VideoNuze Posts

Netflix released its Q2 ’15 earnings late yesterday, adding 3.28 million subscribers globally, almost twice as many as the 1.69 million it added in Q2 ’14. Everyone knows that Netflix has been expanding fast internationally, but what was most intriguing about the Q2 report was that Netflix added 900K subscribers in the U.S. vs. its forecast of 600K. The 900K compares with 570K U.S. adds in Q2 ’14, 630K in Q2 ’13 and 530K in Q2 ’12.

In other words, in Q2 ’15 Netflix significantly broke out of a relatively narrow growth range it had been in over the past 3 years in the seasonally-weak second quarter. The 900K add is even more noteworthy because Netflix has almost twice as many U.S. subscribers (42.3 million) now than it did 3 years ago (23.9 million). The law of large numbers suggests the bigger a company gets, the harder it is to achieve even comparable unit growth, much less greater growth.

continue reading

At the 2015 Video Ad Summit, we reprised a session from 2014, focused on NewFronts, Upfronts and the Ongoing Battle for Video Ad Budgets, including Jackie Kulesza, EVP, Group Director, Digital Acceleration, Starcom and Adam Shlachter, Chief Investment Officer, Digitas Lbi, with Tim Hanlon from The Verrtere Group moderating.

The session included a deep dive into why the Upfronts are still important to advertisers even as online video advertising spending has soared. Still, Jackie and Adam agreed that advertisers are seeking more flexibility than ever to buy in real-time and optimize their campaigns, which has put huge pressure on the Upfront process.

The session also touched on the important role of data, why price is still a critical issue, how measurement challenges are still holding back true cross-platform audience buying, how advertisers are adapting and much more.

Watch the interview now (34 minutes, 10 seconds)

Mobile ad platform Opera Mediaworks has launched Opera House, a creative studio, to help brands and agencies create compelling mobile video ads based on best practices and data. Opera House includes 60+ professionals around the world who will work with brands and agencies to help optimize mobile video campaigns for mobile’s unique features such as the camera, gyroscope, vibration and GPS.

Beyond creative and technical development assistance, Opera will also test the campaigns at increasing scale and across multiple devices to ensure successful launch. Specific ad unit executions could include native video, short-form video and selfie ads.

continue reading

Revenue in the U.S. from premium OTT services could double or triple from $4 billion in 2014 to $8-12 billion in 2018, according to new research study from Ooyala and Vindicia, which was conducted by MTM.

The study, based on input from 45 content and service providers, forecasts that just a small number of OTT providers, mainly existing ones, will dominate. Netflix is seen as the biggest of the group, although its market share will decline from 85% currently to approximately 50% in 2018. However, respondents were optimistic about the opportunity for niche OTT providers such as sports, kids, specialized entertainment and personality-drive services where they foresee 15-20 providers each having over 100K subscribers.

continue reading

A new study from research firm SmithGeiger and Net2TV has found that just 18% of 18-34 year-olds’ video viewing time is now spent with traditional broadcast and cable TV. Fully 61% of their viewing has shifted to digital devices. For 35-44 year-olds, 27% of total video viewing is on traditional broadcast and cable TV. The data is the latest in a well-documented trend toward viewership fragmentation driven by OTT services and the proliferation of digital devices.

continue reading on VideoNuze iQ

Tribune Publishing, seeking to leverage its deep roots in content syndication, has unveiled TCA Video Network, a new multiscreen video syndication service. TCA Video Network is part of Tribune Content Agency, which is a division of Tribune Publishing.

TCA Video Network is powered by Beachfront Media whose founder and CEO Frank Sinton told me that the deal gives Tribune access to the full breadth of Beachfront’s syndication, monetization and mobile app development platforms. Frank emphasized that Beachfront has been fully focused on mobile, which, along with data, are core to TCA Video Network’s strategy.

continue reading

Comcast has announced a new $15/month online video service called Stream, offering yet another choice to consumers not interested in the full multichannel TV bundle.

Stream will be available only to Comcast’s broadband subscribers on a no-commitment, monthly basis, with no equipment required. Stream will include broadcast networks and HBO plus Streampix and a cloud DVR. It will be available only on laptops, tablets and smartphones, so no TV access. And the linear feeds will only be available in-home, though it sounds like recordings will be viewable out of home. Stream will debut in Boston in late summer, then Seattle and Chicago later this year and elsewhere in 2016.

continue reading