-
Vid.ly Makes Sharing Videos To Mobile Devices a Snap
If you've ever sent one of your "must see" video clips around to friends or family, only to have them exasperatingly tell you "It didn't play for me!" when they tried accessing it on their mobile device, then a clever new service called Vid.ly is going to make you smile. Vid.ly's mission is to radically simplify the video transcoding and playback process so that virtually all mobile devices or browsers can play any video - regardless of their original format. Given the confusing proliferation of formats - Flash, WebM, HTML5, etc. and devices (iOS, Android, Blackberry, game consoles, etc.) that is a significant value proposition.
Vid.ly's special appeal to consumers is that it puts a familiar URL-shortening, social media-friendly front-end on Encoding.com's cloud-based transcoding capability, which has been battle tested by 1,000+ content providers to date. But whereas URL shorteners like Bit.ly primarily focus on making very long URLs shorter and therefore more manageable for social media use, Vid.ly actually addresses the underlying playability of the video and also provides a short URL.
Categories: Devices, Encoding, Mobile Video
Topics: Encoding.com, Vid.ly
-
Men's Health Magazine is Now Using Taboola for Video Recommendations
Men's Health magazine, owned by Rodale, has begun implementing Taboola's Video2Video product to power video recommendations on its web site. Currently Taboola recommendations appear on the Men's Health home page in the featured area, when a video is played through to the end (see below). Taboola recommendations also appear on embedded videos in articles. As I've written previously, with Taboola's high-quality recommendations, video view-throughs and overall views increase, leading to improved monetization.
-
Verizon Challenges Net Neutrality Regulations
Yesterday Verizon appealed the FCC's new net neutrality regulations in the DC Court of Appeals, alleging that the FCC has exceeded its authority. The move is a little surprising given that last August Verizon seemed accepting of net neutrality, by submitting a joint net neutrality proposal with Google. What the two submitted and what the FCC eventually passed are different in a number of ways, but one way that they're similar is in the light regulatory touch granted to wireless Internet ISPs, which was a key focus of Verizon's given its massive wireless business. Even the treatment of wired ISPs wasn't terribly onerous, which is one of the reasons why a number of consumer advocacy organizations are also threatening a challenge to the FCC.
Other than trying to subvert the FCC's authority generally, it's not entirely clear to me what Verizon's trying to accomplish here. One thing's for sure, Verizon will have plenty of help from Republicans who are also challenging net neutrality.Categories: Regulation, Telcos
Topics: FCC, Net Neutrality, Verizon
-
Jivox Launches Cross-Platform Video Ad Capability
(Friday update #2) Brands and agencies looking to use the same video ad across various platforms got a boost yesterday from Jivox, a video ad technology provider. As Jivox's CEO Diaz Nesamoney explained to me, brands/agencies can now either submit video to Jivox or they can use the company's tools in order to prepare the ad properly for multi-platform use. When an ad is to be delivered, Jivox detects the user's platform/device and sends a properly formatted and encoded ad in real-time. Importantly, Jivox's analytics provide insight into usage by platform/device, so brands/agencies can detect where the ad is working best. I view this as the first of many efforts by technology providers to simply the ad delivery process as platforms/devices proliferate.Categories: Advertising, Devices
Topics: Jivox
-
WealthTV-Roku Deal Isn't a Predictor Of An A La Carte Future
(Friday update #3) The was a flutter of excitement this week by some who interpreted a new deal by WealthTV to make its 24/7 linear feed available to Roku users as evidence of an a la carte future. But that hope would be misplaced; WealthTV, a network with minimal pay-TV carriage (though a litany of regulatory appeals), bears no resemblance to widely distributed cable networks like USA, MTV and Discovery whose lifeblood is monthly pay-TV carriage fees.
Even though WealthTV's proposed $2.99/mo subscription fee is more than any of these networks receive, WealthTV's retail model means its subscriber penetration will be a tiny fraction of these cable nets, and that's after necessarily heavy marketing and promotion. Don't get me wrong, Roku and other connected devices are doing a fabulous job of bringing online content to TVs. But getting top-notch, current cable programs is nowhere on the horizon. This is doubly true given that this week's FCC approval of Comcast-NBCU was an explicit blessing of the cable model.
Categories: Cable Networks, Devices
-
Samsung Notches 2 Million App Downloads
(Friday update #4) Samsung has now gained 2 million app downloads through its connected TVs and devices, with apps from YouTube, Hulu Plus, ESPN Next Level, AccuWeather, Google Maps and Texas Holdem leading the way. Samsung said there are 380 total apps available for download of which 259 are free. The 2 million milestone comes less than 2 months since Samsung announced its 1 millionth download. Some analysts, like my colleague Colin Dixon at The Diffusion Group, have criticized these new "SmartTVs" as actually being quite dumb, but Samsung's experience appears to show that the app model on TVs is beginning to catch on.
Categories: Devices
Topics: Samsung
-
Vook Books a $5.75 Million Series A round
(Friday update #5) Vook, which publishes digital versions of books, featuring video, images and social sharing alongside the text, announced a $5.75 million Series A round this week from VantagePoint Venture Partners and Floodgate. When I spoke to Vook's founder Brad Inman last June I came away very impressed with his vision for enhancing traditional books with multimedia in thoughtful, innovative ways. Vooks are a perfect fit for the burgeoning universe of e-readers and tablets like the iPad and Samsung Tab. They key for Vook is generating awareness and demand for its new format. Partnerships will be critical.
Categories: Deals & Financings, Friday updates
Topics: Floodgate, VantagePoint Venture Partners, Vook
-
mDialog Powering Video Ads in Shaw Media's Global TV iPad App
Mobile video ad platform mDialog has been selected by Shaw Media of Canada to power video ads in its Global TV iPad app. The app was released on December 4th and quickly rose to the top of the free chart of the Canadian version of App Store. The app allows full episode viewing of various TV programs.
With mDialog, Shaw will be able to insert targeted, real-time, non-skippable ads into its programs. Given the iPad's superior touch-screen engagement, more interactive ad executions will no doubt follow. The mDialog platform also provides real-time reporting and analytics.
Categories: Devices, International, Mobile Video
Topics: iPad, mDialog, Shaw Media
VideoNuze Posts
Connect with VideoNuze
Exclusive News Roundup
- The Cable Business Is In Flux. Altice USA’s CEO Thinks There’s a Path Forward The Hollywood Reporter
- Max to Get ‘More Assertive’ in Blocking Password-Sharing Users Later This Year, WBD Exec Says Variety
- Creators Are Building Their Own Supersized Studio System As Hollywood Cuts Back The Hollywood Reporter
- Netflix Overhauls Its Home Screen for the First Time in 12 Years NY Times
- Netflix debuts its generative AI-powered search tool TechCrunch
- Comcast's cable spinoff to be named Versant, picked to emphasize corporate versatility CNBC
