their Video Traffic Growing 2-4x Over Last Year
April 14, 2008
Content Owners See Their Video Traffic Growing 2-4x Over Last Year | blog.streamingmedia.com
I talk to a lot of content owners large and small and no matter what subject we are discussing, I always ask them for their predictions on their traffic growth for 2008. While many of them share their numbers with me but don't allow me to make them public, the vast majority of content owners are telling me that they expect to deliver 2-4x more bits this year when compared with 2007. For most of them, that does not take into account the fact that this year, many content owners are bumping up their encoding bitrates from 300Kbps to 500-750Kbps. Taking that into consideration, with increased bitrates they could see their traffic growing from 4-8x over last year.
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"Streaming Content to Generate $70 Billion By 2013" - An Unrealistic Claim
April 14, 2008
"Streaming Content to Generate $70 Billion By 2013" - An Unrealistic Claim | www.emarketer.com
Insight Research is forcasting that streaming content will generate almost $70 billion in the U.S. by 2013. I don't know how they come up with that number as I have not seen the full report, but $70 billion? They say the revenue prediction comes from audio and video files transmitted over the Internet, via an IPTV network or to mobile phones. They say that advertising revenue will fuel this growth and that "Questions surrounding consumers’ willingness to pay for content have been dispelled by the popularity of satellite radio and iTunes." I would disagree. Customers are willing to pay for music via iTunes, but so far, not videos on a mass-market scale. Over time, yes, more video specific content via iTunes will be purchased but you have to back up the $70 billion number with more than just iTunes as an example. And what does satellite radio have to do with streaming?
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Oprah's Second Webcast Does 200,000 Simultaneous Viewers
April 14, 2008
Oprah's Second Webcast Does 200,000 Simultaneous Viewers | blog.streamingmedia.com
This past Monday, Oprah webcast her second class online and peaked at 200,000 simultaneous viewers. While that was down from the 500,000 simultaneous viewers she had for her first class, it's to be expected and is not any indication of failure.
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Level 3 Files Suit Against Limelight Networks Over CDN Patents
December 26, 2007
Level 3 Files Suit Against Limelight Networks Over CDN Patents | blog.streamingmedia.com
This morning, Google indexed a filing from December 17th from Level 3 Communications who filed a patent infringement suit against Limelight Networks (Case number 2:2007cv00589) in the District Court of Virgina. I have not been able to get a copy of the filing as of yet but I was able to speak to Level 3 about the filing this morning.
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CDN Funding Continues: CDNetworks Raises $96.5 Million
December 26, 2007
CDN Funding Continues: CDNetworks Raises $96.5 Million | blog.streamingmedia.com
Hot on the heels of EdgeCast announcing it had raised $6 million dollars, content delivery provider CDNetworks announced late yesterday that it had raised $96.5 million in private placement. For CDNetworks, this funding now gives them the ability to make a serious push in the U.S. market for content delivery of video and static content. The funding announcement also coincides with the launch of a new company website.
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Video CDN Market $450-$500 Million In 2007: Should Grow To $800 Million For 2008
December 17, 2007
Video CDN Market $450-$500 Million In 2007: Should Grow To $800 Million For 2008 | blog.streamingmedia.com
As we near the end of 2007, I've seen a few reports estimating the CDN space to have been anywhere between $800 million and $1.4 billion for the year. The reports I have seen do not break out what specific "CDN" products they are talking to and how those numbers were calculated. So with that in mind, here is how I sized the market for 2007 and the data I used to come up with the number. This does not include revenue numbers for P2P only based vendors.
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Analysts Covering Akamai Should Not Be Worried About AT&T
December 17, 2007
Analysts Covering Akamai Should Not Be Worried About AT&T | blog.streamingmedia.com
This morning, I had about half a dozen e-mails from analysts asking about AT&T and their CDN business. Yesterday, at AT&T's analyst day they announced that they will grow their streaming and caching services by 6x and said they were going to increase their CDN capabilities. Because of this, an analyst at Cowen and Co. downgraded Akamai on concerns of greater competition from AT&T.
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