BuzzFeed says people are spending less time on Facebook

BuzzFeed says people are spending less time on Facebook


The Facebook and Instagram logos displayed on a smartphone with the Meta Platforms logo pictured in the background.

Igor Golovniov | SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty Images

BuzzFeed’s earnings call Tuesday morning pointed to a continuing theme in tech: consumers are moving away from Meta’s Facebook.

“At this point in the quarter, we continue to see audiences spending less time on Facebook,” BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti said in his remarks.

It comes after Meta reported Facebook daily active users were down slightly this past quarter at 1.93 billion, marking its first ever quarterly decline. The decline of about 500,000 could mean that Facebook has saturated its product globally and the ability to add loads of users has peaked.

Meta’s core Facebook app has been pressured to keep up with competitors, including its own Instagram and the fast-growing TikTok, which features short-form video clips. The company has launched its own short-form video feature called Reels in an attempt to keep audiences engaged.

“People have a lot of choices for how they want to spend their time, and apps like TikTok are growing very quickly,” Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg said on the company’s call with investors last month. “And this is why our focus on Reels is so important over the long term.”

“As a result of both competition and the shift to short-form video as well as our focus on serving young adults, over optimizing overall engagement, we’re going to continue to see some pressure on impression growth in the near-term,” Zuckerberg added.

BuzzFeed, which has focused heavily on its commerce segment, said the majority of its audience traffic to its shopping content has come from Facebook. But “the shift in audience time away” from the app has “disproportionately impacted” its commerce revenues, Peretti said. Looking forward to its first quarter, Peretti said he expects that trend to continue.

“We are leveraging our cross-platform distribution network to extend our commerce business to the faster growing platforms, thereby reducing our dependence on any one platform over the next couple of years,” Peretti said.

The digital media company reported net income of $26 million last year on revenue of $398 million, showing revenue growth of 24% from the previous year. It also announced new plans to “accelerate profitability,” including a reduction in force. Shares were up about 2% in morning trading.



Source

Google says Fox channels to go dark on YouTube TV if agreement isn’t reached
Technology

Google says Fox channels to go dark on YouTube TV if agreement isn’t reached

Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images Google-owned YouTube on Monday said it may remove channels including Fox Broadcast Network, Fox News and Fox Sports from its TV streaming platform if it doesn’t reach an agreement with Fox Corporation. YouTube TV’s renewal date with Fox is coming on Wednesday, and while the two companies have been […]

Read More
Nvidia’s new ‘robot brain’ goes on sale for ,499 as company targets robotics for growth
Technology

Nvidia’s new ‘robot brain’ goes on sale for $3,499 as company targets robotics for growth

NVIDIA Jetson AGX Thor. Courtesy: NVIDIA Nvidia announced Monday that its latest robotics chip module, the Jetson AGX Thor, is now on sale for $3,499 as a developer kit. The company calls the chip a “robot brain.” The first kits ship next month, Nvidia said last week, and the chips will allow customers to create […]

Read More
Musk companies sue Apple, OpenAI alleging anticompetitive scheme
Technology

Musk companies sue Apple, OpenAI alleging anticompetitive scheme

Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, attends the Viva Technology conference at the Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris on June 16, 2023. Gonzalo Fuentes | Reuters Two of Elon Musk’s companies sued Apple and OpenAI on Monday, accusing the pair of an “anticompetitive scheme” to thwart artificial intelligence rivals. The lawsuit, filed […]

Read More