MediaPost | Video Insider

Connected TV: A Viable Ad-Supported Business Model?

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:54:39 -0500

Always on the lookout for emerging business models in the advertising-supported T/V (Television/Video) space, I became aware of efforts underway by a company called Videology (previously known as TidalTV) to develop just such a model for connected TV.

2012: The Year Of The (Video) Dragon

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:17:56 -0500

If you are involved in the video space, then you know what I'm talking about. Previously, video was cool but it was not "it" just yet. However, 2012 has arrived, and now video is becoming "it."

You Get What You Pay For

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:23:55 -0500

The trades have recently reported that the cost of a 30-second spot for this year's big game as $3.5 million. Sports, in general, are priced above most other forms of programming, as big ratings and large target audiences offer a great way to get rating points. Clients and agencies have valued the various leagues, games, etc. and segmented them out so they can price them accordingly. For example, NFL games are more expensive than NHL games. Major conference Division I games are more expensive on a national basis than Division II leagues and so on. So when will the next biggest video medium follow suit? When will clients and agencies begin to segment out digital video?

Content Is Dead -- Long Live Content

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:11:25 -0500

When Viacom founder Sumner Redstone said "content is king," it was in the context that additional distribution outlets give rights holders new ways to monetize the content. Indeed, thanks to the Internet, there are countless new outlets for content owners to distribute programming, but also thanks to the Internet, there's an infinite supply of content, which drives advertising rates down.

The Future Of Web TV: Strength In Numbers

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:13:21 -0500

All indicators are pointing to this being the year for Web video: Netflix's original content deals, YouTube investing over $100 million in original Web series, Tom Hanks partnering with Yahoo on original programming -- the list goes on. Add in highly anticipated original content slates from CBS, Sony's Crackle, Michael Eisner's Vuguru, and you have the foundation for a game-changing year. The challenge for the buying side of the industry and advertisers remains how to find all the new content while it's still available for investment.

All Grown Up, Video Explodes In 2012

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:21:21 -0500

If you take a good, hard look at the online video industry, it's pretty clear that the sector is maturing. The signs that online video has grown beyond the infant and toddler stages are everywhere: brands are getting much smarter about their online video strategies; the technology to support it is getting much more sophisticated and exciting; and measurement is becoming more defined and pervasive. For brands aiming to capitalize on online video -- and every brand worth its salt is now incorporating an online video strategy -- it's important to have a sense of how the industry will evolve in the coming months to avoid getting hamstrung by the inevitable growing pains that come with an industry's maturation.

To Win Super Bowl 2012, Advertisers Have to Think Beyond The Game

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 11:07:04 -0500

It's crunch time for Super Bowl 2012 advertisers. Over the next few weeks they'll be meeting to tweak, massage, and optimize their non-trivial marketing investment coming up on Feb. 5. All of their months of planning, strategizing, and ideating, not to mention the millions of dollars spent on media and creative to capture the attention of 100+ million people, all come down to a very quick 30 to 60 seconds. The sad truth is that advertisers who plan to battle only for those 30 to 60 seconds on Feb. 5 have already lost the war.

2011's Q4 Slowdown Shows Again How Online Advertising Mimics Traditional Media

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:59:58 -0500

The great thing about writing so many articles is that when I meet people, I can shut up (well, sometimes anyway), ask questions and listen. In the past few months, every time I asked someone how their fourth quarter was, I got the same response: "Good, but not as good as I expected."

Pre-Roll Video Advertising Can Learn From Social Media Marketing

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:28:55 -0500

Can we all agree that most pre-roll video ads are super-annoying? Audiences have learned to tame TV ads with TiVo, but we continue to see the proliferation of online video ads as part of a trend in which pre-rolls will see the most growth of all (62%) in an online video advertising industry that's expected to see an aggressive 40% year-over-expected increase from 2011. You'd think that as a creative director at a digital creative agency, I would be excited about this trend -- and I am! My beef is with the creative content that's being presented in these valuable little chunks of time in which advertisers distract from, interrupt or delay the user experience in some way. Viewers are your customers and should be offered ads that will appeal to them and not push them away.

Connected TV: Cresting The Peak Of Inflated Expectations

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 11:09:52 -0500

Connected TV is still in its infancy, but its digital marketing potential is huge. Millions of videos that were previously only accessible online are now available to consumers via their TVs. Online video to date has been focused on "snacking," but the living room consumer has more time for longer-form content and the substantial ad inventory that accompanies it. It's not hard to imagine literally thousands of "channels" of professional and "prosumer" niche content. While the promise of this is exciting, it also feels very familiar. We're cresting the peak of inflated expectations. Despite the potential that connected TV holds, 2012 will not be the year that connected TV changes video advertising. Three basic impediments will prevent this:

'These Three-Hour Days Are Killing Me!' And Other Dispatches From The Future

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 15:38:48 -0500

To many pop culture fans, 2012 marks the 50th anniversary of "The Jetsons," which premiered on September 23,1962. The animated series with a mid-century-modern flair featured a "nuclear" family -- patriarch George, Jane his wife, his boy Elroy, and teenage daughter Judy, who live in a spectacular Seattle Space Needle-type apartment (this was the year of the 1962 Seattle World's Fair in Orbit City). Although it was never explicitly stated, the show takes place 100 years in the future, in 2062. We're halfway there. So how are we doing, 50 years into "The Jetsons'" past?

Are We Witnessing Hulu Pivot Before Our Eyes?

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 12:35:35 -0500

Hulu forecasts that by 2012 it will generate half its revenues through advertising and the remaining balance via subscriptions. During its state of the union update, Hulu stated that it will spend $500 million next year, prompting many to wonder where it would get the proceeds. Shortly thereafter, Hulu announced that it would be raising fresh funds, effectively diluting existing equity partners to ensure its survival. This is a big reversal of strategy: in 2011 the traditional media company stockholders and Providence private equity investor were sellers -- and now, in 2012, they're buyers. What changed?

'I Heart NY' - And Trying New Things

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 12:53:00 -0500

In early 2011, I put some thoughts into writing about a concept I've realized in my young career, spending some years in the Israeli army and at Taboola. I called it the Economy of Good Enough. A few months later, I decided to write about it on Video Insider, where I also shared some points from a presentation I gave at MIT Sloan.

How Online Video Advertising Will Evolve In 2012

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 11:36:10 -0500

2011 was a breakout year for online video. It grew in both importance and prevalence largely because of the abundance of video content coming online from video streaming sites like Amazon, Hulu, Netflix and VEVO -- and the fact that the quality and quantity of content has dramatically improved in just a short time. Another factor: Cable channels like HBO and ESPN and providers like Comcast putting more shows online, enabling advertisers to both replicate and improve on their TV advertising efforts. Users, meanwhile, are making it clear they will sign up and pay to watch video not only online, but also via mobile devices. So, how will online video evolve further in 2012? Here's a glimpse:

Online Video's Manifest Destiny

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 09:01:35 -0500

The phrase "manifest destiny" spawned from a 19th-century belief that the United States had an obvious and definitive mission to expand its democracy and freedom across the continent. I think the same can be said of online video. It's no secret: online video advertising is exploding. Recent data from eMarketer estimated that in 2011, more than 158 million U.S. Internet users will be watching video content online each month, a number it expects to increase nearly 24 percent, to 195.5 million, by 2015.

Manufacturing Audience Helps Scale Faster -- But Has Own Pitfalls and Risks

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:08:00 -0500

One of the usual objections to content is the challenge of scaling everything: production, distribution and monetization. In today's article, we'll touch on distribution, or put another way: growing your audience, especially through content.

A Media-Buying Menu For Online Video

Fri, 06 Jan 2012 11:31:00 -0500

There are numerous options to help brands reach their video marketing goals, but unfortunately there is no simple way to understand the best option for a particular brand. Every option is going to present itself as the single solution that addresses every marketing need. But to borrow a line from Frank Zappa, "One size does not fit all." Each channel offering access to video inventory has its own distinct benefits, and marketers must understand how they can benefit from working with different types of partners.

2012 Video Commerce Predictions

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 14:17:32 -0500

With 2011 in the rearview mirror and a strong holiday shopping season propelling e-commerce to new heights, video commerce is poised to play a much stronger role in 2012 than ever before for brands that sell direct, as well as re-commerce merchants. Trends to watch out for this coming year include:

Possible YouTube Outcomes

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 11:50:53 -0500

2011 was the year that YouTube clocked in over a trillion video views and committed to spending anywhere from $100 to $250 million to lock in exclusive premium and super-premium content. YouTube's content initiative was aimed at duplicating the cable strategy of offering programming along verticals. Broadly speaking, it also served to move away from the prosumer and user-generated content that made the site so popular. Will it work? Let's consider three potential outcomes of the company's content bet:

What Fair Use Is -- And How It Works

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 12:43:10 -0500

The Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) has provided user-generated content websites with four safe harbors that effectively put the onus on rightsholders to protect their intellectual property. While 2012 saw the content lobby go nuclear on the DMCA and try to shift the onus of takedown notices from the content owner to the aggregator who serves as the platform to the alleged acts of piracy, as a producer of video content, I have focused more on another aspect of copyright law, namely, fair use. More so than with articles, online video content has flourished thanks to fair use, so in this article we'll outline what it entails and how it both fosters and limits commercial development.

Cartoonification, The New Trend Of 2012

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 13:30:13 -0500

Ask anyone you know who their favorite cartoon character is, and they will have an answer for you, possibly more than one. Cartoons and animation are a part of our lives, our visual entertainment, our early identity and frame of reference. The rise of animation has also entered our living rooms in full force with video games.

Forget Homepage Takeovers -- We're Readying For A Home Takeover

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 15:24:00 -0500

Envisioning the TV of tomorrow is like sending a Delorean back to 1955. Two different worlds collide and live delicately together. But will the course of TV be dramatically altered if it keeps running into digital at the malt shop? Will digital ever make it back to present day in one piece? If we only had a simplified flux-capacitor to use, I think it could.

Predictions For 2012

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 12:20:00 -0500

In part one of our end-of-year series, we asked a number of online video professionals: What was the biggest news/development/trend of 2011 in online video? Then in part two, we asked: What was the one thing you expected to happen but didn't? Today, in part three, we ask: What's the main thing we should look out for in 2012?

Looking Back At 2011: The Unexpected

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 14:55:00 -0500

In part 1 of our end-of-year series, we asked a number of online video professionals: What was the biggest news/development/trend of 2011 in online video? In part 2 today, we look at their answers for question 2, which was: What was the one thing you expected to happen but didn't?

Engage, Interact, Experience

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 13:22:05 -0500

In today's multiscreen content environment, technology -- then "entry" and "discovery" -- become as important as the content itself, while the online and mobile Web disrupt conventional models of entertainment consumption and development.

Are You Selling Your Inventory To The Highest Bidders?

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 12:08:13 -0500

An online publisher and an auctioneer have the same goal: get the highest bid possible before completing the sale. An auctioneer sets price and monitors demand one transaction at a time. But online publishers must manage hundreds if not thousands of transactions while dealing with a multitude of complexities, variables and ad sources in real time in order to ensure top dollar for each ad impression. If yield management is challenging yet fruitful for online display advertising, imagine what it can do for online video advertising where technical intricacies are exponentially greater but eCPMs are higher.

Biggest Trend Of 2011 In Online Video

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 11:28:07 -0500

In our end-of-year series, we asked a number of online video professionals three questions. First up: What was the biggest news/development/trend of 2011 in online video?

Peering Into The Future Of Digital Video In 2012

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 15:56:34 -0500

As we approach the end of 2011, I am drawn to the crystal ball to peer into the future of digital video advertising and make predictions about the coming year. However, before I do, I think it is important to reflect back on my 2011 predictions from a year ago and see how well I fared.

YouTube And Video Syndication

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 12:12:00 -0500

In February 2005, three guys out of PayPal started YouTube, the largest video destination site in the whole world. It is commonly acknowledged that one of YouTube’s key success factors was allowing users to grab a video from YouTube and place it on their blog or site, outside of Youtube.com.

What sounds obvious today was unheard of at that time. I can remember conversations with other leading video portals mocking YouTube for “being fools to allow it, as they are losing users.” Those video portals are no longer leaders. Distributing embedded videos around the web won. YouTube won. “Closed” sites lost.

In Google’s language, YouTube “did one thing well”: making video distribution through embedded videos around the Web accessible and easy.

Almost seven years later, AOL buys 5min to capture its network of sites and video catalog, CineSport is reported bigger than ESPN in video views on ComScore, and NDN is killing it in the news sector. What’s common to these companies is one thing: the power of aggregating content and distributing it to the Web in a relevant way to sites that don’t have that content.

So I must ask: Where is YouTube? In 2011, YouTube was focused on expanding its partner program in which major content owners place their content on YouTube, and YouTube pays them a share of ads that they sell. Nice.

However, while YouTube is spending so much time making its own tower a little taller, hundreds of millions of dollars are poured into this “syndication/distribution” space, essentially doing what YouTube was bound to do itself -- taking videos from one site and pushing them out in a relevant way.

Writing this article, I called to some very smart folks at Google and ex-Googlers whom I appreciate a lot, asking: “What’s going on with YouTube? Have they lost their cool and distribution ways?” They tell me that Youtube might one day just replace AdSense ads with YouTube videos. Interesting. However, this will not really increase the pie for Google -- which is quantified by real estate Google owns on web pages today-- but rather replace one slice of revenue with another.

If YouTube was to offer its phenomenal aggregated partner videos to third-party sites in a scalable and relevant way, YouTube would win new real estate on the one thing that made them to begin with:the Web.

Smothered: Mom Always Liked Movies About TV Best

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 16:28:00 -0500

Good news for those of us in the TV history business: we've learned that George Clooney and his producing partner Grant Heslov are developing a feature film about the tumultuous goings-on behind-the-scenes of the hit 1960s variety show, "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour." Based on "Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored story of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour," by David Bianculli (it's very good!), we expect the film will revolve around Tommy Smothers' battle with CBS to keep his show on the air as the network tightened its reigns and increased its censorship demands as the pair didn't veer from taking on religion, the Vietnam War, and the presidency.