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Starz Pursues Digital Sampling for "Pillars" Series
You may have noticed a lot of recent promotion for Starz's current mini-series, "The Pillars of the Earth," based on the book by Ken Follett. A key part of Starz's promotional efforts for this $40 million production is "digital sampling."
Starz has made the first 2 episodes of the 8-part series available on multiple outlets including free on demand for digital subscribers of major cable
operators like Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox and others, totaling 61 million subscribers. They are also available on DirecTV's in-house channel 101. And they are available online for Comcast's Fancast users and also on Netflix (where I happened to notice them).
Categories: Cable Networks
Topics: iPad, Penguin Group, Starz
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Ooyala Supporting Monetization of HTML5 Video
Online video platform Ooyala is announcing this morning that its HTML5 video player is now supporting dynamic ad insertion for IAB-standard ads. This
means that content providers using Ooyala's Backlot platform will be able to monetize video consumed by iPads and iPhones.
Categories: Advertising, Technology
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Verizon is Now Using Clearleap for FiOS Content Management
Clearleap, a web-based TV technology provider, is announcing that Verizon has integrated its platform to manage content on its FiOS 1 local channel throughout all of its U.S. markets served. FiOS 1 offers local news, sports,
traffic and weather. One particular use of Clearleap's technology will be to streamline the uploading and management of video by professional sports teams who offer extra coverage on FiOS VOD (one example of this is with my hometown New England Patriots).
For Clearleap, Verizon is the biggest telco launch to date, and it broadens the company's customer base beyond the cable operators it works with that cover 12M subscribers. I talked to Braxton Jarratt, Clearleap's CEO last week who said that it took Verizon just a few months to get up and running with the Clearleap technology. Unlike its cable deployments, in Verizon's case it didn't have to deploy any physical hardware in Verizon's data centers.
Categories: Technology, Telcos, Video On Demand
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FreeWheel Lands Univision and Scales Up for Live Events
FreeWheel, the video ad management and monetization provider, is announcing this morning that it has landed Spanish-language broadcaster Univision as its latest customer. In the past year, Univision has become one of the most active broadcasters involved with online video, signing a deal to move a large amount of its content to YouTube for distribution, offering full episodes of its telenovelas at a recently-created web site, "Novela y Series," launching a video app for BlackBerry users, and of course most recently, streaming 10 million+ hours of live World Cup games on UnivisionFutbol.com
For FreeWheel, Univision follows Turner, Warner Bros., VEVO, Discovery, CBS and others on FreeWheel's customer roster. Note that Univision had not yet deployed FreeWheel for its UnivisionFutbol.com site but that FreeWheel was
inserting ads in ESPN3.com's World Cup online streaming which generated 7.4 million unique viewers and 15.7 million hours viewed. I talked to co-CEO and co-founder Doug Knopper earlier this week, who shared some recent statistics from the World Cup action and discussed how FreeWheel is scaling up to better serve ads in live, as well as on-demand, online video.
Categories: Advertising, Broadcasters
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VideoNuze Report Podcast #69 - July 23, 2010
Daisy Whitney and I are pleased to present the 69th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for July 23, 2010.
In this podcast I lead off by discussing some further details of Qlipso integrating with Veoh. Daisy weighs in on whether linking virtual economies to online video through social viewing experiences makes sense. I continue to think of Qlipso-Veoh as a fresh approach worth watching.
On an unrelated topic, Daisy then discusses the Old Spice man ad campaign which has taken the online world by storm over the past few weeks, generating 40 million views, 40,000 comments and 100,000 tweets. Daisy is among those impressed with how well Old Spice harnessed social media, but notes that the campaign has been active for months, dating back to the last Super Bowl. Daisy has some additional insight based on an article she's preparing for AdAge next week for which she interviewed the campaign's creative masterminds at the Wieden+Kennedy ad agency. Daisy's conclusion: social media campaigns succeed after lots of preparation and often with the tailwind that traditional media creates. Listen in to learn more.
Click here to listen to the podcast (16 minutes, 12 seconds)
Click here for previous podcasts
The VideoNuze Report is available in iTunes...subscribe today!Categories: Advertising, Aggregators
Topics: Old Spice, Podcast, Qlipso, Veoh
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5 Key Takeaways from Netflix's Q2 '10 Results
Netflix reported its Q2 '10 results late yesterday and once again the company turned in an impressive performance. Netflix added 1,034,000 subscribers, by far its best Q2 ever, to end the quarter at just over 15 million subs. Netflix
CEO Reed Hastings said right up front in the management discussion that streaming is the key catalyst in the company's accelerating growth, with 61% of current subs now streaming at least 15 minutes in Q2, up from 55% in Q1 '10 and 48% in Q4 '09. After reviewing the company's Q2 results and listening to the earnings call, following are my 5 key takeaways:
1. Netflix really is becoming more about streaming with each passing quarter
It's hard to underestimate the pervasive role streaming now has on the company, in its value proposition, subscriber acquisition model, content acquisition approach, DVD and postage expenses, competitive situation, technology infrastructure and R&D agenda, partnerships, etc.
Though 61% of all subs are now using streaming, I would guess that practically all recently added subs are. The company is going through quite a transition. This quarter, CFO Barry McCarthy mentioned that early streaming adopter's behavior of reduced DVD usage has now reached Netflix's mainstream subscriber base. DVD shipments are still growing, but at a slower rate, due to streaming-for-disc substitution, which in turn improves margins (it costs Netflix around $.85-$.90 round-trip to deliver a disc and less than a nickel to deliver a full streaming movie). Anecdotally I continually hear about users now first surfing Netflix's streaming catalog before they surf the cable dial.
2. Exclusive content gains in importance, increasing competition for movies
I've long believed that Netflix's move into streaming would eventually compel it to license movies that would have traditionally gone to premium networks like HBO/Showtime/Epix. Netflix's growing financial strength, brand loyalty and large sub base all position it as a potent new outlet for movies.
When I interviewed CEO Reed Hastings in May, he maintained that Netflix wants to be an outlet for premium cable networks rather than a competitor. Now however, Netflix is saying "At this point we can start to afford some major TV shows and movies on an exclusive basis, and plan going forward on a mix of more-expensive exclusive content and lower-cost non-exclusive content." That means Netflix is essentially going to compete for content with traditional premium TV networks. This will begin modestly, as with its recent Relativity Media deal for exclusive rights to a smallish set of its movies. And Netflix will still be a great outlet for premium networks' stellar original programming. But it will clearly be another voice at the negotiating table for electronic distribution of movies.
3. Going forward, TV is as important as movies
While Netflix is traditionally associated with movies, with streaming moving to center stage, Netflix now sees licensing TV shows as equally important. To the extent that its licenses are exclusive and/or pre-empt traditional distribution paths, this could be quite significant. Recent acquisitions of full seasons of shows such as 24, Nip/Tuck, The Family Guy and others, from networks/producers such as Fox, MTV and Warner Bros is an indication of Netflix's push into TV, with an emphasis on catalog, not current seasons. As Netflix grows its roster of TV programs I see at least 2 key implications: first, that Hulu Plus's value proposition gets pinched (more on that below), and second, that the traditional role of TV syndication for re-runs gets narrowed.
4. Competition from Hulu Plus and multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs)
During Q2 Hulu Plus launched and there's been a lot of speculation about how competitive it is with Netflix streaming. Hastings acknowledged Hulu as a direct competitor and that "we're not going to underestimate them." Still, on the earnings call he also noted "they're too small to matter yet." I agree Hulu Plus should be on Netflix's radar, but with Netflix making an aggressive move into TV, Hulu Plus has steep challenges to compete and grow beyond its core broadcast network catalog. The issue comes down to resources. In this battle, Netflix is Goliath, able to write far bigger checks to Hollywood than can Hulu. The recent Nip/Tuck example is illustrative - a reasonably popular, tier 2 cable network show that Netflix won.
While Netflix acknowledges Hulu Plus, it's real competitive concern is how it fits into a landscape dominated by MVPDs (or pay-TV provider as I usually call them). Netflix believes it is a low cost supplement to pay-TV and not a replacement that causes cord-cutting. In the May interview Hastings called TV Everywhere efforts "frustratingly brilliant" and while their rollout has been underwhelming, if they start to ramp up that could put pressure on Netflix's growth. We'll see.
5. Netflix availability on 100 million devices is huge competitive barrier
Netflix also said yesterday that by end of year it expects its streaming to be available on 100 million devices (e.g. Blu-ray, gaming consoles, connected TVs, iPads, Roku, etc.). In a world that still lacks application integration standards, Netflix has done the heavy lifting to get onto all of these devices that nobody else has (by contrast for example, Hulu Plus is only available on iPad/iPhone/iPod and Samsung connected devices). While others scramble to catch up, Netflix is already moving on to improve its streaming experience, for example, planning a new UI for PS3 among other things. Until connected devices embrace an open, standardized, browser-based model (which will begin with Google TV's launch later this year), Netflix has erected a huge competitive barrier. Once again, having deep pockets has real benefits.
What do you think? Post a comment now (no sign-in required).Categories: Aggregators
Topics: Hulu Plus, Netflix, Relativity Media
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Qlipso is Now Integrated With Veoh
A few months ago the assets of Veoh, the well-funded, but ultimately unsuccessful online video aggregator, were sold to a tiny company named Qlipso, which is backed by Jerusalem Venture Partners. It was a highly
unconventional deal and the rationale Qlipso provided at the time seemed vague to me. However, Qlipso has now done its initial integration with Veoh and after seeing it and talking with Qlipso CEO Jon Goldman last week, I have a better sense of what's going on and what's ahead.
When you visit Veoh.com now and select any video to watch, you'll see an invitation above the video window to "Share live with friends." Clicking that link invokes the Qlipso social platform, in which the video plays. When you sign in to Qlipso you're then able to create your own avatar or insert webcam video of yourself, either of which is displayed alongside others in the room. You're also able to communicate with others through text and audio chat.
Categories: Aggregators, Deals & Financings, Games
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KickApps Extends App Studio to Support HTML5
Social software provider KickApps is announcing this morning that its App Studio will now support HTML5, in addition to Flash.
App Studio is a drag-and-drop authoring tool for creating customized video players. With App Studio, users can select from a range of pre-integrated plug-ins from
KickApps' partners. KickApps CEO Alex Blum explained to me yesterday that users will now be able to author once in App Studio and have end-user devices playback in whichever video format they detect is appropriate (e.g. Flash when viewing online or HTML5 when viewing on an iPad or iPhone).
Categories: Technology
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