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SundaySky - AOL StudioNow Partnership is a Great Example of Video Innovation
A partnership announced yesterday between SundaySky and StudioNow is another great example of how video is being used to innovate traditional ways of doing business. For those not familiar with either company, SundaySky's technology platform, which I last wrote about here, creates real-time, personalized videos at scale using templates and data feeds, and StudioNow (which is part of AOL's Advertising.com division) offers distributed video production and syndication services.
The partnership creates a new sales channel for SundaySky, while enhancing the range of services StudioNow can offer its clients. As SundaySky's president and CRO Jim Disco explained to me yesterday, the exciting part is how SundaySky's technology is being innovatively applied and the new value it creates for customers like real estate service provider ListingBook, which was also announced yesterday.
Categories: Partnerships, Technology
Topics: AOL, ListingBook, StudioNow, SundaySky
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5 Things Holding Back TV Everywhere's Rollout
It has been almost 3 years since the term "TV Everywhere" burst onto the scene as the pay-TV industry's response to threats from over-the-top competitors. Yet while TV Everywhere is as tantalizing as ever, it remains a vaguely defined concept and a mishmash of disparate efforts. On the positive side, efforts like HBO GO, WatchESPN, various Turner apps, Comcast's Xfinity TV app and others are already gaining traction and illustrating how valuable TV Everywhere services can be.
However, there's still no consensus in the industry about what TV Everywhere really is meant to be - a new way of viewing programming in-home or out-of-home or both? A new delivery mechanism for live/linear channels or for on-demand archives only or for both? A value-added opportunity to retain subscribers or a new way to generate incremental revenue with additional fees and/or with conventional TV-style ad loads? And so on. Talking to executives throughout the industry and following all of the media coverage I'd suggest there are at least 5 things that are currently holding back TV Everywhere from achieving its full potential:
Categories: Cable Networks, TV Everywhere
Topics: TV Everywhere
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As Viacom-Google Appeal Begins, Question Remains Why Can't They Make a Deal?
Remember Viacom's $1 billion copyright infringement suit against YouTube initiated 4 1/2 years ago, which was decided in Google's favor last June? Well, it's alive and well, and this morning the parties will appear for short oral arguments in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York, as Viacom begins its appeal of the decision. Of course Viacom has every right to keep pursuing the matter, but what I've wondered about from the beginning of this case is why haven't the parties been able to make a mutually beneficial business deal so that they can put the litigation aside. As the online video market has matured over the past 4 1/2 years, with the potential dollars up for grabs growing, it's become an even bigger mystery to me.
Categories: Aggregators, Cable Networks
Topics: Google, Viacom, YouTube
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Complimentary Webinar, Thurs., Nov. 3rd: Next-Gen Video Discovery
Please join me for a complimentary webinar on Thurs., Nov. 3rd at 11am PT / 2pm ET, as Colin Dixon, senior partner at research firm The Diffusion Group, Yosi Glick, CEO/co-founder of recommendation engine Jinni and I discuss how the proliferation of video choices and devices has made it harder than ever for people to find what they really want to watch - and what's being done to address this problem.
It wasn't that long ago that the on-screen electronic program guide provided by pay-TV operators served as the most convenient way to discover what was available on TV, which was of course the primary place to access video programming. Now, however, there's a whole separate universe of programming available outside the pay-TV operator's scope of services (e.g. Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, web-only series, branded entertainment, etc.). And there's a huge range of connected and mobile devices (e.g. iPad, Roku, gaming consoles, Android smartphones, etc.) being used to watch this programming.
A range of different solutions has sprung up to address the navigation challenge, each with its own pros and cons. Solving this problem will have enormous benefits for viewers, and implications for content providers and device makers. In this timely webinar we'll explore key trends, different technology approaches being deployed and what the future holds. If it's important to you to understand how discovery will work in the online video era, then this webinar will be very worthwhile.
Learn more and register nowCategories: Webinars
Topics: Jinni, The Diffusion Group, Webinar
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No Surprise, No Deal for Hulu. Here's What Changed.
Last evening, Hulu's owners announced in a short statement that the company will not be sold after all. The news came as no surprise to me. VideoNuze readers will recall that back on June 22, when the first rumors of Hulu potentially being up for sale surfaced, I posted, "Here's Why Any Deal for Hulu is Unlikely."
In that post I explained how Hulu's primary asset - next-day distribution rights to ABC/Fox/NBC programs - would be at the heart of its valuation. The
big challenge with selling Hulu was that its owners would have to pass these rights (albeit likely reformulated) to an unaffiliated and uncontrollable 3rd-party, at the same time as online video delivery has injected massive uncertainty into their businesses. This issue, rather than lower-than-expected bids as some have tritely suggested, is why Hulu's owners ultimately decided to pull Hulu off the block.
Though this was always the central issue in any Hulu deal, I believe 3 things happened in the past 4 months that crystallized the importance for Hulu's owners of maintaining full control of their distribution rights:
Categories: Aggregators, Deals & Financings
Topics: Comcast, Disney, Hulu, News Corp.
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RealGravity Seeks to Shake Up Video Platforms and Syndication With All-in-One Solution
Newcomer RealGravity is looking to shake up online video platform/publishing and syndication with a no-commitment, risk-free, all-in-one solution.
RealGravity hit my radar recently as it is powering CineSport, which has become one of the top online video sports properties this year (recently with more viewers than Yahoo Sports, ESPN and SI Digital) by focusing exclusively on syndicating its content to larger 3rd-party publishers.
As VideoNuze readers know, online video syndication has been a focus of mine for several years, as I'm a big believer that it's critical for generating audience and revenues, particularly for smaller content providers that lack well-trafficked destinations. RealGravity is providing important infrastructure for fueling syndication, and recently I caught up with Luke McDonough, co-founder and CEO to learn more about what makes RealGravity different.
Categories: Syndicated Video Economy
Topics: RealGravity
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Over $236 Million Raised in Q3 '11 By Private Online/Mobile Video Companies
Private online and mobile video companies raised at least $236.5 million in Q3 '11, the largest amount since Q2 '10 when $247 million was raised. It's also a huge rebound from Q2 '11's $84 million which was the lowest in the past 2 years. I've compiled the total from numerous sources I track and as always, it is possible that I missed some news during the quarter. If so, please let me know and I'll update the list.
As detailed below, the $236.5 million was raised by 20 companies, with 2 additional financings undisclosed (ClipSync and Ooyala). Of the $236.5 million, 62%, or $147 million, flowed to just 5 companies, Tango ($42M), Tremor Video ($37M), Thought Equity Motion ($25M), Vidyo ($22.5M) and Zenverge ($20.5M). All of these were later stage rounds in companies that had previously raised substantial sums.
As I always like to add in these roundups, too much shouldn't be read into one quarter's data as financings close when they do - a few days one way or the other and quarters can look very different.
Still, the number and breadth of the financings across the online and mobile video value chain - from chips to monetization - is solid evidence that investors remain bullish on video's potential. This should continue as video usage increases, devices proliferate and advertisers accelerate their spending.
In addition to the financings, there was also significant M&A activity and public financings in Q3, which are noted below.
Categories: Deals & Financings
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Early Bird Registration Now Open for VideoSchmooze:NYC on Nov. 30th
Early bird discounted registration for the next VideoSchmooze:NYC Online Video Leadership Forum, on Wednesday morning, Nov. 30th, is now available.
This will be the 8th VideoSchmooze that VideoNuze has hosted and it promises to be the best yet, packed with lots of learning and networking with industry leaders in an expanded morning format from 7:30am-11am at the Harvard Club of NYC.
Following breakfast, the program will begin with Eric Kessler, co-president of HBO, discussing HBO GO, the network's highly successful online/mobile TV Everywhere app. Eric will provide an update on key usage metrics and what's ahead. Then I'll do a fireside chat with Eric where we'll delve into larger industry issues including over-the-top challenges from Netflix, Hulu, Google/YouTube, Amazon and others, the changing landscape for premium video online and TV Everywhere's status.
Categories: Events
Topics: VideoSchmooze
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