VideoNuze Posts

Ten years ago, in my pre-VideoNuze days, I wrote “A World Awash in Video,” for my then once per month e-newsletter. Based on numerous recentIy announced initiatives, I predicted that we were “on the cusp of experiencing an explosion in the quantity of high-quality video available” and that all of these choices would create a “golden age of video.”

Of course that was all before Netflix, Amazon, YouTube and many others exploded. My main premise - that broadband’s open platform, which removed the traditional friction of reaching audiences - was a powerful catalyst that would fuel a massive escalation of video production.

Indeed, there’s no doubt that we have more choices than ever, but reviewing last week’s news, it’s clear we ain’t seen nothing yet. We are on the brink of being even more awash in video than ever. And one big difference vs. 10 years ago is that today’s boom is driven by companies that all have extraordinary resources and very strong incentives to invest heavily in video.

Here’s a quick recap:

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I’m pleased to present the 369th edition of the VideoNuze podcast with my weekly partner Colin Dixon of nScreenMedia.

First, we’d like to thank this week’s podcast sponsor Brightcove,  which has their annual PLAY conference coming up in Boston the week of May 22nd. It’s a great show with lots of valuable sessions. I’ll be interviewing Stacey Shepatin, EVP, Director of National Video Investments at Trillia / Hill Holliday in a spotlight session focusing on the changing world of premium video ad buying. Learn more here and note, the first 50 visitors receive a Brightcove PLAY t-shirt!

Earlier this week, Hulu With Live TV launched in beta, a year after initial reports about it surfaced. On today’s podcast we discuss some of the pros and cons of Hulu With Live TV and how it compares in the ultra-crowded skinny bundle market. Colin was also able to take Hulu With Live TV for a quick spin and shares his initial impressions of the service, particularly how it stacks up against DirecTV Now, which he’s been using for a while.

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On yesterday’s Time Warner Q1 ’17 earnings call, HBO’s CEO Richard Plepler said that the company’s content licensing deal with Amazon would not be renewed and therefore would expire at the end of 2018. The deal was originally announced in April, 2014 and allowed Amazon to include iconic series like “The Sopranos,” “The Wire,” “Deadwood” and others in its Prime Video service.

Although Plepler cited “an acceleration in our digital business” as the reason for the decision, I believe that the more important driver at work is a repositioning of how the immensely valuable HBO will be used when AT&T’s acquisition of HBO parent Time Warner occurs later this year (assuming regulatory approval is granted, which I think is very likely).

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As expected, Hulu announced its skinny bundle offering today at its NewFront/Upfront presentation. Dubbed “Hulu With Live TV,” and priced at $39.99 per month, the service includes 50+ live and on-demand channels, 50 hours of DVR recording, 2 concurrent streams and 6 profiles.  

Hulu With Live TV is the latest skinny bundle to come to market, joining Sling TV, DirecTV Now, YouTube TV, PlayStation Vue and others rumored still to come from Comcast, Verizon, etc. All of these skinny bundles are vying for a slice of the approximately 15-20 million broadband-only homes in the U.S. (and growing). And though they won’t say it, they’re also looking to draw some of the approximately 95 million existing pay-TV subscribers who are questioning the value of their expensive multichannel bundle as their viewership moves to SVOD services like Netflix, Amazon and others.

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Don't miss out on a chance to win a 55-inch TCL 4K Roku TV by registering early for the 7th annual VideoNuze Online Video Ad Summit on Wednesday, June 14th in NYC.

The Video Ad Summit program is highlighted by our afternoon keynote discussion with Brian Lesser, CEO of GroupM North America, who will be interviewed by Matt Spiegel, Managing Director, Marketing and Technology Solutions at MediaLink on “The New Rules of Video Advertising.”

Over 30 executives are already confirmed to speak, from industry leaders Bloomberg Media, Bonnier, Hill Holliday, IAB, Initiative, Publicis Media, Roku, Trusted Media Brands, Turner Broadcasting, The Washington Post, Universal McCann, Pfizer, Reuters, USA Today Network, VEVO and many others.

Last year's Ad Summit drew over 400 attendees and I expect similar attendance this year too, so register early to reserve your place!

Many thanks to the 15 industry-leading companies on board so far as sponsors, including exclusive Title Partner FreeWheel; Premier Partners Comcast Technology Solutions, Extreme Reach, Verizon Digital Media Services, VertaMedia and Videology; Headline Partners Beachfront Media, Cedato, SintecMedia, Smart AdServer and Vemba, and Branding Partners Brightcove, JW Player, Roku and SpotX.

Learn more and register now!

OpenSlate, which provides contextual data on YouTube channels to 600+ advertisers and agencies, has raised a $7 million round led by North Base Media and hired 2 new senior executives.

New COO JoAnna Foyle was most recently SVP of Enterprise Platform Services at AOL and will oversee client services, account management, enterprise partnerships and business operations at OpenSlate. Brian Quinn takes over as President of OpenSlate, a newly-created role, heading up domestic and international sales, business development and strategic partnerships. He was most recently Chief Revenue and Innovation officer at Triad Retail Media, which was acquired by WPP/Xaxis last October.

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Netflix’s multi-billion dollar investment in original shows is a huge part of the company’s narrative, but it turns out that in Q1 ’17, 85% of its total U.S. streams were actually licensed, non-original shows, according to new research from 7Park Data. The firm believes that while viewers wait for new seasons of originals to appear, they spend time catching up on prior episodes of licensed shows.

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I’m pleased to present the 368th edition of the VideoNuze podcast with my weekly partner Colin Dixon of nScreenMedia.

Colin and I were both at the NABShow in Las Vegas earlier this week and on this week’s podcast we share some of our observations. Colin sees the industry moving from blocking and tackling to a focus on making digital business models work and he provides a number of examples.

I observed a similar theme, especially in recent research data that I highlight which shows the new normal of video consumption. I also share points from a keynote interview I did at NAB with Jim Lanzone, Chief Digital Officer of CBS, in which Jim explained how the company has transitioned from its broadcast roots to being a digital media powerhouse with its All Access and CBSN services leading the way.

Listen in to learn more!
 
Click here to listen to the podcast (23 minutes, 34 seconds)

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