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Steve Jobs and the Elusive Connected Device
This morning the world remembers Steve Jobs, whose influence on the computing, music, film, communications and other industries is immeasurable. Jobs's ability to imagine how things could be - and then make them so - made him the most unique business leader of modern times. His personal philosophy, articulated in his memorable Stanford commencement speech in 2005, is likely the only career advice anyone should ever need. Setting the bar high, and never being willing to settle for less, was Jobs's mantra. His ability to infuse this in his Apple colleagues was the reason the company turned out one hit product after another.
Yet for all of Jobs's successes, one product he had yet to nail was the "connected device," the industry term for something that delivers personalized video, including TV shows and movies, to a large screen. To be sure, Apple has begun having success with its Apple TV, yet Jobs still considered that device a "hobby" (his words) because he saw that it fell well short of the revolutionizing impact the iPod or iPhone had in their respective industries.
Topics: Apple, Steve Jobs
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YuMe Adds Social and Interactive Elements to Its Pre-Rolls
Video ad technology provider YuMe is enhancing its traditional pre-roll ad with social media and other interactive elements. The new pre-roll unit will include
hooks to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube as well as special offers and store/dealer locator integration. YuMe SVP of Marketing Ed Haslam and Product Marketing Director Alp Pekkocak told me yesterday that the move is a direct response to brands seeking more social engagement throughout their marketing mix as well as competitor initiatives. The new pre-roll unit doesn't cost extra than the prior one.
Categories: Advertising
Topics: YuMe
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Xbox 360 Poised to Deliver Pay-TV Service In Shift to Video App Model
If you believe the rumor mill, Microsoft will announce as early as today that Xbox 360 will be able to deliver pay-TV services from Comcast and Verizon, as well as additional content from HBO, Sony, Amazon and others, as the
gaming console continues its transformation into a full-fledged entertainment hub. Focusing specifically on the Comcast and Verizon aspects, the integration would mark a milestone for the pay-TV industry in moving from a services model delivered through the traditional, set-top box control point to one where video becomes more like an app (albeit an expensive one!) to be delivered through multiple CE devices.
Categories: Cable TV Operators, Devices, Telcos
Topics: Comcast, Microsoft, Verizon, XBox
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AdoTube Launches A2O Productions to Help Brands Become Media Companies
Continuing the trend of brands creating their own online video content, video ad technology provider AdoTube has launched A2O Productions and has also released a new branded campaign for the Malibu Rum Station Invasion Tour. AdoTube has had an in-house creative services department, but A2O represents a deeper commitment to helping brands create their own experiences vs. running video ads on others' sites. A2O is run by Vincent Lambino, who was previously the company's VP of sales. AdoTube was recently acquired by Exponential Interactive.
For more on what's motivating brands to pursue branded entertainment projects, here is a podcast interview I recently did with Russ Axelrod, Director, Branded Entertainment and Experiences at Microsoft and Mike Wiese, Director of Branded Entertainment at agency JWT.Categories: Branded Entertainment
Topics: A20 Productions, AdoTube
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Associated Press Migrates APTN Live Video News to Online Delivery
The Associated Press and Streamworks are collaborating to migrate APTN Direct (Associated Press Live Television), a live video news service to online
delivery. Until now APTN Direct has only been available via satellite, limiting subscribers to large broadcasters with satellite infrastructure. With the move, APTN Direct is poised to deliver live video news to any online/mobile publisher or platform looking to enhance their service offering with a live video news feed. Events range from breaking such as the Amanda Knox courtroom appeal or scheduled such as this past summer's British royal wedding.
Categories: Live Streaming
Topics: Associated Press, Streamworks
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Save the Date: Next VideoSchmooze on Wed., Nov. 30th in NYC
Please save the date for the next VideoSchmooze: Online Video Leadership Forum, on Wednesday, November 30th, at the Harvard Club of NYC. This will be the 8th VideoSchmooze that VideoNuze has hosted and it promises to be the best yet, packed with lots of learning and networking with industry leaders in an expanded morning format from 7:30am-11am.
Following breakfast, the program will begin with Eric Kessler, co-president of HBO, discussing HBO GO, the network's highly successful online/mobile TV
Everywhere app. Eric will provide an update on key usage indicators and what's ahead. Then I'll do a fireside chat with Eric where we'll delve into larger industry issues including over-the-top challenges from Netflix, Hulu, Google/YouTube, Amazon and others, the changing landscape for premium video online and TV Everywhere's status.
Categories: Events
Topics: VideoSchmooze
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Exclusive: Tremor Video's "Video Hub" Analytics Platform Now Available for 3rd Party Use
Tremor Video is announcing later this morning that its Video Hub in-stream video ad analytics platform is now available for brands and agencies to license for use with any 3rd party ad server, ad network or publisher. Tremor unveiled Video Hub in May and since then over 200 brands and agencies have used it with Tremor's own ad server on its ad network as the company finished up development. Anthony Risicato, Tremor's GM for Video Hub told me last week that reactions from these early users have been positive and they've been eager to expand their use of Video Hub to also track and measure the effectiveness of non-Tremor elements of their video ad campaigns.
Categories: Advertising, Technology
Topics: Tremor Video, Video Hub
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Amazon Gets Its Right With Video Explaining Its New Silk Browser
While the drama surrounding industry events like Netflix's price increase or Hulu's potential acquisition grab the big headlines related to online video's disruptive impact, a less visible, but still very meaningful benefit of online video is the ability for any organization to explain complex ideas by producing their own videos for target audiences. One great example of this approach hit my radar this week: a 6-minute video that Amazon released discussing the new Amazon Silk browser that runs on the new Kindle Fire tablet.
Categories: Technology
Topics: Amazon, Kindle Fire
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