VideoNuze Posts

I’m pleased to present the 398th edition of the VideoNuze podcast with my weekly partner Colin Dixon of nScreenMedia. Many thanks to Brightcove, our podcast sponsor, which, with SpotX and the IAB Tech Lab, shared a great presentation at last week’s SHIFT event about how server side ad insertion complements programmatic (session video is here).

First up on this week’s podcast, Colin shares his thoughts about why programming costs are likely to continue rising for pay-TV operators, counter to Charter’s CEO Tom Rutledge belief that they’ll moderate. Colin details his reasoning, which could portend higher subscriber bills and therefore more cord-cutting.

Next, we discuss Netflix’s surprised reaction to the popularity of downloading among its subscribers. I had a laugh out loud moment reading about it earlier this week, since Netflix was steadfastly against downloading until a year ago, when, having been leap-frogged by Amazon, it finally began offering the feature. Netflix’s bias against downloading has been really bizarre and showed a real disconnect in understanding its subscribers.  

Speaking of reversals, Facebook has had a change of heart about running pre-rolls and now plans to introduce them in Watch. Colin and I discuss why Facebook made the change and what it means for the industry.

Listen in to learn more!
 
Click here to listen to the podcast (21 minutes, 57 seconds)

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One of the highlights of last week’s SHIFT // Programmatic Video & TV Ad Summit was a joint presentation from Brightcove (Mike Green, VP, Marketing and Business Development, Media), SpotX (Kevin Schaum, Sr. Director, Mobile and Connected TV) and the IAB Tech Lab (Amit Shetty,  Sr. Director, Video & Audio Products) on how server side ad insertion (SSAI) adds value to programmatic for both linear and on-demand advertising.

For those not familiar with SSAI (also known as “ad stitching”), this is a process for inserting ads into a piece of content (frequently long-form). There are multiple benefits of SSAI including better user experiences, reduced buffering, extended device reach, elimination of ad blocking and lower cost of deployment. Mike, Kevin and Amit elaborated on how these benefits are even more valuable for programmatic, especially in live and in skinny bundles, while also noting some of the key outstanding challenges.

The presentation clearly communicated how the industry needs to work together to evolve video advertising given new viewer behaviors, device proliferation and publishers’ pressures to fully monetize.

With the video now!

Watch the session video

At last week’s SHIFT // Programmatic Video & TV Ad Summit, Lauren Fisher, eMarketer’s principal analyst, kicked off the day sharing her forecasts for both programmatic video and programmatic TV ad spending in the U.S. Following her presentation, I interviewed Lauren and the audience asked a number of questions.

Overall, Lauren sees strong growth ahead for programmatic video, which will account for 76.5%, or over $13.4 billion of online video advertising by 2019. She’s particularly bullish about the role of mobile, which she sees growing to 60% of programmatic video by 2019. Lauren is also optimistic about connected TV’s opportunity, though she still see it as early in its development.

Programmatic TV is not nearly as far along, with Lauren forecasting $3.8 billion in spending by 2019, representing 5% of overall TV ad spending. Lauren also reduced her 2018 forecast to $2 billion, which is roughly half of what she forecast for 2018 when she presented at SHIFT 2016. We discuss all the reasons behind her revisions.

Watch the session video now!

Watch the session video

There’s more momentum behind video ads getting shorter. Video ad tech provider Genesis Media, has introduced a new 6-second ad unit, which advertisers only pay for when fully viewed, as verified by Moat. The Cost Per Viewable Six or “CPv6” unit is meant to provide a better viewer experience, especially in mobile, while giving advertisers a more effective format than the standard 15 and 30-second ad.

Joe Grover, Genesis Media’s president and chief marketing officer, told me in a briefing that the company has been testing the CPv6 format for months and that “publishers love it.” Joe explained that publishers are very sensitive to abandonment by viewers due to lengthy ads which in turn causes the viewer’s lifetime value to decrease. With viewers increasingly impatient to get to the content, Joe said there’s been a “groundswell” of interest in shorter ads over the past 6-9 months.

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Independent programmatic mobile video ad platform Beachfront Media has sold a majority stake to two private equity firms, Growth Catalyst Partners and PSP Capital, a fund started by Penny Pritzker who was previously Secretary of Commerce in the Obama administration. Deal terms were not announced.

As part of the investment, Bill Jennings, previously president of Page Science, will become CEO of Beachfront, with prior colleague Rich O’Connor becoming CFO. Beachfront co-founder and CEO Frank Sinton will become president, while is co-founder and wife Lisa Connell, will leave the business (both will remain owners).

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No surprise, at last week’s SHIFT // Programmatic Video & TV Ad Summit, the “duopoly” of Google and Facebook came up repeatedly on stage, mainly in the context of how they’re pursuing TV ad dollars and what the TV industry is doing to defend itself. In fact, the whole concept of “programmatic TV” - TV networks data-enabling and automating /streamlining the ad transaction process - pretty much captures what the industry is doing to become more competitive. 

But as I listened to and participated in the SHIFT sessions, one consideration kept coming back to me as possibly being the biggest single influence over how TV advertising evolves in the coming years: the idea that Google and Facebook are single entities, while the TV industry is fragmented with many different powerful players, each with their own agendas, capabilities and resources.

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I’m pleased to present the 397th edition of the VideoNuze podcast with my weekly partner Colin Dixon of nScreenMedia. Many thanks to Brightcove, this week’s podcast sponsor.

This past Wednesday was our 3rd annual SHIFT // Programmatic Video & TV Ad Summit in NYC. There were so many great insights shared by speakers and in today’s podcast, I highlight (and we discuss) 4 main themes that recurred throughout the day.

Taken together, the themes reveal just how significant the challenges are that the ad-supported TV industry now faces. Changes in viewer behavior, ad buyer expectations, competitive forces and technology have created what a number of speakers characterized as an “existential threat” to ad-supported TV’s future.

As Colin and I discuss, there are no silver bullets that neatly address these challenges. The industry is trying a lot of different things, but it’s not clear yet what these efforts will add up to.

Listen in to learn more!
 
Click here to listen to the podcast (25 minutes, 4 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!

Join over 350 industry colleagues at our 3rd annual SHIFT // Programmatic Video & TV Ad Summit, tomorrow, Wednesday, November 29th in NYC.

Over 40 industry leaders will be speaking on 11 sessions, including A+E Networks, Amplifi, Bloomberg Media, Discovery, eMarketer, Fox Networks, Meredith, National Geographic, Publicis Media, Roku, Time, Turner, Vevo, Viacom, plus many others.

Our 2 amazing keynote guests are Mike Rosen, EVP, Portfolio Sales & Strategy, NBCUniversal, who will be interviewed by Matt Prohaska from Prohaska Consulting and Jon Stimmel, Chief Investment Officer, Universal McCann, who will be interviewed by Matt Spiegel, Managing Director, MediaLink.

Overall, SHIFT promises to be a premier day of learning and networking.

All paid registrants are entered to win 1 of 3 Roku Ultra 4K players. Perfect for yourself or for a stocking stuffer gift this holiday season.

Many thanks to our 14 generous sponsors including Title Partner FreeWheel; Premier Partners SpotX, VertaMedia and Videology; Headline Partners 4C Insights, Beachfront Media, Brightcove, Cadent, Cedato, SintecMedia, Smart AdServer, Vemba; and Branding Partners Gotham Ads and Roku.

Learn more and register now!