VideoNuze Posts

Keeping with our end of year tradition, this week on Inside the Stream, Colin and I discuss the top 10 most important streaming video stories (in our humble view) of 2022.

Several of our top 10 stories focus on broader industry trends that are accelerating, such as cord-cutting and the rise of connected TV advertising. Others focus on changes at specific companies including YouTube, Netflix, Disney and WBD. And others involve emerging themes such as sports rights migrating to streamers, adoption of hybrid video-on-demand (HVOD) business models and the growth of FASTs. The top 10 highlight the industry’s vibrancy, as well as the challenges of navigating an ever-changing landscape.

Thank you for listening to Inside the Stream in 2022; hopefully you’ve found value in our discussions. We look forward to continuing the dialogue in 2023 and wish you all happy holidays!

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On this week’s edition of Inside the Stream, nScreenMedia’s Colin Dixon and I dig into four topics: World Cup streaming quality and the lack of 4K differentiation, Netflix’s offer to refund advertisers due to inventory shortfalls, WBD’s decision to remove “Westworld” from HBO Max, and the proliferation of music-oriented FAST channels.

Listen to the podcast to learn more (31 minutes, 25 seconds)

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HBO Max is coming back to Amazon Prime Video Channels, reversing a move by prior owner WarnerMedia just over a year ago. Removing HBO Max led to an immediate loss of 5 million subscribers who had signed up through Amazon Channels (it’s unclear how many rejoined directly).

On today’s podcast, Colin and I try puzzle through why WBD, which is now HBO’s owner, would want HBO Max to rejoin Amazon Channels. Although Amazon will surely generate some incremental HBO Max subscribers, their lifetime value is likely to be far lower than HBO Max subscribers who sign up directly with the service. That’s because Amazon has “customer ownership” of these subscribers and shares little to no data with SVOD providers that would be critical to retention (starting with an email address to directly communicate with them). I wrote about my personal experience with this in August, 2021.

The move seems to suggest a push for incremental subscribers, despite the likelihood of a higher churn rate. That’s at odds with streaming services executives recent emphasis on profitability over pure subscriber growth. It’s possible Colin and I are missing something here. If you think you know what it is please let us know.

To wrap up the discussion we also discuss WBD's reported new strategy to collect its streaming services under the "Max" brand in 2023.

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Earlier this week AMC Networks disclosed a large-scale layoff (reportedly 20%) and that their CEO was departing. AMC Networks’ chairman James Dolan said in an internal memo that “It was our belief that cord cutting losses would be offset by gains in streaming. This has not been the case. We are primarily a content company and the mechanisms for the monetization of content are in disarray.”

AMC Networks’ predicament typifies what’s happening across the industry. In today’s podcast Colin and I share estimates of what AMC might be earning from its streaming services vs. what it earns from its linear channels distributed by pay-TV operators. Other data we share highlights the conundrum broadcast and cable TV networks face: their assumptions for target pricing for their streaming services and subscriber forecasts are too high.

The monetization disarray AMC and others are experiencing is the messy transition from the pay-TV world that masked what consumers were paying for individual channels and how they were valued vs. the DTC world where consumers are in full control.

Listen to the podcast to learn more (31 minutes, 56 seconds)

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Last Thursday was VideoNuze’s second annual Connected TV Advertising Brand Suitability Summit virtual, which featured 24 senior executives on 5 sessions.

Below are links to each of the session recordings along with descriptions of each session and speakers. There are tons of great insights about CTV advertising and the roles of brand suitability and DE&I.

Thanks again to the Summit’s Presenting Partner Pixability and Gold Partners DeepIntent and Mediaocean, along with collaborators dentsu, GroupM, Horizon Media, Publicis Media and UM.

Enjoy!

[VIDEO] Why Brand Suitability Matters to Connected TV

[VIDEO] Exploring Identity Management and Measurement in CTV

[VIDEO] How Connected TV is Driving Change in the TV Industry

[VIDEO] Succeeding at the Intersection of DE&I and Brand Suitability

[VIDEO] Best Practices for Brand Suitability in Multi-Platform Advertising

The following video was recorded at VideoNuze's Connected TV Advertising Brand Suitability Summit virtual on November 17, 2022.

Why Brand Suitability Matters to Connected TV
A deep dive into what brand suitability is, and why it matters to connected TV advertising. Explore how agencies and advertisers are adopting increasingly sophisticated approaches to brand suitability as connected TV viewership surges.

Colleen Durkin - SVP, Integrated Investment, Assembly
Joshua Lowcock – Global Chief Media Officer, UM
Susan Schiekofer - Chief Digital Investment Officer, GroupM North America
David George - CEO, Pixability (moderator)