VideoNuze Posts

New research from video ad tech provider VideoAmp reveals that advertisers and agencies are bullish on planning and buying ads across linear TV, VOD and online video, but that challenges remain. Fully 85% of buyers believe that TV and online video ads are either somewhat or extremely complementary, something I’ve long-believed.  

66% of buyers said they are already leveraging digital data in their linear TV buys, while 57% said that they are targeting TV viewers across digital screens and devices. Meanwhile 74% cited accuracy in planning and execution across TV and video as benefiting from holistic buying.

continue reading

Seeking to move beyond connected and smart TVs, Roku has announced its Whole Home Entertainment Licensing Program aimed at expanding into audio products. The program is meant to allow third-party manufacturers to build smart soundbars and smart speakers to connect to Roku TVs via Roku Connect software that runs in the home. Roku said that TCL is its lead OEM partner and will unveil its first device at CES (TCL is one of the original Roku TV OEMs as well).

In addition, Roku also intends to introduce the Roku Entertainment Assistant, which will be a free update to the Roku operating system. Both the assistant and the Roku Connect software will be launched this fall. The assistant will allow users to navigate Roku devices with voice commands and play audio even if the Roku TV isn’t even on. The assistant looks like it will be positioned as an alternative to Amazon’s Alexa, which has become an early leader in voice navigation.

continue reading

In 2017 Amazon continued launching into new businesses as it leveraged its massive scale and resources to disrupt the status quo. As we look ahead to 2018, online video adverting appears to be yet another juicy opportunity for Amazon to pursue, as all the pieces seem to be falling into place.

As background, Amazon is already investing heavily in ad tech and ad sales staff. Of course, ads and recommendations have long been a part of the Amazon shopping experience, with text and banner ads popping up following searches and on product pages. But video ads give the company a whole new opportunity.

continue reading

I'm pleased to present the 400th edition of the VideoNuze podcast with my weekly partner Colin Dixon of nScreenMedia.

In this week’s podcast Colin and I discuss our top 10 online video stories of 2017. It’s been another incredibly busy year with tons of industry innovation and progress. As always, it has been a lot of fun to analyze all of this and report on it. Let us know what you think of our choices, whether you agree or disagree!

Listen in to learn more!
 
Click here to listen to the podcast (35 minutes, 45 seconds)

Click here for previous podcasts

Click here to add the podcast feed to your RSS reader.

The VideoNuze podcast is also available in iTunes...subscribe today!

Unless there’s some big news, this will be my last post for 2017.

Happy Holidays to all!

Coincidentally, while I was in Israel a couple of weeks ago for the Video Trends conference, the country’s Antitrust Authority opened an investigation into Google and its dominance of the Internet advertising market as a restraint of trade.

The investigation was prompted by a complaint from Artimedia, a global company that entered the Israeli online video advertising market 3 years ago. Artimedia is backed by Singaporean investors, mainly by Mr. Ching Chiat Kwong, chairman and CEO of Oxley Holdings, which is publicly traded in Singapore Exchange market (SGX:5UX). I interviewed Artimedia’s CEO Gal Turjeman to learn more about the investigation. Following is an edited transcript.

continue reading

Below are the final two session videos from our recent SHIFT // Programmatic Video & TV Ad Summit.

First up is “Bringing the Precision of the Digital Age to Television” which was kicked off with a short presentation by Scott Ferber (Chairman and CEO, Videology) showcasing research on key challenges to accelerating programmatic TV. Following his presentation, Scott joined a panel I moderated, with Larry Allen (VP of Ad Innovation and Programmatic Solutions, Turner Ad Sales) and Andrew Feigenson (CEO, Simmons Research) also participating.

The second session is “Trending Now: What’s Ahead for Programmatic Video and TV?” which included Paul Alfieri (Chief Marketing Officer, Cross MediaWorks), Rob Byrnes (VP, Digital Planning, National Geographic), Rob Cukierman (VP, Sales Strategy & Partnerships, Vevo), Stephen Strong (Head of Revenue, Newsy), Tore Tellefsen (VP of TV Solutions, DataXu), with Chris Karl (CEO, VertaMedia) moderating.

Watch the session videos now!

Watch the session videos now!

If you’ve ever streamed a live sports event and simultaneously tuned into it on TV, you’ve immediately noticed the latency in the live stream. I’ve tried this a number of times and found the latency can be as much as 45-60 seconds.

For example, last week I streamed the Thursday night football game to my iPad using Amazon, while also watching on TV, and the latency was around 10-12 seconds, which was actually quite good. This may be part of a larger trend that bodes well for live streaming especially as more sporting events move online and to mobile.

To get more perspective on the issue, I recently spoke with Alexander Leschinsky, Co-Founder and Managing Director, G&L Geißendörfer & Leschinsky GmbH, which provides systems integration and managed services for public broadcasters in Germany. Alexander has deployed numerous live streaming events since 2000 and has worked extensively on the latency issue in sports streaming.

continue reading

At our SHIFT // Programmatic Video & TV Ad Summit a couple weeks ago we had two sessions that were connected: one that focused on executing the roadmap for success in audience buying and one that focused on maximizing data’s ROI.

Panelists for the audience buying panel included Gabe Bevilacqua (SVP of Product Management, Advanced Advertising, Viacom), Jason DeMarco (VP, Audience and Data Solutions, A+E Networks), Anupam Gupta (Chief Product Officer, 4C Insights) and Adam Hecht (VP, Monetization, SintecMedia), with Mary Ann Halford (Senior Advisor, FTI Consulting), moderating.

Panelists for the maximizing data’s ROI panel included Scott Ashby (Sr. Director, Advanced Ad Products, Fox Networks Group), Judith Hammerman (SVP, Data Solutions & Programmatic Solutions, Time Inc.), Mark Risis (Head of Global Data Partnerships, IBM Watson Advertising), Damian Garbaccio (Global Chief Revenue Officer, Nielsen Marketing Cloud), with Brian Leder (Partner and Chief Strategy Officer, Promatica), moderating.

Watch the session videos now!

Watch the session videos