VideoNuze Posts

In a brief interview in AdWeek yesterday, Mark Cuban said "if Apple released a set-top box that supported authentication for multichannel video programming distributors (like cable and satellite companies), it would be a huge success." I agree with him - and that's exactly why such a product won't see the light of day.

As I asserted in August ("Apple to Make Cable Set-Top Boxes? Not. Going. To. Happen."), if pay-TV operators invited Apple to make set-tops it would be like letting the proverbial fox into the henhouse. They would be turning over their user experience to Apple, allowing the company to drive the UI and therefore reshape the video experience as it determined, just as it has done in music with iTunes. While there might be some short-term benefits (e.g. lower capex, etc.), the pay-TV industry's ability to sustain its multi-channel bundle long-term would be undermined.

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Interactive video ad tech provider Jivox is announcing this morning that its platform can now deliver mobile ads on the iPad Mini and iPhone 5, without any additional work by publishers or agencies. Jivox uses a single ad tag that detects the type of device, browser and OS so that an appropriately sized ad is adaptively chosen and delivered. In addition, Jivox can detect which devices have higher quality Retina Display and will deliver high resolution ads to those.

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Yesterday comScore released its September 2012 Video Metrix data which showed YouTube accounted for approximately 13.1 billion videos viewed out of the monthly total of 39.4 billion. At 33.2%, that's the lowest market share YouTube has had since Aug. '10 when I started tracking this data. As recently as July '12, YouTube had a 53.1% share (with 19.6 billion videos viewed), though as I pointed out previously, in August, its share dropped unexpectedly to 36.5%.

In addition, the 13.1 billion YouTube videos viewed in September is the lowest in the 13 months since comScore changed its reporting methodology and is nearly 30% lower than the 18.6 billion videos viewed a year ago in Sept. '11 and almost 650 million lower than its Aug '11 total of 13.8 billion videos. (YouTube's record high was 21.9 billion in Dec. '11). See chart below for more.

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Univision has launched its ambitious UVideos online and via mobile apps for iOS and Android devices. Announcing UVideos, Univision cited Nielsen research that 60% of  Spanish-speaking Hispanic consumers like to share video clips with friends online, with 60% of them saying they want more Spanish-language digital video.

When visiting UVideos for the first time, Univision has helpfully posted the splash screen below with navigation cues called out to orient new users.

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Last Friday morning Comcast reported strong Q3 '12 results, including its 8th straight quarter of lower year-over-year video subscriber losses. For Q3 '12, it lost 117K subscribers, vs. 165K in Q3 '11. This pattern stretches all the way back to Q4 '10, when Comcast lost 135K subscribers, vs. the 199K it lost in Q4 '09. Obviously no business likes to lose customers, but Comcast's (and all cable operators') reality is that with the incursion of telcos and satellite operators, some market fragmentation was inevitable.

On its earnings call, Comcast executives didn't point to any one reason for the ongoing video subscriber improvement, except to point to solid execution and "competing effectively with our improved products and services." Of course it doesn't hurt that the economy and housing have both picked up recently. Comcast's performance is also likely coming at the expense of telcos and satellite operators, whose Q3 results have not yet been fully released.

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I'm pleased to present the 153rd edition of the VideoNuze-TDG podcast with my weekly partner Colin Dixon, senior analyst at The Diffusion Group. This week Colin and I review Netflix's Q3 '12 results and its bumpy path forward.

As I wrote earlier this week, by the end of 2012, Netflix will have lost 8 million, or half the DVD subscribers it had back in July '11. That loss of subscribers and cash flow come at an inopportune time, given Netflix's aggressive international expansion. Colin is slightly more optimistic about Netflix, citing its better-than-expected international subscriber results. We also share thoughts on where Netflix goes from here.

Unrelated to Netflix, Colin also just released a complimentary white paper called "Examining the Trend: From IPTV to Broadband IPTV, which is available for download here.

Click here to listen to the podcast (24 minutes, 46 seconds)

Click here for previous podcasts

The VideoNuze-TDG podcast is available in iTunes...subscribe today!

Reminder that all early bird, discounted registrants for the Dec. 5th VideoSchmooze Online Video Leadership Forum in NYC will be entered to win an $850 Samsung 40 inch LED Smart TV, generously provided by NeuLion. The only qualifier is you must actually be in attendance when we do the drawing.

The early bird discounted ticket price is $95, which includes the full morning program through 12 noon, continental breakfast and networking.

If you need to understand what's driving the online video ecosystem forward and how it's impacting related industries like pay-TV, advertising, content and devices, then VideoSchmooze is a must-attend event. VideoSchmooze's outstanding industry analysts and executives will cover the hottest topics including the OTT landscape, TV Everywhere, multi-platform distribution, monetization, innovation/technology enablers, changing consumer behaviors, devices, and more.

The lead sponsors for this 9th VideoSchmooze are Adobe, AOL, Collective and thePlatform, with supporting sponsors Akamai, Undertone and NeuLion.

Register now for the early bird discount and an opportunity to win the Samsung Smart TV!

Despite the massive proliferation of video-enabled devices, a new survey released this morning by Verizon finds that 89% of "borderless" consumers and 90% of "non-borderless" consumers still prefer watching TV programs on their TVs. The survey is part of a new research initiative called the Verizon FiOS Innovation Index: Borderless Lifestyle Survey and is based on approximately 2,300 adult respondents.

According to Verizon, "borderless consumers" are defined as owning a computer, a smartphone or tablet, have an Internet-enabled device with them at all times, are interested in technology and connectivity upgrades and the benefits of a connected home. Verizon believes that fully 40% of Americans are now borderless consumers, with those 18-34 comprising the largest number.

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