VideoNuze Posts

Screens are now omnipresent with viewers fluidly shifting their consumption depending on their circumstances. At our recent Online Video Ad Summit session, “Best Practices in a Multiscreen World,” panelists discussed what’s worked well for them in multiscreen, including workflows, measurement, monetization, quality of experience, storytelling, brand safety and much more.

The session included Josh Arensberg (VP, Head of Corporate Development and Strategy, Comcast Technology Solutions), Patricia Betron (SVP, Multimedia Sales, ESPN), Scott Doyne (SVP, Product Strategy, Turner), Julie DeTraglia (VP, Ad Sales Research, Hulu), with Dan Punt (Managing Director, FTI Consulting) moderating.

Watch the video (35 minutes, 52 seconds).

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I’m pleased to present the 377th edition of the VideoNuze podcast with my weekly partner Colin Dixon of nScreenMedia.

This week we start by discussing NBC Sports’ new “Premier League Pass,” which I wrote about a couple days ago. Colin and I agree that Premier League Pass is a clever way for NBC Sports to provide access to cord-cutters and cord-nevers. Going forward, we both like the idea of an “Olympics Pass” as well. Combined with AMC Premiere, which Comcast and AMC announced yesterday, it’s clear established media companies are innovating to offer more flexible access to viewers.

Colin then shares his reactions to an interesting presentation by Chris Ripley, President and CEO of Sinclair Broadcast Group, on the company’s ATSC 3.0 vision. I’ll admit this is not a topic I’ve followed too closely, but as Colin explains, Sinclair sees ATSC 3.0 as an entirely new delivery infrastructure it can use to deliver all kinds of services. Important to keep in mind, all of this is still very long-term.

(Note, the audio quality is a bit low this week with Colin being out of office when we recorded)

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AMC Premiere, an ad-free version of the popular cable network AMC, will be available for $4.99 per month to Comcast’s Xfinity TV subscribers, the latest initiative by pay-TV incumbents to offer more flexible access to viewers. AMC Premiere provides ad-free access to the network’s current season programs along with a variety of exclusive and first-look content and movies.

However, AMC Premiere does not include past seasons of “The Walking Dead” for example, or any of the iconic programming like “Mad Men” or “Breaking Bad,” which put AMC on the map for high-quality originals. All of those have long been licensed to Netflix. The most recent season of “The Walking Dead,” as well as prior ones, are available on demand from Comcast for $2.99 per episode. Many other shows from other networks are available at no charge on demand from Comcast.

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Online video is opening up significant opportunities for large media companies, but it’s also creating totally new ways for earlier stage content providers to differentiate themselves and grow their audiences. A great example of the latter is Mic, a millennial-focused news and culture property, which recently raised $21 million and brought on board Jonathan Carson (formerly an executive at Nielsen at Vevo) as its president.

At our recent Online Video Ad Summit, I interviewed Jonathan about Mic’s strategy, how it’s capitalizing on video and using advertising to anchor its revenue streams. In the interview Jonathan talks about how the company’s journalists bring their own perspectives to the stories they cover and why their voices resonate with target audiences. Among other things, Jonathan details how the company has leveraged this to integrate brands into their journalism and other ways the company is monetizing its content.

Watch the interview (31 minutes, 51 seconds)

 

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Yesterday NBC Sports Digital announced its latest OTT subscription service, “Premier League Pass,” which provides access to 130 live matches during the 2017-2018 season for $50. Premier League Pass augments NBC Sports’ broadcast of 250 matches carried on its linear networks and online via TV Everywhere.

Premier League Pass is the latest OTT subscription service to be part of what’s known as “NBC Sports Gold.” Other services include “Cycling Pass” ($40), “Pro Motocross Pass” ($50), “Track and Field Pass” ($70) and “Rugby Pass” ($60).

As NBC Sports continues rolling out these various services, it’s becoming clearer that the company is seeing success in offering super-fans online access to specific sports. But what’s more intriguing is that NBC Sports may be laying the groundwork for how consumers will be paying for more mainstream sports somewhere down the road.

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It’s no secret that Google, Facebook and other social platforms can help video publishers expand their audience reach and monetization. But the downside is they create risks around losing control of the business, exposing valuable viewer insights and reducing margins. All publishers are grappling with how to balance opportunity and risk with respect to their platform strategies.

At our Online Video Ad Summit, we had a really thoughtful panel called “The Playbook for Surviving and Thriving in the Platform Era” which dug into many of these issues and how publishers/agencies are managing the inherent tradeoffs.

The session included Jarrod Dicker (Head of Commercial Product and Technology, Washington Post), Paul Marcum (President, Truffle Pig), Michael Shane (Global Head of Digital Innovation, Bloomberg Media), with Lorne Brown (President, SintecMedia) moderating. All participants offered highly specific examples of their decision-making and what’s working for them.

Watch the video (37 minutes, 27 seconds).

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Mobile video usage is exploding as smartphones proliferate, adoption of unlimited data plans grows and social platforms dominate. In this context, optimizing mobile video monetization is more important than ever. At our recent Online Video Ad Summit, our panel “How to Monetize Mobile Video’s Coming Explosion” explored the various opportunities and challenges mobile video represents. These include the context, measurement, fragmentation, ad formats, ad load, viewers’ expectations and lots more.

The session included Brian Danzis (Head of Global Video Monetization, Spotify), Romain Job (GM, Americas, Smart AdServer), Justin Fadgen (VP, Business Development, Beachfront Media) and Mike Law (EVP, Managing Director of Video Investments, Dentsu Aegis Network U.S.) with Tim Hanlon (CEO, The Vertere Group) moderating.

Watch the video (35 minutes, 30 seconds).

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