Online Media and Social Media are growing markets consisting of a few globally and regionally dominant, online and social media platforms, many commonly used platforms, and a long tail of up and coming or niche social media apps that thrived despite the pandemic. The is grow segment of platforms allow people and organizations to discover and share thoughts, ideas, and content to social media networks or the public. Social networks and social networking are now a standard part of daily life. Modern social media networks came to prominence in the early 2000s with the launch of social media networks such as Friendster, MySpace, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and many others. Facebook emerged as the most popular social media network, and LinkedIn emerged as the leading professional social media network. Facebook market share is several times greater than its closest competitor, and Facebook acquisitions, such as Instagram, have allowed Facebook to compete with other emerging social media platforms. Of note, is Instagram’s battle to steal Snapchat market share over the last several years with its Instagram Stories feature. Many social media platforms target different regions, social media activities, and niches. The most popular social media networks are free for users. They commonly make money from digital advertisements, data collection, and premium user offerings. Social media platforms have allowed a complementary industry of social media analytics, digital marketing, and influencer software and services to flourish. Active Companies in the markets today include Grom Social Enterprises, Inc. (OTCQB: GRMM), fuboTV Inc. (NYSE: FUBO), Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ: DISCA), Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ: ROKU), iQIYI Inc. (NASDAQ: IQ). Knightsbridge is powering ahead with their Marshall Islands Crypto Broker, and the sister Crypto has jumped from 43c to $3 in the last month, with only 5m GBITS it might go super high.
A recent report from T4 said: “The Social Media Market Size in terms of users from 2018 to 2023. In 2020, the size of the Social Media Industry was 3.1 billion users and is projected to grow by 3% in 2021. From 2018 to 2023, the Social Media Industry growth is forecast to average 3.7% per year (CAGR). These estimates were made before the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic…The long term impact of COVID-19 on the Social Media market growth beyond the COVID-19 pandemic will likely be Low because social media and digital marketing will continue to be an essential way for people to stay connected and for brands to connect to people.”
Grom Social Enterprises, Inc. (OTCQB: GRMM) BREAKING NEWS: OLYMPIC-BOUND GROM SOCIAL AMBASSADOR, CAROLINE MARKS, GETTING STAR TREATMENT FROM GROM IN HER QUEST FOR THE GOLD – Grom Social Enterprises, Inc. (Grom the “Company”, “we”, “us”, or “our”), today announced Grom Social’s star influencer – 19-year-old Caroline Marks of Melbourne Beach, Florida – is giving Grom users a beachfront pass to experience the thrill of Olympic competition. Caroline will vie for the gold medal as a member of the very first US Women’s Surf team heading to the Olympics in Tokyo this summer. In the weeks leading up to the competition (Jul 23 – Aug. 1), Marks will chronicle her journey into Olympic waters and showcase her preparation, exercise regimen and offer surfing tips as well as creating original content that underscores what life is like for athletes at the Olympics. In turn, Grom Social, an emerging social app for kids under 13 years of age, will cheer Marks on with specially themed Caroline Marks and surfing-themed content kids can share on social as she competes in the Olympics and other international competitions throughout Australia, Mexico and California.
“It’s an incredible honor to represent the United States in the very first surfing competition ever at the Summer Olympics and an even bigger thrill to bring Grom users along for the journey,” says Caroline. “I’ve worked so hard to gain this incredible opportunity and I want to maximize the experience by sharing it with kids on Grom and, hopefully, inspire them to also achieve their dreams through hard work and dedication.”
As ambassador for Grom Social, Caroline, who was once the victim of bullying, aims to encourage kids everywhere to recognize the importance of being safe on the Internet, in the water and on social media, while promoting the benefits of physical fitness and athleticism. The brainchild of her older brother Zach (now 20), Grom was born when Zach was 11 and his parents denied his pleas to have a social account, which routinely requires users to be at least 13. With parental encouragement and family teamwork, the Marks’ created Grom – now an app – to give kids an app all their own while protecting them from the dangers of social media.
“We couldn’t be more proud to have Caroline represent her country and Grom Social, “said Zach Marks, Grom Founder & Chief Kid Officer and Caroline’s proud big brother. “I can’t remember a time when she wasn’t in the water surfing. Her winning streaks began with national titles in the girls and women’s divisions, and then two Pro Junior titles. She followed with an ISA Jr. World Title before setting her sights on the Olympics with the Qualifying Series in 2017. Caroline is among our top five keyword searches among new users of the Grom Social app and we look forward to even greater user growth from recent followers as she heads to the Olympic games.”
Postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Summer Olympics are scheduled to begin officially July 23, 2021 with the opening ceremony. Surfing is one of five additional sports proposed by the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee to bring more youthful and vibrant events and culture into the Olympic program. The surfing event is scheduled to take place on July 25, 2021 at the Tsurigasaki Surfing Beach and will feature twenty men and twenty women using shortboards in separate competitions. For more information about Grom Social Enterprises please visit https://gromsocial.com/
Other recent developments in the markets include:
fuboTV Inc. (NYSE: FUBO), the leading sports-first live TV streaming platform, recently announced it has acquired the exclusive live streaming rights to the Qatar World Cup 2022 Qualifying matches of South American Football Confederation.
The agreement, a partnership with the 10 South American teams’ rights holders, strengthens fuboTV’s leading position as a sports-first live TV streaming platform and its offering of matches from the global Qatar World Cup 2022 Qualifiers. The top four teams competing within CONMEBOL, one of FIFA’s six continental confederations, qualify for Qatar. In addition to CONMEBOL, fuboTV will stream many qualifying matches through its carriage of other channel partners.
Discovery, Inc. (NASDAQ: DISCA) recently reported financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2021. David Zaslav, President and Chief Executive Officer of Discovery said, “The global rollout of discovery+ is off to a fantastic start by any measure. Key metrics, including subscriber additions, customer engagement, and retention, are exceeding our expectations and demonstrating sustained momentum into the second quarter. We now have 15 million total paying direct-to-consumer subscribers across our global portfolio driven primarily by discovery+, having crossed 13 million total paying direct-to-consumer subscribers at the end of March. Our strong direct-to-consumer performance underscores the outstanding value and appeal of our content, brands and personalities to both consumers and distribution partners alike. We continue to expand the reach of discovery+ with recent launches on Comcast Xfinity and Amazon Prime Video Channels. At the same time, we continue to extend our overall engagement with viewers across screens, anchored by another quarter as the most-watched pay-TV portfolio in the U.S. and our seventh consecutive quarter of international share growth.”
Tribeca Festival recently announced that Tribeca X, in partnership with Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ: ROKU), will convene leading voices in advertising and entertainment on June 18th in New York at the industry’s first in-person event as part of Tribeca Festival’s 20th anniversary. To lead the conversation at this critical moment of rapid change, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon and Roku CEO Anthony Wood will each lead a fireside chat and Procter & Gamble Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard will return as a headliner.
Over the last year, marketers and filmmakers have collaborated virtually to use their influence to lead and inspire through the pandemic, economic challenge, and social change. Now, marketers and filmmakers are being called upon to help revive the economy, navigate technological transformation, and rebuild with purpose and inclusion. Tribeca X’s day-long program will continue the tradition of celebrating breakthrough work from filmmakers and creators at the intersection of entertainment and advertising.
“This summer, Tribeca X will be a hub for talented creators, entertainment and advertising industry leaders to reconnect and share in the power and importance of brand storytelling,” said Paula Weinstein, Chief Content Officer of Tribeca Enterprises. “We are excited to welcome such a wonderful list of leaders as we celebrate the grand re-opening of NYC and bring community and entertainment to all five boroughs”
iQIYI Inc. (NASDAQ: IQ) an innovative market-leading online entertainment service in China, recently announced that following the success of iQIYI-exclusive dramas My Best Friend’s Story and My Heroic Husband, its exclusive drama A Love for Dilemma has become a massive hit, achieving a content popularity index of over 9000 since its premiere. iQIYI uses a proprietary index system that draws on a range of user behavioral data such as user interaction and shares on social media to evaluate content popularity.
A Love for Dilemma generated a total of 223 hashtags across social media platforms and remained the number one trending topic on multiple authoritative watch lists including Enlightent, Vlinkage, Guduo Data, Maoyan Hot List, and Detavin Film and Television Drama Boom Index List, making it the most popular drama in China for the second quarter of 2021.
