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Amazon Cracks comScore's Top 10 Video Sites for Second Time
Looking through comScore's list of top 10 video sites for December, 2011, one name jumped out at me: Amazon, which turned up at #9, with 27.8
million unique viewers and 95.4 million videos viewed. I'm accustomed to seeing the usual names on the list: Google (YouTube), Hulu, Viacom, Yahoo, AOL, etc., but I couldn't recall seeing Amazon before. I went back and looked at the last year of comScore numbers and in fact, this is the second time Amazon has appeared on the list. Back in June '11, Amazon showed as #10, with 21.2 million viewers and 43.1 million videos viewed.
Categories: Aggregators
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Q4 '11 Private Video Company Financings Drop to $103M
Private online and mobile video companies raised at least $103 million in Q4 '11, a drop from the blockbuster third quarter in which $236 million was raised, but still an increase from the $84 raised in Q2 '11. As I always note in these roundups, financings can close and/or be announced at somewhat random times, so the quarter-to-quarter fluctuations aren't necessarily meaningful. More significant to me is that the private video companies raised at least $560 million in 2011, a very healthy clip.
As detailed below, the $103 million was raised by 14 companies, with just two financings (BrightRoll's $30M and Viki's $20M) accounting for almost half of the quarter's total. 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. Links are provided to press releases or if one isn't available, to relevant media coverage.
In addition to the financings, there were also at least 8 M&A video transactions announced in Q4, which are noted below.
Topics: Deals
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FourScreen-Tubefilter Mix-Up on Jan. 24th
My friends at FourScreen Media and Tubefilter are hosting another great mix-up next Tuesday night, Jan. 24th from 6:30-8:30pm at Copia, in midtown Manhattan. The special guest this time is Jeff Eisenberg, Sr. Account Executive with DECA, a leading women's digital media company that creates and syndicates premium video. Jeff will discuss how DECA's productions are helping brands reach the "Mom" demographic with compelling video.
Registration is complimentary and these events always offer terrific industry networking.Categories: Events
Topics: DECA, Four Screen Media, Tubefilter
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Recapping 2012 CES Video-Related News
Last week's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) brought the expected barrage of product announcements. During the course of the show I kept a running list of press releases relevant to online video. Today I'm sharing my list, with links to each press release, ordered roughly by date. At the bottom I've also included additional releases which weren't made at the show, but seemed relevant as well. I'm guessing I've missed at least a few items, if so feel free to send over and I'll add to the list. Enjoy.
Categories: Devices
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Online-Only Originals Are Entering a Virtuous Cycle
Just last week, in "Hollywood's A-Listers Embrace Online Video, Upending the Status Quo," I noted all the various factors that are contributing to top industry talent now pursuing online-only projects. But as I've had a chance to digest last week's CES announcements, plus Hulu's news yesterday that it too is planning an aggressive originals strategy in 2012, I think it's quite likely that online-only originals are entering a "virtuous cycle." Key elements for online-only originals' success are falling into place and are poised to build on each other, combining to dramatically accelerate the growth and acceptance of this emerging class of programming.
Categories: Aggregators, Cable Networks, Indie Video
Topics: AOL, Hulu, Netflix, Yahoo, YouTube
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YouTube's Content Head Kyncl at CES: The Niches Rule
Yesterday, Robert Kyncl, YouTube's VP of Global Content Partnerships, delivered a keynote address at CES with one overriding message: the future of video is all about the niches. Whether highlighting the success of Michelle Phan, a YouTube star that outdraws the Style Network on cable, the virtues of a forthcoming dedicated "Yoga Channel" for 17 million enthusiasts, or noting that the top 5 YouTube partners today all have audiences big enough to rank them among the top 20 TV networks, Kyncl made clear that YouTube is staking its future on the video industry fracturing into highly-specialized viewing segments.
Categories: Advertising, Aggregators, Indie Video
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VideoNuze Report Podcast #116 - Smart TVs Are All the Rage
I'm pleased to be joined once again by Colin Dixon, senior partner at The Diffusion Group, for the 116th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for Jan. 13, 2012. Colin joins us from CES in Las Vegas (note, it's a little noisy). As anyone who's been following the news out of CES this week, connected or "Smart TVs" are all the rage.
In today's podcast Colin reports on what impressed him and what didn't. We dig into topics like universal search through voice and motion control, the role of second screens like the iPad to navigate Smart TVs, how pay-TV services are being integrated and how advertising is going to play a role plus much more. One thing is for sure, Smart TV's are going to be a big business in 2012. Colin says that TDG's research on purchase intent shows huge consumer interest in Smart TVs. Listen in to learn more!
Click here to listen to the podcast (18 minutes, 33 seconds)
Click here for previous podcasts
The VideoNuze Report is available in iTunes...subscribe today!Topics: LG, Panasonic, Podcast, Samsung, Technicolor
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Even Microsoft Can't Afford to Break Into the Pay-TV Business
Here's just how expensive it has become to break into the pay-TV business: even mighty Microsoft can't afford it. Reuters reported late yesterday that Microsoft has put on hold its plan to create a pay-TV meets Netflix type
subscription service, after getting sticker shock over the cost of content distribution deals. When you have $52 billion of cash and equivalents on your balance sheet and still can't figure out how to make the numbers work, that's a pretty significant statement about how expensive licensing linear content has become.Categories: Cable Networks, Cable TV Operators, Satellite, Telcos
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