-
iPad Users' Click-Through Rates On Video Ads Are Running Higher
Click-through rates on video ads shown to iPad users are much higher than similarly formatted ads shown to iPod Touch, iPhone or Android users according to new research released today by Rhythm New Media, a large mobile video ad network.
In analyzing their viewers' behavior in Q3, Rhythm found that iPad users' click-throughs on Rhythm's "interactive pre-roll" unit were 2.32%, which is 58% higher than the 1.47% for the iPod Touch, which came next. Rhythm CEO Ujjal Kohli, who I spoke to last week, said the data suggested the iPad's larger, more immersive environment is leading to more engagement with ads and users' higher inclination to click-through, particularly when more video is involved.
Categories: Advertising, Mobile Video
Topics: iPad, Rhythm New Media
-
Cable's Original Programs Should Be A Bulwark Against Cord-Cutting
A WSJ article today, "TV's Alternate Universe," about the proliferation and inventiveness of basic cable programs, provides an unintentional reminder of the value these shows have as a bulwark against cord-cutting. The article points out that basic networks will spend $23 billion this year on 1,462 originals, up from $14 billion on 863 shows just 5 years ago. The fact that these shows are both finding an audience and that they are virtually unavailable for free online makes them highly strategic assets as the pay-TV industry is increasingly buffeted by over-the-top video competition.
Two years ago, in "Cutting the Cord on Cable: For Most of Us It's Not Happening Any Time Soon," I argued that there are 2 key reasons mass-scale cord-cutting was unlikely, at least in the short term: first, the difficulty of watching online-delivered video on TVs (instead of on computers) limited its appeal as a substitute for pay-TV service for mainstream consumers, and second, the loss of numerous popular cable entertainment programs resulting from cord-cutting would give many people pause.
Categories: Cable Networks, Cable TV Operators, Satellite, Telcos
Topics: AMC, FX, Lifetime, Spike TV, TNT, TV Land, USA
-
5 Items of Interest for the Week of Oct. 11th
Continuing VideoNuze's Friday feature of highlighting 5-6 interesting online/mobile video industry stories that we weren't able to cover this week. Read them now or take them with you this weekend!
JetBlue Unvails Ads Created By Mullen
Take a moment to head over to YouTube today where JetBlue has bought out the top-of-page expanding banner for a hilarious new ad campaign, "You Above All," featuring a series of reality-style videos of New Yorkers in situations that mock the JetBlue competitors' service. The clever JetBlue campaign follows the head-turning Sylvester Stallone YouTube ad for "The Expendables" from a couple months ago and underscores the ascendance of YouTube as the #1 piece of online real estate for break-the-mold video campaigns for high-profile brands. Google is capitalizing on YouTube's appeal by featuring it prominently in its current "Watch This Space" ad campaign promoting the value of display advertising.
Google TV Guns for Cable Deals
And speaking of Google, with the recent introduction of Google TV, the company is reaching out to cable operators to ink integration deals similar to what it showcased with satellite operator Dish TV last week. Google TV offers tantalizing potential, particularly to smaller operators, to add Internet elements to their core video service, helping better compete with over-the-top entrants like Netflix. Conversely, as we saw this week with the funding/public launch of BNI Video (and in a series of separate product announcements coming next week), technology vendors are lining up to offer cable operators the ability to deliver their own Internet experiences. It's a very confusing time for cable operators, who must figure out whether to go it alone and invest heavily, or partner with a tech giant like Google.
comScore Releases September 2010 U.S. Online Video Rankings
comScore's video rankings for September yielded no big surprises, as Google/YouTube continued to be the dominant online video provider and Yahoo narrowly retook the #2 spot from Facebook. comScore changed the way it publicly reports its data this past June which has made it a little harder on independent analysts like me to show trending data as I used to do. Nonetheless, I'm hoping to have some new trending charts to share soon.
Blip.tv Predicts Best Quarter Yet for Web Creators
More encouraging news on the online video ad front, as video platform/distributor blip.tv said this week that Q4 '10 is on track to be its best quarter ever. Blip has been a very important player in bringing independent web series to market and its ability to monetize is a key driver of sustainability for many fledgling creators. Blip's news synchs with overall online video ad momentum in first half '10.
Introducing the JW Player for Flash and HTML5
Last month I wrote about how the open source JW Player is receiving 15K downloads per day. This week version 5.3 of the JW Player was released which integrates Flash and HTML5 into a single video player, using a unified JavaScript API. What that means is that anyone embedding the new player can seamlessly deliver either Flash or HTML5 video with the browser auto-detecting which playback mode to use. Since browsers and devices are still quite heterogeneous in what formats they support, initiatives like this help reduce friction in publishing and user experience.
Categories: Advertising, Cable TV Operators, Devices, Indie Video, Technology
Topics: blip.TV, comScore, Google TV, JetBlue, JW Player, YouTube
-
VideoNuze Report Podcast #77 - Oct. 15, 2010
Daisy Whitney and I are pleased to present the 77th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for October 15, 2010.
This week we start by discussing the sizzling online video ad business. On Tuesday, the IAB and PriceWaterhouse Coopers reported that online video ads were the best performing category of Internet advertising, up 31% in the first half of '10 vs. first half of '09, to $627 million. That came amid a broader surge in Internet advertising, which tallied over $12 billion in first half revenues, a new record. Google added an exclamation mark to these results by reporting a 23% increase in Q3 revenues late yesterday. Daisy and I talk through some of the key drivers of the video ad business and how things look going forward.
I see the mass adoption of connected devices, which enable the viewing of long-form online video on TVs, as one of the most important drivers of online ad revenue. As consumers begin to watch more online video on their HDTVs, in the comfort of their living rooms, viewership will inevitably rise, creating even more ad inventory. One example of this is Hulu Plus, which recently announced it would be available on both Roku and TiVo.
In the podcast we discuss the connected devices theme and I note that the next VideoSchmooze breakfast/panel I'll be hosting in NYC, on Dec. 1st, will focus on the roles that both connected and mobile devices have in transforming the video landscape. This holiday season is going to mark an important period of growth for these devices and our panel will help us understand the implications.
Lastly - as some of you may know, Daisy's first fiction book, "The Mockingbirds," is being published by Little, Brown on Nov. 2. It's an incredibly exciting milestone for Daisy, and she shares the social media/video promotional campaign she's created using Facebook, Twitter and others. It's a great illustration of how the tools we talk about each day can be used effectively.
Click here to listen to the podcast (11 minutes, 49 seconds)
Click here for previous podcasts
The VideoNuze Report is available in iTunes...subscribe today!Categories: Advertising, Devices, Events
Topics: Google, Hulu Plus, Podcast, VideoSchmooze
-
Next VideoSchmooze Breakfast In NYC On December 1st
I'm excited to announce the next VideoSchmooze breakfast/panel will be in New York, on Wednesday, December 1st at The Samsung Experience, located in the Time Warner Center, 10 Columbus Circle. The topic of our panel, which I'll moderate, is "How Connected and Mobile Devices are Transforming the Video Landscape." Panelists include:- Charlie Herrin - SVP, Products and Technology, Comcast Interactive Media
- Doug Knopper - Co-CEO and Co-Founder, FreeWheel
- Olivier Manuel - Director of Content, Samsung Electronics
- Steve Robinson - CEO and Founder, Panache
- Jeremiah Zinn - SVP, Digital Products, MTV
Our discussion will occur right in the middle of an exciting holiday season in which both connected devices (e.g. Apple TV, Google TV, Roku, boxee, TiVo, gaming consoles, Blu-ray players, etc.) and mobile devices (e.g. iPhone, iPad,
Android, etc.) will be among the hottest gifts. The explosion of these devices, which are ideal for "over-the-top" video viewing, portends a massive transformation of the traditional video landscape.
Our panelists are ideally positioned to explain the connected/mobile revolution. They cover the range of industries involved: incumbent pay-TV provider/broadband ISP, online/mobile video monetization, consumer electronics/apps and premium quality content. Their perspectives will be invaluable for helping sort the hype from the reality. As with past VideoSchmooze events, attendees can expect a high-impact, interactive, educational session.
There will be ample time for networking and audience Q&A. Samsung will also be hosting technology demonstrations of its connected devices for those interested. This VideoSchmooze breakfast is generously sponsored by Akamai Technologies, FreeWheel and Panache. It is being held in association with CTAM's New York chapter. The Fortex Group is providing marketing support.
I hope you'll be able to join us at this special event! Early bird individual and group rates are now available.
Click here to learn more and register for early bird discountCategories: Devices, Events, Mobile Video
Topics: VideoSchmooze
-
Critical Mention Releases Snazzy New CriticalTV 4.0
After 2 months of beta, this morning Critical Mention is introducing the 4.0 version of CriticalTV, its broadcast TV and radio intelligence platform, which captures and digitizes 24/7 streams from over 1,000 media sources on 4
continents (including all 210 U.S. TV markets). The streams are then indexed and instantly searchable by clients. Critical's CEO Sean Morgan gave me a demo of CriticalTV 4.0's new features earlier this week which impressively expose broadcast assets for online/mobile use.
Sean explained that Critical has activated 240 data centers that are now ingesting a whopping 27 hours of media every 60 seconds. In effect Critical is digitally capturing an encyclopedia of TV and radio news around the clock. The real secret sauce to CriticalTV though are the tools it gives to its 600+ mostly PR and corporate communications clients to monitor, mine and flexibly distribute the broadcast assets that are uniquely valuable to them.
Categories: Technology
Topics: Critical Mention, CriticalTV
-
Study: User-Generated Video Product Reviews Can Be As Persuasive As Ads
A new study of user-generated video product reviews has found that they contain the same kinds of persuasiveness and memorability traits as found in professionally-produced advertisements, therefore suggesting that they offer significant complementary value. In the study, comScore used its content assessment methodology, "ARS Zipline," to score a sample of 25 user-generated product reviews from EXPO Communications' database. They were compared to professional video ads drawn from the comScore ARS database.
The scoring process focused on the user-generated reviews' persuasiveness and memorability, based on rational, emotional and structural attributes. Of the 25 reviews, 17 (68%) scored at least in the average range while 8 (32%) scored above average. The key takeaway is that some product reviewers intuitively convey persuasiveness and memorability even absent the rigorous development and testing employed in the professional ad process. The study found that reviewers tended to focus more on the product and its attributes, driving home key messages around product convenience and quality, both of which increase persuasiveness.
Categories: UGC
-
YuMe Rolls Out "ACE for Advertisers" For Improved Video Ad Management
Video ad network YuMe is rolling out a new product this morning called "ACE for Advertisers" that is being positioned as an end-to-end buy side video ad
management system. According to YuMe, ACE for Advertisers offers enhanced control of media planning and buying, ad trafficking and creative management, ad serving and optimization and post-campaign analytics. It can be used across online, mobile and IPTV.
ACE for Advertisers is further evidence of how the online video advertising industry is maturing, with new tools to help major brands and agencies operate at higher scale and move bigger budgets into the medium. For example, YuMe said that ACE for Advertisers allows users to buy directly from publishers by configuring their own private networks, and/or they can tap into YuMe's network of 600 publishers and/or they can use other ad networks or exchanges. In effect, if there's inventory out there to capture, YuMe wants brands and agencies to be able to reach and manage it through ACE. Targeting data from 3rd parties can also be incorporated across these networks.
Categories: Advertising
Topics: YuMe
VideoNuze Posts
Connect with VideoNuze
Exclusive News Roundup
- Spotify, Netflix Partner On 'Happy Gilmore' Game Promo Mediapost
- NFL in talks to take a 10% stake in ESPN CNBC
- MLS commissioner offers rare disclosure of Apple TV viewership Sports Media Watch
- Jeff Bezos weighing possible acquisition of CNBC cable network NY Post
- NBCU Is Exploring Launching a Sports Cable Network WSJ
- YouTube earns $9.8 billion in ad revenue during Q2 The Desk
