Snapchat's daily mobile video views said to rival Facebook's

Snapchat Inc is turning into a mobile-video juggernaut. The social-media company delivers more than 7 billion video clips each day, people with knowledge of the matter said. That rivals the amount watched on Facebook Inc, which has 15 times as many users. 

PHOTO: BLOOMBERG

JAN 12, 20167:17 AM

[SAN FRANCISCO] Snapchat Inc is turning into a mobile-video juggernaut. The social-media company delivers more than 7 billion video clips each day, people with knowledge of the matter said. That rivals the amount watched on Facebook Inc, which has 15 times as many users.

The startup, which has more than 100 million users for its application for sharing disappearing photos and videos, is gaining on its much larger competitor.

Facebook, which has 1.55 billion users, had more than 8 billion daily video views in the third quarter on both desktops and mobile devices. Snapchat also competes with YouTube in mobile video.

Snapchat's video traffic was fueled by Stories, an app feature that lets people share clips of their lives that are viewable for 24 hours, according to one of the people, who asked not be identified because the information isn't public. There's a key different between Snapchat and Facebook video tallies, however: Snapchat users have to click on a video to watch it, while Facebook autoplays clips in its news feed.

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Shannon Kelly, a spokeswoman for Los Angeles-based Snapchat, declined to comment.

A stronghold in mobile video is good news for Snapchat's advertising dollars. EMarketer estimates that advertisers spent US$7.46 billion on digital video ads in the US in 2015, up 42 per cent.

Snapchat's business model depends in part on large advertisers creating video content for its news section called Discover, where CNN, Cosmopolitan, ESPN and others have their own channels.

The company, run by Chief Executive Officer Evan Spiegel, was valued at US$16 billion in a fundraising round last year.

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White House joins Snapchat ahead of State of the Union address

The White House said on Monday that it had joined Snapchat, marking the Obama administration's latest move to reach a younger generation of Americans through social media. 

PHOTO: REUTERS

JAN 12, 20167:20 AM

[WASHINGTON] The White House said on Monday that it had joined Snapchat, marking the Obama administration's latest move to reach a younger generation of Americans through social media.

The administration has made outreach through non-traditional media platforms a top focus ahead of President Barack Obama's last State of the Union address, which is scheduled for Tuesday.

The White House said in a blog post that the addition of Snapchat to its social media arsenal was a part of its strategy of "meeting people where they are" and its effort to provide Americans with a "multitude of ways to engage with their government." One of the White House's first posts on the app was a video featuring a bowl of apples on a coffee table in the Oval Office.

Snapchat, a mobile app where photos, videos and messages disappear in seconds, has more than 100 million active users, most under the age of 25.

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The White House's use of the platform may help drive some traffic to the app.

Already a social media juggernaut, the White House's official accounts on other sites have drawn millions of followers, including more than 8.6 million on Twitter and about 1.6 million on Instagram.

Obama amassed 1 million followers in hours when he launched his @POTUS Twitter account in May and currently has nearly 5.8 million followers.

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China's Dalian Wanda plans IPO for combined Legendary, Wanda movie production unit

Wang Jianlin did not specify a timetable for an initial public offering listing, nor say where it would occur. 

PHOTO: REUTERS

JAN 12, 201611:31 AM

[BEIJING] China's property-to-entertainment conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group plans to pair newly acquired Hollywood movie studio Legendary Entertainment with its in-house film production unit and seek a stock market listing for the packaged operations, Wanda's chairman said at a press conference on Tuesday.

Wang Jianlin did not specify a timetable for an initial public offering listing, nor say where it would occur.

Wanda said earlier on Tuesday that it has agreed to buy a controlling stake in Hollywood movie studio Legendary Entertainment for about US$3.5 billion.

REUTERS

    
 

US crude falls below US$31 in Asian trade

US crude tumbled below US$31 a barrel on Tuesday, extending a sell-off that has sent the commodity to more than 12-year lows, hit by a global supply glut, a strong dollar and tepid demand. 

PHOTO: BLOOMBERG

JAN 12, 201611:51 AM

[SINGAPORE] US crude tumbled below US$31 a barrel on Tuesday, extending a sell-off that has sent the commodity to more than 12-year lows, hit by a global supply glut, a strong dollar and tepid demand.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in February slumped 45 cents, or 1.43 per cent, to US$30.96 per barrel and Brent tumbled 47 cents, 1.49 per cent, to US$31.08 at around 0300 GMT.

The last time prices were so low for WTI was in December 2003 and in April 2004 for Brent. WTI touched a low of US$29.66 in December 2003 and Brent in April 2004 hit US$29.95.

Prices plummeted 10 per cent last week as investors grow concerned about the global supply glut and weakness in key market Chinese, which is the world's biggest energy user. Potential geopolitical risks, including the escalating Saudi Arabia-Iran row are also keeping traders on edge.

The rise in the greenback, which makes dollar-priced oil more expensive for holders of weaker currencies, was also a key factor in Tuesday's price decline, analysts said.

"The drop mainly comes from the increasing dollar strength... That accounts for the bulk of the movement," Phillip Futures investment analyst Daniel Ang told AFP.

But Mr Ang said he did not think prices would breach the US$30 psychological support barrier.

"We may see some bearishness in the short term where prices may continue falling a little bit but I think they will remain highly supported (at US$30)," he said.

The market is also bracing for new crude supplies from Iran once Western economic sanctions on the country are lifted under a deal struck last year to curb Tehran's nuclear programme.

This could bring another one million barrels of oil per day on to the already saturated global market within months.

"When you have a supply overhang, there's going to be continued downward pressure on prices," Ric Spooner, a chief analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney, told Bloomberg News.

"Investors are looking toward a difficult few months for oil, especially with Iran set to boost exports. We are likely to see production cuts at these prices, but they may take some months to come through."

AFP