Tickets are still available for the June 4th VideoNuze 2013 Online Video Advertising Summit in NYC. 5-pack and 10-pack group discounts are also available for additional savings. And note that for startups/students, there's a special $195 ticket to make the event more affordable. Contact me for the discount code.
We have an awesome program featuring 44 speakers on over a dozen different sessions. We'll be covering the full
gamut of hottest topics in online video and advertising such as how to connect with today's always-on audience, the art and science of targeting, the NewFronts and Upfronts, connected TVs, programmatic video ad buying, how to monetize on-demand video, and much more.
Thanks to all 18 industry-leading companies that are supporting this year's Video Ad Summit: Premier Partners Adap.TV, Adobe, Akamai, TubeMogul, ValueClick and YuMe; Headline Partners Altitude Digital, AOL, BlackArrow, Collective, Innovid, LiveRail, VideoHub and Videology, plus Branding Partners EXPO, Extreme Reach, Mixpo and Real Media. All of them will have representatives at the event and it will be a great opportunity to engage with them.
Don't delay - register now!
Categories: Events
I'm pleased to present the 181st edition of the VideoNuze podcast with my weekly partner Colin Dixon of nScreenMedia. This week we discuss the newly-unveiled Xbox One and its TV integration.
As I wrote earlier this week, Xbox One is very slick, but because it's not tightly integrated with pay-TV set-tops, it can't access on-demand and DVR programming. That means even with an Xbox One, complexity will remain in the living room. Colin notes that even the original Google TV box had better integration (with Dish TV, although it was sub-optimal), and it still failed.
That leads Colin to believe that Xbox One will succeed as a gaming device, but he's skeptical that it will have broad appeal outside that community due to its high price and competitive options from Roku and others. I agree; though Xbox One clearly improves the live TV viewing experience, given today's changing viewer behaviors toward on-demand, it is far from being the "ultimate all-in-one home entertainment system" Microsoft says it is.
Listen in to learn more!
Click here to listen to the podcast (16 minutes, 46 seconds)
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There's a lot of excitement about online, ad-supported access to TV programs (accessible on the TV networks' own sites or via Hulu), but a new study from ad manager FreeWheel being released this morning shows that in reality, short-form content and 3rd-party syndication are the workhorses of online video advertising.
For the first time, FreeWheel breaks down its data by "Linear + Digital" content providers (i.e. TV networks like Fox, NBC, etc.) and Digital Pure-Play (online-only content providers or aggregators like VEVO, AOL, etc. that mainly focus on short-form content). FreeWheel found that video views grew 30% in Q1 '13 vs. a year earlier, driven by a 47% increase in views from DPPs, which offset a surprising decline of 8% by L+Ds. The data is based on 16 billion video views in Q1.
Categories: Advertising, Research, Syndicated Video Economy
Topics: FreeWheel
Yesterday Microsoft introduced its long-awaited new Xbox console, dubbed "Xbox One" and positioned as a "the ultimate all-in-one home entertainment system."
Watching company executives demo Xbox One, it was immediately apparent how slick the device's gesture and voice controls are, particularly for navigating live TV and other features. For many buyers, these - along with Xbox One's gaming-related advances will be very compelling.
But for those looking for a living room device that supports their on-demand oriented viewing, interest in niche specialized programming, affinity toward mobile interfaces/apps, or all of the above, Xbox One doesn't appear to break any new ground. In this sense, Xbox One is less about being a disruptor of today's TV ecosystem than about improving its use.
Categories: Devices
Topics: Xbox One
New industry data compiled by Leichtman Research Group shows that broadband ISPs that account for 93% of the U.S. market added over 1.1 million subscribers in Q1 '13, nearly 6 times the 194K pay-TV subscribers that were added in the period by pay-TV operators that account for 94% of the market.
Broadband subscriber additions have outstripped pay-TV's for years, but the 6x ratio is more than double the average of 2.8x from the prior 2 years. The 194K pay-TV additions in Q1 were down 56% vs. the 445K added in Q1 '12, while the 1.1M broadband additions were off 15% from the 1.3M in each of the prior 2 years.
On the surface the data suggests that cord-cutting - a shift from viewing video via pay-TV to via broadband - may finally be taking hold. But while LRG's Bruce Leichtman has indeed found an uptick in his calculations of cord-cutting (up from .2% of U.S. homes to .4%-.5%), he sees a far more nuanced picture of what accounted for Q1's swing, plus lots of uncertainty going forward.
Categories: Broadband ISPs, Cable TV Operators, Research, Satellite, Telcos
Topics: DirecTV, Leichtman Research Group
Tremor Video's VideoHub technology has received Media Rating Council (MRC) accreditation for its video viewability metric and 4 of its other metrics. The accreditations are another milestone for online video advertising in moving from a "Wild West" to delivering assured campaign data to advertisers, agencies and content providers. MRC is an independent industry organization focused on validated audience measurement services.
The 5 VideoHub metrics that MRC has accredited are as follows:
Categories: Advertising
Topics: Tremor Video, VideoHub
Today is the last day for discounted early bird registration for the VideoNuze 2013 Online Video Advertising Summit on Tues, June 4th in NYC. Sign up now to save on the standard rate. As an added bonus, all early bird registrants will be eligible to win a Samsung 40-inch Smart TV, presented by VideoHub. For startups/students, note there's a special $195 ticket to make the event more affordable. Contact me for the discount code.
The 3rd annual Video Ad Summit is shaping up as a must-attend event for industry executives. There are over a dozen sessions and over 40 speakers from leading companies such as YouTube, GroupM, CBS Interactive, Nielsen, NBCU, Digitas, Viacom, LG, Scripps, Time, AOL and many others. If you need up-to-date insights on online video and advertising, the Video Ad Summit will be the place to be on June 4th.
Thanks to all 18 industry-leading companies that are supporting this year's Video Ad Summit: Premier Partners Adap.TV, Adobe, Akamai, TubeMogul, ValueClick and YuMe; Headline Partners Altitude Digital, AOL, BlackArrow, Collective, Innovid, LiveRail, VideoHub and Videology, plus Branding Partners EXPO, Extreme Reach, Mixpo and Real Media. All of them will have representatives at the event and it will be a great opportunity to engage with them.
Don't delay - save now on early bird registration!
Categories: Events
I'm pleased to present the 180th edition of the VideoNuze podcast with my weekly partner Colin Dixon of nScreenMedia. There was a rush of interest around live streaming this week. Among the news items: ABC,TNT and TBS announced live streaming of their linear feeds; YouTube expanded its live feature and Brightcove launched a new live module, which followed thePlatform doing the same last week.
For live streaming TV, neither Colin nor I believe it will have broad appeal, with the possible exception of sports and maybe certain breaking news/events. It's no secret that on-demand, time-shifted viewing has surged in popularity, due to DVR penetration above 50% of U.S. homes and the widespread availability of TV programs online for on-demand use. So in a way live streaming TV is trying to put the genie back in the bottle - getting on-demand viewers to go back to linear.
The fundamental inconsistency to me in this is that if you're tech-savvy enough to be drawn to live streaming on an iOS device, you're even more likely to now be a mainly on-demand viewer. And for those not tech-savvy, who still do enjoy linear viewing, well, why do you need an live streaming app when you can just watch on your TV as you always have? Even the sports use case is a bit thin as watching out-of-home for most will be very expensive given mobile data rates, and most mobile device viewing happens in the home anyway.
Nonetheless, Colin and I describe all the reasons we think other TV networks are likely to roll out live streaming in the coming months as well. Maybe we're missing something, but it strikes us that these will have more to do with PR (countering Aereo for example) and supporting TV Everywhere/retransmission consent negotiations and won't end up resonating broadly with users. More interesting I think is the CW's move to make its shows available free next day on-demand via Apple TV and other devices which seems in synch with users' expectations.
Listen in to learn more!
Click here to listen to the podcast (17 minutes, 17 seconds)
Click here for previous podcasts
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Categories: Broadcasters, Live Streaming, Mobile Video, Podcasts
Topics: ABC, Brightcove, Podcast, TBS, thePlatform, TNT
Near the top of my personal list of confusing industry terms is "mobile video." Does it mean watching on a smartphone? A tablet? Both? Does it mean using a wireless carrier's network (e.g. Verizon, AT&T) or a WiFi network or both for access? Does it mean watching while out of home (and if so, where?) or at home? And what content is watched - live? on-demand? short-form? long-form? genre? The list goes on and on. Mobile video is truly one of the most confusing and misunderstood industry terms around.
And that's why recent data from Leichtman Research Group, a well-respected media research firm founded by a former colleague of mine, Bruce Leichtman, really caught my eye. In its 7th annual "Emerging Video Services" survey, of 1,240 adults age 18+, LRG found that of those who said they watched video on their mobile phone in the past month, 63% said they usually watch at home. More striking, of those who watched video on their iPad, tablet or eReader in the past month, 89% of them said they usually watch at home.
Categories: Mobile Video, Research
Topics: Leichtman Research Group
Following is a contributed post by Mio Babic, who is the founder and CEO of iStreamPlanet, the leader in live linear streaming solutions including the soon to be released Aventus live video workflow solution.
Multiscreen Live Linear - Consumer Values and Perceptions
by Mio Babic
Recently iStreamPlanet partnered with The Diffusion Group to better understand the opportunity in delivering a multiscreen live linear experience to multiple devices. As digital media innovators it’s easy for us to get excited about moving the technology forward, and while we see 24/7 live linear streaming as the next step in the OTT evolution, we wanted to verify that we are creating technology for an experience that consumers desire, and therefore profitable for our customers in the media industry.
Categories: Live Streaming
Topics: iStreamPlanet, The Diffusion Group
Live streaming is continuing to get a lot of mind share these days from both content providers and technology companies. The latest example in the latter category is Brightcove, which yesterday introduced in beta the Brightcove Video Cloud Live, a module to support live streaming across multiple devices.
A key part of Video Cloud Live is the recently announced Brightcove Zencoder Live Transcoding service, which provides live transcoding as a scalable API. This obviates the need for content providers to purchase and maintain their own hardware for encoding live events. This in turn reduces cost and complexity of running live events, making them far more feasible to offer to viewers. The Zencoder service also produces multiple adaptive bitrate streams so that users on various devices get the right stream for them.
Categories: Live Streaming, Technology
Topics: Brightcove, thePlatform
Early bird discounted tickets are only available until this Friday for the VideoNuze 2013 Online Video Advertising Summit on Tues, June 4th in NYC. In addition to the early bird, for startups/students, there's a special $195 ticket to make the event more affordable. Contact me for the discount code. Also as an extra bonus to sign up by Friday, all early bird registrants will be eligible to win a Samsung 40-inch Smart TV, presented by VideoHub.
The 3rd annual Video Ad Summit is a must-attend event for anyone in or around the online video / advertising
industries. We have over a dozen sessions with nearly 40 speakers from agencies, publishers and technology providers including YouTube, GroupM, CBS Interactive, Nielsen, NBCU, Digitas, Viacom, LG, Scripps, Time, AOL and many others who will share insights on all of the key industry topics. As with prior Video Ad Summits you can expect to come away with valuable insights and data, plus lots of new relationships. The past 2 years we've had 300+ attendees.
Thanks to all 18 industry-leading companies that are supporting this year's Video Ad Summit: Premier Partners Adap.TV, Adobe, Akamai, TubeMogul, ValueClick and YuMe; Headline Partners Altitude Digital, AOL, BlackArrow, Collective, Innovid, LiveRail, VideoHub and Videology, plus Branding Partners EXPO, Extreme Reach, Mixpo and Real Media. All of them will have representatives at the event and it will be a great opportunity to meet them and learn about their products and services.
Learn more and save on early bird registration!
Categories: Advertising, Events
The click-through rate for in-stream video ads served by PointRoll in 2012 was .62%, four times higher than for mobile ads (.15%) and rich media ads (.14%) served. The data is part of a new benchmark study comparing 2012 ad performance to 2011. The interaction rate for in-stream video ads was 5.7%, compared with 4% for rich media and .96% for mobile.
Categories: Advertising, Research
Topics: PointRoll
ABC will enable live-streaming of its programs through its iOS app, moving beyond an on-demand only programming model for the first time. The "Watch ABC" live feature will no doubt please a subset of the people who have downloaded the ABC app 10 million times to date and who still value live viewing. But Watch ABC will also likely puzzle and irk some users when they discover they must be authenticated as a pay-TV subscriber in order to access the live stream.
In fact, requiring authentication for Watch ABC is just the latest evidence of TV Everywhere's tightening grip on broadcast TV. Another recent example was NBC making large portions of last summer's Olympics available only to authenticated pay-TV subscribers. In addition, Fox has maintained an 8-day exclusive window for pay-TV subscribers for almost 2 years.
Categories: Broadcasters, Devices, Mobile Video, TV Everywhere
Topics: ABC, TV Everywhere
Following is a contributed post by Frank Sinton who is the CEO and founder of Beachfront Media, a video solutions platform for publishers, advertisers, and enterprises. Previously, he worked for Sony Pictures Entertainment as executive director of architecture.
Video Apps, Devices, and Fragmentation: How to Navigate the Maze
by Frank Sinton
Fragmentation has long been an issue in the mobile industry. Even with the advent of the smartphone era, it’s still a problem. Take these stats from a recent report by app analytics company Flurry:
"Suppose you’re an app developer who wants to ensure that your app is optimized to function well on 80% of the individual connected devices currently in use (e.g., my iPad, your Windows phone). How many different device models (e.g., Kindle Fire HD 8.9" Wi-Fi, Galaxy S III) do you think you need to support? 156. Maybe you’re okay with having your app optimized for only 60% of active devices. That still means that you need to support 37 different devices. Even getting to 50% means supporting 18 devices, as shown below. If you’re a large or particularly thorough app developer, reaching 90% of active devices will require supporting 331 different models."
Categories: Devices, Mobile Video, Technology
Topics: Beachfront Builder
I'm pleased to present the 179th edition of the VideoNuze podcast with my weekly partner Colin Dixon of nScreenMedia. Yesterday, YouTube confirmed that it will offer content partners the ability to charge for subscriptions. In what its calling a pilot program, 53 subscription channels are being launched, some from established brands like UFC, PGA, National Geographic and Jim Henson, and many more from less well-known content partners.
In this week's podcast Colin and I discuss whether this is a big deal or not. Colin's more bullish than I am, seeing it as a very important piece in the YouTube puzzle, adding to existing advertising, rental and purchase monetization options.
I agree it's smart move by YouTube, but I don't think it's a game-changer. While I see this as the right thing to offer content partners - especially those with huge audiences on YouTube - this is akin to "freemium" type option that will require partners to very clearly differentiate the incremental content available in their subscription tiers in order to convert a small percentage of their free viewers to monthly subscribers.
A complicating factor is that for many users, YouTube subscriptions will be on top of - not a substitute for - already expensive pay-TV monthly bills. Then there's also a Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon or other SVOD subscriptions which already make a claim on finite entertainment dollars too. Lastly, YouTube is perceived as a "free" site by many, so it will take significant promotion by channels to persuade users to pay.
Bottom line: YouTube is doing right by its content partners in offering this capability, but it's up to the content partners themselves to make it successful. My guess is for most partners, advertising will continue to dominate their YouTube-related revenue for a long time to come.
Listen in to learn more!
Click here to listen to the podcast (18 minutes, 15 seconds)
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The VideoNuze podcast is also available in iTunes...subscribe today!
Categories: Aggregators, Commerce, Indie Video, Podcasts
I'm pleased to share Howard Homonoff's second piece on Aereo today. The first was "Here Are Aereo's Legal, Policy and Business Paths Forward." Howard is Principal/Managing Director of Homonoff Media Group LLC, a management consulting firm focused on traditional and digital media content distribution, social media analytics and regulatory strategy. He is a frequent industry speaker and producer/host of Media Reporter, starting soon on cable systems throughout New York City.
Inside Retransmission Consent - Aereo’s Biggest Threat to Broadcasters
by Howard Homonoff
Technology startups, by definition, often challenge the status quo - striving to deliver products or services that are better, faster, and/or cheaper than existing approaches. Yet, given the long odds against startups’ success, incumbents don’t often go on the warpath against startups in their space until the startup has at least demonstrated some genuine traction or ability to disrupt that status quo.
In this context, the intense opposition to Aereo from the broadcast industry is unusual. Aereo has been deployed in just one market and hasn’t disclosed any metrics about customer adoption (unattributed numbers suggest negligible penetration to date). Yet broadcasters have launched vigorous litigation (thus far unsuccessful) and executives have threatened to abandon their decades of traditional broadcast-based business models in favor of cable-based delivery if Aereo is ultimately deemed legal.
Why is it that broadcasters are so up in arms about Aereo? The answer, I believe, is that Aereo directly challenges a concept known as retransmission consent. As a close observer of Aereo’s coverage, I’ve been struck by how little attention retransmission consent has received, and how little it seems to be understood. Below I address 3 questions: What is retransmission consent? Why was retransmission consent originally created? Why is it viewed as so vital by the broadcast industry?
Categories: Broadcasters, Regulation, Startups
Topics: Aereo
Don't delay - early-bird discounted registration for the VideoNuze 2013 Online Video Advertising Summit on Tues, June 4th in NYC ends in just over a week. Sign up now to save on the standard rate. For startups/students, remember there's a special $195 ticket to make the event more affordable. Contact me for the discount code. As an added incentive, all early bird registrants will be eligible to win a Samsung 40-inch Smart TV, presented by VideoHub.
For anyone who needs to better understand online video advertising, this 3rd annual Video Ad Summit will be a must-attend event, jam-packed with learning and networking. We currently have over 35 speakers from leading companies such as YouTube, GroupM, CBS Interactive, Nielsen, NBCU, Digitas, Viacom, LG, Scripps, Time, AOL and many others.
In over a dozen sessions we'll dive deeply into topics such as whether the traditional day-part programming
model is dead, the art and science of targeting, the impact of the recent NewFronts, how private video exchanges work, what's ahead for programmatic video ad buying, strategies for monetizing on-demand video, architecting a successful cross-media strategy, plus lots more. I am confident you'll walk away with valuable insights and data.
I'm extremely grateful to all 18 industry-leading companies that are supporting this year's Video Ad Summit: Premier Partners Adap.TV, Adobe, Akamai, TubeMogul, ValueClick and YuMe; Headline Partners Altitude Digital, AOL, BlackArrow, Collective, Innovid, LiveRail, VideoHub and Videology, plus Branding Partners EXPO, Extreme Reach, Mixpo and Real Media. All of them will have representatives at the event and it will be a great opportunity to engage with them.
Save now on early bird registration!
Categories: Advertising, Events
Traditionally most online video has been on-demand, but recently that has begun to change with more live events delivered online all the time. The trend has been driven primarily by sports, news and music, but other categories like entertainment are also following along.
For content providers, live presents numerous new workflow complexities vs. on-demand in areas such as encoding, ad insertion, stream management, metadata, device support, etc. To address this complexity and try to streamline workflows, thePlatform is today introducing a single web-based console in its mpx platform that can handle key tasks including signal acquisition and encoding via an integration with Elemental (so encoding can be managed within the console), dynamic ad insertion and metadata creation plus archiving to VOD for replays.
Categories: Live Streaming, Technology
Topics: thePlatform
Investment firm Bernstein Research has released the results of a proprietary door-to-door survey of 204 Kansas City households which reveals strong interest in Google Fiber service among early adopters, with potentially strong adoption rates among mainstream audiences longer-term as well.
Bernstein found very high awareness of Google Fiber, with 98% of respondents being aware of the service, no surprise given the level of local coverage it has received. Of the 204 respondents, 52% said they would definitely or probably buy Google Fiber and 25% said they may.
However, recognizing the difference between what people say they'll do vs. what they'll actually do, Bernstein forecasts that 15-20% of homes will in fact subscribe to Google Fiber in the first phase of its rollout. Given the uncertainties around competitive responses to Google Fiber, Bernstein is less clear about longer-term adoption, though it is suggesting 40-50% is possible eventually.
Categories: Broadband ISPs
Topics: Google Fiber, Sanford Bernstein
I'm pleased to present the 178th edition of the VideoNuze podcast with my weekly partner Colin Dixon of nScreenMedia. This was NewFronts week, when a slew of content providers presented their slate of programs and initiatives to advertisers. Having attended a couple of the presentations, I was impressed by the turnout, energy and interest, especially since this was only the second year for these types of presentations.
Advertisers have clearly moved online video beyond the experimental stage and are taking a strong interest. Colin and I agree that this is mainly due to viewers' strong adoption of online video viewing. This should only increase as viewers are presented with an exploding array of content choices. We talk more about the role that mobile and apps are playing in all of this too, and why established media needs to be aggressive in this shifting landscape.
Listen in to learn more!
Click here to listen to the podcast (17 minutes, 53 seconds)
Click here for previous podcasts
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The VideoNuze podcast is also available in iTunes...subscribe today!
Categories: Advertising, Indie Video, Podcasts
Videology’s Q1 2013 infographic offers up fresh detail about what types of advertisers are embracing the medium, how their ads are performing, and how shifts in the use of devices are impacting the online video environment.
Based on 1.8 billion impressions delivered on Videology’s platform during Q1, the data shows that desktops continue to dominate despite the impressive rise of mobile devices. Ads seen on desktop accounted for 92% of online video ads people watched in Q1, with connected TVs accounting for 5% and mobile devices, 3%. Although ads seen on mobile devices increased 27% year-over-year in Q1, that surge was leapfrogged by the number of ads seen on the desktop, which grew 84%.
Categories: Advertising, Research
Topics: Videology
YouTube has been the undisputed 800-pound gorilla of the online video market since the beginning of time. And it's key message to advertisers at last night's "Brandcast" NewFront event was to emphatically remind them of its massive size and its reach into the youth market, factors it believes should drive advertisers' attention and spending.
Whereas last year's Brandcast was all about the 100 new channels that YouTube was funding/launching, this year's event was more of a return to its roots: it's ability to give native digital talent the platform to reach and grow huge audiences. Because a lot of this talent resonates first and foremost with younger digital natives (in Nielsen parlance "Generation C"), YouTube says it's in a unique position to deliver these audiences. YouTube cited Nielsen data that it reaches more 18-34-year-olds than any cable network.
Categories: Advertising, Indie Video
Looking past the thumping music and flashing lights that pervaded AOL's NewFront presentation yesterday, the big theme from the company's new slate of original productions was far quieter: it wants to be the online home for authentic programming from thoughtful creators.
Going this less mainstream route means AOL isn't trying to out-TV TV - like for example Netflix is trying to do with "House of Cards" and its other new shows (how many times have you heard Netflix executives compare their efforts to HBO's?!). Though it is collaborating with some well-known talent such as Sarah Jessica Parker, Gwyneth Paltrow and Hank Azaria, AOL's new programs are mainly built around online and offline personalities who have unique perspectives on the world.
Categories: Advertising, Indie Video
I'm pleased to share that Lori Conkling, NBCUniversal's EVP of Strategy and Business Development for Media Innovation and Cross Company Initiatives, will be a featured speaker at the June 4th Online Video Ad Summit in NYC. Lori joined NBCU recently to drive strategy and monetization of the company's cross-platform content. In her role, Lori is also a key executive in advanced advertising, content windowing and mobile. Lori previously ran distribution at A&E Networks; at NBCU she reports into Lauren Zalaznick.
At the Video Ad Summit, I'll be interviewing Lori about the choices and challenges involved in architecting a
successful cross-media strategy. Today, media companies have unprecedented opportunities to engage with their audiences, but determining which ones have the best ROI and should be pursued is harder than ever. In the interview, expect insights about changing consumer behaviors, the shift to on-demand viewing, second-screen apps that work, effective monetization, TV Everywhere, mobile/connected devices and lots more.
Early bird discounted registration for the Video Ad Summit is available until May 17th. You can save $100 by registering early, and as an added bonus, all early bird registrants will be eligible to win a Samsung 40-inch Smart TV, presented by VideoHub. We'll do the drawing just before lunch. Startups and students are eligible for even deeper discounts, contact me to learn more.
I look forward to seeing you on June 4th!
Categories: Broadcasters, Cable Networks, Events