VideoNuze Posts

Comcast Technology Solutions, a division of Comcast Cable which was formed last Fall, has announced an expansion of its the Video Platform solution to support multiple monetization models as well as complete video processing, management, multi-CDN distribution and playout. In addition, the Video Platform includes out-of-the-box templates for front-end user experience with partners Accedo and You.i TV, which can be fully customized.

The Video Platform builds on capabilities of thePlatform, which Comcast acquired back in 2006, along with multiple other technologies now under the Comcast Technology Solutions roof.

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Roku’s strategy of powering TV manufacturers’ smart TVs is meeting with success as the company announced yesterday that its Roku TVs accounted for 13% of smart TV sales in the U.S. as of December, 2016 according to IHS. So naturally Roku’s success is attracting others to the model, with Amazon announcing yesterday that it has partnered with 3 Chinese brands, Seiki, Westinghouse Electronics and Element Electronics to integrate Fire TV functionality into multiple new 4K TVs.

The Amazon integrations mean that the Fire TV experience, including all of its 7,000 apps, will be available on the new TVs without needing an external connected TV device. This is the same benefit of Roku TVs - all the functionality of a Roku, but without the box. This type of integration makes it more straightforward for users to access OTT content alongside broadcast and cable TV content from separate sources. The Amazon integrations also feature voice search powered by Alexa to search content, launch apps, play music, etc.

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Just prior to the holiday break FX released its latest update on “Peak TV” - the name company president John Landgraf coined a couple years ago to describe the exploding number of original scripted TV programs being produced. According to FX, which is tracking Peak TV, in 2016 there were 455 scripted originals, up from 421 in 2015 and 182 in 2002.

In that 14-year time period, the biggest volume contributor has been ad-supported cable TV networks, increasing from 30 shows in ’02 to 181 shows in ’16. But zeroing in on just the last 3 years, it’s the SVOD providers (Netflix, Amazon and Hulu) that have had the biggest impact. The group tripled their output from 24 shows in ’13 to 93 in ’16 while ad-supported cable TV rose from 161 to 181, broadcast TV bumped up from 131 to 145 and premium TV (HBO, Showtime, etc.) was basically flat, from 33 in ’13 to 36 in ’16. Put another way, in 2013, SVOD accounted for just 6.9% of all scripted TV and in 2016 they tripled their share to 20.4%.

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2016 has been another crazy year of growth and innovation in online video. Macro trends continued to gain momentum: viewers migrating from linear TV to online/SVOD, connected/mobile devices proliferating, advertising shifting to online video and programmatic, massive social platforms emphasizing video, cord-cutting accelerating, skinny bundles launching and much, much more.

It’s no overstatement to say that tens of billions of dollars in both advertising and pay-TV subscriptions - the financial backbone of the entire video ecosystem - are now completely in flux. All of these shifts have major consequences for both established media companies trying to evolve their business models as well as startups trying to gain traction.

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The application of data and automation by national TV networks to help sell their ad inventory was the topic of one of our afternoon sessions at the SHIFT // Programmatic Video & TV Ad Summit recently. Greg Anderson (Managing Director, Xaxis Media Group, North America), Brett Hurwitz (Business Lead - TV, AOL), Brian Napolitano (VP, Ad Sales, Ovation), Vin Paolozzi (SVP, Innovation, MAGNA), Chris Raleigh (Chief Commercial Officer, Placemedia) and Dan Punt (Managing Director, FTI Consulting) moderating.

The group dug into how programmatic opens up the value of TV ad inventory to new buyers, how new efficiencies are being created, how all of this is affecting organizations on both the buy and sell sides, and how cross-screen measurement and emerging currencies will evolve, among other topics.

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Programmatic video and TV are both taking off, but lots of challenges still remain. What are they, how will they be resolved and over what time frame? These were the key questions addressed in our closing session at the SHIFT // Programmatic Video & TV Ad Summit a few weeks ago. The session included Joanne Chen (Partner, Foundation Capital), Barry Green (Head of Business Development, North America, VertaMedia), Dave Katz (VP/GM, Programmatic Revenue Platforms & Operations, Univision), Rich Sobel (SVP, Programs & Services, Publicis Media) and Joe Grover (CEO, Altitude Digital) moderating.

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Conde Nast is in the middle of executing a massive transformation of its business from being a traditional print publisher to becoming a multi-platform storyteller with video having a central role.  At our recent SHIFT // Programmatic Video & TV Ad Summit, we were privileged to hear fantastic insights about the company’s video playbook in a 30-minute interview Lisa Valentino, SVP, Network Sales and Partnership of Conde Nast and Chief Revenue Officer of Conde Nast Entertainment did with Matt Gillis, SVP, Publisher Platforms at AOL.  

The interview covered an array of topics, with Lisa zeroing in on how Conde has built up its video business by embracing an open distribution model that has been so successful that social is now the primary way that audiences engage with Conde’s brands.

The company has mined its archive of 90K articles for ideas and content that contribute to over 5K videos now being custom created annually for various social and distribution platforms. Lisa shares one great example of an Emma Stone interview video that got 2 million views on Facebook which was then edited and posted elsewhere the next day and got 8 million views.

Lisa talks in highly specific detail about the enormous complexity behind all of this plus the cultural changes that are resulting from new talent the company has attracted. Importantly, she also provides great insights about how the company is monetizing its content, the critical role of programmatic and how it is staffed, plus the challenges of today’s measurement models, among other topics.

Overall it is a fascinating glimpse into how Conde Nast is leveraging video to completely change its business model. Lisa expertly conveys how much of this is ongoing experimentation, with success equally due to innovative strategies and relentless execution.

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eMarketer forecasts that by 2018 programmatic video ad spending will be $10.6 billion and programmatic TV ad spending will be $4.4 billion. But how will all this spending impact multiscreen campaigns, and what are the key challenges ahead? These were the primary topics of a session at the recent SHIFT // Programmatic Video & TV Ad Summit which was moderated by Videology’s Chairman and CEO Scott Ferber. Panelists included Ashish Chordia (Founder and CEO, Alphonso), Andrew Feigenson (Managing Director, Digital, Nielsen), Jason Kanefsky (Chief Investment Officer, Havas Media) and Rachel Schlanger (Head of Partnerships, Initiative).

The panelists discussed the issue of knitting together measurement across TV and digital platforms, which is required for multiscreen programmatic to scale up, and how this is being addressed. Other challenges included cutting through some of the confusion around how to select technology partners when many sound similar, reducing the use of acronyms, organizing teams properly to capitalize on multiscreen and improving trust and predictability.

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