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VideoNuze Report Podcast #89 - Feb. 25, 2011
I'm pleased to present the 89th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for February 25, 2011.
In this week's podcast, Harold Geller, the SVP of Cross-Industry Workflow at the 4As (American Association of Advertising Agencies) joins me, sitting in for Daisy Whitney. Harold and I discuss the busy week online video platforms have had, including Ooyala's deal with Yahoo! Japan, thePlatform's with Telstra's BigPond TV, Brightcove's integration with LG's Smart TVs, and VBrick's acquisition of Fliqz.
One of the takeaways we see from this activity is that online video platforms and video delivery to connected TVs (and other devices) are starting to converge. Harold also notes a couple of recent conversations he's had which further suggest that OVPs and online video advertising players will be playing a greater role in ad insertion in video-on-demand offered by traditional pay-TV operators. That would be a pretty interesting new twist in the VOD story. More on this next week.
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Categories: Podcasts, Technology
Topics: BigPond TV, Brightcove, Fliqz, LG, Ooyala, Telstra, thePlatform, VBrick, Yahoo! Japan
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VideoNuze Report Podcast #88 - Feb. 18, 2011
Daisy Whitney and I are pleased to present the 88th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for February 18, 2011.
In this podcast, Daisy and I discuss a deal announced earlier this week in which MLB.com will provide near real-time video clips to CBSSports.com's Fantasy Baseball Commissioner users, among other things. The deal caught my attention because the video is driven off of metadata that's created and published almost immediately after the video is shot. That contrasts with metadata creation happening with library content. The deal also speaks to the way video can be used to enhance various online experiences. Listen in the learn more.
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The VideoNuze Report is available in iTunes...subscribe today!Topics: CBSSports.com, MLB.com, Podcast
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VideoNuze Report Podcast #87 - Feb. 11, 2011
Daisy Whitney and I are pleased to present the 87th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for February 11, 2011.
In this podcast, Daisy and I do a deep dive into the role of sports in pay-TV packaging, based on my post from Monday, "Not A Sports Fan? Then You're Getting Sacked For At Least $2 Billion Per Year." I think this is a fascinating topic and something that has been under-reported even though it has huge implications for pay-TV subscription rates as over-the-top services gain awareness.
The basic premise of my post was that since a relatively small cluster of sports-oriented channels (e.g. ESPN, TNT, Regional Sports Networks and others) collectively cost pay-TV operators $10 per month, then the charges being incurred by non-fans and casual who fans who rarely, if ever watch these channels, could amount to at least $2 billion per year. Since writing the post and gaining feedback from various sources, it's actually quite possible that the annual charges incurred in exchange for little-to-no value could exceed $3 billion. Whatever the number is, it's very large, and effectively represents a massive subsidy that non-fans and casual fans pay each year because of escalating sports TV rights deals and astronomical player compensation.
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Categories: Cable Networks, Cable TV Operators, Podcasts, Satellite, Sports, Telcos
Topics: Comcast SportsNet, ESPN, Hulu, NESN, Netflix, Podcast, RSN, TNT
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VideoNuze Report Podcast #86 - Feb. 4, 2011
Daisy Whitney and I are pleased to present the 86th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for February 4, 2011.
In today's podcast we discuss the content deal announced this week between Comcast and Time Warner that allows delivery to VOD, Xfinity TV online and iOS/Android tablets and smartphones. As I wrote in "Comcast-Time Warner Deal Shows Promise and Challenges of TV Everywhere," while the deal should be a template for others between pay-TV operators and cable TV networks, it also highlights many challenges that remain in realizing the companies' TV Everywhere vision.
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Topics: Comcast, Time Warner
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VideoNuze Report Podcast #85 - Jan. 28, 2011
Daisy Whitney and I are back this week for the 85th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for January 28, 2011.
In today's podcast, Daisy and I talk about the key highlights of my on-stage interview with Netflix's content chief Ted Sarandos at NATPE in Miami earlier this week. The interview has received wide media coverage (e.g. Paid Content, B&C, CNET, The Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, Variety, Home Media). Daisy and I discuss a number of intriguing things that Ted said.
(Note: the interview with Ted was on Tuesday morning, and we recorded this podcast on Wednesday, before Netflix reported its huge Q4 '10 later in the day. Also, NATPE recorded the interview and I'll post it as soon as I have it.)
Click here to listen to the podcast (12 minutes, 59 seconds)
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The VideoNuze Report is available in iTunes...subscribe today!Categories: Aggregators, Podcasts
Topics: Netflix, Podcast, Ted Sarandos
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VideoNuze Report Podcast #84 - Jan. 14, 2011
Daisy Whitney and I are back this week for the 84th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for January 14, 2011.
In today's podcast, Daisy and I discuss the 4 key CES 2011 takeaways that I've been writing about this week (all listed below). And as a reminder, next Wednesday, January 19th, I'll be participating on a complimentary webinar, "Demystifying CES 2011" in which we'll dive further into understanding the show's highlights. Enjoy!
Click here to listen to the podcast (14 minutes, 26 seconds)
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VideoNuze Report Podcast #83 - Jan. 7, 2011
Daisy Whitney and I are back this week for the 83rd edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for January 7, 2011, the first of this new year.
Today we discuss 3 news items from CES this week: Netflix gaining a dedicated remote control button on 11 different CE companies' connected devices, Comcast launching live and on-demand TV on tablet computers and Cisco's new "Videoscape" TV platform. Enjoy!
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Categories: Aggregators, Cable TV Operators, Podcasts, Technology
Topics: CES, Cisco, Comcast, Netflix
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VideoNuze Report Podcast #82 - Dec. 17, 2010
Daisy Whitney and I are back this week for the 82nd edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for December 17, 2010. This will be the final podcast of 2010 and we both want to wish our listeners happy holidays. Daisy and I have have had lots of fun cranking out 32 podcasts this year on all the most important industry topics. We're looking forward to continuing on in 2011.
And speaking of 2011, in this final podcast of the year we turn our sights ahead and discuss the 6 key online/mobile video trends that The Diffusion Group's Colin Dixon and I outlined during Wednesday's webinar (replay and slides available here). Daisy and I focus the bulk of the podcast on two of these predictions: how Netflix will strain under its spectacular growth, and how pay-TV subscriber losses will mount and cord-cutting perceptions could become reality.
Click here to listen to the podcast (13 minutes, 16 seconds)
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The VideoNuze Report is available in iTunes...subscribe today!Categories: Aggregators, Podcasts, Predictions
Topics: Netflix, Podcast, Predictions
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VideoNuze Report Podcast #81 - Dec. 10, 2010
Daisy Whitney and I are back this week for the 81st edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for December 10, 2010.
This week Daisy and I focus on Google's video efforts from two perspectives: first, whether it should pay CBS (and other networks) to allow Google TV to access their programs, and second, what are the implications of its acquisition of Widevine, announced last Friday.
On the former point, as I argued in "Google to Pay CBS? Unlikely." I think it's a big stretch to believe that Google, which is a search engine, is going to start paying content providers like CBS, to direct traffic to them. Certainly that's not what it does online, and there's little reason to believe it will start doing so with Google TV.
Meanwhile, the Widevine deal underscores how far Google has come in prioritizing copyright protection. It wasn't that long ago when YouTube was a rogue copyright infringer and yet that didn't deter Google from acquiring it. With Widevine and multiple other Google video initiatives, the company is extremely well-positioned to play a bigger role in the distribution and monetization of Hollywood content in 2011.
If you want to learn more about Google, and also other key online/mobile video trends and predictions for 2011, then join me for a complimentary webinar I'll be hosting with The Diffusion Group's Colin Dixon next Wed., Dec. 15th at 11am PT/2pm ET. We'll demystify 2011 and leave plenty of time for audience Q&A.
Click here to listen to the podcast (12 minutes, 17 seconds)
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The VideoNuze Report is available in iTunes...subscribe today!Categories: Broadcasters, Devices, DRM, Podcasts
Topics: CBS, Google, Google TV, Podcast, Widevine
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VideoNuze Report Podcast #80 - Nov. 19, 2010
Daisy Whitney and I are back this week for the 80th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for November 19, 2010. Before getting started, congratulations to Daisy on the release of "The Mockingbirds," her first fiction book, for young adult readers. It debuted 2 weeks ago and is published by Little Brown. In addition to writing the book, Daisy has put together a clever social media campaign which has lifted the book's visibility. Congrats Daisy!
This week Daisy and I discuss my post from yesterday, "Broadcast TV Networks Are Wrong to Block Google TV - Part 2" in which I laid out the case for why the networks are using a backwards-looking strategy in their decision to block their programs from access by Google TV and other browser-based connected devices.
To their credit, the networks have actually been quite forward-looking in releasing many of their programs for free viewing on their web sites and on Hulu. But now, by creating an artificial distinction between computer-based and TV-based viewing of online-delivered content, they are violating one of the most basic rules of the Internet era: don't create friction between the product and the customer. While that may help them win retransmission consent deals in the short term, I believe that in the long term it will hurt them. Listen in to learn more.
Click here to listen to the podcast (11 minutes, 43 seconds)
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The VideoNuze Report is available in iTunes...subscribe today!Categories: Broadcasters, Devices, Podcasts
Topics: ABC, CBS, FOX, Google TV, Hulu, NBC, Podcast
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VideoNuze Report Podcast #78 - Oct. 22, 2010
Daisy Whitney and I are pleased to present the 78th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for October 22, 2010.
This week Daisy and I focus our attention on Netflix's Q3 results, which were announced on Wednesday. The company added nearly 2 million net new subscribers, a new record. It has added almost 4.7 million subscribers in the first 3 quarters this year. Daisy and I discuss the results and add more color to my original analysis.
Click here to listen to the podcast (11 minutes, 48 seconds)
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Topics: Netflix
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VideoNuze Report Podcast #76 - Oct. 8, 2010
Daisy Whitney and I are pleased to present the 76th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for October 8, 2010.
Today we focus on Google TV and the new Logitech Revue which was introduced on Wed. First I explain some of its key features and benefits, which are detailed more fully in my post from Wed. Then we debate the product's appeal. Daisy is a major skeptic, arguing that it's overpriced, doesn't have a clear value proposition/call to action and most of what it enables can already be done online on a computer.
The $300 price for Revue is admittedly a huge issue. However, if you took price out of the equation for a moment and considered the Revue relative to other connected device options, it is clearly superior. As Daisy suggests, and I agree, a lot of Revue's and Google TV's success will derive from effective marketing and promotion. That's why I've separately suggested that Google should offer the first 1 million Google TV buyers a $150 rebate in order to stimulate sales and stoke word-of-mouth promotion. It would be a financial drop in the bucket for Google and yet would be a significant investment in a highly strategic product.
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VideoNuze Report Podcast #75 - Sept. 17, 2010
Daisy Whitney and I are pleased to present the 75th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for September 17, 2010.
Daisy gets us started this week, adding detail to her New Media Minute in which she discusses the range of hyper-local online news and advertising initiatives currently underway from companies such as AOL, ESPN, NY Times and NPR. Daisy offers her assessment of the pros and cons of this area which has gained a lot of recent attention.
Speaking of advertising, we then chat about my post from earlier this week, "YouTube Gets Center Stage in Google's New 'Watch This Space' Ad Campaign" which I believe is the first time that Google has heavily promoted the attractiveness of its display ads and more specifically video advertising on YouTube for major brands. With Google TV coming soon and a new head of content partnerships, Google is on the march to the living room.
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The VideoNuze Report is available in iTunes...subscribe today!Categories: Advertising, Podcasts
Topics: Google, Local, Podcast, YouTube
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VideoNuze Report Podcast #74 - Sept. 10, 2010
Daisy Whitney and I are pleased to present the 74th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for August 27, 2010. We're back after skipping last week due to me taking some time.
This week Daisy and I further discuss my post from Wednesday about the remarkable growth of the JW Player, an open source video player that is now being downloaded 15,000 times per day according to company CEO Dave Otten. Beyond JW player's success, the larger story is how broadly online video is being adopted. Far beyond the large media companies that are vigorously covered each day, there are thousands of small businesses, enterprises, education, government, non-profit and other entities that are quietly embracing online video. Daisy and I talk about the implications of all this activity.
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The VideoNuze Report is available in iTunes...subscribe today!Categories: Podcasts, Technology
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VideoNuze Report Podcast #73 - Aug. 27, 2010
Daisy Whitney and I are pleased to present the 73rd edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for August 27, 2010. We're back after skipping last week due to Daisy being on her exciting first book promotion tour.
In this week's podcast, Daisy and I dig into the speculation surrounding Apple's plan to offer 99-cent TV program rentals from ABC, Fox and NBC and a $99 "iTV" device. I think the pairing could be quite tempting. Daisy, on the other hand, isn't as enthusiastic. She's a current Apple TV owner and aside from the potentially reduced price of the iTV, doesn't see what the excitement is about. Meanwhile, Apple has invited media to an event in San Francisco next Wed, Sept 1st, where we all may find out what Steve Jobs has in store. Listen in for more.
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VideoNuze Report Podcast #72 - Aug. 13, 2010
Daisy Whitney and I are pleased to present the 72nd edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for August 13, 2010.
In this week's podcast, Daisy and I dig further into this week's Netflix-Epix deal. In particular, we discuss the deal's possible implications, including what it might be mean to the pay-TV industry (cable/satellite/telco).
As I argued in my post this week, "Netflix-Epix Deal Ratchets Up Importance of TV Everywhere," the cable industry should be taking note of how much closer Netflix is continuing to come to its traditional turf, and use TV Everywhere to aggressively counter it. However, my perception is that TV Everywhere rollouts are lagging, which is to the detriment of the industry. Listen in to learn more.
(Note that in the podcast I say it's not clear whether Netflix is actually getting access to all movies that are available on Epix. I've since clarified that with a Netflix spokesman who told me Netflix will get everything Epix has rights to.)
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The VideoNuze Report is available in iTunes...subscribe today!Categories: Aggregators, Cable Networks, Podcasts
Topics: EPIX, Netflix, Podcast
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VideoNuze Report Podcast #68 - July 16, 2010
Daisy Whitney and I are pleased to present the 68th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for July 16, 2010.
In this podcast Daisy first discusses her observations from this week's NATPE LATV Fest. Daisy had a number of interesting conversations with independent online video producers and she shares some of what's succeeding and lessons learned.
Then we shift gears and spend some time talking about Google's 1 gigabit/second fiber-to-the-home project. Earlier this week Google created a new web site called "Google Fiber for Communities" which curiously only offers a little information about the project itself, but rather focuses on incenting citizens to express their support, in different ways, for legislation mandating fiber conduits are installed in federally funded transportation projects. It makes a similar recommendation for city-funded projects. It's seems like a far-flung initiative from the search company, or maybe not. Daisy and I speculate on what might be up.
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Categories: Podcasts
Topics: Google, NATPE, Podcast
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VideoNuze Report Podcast #66 - July 2, 2010
Daisy Whitney and I are pleased to present the 66th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for July 2, 2010.
This week Daisy and I discuss Hulu Plus, which was launched earlier this week. There has already been a lot written about Hulu Plus, with most early users reporting favorably on the user experience. I just activated my 7-day trial and gave it a whirl last evening. Reactions are here.
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The VideoNuze Report is available in iTunes...subscribe today!Categories: Aggregators, Podcasts
Topics: Hulu Plus
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VideoNuze Report Podcast #65 - June 18, 2010
Daisy Whitney and I are pleased to present the 65th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for June 18, 2010.
This week Daisy and I return to the topic of cord-cutting, with Daisy tamping down some of what she reported about possible momentum here. Daisy cites new research from Nielsen and from Leichtman Research Group as evidence that in fact cord-cutting isn't actually happening (at least not yet). For my part, as I've said going back to my post in Oct, '08, I don't see much cord-cutting happening any time soon, both because viewers would lose cable TV network programs they love and because it's still not mainstream to connect broadband to TVs.
We then discuss my post early this week about ABC doubling the ad load on its iPad app, and soon on ABC.com as well. As I said earlier this week, it's tough from a consumer standpoint to see more ads, but the reality is these programs need to be effectively monetized, or well, these programs will cease to exist.
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VideoNuze Report Podcast #63; Yankee Group Cord-Cutting Research Download Available
Daisy Whitney and I are pleased to present the 63rd edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for May 27, 2010.
In today's podcast Daisy starts us off by discussing her New Media Minute this week, in which she highlights recent research from Yankee Group forecasting that 1 in 8 consumers will become cord-cutters in the next 12 months. With the rise of online video viewing, cord-cutting - the idea of consumers discontinuing their pay-TV subscription service in favor of free online sources - has become a very hot topic.
In this context, the Yankee research got a lot of attention when it was released. I recently had a chance to speak to the 2 analysts responsible for the research, Vince Vittore and Dmitriy Molchanov, who walked me through some of their assumptions. They've also been kind enough to share half a dozen of their slides, which are available for a complimentary download here.
Yankee's conclusion is based on annual research the firm conducts which includes certain questions about consumers' intent. In this year's survey the question, "Does Internet video offer enough options for you to consider canceling your pay TV subscription?" As slide 3 shows, Yankee took the respondents who are considering this and then extrapolated how many will actually follow through based on trend lines from past research. I think it's a plausible approach, though 1 in 8 over the next 12 months seems very aggressive to me.
Personally, I've been skeptical about any onslaught of cord-cutting. Back in October, 2008 I laid out my 2 principal arguments: that it's difficult to watch online video on TVs (where it must be enjoyable by mainstream audiences in order for cord-cutting to really take off) and that cable programming will be very limited on the free Internet (and as a result this will be a big disincentive for fans of cable channels to drop them).
While a lot is happening on the convergence front (e.g. Google TV, Roku, etc.), with the advent of TV Everywhere, the likelihood that cable programs will not leak out onto the open Internet is lower than ever. That's not to say there isn't a ton of great video available for free or through other paid options (like Netflix's streaming), but for the vast majority of pay-TV subscribers, I'd maintain that cutting the cord will be a distant option for a while to come. Nonetheless, it is a fascinating topic which will surely get even more attention going forward.
What do you think? Post a comment now (no sign-in required).
Click here to listen to the podcast (12 minutes, 59 seconds)
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The VideoNuze Report is available in iTunes...subscribe today!Categories: Cable Networks, Devices, Podcasts
Topics: Yankee Group
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