VideoNuze Posts

Hulu Plus Should Drop the In-Stream Ads Immediately

Categories: Advertising, Aggregators

Topics: Hulu Plus

VideoNuze Report Podcast #66 - July 2, 2010

Categories: Aggregators, Podcasts

Topics: Hulu Plus

Complimentary Webinar: Demystifying Open vs. Closed Internet Video Distribution

Categories: Events

Topics: TDG, Webinar

Revision3 is Achieving Unaided Advertising Recall of Up to 99%

When Revision3, the independent network of online video programs, has surveyed its viewers, it has discovered that 99% of them are able to identify at least 1 of its advertisers. That incredibly high level of unaided recall is due to having its program hosts integrate advertiser messages in the middle of its programs, according to Revision3 CEO Jim Louderback, who I interviewed last week. Jim will be a featured speaker at NATPE's upcoming LATV Fest (VideoNuze readers get $200 off registrations). Following is an excerpted transcript.

VideoNuze: Revision3 is producing a lot of shows now. Tell us how you decide what new shows to launch?

Jim Louderback: It's a combination of things. We start by asking our viewers what kinds of shows they'd like to see. We scour the Internet - places like YouTube, Vimeo, blip, etc. - to find things that fit with our brands and our 18-34 male target audience. And we apply filters of what we think will work. For example, people told us they wanted a show about movies and so we were able to find a couple of guys in Florida who were making a cool show. We talked to them and refined the program - Film RIot, a little and it's been a big success. Our goal is to combine community with a topic our audience is fascinated by and hosts who are authentic and passionate.

VN: What are Revision3's top 2-3 successes?

JL: Our biggest shows are Techzilla - which is 2 geeks who are passionate about technology; Diggnation - 2 guys talking about social news; and Scam School - built around the concept of using magic to scam drinks off your friends. AppJudgement is doing well as is the Digg Reel, among others. They all come from different places but they've all developed audience and community.

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Categories: Advertising, Indie Video

Move Networks Lays Off Entire Staff

Move Networks has laid off its entire staff today, with only CFO Jamie Harper remaining, I've learned. Move, which had raised approximately $70 million to date was once a high-flyer in the online video space, powering ABC, Fox and other premium content sites' video.

However, as I've written, with advances in adaptive bit rate streaming from competitors and plunging delivery pricing from CDNs, Move shifted away from this market to instead become a white-label solution for companies looking to deliver multichannel lineups exclusively through broadband infrastructure. This followed its acquisition of Inuk Networks.

Move was apparently trying to raise another $30 million but this didn't come to fruition. Move is the third big crater in the online video space, following Joost and Veoh. I've left a voice mail for Jamie Harper and am also digging around for additional details.

Update: Move has posted a press release which says the company "intends to retain a financial advisor to assist the Company in evaluating strategic alternatives, including a possible sale of the Company." The release also confirms that Roxanne Austin, CEO and President has stepped down, and says that Marcus Liassides will be elevated to President. More updates as they happen.

What do you think? Post a comment now (no sign-in required).

Categories: Technology

Topics: Move Networks

7 Quick Reactions to Hulu Plus

Hulu unveiled its much-rumored subscription service this afternoon, dubbed "Hulu Plus." I haven't used the new service, but based on the explanation and the teaser video, here are 7 quick reactions:

1. Is there consumer demand for Hulu Plus? - This looms as the fundamental question that will be answered as Hulu Plus rolls out. From CEO Jason Kilar's blog post, it appears that, at least initially, Hulu Plus is a bet on consumers having an appetite for a library of broadcast network programs since that's all that's been highlighted so far. Hulu identifies about 2,000 library episodes in addition to current seasons. Unless Hulu Plus really beefs up its catalog, it won't be long before the library holds few surprises for returning visitors.

2. Hulu Plus lacks many of Netflix's advantages - It's tempting to think of Hulu Plus competing directly with Netflix, and to an extent of course they're after the same general target consumer. But Netflix has several very significant advantages: a brand that's identified with subscriptions and 14 million+ currently paying subscribers, a deep DVD library of 100,000+ titles (which has every single episode Hulu Plus will be offering), a streaming library of 17,000+ titles (offered at no extra cost to subscribers) and integrations with all the same devices Hulu Plus is touting (except the iPhone, which is coming soon). Further, Netflix has far deeper resources; it is a public company with a $6 billion market cap that spends $250 million/year on marketing and has publicly-stated commitment to obtain more streaming rights from Hollywood. With Netflix on one side and cable on another, it's unclear how Hulu Plus will expand its menu. I don't see Hulu Plus diminishing Netflix's rapid growth.

3. Ads in Hulu Plus would be a big-time buzz-kill - I did a double-take when I first read this line in Jason's post: "Hulu Plus is a new revolutionary, ad-supported subscription product that is incremental and complementary to the existing Hulu service." Whoa - are there going to be ads in Hulu Plus? That will be a flat-out non-starter for many prospective subscribers. Yes, I know about ad-supported cable networks, but that's for first-run programming, not for library or catch-up fare. Hulu Plus must be an ad-free zone. Meanwhile, it's important that Hulu still prove the 100% ad-supported business model for its existing experience. With much in flux regarding ad loads there's new messaging Hulu will likely be rolling there too.

4. Why wasn't Android or Google TV mentioned? - Is it a little weird that there was no mention of Android or Google TV in today's unveiling? I think so. Android is fast-gaining on the iPhone (surpassed by some metrics) and Google TV is poised to make a big splash in the fall. Why no mention? Is there an anti-Google bias at work?

5. Hulu Plus adds more support for HTML5 - Hulu Plus is another boost for HTML5 and another small dent for Flash. By making Hulu Plus available on non-Flash supported Apple devices, the it seems the Hulu team has been willing to make the investment to diversify beyond Flash, which it has used since launch.

6. Comcast must already be considering how it exits the Hulu joint venture - When the Comcast-NBCU deal clears, Comcast will inherit NBCU's ownership stake in Hulu. With Hulu Plus it's hard to see why Comcast will want to retain that stake. There's no discernible benefit to Comcast owning a minority position in a new over-the-top subscription service that whets the appetite of potential cord-cutters. It's one thing for selective NBC programs to be freely available for catch-up on Hulu.com, but a deeper library in a paid subscription service? No way, especially not as Comcast is trying to build value in its own TV Everywhere service.

7. Hulu gets credit for a well-executed launch - Stepping back, the Hulu team deserves credit for keeping its subscription under tight wraps and executing a solid launch. There have been no shortage of rumors, but to my knowledge there haven't been any specifically identifiable leaks in the Hulu ship. That's a big accomplishment, especially when you consider how many people must have had knowledge of the plans. The launch includes a well-articulated CEO message, a nicely-done sizzle reel (that is in Flash, which makes it not viewable on the iPad or iPhone!), several device integrations and a roadmap of add-ons, and a slow-rollout plan that will generate excitement among early adopters.

There are still many unknowns about Hulu Plus, but for now this is plenty to chew on.

What do you think? Post a comment now (no sign-in required).

Categories: Aggregators, Broadcasters

Topics: ABC, Android, CBS, FOX, Google, Hulu, NBC

Katzenberg's Right, the DVD Ownership Era Seems All But Over

At the tail end of an interview with Walt Mossberg at the recent D8 conference, Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of Dreamworks Animation SKG, and a long-time Hollywood executive, argued that rapidly-declining DVD sales are "systemic," and should not be considered a "secular" downturn that will reverse itself when the economy improves. Katzenberg believes that what's really at work are fundamentally changing consumer habits. He argued that with DVDs costing $20 or more, consumers are questioning the value of ownership since there are so many other ways to access the film on an on-demand basis (he mentioned Netflix, Blockbuster, Redbox, VOD, iTunes as among the options).

I agree with Katzenberg, but would take his argument one step further. While it is no secret that there are more options than ever for accessing content (as mentioned above), of even more significance is that technology awareness and aptitude - the prerequisites for taking advantage of the choices now available - are deeper and more diffuse in our society than ever.

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Categories: FIlms

Topics: D8, Dreamworks Animation SKG, Jeffrey Katzenberg

Here's What Fox, NBC and Hulu are Doing with Increased Online Ad Loads

Categories: Advertising, Broadcasters

Topics: ABC, CBS, FOX, Hulu, NBC