WZE...A little more DD
AF, I know you took another position in WZE the other day when it looked like it would be breaking out again. It appears that earnings should come by Feb. 14th unless they file for an extension. The last quarter ended Dec 31st and they have 45 days to report. Sound right to you? What are your thoughts going forward? Good luck with the neck and back.
The company has been a leader in podcasting over the years. They've started converting those podcasts to apps which should give them more exposure and $. They have over 1000 apps now, mostly podcasts and video. They're now using iAd and in app sales to generate more revenue. They've also started to acquire the rights to other apps and app games. The recent closing of their offering should make them debt free and give them cash to acquire the rights to even more apps. I know they have their hand in other forms of business but I've been focusing on the apps since that seems to be a hot topic right now.
Here's some things I've pulled from past PR's
Nov 15 2010
In mid-2009, Wizzard Media introduced a new monetization product for its publishing client with the launch of an iPhone App. The App offers audiences access to their favorite show directly on their iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch, bonus content and new social communication features such as Twitter and Facebook, creating an unprecedented level of audience entertainment and a new means to monetize content. Publishers and Wizzard earn revenue through the sale of the App as well as through in-App advertisements and in-App purchases of content, upgrades and subscriptions.
Third Quarter 2010 and Subsequent Business Highlights:
Jul 14 Wizzard Media’s Apps Approved with Apple’s iAds
Jul 20 Adam Carolla Selects Wizzard Media for Hosting and Monetization
Aug 5 Joe Rogan Chooses Wizzard Media’s Libsyn Pro Podcasting Service
Aug 11 Wizzard Media In Agreement with RIM’s BlackBerry Podcast Service
Aug 16 Wizzard Announces 15,782 Shows and 376 Total Paid iPhone Apps
Sep 28 Wizzard Announces availability of Mark Maron’s WTF App
Oct 5 Wizzard Announces 650 Apps in Apple’s App Store
Oct 21 Wizzard Media Network Reaches 16,767 Podcast Shows
Oct 21 Wizzard Announces Record Podcast Downloads of 445 Million for Q
Nov 11 Wizzard Announces release of App for Android Platform
Jan 12th 2011
Wizzard Media (NYSE Amex: WZE), the world’s leading podcasting network, today announced a strategic milestone in the Company’s App roll-out plan with the availability of over 1,000 Apps for Apple and Android mobile devices now available for sale. Overall revenues for Wizzard’s App immediately increased by an average of 20% with the launch of Wizzard Media’s App for Android.
Wizzard’s In-App Purchase upgrades and promotional efforts have demonstrated impressive early success with above industry average conversion rates up to 40%. The marketing of bonus episodes available only through In-App Purchase upgrades increased daily downloads and sales by a factor of almost 7, or by almost 700%. Conversion rates to premium subscriptions from paid Apps showed 40% on a unit basis and almost 70% based on revenue.
WTF with Marc Maron, the number two ranked podcast in all of iTunes (the world) and the number 162 ranked App in the very popular Entertainment category, has seen early success with his podcast App.
Jan 19th 2011
“We see significant growth opportunity for our podcast Apps business and with this capital raise we believe we can now accelerate the growth of our mobile media business to keep up with the rapidly changing entertainment consumption habits of consumers worldwide,” says Chris Spencer, Wizzard CEO. “This is the future consumption and monetization model for online media and Wizzard is delivering it today. As we continue to be the publishing platform of choice for the best podcast publishers we expect to continue along our path of becoming one of the top global new media powerhouses of the future. This capital, along with becoming a debt free company, allows Wizzard to make strategic acquisitions and investments in the rapidly growing mobile App industry.”
Mr. Spencer added, "This transaction, along with the conversion of all of our outstanding preferred shares to common stock and retirement of all debt, will put our balance sheet and capitalization structure in a much stronger position which should in turn help increase shareholder value significantly as our media business accelerates with the continued growth of mobile devices."
