VideoNuze Posts

The top 17 U.S. broadband ISPs added nearly 1.2 million subscribers in Q1 '14, notching the best quarter of growth since Q1 '12 (see chart below). These ISPs now have 85.5 million subscribers, with top cable operators accounting for nearly 59% or 50.3 million and top telcos accounting for 41% or 35.2 million. The data is according to Leichtman Research Group.

The top cable operator ISPs garnered 83% of the quarter's 1.2 million subscriber additions, vs. just 17% for the telcos. This compares with Q1 '13, when the top cable operator ISPs took 72% of net additions, with telcos taking 28%. LRG notes that Q1 subscriber additions historically account for more than Q2 and Q3 additions combined.

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I recently had the pleasure being interviewed by my former colleague Howard Homonoff for his weekly "Media Reporter" show at the Columbia Institute for Tele-Information which he produces in addition to his consulting practice. In the interview we touch on a broad range of topics including how technology is helping traditional TV, the impact of online video on pay-TV operators and networks, online originals, NewFronts, rise of devices and mobile viewing, net neutrality, industry deals and much more.

The interview runs about 28 minutes.

Watch the interview

From a strategic perspective, AT&T's deal to acquire DirecTV for $49 billion ($67 billion when debt is included) sure seems backward-looking, as it completely misses the imperative of broadband and online video in all of our lives.

Broadband and online video have driven many of the recent deals in the headlines (e.g. Comcast-Time Warner Cable, Disney-Maker Studios, the rumored YouTube-Twitch deal, etc.). Smart companies are looking at the massive shifts in consumer behavior and technology and are scrambling to position themselves for future paradigms that look very different from those of the past.

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I'm pleased to present the 227th edition of the VideoNuze podcast with my weekly partner Colin Dixon of nScreenMedia.

This week we dig into the Turner-Comcast deal from earlier this week, under which Turner is providing past seasons' and full current season's episodes to some of its most popular programs to Comcast for viewing on VOD and TV Everywhere.  As I wrote earlier this week, a key enabler of the deal is Turner's ability to dynamically insert ads in the on-demand streams.

Colin and I agree that, to the extent the deal becomes a template for others, it could have a wide-ranging impact on the ecosystem. To date, Netflix and other OTT providers have been able to aggregate huge libraries of past seasons' episodes, which have fueled binge-viewing.

But as advertising in VOD/TVE grows and improves, it could become the financial foundation for operators to gain far greater content rights. That in turn could change the negotiating balance for content and perceptions of pay-TV operators. Colin and I explain what could be ahead.

Listen in to learn more!

(Note also Colin is hosting a free webinar next Tuesday on Fox Sports Go TVE app. Sign up here.)

Click here for previous podcasts

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

Still on the fence about attending the June 25th VideoNuze Online Video Ad Summit? Well, keep in mind that if you sign up by May 30th, you'll save $100 and you'll be entered to win a $1,000 50-inch Samsung LED Smart TV and a Roku Streaming Stick, generously provided by Innovid. Pretty sweet!

(Note, if you're at an agency or brand, you may qualify for complimentary tickets - contact me to find out)

This will be the 4th annual VideoNuze Ad Summit and once again we have a dynamite group of speakers from companies such as Allstate, Comcast, Conde Nast, Digitas, eMarketer, Forrester, Google, Hulu, Jaguar Land Rover, News Corp., Nielsen, Quiznos, Sporting News Media, StyleHaul, Starcom MediaVest, Weather Company, Xaxis participating, plus many others.

The Ad Summit is a premier day of learning and industry networking. We typically have around 300-350 attendees from around the ecosystem. We'll be taking full advantage of the beautiful outdoor space at our venue, the Midtown Loft & Terrace, featuring spectacular Manhattan views (see pics below).

The Ad Summit is generously supported by 14  industry companies including Title Partners Tremor Video and ILoveVideo.tv/Castaclip; Premier Partner AOL, Headline Partners ActiveVideo, Brightcove, Eyeview, FreeWheel, LiveRail, TubeMogul, Turn and Videology plus Branding Partners Innovid, Mixpo and Optimatic.

Register now and save!

(Note: The Ad Summit is being held during CEWeek, so all registrants get free cross registration to CEWeek's exhibits and free conferences.)

The holy grail for marketers these days is having a video ad go viral. Not only does it provide the brand an enormous amount of free exposure, it also gives the team behind the ad major resume points for having "cracked the code" on making an ad a viral hit. However, the odds of an ad actually going viral are extremely long.

That's why a presentation I attended during IAB's NewFronts Insight Lunch last week, by Richard Kosinski, president of Unruly, really caught my attention. Unruly is a platform for social video marketing that helps agencies and advertisers get their videos watched and shared. Richard shared highlights of a new white paper, "The Science of Sharing 2014," which looked at the social performance of 14 different ads from Super Bowl XLVIII.

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Programmatic video advertising took a small step into the TV world today as Geri Wang, president of ABC Sales, announced a trial this summer involving online video from ABC and ABC Family. The trial is being conducted with FreeWheel's FourFronts Programmatic solution, which will connect a limited number of media buyers with select demand side platforms (DSPs) using buyers' first-party and other data.

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Turner Broadcasting will provide Comcast with VOD and TV Everywhere access for some of its most popular programs across all of its cable networks, under a deal announced this morning. A significant aspect of the deal is that it gives Comcast rights not only to past seasons' episodes, but also to all current season episodes - what's known as "stacking rights." The deal is a big win for Comcast and also underscores the emergence of dynamic ad insertion in VOD/TVE streams as an important new revenue driver.

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