VideoNuze Posts

There are now approximately 31 million “cord never” adults in the U.S. - people who have never paid for a traditional pay-TV service - according to MRI-Simmons’s latest Cord Evolution research. This represents 12% of the U.S. population, an increase from 9% that MRI-Simmons found in 2017. Cord nevers have a median age of 33 and household income of $52,800 (up from $41,500 two years ago).

With the massive explosion of streaming options, it is easier than ever for viewers to avoid becoming a pay-TV subscriber. It is even more alluring for younger viewers for whom streaming has played a bigger part in their lives and who are less wedded to traditional channel surfing and linear viewing.

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I’m pleased to present the 461st edition of the VideoNuze podcast, with my weekly partner Colin Dixon of nScreenMedia.

On this week’s podcast we first discuss highlights of FreeWheel’s Q4 2018 Video Marketplace Report. Once again FreeWheel’s data reveals important shift from linear TV to OTT consumption. Then we discuss a number of moves that Viacom is making into OTT, highlighted by its acquisition of Pluto TV. As Colin wrote, in many ways Viacom is on the front line of viewers’ shifts due to its traditional focus on younger audiences.

Listen in to learn more!

 
Click here to listen to the podcast (22 minutes, 14 seconds)

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The VideoNuze podcast is also available in iTunes...subscribe today!
 

eMarketer Principal Analyst Lauren Fisher will kick off the 9th annual Video Advertising Summit on May 29th in NYC, presenting key video/TV advertising data and trends. Lauren is an expert in adtech, programmatic, video, measurement and related areas. She has presented at prior VideoNuze events and has been a highlight.

As we all know, there are significant disruptions happening across the video/TV and advertising industries. Lauren will break things down, sharing the underlying drivers of change and how eMarketer forecasts these to play out going forward. Lauren will also focus on the current state and future of programmatic video and TV - data-enabling and automating ads - and what this means for industry participants going forward. Finally she will share her views on measurement, ad metrics and audience considerations.

Lauren’s presentation will tee up deeper dive sessions throughout the day. Lauren is among the 25+ industry thought-leaders confirmed so far to speak (more coming soon, along with full agenda). Other highlights include keynote guest Peter Naylor, Hulu’s SVP and Head of Ad Sales, and agency executives Jeremy Crandall (SVP, Publicis Media) and Christine Peterson (Managing Director, Mindshare) in a fireside chat with Matt Prohaska.

The Video Ad Summit is again shaping up to be a must-attend day of learning and networking for anyone with a stake in video/TV advertising’s success.  

Save $100 on early bird discounted tickets now and double your chances* of winning a 55-inch Roku TV, generously provided by Roku.

(*Early bird registrants get 2 entries for the Roku TV drawing).

I’m pleased to present the 460th edition of the VideoNuze podcast, with my weekly partner Colin Dixon of nScreenMedia.

Apple partially pulled back the curtain on its video strategy this past Monday. In today’s podcast Colin and I dig into what Apple revealed, weighing the pros and cons of the strategy.

Apple is checking a bunch of boxes: bolster its TV app to try making it a hub for OTT viewers, enable third-party SVOD/premium TV subscriptions with Apple TV Channels, and tease its Apple TV+ SVOD/originals strategy with a bunch of A-list stars. It’s a start, but Apple is coming to video extremely late and Colin and I agree that all of the above taken together is unlikely to generate a lot of new services revenue in the short term with Apple facing a variety of challenges.

But…Apple has unparalleled user experience DNA, deep pockets, huge flexibility in how it bundles its forthcoming SVOD service with others (i.e. music, games, news) and of course has a massive user base to build from. And Apple is playing the long game, as it must in the new post-iPhone, services-centric era.

With Apple’s SVOD service, Disney+, WarnerMedia and who knows what else set to come to market in the next 6-8 months, it’s going to be a very busy year.

Listen in to learn more!
 
Click here to listen to the podcast (24 minutes, 44 seconds)

Click here for previous podcasts

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The VideoNuze podcast is also available in iTunes...subscribe today!
 

I’m pleased to share that we’ll have a featured fireside discussion at the 9th annual Video Advertising Summit with agency executives Jeremy Crandall (SVP, Advanced Video Solutions, Publicis Media) and Christine Peterson (Managing Director, Digital Investment Lead, Mindshare, part of GroupM). Matt Prohaska (CEO and Principal. Prohaska Consulting) will be the interviewer in this featured fireside chat.

Advertisers and their agencies are demanding that premium video providers enable more of digital’s capabilities: better targeting, measurement, interactivity, cross-screen delivery and attribution. As we all know, there are significant industry-level and company-specific initiatives underway to marry the best of digital with the best of premium video/TV’s traditional brand-building strengths. Connected TVs, which hold strong potential to re-energize the entire TV ad business, are a focal point.

In this fireside, Christine and Jeremy will take us behind the scenes of where and how digital and premium video/TV are intersecting today, and what the key challenges are ahead. Both have long track records with video, digital and cross-screen ad buying, working for scores of top brands.

What are these brands demanding of their agencies, what are their most critical KPIs and how are cross-screen campaigns being successfully created? How well-positioned are video providers, TV networks and industry infrastructure to meet buyers’ demands? How are respect for viewers, data, brand safety and programmatic being balanced? Last but not least, what are they critical changes in viewers’ behaviors that inform all video ad buying currently and going forward? These are among the questions Christine and Jeremy will discuss with Matt.

For anyone in the video industry who is directly or ultimately affected by the decisions video and digital ad buyers are making, this fireside chat will be a must-attend session. It is also a perfect complement to the keynote interview I’ll be doing with Hulu’s SVP/Head of Advertising Peter Naylor.

Save $100 on early bird discounted tickets now and double your chances* of winning a 55-inch Roku TV, generously provided by Roku.

(*Early bird registrants get 2 entries for the Roku TV drawing).

Well, we finally got some news from Apple about its video ambitions at its big media event today.

Apple’s updated TV app harkens back to the same formula that propelled iTunes in the music industry nearly 16 years ago: the visually strong user experience, integration of well-known brands/artists, seamless transactions and multi-device access. iTunes made sense of a messy music landscape - delivering breakthrough music portability (with the iPod) and billions of much-needed revenue to the music industry.

Apple clearly sees a similar opportunity to bring coherence and value to today’s fragmented video experience and to drive incremental revenue for the industry. Although the same company DNA is evident in the updated TV app, the challenges Apple faces in video are far greater.

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I’m pleased to present the 459th edition of the VideoNuze podcast, with my weekly partner Colin Dixon of nScreenMedia.

Comcast’s new Xfinity Flex is a little bit of a lot of things  - access to certain SVOD, AVOD and live TV services, integration of certain connected home devices, a VOD library of 10K titles though unlikely anything very recent or super-popular, access to certain music services, though not market leaders Spotify or Apple Music and a grid guide. There’s also a connected TV device and voice remote powered by X1’s software.

Of course there are lots of alternatives for consumers to easily accomplish all of the above by themselves, challenging the value of a service like Flex. But to complicated things further, Comcast hopes to use Flex - which is targeted to broadband-only  subscribers in Comcast’s footprint - to create upsell opportunities to Comcast’s multichannel video service and build value/reduce churn among broadband-only’s.

And that’s why, in an era when streaming sticks are being bought by millions of mainstream consumers for $30 or less, Comcast’s decision to charge Flex subscribers $5 per month makes the whole undertaking a head-scratcher.

In today’s podcast Colin and I dig into Flex and the various reasons it is unlikely to have much impact for Comcast. I’ve been writing for a while that Comcast does not seem to have an aggressive response to the massive changes sweeping through the industry. Today’s hyper-competitive, “land grab” video services market favors bold moves and Flex seems too tepid to stand out.

Listen in to learn more!

 
Click here to listen to the podcast (23 minutes, 3 seconds)

Click here for previous podcasts

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The VideoNuze podcast is also available in iTunes...subscribe today!

68% of U.S. households had a connected TV device (smart TV, streaming device or enabled gaming console) as of September, 2018 according to Nielsen’s new Q3 2018 Total Audience Report. The data point is roughly in line with the 74% level that Leichtman Research found as of June, 2018. Together the data suggests we’re well on our way to having 4 out of 5 U.S. households with a CTV very soon.

For Nielsen, the 68% penetration rate represented a 5 point increase from the 63% it found in September, 2017. Asian American households led with an astounding 85% penetration rate, up from 81% a year ago. Black households had a 67% penetration rate in September, 2018 vs. 61% a year earlier.

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