Close to two weeks after Verizon's (NYSE: VZ) Go90 over-the-top mobile video application launched, its ranking and popularity in Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) U.S. App Store has fallen while the app's standing in Google's (NASDAQ: GOOG) Play Store has remained fairly consistent, according to app-tracking company App Annie.
In the App Store in the U.S., Go90 has seen a decline since its release on Oct 1, although the decline was less dramatic in the "Entertainment" category. When it debuted, it was ranked No. 14 in the Entertainment category and No. 220 overall. As of Sunday, the app was ranked No. 99 in the Entertainment category and No. 1,030 overall, according to App Annie. Go90 has an average rating of 3.4 out of 5 from 146 reviews, the service found.
However, for Google Play in the U.S, Go90 has fared better and has held a fairly steady ranking in the "Media & Video" category, according to App Annie. Interestingly, according to App Annie spokeswoman Christine Kim, Verizon released a new version of Go90 for the Play Store on Oct. 3 and its ranking in the Media & Video category rose "quite dramatically" from No. 197 on Oct. 2 to No. 9 on Oct. 3. As of Sunday, it ranked as No. 21 in Media & Video and No. 327 in Applications. In the Play Store the app has an average rating of 3.8 out of 5 from 430 reviews. According to the Play Store, the Go90 app still has somewhere between 10,000 and 50,000 downloads.
Verizon representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The ad-supported Go90 app launched Oct. 1 on iOS and Android to customers of all carriers, offering users 8,000 titles and over 35 exclusive original series. Verizon said that catalog includes 15 of the 30 most-viewed network shows and nine of the 15 most-viewed shows on the web. Go90 aims to offer a mix of content from traditional TV networks alongside online video from the likes of AwesomenessTV, Comedy Central, Food Network, ESPN, NFL Network, One World Sports, Discovery, VH1, MTV, SPIKE, TLC, Adult Swim, HGTV, BET, Investigation Discovery, New Form Digital and others,TechCrunch noted.
Users can share and comment on clips or parts of clips of Go90 content they edit themselves. This video can be shared in groups called "crews," where social media friends can discuss shared video, and users can follow celebrities and other users to see what videos or channels they are watching. Some of the celebrities who have profiles in the app include actress Jennifer Lawrence, actors Paul Rudd and Adam Sandler and former The Daily Show host Jon Stewart.
Meanwhile, Go90 is adding more content to its lineup, which is primarily aimed at millennials. According to Variety, Go90 has commissioned 50 episodes of a new FailArmy-branded short-form series from Jukin Media. The FailFive show on Go90 will be released weekly, the report said, and each three-minute episode will aggregate five user-generated videos grouped on a specific theme. FailArmy uses user-generated clips to highlight apparently funny accidents, a la America's Funniest Home Videos.
According to Variety, on YouTube, FailArmy has 8.6 million subscribers and has generated more than 2 billion total video views. It appears that the Go90 clips will not be making their way to YouTube though, as the report added the show's segments will be exclusively available on Go90 for a 48-hour period, after which Jukin will put them on the FailArmy Facebook page. Getting content that can be accessed on Go90 and not on Google's YouTube could be a way for the service to attract viewers and generate more loyalty, which should please the advertisers underwriting the service. Go90 has already received over $50 million in ad commitments, according to Advertising Age, which includes an upfront deal with Publicis Groupe.
For more:
- see this Variety article
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