VideoNuze Posts

Tomorrow is the VideoSchmooze breakfast in LA, at the beautiful SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills from 8 am-10:15 am. The topic of our panel discussion, which I'll moderate, is "How Hollywood Succeeds in the Digital Distribution Era."  

We have a great group of panelists who will discuss all the key issues. We'll also have plenty of time for audience Q&A.

• Albert Cheng - EVP, Digital Media, Disney/ABC Television Group

• Gannon Hall - Chief Operating Officer, Kyte (co-lead sponsor of the breakfast)

• Justin Herz - SVP, Direct-to-Consumer, Warner Bros. Digital Distribution

• Ted Sarandos - Chief Content Officer - Netflix

• Ben Weinberger - CEO and Co-Founder, Digitalsmiths (co-lead sponsor of the breakfast)

Online registration will be open until 8pm PT tonight. Walk-ins are also welcome; only cash and checks will be accepted at the door.

We have a large group attending, so in addition to the panel, there will be great networking both before and after the formal discussion. Note also that valet parking is included in the ticket price.

Thanks to the event's co-lead sponsors Digitalsmiths and Kyte, and supporting sponsors Akamai, Horn Group, Irdeto, ScanScout and Signiant.

Click here to learn more and register now

After much build-up, the World Cup is finally upon us. Major brands' World Cup-themed ads have been a big part of fueling awareness, and the folks at Visible Measures have been tracking their viewership. The top 5 most-viewed ads include ones from Puma, Coca-Cola, Carlsberg, Pepsi, and of course the insanely-popular ad (22 million+) views from Nike.

The World Cup games are going to get a lot of attention online, with both ESPN3 and Univision planning lots of live online and mobile streaming. To access ESPN3 you need to be a subscriber to one of the broadband ISPs that has a deal to carry the online network (AT&T, Verizon, Comcast, Cox, etc.). Univision is open to all, but unless you speak Spanish you may want to mute the audio.

The World Cup once again shows up how important major sporting events are to online video. Past events like the Summer and Winter Olympics, March Madness, MLB.tv, Sunday Night Football and now the World Cup showcase online and mobile video at their best, providing anywhere access, interactivity and loads of additional information. The crown jewel of sports that still remains outside of online video's reach is the Super Bowl. If and when it gets live-streamed, online video will really have made it big-time.

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

A piece in Light Reading this week noted that Rogers, the largest cable operator in Canada, now has approximately 100,000 of its subscribers registered for its TV Everywhere service, and is on track for getting a few hundred thousand out of its total 2.3 million subscribers using it by the end of the year.

The success at Rogers raises the question of where things stand with TV Everywhere in the U.S. Recently Comcast's Amy Banse told me a million people are regularly accessing its Fancast Xfinity TV service, but she declined to provide any further details. I just read yesterday in B&C that Time Warner Cable has "a small number of subscribers" in a trial in New York.

I've been bullish on TV Everywhere from the start, but have noted repeatedly that execution is key. The world is moving fast toward convergence, and incumbent video service providers need to prove that they can innovate and roll out these new services. Whether it's Netflix, Google TV or others, there are plenty of people outside the ecosystem that want a piece of the action.

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

Yesterday's note in the WSJ's Digits blog about 22 year-old South Korean singer Kim Yeo-hee's move from YouTube viral star to her own record deal is a reminder of the brave new world that aspiring singers now find themselves in. Of course, getting noticed on YouTube as a viral star has been a rage for years now, but what's different for Kim is that what got her noticed online is her use of music apps on 3 different iPhones as her as accompaniment.

It's a somewhat awkward scene, but you have to give Kim credit for being ingenious. And it's a lesson to other up-and-comers - having good pipes is still table stakes, but new technology and devices can help you distinguish yourself in the sea of online performers. That got me to thinking - with smartphones becoming a bigger and bigger part of our culture, what other creative ways might we see them start seeing them appear in performances?

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

The WSJ reported on Wednesday that online video viewing over the last year has begun shifting from the lunch time daypart to the coveted primetime daypart. Online primetime viewing rose 14% to an average of 62.4 million viewers over the last year according to Nielsen.

While network programming from Hulu certainly helped, the article credited the jump primarily to independent original web series and networks like blip.tv and Revision3. Revision3's CEO, Jim Louderback attributed its share to the 40% of its audience watching on connected devices like Roku while blip's CEO Mike Hudack argued it was the rise in quality and length of programming. The average length of blip's episodes is up to 14 minutes from 6 minutes a year ago.

Mike also posted yesterday on blip's blog further sharing his excitement that blip is also close to reaching 100 million views per month. This despite the fact that its web series are produced on a fraction of Hollywood's typical budgets (his estimate is blip's shows cost one-tenth of 1% of Hulu's). Mike's argument underscores the democratization of media underway. The Internet allows hardworking entrepreneurial content creators to work successfully far outside the world of Hollywood's ecosystem to create great content and gain sizable audiences.

Add in this week's NewFront and it's clear that independent original web video is uttering a battle cry for legitimacy. As devices and platforms that blur the line between online video and television continue to emerge, this trend will further accelerate, potentially positioning indie online content as a disruptor to traditional programming.

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

Daisy Whitney and I are pleased to present the 64th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for June 11, 2010.

We welcome back Daisy, who just took a relaxing vacation in Paris. As Daisy says, the media world continued to spin while she was away, and in particular Apple and Steve Jobs have stayed in the news. Earlier this week Apple launched the iPhone 4 and last week Jobs spoke extensively at the WSJ's D8 conference.

At D8, Jobs was asked a question about Apple's TV strategy (or lack thereof). His answer led me to me to write earlier this week "Why Apple Still Doesn't Have a TV Strategy," in which I outlined the 3 key reasons I think Jobs and Apple are stymied. In today's podcast Daisy and I dig into this topic further.

Click here to listen to the podcast (12 minutes, 10 seconds)

Click here for previous podcasts

The VideoNuze Report is available in iTunes...subscribe today!

Following this year's successful TV advertising upfront, yesterday Digitas' branded entertainment arm, The Third Act, presented its third annual and playfully titled, Digital Content NewFront. The similarities are in name only though, as the NewFront is a conference and social gathering, bringing together and showcasing top tier online content creators, distributors, and forward-thinking brands.

Before you start thinking NewFront is a bunch of web wannabes looking for their big break, the guest list was actually packed with tons of traditional media talent who have also been pursuing online content, such as Kevin Pollack, Jason Bateman, Lisa Kudrow, Teri Hatcher, and even Martha Stewart. Their involvement underscores how traditional and new media convergence is already well underway, propelled by branded entertainment.

The enthusiasm at the NewFront was abundant, with Mark Beeching, Digitas' Worldwide Chief Creative Officer, trumpeting in his opening remarks, "Online video is no longer a three minute trivial sideshow!" Still, illustrating the mixed motivations of many online content creators, Ricky Van Veen, of CollegeHumor and IAC's branded content wing, Electus, noted that most creators still view online video as a stepping-stone to TV or film. 

Categories: Advertising, Branded Entertainment, Indie Video

Topics: Digitas, NewFront

There's still time to sign up for the VideoSchmooze breakfast/panel discussion in LA next Tuesday, June 15th. The event will be at the luxurious SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills. The topic of our panel discussion, which I'll moderate, is "How Hollywood Succeeds in the Digital Distribution Era."  

Our expert panel will dig into all of the relevant issues (and will leave plenty of time for audience Q&A):

• Albert Cheng - EVP, Digital Media, Disney/ABC Television Group

• Gannon Hall - Chief Operating Officer, Kyte (co-lead sponsor of the breakfast)

• Justin Herz - SVP, Direct-to-Consumer, Warner Bros. Digital Distribution

• Ted Sarandos - Chief Content Officer, Netflix

• Ben Weinberger - CEO and Co-Founder, Digitalsmiths (co-lead sponsor of the breakfast)

We have a large group attending, so in addition to the panel, there will be great networking both before and after the formal discussion.

Thanks to the event's co-lead sponsors Digitalsmiths and Kyte, and supporting sponsors Akamai, Horn Group, Irdeto, ScanScout and Signiant.

(Note: parking is included in the ticket price)

Click here to learn more and register now