Besides being a busy week for the Mexican and Brazilian governments-both are the main economies of Latin America-the past few days have brought also a lot of news on the role of technology. While in Mexico we had an important change in the Ministry of Finance with the resignation of Carlos Urzua as minister and the nomination of Arturo Herrera as his successor, in Brazil the Social Security Reform passed in its first vote in Congress, bringing back a sense of optimism into the country.
All the while these political shifts are drawing the attention of the world as it awaits for the next chapters to be written in each of these countries, has shaken the worldwide streaming market: Netflix is about to lose the most-watched series in its portfolio. Could it be the end of the company’s leadership in this segment?
Continue reading LABS Plus One to keep up with the latest news on business each week and discover our tips to enjoying your weekend!
4- Spotify launches new app focused on emerging markets
The fact that Spotify has become popular at a faster rate in emerging countries isn’t news. We have already talked about how they succeeded in Latin America when they reached 100M paid users in this other article.
But now the company is placing even more efforts into increasing their audiences in these markets by launching Spotify Lite, a new version of the app for Android smartphones that requires less storage, data speed, and battery power. The new product is aiming at 36 markets across Asia, Latin America, Middle East, and Africa.
“Spotify Lite was built from the ground up based on user feedback from around the world, allowing millions more to enjoy the world’s best music experience — especially in areas with limited bandwidth and phone storage,“ said in a press release Kalle Persson, Senior Product Manager at Spotify.
3 – Google Assistant launches new features in Mexico for requesting food, calling Uber and making money transfers
Great news for Mexicans! As a new effort to winning the Mexican market, Google Assistant announced that the country will be the first outside the US to be able to request food delivery, call an Uber or even make money transfers by using voice command.
These new features should go live in the next few months, and Google is counting with a great team of partners to make it happen. Besides having some old partners on board in the country, like Uber and Cabify, Google also started a new important partnership with Rappi.
For money transfers, BBVA will be the bank available for now, but in this case, even that starts with a voice request, although a password will still be needed to finalize the procedure.
2- Copa América: How soccer drives tourism and pushes the market in Latin America – and in the world
The Brazilian national team brought much more than the Copa América’s title to Brazil. Along with this important achievement, the country’s market has seen an increase in tourist activities and great shifts in the areas surrounding that market sector.
In order to analyze what was the economic impact of the championship for travel industry and how this passion for soccer in Latin America turns out to be a real business opportunity, LABS gave a deeper look into the soccer industry. What we found out was that for Latin American soccer fans, to live the experience of watching a game on the stadium is priceless.
Check it out on the full article!
1- Not only a one more streaming service, a game-changer for the segment
WarnerMedia announced a new streaming service this week called HBO Max. You probably are thinking that their announcement is anything but unexpected since every big player of global entertainment is betting on it (we can take Disney as an example). Yet the most important news is hidden away in their portfolio: HBO Max will have exclusivity of Friends, Netflix’s most-watched show. And it doesn’t end there, they will also offer Game of Thrones, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and Pretty Little Liars.
The new brand will also count with great names in Hollywood to starring their own productions. Reese Witherspoon and Greg Berlanti (The Flash) are among those who have already confirmed.
The new platform will go live in 2020, but for now, the war for leading the global streaming market will still have a lot of as of yet unwritten, new chapters, this we can now know for sure.
LABS +1: A brief history of humankind
Launched in 2014 by the Israeli Yuval Harari, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind is one of the bestselling books in recent years. A fluid narrative alongside an objective writing style make the giant and theoretically complex human trajectory palatable and filled with intriguing questions. It is a book that walks through the ages of our existence and finds in each of them a connection with our contemporary behavior – from our coexistence at home, to the way we manage our work and teams. An indispensable book, so much more than an enjoyable read.
