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VideoNuze Report Podcast #81 - Dec. 10, 2010
Daisy Whitney and I are back this week for the 81st edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for December 10, 2010.
This week Daisy and I focus on Google's video efforts from two perspectives: first, whether it should pay CBS (and other networks) to allow Google TV to access their programs, and second, what are the implications of its acquisition of Widevine, announced last Friday.
On the former point, as I argued in "Google to Pay CBS? Unlikely." I think it's a big stretch to believe that Google, which is a search engine, is going to start paying content providers like CBS, to direct traffic to them. Certainly that's not what it does online, and there's little reason to believe it will start doing so with Google TV.
Meanwhile, the Widevine deal underscores how far Google has come in prioritizing copyright protection. It wasn't that long ago when YouTube was a rogue copyright infringer and yet that didn't deter Google from acquiring it. With Widevine and multiple other Google video initiatives, the company is extremely well-positioned to play a bigger role in the distribution and monetization of Hollywood content in 2011.
If you want to learn more about Google, and also other key online/mobile video trends and predictions for 2011, then join me for a complimentary webinar I'll be hosting with The Diffusion Group's Colin Dixon next Wed., Dec. 15th at 11am PT/2pm ET. We'll demystify 2011 and leave plenty of time for audience Q&A.
Click here to listen to the podcast (12 minutes, 17 seconds)
Click here for previous podcasts
The VideoNuze Report is available in iTunes...subscribe today!Categories: Broadcasters, Devices, DRM, Podcasts
Topics: CBS, Google, Google TV, Podcast, Widevine
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Will China's Successful Youku IPO Spark US Online Video Offerings in '11?
Yesterday, China's Youku, which started as a YouTube-style user-uploaded video site, but has evolved to a Hulu-style distributor of professional video, went public on the New York Stock Exchange. It offered 15.85 million American Depositary Receipts, or "ADRs," which represent ownership shares
in non-U.S. companies, at $12.80 apiece, raising over $200 million. When the market closed, the ADRs stood at $33.44, up 161%, the best one-day performance for a U.S. IPO in the last 5 years (they're up another $5 today as well). Youku, which recorded $35 million in revenue for the first nine months of this year (and a $25 million loss), had an end of day valuation of $3 billion+.
Yes, I know what you're thinking - this is crazy, the bubble days have returned and there's a huge "China factor" multiplier at work for Youku. All of that is no doubt true. But here's something else that's true - while the global economy and stock markets have undergone wrenching change and volatility over the last 2+ years, the online video market has boomed. For certain kinds of investors (both professional and non-professional) who value growth over everything else, there are few sectors which have more appealing characteristics. As tens of millions of people have adopted online and mobile video, devices for viewing online video on TVs have proliferated, premium content has become available and business models have firmed, investors have taken notice.
Categories: Aggregators, Deals & Financings, International
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Google To Pay CBS? Unlikely.
CBS CEO Les Moonves said this week that Google TV is not going to get CBS programs for "zero dollars," suggesting that if the company were to unblock access for the device, it would only happen when Google is willing to pay. I've learned to never say never, but in this case I think the scenario where Google pays for CBS and other broadcast networks' programs similarly being blocked from Google TV is very unlikely.
When Moonves says "I'm not sure what it is," (referring to Google TV) it makes me think he either doesn't understand the Internet, is being disingenuous, or both. As I originally argued a couple of months ago, in "Broadcast TV Networks Are Wrong to Block Google TV," the device is not hard to understand. It serves essentially the same purpose for content providers on TVs as the Google search engine does online and on mobile devices. A user wants to find a piece of content or an answer to a question or a product, he/she types a term into the search bar and a list of filtered results appears. Google has also enhanced Google TV's core search and discover functionality with a bunch of apps that help emulate the full Internet experience on TV; for now those are interesting, but not yet compelling or unique vs. other devices that do similar things. Over time they may be.
Categories: Broadcasters, Devices
Topics: CBS, Google, Google TV
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Results of Post-VideoSchmooze Reader Survey
Yesterday I posted a short 4-question survey following up last week's VideoSchmooze panel discussion of how connected and mobile devices are transforming the video landscape. Below are the results along with my short reactions plus how I would have voted on each question.
Question 1: Do you agree with the VideoSchmooze panelists that connected and mobile devices are mostly additive to the traditional pay-TV model, or do you think they are mostly disruptive to the traditional pay-TV model?
My reactions: Despite all the media coverage this year that new devices spell the demise of the pay-TV industry with rampant cord-cutting just ahead, readers seem to agree with the panel that instead they are mostly additive. While there's no doubt that that they present a significant challenge to incumbents, there is also early evidence that pay-TV operators are broadening their mindsets and trying to incorporate these devices into the experiences they offer (Comcast's new Android app unveiled yesterday is just the latest example). I would have voted "not sure/too early to tell" primarily because aside from the biggest pay-TV operators, there are a lot of others that aren't embracing new devices at all. It remains to be seen how aggressive these operators will be and as a result what devices' impact on the whole pay-TV industry will be.
Categories: Events
Topics: VideoSchmooze
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Comcast Launches First Android Xfinity Mobile App
Three weeks after launching its free Xfinity mobile app for Apple iOS devices, today Comcast introduced the Android version of the app. From a video features perspective, the iOS and Android versions line up pretty closely, including search and browse of the On Demand catalog, remote DVR programming and a searchable guide to local listings. All of these are handy, but as I wrote a few weeks ago, the big win for Comcast and its customers will happen when it's possible to actually watch a TV show or movie selected using the app (that capability is coming soon and is part of the larger TV Everywhere strategy).
Categories: Cable TV Operators, Devices
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VideoSchmooze Follow-up Reader Survey
Last Wednesday at VideoSchmooze we had a great discussion of how connected and mobile devices are transforming the video landscape. Today, VideoNuze readers get to weigh in on whether you agree or disagree with the panelists on a few of the key points they made through a short 4-question survey. It will
take less than 30 seconds to complete and it will be fun to get your perspective. I'll summarize your responses in a follow-up post. Enjoy!
Click here to take the surveyTopics: VideoSchmooze
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Webinar on Quality of Video Service This Wed, Dec. 8th
Akamai, IDC and the NFL are presenting an interesting complimentary webcast this Wednesday, discussing their research findings on the correlation between viewer engagement and video quality. As longer-form online-delivered video has proliferated, whether supported by ads or payments, quality has become a critical issue. When viewers sit down to watch for a while, their expectations of quality increase vs. just watching a short clip or two. Content providers and delivery partners need to know specifically what matters and how to deliver it.
In this webcast, the presenters will review actual findings from 6 recent events. Though user engagement is influenced by video quality, higher bitrates alone didn't always lead to viewing duration. Rather, engagement appears to be more related to the consistency of the viewing experience, so that transitions between bitrates and also the number of re-buffering events are in fact most crucial to audiences. Learn all about the findings during the webcast this Wed, Dec. 8th at 11am PT / 2pm ET.
Categories: Webinars
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ESPN Wades Into Cord-Cutting Research Fray With New Data
Not content to sit by and watch the headlines claiming significant cord-cutting is underway, ESPN is wading into the cord-cutting research fray, releasing a new analysis of its own, which it asserts that the activity has been totally overblown.
By analyzing Nielsen data, ESPN says that in the past 3 months, .28 percent of U.S. households have cut the cord, though mitigating this decrease is that .17 percent of households that had been subscribing to the lowest tier of pay-TV service (dubbed "broadcast-only") upgraded to pay-TV and broadband Internet services. With approximately 110 million households in the U.S., ESPN is saying around 308,000 homes cut the cord, with 187,000 upgrading from broadcast-only, for a net loss due to cord-cutting of 121,000 households. Interestingly, that 121,000 households is quite close to the 119,000 subscribers that SNL Kagan said that U.S. pay-TV operators lost in Q3 '10.
Categories: Sports
Topics: ESPN, Nielsen, SNL Kagan
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