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5 Items of Interest for the Week of Oct. 25th
Lots more happened this week in online/mobile video, and so to make your lives easier, VideoNuze is once again curating 5-6 interesting industry news items that we weren't able to cover this week. Read them now or take them with you this weekend!
No Longer 'Must-See TV'
The WSJ reported this week that Thursday night TV viewership (live or recorded) among 18-49 year-olds is down 4.3% this season to 48.5 million, a drop of 2.2 million viewers. For this age group, the drop across all nights (live or recorded) is 2.7%. While the decreases have immediate implications on networks' ad revenue, the bigger issue of course is what the drops say about shifting consumer preferences. For example, I continue to hear anecdotes about users with connected devices now tuning in first to their Instant Watch queues instead of channel surfing or visiting their DVR libraries or VOD. The Nielsen data corroborates other data (here, here) about the decline of TV viewing, especially among young people, and is another reason why broadcast networks in particular should be embracing connected devices like Google TV, not blocking them.
CW Says Study 'Dispels Myth' About Aversion to Ads in Online Video
Speaking of networks and their online distribution, this week CW released some interesting new data that detailed extremely low abandonment rates for its shows consumed online, even with ad loads almost equal to those on-air. While it is too early to generalize, the data provides a very encouraging sign that networks may be able to achieve parity economics with on-air, even when they window their online releases for delayed availability. It's also an important sign that online video may be a firewall against DVR-based ad-skipping.
Comcast Launches Free Streaming Video Service Xfinity for All Digital Subs
In addition to releasing stellar Q3 earnings this week (albeit with a bigger-than-expected subscriber loss), Comcast also pulled the "beta" label off its Xfinity TV service this week, and relaxed its rules about who can gain access. Now any video subscriber, regardless of who they take their broadband Internet service from, can access XFTV.
Some began to speculate that it could be a precursor for Comcast allowing non-video subs to also gain access to XFTV. This is the concept I wrote about in over a year ago, in "How TV Everywhere Could Turn Cable Operators and Telcos Into Over-the-Top's Biggest Players." The idea is that TV Everywhere services like XFTV could be offered outside of Comcast's franchise areas to allow them to poach video subscribers from other pay-TV operators. It's still a fascinating concept, but nothing about Comcast's move this week suggests it's coming soon.
Insight To Bow 50-Mbps Internet In Two Markets
If you think all that Netflix and other long-form streaming is going to strain users' bandwidth, think again, as yet another cable operator/broadband ISP, 9th-largest Insight Communications unveiled plans for a speedy 50 megabit per second broadband tier. Big players like Comcast and Time Warner Cable have been offering this for a while already. It's still very pricey, but as some viewers shift more of their consumption to online and away from conventional TV viewing (see above), more bandwidth will be worth the price. Update - I missed this item, that over in the U.K. Virgin Media began taking sign-ups for a 100 Mbps broadband service. Net, net, last-mile bandwidth will keep expanding to meet increasing demand.
Promoted Videos hit half a billion views
Fresh evidence this week that YouTube is finding innovative ways to monetize its massive audience: the company's performance-based "Promoted videos" format achieved its 500 millionth view, just 2 years after being introduced. With Promoted videos, anyone uploading a video to YouTube (brand, content provider, amateur), can buy opportunities to have that video appear alongside relevant keyword-based searches in YouTube. It's a similar format to AdWords, and of course the video provider only pays when their video is actually clicked on. As I said recently, YouTube is becoming a much more important part of Google's overall advertising mix, while for many brands, YouTube's home page is fast-becoming the most desirable piece of online real estate.
Categories: Advertising, Aggregators, Broadband ISPs, Broadcasters, Cable TV Operators
Topics: Comcast, CW, Insight, Nielsen, YouTube
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Kyte Brings Live Streaming and HTML5 Ads to iOS Devices
Online video platform Kyte is announcing this morning support for live streaming to iOS devices (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch) along with HTML5 ads.
The updates both build on Kyte's current iOS Application Framework and SDK. The HTML5 support means ads from third party networks can be served into live streams viewed on iOS devices. Kyte has also extended its integrated social media features into live streaming as a differentiator.
Both moves add to the growing momentum around video delivery to iOS devices, fueled of course by their massive and growing ownership base. Just last week Apple reported selling 14.1 million iPhones, 4.19 million iPads and 9.05 million iPods (though not all Touch) in its most recent fiscal fourth quarter.
There has been a huge amount of activity by online video platforms, ad managers/networks and live streaming providers to support iOS devices this year. There's no sign that things will slow anytime soon. As the ecosystem pieces come together - and wireless carriers roll out faster 4G networks - the implication is that ad-supported mobile video (both on-demand and live) is poised for significant growth ahead.
What do you think? Post a comment now (no sign-in required).Categories: Advertising, Live Streaming, Mobile Video
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Interview With BBE's Matt Wasserlauf On Its Acquisition By Specific Media
Yesterday, BBE, one of the earliest online video ad networks, announced it has been acquired by Specific Media, a large display ad network. I caught up
with BBE's CEO and founder Matt Wasserlauf to learn more about the deal. An edited transcript follows.
VideoNuze: Why did you decide to be acquired now?
Matt Wasserlauf: The market needs some consolidation, there are a lot of companies trying to do similar things and most important customers need a one-stop solution. They need to be able to buy reach against all display - banners, rich media and video.
VideoNuze: Why Specific Media?
MW: They're the leader in targeting and that's where video is going next. We've done a great job delivering reach and brand metrics, but many of our customers are getting savvier about video and are looking to reach specific audiences. The targeting that Specific Media brings to BBE is going to create the leader in video targeting.
Categories: Advertising, Deals & Financings
Topics: BBE, Specific Media
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Unicorn Once Enables Dynamic Ad Insertion in Mobile Video Streams
Unicorn Media is unveiling "Unicorn Once" this morning, which allows content providers to dynamically insert ads into videos viewed on mobile devices,
including iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch. Yesterday I caught up with Unicorn's chief strategy officer David Rice and its VP, Client Services, David Morel, to learn more.
Unicorn Once is being positioned as a "stream management service" which gives customers comparable control over their ad insertion practices in mobile as they're accustomed to in online. David and David explained customers have been highlighting the problems of dynamic ad insertion in the rapidly-growing mobile video space (especially in iDevices) for some time, and have resorted to time-consuming and inelegant solutions like writing custom JavaScript to achieve similar results as they're seen in online. Unicorn Once supports HTTP delivery and Apple's adaptive bit rate segmented streaming protocol and it also supports Android, BlackBerry and other mobile devices. It is available for on-demand videos for now, not live.
Categories: Advertising, Mobile Video
Topics: Unicorn Media
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Sharethrough Raises $5 Million For Branded Content To Go Social
Sharethrough, a social video advertising network, is announcing this morning that it has raised a $5 million Series A round led by North Bridge Venture Partners and Floodgate. Co-founder and CEO Dan Greenberg brought me up to speed last week on the company's strategy.
Sharethrough is focused on providing distribution in social networks for branded content. This has become an increasingly popular format for brands that want to go beyond traditional 15 and 30-second TV advertising to use
online video to create more engaging messages. Dan points out that the really hard part for these brands is actually creating an audience for their branded content. Unlike traditional TV where a certain number of TV spots or impressions are simply purchased, Dan's view is that branded content, when placed in suitable social media contexts, can generate high sharing rates and viewership.
Categories: Advertising, Branded Entertainment, Deals & Financings, Social Media, Video Sharing
Topics: Sharethrough
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iPad Users' Click-Through Rates On Video Ads Are Running Higher
Click-through rates on video ads shown to iPad users are much higher than similarly formatted ads shown to iPod Touch, iPhone or Android users according to new research released today by Rhythm New Media, a large mobile video ad network.
In analyzing their viewers' behavior in Q3, Rhythm found that iPad users' click-throughs on Rhythm's "interactive pre-roll" unit were 2.32%, which is 58% higher than the 1.47% for the iPod Touch, which came next. Rhythm CEO Ujjal Kohli, who I spoke to last week, said the data suggested the iPad's larger, more immersive environment is leading to more engagement with ads and users' higher inclination to click-through, particularly when more video is involved.
Categories: Advertising, Mobile Video
Topics: iPad, Rhythm New Media
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5 Items of Interest for the Week of Oct. 11th
Continuing VideoNuze's Friday feature of highlighting 5-6 interesting online/mobile video industry stories that we weren't able to cover this week. Read them now or take them with you this weekend!
JetBlue Unvails Ads Created By Mullen
Take a moment to head over to YouTube today where JetBlue has bought out the top-of-page expanding banner for a hilarious new ad campaign, "You Above All," featuring a series of reality-style videos of New Yorkers in situations that mock the JetBlue competitors' service. The clever JetBlue campaign follows the head-turning Sylvester Stallone YouTube ad for "The Expendables" from a couple months ago and underscores the ascendance of YouTube as the #1 piece of online real estate for break-the-mold video campaigns for high-profile brands. Google is capitalizing on YouTube's appeal by featuring it prominently in its current "Watch This Space" ad campaign promoting the value of display advertising.
Google TV Guns for Cable Deals
And speaking of Google, with the recent introduction of Google TV, the company is reaching out to cable operators to ink integration deals similar to what it showcased with satellite operator Dish TV last week. Google TV offers tantalizing potential, particularly to smaller operators, to add Internet elements to their core video service, helping better compete with over-the-top entrants like Netflix. Conversely, as we saw this week with the funding/public launch of BNI Video (and in a series of separate product announcements coming next week), technology vendors are lining up to offer cable operators the ability to deliver their own Internet experiences. It's a very confusing time for cable operators, who must figure out whether to go it alone and invest heavily, or partner with a tech giant like Google.
comScore Releases September 2010 U.S. Online Video Rankings
comScore's video rankings for September yielded no big surprises, as Google/YouTube continued to be the dominant online video provider and Yahoo narrowly retook the #2 spot from Facebook. comScore changed the way it publicly reports its data this past June which has made it a little harder on independent analysts like me to show trending data as I used to do. Nonetheless, I'm hoping to have some new trending charts to share soon.
Blip.tv Predicts Best Quarter Yet for Web Creators
More encouraging news on the online video ad front, as video platform/distributor blip.tv said this week that Q4 '10 is on track to be its best quarter ever. Blip has been a very important player in bringing independent web series to market and its ability to monetize is a key driver of sustainability for many fledgling creators. Blip's news synchs with overall online video ad momentum in first half '10.
Introducing the JW Player for Flash and HTML5
Last month I wrote about how the open source JW Player is receiving 15K downloads per day. This week version 5.3 of the JW Player was released which integrates Flash and HTML5 into a single video player, using a unified JavaScript API. What that means is that anyone embedding the new player can seamlessly deliver either Flash or HTML5 video with the browser auto-detecting which playback mode to use. Since browsers and devices are still quite heterogeneous in what formats they support, initiatives like this help reduce friction in publishing and user experience.
Categories: Advertising, Cable TV Operators, Devices, Indie Video, Technology
Topics: blip.TV, comScore, Google TV, JetBlue, JW Player, YouTube
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VideoNuze Report Podcast #77 - Oct. 15, 2010
Daisy Whitney and I are pleased to present the 77th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for October 15, 2010.
This week we start by discussing the sizzling online video ad business. On Tuesday, the IAB and PriceWaterhouse Coopers reported that online video ads were the best performing category of Internet advertising, up 31% in the first half of '10 vs. first half of '09, to $627 million. That came amid a broader surge in Internet advertising, which tallied over $12 billion in first half revenues, a new record. Google added an exclamation mark to these results by reporting a 23% increase in Q3 revenues late yesterday. Daisy and I talk through some of the key drivers of the video ad business and how things look going forward.
I see the mass adoption of connected devices, which enable the viewing of long-form online video on TVs, as one of the most important drivers of online ad revenue. As consumers begin to watch more online video on their HDTVs, in the comfort of their living rooms, viewership will inevitably rise, creating even more ad inventory. One example of this is Hulu Plus, which recently announced it would be available on both Roku and TiVo.
In the podcast we discuss the connected devices theme and I note that the next VideoSchmooze breakfast/panel I'll be hosting in NYC, on Dec. 1st, will focus on the roles that both connected and mobile devices have in transforming the video landscape. This holiday season is going to mark an important period of growth for these devices and our panel will help us understand the implications.
Lastly - as some of you may know, Daisy's first fiction book, "The Mockingbirds," is being published by Little, Brown on Nov. 2. It's an incredibly exciting milestone for Daisy, and she shares the social media/video promotional campaign she's created using Facebook, Twitter and others. It's a great illustration of how the tools we talk about each day can be used effectively.
Click here to listen to the podcast (11 minutes, 49 seconds)
Click here for previous podcasts
The VideoNuze Report is available in iTunes...subscribe today!Categories: Advertising, Devices, Events
Topics: Google, Hulu Plus, Podcast, VideoSchmooze
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YuMe Rolls Out "ACE for Advertisers" For Improved Video Ad Management
Video ad network YuMe is rolling out a new product this morning called "ACE for Advertisers" that is being positioned as an end-to-end buy side video ad
management system. According to YuMe, ACE for Advertisers offers enhanced control of media planning and buying, ad trafficking and creative management, ad serving and optimization and post-campaign analytics. It can be used across online, mobile and IPTV.
ACE for Advertisers is further evidence of how the online video advertising industry is maturing, with new tools to help major brands and agencies operate at higher scale and move bigger budgets into the medium. For example, YuMe said that ACE for Advertisers allows users to buy directly from publishers by configuring their own private networks, and/or they can tap into YuMe's network of 600 publishers and/or they can use other ad networks or exchanges. In effect, if there's inventory out there to capture, YuMe wants brands and agencies to be able to reach and manage it through ACE. Targeting data from 3rd parties can also be incorporated across these networks.
Categories: Advertising
Topics: YuMe
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Online Video Advertising is Best Performer in FH '10, Up 31% to $627 Million
Online video advertising is the fastest-growing ad category on the Internet, up 31% to $627 million in first half 2010 from $477 million in first half 2009 according to new research released by PwC US and the IAB.
However, video advertising still only amounts to 5% of total Internet ad spending, with search, at 47% (over $5.7 billion in FH '10) still dominating the landscape. However, video advertising is benefiting significant tailwind and is poised for lots of growth ahead. In its favor are shifting consumer behaviors toward online viewing, an exploding array of premium-quality/brand-friendly content, broad adoption of connected device which enable long-form online-delivered video viewing on TVs, and improved ad infrastructure (e.g. targeting, management, engagement, etc.).
When I talk to executives at video ad networks, brands, agencies and content providers they all confirm lots of activity in moving over TV and online budgets to video. I expect plenty more of this as online video viewership gains further momentum. The full ad spending breakdown for FH '10 is below.
Categories: Advertising
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Auditude and Inlet Partner for Ads In Live Flash Streams
Ad manager Auditude is partnering with Inlet Technologies to deliver an automated ad insertion solution for live video streaming using Flash. The move means that media companies can better monetize live streaming events which have more complex ad insertion and management characteristics than do on-demand streams. Under the arrangement, Inlet's Spinnaker streaming appliances can detect cues from Auditude's ad manager in order to insert the right ads at the right time.
Serving ads in live streams has been a differentiator for Auditude, helping it recently land its first Asian deal with Allies Pacific Sports Network which has the rights to stream MLB games in various Asian countries. The deal was similar to one which Auditude has with Yahoo for MLB games domestically. Live streaming as a whole is growing rapidly and offers another exciting online video distribution opportunity for rights holders. The proliferation of both connected devices (allowing on-TV viewing) and mobile devices (allowing on-the-go, remote viewing), both suggest even broader appeal for live streaming events.
Still, with its unpredictable ad breaks with inconsistent durations, inserting ads in live streams is a new challenge. By helping ease the operational complexity and improve the ROI of live streaming, Auditude and Inlet will help the market grow.
What do you think? Post a comment now (no sign-in required).
Categories: Advertising, Live Streaming, Technology
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AdoTube Data Suggests Video Ads Benefit From Viewer Control
AdoTube, an online video ad manager and network is releasing data on the performance of its "Polite Pre-Roll" and interactive ad formats this morning, which provide more insight about viewers' behaviors and preferences. AdoTube's Chief Strategy and Operations Officer Steven Jones walked me through the results yesterday.
AdoTube began offering the Polite Pre-Roll format last year to clients and has done A-B testing on it vs. standard pre-roll ads on 30 million servings. With the Polite Pre-Roll, viewers are able to click to close the ad, and then a reminder overlay appears at the bottom of the screen, which also can be closed out. In addition the Polite Pre-Roll has far deeper engagement opportunities than standard pre-rolls.
Categories: Advertising
Topics: AdoTube
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Verizon Wireless: Buy a Droid Incredible, Get Any Smartphone Free
Raising the bar on Android smartphone promotions further, Verizon Wireless just started a campaign where if you buy an HTC Droid Incredible for $200, you get any other smartphone or phone of equal or lesser value for free (caveat, it must also have a 2-year $30/mo data plan). The offer means that you can get a new top-of-the-line Samsung Galaxy S Fascinate for free. I noticed a full-page ad for the promotion in the Boston Globe, and Verizon Wireless is also running TV ads (below).
One of the big reasons why Android smartphones are proliferating so fast is wireless carriers' promotional support. The result is that millions of users are now carrying video-capable smartphones, in turn fueling mobile video consumption. Samsung in particular has positioned the Galaxy S line heavily around video, and you've likely seen an ad(s) with the spectacular "Super AMOLED" screen on full display. The iPhone has also emphasized video, but the Android push is significant because once version 2.2 is fully available, Flash 10.1 will run, opening up a huge swatch of Flash-formatted video that isn't accessible on the iPhone (or iPad).
The expanding base of video-capable smartphones, coupled with upcoming 4G rollouts, has huge potential for transforming the video landscape. Especially for young people, the notion of video being locked to a big-screen TV will be as out of date as black-and-white TV was for a prior generation. Add in all the activity around tablet computers and things only get more interesting.
Update: No sooner did I post this than Nielsen released new data that of people acquiring smartpohones in the last 6 months, Android led with a 32% share, followed by iPhone and Blackberry at 25-26%.
What do you think? Post a comment now (no sign-in required).
Categories: Advertising, Mobile Video
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5 Items of Interest for the Week of Sept. 27th
It's Friday and that means that once again VideoNuze is featuring 5-6 interesting online/mobile video industry stories that we weren't able to cover this week. Have a look at them now, or take them with you for weekend reading!
Nielsen Unveils New Online Advertising Measurement
comScore Introduces Digital GRP `Overnights` in AdEffx Campaign Essential
Dueling initiatives from Nielsen and comScore were announced on Monday, aimed at translating online usage into comparable TV ratings information, including reach, frequency and Gross Ratings Points (GRPs). While online video ad buying is ramping up, the tools to measure viewership in a comprehensive way have been lacking. This is one of the main issues holding back content providers from participating in TV Everywhere.
Analyst: Cord-cutting fears overblown
New research shared this week by BTIG analyst Rich Greenfield concludes that less than 8% of the market is actually interested in cord-cutting. The big impediment: losing access to sports and cable programming, which is unlikely to migrate to free over-the-top alternatives. Greenfield's conclusion is that cord-cutting isn't a major threat to pay-TV operators over the next 3-5 years. Notwithstanding the research, another factor I'd point to that could tip cord-cutting the other way is consumers' belt-tightening. Much as nobody wants to lose access to programming, if the price is perceived as too high, they'll make compromises.
Why YouTube Viewers Have ADD and How to Stop It
Abandonment rates for online video have always been a concern, and using new research, Visible Measures CMO Matt Cutler now quantifies the behavior. Expect 20% of the audience to drop out within 10 seconds of hitting play, 33% by the 30 second mark and 44% by 60 seconds in. Pretty sobering data but incredibly important in thinking about content creation and monetization.
Networks Have Sharing Issues With Hulu
Hulu's New Hoop
On the one hand, Hulu's network partners, ABC, NBC and Fox are reportedly pulling back ad inventory that Hulu is allowed to sell, yet on the other, Hulu is reportedly out aggressively selling ads in Hulu Plus, its subscription service. Meanwhile this week Hulu also announced that Hulu Plus will be accessible on both Roku devices and TiVo Premiere, as it continues chasing Netflix in the subscription game.
The New Apple TV Reviewed: It`s All About the Video
Apple TV devices started shipping this week, and reviews began popping up all over the web. This mostly positive review indicates that the user experience is solid, but that content selection is still skimpy. That's no surprise given how few deals Apple has struck to date. Yet to be seen is how Apple TV performs when it can access other iOS apps.Categories: Advertising, Aggregators, Analytics, Broadcasters, Devices
Topics: ABC, Apple TV, comScore, FOX, Hulu, NBC, Nielsen, Visible Measures, YouTube
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BrightRoll Unifies Mobile and Online Video Ads in New Offering
Online video ad network BrightRoll is announcing this morning that clients can now buy pre-roll ads in mobile streams using the same BrightRoll buying
platform as they use for online video. The move is further evidence that as the universe of mobile devices that play video continues to proliferate, the infrastructure that allows unified media planning and buying will follow.
Categories: Advertising, Mobile Video
Topics: BrightRoll
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Cisco's "LOL" Ad Campaign Showcases Video's Potential
Cisco is further personalizing its "Human Network" tag line with new "LOL" online ads (that's "Laugh Out Loud" for those of you not attuned to texting/tweeting/IM'ing shorthand), that demonstrate the power of video in our lives. I've seen the Cisco LOL banner ad in a number of web sites recently.
The ad links to a video wall that features 10 videos ranging from 15 seconds to a few minutes, with all showcasing new ways that video enriches people's lives and makes work more productive. Specific Cisco products/services highlighted include distance learning, telepresence, Webex, digital signage, Flip videocameras and Show and Share. The only celebrities featured are Magic Johnson and Ellen Page, with the latter's video a replay of her TV ad. While it's tempting to think of online video as being all about media, the Cisco wall shows there are many other uses.
Categories: Advertising
Topics: Cisco, ExtendMedia
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VideoNuze Report Podcast #75 - Sept. 17, 2010
Daisy Whitney and I are pleased to present the 75th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for September 17, 2010.
Daisy gets us started this week, adding detail to her New Media Minute in which she discusses the range of hyper-local online news and advertising initiatives currently underway from companies such as AOL, ESPN, NY Times and NPR. Daisy offers her assessment of the pros and cons of this area which has gained a lot of recent attention.
Speaking of advertising, we then chat about my post from earlier this week, "YouTube Gets Center Stage in Google's New 'Watch This Space' Ad Campaign" which I believe is the first time that Google has heavily promoted the attractiveness of its display ads and more specifically video advertising on YouTube for major brands. With Google TV coming soon and a new head of content partnerships, Google is on the march to the living room.
Click here to listen to the podcast (16 minutes, 2 seconds)
Click here for previous podcasts
The VideoNuze Report is available in iTunes...subscribe today!Categories: Advertising, Podcasts
Topics: Google, Local, Podcast, YouTube
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YouTube Gets Center Stage in Google's New "Watch This Space" Ad Campaign
Last Thursday Google announced a new ad campaign promoting its display advertising opportunities called "Watch This Space." Having seen it in action for the first time, on the AllThingsD.com web site the last 2 days, it is clear that Google is giving YouTube center stage in this campaign. It's the first time I'm aware of that ad opportunities on YouTube have been so heavily promoted and I believe signals the growing importance of YouTube in Google's overall ad business.
The 300x600 Google ad unit (see below) expands to show 3 clickable tabs:
Categories: Advertising, Aggregators
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Auditude Scores in Asia with MLB International Ad Insertion Deal
Video ad manager Auditude is announcing this morning that it has scored its first Asian deal, with Allied Pacific Sports Network, which in turn has exclusive rights to distribute certain Major League Baseball content in China and other
Asian countries. Under the deal, APSN will use Auditude to dynamically insert video ads into live MLB games. Mike Gaffney, Auditude's Chief Revenue Officer explained to me yesterday that the deal mirrors one which the company has with Yahoo, in which the latter sells and places adds in live domestic MLB video streams.
For Auditude, the APSN deal is its first foray into Asia. The move appears to be opportunistic as the company has been mainly focused on building up its European business through an office in London. Mike said that Dailymotion, the large aggregator site in France is a key reason for its European push. The APSN deal came about due to MLB's recommendation.
Auditude is differentiating itself based on its ability to serve ads in live streams where there's more uncertainty around the length of each stream and the time allocated to ads, making pre-determined ad insertion harder to execute than in on-demand viewing. Live sports are a perfect example of this. Live streaming is expanding dramatically as comScore noted recently, and with YouTube now testing its technology to enable its partners to live stream more growth is surely ahead. As more video providers jump into live and require ad serving, Auditude is positioned to benefit.
What do you think? Post a comment now (no sign-in required).
Categories: Advertising, International, Live Streaming, Sports
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5 News Items of Interest for the Week of Aug 30th
In a week dominated by Apple's new products, there actually was some other interesting online/mobile video industry news this week. Continuing VideoNuze's new Friday feature of highlighting 5-6 stories that we didn't cover this week, below are a collection of items for your weekend reading pleasure.
YouTube Ads Turn Videos Into Revenue
The 800-pound gorilla of the online video industry is reportedly closing in on profitability, based partly on ads running against user-uploaded copyrighted material. By detecting these uploads and offering the underlying rights owners the choice to have their video taken down or leave it up and generate revenue, many are choosing the latter. YouTube continues to evolve from its UGC roots.
Samsung, Toshiba Unveil Google-Based iPad Rivals
The battle line between Apple's "i" devices and those running Google's Android will ramp up, with mobile video set to follow, as Samsung and Toshiba plan to sell tablet computers in the coming months. Though the iPad is of to a strong start, it looks like it won't enjoy the same market dominance as the iPhone did as competitors jump into the tablet market quickly.
Google TV: Up to $300 Price Premium?
The components to enable Google TV could add $300 to the retail price of a television. If accurate this would put Google TV at a big competitive disadvantage given the trend toward lower-priced connected devices such as this week's $99 Apple TV and Roku's price cuts.
A Look Back: Lessons Learned From TV Everywhere a Year After Deployment
Marty Roberts, VP of Sales and Marketing for thePlatform, which has powered a number of TV Everywhere rollouts, offers insights based on the company's experience. Topics include authentication, content ingest, parental controls, discovery and content security. TV Everywhere is still in a nascent stage, but pay-TV providers should be following early lessons and moving quickly.
ShowUHow Scores $3 Million Series A Backing for Video Instruction Guides
A startup site that offers video instruction guides for various types of products that need to be assembled illustrates how valuable video can be for how-to video applications.
Categories: Advertising, Aggregators, Cable TV Operators, Deals & Financings, Devices, Startups
Topics: Apple, Google TV, Samsung, ShowUHow, thePlatform, Toshiba, YouTube
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