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VideoNuze Report Podcast #65 - June 18, 2010
Daisy Whitney and I are pleased to present the 65th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for June 18, 2010.
This week Daisy and I return to the topic of cord-cutting, with Daisy tamping down some of what she reported about possible momentum here. Daisy cites new research from Nielsen and from Leichtman Research Group as evidence that in fact cord-cutting isn't actually happening (at least not yet). For my part, as I've said going back to my post in Oct, '08, I don't see much cord-cutting happening any time soon, both because viewers would lose cable TV network programs they love and because it's still not mainstream to connect broadband to TVs.
We then discuss my post early this week about ABC doubling the ad load on its iPad app, and soon on ABC.com as well. As I said earlier this week, it's tough from a consumer standpoint to see more ads, but the reality is these programs need to be effectively monetized, or well, these programs will cease to exist.
Click here to listen to the podcast (15 minutes, 29 seconds)
Click here for previous podcasts
The VideoNuze Report is available in iTunes...subscribe today!Categories: Broadcasters, Cable TV Operators, Podcasts
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Look Who's Advertising on YouTube's Homepage Now: VISA/Toy Story 3 and Xbox's Kinect
Want a sense of just how far YouTube has evolved from its scruffy user-generated roots to a premier site for big brand launches? Then head over to YouTube.com now and you'll see huge rotating rich media campaigns running for VISA, with a tie-in for the new Disney/Pixar film Toy Story 3 (opening tomorrow) and for Xbox's new Kinect motion-sensing feature (the "Wii-killer" unveiled earlier this week at E3).
From a brand launch perspective, these are about as big as they get, with huge money and franchises at stake for all of the companies involved, not to mention the positive or negative career impact for the marketers driving the media strategies at these companies. The fact that both are advertising prominently on YouTube says volumes about the site's importance in the online advertising world and its evolution from its UGC start.
It wasn't that long ago when YouTube was derided an un-monetizable jumble of amateurish clips. It's also worth noting that, as best I can tell, neither the Kinect nor VISA/Toy Story 3 campaigns are running on Yahoo, AOL or MSN right now, the traditional online homes for big brand launches. Now imagine when YouTube is available on TVs via Google TV and you get a sense of just how important YouTube is going to be, and how strategic it has become for Google which is trying to expand beyond search ads.
What do you think? Post a comment now (no sign-in required).Categories: Advertising, Aggregators
Topics: Toy Story, VISA, XBox, YouTube
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Vook Continues to Evolve, Introduces Karen Armstrong Vook
This morning Vook is introducing its next new offering, "A Compassionate Life in 12 Steps," from Karen Armstrong, a prominent religious scholar, TED Prize winner and founder of the Charter for Compassion. With the Armstrong release Vook continues its pioneering work melding text-focused books with original video (hence the name "vook") into new multimedia experiences. I've been fascinated by Vook's concept since I first heard about it and last week I had a chance to talk to Vook's founder Brad Inman to learn more.
Vook has created over 50 vooks to date, sometimes sourcing books via its partnerships with traditional publishers like Simon & Shuster, HarperStudio and others, and sometimes working with public domain material (e.g. Shakespeare). Brad explained that a typical vook will retain 30-80% of the original book's text and incorporate around 20 original videos. Sometimes, as with a golf instructional book, Vook turned it into 8 vooks, which can be bought fro $5 a piece or as a bundle for $40. The overall budget for the videos is around $2,000-$5,000, with Vook tapping into TurnHere (Brad also founded the online video production company). Brad explained that TurnHere already had a lot of expertise with author profile videos.
The price for vooks ranges from $1.99 to $16.99, with the sweet spot around $4.99-$6.99. Brad said that Vook targets to recoup its costs within 4-6 weeks of a vook's launch, which is extremely fast by book publishing standards. Vooks are accessible on the web or via apps for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. An Android app will be available in the next 30-45 days.
Brad is pretty candid about Vook still being in the early days of experimenting with this format, learning as it goes about what works and what doesn't. No doubt it's going to take some time to refine the product itself and also raise consumer awareness.
What's exciting to me is that Vook is operating at the intersection of online video, consumer devices (iPad, smartphones, etc.) and traditional book publishing. The rapid technology innovations in video and devices means Vook has ever-stronger tools to enhance its experience (Brad cited the iPad's page-turning effect as just one example).
Many people have lamented the downward spiral that book publishing has been in recently, with interest in reading books on the wane. E-book readers like the Kindle have helped spark a small resurgence, but while they enhance portability, they don't innovate the overall book experience the way that Vook does. Given how conditioned people are to going on YouTube and other sources to watch video, it feels natural to augment books with specific, related video. For example, how often have you been reading a book and hungered to hear the author, in their own words, describe their inspiration, writing style, creative sources, etc?
In fact, as Brad says, Vook's secret sauce is perfecting how video should be integrated in an elegant/useful way with the text. Creating any new media format is of course a tall task. But in a way, I liken what Vook is doing to what magazines are doing with their iPad apps - making them more visually engaging and interactive. As these catch on, Vook's value proposition will become more familiar.
Books have been around for a long, long time, but in their traditional format they are beginning to look dated. By adding meaningful new value for readers, authors and publishers while keeping its expenses low, Vook may well be on a path to success.
What do you think? Post a comment now (no sign-in required).Categories: Books
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Aiming to Increase Its Reach, Encoding.com Debuts White-Label Option
Encoding.com, the cloud-based encoding provider, is debuting a new white-label option of its service today. Jeff Malkin, Encoding.com's president, explained to me yesterday that the company's goal is to expand reach
through new customers who have access to many new opportunities. Initial customers being announced today include Cisco Eos, Kaltura, Giant Realm and vzaar. Jeff said there are many additional white-label customers yet to be announced.
Encoding.com is enabling these relationships by introducing new features in its API which allow customers to integrate transcoding into their customers' work flow. In particular, Jeff said the API enhancement means white-label customers can offer the same type of sub-account set-up and trial account creation, plus account and sub-account tracking in real-time. Encoding.com will offer the same service level guarantees for white-label customers.
Categories: Encoding
Topics: Cisco EOS, Encoding.com, Giant Realm, Kaltura, vzaar
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With ESPN Partnership, Xbox Reemerges as a Convergence Competitor
Monday's ESPN-Xbox deal brings the Xbox back into view as a competitor in the Internet connected set-top box battle that has further heated up since the
Google TV announcement. Oddly, the Xbox, a device that is already in millions of homes, is often left out of the convergence conversation. To me it seems like a sleeping giant, with many early advantages that should put it squarely on the connected STB map.
The Xbox, as a gaming device primarily, clears the hurdle many set-top boxes stumble over - getting people to buy an additional box. Gaming has allowed it to build a user base of early adopters who are eager to consume online video. Its controller is an easy to operate wireless gamepad, great for navigating screens and menus quickly. In addition, the gamepad has an attachable keyboard the size of a mobile device for easy searching of vast libraries of content.
Categories: Cable Networks, Devices, Games
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Exclusive: ABC Has Doubled the Number of Ads in Its iPad App; ABC.com Will Be Next
Yesterday ABC began implementing a new ad policy for its popular iPad app, which up to doubles the number of ads included per episode. ABC intends to apply the new ad policy to programs viewed on ABC.com soon as well. Albert Cheng, EVP, Digital Media for Disney/ABC Television briefed me on the
changes last week, adding that he believes the new ad policy will become common in the industry. ABC also shared with me that its iPad app has been downloaded over 800,000 times, with 4.2 million episodes started since the iPad's launch on April 3rd.
The changes are very significant as they signal a new push by broadcast networks to improve the profitability of their free online and mobile streams. For example, a typical ABC.com program has included 5-6 ads that are 30-seconds, totaling up to 2 1/2-3 minutes of ad time. This compares with around 20 minutes of ads shown in an hour-long program broadcast on-air.
Categories: Advertising, Broadcasters
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Last Chance: VideoSchmooze LA Breakfast is Tomorrow
Tomorrow is the VideoSchmooze breakfast in LA, at the beautiful SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills from 8 am-10:15 am. The topic of our panel discussion, which I'll moderate, is "How Hollywood Succeeds in the Digital Distribution Era."
We have a great group of panelists who will discuss all the key issues. We'll also have plenty of time for audience Q&A.- 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)
Online registration will be open until 8pm PT tonight. Walk-ins are also welcome; only cash and checks will be accepted at the door.
We have a large group attending, so in addition to the panel, there will be great networking both before and after the formal discussion. Note also that valet parking is included in the ticket price.
Thanks to the event's co-lead sponsors Digitalsmiths and Kyte, and supporting sponsors Akamai, Horn Group, Irdeto, ScanScout and Signiant.
Click here to learn more and register nowCategories: Events
Topics: VideoSchmooze
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World Cup is Primed for Online and Mobile Video Coverage
After much build-up, the World Cup is finally upon us. Major brands' World Cup-themed ads have been a big part of fueling awareness, and the folks at Visible Measures have been tracking their viewership. The top 5 most-viewed ads include ones from Puma, Coca-Cola, Carlsberg, Pepsi, and of course the insanely-popular ad (22 million+) views from Nike.
The World Cup games are going to get a lot of attention online, with both ESPN3 and Univision planning lots of live online and mobile streaming. To access ESPN3 you need to be a subscriber to one of the broadband ISPs that has a deal to carry the online network (AT&T, Verizon, Comcast, Cox, etc.). Univision is open to all, but unless you speak Spanish you may want to mute the audio.
The World Cup once again shows up how important major sporting events are to online video. Past events like the Summer and Winter Olympics, March Madness, MLB.tv, Sunday Night Football and now the World Cup showcase online and mobile video at their best, providing anywhere access, interactivity and loads of additional information. The crown jewel of sports that still remains outside of online video's reach is the Super Bowl. If and when it gets live-streamed, online video will really have made it big-time.
What do you think? Post a comment now (no sign-in required).Categories: Broadcasters, Cable Networks, Sports
Topics: ESPN3, Univision, World Cup
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