VideoNuze Posts

This week on Inside the Stream Colin and I do an “around the horn” of four significant industry topics. We lead off with the expected bankruptcy filing of Diamond Sports Group earlier this week, the largest owner of regional sports networks (RSNs), resulting in a complete wipeout of the equity-holders. Where to from here is anyone’s best guess; but I reiterate my stance that sports teams’ franchise values and players’ salaries have already peaked. When the dominant player in an industry - with over 50% market share - goes belly up, nothing good happens next.

Next up is an update on WBD’s planned pricing strategy for its combined HBO Max and discovery+ streaming service launching soon. Colin’s been all over this one for months and is really scratching his head, as am I.

In time for March Madness, YouTube TV has launched a new feature called “multiview” allowing subscribers to stream a mosaic of four pre-selected games and choose which audio feed they prefer. I think it’s really cool, and as you’ll hear in real-time I realize that it might mean YouTube TV “automagically” just quadrupled its ad inventory for multiview users. If so, that’s a neat trick; new CEO Neal Mohan is off to an even stronger start than I expected!

Finally, Colin gives a short wrap-up of the latest doings in the burgeoning FAST market. It’s getting harder and harder to keep up.

Listen to the podcast to learn more (27 minutes, 11 seconds)

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Beachfront’s head of strategy and operations Laura Wu discusses connected TV advertising innovations in a 10-minute interview below. Laura dives into how publishers are better controlling/monetizing ad pods, using first-party data and converting CTV into a lower-funnel channel. Laura also explains how consumers crave simplicity, which will likely lead to more bundling going forward.

If you want to hear more from Laura, then after the jump, check out her recent session at VideoNuze’s Connected TV Advertising PREVIEW: 2023, “The Big Picture: Trends and Opportunities in CTV in 2023.” Laura is joined by Aaron Goldman (Chief Marketing Officer, Mediaocean), Paul Josephsen (Chief Strategy Officer, WMX Content & Media Division @Warner Music Group) and Brian Wieser (Principal, Madison and Wall), with Danielle DeLauro (EVP, VAB) moderating.

Watch Laura’s interview now.

Pay-TV providers lost another 7 million subscribers (approximately) in 2022 as losses accelerated from 2021. The losses span those actually cutting the cord, plus those that simply don’t take on a pay-TV subscription in the first place.

On this week’s podcast Colin and I discuss pay-TV’s melting iceberg, and among its consequences, what’s it mean for sports teams’ valuations and players’ salaries. Since cord-cutting came along, there’s always been a notion of sports providing a “firewall” bottom on pay-TV subscribers. But with so many sports rights now leaking into the streaming domain - having been snapped up by Big Tech - the paradigm-busting question looms larger.

Another, related consequence of pay-TV’s implosion is the demise of regional sports networks (RSNs). They’re also experiencing financial turmoil due to bad deal-making, disconnects with audiences and sub-par demand. Even mighty ESPN has been the subject of M&A rumormongering as newly restored CEO Bob Iger has to pick his priorities.

All of this is to say that the economics of the sports business are changing in front of our eyes. If sports networks’ financial viability is impaired, rendering them unable to competitively bid for rights, then the question becomes, will Big Tech step in as a backstop, building on their current commitment? As I assert in the podcast, I think their commitment to becoming a viable backstop will only become known as the ultimate CTV ad monetization opportunity crystallizes. Specifically, if CTV can legitimately become full/lower funnel - bringing in buckets of cash with it - then backstop viability is far more likely. Absent that it’s jump ball. We’ll see.

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At this past Tuesday’s VideoNuze Connected TV Advertising PREVIEW: 2023 virtual, 22 speakers on 5 sessions provided critical insights about the industry and its future direction. We discuss our key takeaways on today’s podcast.

All of the videos are posted here.

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Yesterday was VideoNuze’s third annual Connected TV Advertising PREVIEW: 2023, which featured 22 senior executives on 5 sessions.

Below are links to each of the session recordings along with descriptions of each session and speakers. There are many great insights about CTV advertising and what’s ahead as it evolves to full-funnel capabilities, FASTs continue to expand, the UX for both advertisers and viewers is reinvented and publishers invest heavily in delivering innovative experiences for viewers.

Thanks again to all the 22 speakers, and especially to CTV PREVIEW’s four amazing partners, Beachfront, PadSquad, Roku and Wurl.

Enjoy!

[VIDEO] Welcome to Connected TV Advertising PREVIEW 2023

[VIDEO] The Big Picture: Trends and Opportunities in CTV in 2023

[VIDEO] Is CTV’s Future at the Bottom of the Funnel?

[VIDEO] Interview With TMB’s President and CEO Bonnie Kintzer

[VIDEO] CTV UX Innovation – The 2023 Roadmap

[VIDEO] FASTs – Road to Gold or Road to “SLOW?”

The following video was recorded at VideoNuze’s third annual Connected TV Advertising PREVIEW: 2023 virtual on February 28, 2023.

Welcome to Connected TV Advertising PREVIEW 2023 virtual
Connected TVs and streaming are transforming the TV and advertising industries. CTV has become the hottest corner of the advertising business, forecast by eMarketer to grow another 27% in 2023 to $27 billion, in the U.S. alone. All in the face of significant economic headwinds. Yet, we are still in the very early innings of the CTV era.  

This afternoon’s program will explore topics including:

- Key macro trends and opportunities in CTV in 2023

- How/when CTV advertising will be optimized for the bottom of the “purchase funnel,” which will in turn attract huge buckets of ad spending

- If the proliferation of FASTs might lead to “SLOW” (SVOD Losses On the Way)

- How CTV UX innovation (in both content and ad formats) is driving new value for viewers and advertisers.

- How Trusted Media Brands (TMB), as a traditional publisher that includes a portfolio of digital-first brands, is successfully capitalizing on CTV and streaming

Will Richmond – Editor and Publisher, VideoNuze

The following video was recorded at VideoNuze’s third annual Connected TV Advertising PREVIEW: 2023 virtual on February 28, 2023.

The Big Picture: Trends and Opportunities in CTV in 2023
Connected TV is the hottest sector of the advertising industry, forecast by eMarketer to grow 27% in 2023 to $27 billion in the U.S. alone. Despite significant economic headwinds, CTV continues to enjoy significant advantages by combining the best of TV advertising’s site, sound and motion, with the best of digital advertising’s targetability, interactivity and optimization. Still, many challenges remain. This session will explore all the most significant factors influencing CTV’s evolution in 2023.

Aaron Goldman - Chief Marketing Officer, Mediaocean
Paul Josephsen – Chief Strategy Officer, WMX Content & Media Division @Warner Music Group
Brian Wieser – Principal, Madison and Wall
Laura Wu – Head of Strategy and Operations, Beachfront
Danielle DeLauro – EVP, VAB (moderator)