Latest news with #SensorTower
CNBC
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- CNBC
How China's $7 billion micro drama industry is taking on the U.S. entertainment industry
Micro dramas, known for wild plots and vertical, bite-sized videos, made headlines in China in 2024 as the industry surpassed the country's box-office revenue for the first time. The micro drama market exceeded 50 billion yuan, or about $6.9 billion, according to the China Netcasting Services Association, a state-controlled group that regulates China's online audiovisual content. "In the states, you have the soap opera 'The Bold and The Beautiful.' And it's 'The Bold and The Beautiful' on steroids, basically," said Anne Chan, founder and CEO of AR Asia Production. "You've got to have a cliffhanger at every minute versus every hour. So everything is sweet, short and sharp." Micro dramas, also known as in Chinese, typically consist of episodes ranging from 90 seconds to two minutes long. They initially gained popularity in China after capitalizing on the short-form video trend from other short-video apps in the country. "It all started with Douyin and also Kuaishou as they started pushing these vertical short dramas on their platforms," said Ashley Dudarenok, founder and managing director of Hong Kong-based consultant firm ChoZan. "Especially 2020, 2021, during the pandemic, dramas grew rapidly." Experts say micro dramas appeal to consumers with fast-paced, addictive storylines that deliver instant emotional payoff in just minutes. Their short, bingeable format caters to the attention spans of today's mobile-first audience, making them easy to watch anytime, anywhere. "They're tapping into the behavior of instant gratification," said Seema Shah, vice president of research and insights at market intelligence firm Sensor Tower. "The way that you immediately are satisfied by seeing this story is what is the hook. It's a little over the top, but it's over the top that is still entertaining." Micro dramas are also gaining popularity in the U.S. ReelShort, DramaBox and GoodShort were the top downloaded micro drama apps in the U.S., accounting for about 50% of downloads year to date in 2025, according to data shared with CNBC by Sensor Tower. "Many micro drama producers believe because America produced Hollywood and is probably the world's largest cultural export, if you can sell it to and make it appealing to the American public, you can then sell it and make it appealing to the rest of the world," said Dudarenok. Watch the video above to find out what is behind the popularity of China's micro dramas, and whether the nearly $7 billion industry can become China's next big cultural export to disrupt the U.S. entertainment industry.
Economic Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Economic Times
As ChatGPT outpaces rivals like Grok and Google in chatbot space, it plans to give nightmares to Microsoft; here's how
ChatGPT is leading the chatbot race with a huge number of downloads on devices. Google's Gemini is second, followed by China's DeepSeek. Microsoft's Copilot lags. ChatGPT is introducing new features to compete with Microsoft's AI offerings. These features include web navigation and application interaction. OpenAI is also planning to launch an AI browser to challenge Google Chrome. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Which Tech giants are chasing ChatGPT Where is Microsoft in the chatbot race Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads ChatGPT planning to give nightmares to Microsoft From Microsoft 's Grok to Microsoft's Copilot, OpenAI 's ChatGPT has managed to outpace competition in the chatbot space by a huge margin. With 900 million downloads on devices, according to the latest Sensor Tower data, ChatGPT has probably become synonymous with the term 'chatbot' OpenAI is ruling the chatbot clubhouse, Google has grabbed the second spot with Gemini, with 200 million downloads so far. Meanwhile, China's DeepSeek has garnered just 127 million making attempts to take the AI world by storm, DeepSeek, which debuted in 2025, dropped from No. 1 on Apple's App Store. Things got worse, and it eventually disappeared from the Top 100 Free Apps rankings rankings do not reveal a pleasant picture for Microsoft, which is the second-largest tech company in the world, according to Forbes. The tech giant's Copilot has seen a mere 79 million downloads, which keeps it far behind the big players. While start-up Perplexity has seen just 47 540 million monthly active users according to Sensor Tower, there's good reason to think ChatGPT could dominate its market much like Google does in search, YouTube in video, or Amazon in e-commerce. But having said that, in the fast-paced world, nothing is assured or permanent as tech companies invest heavy amounts of money in research, keeping their competition in in July 2025, OpenAI introduced new tools to challenge Microsoft's AI offerings more directly. OpenAI, ChatGPT's parent company, on Thursday (July 17, 2025) announced new autonomous features for ChatGPT. These new additions will allow it to navigate the web and interact with a user's calendar and other will certainly give tough competition to its direct rival, Microsoft's Copilot, which, as its name suggests, has a more holistic presence on a user's device than a regular chatbot. To add to the prevailing concerns for Microsoft, the ChatGPT agent can create slideshows and presentations compatible with Microsoft's PowerPoint and Excel new features turn up the heat on Microsoft's vast enterprise business, where it hoped to take an AI lead even as it fades on the consumer side of the equation. According to a recent Reuters report, OpenAI is also preparing to launch an AI-powered browser in a direct challenge to Google's Chrome business.
Nikkei Asia
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Nikkei Asia
Women power China's $1bn romance gaming market
Mobile game Love and Deepspace generated nearly $400 million in revenue in 2024, thanks to its realistic 3D graphics and a growing fan of predominantly female gamers. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi and screenshot from Love and Deepspace website) WATARU SUZUKI SHANGHAI -- A Chinese mobile game featuring a female hunter character who balances protecting the world from invaders with romantic interactions has become an instant hit since its release in January 2024, prompting developers to double down on the 8 billion yuan ($1 billion) female-oriented gaming industry. Thanks to its realistic 3D graphics and a growing fan base, Love and Deepspace generated nearly $400 million in revenue in 2024, according to data provider Sensor Tower, for its creator, Shanghai-based Papergames. The company has begun exporting the game overseas by hiring prominent voice actors in markets including Japan.
Business Insider
7 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Top Analysts Boost Meta Platforms Stock Price Target Ahead of Q2 Earnings
Top analysts from Jefferies and Canaccord Genuity boosted their price targets for Meta Platforms (META) stock ahead of the social media giant's Q2 earnings on July 30. While Jefferies' 5-star analyst Brent Thill raised the price target for META stock from $790 to $845, Canaccord Genuity's top analyst Maria Ripps increased her price target from $825 to $850. Both top-rated analysts reaffirmed a Buy rating on Meta Platforms stock, reinforcing their confidence in the company's growth potential. Elevate Your Investing Strategy: Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. Make smarter investment decisions with TipRanks' Smart Investor Picks, delivered to your inbox every week. These price target hikes came in even as META CEO Mark Zuckerberg faces an $8 billion shareholder lawsuit over accusations of privacy breach. Meanwhile, Wall Street expects Meta Platforms to report earnings per share (EPS) of $5.84, reflecting a 13.2% year-over-year growth. Top Jefferies Analyst Is Upbeat About Meta's Q2 Earnings Thill raised his Q2 and full-year revenue estimates for Meta Platforms by 3.1% and 2.6%, respectively. The 5-star analyst expects Meta to deliver revenue of $45.2 billion in Q2, suggesting a 15.7% year-over-year growth, which is higher than the Street's consensus estimate of 14.2%. Additionally, Thill contends that Meta Platforms' Q3 guidance seems achievable, given easier comparisons and some conservatism in the Street's estimates. Meanwhile, Thill believes that Meta's $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI and the appointment of Alexandr Wang, founder of Scale AI, as the Chief AI Officer, along with the hiring of many other high-profile researchers, indicate the company's intention to streamline its AI organization and revamp leadership following the disappointing response to Llama 4. Thill argues that while Meta's capex is expected to stay elevated and put pressure on its near-term earnings, he remains confident about the long-term return on investment (ROI). Thill explained that his constructive view is supported by favorable checks on CPM (cost per mille), an increase in time spent as indicated by SensorTower, and other positive metrics. CPM indicates the cost an advertiser pays for one thousand impressions of an ad. Canaccord Views META Stock as a Top Digital Ad Pick Ripps stated that META stock remains Canaccord Genuity's top digital advertising pick. Despite its premium valuation, Ripps continues to like META stock, driven by several tailwinds. The analyst expects the company to report impressive Q2 results, backed by mid-teens year-over-year growth in ad revenue. For Q2, Ripps expects both ad revenue and total revenue to grow by about 14% year-over-year, with the modest sequential deceleration reflecting tariff-related uncertainty. The analyst expects Meta's growth to be driven by continued AI-driven improvements to content creation and ad recommendation models. Notably, the company launched a new generative ad recommendation model in Q1 2025, which is twice as efficient at improving ad performance as legacy models. Looking ahead, Ripps expects the pace of innovation to remain robust at Meta, bolstered by the acquisition of a 49% stake in Scale AI, hiring of OpenAI and Apple (AAPL) researchers, unveiling of Meta Superintelligence labs, and the acquisition of voice AI startup PlayAI. Ripps noted that while META stock is trading near all-time highs, the setup continues to look attractive, particularly as we move into 2026. Is META a Good Stock to Buy? Overall, Wall Street is bullish on Meta Platforms stock, with a Strong Buy consensus rating based on 41 Buys and four Hold recommendations. The average META stock price target of $737.86 indicates a 5% upside potential. META stock has risen 20% year-to-date.
Hans India
17-07-2025
- Business
- Hans India
ChatGPT Soars Ahead as Microsoft's Copilot Struggles to Keep Up in AI Assistant Race
Microsoft's AI assistant Copilot is facing a tough road in the global chatbot race, according to new data that reveals a staggering gap between its performance and that of its top competitors. Despite Microsoft's bold push and billion-dollar investments in artificial intelligence, Copilot's traction among users is far behind OpenAI's ChatGPT. A report from Sensor Tower, as cited by Bloomberg, shows that Copilot has recorded 79 million downloads globally, placing it fourth in the AI assistant space. Meanwhile, OpenAI's ChatGPT is leading with an overwhelming 900 million downloads. Google's Gemini comes in second with 200 million, and China's DeepSeek follows with 127 million. The numbers highlight a growing disparity. While Microsoft remains a dominant force in enterprise AI and infrastructure, it hasn't yet cracked the code in the highly competitive consumer AI landscape. This comes as Microsoft continues to ramp up its AI spending. In fiscal year 2025 (which ended in June), the company poured $80 billion into AI infrastructure, including massive investments in data centers and retention packages for top AI talent. Much of this expenditure supports the development of Copilot and related generative AI technologies. Still, download numbers reflect user preferences—and many users and experts have flagged Copilot's limitations. While it shares the same foundational models from OpenAI, critics say it falls short of ChatGPT in key areas such as reasoning, creativity, and overall conversational quality. In an effort to regain momentum, Microsoft introduced several new features earlier this year during its 50th anniversary event. The updates include advanced personalisation aimed at making Copilot a more adaptive, user-friendly experience. 'Ultimately, I think there is going to be as many Copilots as there are people using them,' said Microsoft's AI chief Mustafa Suleyman at the launch. 'Each is going to have its own style and tone and, of course, its own name. And so today, we're taking the very first steps towards rich memory and personalisation, the very foundations of an AI companion.' Bhaskar Basu, Senior Director at Microsoft India, echoed this sentiment in a conversation with India Today, saying, 'Copilot allows users to not just operate at the experience layer but also at the OpenAI platform layer.' He added that this gives users the freedom to 'create Copilots of their own.' However, many of these features seem to mirror tools already available in rival platforms. ChatGPT, for instance, has offered memory and customisation capabilities for months, raising doubts about whether Copilot's new updates provide a unique edge. Another layer of complexity is Microsoft's dual role as both a close partner and a competitor to OpenAI. Copilot integrates OpenAI's GPT models at its core, creating an unusual dynamic where Microsoft is relying on the same tech that powers its strongest rival. Though Microsoft's AI vision is ambitious, the consumer market presents a steeper challenge. While Copilot thrives in enterprise settings—thanks to its deep integration with Microsoft's suite of productivity and cloud services—its consumer adoption tells a different story. With ChatGPT continuing to dominate the global landscape, Microsoft faces a critical question: Can Copilot evolve fast enough to stand out? As the AI assistant space grows more competitive, user experience, adaptability, and innovation will likely determine who leads the next phase of the race.
