VideoNuze Posts

Video app technology provider You.i TV said it will power History’s new TV Everywhere app for connected TVs, using the React Native development platform. React Native is an open source, javascript application platform backed by Facebook. While originated mainly for mobile use, Trisha Cooke, You.i TV’s head of marketing, told me in a briefing that React Native is gaining momentum in CTV as well, for its ability to leverage underlying code for iOS and Android.

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In another sign of how important connected TVs are becoming for ad-supported content, supply-side platform SpotX announced this morning that it is offering advertisers enhanced audience measurement for ad campaigns on connected TV devices using Nielsen data.

Advertisers will be able to measure the unduplicated and incremental reach of their campaigns across SpotX campaigns on CTV alongside their traditional linear TV ads. Campaign measurement will include data on reach, frequency and GRPs of CTV ads. The Nielsen data will also be used for insights on CTV ads relative to desktop and mobile ads as well as linear TV.

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VideoNuze readers know I’ve long been skeptical about the value proposition of virtual multichannel video programming distributors (“vMVPDs”) or “skinny bundles” as they’re commonly known. But as I touched on in last Friday’s podcast, based on some significant changes over the past year, I’m becoming more optimistic about skinny bundles’ prospects and their broader impact on pay-TV.

To take a step back, 3 main concerns have driven my skepticism about skinny bundles: (1) their incomplete channel lineups (the “Swiss cheese” challenge of too many holes, or missing TV networks) which reduces their appeal relative to pay-TV’s traditional multichannel lineups, (2) the dubious profitability of skinny bundles, especially given underlying programming costs, which raises the question of just how committed the big parent companies of skinny bundles are to them, and (3) viewers’ migration away from linear TV in favor of SVOD, which is driving up cord-cutting.

Here’s what’s changed:

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I’m pleased to present the 417th edition of the VideoNuze podcast, with my weekly partner Colin Dixon of nScreenMedia. We’re grateful to this week’s podcast sponsor, Ad-ID, which is the standard for identifying advertising assets. Ad-ID has recently released a new paper with examples of the value and importance of using a standard identifier. Learn more here.

On this week’s podcast, Colin and I analyze AT&T’s and Comcast’s video subscriber results for Q1 ’18, which were announced this week. AT&T has aggressively promoted its skinny bundle DirecTV Now, which gained 312K subscribers in Q1, more than offsetting the 188K loss for traditional DirecTV.

By contrast, because Comcast doesn’t have a meaningful skinny bundle (Xfinity Instant TV is mainly a broadcast TV package that also hasn’t been heavily promoted), it felt the full impact of losing 93K residential video subscribers.

While the underlying economics of skinny bundles remain questionable, AT&T has settled on a strategy of using their low-cost package to support their core wireless business. Multichannel pay-TV is a business that has contracting margins and accelerating subscriber defections. Colin and I speculate on whether Comcast should similarly embrace skinny bundles to support their core broadband business and have a meaningful alternative to provide to prospective cord-cutters.

Listen in to learn more!

 
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I’m excited to share that David Lawenda, EVP, Digital Sales and Sales Strategy at CBS, will be our keynote guest at the 8th annual VideoNuze Online Video Ad Summit on Tuesday, June 12th in NYC. David will be interviewed by Mike Shields, Advertising Editor at Business Insider about how CBS is extending its brand and tapping into new ad revenue streams through multiple digital initiatives. Prior to his role at CBS, David was Head of U.S. Global Marketing Solutions at Facebook and President of Ad Sales and Marketing at Univision.

In addition to David, over 25 other industry executives are already on board to speak, from Bloomberg Media, Bonnier, Dentsu Aegis, Ellation, ESPN, Essence, FOX, Group Nine Media, Havas, Hulu, IAB, Initiative, Newsy, Roku, Vevo and many others.

You can save $100 on early bird discounted tickets now and double your chances* of winning a 55-inch Roku TV, generously provided by Roku.

Don’t miss out, learn more and register now!

(*Early bird registrants get 2 entries for the Roku TV drawing.)

Some good news this morning for advertisers and content providers trying to navigate the shift from linear TV to on-demand viewing on connected TV devices. Roku has released data from research it did with MAGNA, IPG Media Lab and 4 advertisers (Applebee’s, H&M, McCormick and Truvia), finding that video ads run on Roku were 67% more effective per exposure in driving purchase intent than those on traditional broadcast and cable TV.

The study also found that to drive comparable brand lift, only 7 exposures were needed on Roku, vs. 10 on linear TV. Also interesting is that advertising on Roku appears to have a halo effect, with consumers considering brands that ran video ads on Roku to be twice as innovative as those just on linear TV.

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Marketing technology provider 4C has launched Scope, a platform for unifying cross-channel advertising across digital and TV. Scope allows marketers to gain audience insights, execute campaigns across screens and gauge performance, all via a self-service workflow. Scope spans premium content in Apple News, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, NBCUniversal, Mediaocean, Pinterest, Snapchat and Twitter.

Scope is aimed at helping marketers succeed with audience-based campaigns managed through 4 modules. First is 4C’s “Brand Compass,” a new tool which lets marketers access persona-based insights which are based on 4C’s Affinity Graph that combines TV, social and digital data on how people are connected to media, technology and each other.

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