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Complimentary Webinar on Monday, April 8th: "Demystifying Free vs. Paid Online Video"
Please join Colin Dixon, senior partner at The Diffusion Group and me for a complimentary webinar on Thursday, April 8th at 11 am PT/2pm ET titled "Demystifying Free vs. Paid Online Video." We will be joined by two special guests, Chris Wagner, EVP, Marketplace Strategy of NeuLion, a leading provider of technology and services to content owners and aggregators, and Jason Krebs, EVP of ScanScout, a leading video ad network.
Learn more and register now for this complimentary webinar
In this webinar we will examine all sides of the debate including the effectiveness of online subscription models, how well online video advertising is taking advantage of the Internet's unique interactivity/engagement, the pending influence of "TV Everywhere" rollouts and much more. Chris and Jason will share best practices and insights based on their companies' experiences. Colin and I will ask them questions and then open up the webinar for plenty of audience Q&A. If you're trying to get your head around online video business models, then this webinar will be a high-impact educational opportunity.
The webinar will also be a terrific lead-in session for many of the issues we will drill into 2 1/2 weeks later at the "VideoSchmooze" Broadband Video Leadership Evening in NYC on Monday, April 26th. The title for the panel at VideoSchmooze is "Money Talks: Is Online Video Shifting to a Paid Model?" Early bird discounted tickets are now available and I hope you'll be able to join us for both the webinar and VideoSchmooze.
This webinar is the 2nd of 6 in the "Demystifying" series that TDG and VideoNuze are presenting in 2010, sponsored exclusively by ActiveVideo Networks.
Categories: Events
Topics: NeuLion, ScanScout, TDG, VideoSchmooze, Webinar
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Is Hulu Now Blocking Access for Kylo Users? Yes, It Is.
No sooner did I post "With New Kylo Browser Convergence is Another Step Closer" this morning, than I've come to understand that Hulu programs are now not accessible through the Kylo browser. Hulu worked completely fine for me yesterday, but now when I go to watch a program on Hulu, I'm getting the text message, "Unfortunately this video is not available on your platform. We apologize for any inconvenience." Huh, what's going on here? Is Hulu blocking Kylo users' access to its programs? I've asked Hulu for a comment.
If Hulu is indeed doing this, it's a PR fiasco in the making for the site. Blocking access to its content would mean that Hulu is putting itself on the wrong side of convergence and risking turning off its users (not to mention censoring as if this were China). The episode recalls February, 2009, when Hulu demanded that boxee turn off access to Hulu at the request of its content partners. That tempest highlighted the artificially made quagmire that Hulu's owners find themselves in - eager to have Hulu boost their programs' viewership, so long as it remains on the computer and not on the TV.
With Kylo, Hulu will once again be called upon to justify how it's making decisions. For example, if I'm using Kylo on my computer, how is watching Hulu content any different than if I were using IE, Firefox, Safari, etc? And if I choose to connect my computer to a TV screen, how is that any different than if I connected it to a large monitor? In short, this is a hairball for Hulu.
Update: Hillcrest Labs, the company behind the new Kylo browser, has confirmed that Hulu is indeed preventing its content from being shown. The statement from Hillcrest's CEO Dan Simpkins:
"We have confirmed with Hulu that they are preventing the Kylo browser from playing Hulu videos. Prior to our formal launch, Hulu videos would play within the Kylo browser. Like Internet Explorer, Firefox or Safari, the Kylo browser is simply a Web browser that enables consumers to visit any site on the Web. We have tremendous respect for Hulu, and we hope that a continued dialog might influence their thinking."
Meanwhile Hulu seems to be in a bunker. I haven't heard back from them, nor has anyone else it appears. I have confirmed from ABC (one of Hulu's owners) that it found out about Hulu's action when everyone else did, which means that ABC is not the instigator here. Much more on this story as it unfolds.
Update 2: Now Tuesday morning and still no word back from Hulu. Nobody else seems to have heard from them either. It looks like their PR strategy is avoidance. That's a bad move because going mum just means that story continues to live (just ask Tiger).
Hulu's decision to block Kylo users is all about preventing Hulu viewership from migrating to TVs, which would undermine broadcast network economics. That's because Hulu, with its light ad load, still hasn't been able to prove its business model. The problem for Hulu - and the networks - is bigger than Kylo though as the push toward convergence between online video delivery and TV is going to be relentless (lots more on this tomorrow). Hulu is facing an escalating "Whac-a-mole" problem which will only lead to huge user frustration and increasingly tortured justifications.
What do you think? Post a comment now (no sign-in required).Categories: Aggregators, Technology
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With New Kylo Browser Convergence is Another Step Closer
This morning Hillcrest Labs is announcing its new "Kylo" browser, providing people who connect their computers to their TVs with an optimized and complete on-TV Internet browsing experience. Kylo is being offered as a free download by Hillcrest, the maker of the "Loop pointer," a clever "in-air" mouse. After downloading Kylo and connecting my Mac to my TV over the weekend, I was quickly navigating Kylo with a Loop. Taken together, Kylo and the Loop deliver an inexpensive, yet high-impact online video/TV convergence experience.
As Dan Simpkins, Hillcrest's CEO and founder told me last week, Kylo strives to deliver the simplicity required for a satisfying on-TV experience with enough of the most-often used features of computer-based browsing. As such, the first thing you notice about Kylo is that all of the buttons and text are a lot bigger than with standard browsers like IE, Firefox, Safari, Chrome, etc. The layout is also a lot cleaner, with all extraneous text and navigation found in these other browsers stripped away.
With Kylo you can navigate to any web site, either by clicking on any one of the 125 or so pre-set, scrollable logo buttons Kylo conveniently includes, or by using the on-screen keyboard. The keyboard takes a little getting used to, mainly because the Loop requires only minimal wrist gestures to move the pointer around. To be sure, typing on a virtual keyboard like this will never be as easy typing on a full keyboard, but then again the idea here is to eliminate the need for keyboard on your coffee table. My bigger issue (and really the only Kylo drawback I could find) is that the text box used for searching is relatively small and hard to read, at least on our 23-inch office TV. Kylo also allows standard browsing features like bookmarking, zooming and full screen viewing modes.
Hillcrest is looking to leverage the growing number of U.S. homes (estimates vary, but certainly in the millions already) that have connected their computers to their TVs. Some of these people are "cord-cutters" who have dropped their subscription TV service, but many more are just trying to enjoy Hulu, Netflix, YouTube or other online video sources on their TVs instead of solely on their computers. When I connected the 2 devices a while ago, one of the first things I realized is that because the computer is next to the TV, not to me, there's a new need created for a remote control to control the computer. Though I have the Apple remote, it offers only limited functionality.
Dan explained that while Kylo is free, Hillcrest's real objective here is to create stimulant for Loop sales. While you can navigate Kylo using any mouse, it's a whole lot easier (and cooler) with the Loop. Plus having the $99 Loop means you don't have to have a mouse and a mousepad on your coffee table. My kids and I got the knack of the Loop pretty quickly and we were able to watch Netflix and YouTube content right away. The Loop offers an inexpensive functionality upgrade especially in college dorms where the computer is now often the de facto TV.
The Kylo/Loop set-up is further evidence of the inexorable convergence of online video and TV. However, the underlying need to connect the computer to the TV shows that there are still inconveniences to be resolved. The ideal solution here is an all-in-one box that seamlessly blends online and on-air programming with all the Internet functionality users expect. For a variety of technology and business model-related reasons we are still years away from that solution. However as consumers adopt solutions like Kylo/Loop, pressure will build on service providers to deliver the all-in-one solution. That means that eventually (by end of this decade?) the distinctions between online and on-air will become meaningless.
What do you think? Post a comment now (no sign-in required).
Categories: Technology
Topics: Hillcrest Labs, Kylo
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Wrapping Up the YouTube-Viacom Court Documents Coverage
Wow, based on the extensive coverage of the newly disclosed court documents in the Viacom-YouTube copyright lawsuit, you'd almost think the business press hit the pause button on everything else going on yesterday to spend time reading the details. The combination of 2 heavyweight companies slugging it out, billions of dollars at stake and juicy, behind-the-scenes details finally revealed (like how the $1.6 YouTube acquisition largesse was shared) makes this an irresistible story with lots of legs.
I've only spent a little time reviewing the documents, but for those interested in the 360 degree immersion, following is some of the best coverage I've been reading, in no particular order. No doubt there's plenty more to come. And if you're a real glutton for punishment, just google "Viacom YouTube court documents" and you can spend your entire weekend reading everything!
Viacom Says YouTube Ignored Copyrights - NY Times
YouTube Accuses Viacom of Secretly Uploading Clips - Mediapost
Viacom, YouTube Trade Barbs in Copyright Feud - Multichannel News
Viacom and Google Trade Accusations - WSJ
YouTube Says Viacom Agents Secretly Uploaded Video, Then Lawyers Sued - AdAge
The Numbers Behind the World's Fastest Growing Web Site: YouTube's Finances Revealed - AllThingsD.com
Viacom, Google Air Dirty Laundry in Court Docs - CNET
Did YouTube Jilt Viacom for Google - NewTeeVee
Revealing Docs Emerge in Viacom, YouTube Spat - Variety
What do you think? Post a comment now (no sign-in required)Categories: Aggregators, Cable Networks
Topics: Google, Viacom, YouTube
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Google's 1 Gigabit Fiber Experiment is a PR Bonanza
I was deeply skeptical of Google's recently announced 1 gigabit/second fiber-to-the home experiment, but I will concede this: it appears to be influencing
the broadband Internet access discussion and is turning into a PR bonanza for the company. Consider 2 of the latest examples: Comcast, America's largest broadband ISP, announced this week that it would make 100 megabit/second speeds available to all customers within 12-18 months and the FCC's new broadband plan set a goal of 100 million U.S. homes having 100 mbps within 10 years and that all schools, hospitals and government building should have 1 gbps access - goals that seem influenced by Google's experiment.
Meanwhile, as my former colleague and astute industry watcher Bruce Leichtman pointed out to me this week, the press continues to lavish attention on Google's plan, giving it all kinds of free PR. Bloomberg BusinessWeek ran a long article praising the company's fiber plan as providing the impetus to other broadband ISPs to increase their speeds. And my hometown paper the Boston Globe ran a feature this week about the lengths to which towns across Massachusetts are going to be selected as one of the coveted few areas to have Google deploy its network. Though Google hasn't wired a single one of the 71.8 million U.S. homes that subscribed to broadband at the end of '09, you'd think from the goings-on that they were the dominant player driving the market. You gotta love how well the Google PR machine works.
What do you think? Post a comment now (no sign-in required)Categories: Broadband ISPs
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Kaltura Gives HTML5 Another Boost
HTML5, the next version of HTML, which seeks to make video more open and flexible, got another boost this week as Kaltura, the online video platform company, and its partners unveiled two new initiatives. Kaltura made available its HTML5 Video and Media JavaScript Library and also launched HTML5Video.org, a site that includes demos and related news.
Ron Yekutiel, Kaltura's Chairman and CEO explained to me that given the company's emphasis on open source, it was a natural to embrace HTML5. Ron sees HTML5 as allowing developers to treat video just like text and freeing video to run across platforms, devices and browsers without needing any plug-ins. One of HTML5's biggest benefits is that it works on the iPhone, which means developers using it avoid Apple's anti-Flash bias, while also gaining access to other smartphones. Still, Ron says Kaltura is "pro-choice" so if its customers want to use Flash or Silverlight, it will support those as well. Separately, HTML5 got another boost this week as Microsoft made available the first developer preview of IE9 (the next version of its widely-used browser) that offers extensive HTML5 support.
What do you think? Post a comment now (no sign-in required)Categories: Technology
Topics: HTML5, IE, Kaltura, Microsoft, Open Video Alliance, Wikimedia Foundation
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Potential Blockbuster Bankruptcy Another Reminder of Changed Movie Landscape
In case you missed it, this week Blockbuster, the once dominant movie rental chain, filed its 10K annual report with the SEC, in which it warned of "substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern," continuing on to say it may seek relief through a bankruptcy filing. A filing has been rumored for a while now, but until its annual report, Blockbuster has resisted acknowledging this path.
Aside from whatever else can be said about Blockbuster in recent years - vast over-expansion, poor financial management, slowness to respond to new
competitors like Netflix and Redbox - the company's potential bankruptcy is surely one of the most vivid reminders of how much the movie rental industry has changed in the last 10 years and how much it is yet to change in the next 10 years. Blockbuster will likely be remembered as a temporary player that drove wider movie access in the analog era, but then got crushed as rentals shifted in the digital era. The separate news this week of cable operators and studios beginning to vigorously promote VOD shows cable operators are determined not to be left behind, like Blockbuster has been, as the next chapter of movie rentals unfolds.
What do you think? Post a comment now (no sign-in required)Categories: Aggregators, Deals & Financings
Topics: Blockbuster
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VideoNuze Report Podcast #53 - March 19, 2010
Daisy Whitney and I are pleased to present the 53rd edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for March 19, 2010.
This week Daisy and I dig into my post from this past Wednesday, "The Battle Over Movie Rentals is Intensifying" in which I described a new $30 million ad campaign that launched this week to promote consumer awareness of movies accessible through cable TV operators' Video-on-Demand (VOD) initiatives. The campaign is being funded by 8 Hollywood studios and 8 cable operators and will run for the next 12 weeks.
In the post I noted how the so-called "day-and-date" availability of movies on VOD (simultaneous with their DVD release), plus the consumer convenience of immediate viewing on the TV, are key VOD differentiators. In today's podcast Daisy and I explore how compelling these differentiators actually are, and how other options such as Netflix, Amazon and iTunes compare. After trying to explain the nuances a bit further, Daisy's reaction was that this stuff is so confusing that "her head is swimming."
Daisy's hardly an amateur, so if that's her reaction, one can easily imagine how many consumers will react as well, as they are bombarded with movie rental offers. Trying to figure out what movie viewing option(s) best meet their needs is going to take some work. But hey, nobody ever said that having a lot of choices is necessarily a lot of fun! Listen in to learn more.
Click here to listen to the podcast (14 minutes, 45 seconds)
Click here for previous podcasts
The VideoNuze Report is available in iTunes...subscribe today!
Categories: Cable TV Operators, Podcasts, Video On Demand
Topics: Podcast, Video-on-Demand
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