VideoNuze Posts

Yesterday, Canadian streaming service shomi (pronounced “Show Me”) announced that it was closing down as of November 30th. The news came just two years after its launch by two of Canada’s largest pay-TV operators, Shaw Communications and Rogers Communications. shomi’s future was in jeopardy ever since Shaw essentially exited the content business by selling all of its TV networks to Corus Entertainment for C$2.65 billion in April in order to focus on its pay-TV and broadband businesses. Shaw subsequently took a C$51 million write down for shomi. Rogers will now take a C$100-C$140 million hit.

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The revelation that Facebook miscalculated the average time viewers watch videos on its platform is an embarrassment and a setback for the company, but it’s hardly a disaster for it or for the online video industry.

First, let’s all admit - any of us who has ever created a spreadsheet has, at one time or another referenced the wrong cell when creating formulas. And the more complicated the formula (and the later into the night it was created!), the more likely there will be an error in a cell reference. Often that error is subsequently caught by a colleague or a manager, looking things over with a fresh eye and methodical approach.

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I'm pleased to present the 340th edition of the VideoNuze podcast with my weekly partner Colin Dixon of nScreenMedia.

This week we return to the topic of mobile video, which we last discussed in June. Mobile video has reached a milestone, according to new Ooyala data, reaching nearly 51% of all video views, which is 10 times greater share than just 4 years ago.

Mobile video has soared mainly due to the proliferation of smartphones. However monthly data caps have curbed mobile video, as users have learned how expensive exceeding their plans can be. This is why T-Mobile’s “Binge-On” has been so popular and why we’re now seeing the advent of other “zero-rated” services like DirecTV Now.

But as Colin and I discuss, mobile video could get a big boost in 2017 as Comcast and Charter both announced this week they’ll enter the mobile business (here and here). Because they’ll be leveraging millions of their WiFi hotspots, they will likely be able to not only offer bigger data plans, but also charge subscribers less by bundling mobile phone with other services.

(Note, one clarification - I said I didn’t know of any video service on Verizon Wireless that is zero-rated, but in fact Go90 is.)

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The first of the three presidential debates is coming up on Monday night, and in addition to the spotlight being on Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, it looks like a big focus will be on live-streaming. That’s because Facebook, YouTube and Twitter - each of which is pushing hard into live-streaming - will stream the debates, in partnership with a variety of major media companies.

YouTube will be streaming in partnership with PBS, Fox News, The Washington Post, Bloomberg and Telemundo as part of its #voteIRL initiative. Facebook has once again partnered with ABC News (as it did for the conventions) to stream the debates, which it will enhance with viewers’ comments and conversations in Facebook Live. Finally, as part of its previously-announced partnership, Twitter will be streaming Bloomberg TV’s coverage of the debates.

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We are in the era of “Peak TV,” where hundreds of original programs are spread across many different free and paid video services and TV networks. For those who no longer want to spring for pay-TV, assembling the right mix of OTT, SVOD and skinny bundles to cost-effectively access desired programs is very confusing.

Now a startup named CobbleCord is aiming to address this, using a 4-part set of user-provided information about viewing preferences to return a list of custom recommendations. CobbleCord was started by Virginia Juliano, a 10-year Showtime marketing executive, who walked me through how CobbleCord helps users “cobble” together the most appropriate video services for them.

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According to Ooyala’s newly released Q2 ’16 Global Video Index, mobile viewing now accounts for 50.6% of all video views, up a whopping 10x from the 5% viewing share on mobile in Q2 ’12. Ooyala has been tracking mobile viewing for years and this is the first time it has crossed the 50% mark. One year ago, in Q2 ’15, mobile was at 44% viewing share and two years ago, in Q2 ’14, it was just over 25%.

Ooyala attributed the strong growth to the popularity of smartphones and robust WiFi, especially globally. 64% of American adults now own a smartphone and 90% of millennials reported they’re almost never without them. 75% of viewers age 18-29 watch video on their smartphone.

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Fourteen industry-leading companies are on board as the initial sponsors of VideoNuze’s SHIFT // 2016 Programmatic Video & TV Advertising Summit on Wednesday, November 30th in NYC. This will be our 2nd annual SHIFT conference, following the success of our inaugural event last year which drew 375+ attendees and 50 executive speakers.

The initial group of sponsors includes Premier Partners Altitude Digital, AOL, DashBid, SpotX, VertaMedia and Videology, along with Headline Partners Alphonso, Beachfront Media, FreeWheel, Genesis Media, Placemedia, TiVo Research and WideOrbit, plus Branding Partner Roku.

I’m incredibly grateful that all of these companies are supporting SHIFT // 2016. There are additional sponsorship opportunities available; please contact me if you’d like to learn more.

The SHIFT // 2016 program is coming together nicely and will be laser-focused on key topics in programmatic video & TV advertising. The program will include a mix of keynote interviews, panel discussions, fireside chats and research presentations. As always the goal is to provide attendees with insights and data that are valuable in both day-to-day and longer-range planning. Stay tuned for more information on the program and our initial group of speakers.

Early bird discounted tickets are now available. I hope you’ll join us on November 30th!

LEARN MORE and REGISTER NOW!