Posts for 'Podcast'

Daisy Whitney and I are pleased to present the 32nd edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for September 18, 2009.

This week Daisy and I first discuss my post from earlier this week, "How TV Everywhere Could Turn Cable Operators and Telcos Into Over-the-Top's Biggest Players," which has become one of the most popular posts I've written in the past 2 years.

In the post I asserted that if certain cable operators and telcos were to unbundle their TV Everywhere ("TVE") offering from their video subscription requirement, they could offer a "TVE 2.0" service outside their current geographic areas. In effect they'd be going over the top of their industry counterparts, invading new service territories.

It would be a bold move, but one that I suggested might be irresistible. Between slowing growth in their existing markets and new competitors rolling out OTT services nationwide, big cable operators and telcos could face the prospect of being turned into marginalized, geographically-bound players. I've heard from lots of folks this week about the TVE 2.0 concept - some who think it's inevitable; some who think it's inconceivable. I explain more in the post and on the podcast. You decide.

Meanwhile, Daisy provides an update from this week's iMedia Brand Summit, where marketers and agencies spent a lot of time discussing the effectiveness of traditional TV advertising vs. online video advertising. Daisy shares some very interesting statistics she gathered at the conference concerning how some industries are overspending in TV and getting underperformance. As Daisy explains, the key to advertising is no longer reach, but targeting. Listen in to learn more.

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Daisy Whitney and I are pleased to present the 31st edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for September 11, 2009.

This week Daisy and I first discuss my post from yesterday, "StudioNow Begins March Into Video Platform Space with AMS Launch." For those not familiar with StudioNow, it has been operating a network that links geographically-dispersed video professionals with its clients' projects using a backend work flow/project management platform.

Yesterday the company launched its Video Asset Management & Syndication Platform ("AMS"), which its clients can use to manage, transcode and syndicate their videos. It's a clever move by StudioNow, and I believe paves the way for the company to compete more directly in the video management and publishing platform space. StudioNow will benefit by leveraging its position as a trusted partner to content providers and directories which it serves on the video creation/production side.

We then discuss the new Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) which was just announced yesterday. CIMM brings together 14 different broadcast and cable TV networks, media agencies and advertisers to create new audience measurement for TV and cross-platform media. CIMM intends to run pilot studies focusing on TV measurement through set-top box data and cross-platform media measurement. It's hard not to see CIMM as a "Nielsen-killer" though CIMM has asserted that it should not viewed as such.

With so many companies involved, Daisy is skeptical of the venture's likelihood of success and favors a more market-driven solution. I think it actually can succeed, but only if the partners are truly committed and invest accordingly. I haven't followed measurement that closely, but in my view the partners' commitment level will likely be correlated to the level of dissatisfaction they each have with Nielsen, and this will determine CIMM's eventual success. More detail in the podcast.

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Daisy Whitney and I are pleased to present the 30th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for September 4, 2009.

This week Daisy shares more detail from her most recent New Media Minute, concerning what broadcast networks are doing this Fall with online video extensions of their shows. For example, CW is launching an original series in conjunction with "Melrose Place." ABC is doing a 3rd season of an "Ugly Betty" web series and a tie-in for "Lost." CBS is launching its first web series, via TV.com, with Julie Alexandria, focused on recapping highlights from various shows. Daisy notes that these efforts are focused mainly on marquee shows and when advertisers are already on board.

In the 2nd part of the podcast we discuss my post from yesterday, "2009 is a Big Year for Sports and Broadband/Mobile Video." In that post I observed that many big-time sports, and the TV networks that have the rights to televise them have realized this year that broadband and mobile distribution are friend, not foe. As a result they've rolled out many different initiatives. We also touch on the various lessons other content providers can take away from what's happening with sports and broadband/mobile distribution.

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Daisy Whitney and I are pleased to present the 27th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for August 14, 2009.

In this week's podcast, Daisy and I discuss "The Future of Internet Video," a new research report released this week by eMarketer. Coincidentally, we had each read the press release about the report and found ourselves disagreeing with its conclusions.

As Daisy explains, the report essentially asserts that for online video advertising to continue to grow, the viewing experience between the computer and TV must converge. The logic is that TV's "lean-back" viewing mode is a preferred context for advertisers, and therefore for advertising against online video to grow, the video must be accessible on TVs.

Daisy takes issue with this, arguing that while convergence is great, there are indeed times when watching on a computer is preferred by consumers. A "new norm" has emerged with the computer as a parallel viewing platform. Rather than looking at this as an obstacle, advertisers should embrace consumers' behavior, and capitalize on it.

My main disagreement is that eMarketer believes that a "lean-back" TV viewing mode is preferred by advertisers over the "lean-forward" computer viewing mode. While eMarketer argues the computer mode creates viewer distraction and incents clicking away from ads, I see it the other way around: when watching video on computers, ads cannot be skipped, calls to action can be easily implemented (e.g. "click here to receive....) and everything of course can be measured. Contrast this with the rampant ad-skipping that now occurs in DVR-enabled homes.

Listen in and draw your own conclusions.

Separately, I can't resist touching on the topic of "authenticity" of broadband video I wrote about earlier this week in "How I Got Punked by the Megawoosh Waterslide Video." I received lots of feedback on this post, with plenty of people 'fessing up that they got punked too, while others called me the "poster child for gullibility!" Either way, authenticity of broadband video is a fascinating topic.

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Daisy Whitney and I are pleased to present the 26th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for August 7, 2009.

In this week's podcast, Daisy discusses her article on ExtendMedia's new OpenCase Publisher product targeted to support TV Everywhere-type initiatives, which I also wrote about this week. Daisy is observing a trend toward vendors organizing themselves for TV Everywhere, recognizing that while Comcast appears to be the first to market in testing TV Everywhere, other service providers are moving ahead as well. It's a complex new area and we both expect to see a number of vendors throw their hat in the ring to become preferred solutions.

Separate, I add further detail to my post, "Despite Hurdles, Made-for-Broadband Video Projects Proliferate," which describes many examples of new independent web series that have been announced over the past couple of months. It turns out to be a pretty lengthy list, helping to debunk some of the doom and gloom that's hung over this market, created by the ongoing recession in general plus the failure of some high-profile independents like 60Frames, Ripe, ManiaTV and others. When you review the list, you realize there's still a lot of experimentation going on and plenty of people trying to capitalize on the broadband medium. We expect this to continue.

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After several weeks of holidays and vacations, Daisy Whitney and I are back on track this week with our 24th podcast of the year, for July 24, 2009.

This week Daisy and I dig into YouTube from two different angles. Daisy picks up on a piece she wrote that explains the success YouTube is having attracting brands to set up their own channels within the site. These channels can cost up to $200K or more per year. However, there are lots of less expensive ways to work with YouTube, and as Daisy explains, with video helping drive purchase intent, it's a prerequisite that every brand should now have some type of a video presence there.

Despite this, as I wrote earlier this week in "Google is Being Clumsy in Explaining YouTube's Performance," I think YouTube's progress isn't being messaged very well to the market. In its recent Q2 earnings call, a supplementary analyst call and a blog post earlier this week, Google executives sent confusing and sometimes unsupported messages about how far along they are in figuring out to monetize YouTube's premium content-oriented traffic. Given YouTube's bellwether status in the industry, it is being closely watched by many for signs of success or failure.

Click here to listen to the podcast (14 minutes, 6 seconds)

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Below is the 23rd edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for July 2, 2009.

This week Daisy shares additional information about ESPN's Ad Lab for emerging media. The Ad Lab, which was first disclosed by ESPN last year, is intended to various ad formats in the ESPN video player. It is one of many different tests and research projects in the market. As Daisy and I say, everyone's trying to learn how best to monetize the nascent online video; this creates a lot of valuable data, which market participants then need to parse through to fully understand.

I get into further details on my post yesterday, "Video Companies Raised $64M in Q2 '09, Notching Another Stellar Quarter." Despite the recession and the slowdown in venture capital investments, at least 26 industry companies have raised at least $219M over the last 3 quarters, which is impressive by any measure. Still, it hasn't been easy, and one indicator of what investors prefer is that not one of the 26 investments is in a content provider or video aggregator.

Click here to listen to the podcast (14 minutes, 24 seconds)

(Note, with vacations planned, our next podcast will be July 24th)

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Below is the 22nd edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for June 26, 2009.

This week Daisy and I discuss the TV Everywhere and OnDemand Online initiative that Comcast and Time Warner unveiled this week. As I wrote in this post on Wednesday, the companies are beginning a trial in July for 5,000 Comcast subscribers, who will gain online access to a selection of TNT and TBS programs. The primary purpose of the trial is to test security of the content. The companies anticipate that other cable networks will join the trial too, and that other video service providers will begin their own trials in the near future.

In the podcast we explore further why granting cable subscribers online access is an important step forward in the evolution of the broadband video medium, and what it means to the overall ecosystem. There are a lot of unknowns about how TV Everywhere/OnDemand Online will work; Time Warner's and Comcast's CEO were candid about that. For now they released a set of "principles" to guide their pursuits. There will be much more to come on this story.

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Below is the 21st edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for June 19, 2009.

Daisy discusses highlights from the OMMA Video conference that she organized in NYC this week. Daisy recaps the keynote from Eileen Naughton, Google's director of media platforms in which she said that child YouTube sensation "Fred" is pulling down a six-figure income. She also reviews comments by Andy Markovitz, Kraft's digital marketing and media director who recommended the online video ad industry needs more scale, better targeting and more format choices. Those sentiments were echoed by other speakers. Daisy has more details here.

This week I discuss my post from yesterday, "Does It Actually Matter How Much Money YouTube is Losing?" I recognize I took a somewhat contrarian standpoint here, and admit it feels a bit irresponsible to suggest that YouTube's losses don't matter much (except to Google of course). It's always been great sport to debate how much money YouTube is losing. But the fact is, as long as Google has the financial wherewithal to sustain YouTube's losses (whatever they actually are), and deems the site strategic in the long run (which I strongly believe it is), then the size of its losses is really pretty much irrelevant. I know lots of you disagree with my assessment; feel free to post a comment and explain why!

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Below is the 20th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for June 12, 2009.

This week I discuss the rampant innovation that I'm observing throughout the broadband video industry. My last few posts have provided several great examples of the technology, content and business model innovation now underway. These include product introductions from Blackwave and thePlatform, original online video from the Pennsylvania Tourism Office and syndicated product videos to online retailers from Invodo. Broadband video is far more than just a new entertainment medium!

Meanwhile Daisy discusses the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, which was held this week in San Francisco. Among other things, the company unveiled several video-centric features for its new iPhone 3G S. These include adaptive live streaming, video capture/edit and direct video downloads for rental or own (i.e. a sideload from iTunes no longer required). Daisy explains that the video capture/edit capability positions the iPhone closer to the Flip video camera, setting up a new competitive dynamic for Flip and its new parent, Cisco.

Daisy sees the iPhone becoming a bona fide "media portal" that takes on some of the appeal of Amazon's Kindle. I agree with that comparison. Notwithstanding other smartphones launching like last week's Palm Pre, the iPhone will continue to have the greatest impact on the budding mobile video market.

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Below is the 19th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for June 5, 2009.

Daisy was in New York this week for the "NewFronts," a day-long meeting that Digitas sponsored, mainly for independent online video creators and media buyers/agencies. The goals were to educate the market and fuel advertiser interest. Daisy reports that despite the mixed news coming out of the independent video world this year, it was an upbeat gathering.

I provide additional detail on Microsoft's announcement this year of new entertainment-oriented features for XBox 360. The gaming console continues to take on more of a convergence positioning, with new instant-on 1080p video, live streams, Zune integration, etc. With an installed base of 30 million users, Microsoft has a prime opportunity to drive convergence and get a video foothold. The new Xbox 360 features coincide with last week's Hulu Desktop announcement and this week's YouTube XL unveiling.

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Below is the 17th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for May 22, 2009.

This week Daisy takes on 2 topics: how book publishers are (finally!) embracing video to promote their authors and titles, and also what NBC's local media division is doing to roll out new web sites to support its ten owned stations. They're adding lots of original content (including from 3rd parties), video, social media features and more community emphasis. No surprise syndication is a real push. Local stations have been really hammered by the recession and also by the shift to broadband distribution, so it's good to see NBC being aggressive.

Separate but related NBC.com is my focus on this week's podcast. Specifically, I add more detail to my post this week about how NBC.com is leveraging its existing online/broadband infrastructure to support its mobile video efforts by using Kiptronic, a mobile video ad insertion company.

Coincidentally, Kiptronic was just acquired by Limelight, further validating that mobile video is a rising priority for many video providers. I've been digging into mobile video and though it's still well behind the broadband adoption curve, the iPhone and other video-ready mobile devices are creating a lot of momentum. (Recall that mobile video taking off was one of my 5 predictions for '09)

For those of you celebrating the long Memorial Day weekend, and the official start of summer, enjoy! I'll see you on Tuesday.

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Below is the 16th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for May 15, 2009.

This week I provide some further detail on a post I wrote earlier this week, "Comcast's Sam Schwartz Offers Some Insights into OnDemand Online Authentication Plans." Comcast's and Time Warner Cable's intention to make cable programs available online to their paying subscribers would be a big leap forward for the video and broadband industries. A key piece of how to bring this to life is "authentication" - how to ensure users are who they are, and that they gain access to programs they're supposed to. Sam explains how Comcast is approaching authentication and what we can expect later this year.

Meanwhile Daisy talks about her post on Beet.tv, "CBS Expanding Original Web Video for New Personal Finance Site," which explores how CBS is pulling video together from its online content group, news division and local stations to beef up the video available at its recently-launched financial destination site, CBSMoneyWatch.com. Also, with the demise of TV Week as a print publication, Daisy talks about the range of industry coverage she's providing at other online and print pubs.

Click here to listen to the podcast (14 minutes, 40 seconds)

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Below is the 15th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for May 8, 2009.

Daisy Whitney and I are back on track with our weekly VideoNuze Report podcast. This week Daisy adds more detail to a story she wrote for TV Week, "Targeted Ads: The Holy Grail?" which explores some recent ad targeting successes and ongoing challenges.

On the same targeting theme, I discuss a post I wrote earlier this week "Food2: A New Example of How Cable Networks Leverage Broadband." Scripps Networks, owner of Food Network and other lifestyle cable channels recently launched Food2, a destination targeted to the age 21-34 demo. It's a move that I believe will be closely watched by other channels looking to benefit from broadband's rise by "super-serving" specific audiences.

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After a couple weeks away from this podcast, Daisy Whitney and I are back. This week we discuss our observations from the recent NAB Show and also the larger issues affecting the broadcast TV industry. Both of us have been watching the trends closely and will continue to report on them.

Below is the 13th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for April 10, 2009.

This week will discusses lessons that the broadcast TV networks might draw from the decline of U.S. newspapers, in order to avoid a similar fate. It is based on this post from Mon, April 6th. Meanwhile, Daisy speculates on the question of whether, with the explosion of iPhone apps, we're starting to witness iPhone app overload. Coincidentally, this week comScore reported that the top apps are games (no surprise there) and that major media companies are not experiencing much success with the apps they've launched.

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Below is the 12th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for April 3, 2009.

After a week off, Daisy Whitney and I are back. This week we discuss new comScore data Daisy learned about while attending the OMMA Video conference, which supports the idea of TV ad spending shifting from TV to broadband video. Then we dig deeper into the significance of Disney's deal to bring promotional clips to YouTube, which the companies announced earlier this week. More detail on the deal is also in this post I wrote on Tuesday.

Click the play button to listen to the podcast (13 minutes, 49 seconds):

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Below is the 11th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for March 20, 2009.

This past week Daisy Whitney and I were both on the road, with me hosting VideoNuze's Broadband Video Leadership Evening in NYC, and Daisy attending the annual South by Southwest (SXSW) conference in Austin, TX. We each provide our observations and takeaways from these respective events. (Note I have more detail in yesterday's post)

Happy Friday the 13th...

Below is the 10th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for March 13, 2009.

This week Will adds some detail to his recent post, "Clarifying Comcast's and Time Warner's Plans to Deliver Cable Programming via Broadband to Their Subscribers." These plans are not fully locked in, but since there have been a lot of questions about them, it seemed worthwhile to provide a quick update.

Also, Daisy discusses a recent article she wrote about Clearleap, a new broadband-to-the-TV technology company that recently announced its platform. The whole broadband-to-the-TV area has been really hot recently and we expect a lot more activity to come.

Since this is the 10th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, we thought it would be a good time to check in with listeners and get you reactions. What do you think of the format and length? We thought the most meaningful content approach would be to provide some additional insight about what we've written recently, but does this feel fresh and substantive enough? Would it be better if we discussed recent market activities that we haven't necessarily written about yet? Or maybe answered some listener questions? Or something else?

The podcast format is very flexible and Daisy and I view the VideoNuze Report as a work in progress. We'd love to hear what listeners think and how we can change and improve. Either drop me an email (wrichmondATvideonuze.com) or leave a comment.

Click here to listen to the podcast (14 minutes, 29 seconds)

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Below is the 9th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for March 6, 2009.

This week Daisy Whitney and I discuss Daisy's 2 articles on the real or imagined phenomenon of "cord-cutting" where subscribers to multichannel video services drop them in favor of broadband access. Daisy's articles are here and here.

Also, Will provides some more insight on his post "Inside Demand Media's Content Factory" profiling the most prolific producer of broadband video.