VideoNuze Posts

YouTube has gained a huge amount of publicity for its original channels initiative, which was expanded internationally earlier this week. Now, according to an article by Magnify.net's CEO Steve Rosenbaum in Forbes yesterday, another critical and emerging YouTube strategy is "curation."

YouTube is the 800 pound gorilla for video uploads - with 72 hours added every minute - and the idea behind curation is to get users to cull through that massive video library to either add to their own channels and/or to build new ones, using others' videos.

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Here's a pretty eye-opening update of how pay-TV operators' VOD movies options are faring compared with OTT services like Netflix, Redbox, Amazon and others: just 22% of pay-TV subscribers order at least 1 VOD movie per month, whereas half of them use an OTT service. The data is according to a new study by Digitalsmiths of 2,000 pay-TV subscribers in North America over age 18 and speaks to the business opportunity in on-demand movies that pay-TV operators have left open for OTT competitors.

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Early bird discounted registration for the next VideoSchmooze: Online Video Leadership Forum, on Wed. morning, Dec. 5th, is now open. This will be the 9th VideoSchmooze and it promises to be the highest impact one yet, packed with lots of learning and networking with industry leaders. VideoSchmooze will run from 7:30am-12 noon at the McGraw-Hill conference center in NYC. Last year's VideoSchmooze sold out, so don't delay registering.

Following the networking breakfast, the program will begin with a discussion, "Digging Into Video's Tectonic Shifts" with 4 of Wall Street's top video industry analysts (including Craig Moffett, the #1 ranked cable/broadband analyst and Michael Nathanson, the #1 ranked entertainment analyst). Nobody understands the video industry's underlying financial and strategic drivers better than this group and it's a privilege to have them join us. Expect a detailed, data-driven discussion of topics including over-the-top competition, TV Everywhere, cord-cutting, content licensing, connected and mobile devices, changes in consumer behavior and 2013 trends.

Next is a in-depth discussion of TV Everywhere, the pay-TV industry's top strategic priority to deliver more value to subscribers and blunt the appeal of OTT services like Netflix. We'll explore all of TV Everywhere's key opportunities and challenges from the pay-TV operator, TV network and technology perspectives. Complimenting this session will be a brief presentation from Adobe, whose "Project Primetime" platform has become integral to TV Everywhere's rollout.

Following will be a case study discussion on innovation in the video ecosystem with Aereo's founder and CEO Chet Kanojia. Aereo is arguably the hottest online video startup of 2012, raising $20.5 million from Barry Diller's IAC in February. While a lot of Aereo's media coverage has been on its relationship to the broadcast TV industry, we'll use this session to focus on how Aereo is innovating at the intersection of broadband delivery, cloud computing, storage, connected devices and consumer changes. For incumbents and startups alike, there will be valuable lessons in what's fueling disruptive new services.

The final session is "Cracking the Code on Multi-Platform Success," featuring Ran Harnevo, SVP of Video at AOL (the fastest growing major video site in 2012), Ernesto Schmitt, CEO and co-founder of zeebox (the red-hot social TV provider with recent investments from Comcast, NBCU and Viacom) and Chris Smith, VP of Video and Mobile at Collective (a leading cross-platform advertising management provider), plus one other participant. It's no secret the world is going multi-platform; the panelists will share insights about how to succeed.

The lead sponsors for this 9th VideoSchmooze are Adobe, AOL, Collective and thePlatform, with supporting sponsors Akamai and Undertone (additional supporting sponsorship opportunities are available, please contact me if interested). I'm extremely grateful for these companies' support in making VideoSchmooze possible. The video landscape in more complicated than ever, making VideoSchmooze a must-attend event for executives who need to filter the noise and understand what's really going on.

I look forward to seeing you on Dec. 5th!

LEARN MORE AND REGISTER NOW!

This past Saturday night's "Rumble 2012," a half-serious, half-comedic live-streaming debate between Comedy Central's Jon Stewart and Fox News' Bill O'Reilly was another great example of online video's potential, but also its peril. Here was a situation where the bustling online video medium provided two of TV's biggest stars an unfettered creative and business opportunity, only to be undermined by technical snafus.

In case you weren't following this closely, Rumble 2012 was an online-only live-streaming event staged at George Washington University. Even though many viewers registered in advance, paying the $4.95 fee to watch the live-stream - and therefore indicating to the organizers how much server capacity would be required - a last minute server crash left many viewers unable to watch. I don't quite understand why this occurred, as any high-quality CDN would likely have been able to avoid such a problem. Be that as it may, organizers haven't shared any further details.

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Colin Dixon, senior partner at The Diffusion Group and I are back for the 150th (whoohoo!) edition of the weekly VideoNuze-TDG podcast. This week Colin and I talk about how on-demand viewing - through both DVRs and online - is changing the landscape for TV networks and advertisers.

First up, Colin shares some eye-opening numbers from the start of this year's TV season, as reported by the NY Times. Certain shows like NBC's "Revolution" and "The New Normal" plus CBS's "Hawaii Five-o" gained a whopping 40% more viewers due to DVR-based viewing in the 3 days following their premieres. This new viewing dynamic, particularly among the coveted 18-49 cohort, underscores the new reality of on-demand's importance in assessing a show's potential. Premiere night alone is no longer determinative (if it ever was!).

On-demand viewing is also a conundrum for advertisers and agencies when creating media plans. And that's why this week's announcement by Nielsen of its Cross-Platform Campaign Ratings solution is a big step forward in monetizing audiences across screens. Online has emerged alongside DVRs as a legitimate viewing alternative, and advertisers need to harness its potential. Colin and I discuss how Cross-Platform helps create a "common currency" measurement with TV, which will appeal to TV ad buyers, while helping content providers better value their online ad inventory. It's a complicated topic, but as Colin notes, the shift from "broadcaster-centric to consumer-centric" is causing huge ripple effects in the ecosystem.

Listen in to learn more!

Click here to listen to the podcast (18 minutes, 9 seconds)

Click here for previous podcasts

The VideoNuze-TDG podcast is available in iTunes...subscribe today!

AOL has announced this morning new iOS and Android apps that provide access to over 420K curated videos from its AOL On Network. AOL is including videos from its owned properties such as Engadget, TechCrunch, HuffPo Live and partners like Martha Stewart, Travel Channel and E!.

I've been playing around with the app a bit on my iPad this morning and it's a strong user experience. Upon launch, a set of highlight videos moves across the screen, with others displayed below. At left there's an icon which allows the user to pick videos from among 14 channels like Business, Food or Parenting. At right there's an icon that allows the user to go directly to certain content properties and/or search within them. The videos can then be sorted A-Z, by date, or by number of views. I only have one nit which is that there's no persistent "home" icon to get back to the starting point (you have to navigate to "Top Picks").

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There's been a lot written about how challenging it has become for brand advertisers to reach audiences effectively given the splintering of attention across screens. No longer is it sufficient to simply buy TV ads and expect to reach all targets; online and mobile must be added as complimentary channels.

This isn't easy, but as a new report released yesterday by Collective, "The Multi-Screen Advertising Playbook," shows, it is possible. Sharing results from a series of its clients' multi-platform campaigns, Collective provides specific details on how online campaigns augment TV buys to achieve marketing objectives.

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I'm delighted to be a keynote speaker at Akamai Edge next Thursday, Oct. 11th in Las Vegas. Edge is Akamai's annual customer conference, which draws attendees from around the world. Akamai is the leader in powering video delivery and Edge offers numerous opportunities to interact with media professionals on the cutting edge. I've been attending for several years and it's always a great learning experience. I'll be keynoting on Thursday at 1pm in the Entertainment and Media track, discussing the disruptive impact of online and mobile video. Please join us!