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YouTube Has Been a Home Run for Google and the Online Video Industry
Back in October, 2006, when Google announced its intention to acquire YouTube, the fledgling, but already-dominant video upload/sharing site, for $1.65 billion, many observers thought it was a wild swing by Google, and
further evidence of its profligate ways. Critics cited YouTube's thin UGC-based business model, its minimal revenues and its skyrocketing hosting/delivery costs caused by surging usage. Even though the deal was all in stock, it indeed looked like a rich price, and an unjustifiably huge short-term reward to YouTube's founders and investors.
Yet yesterday's news from YouTube, that a staggering 48 hours of video are now uploaded to the site each minute, and that it hit a recent peak of 3 billion video views in a single day, both underscore how YouTube has been a home run for both Google and for the larger online video industry. YouTube's ongoing viewership dominance is a rare "winner take all" situation in which second place video upload/sharing competitors are practically off the radar screen. Google now owns the dominant asset in one of the fastest-growing sectors of the Internet, which has huge revenue potential as consumer adoption of online video and devices soars. That $1.65 billion looks cheap now, all the more so given the durability of Google's own robust ad business.
Categories: Aggregators
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5 Great Reasons to Attend ELEVATE on Tuesday, June 7th
It's been a whirlwind few months of planning, but everything is now just
about in place for ELEVATE: Online Video Advertising Summit on Tuesday, June 7th in NYC. Admittedly I'm biased, but I sincerely believe it will be the premier event of the year for online video industry executives. Here are 5 great reasons to attend:
Categories: Events
Topics: ELEVATE
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Brightcove Expands Beyond Video, Introduces "App Cloud" Platform
Brightcove is introducing a new product this morning called Brightcove App Cloud, a platform which allows content publishers to build and manage apps and "touch" web sites for iOS and Android devices. The move is the first
product expansion beyond video since Brightcove's inception. Brightcove is also announcing that it has changed the name of its video platform to Brightcove Video Cloud and that it is positioning the company as a "cloud content services company." Brightcove's SVP of Marketing Jeff Whatcott brought me up to speed on all the moves late yesterday.
The App Cloud initiative is based on feedback from content customers that it is becoming increasingly necessary for them to develop content experiences for smartphones, tablets, connected devices and social media sites like Facebook, all of which go beyond traditional web sites. However, these requirements have introduced massive complexity and cost to content publishers, forcing companies to choose between creating low-end apps using "app factory" tools (as Jeff described), or more custom experiences leveraging native SDKs. This tradeoff between the former's strong affordability and reach vs. the latter's flexibility and power has created what Brightcove sees as a gap in the market for a robust "app platform."
Categories: Technology
Topics: Android, Brightcove, iOS
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DVR Capability Would Make Online Video Even More Compelling
The BBC's announcement late last week of its new "Series Record" feature, which enables iPlayer users to subscribe to download future episodes of specific TV programs just as they might do with a DVR, caught my attention because it adds compelling new value to the current online video streaming model. That's because, as valuable as it is to have premium content available online, it still requires the user to actually be online and have a robust broadband connection (and soon enough to also be adhering to their ISP's usage cap).
For many, meeting these criteria isn't a problem. However, there are lots of others, particularly those of us who travel frequently, for whom these streaming prerequisites block many potential viewing opportunities (try streaming over a MiFi card or on a hotel's wireless network or on an airplane!). As a result, if we want to watch an episode of our favorite network TV program freely available online, or something from the Netflix streaming or Hulu Plus catalog, the only option is likely to have to pay to download it from iTunes or Amazon or another provider.
Categories: Advertising, Devices, DVR
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Online Video Advertising's Number One Challenge: Measurement
Despite online video advertising's surging growth, its number one current challenge is a consistent and widely-accepted measurement system that allows media buyers, content publishers and brands to gain a clear understanding of how ad campaigns are planned, executed and evaluated. That was the consensus at a launch dinner for the upcoming ELEVATE: Online Video Advertising Summit I attended last night, which included about ten online video industry CEOs, plus brand and agency executives, which was hosted by the private equity firm The Blackstone Group and the law firm Sheppard Mullin.
Today, online video measurement tends to focus on that which is easily measured and at least relatively well-understood: number of views/impressions and the number of click-throughs (if applicable). While that's a good starting point, much more is required. As a number of CEOs noted, media buyers have set a higher standard for pricier online video buys; they need specific information about audience targeting, meaningful engagement, and importantly, the correlation between spending and brand/sales lift. There was agreement that many of these new requirements never entered the equation in traditional TV advertising.
Categories: Advertising
Topics: Nielsen
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VideoNuze Report Podcast #99 - May 20, 2011
I'm pleased to present the 99th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for May 20, 2011.
In this week's podcast, Daisy Whitney and I discuss the new "Bud United Presents: The Big Time" contest which was announced earlier this week. The contest resonated with me because it really showed how brands can take full control by leveraging social media and online video. Daisy and I discuss the implications and what it might mean for other brands. Listen in to learn more.
Click here to listen to the podcast (8 minutes, 39 seconds)
Click here for previous podcasts
The VideoNuze Report is available in iTunes...subscribe today!Categories: Advertising, Podcasts
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New ELEVATE Session Features Pepsi, Break Media, Machinima and Mindshare Executives
We had a terrific VideoSchmooze last night in NYC, with lots of great networking and energy. I'm pleased to keep building the momentum for our upcoming ELEVATE: Online Video Advertising Summit this morning by announcing another exciting new session, "How Brands Are Breaking the 30-Second Ad Mold."
We have an amazing group of panelists:- Allen DeBevoise - Chairman and CEO, Machinima (the largest video entertainment network for gamers)
- David Lang - President, North America, Mindshare Entertainment (creator of cutting edge original branded entertainment series)
- Keith Richman - CEO, Break Media (one of the largest independent video sites)
- Shiv Singh - Head of Digital, PepsiCo Beverages (a leading brand pursuing online vide and social media)
- Emily Steel - Reporter, The Wall Street Journal (moderator)
Categories: Events
Topics: ELEVATE, VideoSchmooze
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Why Cord-Cutting May Actually Be Good News for Cable Operators After All
Yesterday's big headlines - that Netflix now accounts for almost 30% of all downstream Internet traffic - is further evidence of the popularity of the company's streaming service, and also a preview of the significant structural changes that lie ahead in the over-the-top (OTT), broadband ISP, and pay-TV industries. Specifically, as Netflix and other OTT providers' surging traffic compels broadband ISPs to administer strict bandwidth usage caps and adopt usage based pricing ("UBP"), the stage will be set for a new era in how tens of millions of consumers decide which in-home entertainment services they subscribe to. If you thought that would be very bad news for cable operators specifically, it might be time to think again.
Cable operators and programming networks are the focal point of upcoming change. Operators in particular, because they are both the largest providers of both subscription video services and broadband Internet services, are really at center stage. Much of the hype around "cord-cutting" over the last year has implied they are on the losing end of this potential activity. Often overlooked however, is the fact that as consumption shifts to OTT sources, consumers' bandwidth needs escalate. As such, the door opens for them to institute UBP, as AT&T has recently done.
Categories: Aggregators, Broadband ISPs, Cable Networks, Cable TV Operators
Topics: Netflix
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