VideoNuze Posts

Longtime VideoNuze readers will recall that nearly 7 years ago I started espousing the benefits of being able to download long-form video to mobile devices, so consumption could continue when offline or when only spotty or expensive wireless connections were available.

TiVo pioneered this capability with its Stream device, which initially let users download programming from their TiVo to an iOS device. As a user, this presented the valuable benefit of unlocking all my recorded content to watch on my iPad or iPhone wherever I was (planes, trains, etc).

Over the years a variety of SVOD providers have enabled downloading; Amazon was an early adopter and Netflix a reluctant, but ultimately innovative, adopter. Others like HBO Now, Showtime, Starz, CBS All Access, CuriosityStream and Crunchyroll all now allow viewers to download and watch offline. At the recent launch event for Disney+, company CEO Bob Iger said everything in the service will be downloadable (which is going to make long car trips with kids far more pleasurable!). I’m assuming downloading will be a staple of Apple TV+ too.

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Nearly half (49%) of online video ad impressions in Q1 ’19 were delivered on connected TVs according to new data from Extreme Reach’s Q1 '19 Video Benchmark Report, which is based on the company’s proprietary ad server. CTVs’ 49% share in Q1 ’19 was up from its 31% share in Q1 ’18. Every other device saw declines in video ad impressions year over year: Mobile from 33% to 25%, Desktop from 24% to 17% and Tablet from 11% to 7%.

As Extreme Reach notes in its analysis, there are multiple tailwinds helping drive up CTV ads: Over two-thirds of U.S. households owned a CTV device by end of 2018, ad-supported services like Hulu, Pluto TV, Tubi, The Roku Channel, etc. are proliferating and growing their usage. vMVPDs like YouTube TV, Hulu with Live TV, etc are expanding their subscribers and viewing times with linear TV consumption. These and other factors are growing CTVs’ supply, while enhanced targeting/attribution are enticing buyers.

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Leading programmatic video provider Cedato recently launched its Video Content Unit (“VCU”) an integrated solution that aims to simplify publishers’ video creation and monetization processes. VCU can be enabled by publishers by adding a line of code to their web sites. Doing so incorporates the fast-loading Cedato video player and content feeds from Cedato’s syndicated video library and the Cedato Video Composer.

The Video Composer is a critical part of the new VCU. The Composer uses AI to quickly create customized video content from the publisher’s assets, and doesn’t require any dedicated editing or setup. The result is a high volume flow of proprietary content that is relevant for users and cost efficient to deliver via Cedato’s lightweight, fast-loading video player. Programmatic video monetization is powered by Cedato’s header bidding solution.

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The final two sessions of the May 29th Video Advertising Summit included an interview with two agency executives discussing the convergence of digital and TV, and then a panel on best practices for monetizing the cross-platform experience.

Below is the agency session, which includes Jeremy Crandall (SVP, Advanced Video Solutions, Publicis Media) and Christine Peterson (Managing Director, Digital Investment Lead U.S., Mindshare), with Matt Prohaska (CEO and Principal, Prohaska Consulting) interviewing.

Below is the best practices for monetizing the cross-platform experience session, which includes Jennifer Cohen (SVP, Entertainment Content Partnerships, Ignite, WarnerMedia Ad Sales), Luis de la Parra (SVP, Partner Solutions, Univision), Gila Wilensky (SVP, Media Activation, North America, Essence) with Eric John (Deputy Director, Video, IAB), moderating.

I’m pleased to present the 472nd edition of the VideoNuze podcast, with my weekly partner Colin Dixon of nScreenMedia.

Quibi is making a big bet that viewers are ready to subscribe to a premium mobile video service. This week Colin and I discuss where Quibi might fit into the increasingly competitive video landscape. A critical variable is how viewers’ expectations are going to shift when the ad-free, content-rich Disney+ service costing just $7 per month launches later this year. Colin and I agree that if Quibi charges $8 per month as reported, and doesn’t offer a solid tier as a freemium on-ramp, building audience is going to be very difficult.

Listen in to learn more!

 
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Virtual pay-TV (or “vMVPDs”) providers already deliver live, linear and on-demand programming to millions of subscribers, creating a rich new source of targetable premium video ad inventory, often on connected TVs. But virtual pay-TV is itself in a state of flux, with providers revamping packages, evolving their marketing and raising their prices.

At the recent Video Ad Summit we discussed these dynamics on a session I moderated that included Hannah Brown (Chief Strategy Officer, fuboTV), Chris Maccaro (CEO, Beachfront Media), Matt McLeggon (Senior Director, Advanced TV Growth, SpotX) and
Beth Weeks (VP, Director Media, Digitas North America).

Some of the key takeaways included that virtual pay-TV operators are seeking more scale, especially to help educate ad buyers about why the opportunity is compelling (buy side education and overcoming fragmentation was a big theme), how important automation, content discoverability and viewer experiences will be for virtual pay-TV and how linear/sports remain an important part of virtual pay-TV’s appeal.

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Data has become the rocket fuel behind video advertising and an audience-based buying future – helping advertisers boost targeting for higher ROIs, while allowing content providers to propel the value of their inventory and transact more fluidly.

At our recent 9th annual Video Ad Summit, a panel including Natalie Gabathuler-Scully (SVP, Revenue Operations, Vevo), Ben Maughan (VP, Business Development, Product, and Client Services, Advanced Media and Advertising, TiVo), George Musi (EVP of Marketing Sciences, Citi, Publicis OneTeam) and Dan Punt (Senior Managing Director, FTI Consulting) as moderator, dug into the above topics and much more.

In particular, the panelists explored what’s involved in investing in a data strategy, the complexity of audience targeting models (and who does this modeling work), the incremental value of data when used appropriately and key challenges including many proprietary anonymous ID spaces that aren’t interoperable.

Data tends to be an overused word in the video ad business, but the panel demystified where data’s value really lies.

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At the recent 9th annual VideoNuze Video Ad Summit, connected TV was a major focus throughout the day. In a presentation, Telaria CEO Mark Zagorski shared research illustrating how connected TV enable customized ad experiences that are more enjoyable, especially for younger viewers, better conversion than social and higher purchase intent than linear TV. With 30% of U.S. households not reachable by linear TV, forecast to jump to 50%, Mark makes a persuasive argument about CTVs’ important role.

A related after lunch session, “Connected TVs Take Center Stage: What Does It All Mean?” delved even deeper. The session included Christina Beaumier (VP, Product, TV Platform, Xandr), Alison Levin (VP, Global Ad Sales and Marketplace, Roku), Harold Morgenstern (SVP, National Advertising Sales, Pluto TV) and Ken Ripley (VP, Sales, Newsy) with Howard Homonoff (Principal, Homonoff Media Group) moderating.

Alison noted that 30% of viewers’ time spent is now spent with CTVs, but only 3% of ad budget are. So there’s a lot of room for budgets to shift. Ken, Harold and Christina explained how today’s media plans must include CTV to be complete, especially given viewership fragmentation. They also discuss the value of brands, discoverability, data, a unified currency, attribution and more.

Watch the videos now!