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Android Nudges to the Lead in Smartphone Race
This week brought updated data from Nielsen on the race for smartphone supremacy. According to Nielsen, for the period November, 2010 - January, 2011, Android had a 29% share, RIM Blackberry 27% and Apple iOS 27%. This is before the iPhone went on sale from Verizon however, so things are bound to change. Still, the Nielsen data shows the continued strength of Android. From a video perspective, because current smartphones ship with the updated Android OS which supports Flash video, they are much more flexible.
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VideoNuze Report Podcast #90 - Mar. 4, 2011
I'm pleased to present the 90th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for March 4, 2011.
In this week's podcast, Daisy Whitney and I first discuss Tremor Media's new video ad buying platform, which I wrote about on Tuesday. Then we transition to a quick chat about Comcast CEO Brian Roberts' comment this week in the WSJ that "What used to be called 'reruns' on television is now called Netflix." It was a little bit of unexpected trash talk and Daisy and I sort through what might have motivated it.
Click here to listen to the podcast (11 minutes, 48 seconds)
Click here for previous podcasts
The VideoNuze Report is available in iTunes...subscribe today!Categories: Advertising, Cable TV Operators, Podcasts
Topics: Comcast, Podcast, Tremor Media
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Video Will Be Critical to Driving iPad 2's Sales
The new iPad 2 - faster, thinner and lighter than the original, and with an ingenious new "Smart Cover," is yet another impressive technical achievement from the design wizards at Apple. But as with all consumer electronics products, those attributes will only go so far in compelling consumers to crack open their wallets and buy. Steve Jobs knows better than anyone in the world the gadget marketer's manifesto, "It's not what it is, but what it does," so it's no surprise that as sexy as iPad 2 is, yesterday he also rolled out exciting new ways the iPad 2 can be used. The common theme: video apps are going to be critical to driving iPad 2's sales.
First and foremost is FaceTime, Apple's video chat app that is enabled on the iPad 2 with the addition of a VGA front-facing and 720p HD rear-facing camera to the device. These upgrades address the single-biggest criticism of the original iPad (aside from the inability to play Flash-based video) - that a device so conducive to personal video chatting shipped without the onboard cameras to do so (which in turn led to conspiracy theories that the cameras had been purposely left out to give the subsequent release extra juice).
Categories: Devices, Mobile Video
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Rovi Unveils TotalGuide xD Guide for Mobile Devices
Rovi is unveiling TotalGuide xD this morning, a white label solution for cable operators to deliver interactive program guides to mobile devices. I got a demo of the new service last week from Sharon Metz, Rovi's VP of Vertical Markets and Chris Lee, TotalGuide xD's product manager.
With TotalGuide xD, Rovi recognizes that cable operators will need to offer guidance to their wealth of programming choices on mobile devices that consumers increasingly rely upon to manage their busy lives. TotalGuide xD allows users to search for programs or browse a grid directory, discover programs using recommendations from a "six-degrees" feature reminiscent of sites like IMDb, share and receive recommendations from friends via Facebook, Twitter and email, schedule DVR recordings and manage their user profiles across devices.
Categories: Cable TV Operators, Video Search
Topics: Comcast, Rovi, Xfinity
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Clearleap Integrates With Pace for Broadband VOD Delivery
Clearleap, a web-based TV technology platform, is integrating with set-top box maker Pace to enable pay-TV operators to manage and deliver VOD through broadband, alongside traditionally delivered linear channels. By
shifting VOD to a web-based model, pay-TV operators are able to lower the cost and complexity of on-demand, while opening up far more content choices to consumers in a friendlier UI. In addition, broadband VOD allows pay-TV operators to align their VOD libraries and interactive elements between the TV and other connected and mobile devices where video is increasingly available.
Categories: Devices, Technology
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Exclusive: Tremor Media Launching Video Ad Buying Platform, Hires Risicato to Run It
Tremor Media is launching a video ad buying platform, in a bid to streamline how Fortune 1000 brands can capitalize on the explosion of online video. The move is Tremor's latest expansion, following the recent acquisitions of
ScanScout and mobile video ad network Transpera. To manage the video ad buying platform, Tremor has hired Anthony Risicato, formerly CEO of mobile marketing company Mobile Commons, with previous experience at Covario, Innovation Interactive (where he led development of its platform that has facilitated billions of dollars of search advertising buys) and DoubleClick. Anthony shared some of the background of Tremor's move with me last week.
The video ad buying platform addresses the two key marketplace issues Tremor has observed, scale and deliverability. Tremor likens the situation in online video advertising to what was happening in the search advertising market about 10 years ago. There is a lot of interest from big brands and agencies to participate, but still too much friction in buying and delivering plus measuring and optimizing their results. Too often brands are required to go to different publishers and video ad networks to assemble their buy, which makes it harder to leverage their spending and also to optimize their ads based on actual performance.
Categories: Advertising
Topics: Tremor Media
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Comcast's Roberts: "What used to be called 'reruns' on television is now called Netflix."
An interview with Comcast's CEO Brian Roberts in today's WSJ has an instantly classic quote that will no doubt be making the rounds. In response
to the interview question, "Do you feel pressure from the growing number of deals Netflix Inc. is striking with content owners, including, recently, CBS?" Roberts responded, "What used to be called 'reruns' on television is now called Netflix." Ouch!
Of course, Roberts, and other pay-TV executives, have taken great pains to assert that new over-the-top services aren't competing with their core video subscription services. Those assertions came under fire last year as the pay-TV industry lost subscribers for the 2nd and 3rd quarters, leading to wildly over-hyped predictions of cord-cutting, which have abated as 4th quarter subscriber losses improved. Still, there's no denying that Netflix, which added almost 8 million subscribers in 2010 to surpass 20 million, has a lot of momentum and eventually could be viewed as part of pay-TV substitute package. Come early April, when Q1 '11 results are released and Netflix almost certainly edges out Comcast to be the largest video subscription service in the U.S., the Netflix luster will only grow further.
Categories: Aggregators, Broadband ISPs, Cable TV Operators
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Irdeto Launches Active Cloak for Media With Dynamic Security Approach
Software security firm Irdeto is launching Active Cloak for Media this morning, a dynamic security service intended to protect premium content across the ever-growing universe of connected devices. I had breakfast with Daniel Thunberg, Irdeto's VP of Marketing, who was in from Beijing last week, to learn more.
Irdeto has had a strong position in DRM with its core Cloakware DRM
technology embedded in online video services and devices from Comcast, Netflix, Adobe, Sony, and Logitech among others. But Irdeto has recognized that DRM itself is often the subject of hackers' attacks and when they succeed piracy runs rampant. Worse, it's often not apparent to the content owner or distributor where the breach is. The result is a world where content owners often have little idea where their most valuable assets are being viewed.
With that problem in mind, Daniel explained that Active Cloak for Media takes a services-oriented approach, deploying a set of server modules and media agents on connected devices which constantly communicate with each other to watch for illicit activity. When detected, the agents renew their security credentials to keep content safe. Active Cloak for Media's "lifecycle" security model means that once content is digitally distributed, content owners and/or distributors have a far better view of where security issues exist and what proactive measures should be taken.
Categories: Devices, Technology
Topics: Irdeto
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