VideoNuze Posts

Two months ago I wrote about the initial success cable operator UPC Hungary had in offering YouTube to its subscribers via existing set-top boxes. Since its May introduction, about 50% of those who could access YouTube had already done so at least once, and more than 50% of them had become repeat users. Now, 2 months later, 80% of those who have access have tried YouTube, with 80% of them returning.

The new data was revealed by Arpad Jordan, CTO of UPC Central and Eastern Europe at the OTT World Summit in London. YouTube access was rolled out in a first phase in May to around 250K HD set-top boxes. In September Jordan said that these first phase YouTube users were watching over a million minutes per day with average session lengths of 45 minutes.

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Video ad tech is a very hot space currently with lots of deals and financings, with the latest being Eyeview, which this morning announced a $15 million financing from existing investor Marker LLC. The new funds bring to $34.5 million the total amount the company has raised.

Eyeview describes itself as "fusing the effectiveness of TV video branding with the efficiencies of digital personalization." It does this by taking a standard TV ad or other video creative and dynamically customizing it to target individual viewers. The customizations can vary by things like specific advertiser offers, geography, viewer behavior, weather conditions, calendar events, etc. Basically any type of trigger that would help to drive engagement and take the video ad experience far beyond what's typical on TV.

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I'm pleased to present the 250th edition of the VideoNuze podcast with my weekly partner Colin Dixon of nScreenMedia.

(Programming note - While we were quite tempted to add our voices to this week's raging net neutrality debate, we decided to pass, on the assumption that listeners are likely fatigued. But if you'd like us to do an episode on net neutrality, please let us know.)

Instead, we start this week with FreeWheel's newly-released Q3 '14 Video Monetization Report (VMR), and specifically how sports are playing a big role driving TV Everywhere's adoption. As Colin wrote, a whopping  82% of live online video ad views are now tied to sports content. Live video ads themselves grew by 214% year-over-year and now account for 21% of all video ad views for programmers.

This is critical because it's increasingly clear that sports are going to play a pivotal role in broader TVE adoption. Colin will be moderating a session at VideoSchmooze on Dec. 4th that will dive deep into the subject with FreeWheel's Brian Dutt, who oversees the VMR, along with executives from Comcast, NBCU and Fox Sports. The session is a key part of our jam-packed VideoSchmooze program.

We then discuss Yahoo's acquisition of video ad platform BrightRoll for $640 million cash. As I wrote earlier this week, the deal is the latest in a string of video ad tech acquisitions, fueled by the market's growing acknowledgement of online/mobile video advertising's growing importance. We also dig into what the deal means for Yahoo.  

Listen in to learn more!

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The early bird discount for the Dec. 4th VideoSchmooze: Online Video Leadership Forum in NYC expires next week.  Early bird tickets are $95, with 5-packs for $430 and 10-packs for $760. As an extra motivator to sign up early, all early bird registrants will be entered to win a TiVo Roamio Plus DVR with Lifetime service, a $1,000 value, generously provided by TiVo.

To say there's a lot going on in the video world these days would be quite an understatement. At VideoSchmooze we'll tackling some of the hottest topics - cord-cutting, SVOD eroding linear TV viewing, online video advertising, sports and TV Everywhere, online originals' impact, the role of data, the rise of connected/mobile devices, millennials' viewing behaviors, new OTT initiatives, best practices, and lots more.

I'm especially excited about our all-star group of speakers and moderators, who will be sharing their insights. In particular, on the opening session, Dounia Turrill, SVP, Client Insights at Nielsen, will be sharing new Q3 '14 Cross-Platform data and Bruce Leichtman, president of Leichtman Research Group, will be providing an update on Q3 pay-TV video and broadband subscribers. No doubt they'll debunk some myths and shed new light on market conditions.

I'm grateful to the Lead sponsors of this VideoSchmooze, Brightcove and Kaltura plus Branding sponsors Digitalsmiths, FreeWheel and Tremor Video, all of which will have executives attending and participating.

With so much happening these days, I expect this will be the highest-impact VideoSchmooze yet. If you're in the video industry and need to really understand the landscape, I highly recommend you join us for this superb morning of learning and networking!

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TV networks around the world are scrambling to deliver their content to multiple screens as viewer behavior continues to shift from scheduled to time-shifted/on-demand. But doing so efficiently is complicated by disparate systems required to set and reset viewing and ad policies. To streamline this process, thePlatform is launching mpx Replay today, which gives TV networks the tools to quickly make available programs for catch-up and start-over viewing across screens.

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Late yesterday Yahoo announced it's acquiring video ad platform BrightRoll for $640 million cash. The deal had been rumored for a while and is the latest in a consolidation trend in the video ad tech space (and larger online video space) over the past year. By my count, since the start of 2014, there have been over 20 different online video acquisitions in the U.S. alone, spanning ad tech, content creation, distribution, search/discovery and mobile.

The BrightRoll deal instantly makes Yahoo one of the leading players in programmatic video advertising, a significant growth area in the industry. Yahoo joins other big media companies that have also entered the programmatic video ad space via acquisition (e.g. Facebook with LiveRail, AOL with Adap.tv, RTL Group with SpotXchange, etc.). With all of these companies now emphasizing programmatic, growth will surely accelerate further.

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This morning President Obama made his strongest endorsement yet for net neutrality, releasing a statement and video (see below) explicitly endorsing the reclassification of broadband services under Title II of the Communications Act, effectively regulating broadband as a utility (note, the change isn't Obama's to make, it's the FCC's, which is an independent agency).

If the FCC did make the change it would be the most significant update to broadband regulatory policy since 2002 when broadband was classified under Title I as a lightly regulated "information service." The change to Title II would mean broadband ISPs would have to adhere to regulations dating back to 1934. In one bit of good news for ISPs, Obama specifically said rates should be excluded from Title II regulation (which means usage-based pricing could still be implemented). Any proposed change is guaranteed to be challenged in the courts by ISPs.

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