VideoNuze Posts

I'm pleased to be joined once again by Colin Dixon, senior partner at The Diffusion Group, for the 134th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for May 25, 2012. This week's topic: Comcast's new "X1" TV platform and experience. Yesterday I posted a video interview I did with Comcast's SVP, Digital and Emerging, Matt Strauss discussing details of X1, and today Colin and I get into the details of what it means for Comcast and for the larger TV industry and future landscape.

Two other quick notes related to prior podcast topics. On last week's podcast we discussed Dish Network's "Auto Hop" ad-skipper and the likely legal backlash from broadcast networks. Sure enough yesterday CBS, Fox and NBCU filed their lawsuits. And back in Feb. we discussed Aereo's disruptive potential. This week the company won a minor battle in its legal wrangling with broadcasters, while looking ahead to a big day in federal court next Wed.

Click here to listen to the podcast (24 minutes, 24 seconds)

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Comcast made a very big splash at the Cable Show this week, officially announcing "X1" a new web-like TV platform and user experience it has been developing for the past 2 years, along with "Dayview" a console for customers to manage all of their Comcast services.

In this video interview, Matt Strauss, Comcast's SVP, Digital and Emerging Platforms, explains the company's strategy behind these initiatives and why it believes in unification of experiences across devices (TV, online, mobile) is so important. X1 is a major step forward for Comcast as it provides a platform where product/feature cycles are dramatically accelerated from the traditionally cumbersome process of dealing with set-top boxes. X1 is scheduled for release in the Boston area shortly, with a nationwide rollout to follow. As you'll see in the demos, the experience is quite slick and sets a new standard for pay-TV operators.

In the wide-ranging interview, we also discuss how TV Everywhere rollouts are progressing (and the key challenges that persist), Comcast's new C3 measurement project for tablets with Nielsen, how Comcast views the role of programmers' own apps (e.g. HBO GO, WatchESPN) vs. its own XfinityTV app and how it decides which connected devices to support, among other topics. Watch the interview and demo (17 minutes, 22 seconds).

Watch the interview and demo

If you're an agency or advertiser trying to run online video ad campaigns these days, you're encountering a fractured, laborious work flow resulting from the numerous ad technology providers you need to deal with. That's the kind of friction that impedes online video getting its fair share of ad spending. To address this problem, Adap.tv is launching its "App Center" this morning, which centralizes the process for buyers to access multiple ad technologies. Adap.tv co-founder Teg Grenager explained App Center and took me through a demo yesterday.

Read more about App Center

This week, Avail-TVN made a big splash at the Cable Show, announcing a $100 million financing from The Carlyle Group and the acquisition of the UK-based On Demand Group. As CEO Ramu Potarazu tells me in this interview, Avail-TVN isn't a household name, but it has become one of the most important players in distributing digital video globally. Ramu describes how complex the landscape has become for both content providers and service providers on the other and what roles Avail-TV has in the digital video value chain. He also touches on the disruption that is coming to the digital video advertising space due to dynamic insertion. Watch the video (8 minutes, 35 seconds).

Watch the video

Early-bird discounted registration for the VideoNuze 2012 Online Video Advertising Summit on Tues, June 19th in NYC ends this FRIDAY, so if you've been on the fence, now's the time to pull the trigger and save money. Note also that for startups and students, there's a special $200 value ticket to make the event more affordable. Contact me for the discount code.

The event is shaping up to be a must-attend for executives at content providers, advertisers, agencies, technology providers and other ecosystem participants. Like last year's ELEVATE event (which this Summit replaces), the day will be extremely focused, and provide critical learning and networking opportunities. As I've often said, the vast majority of online video being created is ad-supported, so it is critical that the model work for everyone.

We have an exciting array of presentations, fireside chats, panel discussions and case studies featuring leaders from companies including CBS Interactive, Discovery, Razorfish, GroupM, Google/YouTube, The Wall Street Journal Digital Network, LG Electronics, Macy's, eMarketer, American Express, Digitas, VivaKi, Adobe, TV Guide, TiVo, Hill Holliday and many more.

In addition, Jivox is going to raffle an $850 Samsung Smart TV!

The Summit is generously supported by Title sponsors Auditude/Adobe and YuMe along with Adap.tv, Innovid, Collective, Conviva, Eyeview, Mixpo, TubeMogul, VideoHub, Videology and LiveRail.

Save now with early-bird registration!

Yesterday at the Cable Show in Boston, I interviewed David Preschlack, who is EVP of Affiliate Sales and Marketing for Disney/ESPN Media Networks, and one of the company's point people on its WatchESPN TV Everywhere efforts. As you'll see, David is very bullish on TV Everywhere, calling it the pay-TV industry's "most strategic initiative."

WatchESPN is now available to 40 million U.S. homes, with 8 million downloads to date. David sees customer education as a critical step to broadening its adoption. One key improvement for WatchESPN has been reducing the authentication process from 14 steps 2 1/2 years ago to just 3 steps today. As David explains, the company has also gotten more adept at messaging throughout the process, to help engender subscriber trust. Coming next is WatchDisney, which will offer the company's kids programming on multiple devices for linear and on-demand viewing. Watch the video (8 minutes, 54 seconds).

Watch the video

I've often said that there is no single industry more impacted - one way or another - by the rise of online video than the cable TV industry, including both operators (e.g. Comcast, Time Warner Cable, etc.) and programmers (e.g. Disney, Viacom, etc.). While some see massive disruption ahead for cable, in the form of rampant cord-cutting, others see an industry that has covered all the angles and is well-positioned for ongoing success regardless of which way consumer and technology winds blow.

What is for sure is that cable is in the middle of the action in every possible way when it comes to online video - from providing broadband service to tens of millions of viewers that enables online video consumption, to deriving billions of dollars of multichannel subscription fees that many OTT companies are so eager to disrupt, to supplying the popular programs that have powered the rise of services like Netflix.

This week, as the industry gathers for its annual Cable Show, here is my perspective on the industry's top 3 opportunities and challenges due to the rise of online video:

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I'm pleased to be joined once again by Colin Dixon, senior partner at The Diffusion Group, for the 133rd edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for May 18, 2012. This week's topic: Dish Network's new "Auto Hop" feature, which automatically skips ads in DVR-recorded broadcast TV.

Listen to the podcast