VideoNuze Posts

NBCU is enabling clients to buy national TV ads using a self-serve programmatic TV approach. The new private market arrangement is powered by technology provider 4C. NBCU already works with AOL, TubeMogul and Videology to enabling programmatic buying of its ad inventory. The first client using the self-service approach is Target, which will be able to meld its first-party customer data with NBCU’s own audience data to target certain viewers with ads.

Target’s agency of record is GroupM’s Essence, which is where Adam Gerber, formerly SVP of Client Development and  Communications at ABC, was recently appointed SVP of Investment for North America.

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PeopleTV is aggressively pursuing its ad-free, OTT strategy by leveraging its well-known People brand, deep intellectual property and innovative original programming. PeopleTV is the new brand for the People/Entertainment Weekly (PEN) brand that was launched a year ago. Susanne Mei, PeopleTV’s GM, told me in a briefing that “PEN” didn’t have any inherent meaning to its target audiences, so to simplify things, the network has adopted the PeopleTV brand though ET content will remain integral to the content strategy.

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I’m pleased to present the 388th edition of the VideoNuze podcast with my weekly partner Colin Dixon of nScreenMedia.

Colin was at the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) in Amsterdam for much of the past week and on today’s podcast he shares some of his top observations. These include how TV networks are moving online, how blended subscription/ad-supported business models are being used, and the role of artificial intelligence, among others.

We then shift to review recent research I’ve written about (here and here) from Adobe, Limelight and Pew quantifying how younger viewers are embracing streaming services at the expense of pay-TV. Of course this isn’t a new trend, but it is clearly accelerating.

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Can an entertainment-centric skinny bundle succeed? That question will be answered soon when a new service including TV networks from Discovery, Viacom, AMC, A+E and Scripps launches, according to a recent WSJ report. The service will be called “Philo” which is the same name as the technology provider that will power it.

Skinny bundles have received a huge amount of attention over the past couple of years as a lower cost approach the pay-TV industry is using to retain would-be cord-cutters. However, skinny bundles have faced the vexing question of whether to include expensive sports networks in their offers, which in turn pressure already minuscule profit margins.

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A new survey from SintecMedia indicates that a majority of TV executives believe their organizations are either not well prepared to sell advanced TV and digital video ads in one streamlined process (35%), or aren’t sure about their ability to do so (29%). Conversely 41% felt that their organizations are very well prepared to do so.

The new data comes as viewers, especially younger ones, are shifting their consumption to online in record numbers. Consequently, the need to reach audiences across screens, however they may be watching, is critical. That a combined 64% of executives are either not sure or not confident in their ability to sell cross screen ads in a streamlined manner is a worrisome data point.

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Last Wednesday I shared research highlights from Adobe and Limelight showing how millennials and younger audiences are shifting their viewership to online sources. Later that day I noticed new data from Pew Research that adds to the theme and clarifies the big generational divide that is opening up over pay-TV subscriptions.

According to Pew, 61% of 18-29 year-old Americans it surveyed say that streaming services are the primary way they watch TV, vs. 31% cite pay-TV and 5% cite a digital antenna. 18-29 year-olds are the only age group where streaming surpasses pay-TV. Even one age group up, 30-49 year-olds still favor pay-TV over streaming, 52% to 37%. For older Americans, it’s even more skewed: for 50-64 year-olds, it’s 70% to 10% and for 65+ year-olds, it’s 84% to 5%. Overall, pay-TV is the primary way to watch TV for 59% of Americans, compared to 28% for streaming and 9% antenna.

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I’m pleased to present the 387th edition of the VideoNuze podcast with my weekly partner Colin Dixon of nScreenMedia.

Earlier this week Apple introduced Apple TV 4K, but as Colin notes, it’s really a catch-up product, as Roku, for example has had this capability in its top of the line Ultra since last year. More important to Colin is that Apple’s decision to raise the price of the Apple TV 4K to $179 for the 32GB version means its $80 more than the Ultra and $120 more than the Roku Premiere, which also delivers 4K, but not HDR.

All of this has Colin wondering whether Apple’s strategy is really just to target its loyalists with the Apple TV 4K, rather than aggressively seeking market share, as Roku, Amazon and Google have all done with their devices. Widespread adoption has clear advantages as we discuss.

Staying with the connected TV theme, we then transition to other news this week that Comcast has added YouTube to its X1 set-top box as it continues its “aggregator of aggregators” strategy. I’ve given it a spin and share a quick review of how it adds value to the X1 experience.

Listen in to learn more!
 
Click here to listen to the podcast (23 minutes, 20 seconds)

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Early bird discounted registration is now available for VideoNuze’s SHIFT // 2017 Programmatic Video & TV Advertising Summit on Wednesday, November 29th in NYC. This will be our 3rd annual SHIFT conference, with last year’s event drawing 400+ attendees and 50 executive speakers.

Twelve industry-leading companies are on board as sponsors, including Title Partner FreeWheel; Premier Partners  SpotX, VertaMedia and Videology; Headline Partners 4C Insights, Beachfront Media, Cadent, Cedato, SintecMedia, Smart AdServer and Vemba plus Branding Partner Roku.

I’m very grateful that all of these companies are supporting SHIFT. There are additional sponsorship opportunities available; please contact me if you’d like to learn more.

SHIFT is entirely focused on how data-enablement and automation are revolutionizing video and TV advertising. eMarketer estimates that spending on programmatic video and TV (including addressable ads) will reach nearly $16 billion in 2018. Every macro industry trend suggests that for video advertising to be sustainable, it must become more targeted, efficient and effective. This is why programmatic approaches are gaining momentum.

The SHIFT program will include a mix of keynote interviews, panel discussions, fireside chats and research presentations. The goal is to provide attendees with insights and data that are valuable in both day-to-day and longer-range planning. Stay tuned for more information about the program and our initial group of speakers.

Learn more and register now!