VideoNuze Posts

I’m pleased to present the 494th edition of the VideoNuze podcast, with my weekly partner Colin Dixon of nScreenMedia.

This week Colin and I discuss “TV In Your Pocket: Mobile Video Downloading Report,” which we just released. We analyzed 80 top video services, and found that 28 of them offer mobile video downloading. We did 9 different tests probing further for specific features and implementations. In the podcast we share some of our key takeaways and surprises from our research. We also look ahead and make a few predictions about where downloading is going to go. Many thanks to Penthera for sponsoring the report.

We then briefly discuss Roku’s upcoming Stream-a-thon, which we both believe is a very smart move for Roku and its various partners, including HBO, Showtime, Starz and others. Stream-a-thon will expose millions of Roku users to premier programming (“Game of Thrones,” “Billions,” etc.), no doubt driving lots of new subscriptions. It’s a real win-win and once again illustrates how the video landscape is being rearranged.

Listen in to learn more!
 
Click here to listen to the podcast (23 minutes, 13 seconds)

Click here for previous podcasts

Click here to add the podcast feed to your RSS reader.

The VideoNuze podcast is also available in iTunes...subscribe today!

Hershey’s, the iconic chocolate and candy maker, is going all in on Connected TV (CTV) and OTT (Over the Top), planning to increase its ad spending by 9x in 2020 vs its 2019. To do so it is partnering with SpotX as one of its media buying and demand facilitation partners. To learn more about Hershey’s 2020 CTV/OTT strategy I interviewed Vinny Rinaldi, Head of Addressable Media and Technology for Hershey’s and Cassidy Diamond, VP, Brand Partnerships for SpotX. Following is a slightly edited transcript.

VideoNuze: Hershey’s is going “all in” on Over-the-Top (OTT) and Connected TV (CTV) advertising, intending to grow spending in these categories by 9x in 2020, compared to 2019. Why is Hershey’s making this big shift?

continue reading

I’m very pleased to share results of a complimentary new report, “TV In Your Pocket: Mobile Video Downloading,” which my colleague Colin Dixon, Chief Analyst, nScreenMedia and I have created. For the report, we analyzed 80 of the top video services. Of the 80 we found that 28 have enabled mobile video downloading, with all of them supporting iOS and all but four of supporting Android.

Top video providers such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, CBS All Access, Showtime and Starz offer downloading. Hulu recently added support for its ad-free SVOD subscribers. Disney+ and Apple TV+ launched with it (though as our testing found, with quite different capabilities). Major services that don’t yet offer downloading include HBO Now, ABC Go, Comedy Central, Univision Now and all of the vMVPDs.

continue reading

VideoNuze readers and podcast listeners know that as the streaming wars have heated up I’ve become focused on whether subscribers will increasingly churn in and out of various services (“spinning” as I’ve called it). There are arguments on both sides of this issue, and it’s not yet clear to me how it will unfold.

But research late last week from PwC suggested that the potential for spinning is quite high. When PwC asked “Would you make any changes to your current subscriptions in order to subscribe to these new services?” 64% of respondents said they would terminate or downgrade one or more current services while 36% said they would make no changes to current services.

continue reading

I’m pleased to present the 493rd edition of the VideoNuze podcast, with my weekly partner Colin Dixon of nScreenMedia.

First up this week we return to the topic of “spinning” SVOD services, which I wrote about and Colin and I discussed on last week’s podcast. “Spinning” is the idea that subscribers will dip in and out of SVOD services to manage their monthly expenditures. Colin and I were at TVOT this week and on a panel Colin moderated spinning came up. We discuss our key takeaways.

Another topic that came up was where Disney+ pricing will go in the future, which we discuss (I think the only direction is up).

Last up we talk briefly about Cheddar’s monetization strategy. Colin did a good interview with Melissa Rosenthal, EVP at Cheddar, about the company’s success with native advertising.
 
Listen in to learn more!

 
Click here to listen to the podcast (22 minutes, 45 seconds)

Click here for previous podcasts

Click here to add the podcast feed to your RSS reader.

The VideoNuze podcast is also available in iTunes...subscribe today!

I’m excited to announce the Connected TV Advertising Summit on June 11, 2020 in NYC. Please save the date!

Connected TVs (CTVs)* have emerged as a powerful force in the TV and video industries. According to multiple industry research reports, more than three-quarters of U.S. households now have at least one CTV, with many having two or more. CTVs are part of a critical trifecta – along with robust broadband access/WiFi and the proliferation of high-quality Internet-delivered (also called over-the-top or “OTT”) video services – that are re-shaping the living room experience for many viewers.

CTVs are also benefitting from cord-cutting, which reached a new record of nearly 1.8 million U.S. households in Q3 2019. Cord-cutting means millions of pay-TV operators’ set-top boxes are being disconnected annually, with CTVs often taking their place. Younger audiences are especially prone to cord-cutting, or never subscribing to pay-TV at all, which leads to brand advertisers losing access to this coveted segment.

eMarketer recently forecasted that CTV ad spending will jump by 38% to nearly $7 billion in 2019 and double to over $14 billion by 2023, in the U.S. alone. Over 50% of all OTT video ad impressions are now delivered via CTVs.

CTV advertising has enormous potential because it combines the best of traditional TV advertising’s attributes while also offering the targeting, measurement and interactive capabilities of digital advertising.

VideoNuze’s 2020 Connected TV Advertising Summit will bring together senior executives from brands, agencies, content providers, technology companies and other stakeholders for a full day of high-impact learning and networking. The CTV Ad Summit will be the most focused, in-depth conference of the year on CTV advertising.

Thousands of industry executives have attended VideoNuze events, which have been supported by dozens of industry-leading companies over the past 15 years.

If the future of your business is tied to the growth and success of CTVs, the CTV Ad Summit is a must-attend event.

To learn more about sponsorship opportunities please contact me.

*Connected TV (CTV) refers to any TV that is connected to the Internet and can play OTT video content/ads and also display graphical ads. CTVs have the capability to return user data to device manufacturers, content providers and ad buyers. CTVs support secure transactions such as subscriptions and e-commerce.

Examples of CTVs are smart TVs as well as TVs that are connected to the Internet via streaming media players/sticks (e.g. Roku, Fire TV), gaming consoles (e.g. PlayStation, Wii), DVRs, pay-TV operators’ IP set-top boxes (e.g. X1) and other devices.
 

Just before the Thanksgiving break IAB UK published an excellent guide to connected TVs (CTVs) and advertising in the UK market, called “Changing the Channel.” Though the guide is specifically targeted to the UK, many of its findings and recommendations are generalizable to other global markets.

Highlighting how omnipresent CTVs have become, the guide cites data from OfCom that 47% of UK homes now have a CTV, with the vast majority having access to broadcast VOD or SVOD services. No surprise 16-34 year olds have the highest likelihood of access and usage of these VOD services. The guide also notes research IAB UK conducted with Differentology to better understand CTV usage and attitudes, plus how advertisers can best capitalize on new opportunities.

continue reading

Late last week, video ad management platform Beachfront and XITE announced a collaboration in which Beachfront is powering XITE’s VOD ad inventory on IP-enabled set-top boxes. XITE is a Netherlands-founded music video service that reaches 100 million households in the U.S. and elsewhere.

Ben Abbatiello, Beachfront’s VP of Advanced TV explained in an interview that a critical role that the company is playing is empowering XITE with more granular, IPv6-based audience targeting on set-top boxes, an improvement vs. the single home IP address format of IPv4. Beachfront has been investing in cross-screen addressability that bridges STB and connected TV inventory. IPv6 will become more essential for enhanced targeting as consumers add multiple viewing devices in their homes.

continue reading