VideoNuze Posts

comScore has taken the wraps off comScore OTT Intelligence, a new syndicated service that measures U.S. viewership of OTT content like Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and others on connected TVs. Subscribers to the comScore service access the data through a dashboard that includes household reach, audience size, demographics and other metrics.

The data is drawn from comScore’s Total Home Panel, which measures viewership in over 12,500 U.S. households with over 150,000 active devices per month.

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I’ve been a skeptic of skinny bundles, partially because of the huge holes in their channel lineups (what I’ve dubbed the “Swiss cheese” problem) which I believe narrows their appeal. The most glaring hole has been the absence of all the broadcast TV networks except in a handful of the biggest metropolitan areas. Not having all the broadcast networks is a serious drawback because even in the fragmented cable era, they still draw the biggest audiences outside of sports.

But there’s reason to be cautiously optimistic that this problem may soon be solved. Three of the four big broadcast networks have announced agreements with their affiliate boards which essentially allow the networks to negotiate carriage in skinny bundles on their behalf. NBC was the first to announce its deal, on April 13th. That was followed by Disney ABC on April 24th. And then yesterday, CBS announced its own deal. While FOX hasn’t announced a deal, it has added more affiliates to DirecTV Now, which is a positive sign of progress.

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I’m excited to share that Troy Young, Global President of Hearst Digital Media will be our morning keynote guest at the 7th annual VideoNuze Online Video Ad Summit on Wednesday, June 14th in NYC. I’ll be interviewing Troy about Hearst’s plans to significantly ramp up its video production, its monetization and distribution strategies and much more.

Then our afternoon keynote guest is Brian Lesser, CEO of GroupM North America, who will be interviewed by Matt Spiegel, Managing Director, Marketing and Technology Solutions at MediaLink. Brian will explain how the rules around video advertising are being re-written to emphasize data, multi-screen, relevance and ROI.

In addition to these 2 fantastic keynotes, over 35 other industry executives are also on board to   speak, from Bloomberg Media, Bonnier, Disney ABC Television, Hill Holliday, IAB, Initiative, Mic, Publicis Media, Roku, Trusted Media Brands, Turner Broadcasting, The Washington Post, Universal McCann, Pfizer, Reuters, USA Today Network, VEVO and many others.

Early bird discounted tickets are still available, and buyers are entered to win a 55-inch TCL Roku TV. Don’t miss out, learn more and register now!

In the blur of the recent NABShow, I missed that Comcast Technology Solutions introduced Linear Rights Metadata Management (“LRM”), which ensures that the appropriate linear video is distributed through both existing pay-TV operators and new OTT distributors.

Steve Lacoff, VP of Product Management at CTS, who oversaw the development of LRM, briefed me on why it’s important, particularly in the context of proliferating subscription options and mobile/connected TV consumption.

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Ten years ago, in my pre-VideoNuze days, I wrote “A World Awash in Video,” for my then once per month e-newsletter. Based on numerous recentIy announced initiatives, I predicted that we were “on the cusp of experiencing an explosion in the quantity of high-quality video available” and that all of these choices would create a “golden age of video.”

Of course that was all before Netflix, Amazon, YouTube and many others exploded. My main premise - that broadband’s open platform, which removed the traditional friction of reaching audiences - was a powerful catalyst that would fuel a massive escalation of video production.

Indeed, there’s no doubt that we have more choices than ever, but reviewing last week’s news, it’s clear we ain’t seen nothing yet. We are on the brink of being even more awash in video than ever. And one big difference vs. 10 years ago is that today’s boom is driven by companies that all have extraordinary resources and very strong incentives to invest heavily in video.

Here’s a quick recap:

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I’m pleased to present the 369th edition of the VideoNuze podcast with my weekly partner Colin Dixon of nScreenMedia.

First, we’d like to thank this week’s podcast sponsor Brightcove,  which has their annual PLAY conference coming up in Boston the week of May 22nd. It’s a great show with lots of valuable sessions. I’ll be interviewing Stacey Shepatin, EVP, Director of National Video Investments at Trillia / Hill Holliday in a spotlight session focusing on the changing world of premium video ad buying. Learn more here and note, the first 50 visitors receive a Brightcove PLAY t-shirt!

Earlier this week, Hulu With Live TV launched in beta, a year after initial reports about it surfaced. On today’s podcast we discuss some of the pros and cons of Hulu With Live TV and how it compares in the ultra-crowded skinny bundle market. Colin was also able to take Hulu With Live TV for a quick spin and shares his initial impressions of the service, particularly how it stacks up against DirecTV Now, which he’s been using for a while.

Listen in to learn more!
 
Click here to listen to the podcast (25 minutes, 55 seconds)

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On yesterday’s Time Warner Q1 ’17 earnings call, HBO’s CEO Richard Plepler said that the company’s content licensing deal with Amazon would not be renewed and therefore would expire at the end of 2018. The deal was originally announced in April, 2014 and allowed Amazon to include iconic series like “The Sopranos,” “The Wire,” “Deadwood” and others in its Prime Video service.

Although Plepler cited “an acceleration in our digital business” as the reason for the decision, I believe that the more important driver at work is a repositioning of how the immensely valuable HBO will be used when AT&T’s acquisition of HBO parent Time Warner occurs later this year (assuming regulatory approval is granted, which I think is very likely).

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