Sunday, February 6, 2022

Late predictions for 2022: Facebook metaverse flops; Roku buys Vizio; CBS Evening News canceled


Some prognosticators wait until the new year has already begun before releasing their predictions for the year ahead.
What follows are some predictions in the media and technology arenas that came out after I wrote my last roundup of 2022 predictions in December.

Facebook’s metaverse will be the biggest tech fail of 2022

Scott Galloway, professor of marketing at NYU Stern School of Business, predicted that Facebook’s push into the metaverse will be a colossal failure.
First, few people want to strap on a headset to hang out in a virtual world, he said. And second, Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive of Facebook parent company Meta Platforms, has shown that he can’t be trusted with people’s personal data.

Metaverse mania will wane in 2022

Research firm ARtillery Intelligence predicted that exuberance and investment around the metaverse will recede in 2022.
“Though the metaverse is a legitimate principle with ample promise, its fully actualized arrival is years or even decades away,” the firm said. “Any metaverse outcomes in the next year can’t possibly live up to the hype.”

Bumpy year ahead for streaming services in U.S.

Bloomberg writer Lucas Shaw predicted slower growth and higher churn for subscription video-on-demand services like Netflix in the U.S. in 2022. He also said Roku will have to decide soon whether to become or buy a media company.

Roku will buy Vizio instead of a studio

LightShed Partners believes Roku will buy smart TV maker Vizio to expand its hardware offerings and user base in streaming video. Roku is looking for a bigger footprint of users for its advertising service. It is less likely that Roku will buy a content studio, LightShed said.

Europe cements its position as world’s most important tech regulator

Casey Newton, editor of Platformer, doesn’t see much significant U.S. regulatory action to rein in Big Tech in 2022. Instead, Europe and the U.K. will take the lead in antitrust action against tech giants like Apple, Amazon, Meta and others, he said.

ViacomCBS will cancel its CBS Evening News

TDG analyst Rob Silvershein said ViacomCBS will cancel its CBS Evening News in 2022. The company might announce a more aggressive streaming news initiative, he said. “If it does, however, it will be too little too late,” Silvershein said.

Peloton merges with Garmin

The Motley Fool made several predictions about mergers and acquisitions in 2022. One writer predicted Peloton will merge with Garmin. Another predicted Etsy and Pinterest will merge.

Photo: Mark Zuckerberg discusses his vision of the metaverse. (Meta)

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