iWorld
Q4-2015: Verizon reports 5.8 million Fios video connections
BENGALURU: US communications major Verizon, Inc., reported 5.8 million subscribers for its Fios wireline video services for the quarter and year ended 31 December, 2015 (Q4-2015, current quarter, FY-2015, current year). The company reported an increase of 20,000 net Fios wireline video services subscribers in the quarter. Verizon also added 99,000 new Fios internet wireline connections in Q4-2015 taking the total to seven million.
The company says that Fios wireline internet connections increased 6.8 per cent YoY and Fios video connections increased 3.2 per cent YoY. For FY-2015, more than 70 per cent of consumer Fios internet customers subscribed to data speeds of 50 megabits per second or higher. Verizon says that customer interest continued to grow for Custom TV, which represented about one-third of Fios video sales in Q4- 2015.
The company says that Q4-2015 wireline consumer revenues were $4.1 billion, an increase of 2.6 per cent compared with Q4- 2014. Fios revenues represented 80.4 per cent of the total. Comparing Q4-2015 with Q4-2014, total Fios revenues grew 6.8 per cent, to $3.5 billion, and consumer Fios revenues grew 6.6 per cent. Wireline operating income margin was 7.3 per cent in Q4- 2015, up from 4.4 per cent in Q4- 2014. Segment EBITDA margin (non-GAAP) was 24.2 per cent in Q4-2015, compared with 23.9 per cent in the corresponding quarter of last year.
“In 2015, Verizon delivered strong and balanced results in a dynamic competitive environment while returning more than $13.5 billion to shareholders. At the same time, Verizon built and acquired next-generation network capabilities that position the company to be an innovator in the digital-first mobile world in 2016 and beyond,” said Verizon chairman and CEO Lowell McAdam.
Overall revenues in Q4-2015 were $34.3 billion, a 3.2 per cent increase compared with Q4-2014. For the full year, Verizon reported total consolidated revenues of $131.6 billion. FY-2015 revenues grew 3.6 per cent, compared with FY-2014. Current-quarter and third-quarter revenues include results from AOL. New revenue streams from IoT grew, with revenues of approximately $200 million in Q4- 2015 and about $690 million for FY-2015. This is a year-over-year increase of 18 per cent, says the company.
Verizon’s other segment, wireless, reported total revenues of $23.7 billion in Q4-2015, up 1.2 per cent compared with Q4-2014. Service revenues totalled $17.2 billion, down 5.6 per cent year over year. Over the same period, equipment revenues increased to $5.4 billion, up from $4.2 billion, as more customers chose to buy new devices with instalment pricing. For the year, total revenues were $91.7 billion, a 4.6 per cent increase compared with 2014.
Verizon Wireless reported 1.5 million retail postpaid net additions in Q4- 2015 and 4.5 million for the full year. These net additions do not include any wholesale or IoT connections.
The company says that customer retention remained high, with retail postpaid churn at a low 0.96 per cent in Q4-2015, a year-over-year improvement of 18 basis points. Churn was also 0.96 per cent for the year, an improvement of 8 basis points from full-year 2014.
Verizon added 906,000 4G smartphones to its postpaid customer base in Q4-2015. Postpaid phone net adds totalled 449,000 as net smartphone adds of 713,000 were partially offset by a net decline of basic phones. Tablet net adds totalled 960,000 in the quarter, and net prepaid devices declined by 157,000. At year-end 2015, the company had 112.1 million retail connections, a 3.6 per cent year-over-year increase, and 106.5 million retail postpaid connections, a 4.4 per cent year-over-year increase.
iWorld
Anirudh Ravichander and Universal Music India join forces to take South India’s sound to the world
The composer behind 13 billion streams launches Albuquerque Records with UMI as its exclusive global partner
MUMBAI: Universal Music India has struck an exclusive partnership with Albuquerque Records, the freshly minted independent label of singer-composer Anirudh Ravichander, in a deal that bets big on South India’s booming pop and hip-hop scene going global.
The arrangement, announced on 17 March, will see Universal Music India handle future pop and hip-hop releases by Anirudh himself, as well as artists signed to the new label. A first release is already in the pipeline for April, featuring Anirudh.
The numbers behind the man are hard to ignore. Debuting in 2012 with the viral sensation “Why This Kolaveri Di”, Anirudh has since clocked over 13 billion audio streams across more than 770 tracks, cementing his position as the No.1 South Indian artist on Spotify by total streams. His fingerprints are all over some of the Tamil film industry’s biggest musical moments, from Hukum and Vaathi Coming to Arabic Kuthu and the A23 Theme.
But Albuquerque Records is a different beast. Built for the non-film space, it is designed to nurture independent talent and champion the next wave of Indian pop voices. “Universal Music India’s leadership in pop and hip-hop made them the natural partner,” said Anirudh. “I’m excited to take independent voices to audiences around the world.”
Universal Music India’s chairman and CEO Devraj Sanyal was equally effusive. “Anirudh represents the future of Indian music, bold, original, and with enormous potential,” he said. “Identifying transformative talent is our superpower, and this partnership reflects that belief.”
Sanujeet Bhujabal, managing director of Universal Music India, framed the deal as more than a distribution play. “Albuquerque Records represents Anirudh’s bold artistic vision in the world of pop and hip-hop,” he said. “True to his legacy of innovation, this partnership is set to establish yet another landmark creative space, this time for the emerging world of iPop and beyond.”
For Universal Music India, the deal deepens a long-running push into South India’s four key language markets: Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu. The label already has regional imprints, film partnerships with Maddock Films and Excel Entertainment, and a growing non-film roster. Landing Anirudh, arguably the south’s most bankable music brand, is a statement of intent. South Indian music has the streams. Now it is coming for the world.
