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Clearleap and Roku Partner, Blurring Traditional Video Distribution Boundaries
Clearleap, a web-based TV technology platform, and Roku, maker of the popular digital video player, are announcing a partnership this morning that blurs the boundaries between traditional and broadband-centric video
distribution. The partnership enables incumbent Pay-TV providers to deliver premium content, including their own video-on-demand (VOD) libraries, plus supplemental online video, to their customers via Roku boxes. As a result, instead of Roku being thought of as one of the "over-the-top" disruptors of the existing video ecosystem, the Clearleap deal will help it - and other connected devices to follow - potentially find a role working with Pay-TV providers to extend their services.
For industry analysts like me, the deal is a bit of a mind-bender; when I got a sneak preview of the implementation at the Cable Show in LA last month I had to ask more than once about the context and motivations of the parties involved. I refreshed my understanding earlier this week in phone calls with Braxton Jarratt, Clearleap's CEO and co-founder, and Jim Funk, Roku's VP of Business Development.
Braxton explained that several of Clearleap's cable operator customers have acknowledged the expanding role of online video viewership (e.g. Netflix, YouTube, Amazon, MLB, etc.) via connected devices and are growing concerned that they pose a double negative: diminishing the importance of operators' own video services while also generating additional network traffic, but no incremental revenue upside (assuming the broadband user stays beneath their data cap and doesn't need to upgrade their service tier).
Categories: Cable TV Operators, Devices, Partnerships, Video On Demand
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Verizon Launches Droid X; Video is a Key Proposition in Battle with iPhone 4
Verizon officially unveiled its latest Droid smartphone this afternoon, the Droid X from Motorola, running Google's Android 2.1 mobile OS (with an upgrade to Android 2.2 planned for later this summer). I've been following
coverage this afternoon, and aside from all of the other cool new features, what resounds most for me is how video-focused the device is, and how strongly Verizon will be promoting this. I've previously said that video would move to the forefront of the ferocious smartphone battle underway between Google (with Android) and Apple (with the iPhone). With the Droid X launch, and the recent HTC Evo from Sprint (which I've been testing and will report on next week), plus numerous others to follow, I'm convinced that we are now getting into the thick of things.
From what I've read about the Droid X, there are 3 dimensions of the video proposition, each of which stacks up differently with the iPhone 4: (1) shooting video, in 720p HD, (2) watching video on the device's 4.3 inch 854 x 480 resolution screen, and (3) connecting the device via DLNA over a home network or via an HDMI-out port to your widescreen TV.
Categories: Mobile Video
Topics: Android, Apple, Droid, Google, Motorola, Verizon
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thePlatform Unveils Support for Numerous Over-the-Top Devices
thePlatform is announcing this morning that it has integrated with numerous "over-the-top" consumer electronics devices, enabling its content customers
to more easily deliver online video to them. Devices cited are boxee, Roku, TiVo, Vudu (which includes connected TVs and Blu-ray players from LG, Mitsubishi, Samsung, Toshiba and Vizio), DivX devices, Syabas (popbox), FlingoTV and others to come (including Google TV when ready). I caught up with Marty Roberts, thePlatform's VP of Sales and Marketing yesterday to learn more.
Marty explained the impetus was thePlatform's content customers telling the company they want to generate more video views and have easy access to the range of OTT devices coming to market. While conceding that the universe of all these devices combined is still probably in the low single-digit millions, thePlatform and its content customers are betting on future growth. The move is significant as it underscores the mindshare that direct access to TVs via broadband and connected devices has gained in the content community.
Categories: Devices, Technology
Topics: Boxee, DivX, FlingoTV, Google TV, LG, Mitsubishi, Roku, Samsung, Syabas, thePlatform, TiVo, Toshiba and Vizio, VUDU
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Brightcove Extends Platform to Serve Android Mobile Devices
Brightcove is announcing this morning that it has extended its platform to serve Android mobile devices, the latest sign of momentum behind Google's
mobile operating system. The new functionality includes an SDK for Android and new mobile templates for Flash Player 10.1, which together cover the spectrum of video viewed in apps and in browsers. Brightcove's president David Mendels provided further insight in a briefing last week.
What Brightcove is now doing for Android mirrors what the company did for the iPhone last November in the Brightcove 4 launch. Resources included in the Android solution are pre-built components for playback, content discovery, and connections into the Brightcove Media API. Next on the Android support roadmap are easy sharing to social media sites, improved navigation and discovery. For Flash 10.1, Brightcove has created a set of templates that will adapt to mobile devices and their playback context. These include right-sized player controls and a UI for smaller mobile screens. Flash 10.1 is now available for Android devices running Android 2.2 ("Froyo") and is also supported on BlackBerry, Windows Phone 7, Symbian and others.
Categories: Mobile Video, Technology
Topics: Android, Brightcove, iPhone
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RoxioNow Expands Retail Strategy, Licenses Platform to Sears
This morning video technology company Sonic Solutions is announcing that Sears (which also owns K-Mart), will be the latest company to license its RoxioNow platform, a customizable white-label electronic sell-through (EST) and VOD rental service delivering a large library of premium new release
studio content through a variety of connected devices. The deal shows momentum for the fledgling platform that has within the past year signed Blockbuster, Best Buy, and Boxee, while amassing a library of over 30,000 download to own and 5,000 new release studio titles.
Mark Ely, EVP of Strategy at Sonic Solutions, whom I spoke with yesterday, is excited to have another retailer on board. He believes retail stores with RoxioNow will help speed up the consumer transition to the digital medium through promotions and education. Brick and mortar stores definitely have an advantage, as it is where many consumers still go to learn about new technology before they purchase. On top of that, it gives retailers a chance to bundle in download offers as an incentive to purchase new Internet connected devices giving consumers a free taste of the platform.
Categories: Devices, Downloads, Technology
Topics: RoxioNow, Sears, Sonic Solutions
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Next New Networks Poised to Hit 1 Billion Views Since Inception
In July, independent online video creator Next New Networks will hit 1 billion views since its inception, company CEO Lance Podell me in an interview last week. Next New Networks is now generating 60 million views/mo across its whole network. Lance shared this statistic and more in the following interview, in preparation for NATPE's LATV Fest, scheduled for July 12-15. Lance will appear on a panel titled, "The NEXT new Network: The Intersection of Cable and Web Programming." An excerpted transcript follows.
VideoNuze: Which of your networks are doing the best, and why?
Lance Podell: The biggest are Barely Political and Barely Digital. The primary reason is because we've really tapped the mix of pop culture currency and comedy. A majority of our viewing is on YouTube and the discoverability on YouTube is still around comedy. Comedy is really, really strong.
Also interesting about YouTube is that success is relative. For example, our IndyMogul network which is about movies, but from a different angle at what's hot, is in a different vertical and at 5 million views per month, does very well there. A recent network we launched is HungryNation, which is real food for the YouTube generation has doubled and trebled over the last few months. We give new networks 90-120 days to really take off or not. YouTube and others are working hard to make new content more discoverable which is really important to launching new shows.
VN: There's been recent discussion of online video gaining viewership in primetime. Are your networks gaining in primetime?
LP: Primetime is a thing of the past - it's just not relevant any more. People can watch video-on-demand. Their lives are very different. Our viewership, at 60 million views per month, is the same as some smaller cable TV networks in primetime. So we're getting big enough to compete. Something that is interesting for us is "anytime" viewership. For example, we did some research recently and people said things like, "I come home from work or school and turn on YouTube." It's like they think of YouTube as a network. They tell us they find our humor more real and authentic. They also tell us they don't like being committed for 22 or 44 minutes or more.
Importantly, over the last 2 years web-only programming has become more reliable. Our shows come out at the same time every week. So people are tuning in, not just relying on people sending email links. And because all episodes are available they can really get into it.
Categories: Indie Video
Topics: LATV Fest, Next New Networks
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BrightRoll Breaks New Ground with Reporting Suite
Last Thursday's BrightRoll announcement of a suite of 3rd party verified reporting tools, including comScore, Nielsen, Insight Express, and Vizu, breaks new ground is addressing the online video advertising efficacy
problem. The suite aims to help marketers understand the actual results of online video campaigns with an eye to driving increased spending in the medium. On Friday, I had a chance to chat with BrightRoll's CEO, Tod Sacerdoti, who explained the reasons for this value-add reporting service.
Tod said that the idea for enhanced reporting came from three problems. The first is that an extraordinarily high number of media buyers - somewhere in the realm of 85% according to BrightRoll's research - did not understand the effectiveness of their online video buys. The second problem was that buyers don't fully use ad networks' in-house analytics and don't fully trust them anyway. Further, as ad spend has poured into online video, so have many low quality networks, who can rely on unsavory tactics to get views and thus lower overall CPMs. Thirdly, internal analytics don't get at the big picture, including for example, how a placement on BrightRoll performs versus a competitor.
Categories: Advertising
Topics: BrightRoll, comScore, Insight Express, Nielsen, Vizu
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4 Highlights from VideoSchmooze:LA Panel
At this past Tuesday morning's panel discussion at the VideoSchmooze:LA breakfast we had a great discussion about how Hollywood succeeds in the
digital era. While we covered a lot of ground, below are 4 key highlights. As a reminder, our panelists were:- Albert Cheng - EVP, Digital Media, Disney/ABC Television Group
- Gannon Hall - Chief Operating Officer, Kyte (co-lead sponsor of the breakfast)
- Justin Herz - SVP, Direct-to-Consumer, Warner Bros. Digital Distribution
- Ted Sarandos - Chief Content Officer - Netflix
- Ben Weinberger - CEO and Co-Founder, Digitalsmiths (co-lead sponsor of the breakfast)
Note a video of the discussion is available here; the lighting is a little low, but the audio is solid. Thanks to NATPE for live-streaming the event and making the on-demand version available.
1.Windows are extremely important to Hollywood and they aren't going away any time soon. As Albert explained, the 2 things that drive windows are money/distribution and segmenting the market. Any change in windows for new digital distribution is predicated on monetizing as effectively as the incumbent window being impacted. Albert noted that with the increase in ads on ABC.com, it can monetize more effectively than with DVR playback, so it is going to promote .com accordingly. Ted pointed out that Netflix is proving the digital window's value to longer shelf life content vs. the day-after value of broadcast networks' sites.
2. Digital will address the significant inefficiencies in current media distribution models. Ted noted that the Internet and e-commerce are very good at rooting out inefficiencies of traditional offline models (he cited as an example the demise of travel agents in favor of online travel sites). With respect to windows, Ted cautioned that they can be overmanaged: "in what other industry would you know exactly what your customer wants and not give it to him and yet expect to succeed."
Some of these inefficiencies are clearly in the Pay-TV business, which packages and delivers a lot of channels, though viewers actually only watch a few. Ben raised the question of what role Pay-tv providers should play: packager of content or deliverer of the best possible user experience through fast broadband networks. But with cable TV programmers receiving $25 billion a year in distribution fees, a good chunk of which finds its way back into the Hollywood production community, there are many built-in barriers to significant change.
3. Personalization in the digital era is key. Ted noted that with the Internet bringing vastly increased choice, one-to-one personalization is growing in importance. He pointed out that one of Netflix's key strengths is providing a simple menu of relevant choices for users, that allows users to remain relatively passive.
Justin echoed the point, noting that the recently-launched Warner Archive is all about targeting the micro-niches with catalog content that wasn't economic to deliver in mass-market approach. Gannon explained that some of their customers' traffic-driving success is due to social factors: users discovering great content and sharing it with others.
Ben weighed in that metadata is what fuels accurate personalization and also pointed out that what specific input device the user has makes a big difference in how to navigate the choices offered.
4. Electronic sell-through of content is heavily challenged as a successor to DVD sales. Lastly, the panel pretty much agreed that EST isn't going to succeed DVD sales any time soon. Issues around portability, security, rights, device interoperability and cost were just some that were named. Further, Gannon speculated that for younger people, the purchase of a digital copy may be outdated anyway. As content moves to the cloud, anytime/anywhere access could well displace the need to own content outright. The EST discussion highlighted the need for Hollywood to move faster to keep up with consumers' changing preferences.
What do you think? Post a comment now (no sign-in required).
Categories: Events
Topics: VideoSchmooze
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