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Video Interview: News Corp.'s Jon Miller On "Tensions" Content Providers are Experiencing
A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to do a fireside chat with News Corp.'s Chief Digital Officer Jon Miller (also formerly CEO of AOL) at Akamai's Edge 2011 customer conference. The video is now posted here (note it's not embeddable, but it's the fourth thumbnail from the left labeled "04: Evolution Digital Media: NewsCorp 2011-10-13.")
Jon provides candid and thoughtful insights on the various "tensions" he believes premium content providers are experiencing with the rise of online and mobile delivery. Given his role at News Corp. and that he's on Hulu's board of directors, Jon has a very well-informed perspective. The interview is wide-ranging; among other things we discuss are the pressures on the pay-TV business model including the prospect of a la carte, cord-cutting threats, important distinctions between "TV Everywhere" and "authentication," Netflix's recent stumbles and the concept of a "good enough" value proposition and how premium-quality content licensing now often serves distributors' larger goals.
I learned a lot from our discussion so if you're interested to hear from one of the most plugged-in executives in the industry, it's well worth your time. Note there are some periodic stutters in the video, but they resolve themselves quickly.
(Thanks to Akamai, which is a VideoNuze sponsor, for making the video available.)
Categories: People
Topics: Akamai, Jon Miller, News Corp.
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Google To Go Over-the-Top and Compete With Pay-TV Operators? Don't Bet On Success.
Is Google planning to go over-the-top and compete with pay-TV operators for subscribers? That's the tantalizing possibility the WSJ is reporting this morning, though its article is long on speculation and short on hard facts and on-the-record sources (as best I could tell, the only concrete thing
reported is that Google has hired Jeremy Stern - a former colleague of mine at Continental Cablevision - who's "spearheading talks with media companies"). Regardless, the possibility that Google could be looking to disrupt the pay-TV business, using its own high-speed fiber network in Kansas City and maybe elsewhere, deserves attention if for no other reason than the fact that its deep-pockets and robust ad model would potentially allow it to cause trouble for incumbents.
"Potentially" is the operative word however, because any subscription TV service Google would offer would only be as good as the channels it could deliver (see Sezmi's recent retreat for proof of that). As such, the critical question here is whether the most important cable network owners - Disney, NBCU, Viacom, Time Warner, Fox, Discovery, Scripps, A&E Networks, AMC Networks, numerous regional sports networks (RSNs) and others - would agree to deals with Google. Though they would no doubt be enticed by Google as another well-funded buyer, barring some huge unknown, I'd bet that most would say "Thanks, but no thanks," effectively stymieing the search giant's ambitions.
Categories: Cable Networks, Cable TV Operators, Satellite, Telcos, TV Everywhere
Topics: Google
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VideoNuze Report Podcast #110 - OTT Distributors' Strategies
Daisy Whitney and I are pleased to present the 110th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for Nov. 4, 2011. This week, Daisy and I discuss major over-the-top (OTT) distributors' content strategies and how these companies are each trying to position themselves in the market. As I wrote earlier this week, while Netflix has recently gained a lot of attention, Hulu, Amazon, YouTube and others have been plenty busy as well. Listen in to learn more!
Click here to listen to the podcast (15 minutes, 5 seconds)
Click here for previous podcasts
The VideoNuze Report is available in iTunes...subscribe today!Categories: Aggregators, Podcasts
Topics: Podcast
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Complimentary Webinar Today at 2pm ET: Next-Gen Video Discovery
Please join me for a complimentary webinar today at 11am PT / 2pm ET "Next-Gen Video Discovery: Make the Guide Your Catalyst for Growth." Colin Dixon, senior partner at research firm The Diffusion Group, Yosi Glick, CEO/co-founder of taste engine Jinni and I will discuss how the proliferation of video choices and devices is creating huge challenges for viewers to find what they really want to watch - and what's being done to address this problem. If understanding how discovery will work in the online video era is important to you, then this webinar will be very worthwhile. There will be plenty of time for audience Q&A.
Learn more and register nowCategories: Webinars
Topics: Jinni, The Diffusion Group, Webinar
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LG Smart TVs With Integrated YuMe Ad Platform Are a Significant Milestone
The adage that a "journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" comes to mind when thinking about the significance of news that LG Electronics is integrating YuMe's advertising technology in its "Smart TVs."
Why? Because while the norm will eventually be for high-quality video, apps and interactive ads to be delivered to connected TVs through broadband IP connections, the reality is that it's still very early days in achieving this grand vision. However, the LG-YuMe partnership provides tangible evidence that the foundation is indeed being laid, which portends exciting things for everyone in the ecosystem.
Categories: Advertising, Devices
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Hear from HBO, YouTube, Comcast, CBS, Roku, Yahoo and Others at VideoSchmooze on Nov. 30th
The program is now finalized for VideoSchmooze: NYC Online Video Leadership Forum on Wed. morning, Nov. 30th at the Harvard Club of NYC and I'm thrilled with the range of senior executives participating and perspectives that will be represented. HBO, YouTube, Comcast, CBS, Roku, Yahoo and other industry-leading companies will take part in three different sessions between 8am-11am that will be interactive and highly engaging.
What's particularly exciting to me is that many of the participating companies have announced ground-breaking online video initiatives in just the last few
weeks, making VideoSchmooze sessions incredibly timely. For example, HBO and Roku announced that HBO GO would soon be available on the Roku streaming player, YouTube unveiled a huge array of original channels and said that 50% of the in-stream ads it serves now skippable, Yahoo introduced a slate of its own original shows and partnered with ABC News, and Comcast announced that its Xfinity on Demand service will soon be available on the Xbox 360. And of course all of this is just the tip of the iceberg of what's happening in the online video market.
As a little extra incentive to take advantage of the early-bird discount, and in the spirit of the holiday season, all early attendees will be entered a drawing to win one of two Roku players and an HBO DVD gift basket (thanks Roku and HBO). VideoSchmooze is made possible through the generous support of lead sponsors FreeWheel, Irdeto and Tremor Video plus supporting sponsors Akamai Technologies, Innovid, One Touch Intelligence and TidalTV.
Early-bird discount - Register Now!
The full VideoSchmooze program is below:
Categories: Events
Topics: VideoSchmooze
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Adobe Expands Into Online Video Advertising Through Auditude Acquisition
Adobe is expanding into the surging online video advertising space, announcing that it has acquired video ad manager Auditude, whose Connect platform is used by customers such as Comcast, Major League Baseball Advanced Media, Dailymotion and others. Adobe views Auditude as providing the monetization piece of an integrated Adobe solution that already includes video creation, publishing and optimization across all IP-enabled devices. Auditude had raised approximately $40 million to date.
The overall solution is targeted to premium video publishers and distributors where Adobe already has a strong footprint through its Flash Media products and Digital Marketing Suite (i.e. Omniture). The deal seems like a pretty smart move since at a minimum Auditude will benefit from exposure to Adobe's large customer base. Adobe's positioning of the deal as streamlining work flows from creation through monetization/measurement will also resonate with publishers who are swamped trying to keep up with myriad new devices, platforms and social media opportunities.
Categories: Advertising, Deals & Financings
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Jivox Raises $8.2 Million to Fuel Interactive Video Ads
Interactive video ad technology provider Jivox has raised an $8.2 million second round, led by Fortisure Ventures, with participation from existing investors. Diaz Nesamoney, Jivox's CEO and founder told me yesterday that the funds will be used to expand sales and marketing and further develop its technology platform.
Jivox sees its differentiators as simplifying the process of creating interactive video ad across multiple devices for both in-banner (i.e. rich media) and
in-stream (i.e. pre-roll, mid-roll, etc.) formats. Jivox also distinguishes itself with "BrandGage," its proprietary analytics platform that adds tags to all engagement opportunities in the ad and then maps them into a funnel to deliver higher ROIs. Diaz explained that click-through rates on Jivox ads can range from 2%-8%. He added that brands are demanding more social media integration in their ads, and the ability to serve and track user behavior across platforms and units has become very appealing.
Jivox has raised almost $19 million to date. Campaigns using Jivox currently running include Showtime (for "Gold Rush"), Franklin Templeton and others.Categories: Advertising, Deals & Financings
Topics: Jivox
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