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At Least $477 Million Raised By Private Online/Mobile Video Companies In Q1 '11
Private online and mobile video-related companies around the world raised at least $477 million in Q1 '11 providing more evidence of intense investor interest in the space. Of the total, approximately $340 million was raised by international companies, with approximately $137 million raised by U.S. companies. The international total was dominated by Softbank's $250 million investment for a 35% stake in China's Synacast Corporation, which operates the "PPTV" online TV service. The other significant international financing was Orange's 58.8 million euro (approximately $83 million) investment in video aggregator Dailymotion, for a 49% stake.
In the U.S. 15 financings were reported, with almost 80% of the amount collectively raised by 6 companies: SnagFilms ($10M), Auditude ($11M), Kaltura ($20M), boxee ($16.5M), Adap.tv ($20M) and TidalTV ($30M). As has been typical in prior quarters, all of these companies are involved in or rely on online video advertising in one way or another.
Q1 also produced at least 15 online/mobile video M&A deals, the most since VideoNuze began tracking the market nearly 2 years ago. The focus of these deals was varied and occurred both internationally and in the U.S. In the former category, examples included Amazon's acquisition of remaining shares of LOVEFiLM (the "Netflix of Europe"), AOL Europe's acquisition of video distribution network goviral and Prague-based KIT Digital's rollup of KickApps, Kyte and Kewego. In the U.S. some of the noteworthy deals included Cisco's acquisition of video encoder Inlet Technologies, YouTube's buyout of independent video producer Next New Networks, Tremor Media's acquisition of mobile video ad firm Transpera and CBS Interactive's acquisition of online video guide Clicker.
Categories: Deals & Financings
Topics: Deals, Financings
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Visible Measures Leverages Data With New "Viewable Media" Video Ad Network
Just when you thought there couldn't be room for another video ad network, analytics provider Visible Measures is launching a new one this morning called Viewable Media. However, Viewable Media has a few key differentiators which will be fresh for publishers and advertisers, in turn raising the bar for other ad networks. Brian Shin, Visible Measures' CEO explained Viewable Media's approach to me late last week.
With Viewable Media, Visible Measures is leveraging its Viral Reach database that it has been building on viewership and engagement for over 400 million
different videos since it began operations. To date this data has been packaged into different products so that advertisers and publishers can track various videos' performance. But as Brian explained, advertisers and media buyers have been encouraging Visible Measures to also use the data to enhance the online video ad buying process with better targeting and improved efficiency. That's where Viewable Media comes in.
Categories: Advertising
Topics: Viewable Media, Visible Measures
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Innovid Launches iRoll Apps For Easy Interactive Pre-Roll Ads
Innovid is introducing "iRoll apps" this morning to allow easy creation and deployment of interactive pre-roll ads. In addition to popular engagement features like Facebook sharing, Twitter following, YouTube posting and custom text labels, iRoll apps also allows a range of additional apps (now or coming soon) like coupon downloads, store locator with Google Maps, ticket purchase, chat, related docs and more. Last week I got an in-person demo from Zvika Netter, Innovid's CEO and co-founder and Rob Banning, director of marketing.
With iRoll apps, Innovid is looking to jumpstart a world where all pre-roll ads include interactivity. As Zvika explained, Innovid sees the pre-roll ad itself becoming browser-like, with all interactivity built right into the video window. This kind of seamless experience means that when users click within the ad, new content and options are loaded in the window itself, rather than having new browser windows pop up, which often leads to delays and a process of getting oriented, not to mention leaving the ad behind.
Categories: Advertising, Technology
Topics: Innovid, iRoll Apps
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And Now, Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Programming
Thanks for all the comments, emails, tweets, calls and other feedback on my little April Fool's Day "exclusive," that Netflix planned to acquire HBO, dissolve its channels and add HBO's programs to its iPad app. As with my prior April Fool's Day posts, it was a lot of fun to write, and even more fun to receive the range of reactions (yes, if you still thought it was true by the end, you were not alone!)
As with all April Fool's Day attempts that seem to work, the key is making the joke just believable enough to elicit the tension of "Wow!" vs. "No Way!" Of course April Fool's Day has become open season on the Internet, meaning that for many, the new standing policy on April 1st is to not believe ANYTHING they read.
While that raises the bar for me, the good news is that in the online video and pay-TV worlds, things have gotten so tumultuous that what was unthinkable yesterday somehow becomes reality today. Thus quite a few people's reaction to today's "exclusive" was that it was not only plausible, but actually expected. The idea that Netflix could acquire HBO still feels like an awfully big stretch to me, but who knows - someday it could happen.
Regardless, on Monday, VideoNuze will be back to its serious-minded coverage of the industry. Enjoy the weekend!
Categories: Miscellaneous
Topics: Apple, HBO, iPad, Netflix
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EXCLUSIVE: Netflix to Acquire HBO, Dissolve Channels Into Streaming Library for iPad Use Only
VideoNuze has learned that Netflix has struck a deal to acquire HBO from Time Warner and intends to dissolve HBO's linear cable channels, with its programs to be incorporated into Netflix's streaming library, available solely on the iPad. Terms of the deal are not yet known, but it is expected to be for stock only, with Time Warner becoming the biggest shareholder in Netflix. VideoNuze interviewed all the key participants late last night.
The deal is a stunning move for all parties, and reflects the fast-changing nature of the online video and pay-TV industries. First and foremost, the deal appears to be a stark reversal of opinion by Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes
who has consistently diminished Netflix's prospects. Bewkes commented, "My informal recent remarks, comparing Netflix's rise to the Albanian army's chances of taking over the world got me thinking afterwards, geez, is it possible that I've underestimated Albania's might, and therefore Netflix's potential? So I decided to study up on my history, and it turns out that back in 1378, Albania actually conquered almost three-quarters of the world's population. That was an eye-opener and really made me second-guess myself."
Categories: Cable Networks, Deals & Financings
Topics: Apple, HBO, iPad, Netflix
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Thomson Reuters Ramps Up Video With Innovative "Multimedia Centre"
Video is not only hugely popular with consumers, it's also fast becoming critical for enterprises in both their internal and external communications. That's the message behind Thomson Reuters' innovative new "Multimedia Centre" online video platform (OVP), which was quietly launched a couple of weeks ago. Thomson Reuters global head of multimedia solutions Shaun McIver and Multimedia Centre product lead David Gascoine walked me through the company's strategy and demo'd the product for me last week.
The background here is that Thomson Reuters has become the world's largest webcast provider, powering over 20K for its clients per year. That experience has given it a unique perspective on enterprises' evolving communications needs. Multimedia Centre recognizes that the next level of communicating with audiences involves both video and improved tools for self-publishing. Just like with other OVPs, with Multimedia Centre users are able to easily upload their videos, sort them into playlists, add tags, create players, publish these to web sites complete with embed codes, share them to social media sites and more.
Categories: Enterprises, Technology
Topics: Thomson Reuters
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Roku Scores Best Buy Distribution Deal
Roku is announcing this morning that its Roku XD streaming player will be available at Best Buy stores nationwide. The deal is a big win for Roku which
has primarily relied on online sales to drive over 1 million units to date. The price point for the Roku XD, which delivers up to 1080p HD using 802.11n WiFi will be $79.99, the same as online.
I've been using the XD device for a while now and it performs nicely. The biggest question mark I've had about Roku has been around its ability to compete in a very noisy consumer electronics environment, dominated by giants with well-known brands. Lately the success of Apple TV, which also retails for under $100, has felt like it could squeeze Roku, especially given the popularity of Apple's stores, which have no doubt helped introduce many to the Apple TV product. Because Roku only had limited hands-on opportunities, primarily early adopters would be drawn to its players.
Topics: Best Buy, Crackle, Roku
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YuMe Relevance Engine Introduced for Improved Video Ad Buying
Video ad technology and network YuMe is taking the wraps off its new "YuMe Relevance Engine" this morning, representing another key step forward in realizing online video's potential for ad targeting. The Relevance Engine powers the new 3.0 version of YuMe's ACE for Publishers ad system. Last week, YuMe's Jayant Kadambi, president and co-founder and Ed Haslam, SVP, Marketing briefed me on how they work.
With the Relevance Engine, YuMe is helping empower publishers to attract TV ad dollars by addressing each piece of the relevance equation: advertisers' needs, the publisher context and the target consumer audience. Advertisers' needs include things like brand safety, targeted devices, reach goals, and context/audience targeting. On the publisher side, criteria include page and video content awareness (based on metadata ingestion), eCPMs, viewing environment (such as which OVP player is used), device and connection speed. Finally, for the consumer profile, this includes demographics, ad viewing history, preferences, targeting data and content interests (based on cookies).
Categories: Advertising, Technology
Topics: YuMe
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