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Research: 66% of Video Streamers "Hate" Mid-Roll Ads [VIDEO]
Most viewers know that ads are what pay the freight and so they're inevitable. But that doesn't mean they have to like them. At June's VideoNuze Online Video Advertising Summit, TV Guide.com's EVP & GM Christy Tanner presented the company's latest research, drawn from its panel of 10,000 online users, which showed that 66% of respondents "hate" ads during streaming videos (so-called "mid-rolls"). The hate rate for pre-rolls was 35% and for post-rolls, 32%. That possibly led to a 56% jump in paid streaming from Spring 2011 to Spring 2012.
Despite this, recent research from FreeWheel showed that even with higher ad loads and the increasing prevalence of mid-rolls, completion rates for both content and ads were up in Q2.
Christy also noted that 73% of respondents streaming TV shows do so to catch up on missed episodes and 40% for shows discovered mid-season or between seasons, while just 6% do so to cut back on cable. However, the research also showed that 5% cancelled cable. Lots more in Christy's presentation below.Categories: Advertising
Topics: TV Guide
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Study: 90% of Connected TV Viewers Notice Ads, 66% Likely to Interact With Them
Nearly 90% of connected TV viewers notice ads when they're watching video, and 66% of them are likely to interact with the ad according to a new study released this morning by video ad management/network YuMe and researcher Frank N. Magid Associates. The study, which included 736 connected TV users, is being called the most extensive research yet done on the burgeoning connected TV sector and underscores emerging advertising opportunities for brands to connect with viewers.
Categories: Advertising
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YouTube and Apple Could Be Big Winners if Hulu Loses Network TV Exclusivity
Variety is reporting on an internal Hulu memo indicating that the imminent buyout of Hulu's private equity partner may spark a series of changes, including the possible departure of CEO Jason Kilar and modifications to its content licensing arrangements with its broadcast network TV owners. Kilar has done an excellent job with Hulu, creating a top-notch user experience that is monetized through both ads, and more recently through subscriptions at Hulu Plus. Kilar has more than defied the skeptics who dismissively labeled Hulu "Clown Co." prior to its launch.
Nonetheless, there can be no disputing the fact that Hulu's essential asset from the outset has been exclusive next-day access to programs from Fox and NBC (now Comcast) and more recently, Disney/ABC. Broadcast TV is still by far the most popular programming around, and even though Hulu has added dozens of content partners, including a high-profile deal with Viacom, the reality is that for many Hulu users, it's a destination to catch up on their favorite broadcast programs.Categories: Aggregators, Broadcasters
Topics: Apple, Comcast, Disney, FOX, Hulu, YouTube
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VideoNuze-TDG Report Podcast #144 - Google Demotes Copyright Infringers; Apple's Set-Top Box Dreams
I'm pleased to be joined once again by Colin Dixon, senior partner at The Diffusion Group, for the 144th edition of the VideoNuze-TDG Report podcast. In this week's podcast Colin and I first discuss Google's recently-announced changes to how its search results are determined. Google will now factor in instances of copyright infringement to demote bad actors in its results. Colin sees the change as due to Google's interest in deepening relationships with Hollywood, where YouTube's business is increasingly pointing. However, there has been some dispute about just how much impact Google's change will have on results in YouTube.
Next up we discuss the idea of Apple building set-top boxes for the cable TV industry, which the WSJ wrote about yesterday. I add some further detail to my post ("Apple to Make Cable Set-Top Boxes? Not. Going. To. Happen.") which Colin mostly agrees with, however noting that Apple could add real value to cable's anemic VOD navigation. It's been fun to read all the coverage of the Apple-cable development; I'm clearly among the strongest skeptics. Perhaps I'm missing something big here, though I don't think so. Listen in to learn more!
Click here to listen to the podcast (19 minutes, 53 seconds)
Click here for previous podcasts
The VideoNuze-TDG Report podcast is available in iTunes...subscribe today!
(as noted in the podcast, we were each using new microphones this week and Colin's audio setting is a little low; we'll adjust next week)Categories: Cable TV Operators, Devices, Podcasts, Video Search
Topics: Apple, Google, Podcast, YouTube
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Best Practices in Online Video Advertising Session [VIDEO]
At the VideoNuze Online Video Advertising Summit in June, we had a great panel on best practices in online video advertising, which included Darren Feher, President and CEO of Conviva, Beth Lawrence, EVP, Ad Sales, The Weather Channel, Ravi Pahilajani, Associate Media Director, Razorfish, Aleck Schleider, VP Product Vertical, Videology and moderated by Larry Thomas of Latergy.
The session video is embedded below:Categories: Advertising
Topics: VideoNuze 2012 Online Video Advertising Summit
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Apple to Make Cable Set-Top Boxes? Not. Going. To. Happen.
The Wall Street Journal's lead story this morning is that Apple is meeting with large U.S. cable operators about building an Apple set-top box that would deliver cable programming and other content. Typical of all rumors relating to Apple, no credible source is cited (just "people familiar with the matter") and an Apple spokesman declines to comment. My take on this? Barring cable industry executives taking complete leave of their senses, the likelihood of this actually happening is next to zero.
Categories: Cable TV Operators, Devices
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Why Has the Definition of "Cord-Cutting" Become So Squishy?
Since Q2 '11, when the pay-TV industry lost video subscribers for the first time, there has been a debate raging over the impact of "cord-cutting." Flash forward a year, and anyone hoping for some clarity on this critical question would arguably be even more confused. Read certain media coverage of the pay-TV industry's Q2 '12 results and you'd conclude cord-cutting was gaining traction; read others and you'd conclude it wasn't. A key reason for the murkiness: somehow over the past year the definition of "cord-cutting" has become very squishy.
Categories: Cable TV Operators, Satellite, Telcos
Topics: Sanford Bernstein
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NBC Olympics Data: Digital Distribution Didn't Hurt On-Air Viewing
NBC was justifiably crowing late yesterday that the London Olympics was the most-watched TV event in U.S. history with 219.4 million viewers, but a more profound long-term takeaway from this year's games is that digital distribution of most of the competitions did not seem to hurt tape-delayed on-air viewing at all.
That was not a foregone conclusion, and given the billions in broadcast rights fees it paid, NBC made a sizable bet that with most competitions live-streamed and available on-demand, audiences would still tune in during ad-rich, prime-time hours, despite already knowing (or having seen) the results. The impact of digital distribution could have gone wrong, driving lower prime-time ratings, creating disgruntled advertisers and embarrassing NBC Sports executives. The fact that it didn't buttresses the argument that for sports in particular, digital delivery is a compliment, not a substitute, for on-air.Categories: Broadcasters, Devices, Sports
Topics: NBC Sports, Olympics